Norwalk Gazette.
W
Tuesday, July 8th, 1879.
’4
1779—1879. .
'- ‘rl‘oxE HDNDRED"YEABS¥AGO.
' 1361}an AxpPiLLAcnn nr Bm’rlsn TROOPS—-
- " ‘Itiasrsrkncn rq'l‘r :ANNY AND nnAvn DEEDS
"':’br‘t')Un Ancssrons. -
mfl‘hc pillage and burning of this ancient
town a century ago, formed so important a
- link in the chain of events that go to‘ make
up our revolutionary history, that we have
‘ieen to the pains of collating such fragment-
ary scraps of personal narratives and family
traditions as will give our readers .a more
correct and vivid 'i'mpression of the trying
scenes through which the fathers of this
town passed,'than could otherwise be obtain-
ed, and also to save from oblivion many im-
1 normal facts that. might otherwise be entirely
’ "lost to the future. And in the out, t let us
here express our special indebtedness to the
Rev. Dn. Ciiims, who although summoned
to a two week’s absence in Washiiigton,most
iiidiistriously devoted a few hours priorto
his departure to an extended research of the
histories and manuscripts to be found pre-
served in our State Library at Hartford.
These the Doctor. has embodied in an article
for to days GAZETTE of absorbing historical
interest. Our only regret is that the great
haste in which the Doctor was compelled-to
execute his labor of love for us, forced him
to a brevity every one will regret, whofiads
:liis intensely int. resting narrative o the
burning of'Norwalk by British troops and
Hessian liirelings, one hundred years ago.
‘ ‘D'r. Child's has also most conclusively
settled from unmistakable records, the long
disputed question as to whether the town
‘ was destroyed on the 11th or 12th of J lily.
Even so correct a writer as President Stiles
mixesnp the days and dates, naming both
indifferent portions of his diary. A new
and most important bit of evidence on this
point has just come to light in a letter pub-
lished for the first time in the last Stamford
Advocate, and written by a person of no less
intelligence and character than a. sonbf Col.
Abraham 'Davcnport, whose sending for
candles to continue his work and duty in our
Legislature, has ' been immortalized . by
Whittier in his "Dark Day” poem. Another
week we will give the article entire, but at
. present simplyistate that the writer was a
graduate of Yale College and held a= Major’s
-._- commission, and says :—
lllajor John Davenport to Col. Hooker:
~. - STAMFORD, July 11, 1779.
Sun—I thought you were notracq‘iiiainteg
'“V ' ntr when you men lone .gom
mm the con y I think it of impor-
. r 'd“ *-
to Woodpeclerri be should he advancffid
tunes that some tr00ps
t H seneck. ~
0Th(t):renemy this day have burnt Norwalk
and embarked a ain and are now on board.
There has not bt§en a great deal of fighting
nor many killed. e expect them here to-
morrow wind and other permitting.
' . Your humble serv’t,
. ;, Jxo. DAVENPORT.
{To Col. Noadiah Hooker, at Stanwrch.
'NowNorth Stamford.
Dr. Leonard Bacon, also furnishes corrob-
orative proof of our town having been laid
in ashes on Sunday J uly 11th, in his oration
just delivered at New Haven's centennial
celebration on the 4th inst. .
,. He says :—On Friday July 2, General
Tryon received from Sir Henry Clinton a
' written communication . directing him to
begin his work of destruction at New Haven,
instructing him where and hOW to effect a
landing, and advising him tomake short
work, and then to do likewise at Fairfield.
Saturday evening the fleet, consistingof
the Camilla and Scorpion, men of war, With
tenders and transports and galleys to the
number of forty-eight, set sail from its place
of rendezvous at the entrance from East
River into the Sound. We may presume
that the intention was to arriye here on Sun-
day, and to celebrate the anniversarypf the
Declaration of Independence by burning the
town. With a good breeze that intention
might have been carriedput; but there was
only a light scutherly Wind, and the armada
moved slowly over the still water. In the
early morning it was seen from the Villages
and farmhouses along the shore, perhaps. as
it was whitening the Sound GreenWich.
Further on soldiers and sailor might have
caught the sound of church bells as it floated
in the tranquil air, reminding them .of Sun-
day chimes, aud Sunday servrcc filll many
a village of Old England. . Stamford,
Norwalk, Fairfield, with_ their outlying
parishes, saw_ the cloud of sails slowly mov-
ing eastward, and knew it meant destruction
somewhere. Meanwhile at New Haven all
things. were going on in the accustomed
order. . , . .
At ten o’clock intelligence was received here
. (brought, doubtless, by express) that a fleet
was off Westfield, wliere/Brldgeport now is.
President Stiles says, in ahasty memoran-
iluin, which he made the next day: “Our
sentinels gave’the alarm, and we here fired
the alarm of three cannon. _ * * *
All was quiet till after midnight; but before
the earliest dawn there was a general waking
up. At about half-past one the alarm guns
were fired again, the bells were rung, and.. at
the command of Leiutenant Colonel Sabin,
the drums beat to arms, for it had been as.
certained that the hostile fleet was anchored
off West Haven. * * _ * "L *
The troops landed on that Side of the harbor
were commanded by Brigadier General Garth,
and were described in Tryon’s' oflicial report
as “the first division, consisting of the flank
companies of the Guard, the Fusiliers, Fifty.
fonrth regiment, and a detachment, of the
Jagers and four field-pieced _ The Jagers
were.Hessians hired by the British Govern—
ment from a thrifty German Prince, who
made some thirty millions of dollars out.
of that war by leasing his reluctant subjects
to fight and to die in a quarrel which was
neither theirs nor his. All the others in that
first division wereBritish troops drawn from
the diverse population of what is new the
United Kingdom. The fOllr field-pieces, as
we may. infer from the hat of killed and
wounded in the same report, were served by
a detachment of “Royal Artillery." The
Fusileers were partly from the “Seventh or
Royal Fusileers,” and partly from the “Twen-
ty third or Royal Welsh Fusdeers.” A_c—
cordin to the best estimate, the entire
strengt of that division was not less than
twelve hundred men. ' .
The second division, under the immediate
command of Tryon, could not move ’tili‘ the
return of the boats which had been employed:
at West, Haven. ~ Therefore, though the.
King’s business required haste, some delay-
was necessary, and there was a halt of two
hours on the West Haven Green, while the
boats were moving from the fleet With troops
for the east side of the harbor.
It must have been not far from 9 o’clock
when General Garth's division began to
mare .” .
After detailing the persistence with whic
the citizen troops opposed the march of the
enemy through the town and their re-embark-
ution, Dr. Bacon thus concludes:— ‘
“So ended the British Invasion of New
Haven. The next morning the same fleet an-
chored 011 Fairfield; and before it sailed again -'
Fairfield lay in ashes. Four days later, Ner-
walk was burned.”
Dr. Hall, in his History of Norwalk, gives
the following narratives which he obtained
from the persons named, and took down at
the time, for the purposes of his book :—
Col. Buckingham Lockwood says :' At the
burning of the town his mother and five chil-
dren were in Wilton; and on an alurm fled
with her children to the woods. This he re—
members. His mother spoke of her distress
when her children cried for something to eat.
Miss Phebe Comstock, aged 83 years, Sept.
26, 1846, lived in New Canaan at Canoe Hill.
Used to go over to her uncle's, where they
used to climb an apple-tree and see Norwalk
very distinctly. Went to meeting at New
Canaan. In cases of alarm, which was giv—
cn by firing three guns in succession,the men
left all and hastened to the parade. Such
alarms often came. - Her father would run in
and say, “Now, girls. unyoke the oxen and
turn them out,” and in less than five” minutes
would be off to the parade. They’ used to
carry their guns to meeting; no morethought
of going to meeting then wrthouttheir guns,
than we do now without our psalm books.
“They neVer had an alarm Without repairing
to the parade; and they did not. go slow nel-
ther.” The alarm at the burning of N or—
walk came about day-break. Went to the
,a pie-tree; saw the flames; heard the guns.
er father and four brothers were engaged
. in the defense; the “dreadfullest day she
ever saw; ” the guns kept firing a long time;
“a dreadful fight." She saw the “Rcd~coats"
'* take up several of their dead or wounded,
and carry them totheir boats; saw the stee-
' pic of the meeting-house fall in.
" Onesimu‘s, the colored man, who liveswitli
Miss Comstock, and lived with the former
Phebe Comstock, was 84 years old, Dec. 4,
1846. When continental soldiers were quar-
tered in .townflhe chaplain was at Miss Phe-
be's ; his waiter died.»and Oneumus_took his
“55%
place. Tile soldiers ere this _
assembled fer rel-Leah ever? do "
was enrolled. _- -‘ , .
Onesimus, at one time after the ,w
burnt. went down: get salt hayat, ' 'ss Phe-
he’s meadow, truth: from the ct .potter‘s
shop, sometimes called"‘The Village.” below
- Old Well. Miss Phebe went with him to
look out, as the enemy were always lurking
‘ ”round for cattle, horses and prisoners. One-
simus saw some “Red-coats" stealing along
up a. creek, and gave the alarm to Miss Phe—
be. “We put on; we had good horses then
and we ran; we did not go slow." They cs-
caped—gavc the alarm at the Old Well—the
guard pursued, and took two, “Red—coats"
prisoners. ' 1 » C .. ‘ .
' Thomas Benedictiaged 82, March 14,1847.
After the burning of Fairfleld, the enemy was
expected here. They came Saturrwy, while
the people were harvesting. While he was
driving the team, John Saunders, one of the
tories, came along and said, “0, boys, you
are too late to harvest.” Saunders had fin-
ished his harvest. Thcsuu was about two
hours high, and Saunders was in high spirits
at the coming of the enemy: as one of his
sons was with the enemy, and he expected
his property would be spared. But it was
all burnt; and the other son with his negro
went off with the enemy.
Our soldiers were collecting fast, and stop-
ped at his father’s house, which stood where
Mrs. ‘Phillips now lives. A tub of wine and
a bowl stood on the stoop; as they came
along they stopped and drank, and were very
merry. His father’s family hastily packed
up what goods they could; put them on a
cart, which he drove that night up to Bel—
deu’s Hill, to Thomas St. John’s. He and
the oxen had worked hard that day, and
were very tired. At Mr. St. JOhn’s, a party
of light-horse came in the night. He. fell
asleep; some of them took out his silver
brooch, and carried it off. Saw the first
smoke of the burning of Norwalk in the morn-
ing. Heard the guns “pop, pop, pop, a'good
while.” The first house burned 1.8! where
George Day now lives. The house where
Mr. Benedict now lives was occupied by the
British as a hospital for the wounded, and
therefore was not burnt at first. When the
Britishretreated, they set it on fire, but. our
people rallied soon enough to put it out. The
house was built by Mr. Benedict’s grand-
father. On his return to Nprwalk, saws. Brit-
ish soldier that had been killed; Seth Abbott,
shot him as he was getting over a wall.
“Now,” says Abbott, before he fired,‘ "if I
kill him, it will go right through his heart."
He fired, and the soldier fell backward dead.
The British, _when they landed on the west
side, marched up to near where Capt. Dan].
K. Nash now lives. A tall British soldier
was shot there. ' »
Mr. Learning used to preach on the wick—
edness of resisting the king'; and most of the
tories were of his congregation. According
to his creed and preaching, we “were onlya
parcel of rebels.” There would not. have
been so many tories, but for his preaching up
such doctrine. He went off with the Brit—
ish. -
Mrs. Benedict, wife of Thomas, aged .81,
Nov., 1846, daughter of Phineas Waterbury;
lived at Roton river, at the head of the pond;
—saw the British fleet when they came from
Long Island to the burning of Norwalk.
There were 26 sail, sloops. The enemy used
to come every little while to the place where
‘she lived, to drive off cattle. One night she
heard the cows low and the dogs bark; and
some one hallooing, “the Tories are after the
cattle ;”—“the Tories have got all our cows."
Her mother raised the window and called out,
—so loud, that people a mile distant heard
her in two places. One of the tories called
to her to be still or he would shoot her. “I
am not afraid of you," she answered; and
called out again, “Turn out the Guard—Turn
out the Guard! " The man fired, and Mrs. B.
heard the ball whistle; but the tories ran for
their lives; frightened off by her mother’s
call .for the guard. . _
A month after this, one night while her
brother, aged 20 years, was on guard with
others, she heard the dogs bark; and then a
challen, , of “who comes there? " ,The un-
swer w , with an oath, “A friend to king
George; ” and immediately guns were fired;
and there was a trampling of steps down the
road. One came and said that her brother
was wounded; and presently he was brought
in dead—shot through the head. Three were
killed, who were all in their 20th year—two
wounded.
One night the enemy entered her fatherfs
house when they were in bed—seized her fa-
ther, and carried him a prisoner to NewYork;
they would not stop to let him dress. They
came into her room; she told them they
were only children there. “D—u her,"
said one, “lift up the bed.” They thrust
their baynots under the bed, and went off.
Daniel Nash, aged 77,son,of|Daniel, son of
Micajah; was told by his grandfather,that his
grandfather was the first male child born in
this town. When the Revolution broke out,
Daniel Nash was a boy, about 4 years old, at
.Patchogue, L. I. Remembers the time when
the tea was thrown overboard at Boston.
Remembers hearing, before Norwalk was
burnt—and afterwards, what was the reason
why Gov. Tyron burned it.
Nathaniel Raymond, a ed 94, May 1, 1847.
Has lived near the Old ell wharf all his
days; was alcorporal in the guard; a revo-
lutionary pensioner; lay often on the rocks
at Belden’s Point; was at New York among
the Connecticut troops when the British land-
ed at Fiatbush; and in the lines across the
island after the British crossed into New
York. When the British came to burn the
tow:, they landed at Fitch’s Point Saturday
nig t. .
Mrs. Mary Esther St. John, 'widow of
William, aged 94, in November, 1846. When
Fairfield was burnt, her father was harvest-
ing down in the Neck. Expecting the Brit-
ish to comehere immediately, they] left the
harvest; but when the British crossed to
Long Island, _ her father, rallied hands and
went down to his harvesting. Saturday,
near night, the alarm guns fired. '
. Dr. Hall, in giving the narrative of Miss
Phoebe Comstock and of her colored servant
Onesimus, has mixed two different incidents,
both of which were related to us many score
times, during our childhood, by “Miss Phe—
ebc" and “One,” as both used to be famil-
iarly known and called.
On the landing of the "Red Coats,” as the
British troops were always called, O-ne, was
raking salt hay on what, for more than a
century, has been known as the Comstock
Salt Hay plat, near the present Keyscr Is-
land. He saw the British fleet make its way
up past Smith's Island and come to anchor
betwceuKeyser‘s and “Calf Pasture.” A yavl l-
boat filled with soldiers, was rowed up to
near where he was, when. seeing the decks
of all the vessels, or “sleeps,” as O-ne termed
them, covered with soldiers, he ran for his
horse, which stood saddled under a tree, and
mounting put the animal to his fastest paces,
till he reached “Old Well,” where he gave
the alarm, then ran his horse to the ‘ Bridge,"
where the “general alarm" was sounded by
firing, guns, etc. He then rode as hastily as
possible to his home, then with the elder
“Miss Phoebe" on the crest of the_hill north-
east from present residence of Wm. L. War-
.iiig,'Esq., of New Causaumdpn reaching
home, all the:cattlc,‘iii,cludlng the horsqs,‘ ox-
en and cows, were hastily driven’off and into
the Whortleberry Hills woods, where the
modern “Miss Phoebe" whom Dr. Hall in-
terviewed, and her elder sister, staid "out all
night watching them so they should neither
fall into the hands of their, tory neighbors,
(who used to steal cattle for the British, and
who were their greatest dread), or stray
away. Next forenoon, the younger Miss
Phoebe returned home for food, leaving her
sister still in the woods with the cattlc,wherc
they had watched all night.
,On gaining the crest of the hill at her home
she saw the smoke from the burning of Nor—
walk. She climbed an apple tree and could
about and houses b'ning. She watched the
“meeting house," then standing at or near
the present home of Chas. S. Lockwood. on
East Avenue, and saw the steeple fall in. It
was the “dreadfulcst day” she ever experi-
enced, she oft repeated; Her father and four
brothers and C-ne had gone down and taken
their guns to assist in the defence, and the
women were left all alone at home. The
men folks were all enrolled in what was call-
ed the “guard.” Miss Phaebe and O-no never.
varied in their story to us, that the larger
portibn of the British forces landed on Calf-
Pasture Beach and marched up past the' late
Wm. Marvin’s residence. This body was
joined by a smaller force which had rowed
to Fitch’s Point before landing, and formed
a junction with the main body just below the
present railroad bridge on lower East Avenue.
A third smaller detachment rowed up in their
small boats and landed at “Old Well” (South
Norwalk) on the flats just below and very
near the present Raymond Brothers' .0081
docks. This body, whose progress was reso-
lutely resisted, marched around by Flax Hill
to West Avenue and ultimately formed a
junction with Tryon who had established his
Hill. Rev. G. n. Sélle'ck’now has the cush-
which the PhOebe Comment: traditions say
Tryon sat in on that occasion: All testimony
agrees in that he. sat there, coolly viewing and
enjoying the devastation of‘ the town, in full
sight'of the terrorstricken women and chil—'
“Turn out the Guard—Turn out the Guardi” -
plainly see the soldiers—“red coats”—moving,
headquarters on the crest of Grummanfis :
placefbfjconcealment and safety. The tag
regulaiajight of the day, amOunting even .
'Q
“Aunt‘Phoebe” and O-ne‘, (in the rear of ~the
present house of Wm. B. E. Lockwood,
Esq. The main body of the little bandofv
our town’s defenders, were retreating to-
wards the Rocks heavily pressed by the red
coats, but contesting every rod of the way
by concealing themselves behind stone fences,
trees and bushes, but on reaching the rear of
the Lockwood place they made a stand and
quite a lively engagement ensued. But over-
whelmed with the opposing numbers they
continued their retreat up the Rocks Road.
The bullets and splintering done by the
musket fire may yet be seen in some of the
rear portions of Mr. Lockwood's house,
which is still preserved.
Many of the British soldiers got
Wine and cider and were very drunk.
The houses , were' robbed before
being set fire to, but “up town" the people
had moved their valuables to Silver Mine,
Bclden's Hill, qr the Rocks, buried all their
silver and small things. Some few had dc-
layed, or having sympathized with their tory
minister, Rev. Mr. Learning, supposed
they would be safe from molestation, but
finding the red-coats as alert to rob them as
colonists,-had to throwtheir silverware and
small valuables into the well and flee. Six
houses only were saved in the town. One
stood where the Rev. S. B. S. Bissell now
resides. One was the old Horace Taylor
house on West Avenue, and where George
Washington subsequently stopped and stayed
all night on his trip to Boston. This house
was removed from the site of James H.
Knapp’s residence but is now standing on
the'hill west ’of A. J. Crofut’s. Another;
one was the old “Tommy Benedict.” house.
still standing next below Mrs. Dr.-Lyne|.
The Benedict familytraditions say this house
was so old‘then, that a new house had been
built into which the family had moved,
leaving the colored servants (slaves) to
occupy the old house which is now standing.
This was attempted to be burned by setting-
fire to. a straw- bed, but one of the colored
men who had id away, seeing the smoke,
got back into the house, threw the burning
bed into the yard and saved the house, and
later in the day they brought two wounded
red coats there to be treated by their army
'-surgeon, and the following ‘winter twelve
families were crowded into it for shelter.
This property had continued in possession of
the Benedict family from the first settlement
of Norwalk, down to within the last dozen
or twenty years. WheuGeoi-ge Washington
staid at the old Taylor house all night the
news' spread rapidly around and Miss
“Phoebe” heard of it and rode down on a
“Pillion” behind‘O‘m to get a sight of him.
She told us he had just started to continue
his coach ride to Boston. He had four
horses with outriders. When he got oppo-
site Tommy Benedict’s cider mill lie-had his
carriage stop and asked for a drink of the
new older they were then making. A pail
was brought him and as no “dipper" was
handy, he stood up in his coach and drank
the cider out of the pail. So she had a real
good look at him, and felt well paid for her
horseback-ride down from the country to
see the great George Washington. Another
house that escaped the conflagration was on
the. north east side of Pudding Lane,now
Main Street, and formerly known as tho-old.
Whitney place. A greatvmany houses be-
longing to the tories were also burned, which
so filled them with indignation that many
afterwards joined the colonists in resistance
to the British rule. Another, was the ancient
homestead of the earliest Mott family and
which came into the possession of the writer
some thirty years ago and was our ' residence
down to the period of the late war. This
house was quite a pretentious structure for
those days and the red coats set fire to it,—
as the family legends run,——on the broad
shelves of the unfloored milk pantry.
These burned into and dropped to the ground,
and the fire went cut. The colonists from
near this house poured a lively musket fire
on the red coats coming up West Avenue,
and this led to several shots being fired from
the field piece the artillery had in position
close by Tryon on top of Grumman’s Hill.
One of these English solid shot was subse—
quently ‘dug up nearly ten feet below the
surface adjoining this house, and is now in
our possession. It is an English 9 pound
solid shot. From the Mott house they
crossed the river at the ford (now Brady’s
Bridge) on their way to Grumman’s Hill.
Several sloops and small sailing craft in the
harbor were also captured and burned before
the enemy reshipped and set sail for their
rendezvous again for Huntington Harbor.
From Long Island the enemy made fre-
quent incursions all along our Connecticut
shore, being furnished with information by
Tory residents, as to where cattle, stores and
supplies might be stolen. It was one of
these small raids that surprised “Aunt
Phoebe" and “O'ne,” as related by Dr. Hall,
and an acco of which we have repeatedly
heard both relate. The writer has in his
possession' the veritable side-saddle upon
which "Aunt Phoebe" rode that famous
race from the salt meadow to town. It was
a gift from her to his mother. “Aunt
Phoebe‘s" father always kept good horses
and she could mount and ride it horse either
with or without a saddle as good as any of
her brothers. The first notice of the landing
of the British forces, at the time of: the
town's destruction, was undoubtedly given,
unrelated, by ‘0'm.” It was on Saturday,
July 11th 1879. The fleet, as itlazily sailed
into the outer mouth of our harbor from
Long Island, must' have been observed by
many, butit wasjalways conceded by our
old people that “OW" was entitled to the
credit of running billions to the Bridge and
giving the first information tothe people and
guard that {large force of the enemy were
disembarking. "'O’M was also a servant to
the Rév. 'Mr. Bhrne'tt, pastor of ,the Congre-
‘gatlonal church, and who also acted as chap-
lainfo the continental :troops during various
periods of‘the Revolutionay War, and used
to accompany the “fighting person" when-
ever he went away with the troops. “O’m,”
was a slave owned by the Comstocks and
they loaned him to their minister, for'th'is
service. He was purchased by the father of
“Aunt Phoebe," when he was four years
old, and one English as was paid for every
pound. avoirdupois 'of ‘his physical weight.
Mr. Wm. L. Waring, of New Canaan, who
has recently administered on the Comstock
estate, has this curious document now in his
keeping. Parson Burnett resided on East
Avenue in the first place north of the present
home~ of Town Treasurer E. B. Bennett, and
set out the stately and venerable elm: Which
at this late period constitute the chief attracs ‘
lion of the old homestead. An interesting
and instructive lesson is afforded by‘ the
attitude and positions taken by the two
leading clergyman of the town at that period,
and the potent influence exerted by either
upon the minds of the people. The Episco-
pal clergyman remained loyal to the King's
cause, and was accused of having been the
cause of so many of his parishioners joining
the tories, sogrcntfnnd active was his personal
influence among his people. The Congrega-
tional on the other hand, in season and out
of season, preached, prayed, talked, walked
and . fought, against what he‘believed to be
unw'ar-ranted British haul-patrons and his
people unitcdly followedhis teachings and
practices. The Norwalk minister, Rev. Mr.
Burnett, and the Darien minister, (then
Middlescx,) Rev. Dr. Moses Mather, and the}
Stamford minister, Rev. Dr. Noah Wells,
had especially angered the torleo‘bud-through
information furnished by them, provoked the
malcdictions of the British authorities, and
there is no doubt that these military raids
were made even more in the spirit of retali-
atory punishments for 'the teachings of these
"'rcbellious miniptgrs" than for thp gratifica.
,. crilieir fiatuiilthhatgorpinfidér. .
9 iTo'-5tlr’ese éiiati‘laice“minisfcrstlz in great
measure mustbe due the historic mead of
praise bestowedupon-Norwalk by that emi-
nent historian, Bancroft, who once emphasi-
zedth‘e fact to us personally, that our town
the dignity of a SkirmiShi renowned}
the front,«muskct‘.in hand, on the fiijst note of
~dlarm, as bhys now‘r‘un to a fire. There was
no waiting then for equipment, draft or
bounty, but every man and boy’old encugh
to hold a mnsket,|hurried to the point of
danger with an intense eagerness born of
those days of high-born patriotism.
Dr. Bacon, in his eloquent address on the
4th at New Haven, has so truthfully and
tersely epitomized the causes and motives
which led to the destruction of the defence—
lcss Connecticut towns, that we introduce it
here as exacly fitting and explanatory of the
Sunday attack upon Norwalk :
“If we would thoroughly understand the
story. we must look at its context in the gen-
eral history. We must put ourselves hack
into the midst of that long war and recollect
what was then the attitude of the invading
power as related to people of the revolted
colonies.
After the surrender of Burgoyne's army
in October, 1777, the British government—
in other words, Lord North and his col—
leagues in the administration—attempted to
end the war by concession and conciliation.
Bills were introduced into parliament giving
up the claim of a right to tax the colonies,
and authorizing the appointment of com-
missioners to negotiate for the restoration of
the king’s authority over his American sub-
jects. While those bills were pending-or,
more exactly, before the knowledge of their
having been enacted could come across the
Atlantic—they were published here and
were met by congress with.thc unanimous
resolution that no conference should be held
with any such commissioners till the invad-
ing armies should be withdrawn, unless first
the independence of the states should be ac-
knowledged. Lord North was too late; a.
few months earlier his proposals might have
been successful. But the French government
as well as the British, had taken notice of
Burgoyne’s surrender, and the firm determi-
nation of congress to accept no concession
short of independence was speedily justified
by the arrive of a French frigate with the
intelligence that the independence of .the
United States ‘had been acknowledged by
France, and with the treaties by which “His
most Christian Majesty” became the ally of
the States in their war for independence. Of
course, when the commissioners from Great
Britain came, with the Earl of Carlislc at
their head, to negotiate for a return of the
States to colonial dependence on the British
crown, they soon found that they had come
on a bootless errand. Congress had an-
swered them already, and was bound by
treaty to give them no other' answer. In
vain did they propose conditions of reunion
which seemed almost like independence. In
vain did one of them attempt to correspond
with individual members of congress and to
tempt them by suggesting the honors and
more substantial rewards which would be
due to leaders in the desired conciliation.
Baflled in every attempt, they appealed to
the people in a manifesto proposing to the
several States the same condition of peace
which congrees had rejected, and threaten-
ing that if, at the end of forty days, those
conditions should not have been accepted,
the country should be made desolate so that,
being no longer serviceable to Great Britain,
it should be worthless to France.
Thenceforward the war was conducted by
the invading power in the spirit of that
threat. It was no longer what the wars of
modern civilization are supposed to be, a
war of army against army merely. It was
not a war against congress as a usurping
government from which the people were to
against the American people—a war of
plunder and desolation. Defenceless towns
were burned and the country around them
ravaged, not under the pretense of some
military necessity, but in mere wantonness
of destruction. Such was the character'of
the war in 1779. From the beginning, as I
have said, it had been a war of invasion and
had been so regarded by the people. But
now the invaders had found that they were
contending against a people resolute ‘lo de-
fend their country, and that congress and
the State assemblies, the Continental army
and the levies _of militia were simply the
agents and instruments of that stiff-necked
people. The people fnust be subdued; to
subdue and punish them, their homes muSt
be plundered, their towns and villages must:
be burned, their farms must be ravaged.
It was in that spirit and with those inten-
tions that the expedition was planned which
viited New Haven. Sir Henry Clinton,
the British commander-in—chief, having
ninedanot unimportant success at Stony
oint, had recently returned to his head-
uarters at New York, when he sent out a
etacbmsnt of 2,600 men to carry desolation
along the Connecticut shore of Long Island
Sound. The command of the expedition
was given to William Tryon, and as he is a
conspicuous figure in our story, it will be
worth the while for us to recollect who he
was. He had been, as early as 1776, the
royal governor of North Carolina; and hav-
ing there exhibited a talent for suppressing
popular discontent by fighting and hanging,
as well as for management by political cor-
ruption, and for enriching himself like a
Turkish pacba at the expense of the people,
he was promoted in 1771 to, govern the royal
province of New York. When the conflict
ctwecn the colonies and the government of
the mother country had become war, and a
provincial congress in New York had under—
taken to provide for the public safety in that
province, he judged it expedient for his
Bersonai safety to place himself .on board a
rirish man-of—war in the harbor; and from
a province which he could no longer govern,
he maintained a correspondence with the
numerous tories of the city and the prov-
ince, who were plotting with him against
their country. After the Declaration of In-
dependence, an attempt was made to enlist
regiments of so-ealled loyalists for the king’s
service, and Governor Tryon was commis—
sioned major general. The expedition to
Danbury in 1777, for the destruction of the
military stores which had been there col-,
lected, was conducted by him ; and he made
it memorable by a wanton destruction .of
private property and by the conflagration of
churches and dwellings. He had proved his
fitness for the work which, according to
instructions from the British ministry, was to
be done in Connecticut.
Again he most aptly says of Norwalk as
well as of New Haven:
“The war here, on that one day, was just
what it was through the whole eight years
from the 19th of April, 1775, to the procla-
mation of peace on the 19th of April, 1783-
a war of the people against an invading
power. It was the people contending for
their homes and for the tenure by which they
held all that was theirs. It was the people
taking up arms and risking all they had to
repel invasion; It was the people determined
to defend themselves against every attempt
of any transatlantic parliament to circum.
scribe their inherited liberty 'or to take a
penny of their property. That is what the
war was, from the beginning, and the inva-
sion of New Haven was only an incident of
a war which was all invasion. ”
Burning of Norwalk.
BY REV. DB. '1‘ B. CHILDB.
The war had been in progress over four
years. The brunt of it had been transferred
to the South, Provost and Campbell Were
scouring the Carolinas and Georgia. At the
North, Sir Henry Clinton was sending Iout
his ,marauding parties an expeditious of
plunder and destruction. Governor and
General Tryon was a fit leader in this work.
He was familiar with this region; two years
before he had led his troops to Danbury, and
from Ridgefleld had beaten his retreat to the
Sound. He now undertook to sweep the
Connecticut coast.
The Fourth of July came that year (1779)
on Sunday. The people of New Haven had
made their arrangements to celebrate the day
on the following Monday, the 5th. On that
day, however, Tryon landed his forces at
West Haven, and made his attack, with con.
siderable difficulty, on New Haven. The
injury here was not great, and Tryon with-
drew and made prfirations to strike Fair-
field. This he did on Thursday, the 8th.
The place was plundered and over 150
buildings, dwellings,barns,&c., were burned.
They afterwards attacked Greens Farms and
then sailed across the Sound to Huntington,
whence they rte-crossed and landed at Nor-
walk. Thcrc is a curious discrepancy as to
time here. President Stiles, Hollisler ' and
the modern histories generally, we believe,
make the landing to have been on Sunday
evening, the 11th, and the burning of the
town on Monday, the 12th. Yet Stiles in
another entry under “July 11th, 1779, Lord's
Day," says, “he was interrupted in middle of
the sermon with news of burning of Nor-
walk." In Dr. Hall's History of Norwalk,
the witnesses agree that the enemy “came
Saturday, while the people were harvesting.”
“They landed at Fitche's Point, Saturday
night." and the town was burnt on Sunday.
But the decisive evidence seems found in the
Walt: sent up by the inhabitants to the
General Assembly soon after the disaster,
the place on the 11m of'July; this was {in
Sunday. This reconciles another difficulty.
l‘lf, misstated, General Parsons and his Con-
be delivered. It was prosecuted as a war'
that refuge. affecting still to be governor of-
’. which thctjlerycxped
These all fix the date of the destruction .ch
‘ ..
tinentals did not arrive on the ground until
Monday, it shows why no more effectual re-
sistance was made.* At all events it seems
clear'that the landing was made on Satur-
day night. “Sunday morning the harbor at
Lower Norwalk was full of boats." Tryon
and his forces took possession of Grumman’s
Hill, where, “with chairs and a table he sat
writing his orders,” and overseeing the de—
ttruction of the place.
That remarkable historian, Samuel Peters,
in his history of Connecticut, says, “General
Tryon repaired to Norwalk, where, having
by proclamation enjoined the inhabitants to
keep within their houses,he ordered sentinels
to be stationed at every door to prevent dis-
orders, a tenderness, however, they insulted
by firing upon the very men thus appointed
to guard them. The consequence was de-
struction to themselves and the whole town,
which was laid in ashes.”
The falsity of this explanation is evident.
1. Because the burning, according to the
testimony here, 'was in execution of previous
threats for some of the acts of the “rebels”
of the place, as he called them. 2. There is
no evidence of any such firing from the
houses. 3. The whole raid was one of
burning and plunder.
Six houses only were spared; one hundred
and thirty—five were destroyed besides eighty-
uine barns, twenty—five shops, five vessels,
and four mills. The people fled to the hills
and woods north of the town. Captain
Stephen Betts with a handful of men made
an ineffectual resistance, four men being
killed, The Congregational and Episcopal
churches were both destroyed, although the
Episcopal clergyman, Mr. Learning, was a
strong friend of the re government, and
with others who sym athized with him,
withdrew with Tryon when he left Norwalk,
or, as his friends put it, he “was removed by
General Tryon."
The memorials before alluded to, represent
“that many of the inhabitants, of Norvvalk
went over to the enemy” during the' war.
Their estates were confiscated. Some trouble
arose about these afterwards, necessitating
the interference of the General Assembly.
The disposition made of a part of one of
them will be seen in the action of the Assem-
bly on the petition of Abraham SBcnedict,
given below.
The destruction of the town seems to have
been finished -by noon of Sunday. Tryon
withdrew his forces and recrossed the Sound.
The character of this raid may be judged
from the following testimony and memorials
copied from the originals in the State Library.
The first: is that of Captain Betts himself.
FAIRFIEIJD' COUNTY,
Norwalk, July 26, 1779 ‘3'
Capt. Stephen Betts', of Col. Z. Butler's
Regt., in ye. Continental service, personaly
appeared and made solemn oath “that on the
11th inst., while ye enemy invaded Norwalk,
he with about fifty Coninenttal troops and
some militia engaged a superior number of
ye enemy which obliged them to give way to
unequal force. As they retreated, John Wa-
ters,a Continental soldier,fell into ye enemy’s
hands, delivered up his arms, and begged for
life. But ye enemy notwithstanding,assault-
ed him with bayonet with which they stab—
bed him in sundry places, and then one of
them presented his Piece and aimed (as ye
Captain suppos‘ed).at his Body, but missing
that ye ball shattered his arm. Whereupon
finding no Quarter he made a strong effort to
escape, which he happily effected. Soon
after ye above accident, J ohn' Lick [Rich 1’]
another Continental soldier was shot so as to
fall, and as ye enemy were high and crowded
fast on our People, he desired Capt. Betts to
leave him as they could not take him off
without ye greatest Hazard. Capt. Betts saw
Lick no more, but says Capt. Eels, or C0].
Wylly’s (i) Regt., told him he saw Lick
after ye enemy had retreated about two hours
after Capt. Betts saw him. He was then
deadand ye top of his skull torn off, suppos-
ed to'be blown off by a musquet to dispatch
him, and further said not. Before me Thad-
deus Belts, Justice of Peace.
Abraham Benedict made a personal me—
morial,that “he hadliis dwelling house burnt
down and consumed'by the cruel and bar—
barous enemy on the 11th day of July last
past. That before that time, he could but
just support himself and his wife and a unpl-
rerous family of small children by reason cf
a slender constitution that he has labored
under for many years past, and that * “ .
by means of having his .house burnt up and
the loss of considerable part of his house-
hold furniture and all his provisions, has
reduced him so low that he is altogether at
present unable to build him a home and
that he finds it almost next to impossible
(by means of so many dwelling houses being
burnt by the enemy in said Norwalk) to
get a covering, or shelter to screen himself
and family from the inclemency of the ap-
proaching season. * ' " That on the
11th day of July, last past, one Ebenezer
Street then in said Norwalk joined the said
enemy and went with them over to Long
Island and that on the said Ebenezer Street’s
homestead in said Norwalk, there stands a
small barn which your Honors Distressed
Memoralist is extremely desiriou's to obtain
for the purpose of makings. dwelling house
of it, to cover himself and family, and that
said barn and the other estate of the said
Ebenezer Street haulately been adjudged and
declared forfeit to his state by a special
county court held at Fairfield," dc.
thinks he can so join the barn “to his chim-
ney," which has been left. standing, “as to
take advantage of it and of his cellar, and
that he can '0 fix up said burn, that he im-
agines he can tolerably well live through
the approaching winter in it.". So he wants
the barn appraised u confiscated property
and sold to him, which the assembly ordered
'to be done.
October 18, 1779, a memorial signed by
one hundred and twenty-one persons, was
sent to the General Assembly asking relief,
by exemption from taxes and in such other
ways. the Assembly should see meet, on
account of the destruction of their property,
do. The names of the signers connect at
with a large number of Norwalk’s present
familiei. They are such as Betta, Butler,
Raymond, Mallory, Fitch, chford, Smith,
Gregory, Gruman, Seymour, Marvin,~Beneo
dict, St.John, Lockwood, .Hoyt, Jarvis,
Hyatt,_Whitney. Comstock, Beers, Jennings,
Quintard, and “Heirs Rev.: Mr. Diekenson,“
and many others.
In answer totho Memorial, the Assembly
appointed Col. Benjamin Hinmau, Col. Ne-
hemiah Beardslee, and Mr. William Heron"
to inquire into, and estimate the losses of
every individual in [lid town of Norwalk,
in consequence of the late hostile invasion of
the British troops."
Later, in 1793, the Assembly voted to the
sufferer: by Tryon’s raid half a million acres
of land, owned by the State and lying south
of Lake Eric, the tract afterwards known as
New Connecticut. The valuation allotted
to Norwalk, as the greatest sufferer was over
twenty-six thousand pounds. There are
familieg here we believe, who are still en-
joying the benefit of that apportionment.
It is difficult to estimate the influence of
Tryon's incursion during that memorable
week, from the 5th to the 12th of July, on
the future history of the war and of the Coun-
try. Like the Indian barbarities, it tend-
ed to intensify and consolidate the hostility
'- We have some question on this point but we
have not had time to make the access: inves-
tigation. Tryon had written to General groom
and referring ' to British successes had said :
“Surely iris time for rational Americans to wish
for a reunion With the parent State, and to adopt
such measures as will speedily efi'ect it.” Parsons
at a later date answered: “Sir, I should have
illld an earlier attention to your polite letter had
not entertained some hope of a personal inter-
view With you in your desceuts upon the defence- .
less towns of Connecticut. to execute your mus-
tcr’s vengeance upon the rebellious women and
iormldab e hosts of boys and girls who were in-
duccd by your proclamations to remain in those
hqlplesp p aces, and who if they had been suffered
to continue in the enjoyment of that peace which
their age and sex entitled them toexpcct from
civilized . nations. you undoubmdly supposed
would prove the scourge of Brituu’s veteran
troops, and pluck from you those 'laurell with
ltlon so pieutil‘ully crowned
you. But your sudden departure from Norwalk
and the puucular attention you paid to your for-
scusl'sufety vvlielur that Mound the put out
resolution you took to III or the town of Stem-
ford,» mpotllo confingntiou to which you had
'dflofiefl Tali-field Ind . orwulk. prevented my
wishes on this head. ,Thll I hope will sufficiently
filming“ for my delay in answering your, last
The memorialist goes on to say that ho-
success of its enemies.
losses of that, day, so hard for us now. to'»
realize. were not'a waste and the lives that
went out were not lost. But those lives
deserve a memorial that they have not re-
ccived. Is there anything nobler in the
history ofjwar, than the act of that “Con-
tinental Soldier” whose very name is ob-
sctire—Johu Sick or John Rich—who,wound-
ed and pressed by the enemy, “desired Capt.
Betts to leave him,” and save his own life,
and who was found by Capt. Eels “after
the enemy had retreated,” with his skull
blown off by a musket to dispatch him,"
Noble fellow! He deservesamonument. Let
him have it. T. S. C.
The. Fourth.
The most remarkable thing about the
Fourth here was the . quiet manner in which
it passed. On the evening of the 8rd our
streets were crowded with people, but there
was but little noise in comparison with for-
mer years. The boys rung the bells at night
pretty well, stole some gates, swore about as
often as they could, stole alot of beans which
they cooked with a barbecued pig, and were
as “independent" aspossible. 0n the 4th the
day was very quiet, and the storm put an end
to nearly all out-door doings in the evening.
' The "Adelphi started off in the morning
with a large load for Rockaway, arriving
back soon after 9 o’clock in the evening.
The Burnside Guards, Old Well H. d; L.
00., and some citizens went to New Haven,
where the celebration was a grand affair very
creditable to that enterprising and patriotic
city.
Pic-nics were innumerable.
played on the Fair Grounds, between the
“Jersey City Browns" _and nine Norwalk.
players. As our boys were out of practice
their opponents had an easy thing of it win-
ning six innings by the score 9 to 2.
The heat of the day was intense, but a hard
thunder shower at dusk cooled the atmos-
phere and interfered with all plans for the
evening.
But few accidents occurred in this vicinity,
so far as we have heard, and those of little
consequence. ’ '
The 4th of July accidents were hardlyas
numerous as usual. At Lake Quinsigamond,
near Worcester, a new steamer careened over
at the wharf, throwing nearly 200 passengers
into the water. Eight or ten persons were
killed, and some twenty~five injured.
At Boston a balloon ascension was made
from the Common. The balloon, containing
five persons was blown out to sea, but all
the men were finally saved by a tug.
School Meetings.
The annual meeting of the Center School.
District was held in the School House, on
Wednesday evening last. As there had been
considerable excitement in the District of late
it was supposed that the attendance at this
meeting would be very large, and that there
would be a sharp contest in the election of
ofllccrs. Such, however, was not the case,
the attendance was quite small, and the meet-
ing passed off without any undue excitement.
The following gentlemen were elected Com-
mittee for the ensuing year :—Dr. J. G. Greg-
ory, A. J. Meeker, Geo. E. Miller. Clerk
Lewis Hubbell, and Treasurer S. H. Holmes
were reelected unanimously.
At the Over River District School meeting,
held the same evening, there was a fair at—
tendance. Reports were read and accepted,
a vote was passed to paifi the outside of the
school building,and to re-insure the edifice.
Messrs. Levi Warner, LeGrand Jackson and
E. 0. Keeler were elected Committee, and
Ira Cole and D. W. Fitch were unanimously
re-elected as Treasurer and Clerk. A vote of
thanks to the retiring Committee for their
faithful and efficient services was passed
without a dissenting voice, after which Mr.
Stephen 'Olmstead made an address upon
school matters generally and the meeting ad-
journed. -
m
The parents and friends of the pupils of
Dr. Fitch's school, at Hillside, assembled in
considerable numbers on Thursday to witness
the annual examination and closing exercises.
There was the highest admiration for the
proficiency, the self-reliance and the accura-
cy of the pupils throughout the whole ex-
amination. Among the many excellent
examinations of this school hithertoo this
seemed the most perfect. The literary
excercises were of a high degree of excellence
and were not marred by a'single break or.
prompting. A marked feature of all was.
this, that while everything moved like clock
work there was also perfect ease and cheer-
fulness. At the close many parents took the
doctor by the hand and expressed their warm
appreciation of the work he had been doing
for their children.
The lightning played some queer freaks at
Thomas Fitzgerald's, on Spring Hill, on the
4th. While Mr. Fitzgerald was sitting on a
steel in his barn, his wife by his side, wait-
ing for the storm to pass over, a bolt struck
near the corner of hiso house, passed along
the ground under his cow, entered an out-
building, smashing several boards into flin-
ders, then into the barn, breaking the stool,
striking Mr. Flageruld on the hip and rip-
ping his plllll and overalls, passing down
his leg and over his foot, knocking Mrs.
Fitzgerald down, and finally going into the
ground making a hole six inches in diameter
and five feet deep. Mr. Fitzgerald was in-
sensible for a few moments. His wife
picked herself up, and dragged him to the
house, where neighbors ”assisted to revive
him. After about an hour the paralyzed
feeling left him, and next day he was
around again all right. ,
The same night, in the some vicinity, a
bull belonging to Thomas Parkwn, was
chained in a pasture. Next morning he was
found in the corn field. His chain had
been struck by lightning and broken.
m
The Children" will Celebrate.
On Friday next,—the centennial anniver-
sary of the burning of Norwalk by the British,
the children of the First Congregational
Sunday School will hold a Festival on the
grounds of Mr. C. F. Raymond. Knight
Street; lthc exercises will commence at four
o'clock, and the affair will break up about 7.
If stormy the exercises will take place next
day if pleasant. Refreshments will be served
as a. matter of course. No more charming
place could be selected for an out-door en-
tertainment, and we hope the attendance will
be large.
That Burglary.
An attempt Was made last Tuesthy night
to break open the safe in the store of J. C.
Randle, Winnipauk. The thieves succeeded
in gaining entrance to the store, but not the
safe,-and were probably frightened away.
They left a tool and a quantity of powder.
but do not seem to have distuer the goods
in the store. Postmaster Randle reported the
affair at police headquarters in New York
the next day, and the papers of that city
made quite a serious affair of it.
The report in the New Haven Palhzdium,
Thursday, headed “Bold burglary at Nor-
walk, Conn, Post office safe blown open;
06,000 stobu, etc.,is located in the wrong
Norwalk, if indeed any Norwalk had such a
disaster befall it.——Stamford Advocate.
You are wrong there Mr. Adoomta. It
was one of our six post oflices, but then the
facts were not as stated above and the amount
stolen was exaggerated about $6,000. The
Hartford (Journal published the following
version of the afiair :—
NEW YORK, July 2.—Postmaster Randall
of Norwalk, Conn., had a consultation with
New York detectives to-day re rding the,
burglary which occurred in orvnlk e
prevrous night. The safe in the Town
was blown open by robbers and valuable pa-
pers. postage stamps and moneys of the '
ofilce, amounting to 66,000 were stolen. m
lint-slurs left no clue by which they could be
Oh ty 'ves itself rich but co ”
h dsitse poor. , vetousnes
to England, and to strengthen-tho patriot— T
ism that had so little to expect‘from the: '»
And soin the,“ «P Wile
long outworking it is sure that the bitter;
. In the afternoon a game of base ball was .
,. Eli
. I, ,
Nrrr'r-‘lrilllm
by us g-Hieo‘r’i‘v's’ LA
ispure. Ask our fo 't' d 've'ta’
trial. y g .- “ an ‘31 3:314
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' TWO-STORY Brick Building, situated in the
center of New Canaan fitted With forges
and every convenience fora hiacksmith’s shop.
Will be rented for other Engages if required.
Bent low. In uireofR.L. A ,Ncw Canaan.
orA.E.AUST ,Norwalk. 3t927
_ . CHILDREN’S
'Sllllillel litelllii Fellini! .
THE on'mnanx or run
Sunday School of l'sttlong. Church
WILL HOLD A
SUMMER FESTIVAL, -
Oil the grounds of Mr. C. F.Raymond, on
FRIDAY, JULY 11th, 1879,
From lto 7 p. m.
to Grounds, 10 Cents.
small family.
East Avenue.
Adnlulon
MISSES BROCKWAYS’
. SELECT SCHOOL -
For Young Ladies & Children
Arch Street, Norwalk, Cit,
Commences its Eleventh You,
Monday. fiept. 8. .1879.
1m M‘. A. BROCKWA Y, Principal.
N the District Court of the United States, for
the District of Connecticut.
_ In the matter of HARVEY FITCH, Bankrupt,
in Bankruptcy.
You are hereb notified. that pursuant to an
order-named by on.‘I.. N. lllrnDLEBnoox, Reg-
ister in Bankruptcy. a third general meeting of
the creditors of said Bankrupt will be held at
Bridge art, in Fairfield Count ,ln said District,
on the th tin of Aug..1879, at oo’clock,a.m.,at
the Ofilce o , and before said Re ster,for the
purposes named in the 27th and 2th Sections of
the Bankrupt Act; approved March 2d, 1867, ting!
the amendments thereto,and to decide what divi-
dend shall be declared. And you are also hereby
notified that I have filed my final accounts as up-
signce of the estate of said Bankrupt in said
Register’s Court, and that I shallsppl to said
Court at the place, any and hour named a ove for
the settlement or m accounts, and for a dis-
charge from all liabilit _ as asst use or said comic
in accordance With t e prov sions of said 28th
Section of scidAeI and Amendments aforesaid,
atwhich said time and place said Register has or-
dered the hearing on such settlement and dis-
charge to be had.
“glared at Norwalk,Ct.,this 26th day of June,
2t27 HEMAN H. BARBOUR, Assignee.
DISTRICT OF N ORWALK, ss. Probate Court,
July 7th. A. D. 1879. '
Estate of J OHIANN HEINRICH SCHULTE,
late of N orwalk, in said District, deceased.
OllplleEbj-Tllat the Administrator exhibit his
Administration account to this court for adjust-
ment, at the Probate Office in Norwalk, on the
19th do .of July 1879, at 9 o‘clock, l‘orenoon; and
that al persons interested in said Estate may be
notified thereof, the Administrator will cause this
order to be publishedin a newspaper printed in
Fairficld County, and post a copy t ereof on the
sign- at in said Norwa k, nearestthe glacewhere
the encased last dwelt,“ least ten ays before
said 19th day of July. 1879.
1:21 ASA B. WOODWABD, Judge.
k ‘ ‘Sheriff’s Sale.
NOTlCE is hereby ivcn that pursuant to an
order made by on. F. B. mu. Judge of the
Court of Comm on Pleas for Fairfield County, .I
Wlll sell at Public Auction on the 14th day of July
A. D.,1879, at 2 p’ciock iuthe afternoon. at Bay-
mond s Dock,Five Mile River, so called, in the
town of Norwalk, certain pegsonal property, now
held by me by virtue of a writ of attachment, to
wit .—
About Two Hundred Tons of Coal
For further information,en uire of thesubscrib-
or. or of FERBIS & FESSEN EN, Attorneys for
the Plamtifis. Stamford. Conn.
fllt JOHN DAYTON, Deput Sherlfi'
- for Fairlie (1 County.
Probate
Sale.
URSUANT to an order from the Court of Pro-
. hate for the District OLWestport Will be
sold at Public Auction, to the highest bidder. on
the 22d do of July, 1879, at 3 o’clock in the after-
noon, fun one previously disposed of at private
sale) all of the estate of Jeremiah B. Nichols, an
assigning debtor, of Weston in said district. Sale
to; take place on the premises in said Weston.
Terms made knovvnat time of sale.
GEORGE E. MILLER, Trustee.
Dated at Weatport, thiseith day of June, 1870.
Notice. _
N 0 person, other than the under-
signed, has any interest in the man-
agement of the Norwalk Hotel.
All persons are hereby Warned not,
to trust any one on my account.
DAVID ‘B. MOREHOUSE.‘
Ill! WHITE SEWING MACHINE
co. having had a few complaints of the
working of some machines. sold b agents for oth-
er machines, who are interested t .
should not give satisfaction, caution the public
against» buy “f from any one but their regular
agents, whow it give them all instructions how
to use the WHIT and guarantee them a perfect
machine. Their warranty cannot be expected to
be ood on machine that have been tampered with.
s :1 machines can be readjusted at the factory
at owners’ expense.
is puttln up
Charles S. Prowitt ....... .,
BIRD SEED IN PAPER. BOXES,
4 neat and convenient.
_ Gravel Free
0 the public for a few months from my Gravel
Bank rear oi'Selleck Brothers, Ill Street.
' OLMS‘I‘EA?
Norwalk,June24.1879. ' '_
SteWart’s
, FAMILY"
Sewms v-Machmes
' THE BESTOF m ‘
SINGER PATTERN
Made in the World!-
If you want a sin
er Pattern Machine be sure
and ask for Stewart‘s Make, wi patent Bobbing
Winding Attachment. Sold by all dealers In first
class Sewing Machines. . p , , 26
on SALE.
Atwo horse Phaeton built b B e at
Brooms Street.‘ , App yto y I w or of
‘ . . CHAS.E.ST.JOHN.
ANY Person wishing a Clothes ernger.
. can buy one very cheap, It '- -
.quul’l. Wall so” Norwalk, Cl.
iuovvmu lino ~ - —
Cheap. Inquire “FINE FOR SALE
1). nmosrr'n.
l -:sonth Norwalk.
mop
R, SALE 'or' would exchul e in House
Found Grouu’d's' for 7. smaller-p ace no ood
lo cation near the bud
LEM. Cor. Wall and
. . Enquire 01.1. 1..
after Streets.
Pasture to Let,
Anom- T'vren oFive Acres goodmll watered-
Nou- the v ire. Infill". 0’ i
, s.E.OLMSTEAD, ,
Norwalk, June as. 1379. 3'35
_ _ Pure Paris: Green,
8? CW3“ PER POUND.
For 5 e at .
“(INVITES 00 SEE DRUG STORE.
Jail. {aw-‘3.-
t the WHITE .
‘ BANK
“ 5137a ’
' this day do-
' at next.
__t Cashier.
, 1.. :I :, I .. “(if
Notice,
' ' N'A'a‘r'oiu‘t. BARE or NonWA'rLii‘,
Norwalk. Conn., June 30th, 1819.
i
HE Directors of this Bank have this (1835le-
.. "DRUGS, trial GOODS, no.
clared a Semi-Annual Dividend of three ,8 :
one 1181113); )pcrcent, payable on and alter the in
of July next.
EDWARD P. WEED, Vice-President.
Notice.
» Souru Normal:I SAVINGS BANK. }
_ une 28th 1879.
AT a meelin of the Managers of this Bank.
held this ate, a dividend at the rate of 4
per cent. per auuum, was declared, to the depos-
‘iwn for the six months ending July 1, 1879 pay-
able J nly 10m, 1819. . If not drawn the some Will
be credited to deposrtors and draw interest from
July 151:, 1319.
gas JOHN H. KNAPP. Treasurer.
. Notice.
.'
~ . of Four (4) .
11!; Annual or Stockholders’ Meeting of the
Norwalk Fire Insurance Compan will be
held at the ofilce of the Company in orwalk,
Conn., at 10 o’clock, a.m.,July 230, 1879. in com-
pliance With its bv-laws, and .
By order of its Directors.
2&6 GEO. E. OOWLES, Secretary.
Stockholders' Meeting.
THE Ninth Annual Meeting of Stockholders of
Fairflcld lire Insurance 00., will be held at
the office of the Company at South Norwalk, on
Tuesday, J uly 8th, 1819. a” p. m., ior the election
91 Directors, and the transaction of any other bus-
incss proper to he done at said meeting. Polls
0 on from 4 to it p. in. Transfer books closed from
unefiSth to July 8th. inclusive.
26 . H. R. TURNER, Secretary.
. . Notice. .
NOTICES hereby given that an assessment
list of the polls and taxable estates in the
1 walk luncheon made and returned to the Clerk of
the District and that the Selectmen and Assessors
of and town wrl meet IS a Board of Belief- at the
Selectmen’s otiice on the 12th day of July, 1879, at
9 o’clock, forenoon, to bear and determine all ap-
plications for relief in relation to said list.
. . E , , _
PLATT PRICE . . District
LE GBANDJACKSON’} Committee.
Norwalk, July lst,~1879. 2,26
‘ DR. COOKE, '
Ofliee, Hardenbrook’s Building,
Norwalk, Conn. '
Fever and Aguo Bhenmuti Di
the Heart, Salt Rheum, Neumlgi:.lglltlll’:g?s§:03f
chitin. Serofula, and all Nervous Diseases.
H Boilereficcs, N C
aw 0y 3 . cw anuan Of. Mr. e Bar-
rett, Bedford’N. J.. J. Wood Bo'oth, Green’poinr,
L. I mud-hundreds of others on application. 3mls
Over River School District in the town of Non.
REMEMBER DR.COOKE,cures all cases or '
Col. Darius Davcu ort, Theo.
New Drug Store.
I. A Meek; & Co’s,
NORWALK PHARMACY,
is now 0 on for business in Iiardcnhrook's new
:building', Vail Street. witha lull assortment of
numerous Prescriptions carefully
compounded. . ‘ ¢ , -
Norwalk, April'28tli, 1379.
50,000 Celery Plants
- :, ‘NOW READY, BY
IRA SEYMOUR, So. Norwalk,
OSTON MARKET. London Red, and Golden
Dwarf, Golden. Yellow. a most showy varie-
' ty for either market or private use, It is entirely
solid,of most excellent flavor, and one of the best
keespers during the Winter we have evcr known.
3t2 ' BA SEYMOUR, South Norwalk.
Wanted at once,
A number ofPei-sons to buy the Florence Oil
I Stove, 3 four inch wicks, extension top, Sad
2:011 Heater, all for the low price of 98 00 at
Jfiulfl’l, Wall 81., Norwul , Cl.
Hollis when finals are ill.
VERY ONE knows that the Hon.
El tfgnnymas agents'out all over EOE-(gag;
I
Best of everythin g regardless of cost
Itis not my disposition to boast of my work. for
talk is cheap. Will only say that l have done
work for Mr. Barnum for over eight years and if
I was a fraud or a cheat I think he would have
found it out in that time. The following speaks
for itself. and is only one out of hundreds I can
produce. . JAMES L. FERRIS.
Quintard’s Building, N orwalk, Conn.
WALmrEnir, Burner-morn, Conn., Dec. 13. 1377-
Mr. James L. Ferris has made several sets of
harness for-pine which gave me great satisfaction.
He is a capital harness maker doing his business
P. T. BARNUM.
MOWINGAIAACHINES
Agrleultural Implements
of all kinds, repaired and put in complete
order. Lawn Mowers for sale at rates far he-
upon honor.
I ' iowth’cmarket. .
General repairing of all kinds.
24 q JOHN COTTER.
. Notice.
I will sell regardless of cost the stock of
. TIN W ARE,
made of Cross Tin by GEO. F. BELDEN. Call
at. once for great Bargains at
“J. SPENCER,
' 'J’aqnl’a, Wall St" Norwalk, Conn.
TH’E
WHITE .sEWI-Ne momma
Has met with the greatest success in the shortest time of
any other machine ever put on the market.
Main Street,
IS SOLE AGENT FOR noRWALK‘ AND. VICINITY.
THE WEEKLY SUN.
'14 Large Eight Page Sheet of Fifty-six
broad Columns, will be sent, Post Paid, to
any Address, fill January 1, 1880,
. FOR HALF A DOLLAR.
1 879.
Stock 0100mmon,
F , Boy's" Suits,
GENTS? F URNIS
! N I'd/ox:
Eleganccand Beauty of Desig
00° 8'“!
. Address THE SUN, New York, City.
suuhsn'
ComstockBros.
Medium and Fine
'1879.
. h ' : '. .
0 , I ll 2:,
MANUFACTURED FOR THE
SPRING AND-SUMMER TRADE.
Is Larger and more Varied than that of any former season, and in regard
to STYLE, CUT and FIT. equal to any in the State, and
PRICES TH E LOWEST!
. , , C
We would call special attention to the fact. of our connection with the
Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade, embracing every New England‘State
arid which gives, us facilities few retail'honses possess. For the coming
season'we‘shall sell our entire'stOck of Clothing at a slight advance. from
our J obbii’ig Prices, thereby insuring to the consumer the
‘ LOWEST POSSIBLE FIGURES.
Men’s Working Suitsfi'0m $3.50 to $6.
. "Menls Dress, Suits, from $12 to $25.;
Men’s Business suits, $6 to $1 8.
$3 to $12.. ..
Children’s (Suits, from $1.00 "to $8.00.
THE FINEST AND LARGEST STOCK OF
-. springt OVGP'GOatS
EVER EXHIBITED IN THE TOWN or NOBWALK.
__N[}} -
IN OUR
GOODS DEPARTMENT
We devote a great dealof timean'd‘ care, and have endeavored to make it
the most attractive in town.
Our assortment of Plain ’& Fancy Half Hose is unequaled.
" ‘ i 0
UR , ,
WEAR
' ’Ishlargely-from the celebrated house of Fisk. Clark & ‘Flagg. which for
not surpassed by any house in the country
. Agents for Morison & Hutchinson’s Fine Dress Shirts.
shlars MADE TO ORDER: AT snoar NOTICE.
Alexander Kid Gloves tin-Light ‘& Darla Colors
WE BUY OUR HATS. BY THE CASE
Which Enables” us to underscl]. ‘
' Trunks and Traveling! Bags.
, llelll’ltlTllltl-lns, tortillas a RETAILERS,
Insuranée Block, South NorWalk,‘ ' " -
. . ~ ‘ j 'No. 4511mm Street, Norwalk
Norwalk Chronicler