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WILTON PARISH 
 
 1 7 26- I 800 
 
 A HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 By 
 
 MARIAN OLMSTEAD 
 
 Wilton, Connecticut 
 nineteen hundred 
 
77G()7 
 
 Library of Congress 
 
 Two Copies Received 
 NOV 19 1900 
 
 SECOND COPY 
 
 Oelivored to 
 
 ORDER DIVISION 
 
 NOV 2o 1900 
 
 Copyright, igoo 
 
 MARIAN OLMSTEAD 
 
 X \rA ^ ^ '^ 
 
 THE BLAKELY PRESS, CHICAGO, ILL. 
 
IN LOVING MEMORY 
 
 OF 
 
 HAWLEY OLMSTEAD, LL. D. 
 
 AND OF 
 
 EDWARD OLMSTEAD, M. A. 
 HIS SON 
 
 WHO DEVOTED MANY YEARS OF THEIR LIVES TO THE 
 HDIICATION OF YOUTH IN THEIR NATIVE TOWN 
 
''Lojio- )nay the ancient inet-tiiij^-fioiisi: 
 J\ise from the I'llhii^c green, 
 
 .Ind oi'er all the coiintrv round 
 Its be/ fried toioer be seen; 
 
 Still may the call to praise and prayer 
 Be heard each Sunday mom. 
 
 And bind in o-ro7oi/ii^^ faith the past 
 With aa^es yet unborn.'" 
 
 —HOSMER. 
 
CONGKELrATlONAL CHLKCH 
 
WILTON PARISH 
 
 1 726- 1 800 
 
 IT is the purpose of this narrative to acquaint 
 those who chiini their ancestry from the early 
 settlers of this Parish with the good and worthy 
 men and women of a past generation, and tell how 
 well they served their God, their country, and laid 
 firm foundations for the growth and prosp:)erity of 
 this present town, deserving of the reverent respect 
 of their descendants. 
 
 " For never in the hamlet's bonnd 
 Was lack of sturdy manhood found, 
 And never failed the kindred good 
 Of brave and helpful womanhood." 
 
 Norwalk, purchased by Roger Ludlow in 1640, 
 and transferred by him to its early proprietors, 
 extended "between the two rivers, the one called 
 Norwalk, the other Soakatuck. from the sea a day's 
 walk far up in the countr}-," and soon after by the 
 Patrick purchase additional meadows and uplands 
 were added to this new settlement. We refer, for 
 extended detail of this Norwalk Settlement, to the 
 recently published History of Norwalk, so ably and 
 exhaustively written by its gifted historian. Rev. 
 C. M. Selleck. 
 
 We wish to commence with the advent of 
 Norwalk's fair daughter, Wilton Parish. 
 
 As the sons of these resolute settlers grew 
 into manhood in their Norwalk homes, inheriting. 
 
8 WILTON PARISH 
 
 perhaps, an added spirit of adventure and inde- 
 pendence, naturally they desired to strike out for 
 themselves. An encouragement to do so was the 
 law enacted December 15, 1698, that "as soon as 
 they attained the age of twenty-one years, all 
 Town born children shall have a fifty pound right 
 of commonage in ye Town," and "that no female 
 shall have benefit by this act by their being born 
 in ye Town." But very willingly and happily, we 
 trust, these young men entered into agreement to 
 share their newly acquired grants of land with the 
 3'oung maidens who grew up side by side in these 
 early colonial homes. Cannot we imagine the 
 coming of these newly wedded couples to their 
 granted homes in the northern part of the town, 
 chosen by the river side, on the rocky hillside, or in 
 the primeval forests of these unsettled regions .'' 
 On Indian trail they came, perhaps riding cozily 
 on pillioned steed, in some way carrying the house- 
 hold furnishings of those days, feather beds, spin- 
 ning wheels, bright pewter ware, stores of wool 
 and flax, and the pioneer tools and settlers farm- 
 ing implements. 
 
 Our Norwalk historian tells us that the town 
 was early supplied with carts as well as horses, 
 even more so than most early New England towns. 
 So passing up the town's highway, through the 
 common pasturage land, cautiously avoiding the 
 "wolf pitts beyond," they came into their inherit- 
 ance and planted their homes. The same rippling 
 rivers, the same rocky glens, the same sunny hill- 
 sides were there then, as we see to-day, but deeper 
 were the depths of the forests, where still traversed 
 the friendly Indian, reluctant to leave his native 
 haunts, and there still lurked the wolf, the cata- 
 
A inSTORIC.ir. SKETCH 9 
 
 mount and other wild beasts, ready to come down 
 with their depredations upon the flocks and herds 
 of the new settler. 
 
 In the early records of Norwalk we find the 
 mention of Cranberry Plain, Chestnut Hill, Belden 
 Hill and other localities, which indicates an early 
 acquaintance with those places. And as the settle- 
 ment (if Danbury was made in 1685, and Ridge- 
 field in 1 709, roads were necessarily laid out to 
 those places, making travel throuj^h the settlement 
 easy. 
 
 Let us note some of the families already located 
 here before the organization of the Parish was 
 formed. Three and perhaps four brothers, Daniel, 
 Samuel, James and John Betts, sons of Thomas 
 Betts, the proprietor of Norwalk, with their many 
 sons and daughters, made a worthy start towards 
 the population of the coming town. Very few 
 Wilton families but what are indebted to them for 
 an ancestor or ancestress of sterling worth. There 
 was Jonathan Wood, Senior, the patriarch of that 
 day, who was the first assigned by name to a seat 
 of honor in the first meeting house ; Deacon Jona- 
 than Elmer, with a large family, who moved away 
 in 1747; Deacon James Trowbridge and family, 
 who soon also pass out of Parish records ; Deacon 
 Benjamin Hickok, active in the church, and also 
 supposed to be the first miller in the community ; 
 Richard Bouton, the first clerk of the society, and 
 Matthew St. John, the ancestor of a large and in- 
 fluential family ; Jachin Gregory; John, Ralph and 
 David Keeler; Nathan Olmstead, the grandson of 
 Richard Olmstead, the Norwalk proprietor; John 
 Marvin, whose home was near the river, by the 
 first meeting house ; John Stuart and John W'escott; 
 
I o J]7L TON PA RISH 
 
 John Dunning and Joseph Burchard sought their 
 wives in Milford , Sarah and Ehzabeth Lambert, 
 whose brother, David Lambert, joined them and 
 built, about 1725, the colonial Lambert house, still 
 in a fair state of preservation, and he brought to 
 that house his bride, Lurany Bill, of Lebanon. 
 Stephen Buckingham settled on the eastern ridge 
 of the Parish and it was at first called after 
 him, and he, with Nathaniel I\etchum. Nathaniel 
 Slosson, William Parker, William Drinkwater and 
 Jonathan Sturtevant, moved away into unknown 
 localities. William Belden came here with his 
 wife, Margaret Arms, from the town of Deertield, 
 Mass. , after the dreadful Indian massacre, when 
 their homes were destroyed b}' the flames and 
 their nearest relatives killed or carried into cap- 
 tivity. He located in the pleasant valley called 
 Pimpawaug, where an ancient house of the early 
 Beldens still remains in good preservation. He 
 was the ancestor of many families of Beldens, 
 Hurlbutts, Coles, Rockwells, Seymours, Taylors 
 and others, faithful to duty, patriotic and influen- 
 tial in past and present generations. 
 
 We cannot accurately give all the names of 
 these earliest settlers, but in 1725 the population 
 of this upper part of Norwalk was sufficient to 
 make them desire a separate parish and the mother 
 town of Norwalk, on December 5, 1725, willingly- 
 acceded to their request. A petition to the General 
 Assembly, " holden at Hartford, in His Majesty's 
 Colony of Connecticut," signed by thirty-one of the 
 inhabitants, was granted the second day of May, 
 1726, and "Wilton Parish in the Town of Nor- 
 walk" commenced its existence. As the influence 
 of the Lambert family was powerful in the Parish, 
 
AN OLD COLONIAL HOUSE 
 
 LAMBERT HOUSE 
 Built about 1725 
 
1 2 J VI L TON PA RISH 
 
 the name of Wilton was probably adopted from 
 their ancestor's English home in Wilton, Wiltshire, 
 England. 
 
 Now all was stir and excitement in the young 
 Parish. Mr. Philip Betts in his historical notes 
 compiled in 1853, who not only drew upon church 
 and society records for information, but also upon 
 the reminiscences of his grandparents, Elias and 
 Abigail (Burchard) Betts, states "that the first 
 settlers were a hardy, industrious and pious people, 
 and that they were very strict in the observance of 
 the Sabbath and in the performance of the duties 
 of Christianity," also, "that in the year 1726 the 
 first house of worship was built, but not finished 
 till after the installation of Rev. Mr. Sturgeon. 
 Its location was near where the railroad intersects 
 the road that leads from Kent to Belden Hill; near 
 it was a burying ground, through which the rail- 
 road passes. When the men were making this 
 road, which was in 1 8 5 1 , they dug up ten skeletons. ' ' 
 The records of the society, commencing with the 
 first meeting, June 7, 1726, are still in preserva- 
 tion. But the first church records are missing and 
 commence with the pastorate of Rev. William 
 Gaylord in 1732-33, and it is greatly to be regretted 
 that there are no records of the formation of the 
 church and the early church members. But from 
 these venerable society records we can glean much 
 that is interesting, showing the forethought and 
 labor of those desirous to make the young Parish 
 independent and prosperous. Probably almost 
 every new community in New England had similar 
 experiences. Let us give some of the quaint lan- 
 guage and spelling of those ancient days. After 
 choosing Richard Bouton as clerk of the society, 
 
A HISTORICAL SKETCH 13 
 
 then by a unanimous vote Rev. Robert Sturj^eon 
 was given a call "to officiate in the work of the 
 ministry amon<;- them, and for his " Incouraj^'ement 
 and Support" he is to receive "the Sum of ninety 
 pounds paramount equivelent to good bills of credit 
 pasing courant paid by the coliter annully." Also 
 he is to receive a "full supply of firewood, to be 
 brought to his habitation from time to time as is 
 needed," also he is to have five acres of land as a 
 house "Loot." 
 
 At the next meeting, June 14, 1726, thirteen 
 prominent men were chosen as a committee to con- 
 sult neighboring pastors to " atend and assist in 
 earring on a day of fasting and prayer among'st 
 them, to seek to God for gidence and directions in 
 the afars before them." At the same time Deacon 
 Elmer was chosen to read the Psalms and John St. 
 John "to sett the tune to the Psalm at all times 
 ussull in the publick worship of God." Three men 
 were also chosen to warn the inhabitants of Sd. 
 Society to their respective meetings "when there 
 is need." The next meeting was held the 2 ist of this 
 month, Mr. Sturgeon accepts the call and Wednes- 
 day the 20th of July next is to be the time of 
 the installation. John Taylor and David Lambert 
 ' 'were to provide for and entertain" the ministers 
 and messengers of the neighboring churches who 
 would be present, receiving afterward for "their 
 trobale, three pounds ten shilling." The Norwalk 
 proprietors were also disposed to deal generously 
 with this young Parish. The old pulpit, redolent 
 with the sacred memories of their first minister. 
 Rev. Thomas Hanford, was "a free gift to the 
 inhabitants of ye upper Society," the February 
 previous, and in response to the several requests of 
 
14 JJVL TON PA RISH 
 
 Wilton Parish, "Tenn" acres of land at first, and 
 several more acres were bestowed afterward, ' ' for 
 ye use and improvement of a Dessenting, Presbi- 
 terian or Congregational minister thereabouts im- 
 proved and settled in that work" (see Hall's Nor- 
 walk). Upon the most suitable site in this grant 
 of land was built the first parsonage, a house now 
 called the " Gaylord House," still existing, but in a 
 dilapidated condition. 
 
 At the society meeting next September, when 
 the fast waning summer days were passing away, it 
 was deemed necessary to make the meeting-house 
 more comfortable "by laying the fioor, by plaster- 
 ing the walls and by making comfortable seats to 
 sett in. " Oh, ye descendants of those hardy men and 
 women, how would you have enjoyed these long 
 Sunday services in this primitive, fireless place of 
 worship .'* 
 
 Then next came the seating the meeting-house 
 according to "age and list," a task requiring great 
 tact and judgment. Evidently Matthew St. John, 
 Deacon Elmer and John Stuart were supposed to 
 have these qualifications, and were chosen a com- 
 mittee to attend to it, but John Stuart was not 
 willing to take this responsibility and Nathaniel 
 Ketchum was appointed in his place. A historical 
 writer recently says in regard to this custom, ' ' No- 
 where and at no time have the tendencies toward 
 aristocracy and aristocratic distinction and regula- 
 tion declared themselves more clearly than in these 
 simple communities. All through the next century 
 it occupied the attention and energies of the best 
 citizens and sometimes convulsed the social feeling 
 of whole parishes into bitter disputes and bitter 
 legal contests." This seating was not satisfactorily 
 
BELDEN HOUSE 
 
 GAVLORD HOUSE 
 Built for Kev. Mi. Sturgeon, 1726 Presented to Rev. Mr. Gaylord, 1733 
 
 15 
 
1 6 IVIL TON FA RISH 
 
 arranged until the first part of the next year, 1727, 
 when name and place were adjusted. It is inter- 
 esting to note on the record what men of age and 
 estate were seated in the great pew, the corner 
 pews, the first, second, third and fourth long seats, 
 but we have not time to note them now. After 
 they were filled up and the younger men seated, 
 then perhaps it was permitted for the quiet mothers, 
 wives and daughters and the children to find their 
 separate places. But it is recorded that Moses 
 Comstock, a man of sterling worth and ample 
 means, who was a liberal giver to the society, should 
 "enjoy with his family the Prevleg of the meeting 
 house at all times of publick worship, he giving 
 unto said society what he shall see cause towards the 
 minister's Salary." Soon after he was invited with 
 his wife to the second front seat. There was much 
 else to look after this busy year. Permission was 
 obtained from the town (Norwalk) to have the 
 "Parish Priveleg of trainin in a military company 
 formed by themselves under such officers as the 
 Major shall see cause to allow them," thus uncon- 
 sciousl}'- preparing themselves for the military dis- 
 cipline needed in the future. 
 
 Convenient highways were to be made from the 
 distant points of the settlement to the meeting- 
 house, with "as little charge to Sd. Society as they 
 can" (an injunction thought prudent even in these 
 days). A sign post was to be made of the "poppel 
 tree" near David Lambert's. 
 
 David Lambert, living in a central part of the 
 Parish and knowing how to entertain the weary 
 traveler, was appointed " Taverner. " A pound 
 was also located near David Lambert's and Joseph 
 Burchard's for the use of the society, and if 
 
A insrORICAI. Sk'IlTCH 17 
 
 not kept according to law and order the people of 
 Pimpawaug should have the same privilege. Then 
 came on the serious undertaking of bridge building, 
 which was as necessary then as now, especially 
 when the spring freshets came on and the melting 
 cakes of ice rushed down the overflowing rivers. 
 One was first built near the meeting-house, and 
 soon after we read of a horse bridge near John 
 Marvin's, then one in Pimpawaug near Captain St. 
 John's, and one near Eliakin Elmer's, on the Ridge- 
 field road. The importance of schools for the 
 rising generation was also soon felt. Sergeant 
 Joseph Burchard, Lieutenant Ketchum and Ensign 
 St. John were made the first school committee, and 
 Rev. Mr. Sturgeon was the first school teacher; he 
 was "to receive the county money as far as it 
 would go. and the scholars which shall go to school 
 from time to time shall pay the rest which they 
 shall agree with him for." But this arrangement 
 did not last long. The next year the Parish was 
 divided into three districts. "Kent, including Ches- 
 nut Hill, Belden's Hill and Pimpawaug. The school 
 was to be kept on Belden's Hill in June and July, 
 Pimpawaug in August and September and Kent 
 and Chestnut Hill as long as the money holds out," 
 each district to receive one-third part colony money. 
 Joseph Peck was allowed to settle as ' ' Black 
 Smithe in the Parish if he shall se caus. " and. to add 
 to the revenue of the society, it was agreed "to 
 keep a flock if the town would permit." So now 
 this Parish enters quietly into the comfort of having 
 all its needs, spiritual and temporal, attended to. 
 To be sure, the annually appointed collectors do 
 not have an easy time in obtaining the minister's 
 and society's "rates" any more than modern tax 
 
1 8 WIL TON PARISH 
 
 collectors, and the uncertainty of who shall bring 
 the minister's wood and how much he needs is a 
 frequent question in the society meetings. But 
 human nature was the same then as now. How- 
 ever, Wilton Parish as early as 1758 did not make 
 it obligatory for those who connected themselves 
 with other sects to pay this minister's rate. Bap- 
 tists and Methodists were excused, provided they 
 had certificates of membership from their church 
 officers, and those Episcopalians attending St. Paul's 
 Church in Norwalk had a special collector appointed 
 to carry their rates to the rector there. 
 
 Now in all this apparent peace a rift of discord 
 creeps in. Rev. Mr. Sturgeon, who was of Scotch- 
 Irish origin, has not yet brought his wife and chil- 
 dren to this country with him, and the people desire 
 him "to apply to the Presbetry to use all proper 
 means to induce his wife to come over into New 
 England," and if he did so they would "sett down 
 esse and contently. " Rev. Mr. S. G. Willard states 
 in his admirable anniversary address in 1876 that 
 tradition sa}s that on the day of their arrival Mr. 
 Sturgeon preached upon the words "We have seen 
 strange things to-day." But the uneasiness in the 
 Parish continues. Mr. Sturgeon's "life and con- 
 versation do not give satisfaction." It was voted 
 December 29, 1731, to call a council to dismiss 
 him. We have not found the date of the dismis- 
 sion, but at a Parish meeting April 11, 1733, 
 measures were adopted to obtain another minister. 
 
 A candidate for the ministry is soon found by 
 consulting the neighboring ministers, William 
 Gaylord, born in West Hartford in 1709, a grad- 
 uate of Yale college in 1730, and who has just com- 
 pleted his theological studies. He seems to have 
 
A HISTORICAL SKI'.rCH ■ 19 
 
 occupied the pulj)it several Sundays and to have 
 pleased the people, for on May 29, 1732, he is 
 approached to know "if he would tarry some con- 
 siderable time, and upon what consideration." Mr. 
 Gaylord was of j^ood colonial ancestry, beinj^' de- 
 scended from Deacon William Gaylord, who came 
 from England to Dorchester, Mass., in 1631, and 
 on his maternal side from Rev. Samuel Stone, 
 second minister of Hartford. 
 
 Having been, perhaps, too hasty in the settle- 
 ment of the first minister, this young man was put 
 on quite a probation before it was decided to give 
 him a call and a salary acceptable to him. A 
 settlement of two hundred pounds, including the 
 house and land purchased from Mr. Sturgeon, 
 valued at one hundred and sixty pounds, and a 
 yearly salary of sixty-five pounds was at last ar- 
 ranged satisfactorily with the cautious proviso 
 "that it is to be understood that if Mr. Gaylord 
 turn from ye opinion or principals that he now pro- 
 fesses contrary to ye mind of ye Society then he is 
 to return ye two hundred pounds again." A council 
 was called from the neighboring churches to ordain 
 this young man on February 13, 1733. The very 
 thorough examination of the candidate well satis- 
 fied the council and he was ordained the next day, 
 the 14th. Fortunately the church records are pre- 
 served from this date, kept in the neat, accurate 
 handwriting of Rev. Mr. Ga\lord. We learn that 
 Rev. Thomas Hawley, the first minister of Ridge- 
 field, was the Moderator of that Council, Rev. 
 Samuel Cook of Stratford was Scribe ; Rev. Moses 
 Dickinson, recently settled in Norwalk, was also 
 present. We are also indebted to Mr. Gaylord for 
 a list of families in this Parish as far as he had 
 
20 WILTON PARISH 
 
 knowledge of, at the time of his settlement, the 
 members of the church also, and of those who 
 came in by half-way covenant and full member- 
 ship during his ministry; a record of marriages, the 
 fees ranging from eighteen pence to forty shillings ; 
 a record of baptisms, over nine hundred, mostly of 
 infants, and a list of deaths in the Parish. These 
 ancient, time-worn records are a mine of treasure- 
 trove to the eager genealogist of these present days. 
 
 The quaint and often pathetic language of this 
 pastor in these old annals reveals not only his sym- 
 pathetic interest in his people, but his own per- 
 sonal family history. He married Elizabeth, young- 
 est daughter of the Rev. John Davenport, of Stam- 
 ford, three weeks before his ordination. Fourteen 
 years afterward she died, July 6, 1747, leaving six 
 children, and we cannot refrain from copying part 
 of his touching tribute to her memory : " Died, my 
 own Dear wife, Elizabeth, after above twelve 
 months' indisposition and about fifteen weeks' con- 
 finement to the house, age 38 years 10 months 
 and eight days. I took her in marriage January 
 29, 1732-33. I have had by her seven children, six 
 of which are alive. A good God hath made her a 
 good wife to me, both in spirituals and temporals ; 
 prudent, faithful, loving, loyal and very respectful, 
 and I have reason to hope ye God of all grace made 
 her a good Christian. Her death is a sore loss to 
 me and my dear children, but I trust in God, who 
 in great wisdom has ordered it." 
 
 Soon after he records the death of two young 
 daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah, " dying of a sore 
 Grevious consumptive illness. " Then again the 
 sorrowing father records the death of his son, Moses, 
 who had ' ' been from home in ye expidition ag'st 
 
A HISTORICAL SKETCH 21 
 
 Montreal a little more than four month, at Fort 
 Herkimer, October. 1760, 21 years of age, wanting 
 about two months." About this time his son, 
 Dio(late,was born, who inherited this old parsonage, 
 the grandfather of Rev. John Gaylord Davenport, 
 of Waterbury, who has happily inherited a posses- 
 sion more valuable than the old manse, the qualities 
 of mind and heart of this early pastor. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Gaylord's whole pastorate of har- 
 monious and faithful service for thirty-five years 
 ended with his death, January 2, 1767, aged 58 
 years, and his grave is by the side of many of his 
 parishioners in the old Sharp Hill burial-yard. 
 The inscription on his gravestone, supposed to 
 have been written by his successor, Rev. Isaac 
 Lewis, expresses truthfully his character. ."He 
 was an able Divine, a faithful minister and a meek 
 and humble Christian. His love for souls was very 
 great, in proof of which he spent his life in un- 
 wearied endeavors for the conversion of sinners 
 and the edification of saints. And among many 
 other excellancies he eminently merited the char- 
 acter of a peace-maker and is now undoubtedly 
 reaping ye reward of such in the kingdom of his 
 Lord. " 
 
 Many important families came into the Parish 
 to dwell just before, or during, the pastorate of Rev. 
 Mr. Gaylord. We find on the society and church 
 records names that are familar in these days and 
 some that we now have no trace of. Abbott, 
 Pachen, Gilbert, Green, Jackson, Fitch, Mead, 
 Cole, Fountain, Sloan, Hurlbutt, Rockwell, 
 DeForest, Raymond, Bennet, Piatt, Scribner, 
 Nash, Grumman, Nathan Comstock, Matthew 
 Marvin, Matthew^ Gregory, Nathan Hubbell, 
 
2 2 WILTON PARISH . 
 
 Michael Middlebrook and others. Gif these we can 
 only mention in detail but a few. Deacon Nathan 
 Comstock. coming irom Norwalk.in 1738, settled in 
 the wooded depths of the northwest part of the 
 Parish, oh the, borders of,Ne.w York state, and 
 brought there his bride, Bethia, daughter of 
 Benajah Strong, of Fairfield. The influence of 
 this family has been a far-reaching one in the 
 Parish and outside its limits. The sons, Major 
 Samuel Comstock, of Revolution distinction, and 
 Benajah Strong Comstock, resided all their lives in 
 this Parish. The last remained in the home of 
 his father and had a daughter, Susan, whose 
 memory is honored as being one of the first mis- 
 sionaries sent out by the American Board to the 
 Osage Indians. 
 
 Matthew Marvin, the first, of Wilton, coming 
 by Indian trail from Norwalk, selected his home 
 site in the Pimpawaug valley under the shadow of 
 a wooded hill and looking upon the rippling river. 
 His name is found upon the records as early as 
 1730, and with his wife, Elizabeth, as church mem- 
 bers 1733, and his death at forty-one years of age, 
 in 1744. His son, Matthew, a Revolutionary 
 soldier, his grandson, Matthew Marvin, Esquire, 
 his great grandson, Honorable Charles Marvin, 
 the last two deacons in the church, resided on the 
 same home site and exerted in their da}^ and gener- 
 ation a powerful influence in promoting the 
 prosperity of Church, Parish and Town. 
 
 Deacon Matthew Gregory was supposed to have 
 owned quite a tract of land, mostly in Belden Hill 
 District, as early as 1718, but his name is not 
 found on society records until 1737. With his 
 wife, Hannah, he comes into the church by letter in 
 
A HISTORICAL SKETCH 23 
 
 1740, from the Norwalk church. He built homes 
 for his sons, Ensign, Matthew and Ezra, in which 
 his descendants have been born, both men and 
 women, of stronj:^ character and marked abihty, a 
 power for j^ood in this comnumity and far beyond 
 its hmits. 
 
 Frt)m the first Nathan Hubbcll, who came here 
 from Greenfield, in Fairfield, about 1747, and 
 settled in the southern part of Pimpawaug valley, 
 came another important addition to the life and 
 strength of the Parish, doing good service for town 
 and country in the Revolution army, as deacons in 
 the church, educated men active in the ministry 
 and other professions. 
 
 Michael Middlebrook, coming from Fairfield 
 about 1756, was the ancestor of a long line of 
 descendants prominent and very helpful in the 
 religious, secular and social life of Parish and 
 Town. His sons, Samuel and Deacon Jonathan, 
 gave liberally to a fund for the use of the society 
 which has been a very great help to its self-support. 
 Deacon Jonathan also gave the society the land for 
 a burial-yard which is now called "Hill Side 
 Cemetery" and land for the site for a parsonage. 
 Summers, another son, was also a man of position 
 in the Parish, whose descendants have been and 
 are still iniiuential in this community and elsewhere. 
 
 In the early part of Rev. Mr. Gaylord's ministry 
 the original little meeting-house became unsuitable 
 for the growing Parish. At a society meeting, held 
 December 25, 1736, the site for a new meeting- 
 house, the proper timber to build it, the way it 
 should be placed, were under discussion. David 
 Keeler, Daniel Betts and Matthew Marvin were 
 chosen a committee to superintend the building of 
 
24 WILTON PARISH 
 
 this new meeting-house, "to be built on ye Sharp 
 Hill, with ye fore or broad side directly to the 
 South," to be built "48 foot in length, 36 foot in 
 breadth and 22 foot post." On June 6, 1739, the 
 old meeting-house was sold " att a vandue at sun 
 one hour high at night," and the money received 
 for it was appropriated toward finishing the new 
 one. The form or model of this house was copied 
 from "ye prime antient" meeting-house of Norwalk. 
 This Norwalk place of worship was probably the 
 third one built there, and burned with many other 
 buildings by the British in 1779. We think the 
 New England meeting-houses of those colonial 
 times had a pyramidal roof; probably in this Wilton 
 building no belfry surmounted the apex. Beside 
 the principal south door was a west door. Within, 
 the pulpit was on the north side. The pews in the 
 body of the house were six feet square. The pew 
 next to the pulpit stairs was the seat of honor for 
 the deacons and men of age and position. The 
 galleries were finished by Jacob Patchen in 1747, 
 with "good white wood and white oake boards" 
 and the seats and pews therein named and desig- 
 nated. We also learn that for the growing family 
 of Rev. Mr. Gaylord, "a place on the east side of 
 the grate aley, the two hind seats as far as is con- 
 venient to build a pew," is to be reserved for their 
 use. Before this meeting-house was completed it 
 had the distinction of having Mr. George Whitfield 
 preach in it, while jouneying from New Haven to 
 New York. Instead of seemingly making any 
 trouble for Mr. Gaylord in the disapprobation of 
 his more conservative ministerial brethen, the result 
 was that an unusual number were added to church 
 membership the next year. Another building was 
 
A HISTORICAL SKETCH 25 
 
 erected near the meeting-house, which cost thirty 
 pounds, for a society and schoolhouse combined 
 This was the Sabba' Day House, of olden times, a 
 place of great comfort to those church-going ances- 
 tors of ours living at a distance from the sanctuary. 
 Between the long services, forenoon and afternoon, 
 how much comfort could be taken, especially in 
 winter by the fireplace filled with burning logs, 
 and where it was customary to fill the foot-stove 
 with coals covered with ashes, indispensable to 
 keep the body warm in the fireless meeting-house. 
 There a luncheon of the most suitable viands of 
 Saturday's baking was taken by each family; very 
 likely a refreshing draught of cider was not con- 
 sidered at all improper. There the children could 
 move around in relief from the strict decorum 
 expected in the religious services; the mothers 
 exchange confidences concerning domestic matters 
 and the weekday social events; the fathers, after 
 the discussion of the sermon, could compare their 
 farming prospects, the state of the market in Nor- 
 walk and the last news of the French and Indian 
 affsfressions, which at that time were a menace to 
 the colonies. This building was probably not 
 necessary after a time, for it was sold in 1774. 
 We have one more item to add to the history of 
 this time. The Sharp Hill burial-yard in Decem- 
 ber, 1755, was purchased from Richard Dunning 
 for ten pounds. Some of the remaining head- 
 stones in this old yard date earlier and were 
 probably taken from the first unmarked burial-yard. 
 In this quiet, neglected spot rest many of the 
 ancestors of the present generation of Wilton-born 
 men and women. "Nature has marched in 
 
26 Jf IL TON PA RISH 
 
 according to her lavishness and adorned what we 
 ignored." 
 
 The year after Mr. Gaylord's death, the church 
 and society were so suited with Rev. Samuel Mills 
 that they made several overtures to him to become 
 their pastor, which he did not accept. Rev. 
 Isaac Lewis was invited, May, 1768, to supply the 
 pulpit on ' ' probation. " He was born in that part of 
 Stratford now called Huntington, January 21, 1746, 
 and was a graduate of Yale College in 1765. A 
 definite call was given him August 9 of the same 
 year, and a one hundred and fifty pound settlement 
 was offered him and seventy pounds as the first 
 year's salary. This salary was afterward increased 
 to one hundred pounds yearly. Lieutanant Nehe- 
 miah Mead, Nathan Stuart and Ezra Gregory were 
 appointed a committee to represent the society at 
 the Council called to ordain him on October 26, 
 1768. At that Council Rev. Mr. Ingersoll of 
 Ridgefield was Moderator, Rev. Mr. Pomroy of 
 Greenfield Scribe and Rev. Moses Dickinson and 
 Samuel Fitch, Esq. , represented the Norwalk 
 church. In December, 1768, Mr. Lewis married 
 Miss Hannah Beale of New Preston, and they 
 occupied an old colonial house, which, torn down 
 many years ago, was near the present house of 
 Henry Chichester, Esq. In that home were born 
 eight of their children, the most distinguished of 
 them in after life were the twin sons, Zacheriah 
 and Isaac. The pastorate of Rev. Isaac Lewis 
 was far from being a quiet and peaceful one. The 
 uneasy feeling of the Colonies toward the Mother 
 Country in the first few years of it presaged the 
 coming Revolution. When active hostilities com- 
 menced he, and many of his parishioners, were in 
 
MARN'IN HOUSE 
 
 FITCH HOUSE 
 
 27 
 
2 8 I VI L TON PA RISH 
 
 the army. Then the fluctuating state of the cur- 
 rency produced by the war made it very difficult 
 for the society to meet its obligations. In 1777 
 his salary was to be paid half way in produce. To 
 many it ma}' be interesting to know the market 
 value of farm products in those times. "Wheat, 
 four shilling-sixpence a bushel. Rye, three shilling. 
 Corn, two shilling six-pence. Oats, one shilling 
 sixpence. Pork, twenty five shilling per hundred. 
 Beef, twenty shilling. Sheeps-wool, two shilling 
 per pound. Flax, nine pence per pound. Leather 
 shoes, six shilling a pair. Scydar, six shilling a 
 barrel." The next year the salary continued the 
 same, but the prices had increased greatly, owing 
 to the demand for supplies for the Continental 
 Army. Finally, to relieve the pastor in his struggle 
 to obtain a definite support from his people, it was 
 agreed to pay him his promised salary in gold 
 or silver currency. Then the half-way covenant, 
 which the ministers in New England generally 
 disapproved of and which Rev. Mr. Lewis desired 
 to abolish, made an agitation in the church and 
 brought him into disfavor with those who wished to 
 retain it. Rev. Mr. Lewis seeks a dismission, 
 although his people wish to retain him. A Council 
 is called to settle difficulties, but naturally Rev. 
 Mr. Lewis prefers to leave, and is dismissed June 
 I, 1786, and in the October following is installed 
 pastor of the second church in Greenwich. We 
 can judge of his ability and worth when we learn 
 he remained there in the pastorate for thirty-two 
 years, until he was dismissed at his own request, 
 and at the same time his son. Rev. Isaac Lewis, 
 Jr., was ordained to succeed him. He died in 
 Greenwich, August 27, 1840, aged ninety-four years. 
 
A IflSrORICAL SKI'lTCH 29 
 
 Another agitation during Rev. Mr. Lewis' min- 
 istry was the effort to have a new meeting-house. 
 The Sharp Hill building became greatly out of 
 repair and the location was mucii below the center 
 of the population. But for many years there was 
 much disagreement what was l)est to do. The 
 subject was started for discussion in society meet- 
 ing in 1773 and no positive decision was agreed 
 upon until 1789. At first the vote \vas not to re- 
 pair, and not to build, then not to build "on the 
 plain west side of Danbury river, and not to build 
 on the east side of S'd River near ye Dwelling 
 House of Clapp Raymond," now in possession of 
 R. H. Fitch. Finally, after consulting a ccMumittee 
 of three men of position in adjacent towns, it was 
 voted to place the new meeting-house "on the Hill 
 at the South Easterly part of Daniel Gregory's 
 woodland, near the meadow of Clapp Raymond, 
 Esq. , about forty-five rods South Easterly from Sd. 
 stake, Northerly of the Road leading from the 
 Dwelling house of Sd. Ra\inond to the Dwelling 
 House of Mr. Samuel Middlebrook." Dimensions, 
 " 54 in length, 40 feet breadth, 21 feet in height or 
 21 feet posts," which was afterward changed to 
 "24 feet posts" and "upon the construction of 
 Norwalk meeting-house," which was then upon the 
 up-town green. It was voted not to build a steeple 
 unless "any man or men would build it at their 
 own expense." Somehow it was built, but there is 
 no record of obtaining a bell before 1801. Fortu- 
 nately for good taste, the vote to paint the building 
 "with yellow ochre, and the roof Spanish brown," 
 was changed and it was painted white. To the 
 energy and self-denial of the men of those years 
 we are indebted for this, our present, church build- 
 
30 11 IL TON PA RISH 
 
 ing, the exterior of which has been shghtly altered 
 since its erection, more than a hundred and ten 
 years ago. It was furnished at first with the pulpit 
 and seats taken from the old house and the foun- 
 dation stones of the old building were used to build 
 the fence of the old burial-yard. From 1767 to 
 1800 the names of many more important families 
 of Wilton first appear on the records, but this does 
 not accurately prove the time of their settlement. 
 We find the names of Benedict, Hoyt, Scott, 
 Tuttle, Holmes, Sterling, Knapp, Church, Cannon, 
 Chichester, Jessup, Chapman, Patrick, Denton, 
 Davenport, Sturges, Morgan and others. 
 
 In reviewing the history of Wilton Parish in the 
 war of the Revolution, surely in these days of 
 patriotic zeal in looking up such annals, no apology 
 is needed if the retrospect is somewhat prolonged. 
 Men who enlisted from Wilton Parish are mostly 
 found accredited to Norwalk, but when we find 
 their names on our church and society records, 
 their marriages, the births and baptisms of their 
 children, the dates of deaths until the town organ- 
 ization, the gravestones marking their burial- 
 places in the several cemeteries, and their military 
 record on the pages of that recognized authority, 
 ''Connecticut Men in the Revolution," published 
 in 1889, then we reverently and proudly claim 
 them, and would gladly make their descendants 
 better acquainted with their inheritance of heroic 
 deeds for the freedom of the country. We cannot 
 speak of each soldier, and while gratitude and 
 honor belong to each one, private as well as those 
 of rank, then, as well as now, who serve their 
 country in defense of right, we can only glance at 
 a few of most distinction. Over one hundred went 
 
A HISTORICAL SKETCH 31 
 
 out from this Parish into the army. Thirty-five 
 graves still have a headstone to mark their burial- 
 places, time and neglect prevent other graves from 
 being identified, and man}' after the war was over 
 found home and a burial in other parts of the 
 country. 
 
 Let us first note down that Rev. Isaac Lewis, 
 like many a pastor of that time, did not hesitate to 
 leave his people if he could do service for his 
 country. In 1776 he was chaplain in Colonel 
 Philip Bradley's battalion, stationed at Bergen 
 Heights (now Jersey City) and Paulus Hook, but 
 after a severe fever he was obliged to retire. When 
 the British were about to land at Norwalk in 1779 
 he went with a company to the defense of the 
 coast and a cannon ball struck within three feet of 
 him (from Rev. S. G. W'illard's historical address). 
 His name is found on the pension list from Fair- 
 field County in 1832. 
 
 Major Samuel Comstock served with distinction 
 throughtnit the war. Extracts from the obituary 
 published in the Norwalk Gazette soon after his 
 death, December i, 1824, \\'\\\ give a just estimate 
 of his character.'"" 
 
 "He entered in his military career at seven- 
 teen during the war with France. In this school 
 he, with many a hero of the Revolution, took his 
 first lessons in the militar\- art, and became quali- 
 fied to render his Country more eminent services in 
 that eventful conflict which enrolled her among 
 the nations and filled the world with her fame. At 
 the commencement of the war of Independance he 
 had command of a company of militia. In the 
 Autumn of ' 76 he received orders to march to New 
 
 * Written by Hawley Olmstead, LL. D. 
 
3 2 J I VL TON PA RISH 
 
 York, where his company was soon reduced by an 
 epidemic from one hundred to eight effective men. 
 His capacity for command having attracted the 
 notice of his superiors, he was honored with a 
 Captain's commission in the regular forces, and 
 having enhsted a company of vohinteers he joined 
 the Army and was attached through the war to the 
 division of the Commander in Chief. The hard- 
 ships and privations he endured, the sacrifices he 
 made, and the dangers he encountered, nobly ex- 
 hibited the gallantry of his spirit and his devotion 
 to the cause. He shrunk from no alloted service, 
 however difficult or dangerous. His toils and 
 dangers ended not until the events at Yorktown 
 closed the struggle, and decided forever the ques- 
 tion of American freedom. In the last season of 
 the drama of the Revolution he had the honor of 
 being an Actor. Soon after he was promoted to the 
 rank of Major." Major Comstock was a valuable 
 citizen of his native town, being sent to legislature 
 many years. He was also active in church and 
 society, being clerk and treasurer of the society 
 from 1/88 to i8io. He married Mercy, daughter 
 of Theophilous Mead, December 26, 1765, who 
 died eight years before his death. Major Comstock 
 was on the original Cincinnati list. 
 
 From the colonial home of Ezra Gregory on 
 Belden Hill went forth to the call for arms four 
 sons, while the fifth, desiring to go, was too young 
 to be accepted. Ezra Gregory, the father, had 
 charge of military stores until his death in 1776. 
 Captain Abraham, the oldest son, was in service 
 as Captain in the Light House under Colonel 
 Silliman of Fairfield from 1776 to 1783. Ezra 
 and Moses were in service a shorter time, while 
 
GREGORY HOUSE 
 Built 1740 
 
 35 
 
34 WILTON PARISH 
 
 Lieutenant Matthew served from 1777 to 1783 as 
 Sergeant, Ensign and Lieutenant, with Major 
 Comstock, and his name is also found on the 
 Cincinnati hst. His home afterward was in Al- 
 bany, N. Y. .where he died June 4, 1848, in his 
 ninety-first year. 
 
 Another Wilton family contributed largeh" of 
 their young men to the cause. From the Hubbells, 
 of Pimpawaug Valley, went Salmon, Seth, Zadock, 
 Thaddeus, brothers, and their cousin. Captain 
 Nathan Hubbell. Lieutenant Salmon Hubbell 
 enlisted in the Continental Army July 6, 1775, 
 received the commission of Lieutenant in 1779, 
 and served until the army was disbanded, and he 
 was also on the Cincinnati list. He died in 
 Bridgeport, March 11, 1830. Among others who 
 served with distinction we would mention the 
 names of Captain Daniel Betts, Ensign Isaiah 
 Betts, Captain Azor Belden, Captain Nathan Gil- 
 bert, Lieutenant Daniel Hurlbutt, Quartermaster 
 Thaddeus Sterling, Lieutenant Samuel De Forest, 
 Ensign Aaron Keeler, the last two being on the 
 Cincinnati list. We find our Wilton men respond- 
 ing to the call to arms in 1775, in the defense of 
 New York in 1776, where deadly disease did more 
 havoc than the British bullet, and the same year 
 at the battle of White Plains. Some were taken 
 prisoners at the fall of Fort Washington, some 
 were guarding military stores at Fishkill in 1777, 
 some were in the raid at Danbury, and the battle 
 of Ridgefield the same year, some in Washington's 
 main army in the battles in Pennsylvania and New 
 Jersey, spending the winter of suffering and ex- 
 tremity at Valley Forge, some at the storming of 
 Stony Point in 1779 and at the surrender of York- 
 
y/ msrORICAL SKI'llCIl 35 
 
 town, and so on until peace was declared and the 
 army disbanded by Washington, June, 17S3. 
 
 Now our thoughts turn to the women of this 
 Parish in their homes on hillside and in valley — how 
 did they feel in these exciting years? What loneli- 
 ness and anxieties, what self-denials and great 
 burdens must have shadowed their lives da\' and 
 night. Probably the dressing in homespun and 
 linsey-woolsey, the giving up the imported drink of 
 tea, and of the pretty fine fabrics that woman's 
 taste prefers, was but a little sacrifice to them. 
 But to miss the strong arm of husband, the vigor- 
 ous help of the stalwart sons, with the wearing fear 
 that they might never return, with the burden of 
 farm work, perhaps depending upon the farm 
 products for their daily support, the training of the 
 usually large family of young children, the spinning 
 and weaving, how did their souls and bodies 
 endure the strain.' One brave woman. Mary Cole, 
 it is said, when she heard her husband was sick or 
 wounded at White Plains, had the courage to ride 
 over to bring him home on the same steed, which 
 long ride had not only the danger of meeting the 
 British soldiery, but the roving ruffianly bands of 
 cowboN's on the border line of the state. She was 
 living in Wilton in i S40 a pensioner. 
 
 Wilton Parish, as well as Norwalk, had the rep- 
 utation of having many Tory sympathizers residing 
 within their limits. While in these days much 
 allowance is made for those who then conscien- 
 tiously remained loyal to King George and the 
 established church of England, we can realize what 
 very detestable neighbors they must have been, 
 when they carried secret information to the enemy, 
 involving loss of life, property and defeat of the 
 
36 J J VL TON PA RISH 
 
 patriots, and leading Tryon's forces into their native 
 towns to their destruction. Sometimes the suspected 
 Tory was himself put in jeopardy. One prominent 
 Wilton man was imprisoned on suspicion, a guard 
 of his own townsmen put over him and his young 
 cattle taken to sustain the needy army. For protec- 
 tion, he obtained a safe conduct from the American 
 Colonel to enable him to return safelv to his home. 
 It was a common belief that the leaden statue of 
 King George the Third in Bowling Green, N. Y., 
 broken down by the "Sons of Liberty," was 
 taken to Litchfield, Conn., to be melted into bullets 
 to greet the soldiers of King George. But in some 
 mysterious way, parts of it were taken secretly 
 and buried in the soil of Wilton to be preserved, 
 and in the peaceful years long after, the spade and 
 the plow brought them into the light. Besides 
 some small fragments found in the cellar of an old 
 Tory house when it was torn down, in the garden 
 close by, and in making a ditch near the Episcopal 
 church, about four hundred and twenty-five pounds 
 were found. 
 
 After the battle of Ridgefield was fought, the 
 British army in their retreat to their shipping at 
 Compo, Westport, passed through Wilton, terrify- 
 ing the inhabitants in their homes by their inso- 
 lence and arbitrary demands. A paper written by 
 one of the Lamberts gives probably a correct state- 
 ment of their march : ' ' The British in their retreat 
 from Danbury back to Compo encamped in the 
 lower part of the town of Ridgefield on the night 
 of 27th and 28th of April, 1777, from thence in the 
 morning they proceeded to Wilton, crossed from 
 the Ridgefield road, where the Congregational 
 church now stands, to the Danbury road, about 
 
DAVENPORT HOUSE 
 
 BIRTHPLACE OF MOSES STUART, D.D. 
 37 
 
3 8 I VIL TON PARISH 
 
 one-half mile north of St. Matthew's Church, and 
 here they halted, where they took breakfast and 
 then resumed their march, at about 9 o'clock in 
 the forenoon. Near this place where they had 
 halted for breakfast some of them entered Mr. 
 Belden's store, in which was deposited a quantity 
 of merchandise belonging to a gentleman from 
 New York, which they began to destroy, but on 
 being informed by Mr. Belden that the merchan- 
 dise was private property, they desisted from doing 
 any further harm to the same. At the next neigh- 
 bor's barn they found Continental stores, which 
 they set on fire, and proceeded immediately on their 
 march to the main army. But very soon after they 
 left the barn Mrs. Belden with her sister. Miss 
 Lampson, went thither and extinguished the fire. 
 The flank guard then on passing through a field 
 near by found a number of hogsheads of rum be- 
 longing to the Continental army, which they des- 
 troyed with all possible dispatch. Here the British 
 were fired upon by some militia and one British 
 soldier was wounded. On their march thence in 
 passing through the eastern part of Wilton they 
 fired upon the Americans and wounded three men." 
 The former house of the Chapmans and Dudleys, 
 situated on a secluded road off the main road to 
 Westport, was used as a storehouse for valuable 
 goods by neighboring families, considering it to be 
 a safe hiding-place. Some of the straggling British 
 soldiers must have received some inkling of it, for 
 it was broken open and thoroughly rummaged, and 
 much of the contents either taken away or des- 
 troyed. 
 
 When Norwalk was invaded and burned in 
 1779 by order of Tryon, many of the panic-stricken 
 
.'I HISTORICAL SKETCH 39 
 
 inhabitants, with all the household goods they 
 could take with them, sought refuge with their 
 relatives and friends in the Parish of W'iltcon, which 
 then was unmolested by the enemw 
 
 To return to the closing years of our Parish 
 history : After the agitation of the Revolutionary 
 period, and the dismission of Rev. Isaac Lewis, it 
 was eight years before a settled pastor was ob- 
 tained. Several were called, but did not accept the 
 position. During that period, at a society meeting 
 the loth of June, 1792, Major Samuel Comstock, 
 Blackleach Jessup, Deacon Daniel Gregory, Capt. 
 Nathan Gilbert and Abijah Betts were appointed 
 a committee "to adjust and settle the Districts for 
 the several schools in the Society of Wilton," the 
 bounds of which remain the same at the present 
 time, and it is interesting to note, showing the 
 change in public opinion at the present day, that 
 on December 31, 1792, it was voted that the 
 society's committee ' ' shall purchase five tickets 
 in the Newfield Lottery for the benefit of the 
 Society. "' 
 
 In November, 1793, a call was given Rev. 
 Aaron Woodward, "a yearly salary of one hun- 
 dred pounds, twenty cords of wood," and "the in- 
 terest of one hundred and fifty pounds until a par- 
 sonage is purchased," and "he was not to be re- 
 quested to preach his sentiments ! " The call was 
 accepted, and Mr. Woodward was ordained Jan- 
 uary 7, 1794. The ordination sermon was preached 
 by Rev. Benjamin Trumbull, of North Haven, 
 whose daughter, Martha, became Mr. Woodward's 
 wife two weeks after his ordination. 
 
 Mr. Woodward was born at North Coventry, 
 Conn., October 14, 1760; graduated at Yale, 17S9. 
 
40 / J VL TOX PA R/SH 
 
 For a time he resided in a part of Nathan Daven- 
 port's house, now in possession of his son, James 
 Davenport, and it is said that in the location of the 
 parsonage built across the street Mr. Woodward 
 wished to have the building set at a distance from 
 the road, as in the early morning his slumbers were 
 much disturbed by the noise of the teamsters on 
 their way to Norwalk. His health becoming much 
 impaired, he resigned his charge in 1801, retired 
 from the ministry and removed to a farm in Wil- 
 braham, Mass., where he resided until his death. 
 February 15, 1840. 
 
 In bringing this history to a close, two men born 
 in Wilton Parish before 1800 deserve a special 
 mention from their eminently useful lives, reflect- 
 ing distinction upon the place of their birth. 
 
 Moses Stuart, the son of Isaac and Olive (More- 
 house) Stuart, was born March 26, 1780. His 
 father was a farmer, and the house, with its ancient 
 chimney, still remains on the brow of Drum Hill. 
 Modern taste and improvements have changed the 
 house greatly, and with the well-kept grounds 
 adjoining, in the hands of its present owners, it is a 
 most attractive spot. "Did Dame Nature take 
 this child upon her knee and whisper " to him the 
 higher life beyond his cradle home, or was it the 
 parents' loving training, the sisters' devotion, that 
 made this precocious boy "read books with 
 eagerness when only four years old," and at four- 
 teen desire to leave the farmer life of his ancestors 
 for the higher and broader life of a scholar } We 
 learn that he was prepared for the sophomore class 
 of Yale College under the instruction of Roger M. 
 Sherman of Norwalk; that he graduated from Yale 
 with the highest honors in 1799, and that after 
 
HAWLEY OLMSTEAD, LL.D. 
 
 41 
 
42 JfVL TO A' PARISH 
 
 studying law he was tutor in the college from 1802 
 to 1804. Then the "Divine call" came to him to 
 enter the ministry. He was the pastor of the 
 Center Church, New Haven, from March, 1806, to 
 January, 18 10. Andover Seminary then per- 
 suaded him to take the professorship in Greek and 
 Hebrew in that institution, where he remained 
 until his death, January 4, 1852. His intellectual 
 abilities, the great influence he exerted over the 
 hearts and lives of the young men studying for the 
 ministry, the power of his consistent Christian char- 
 acter, gained him great distinction, the memory of 
 which still lingers in his native town, as well as in 
 the hearts of his gifted descendants. 
 
 Hawley Olmstead was born December 17, 1793, 
 on Olmstead Hill, where his Olmstead ancestors 
 were the first settlers, and where his father, Aaron 
 Olmstead, was a farmer. His mother, Sarah 
 Esther Hawley, was the daughter of Ezekiel Haw- 
 ley, a Revolutionary soldier, who died in the service 
 in 1776, and her great grandfather. Rev. Thomas 
 Hawley, was the first minister of Ridgefield. At 
 an early age, feeling a great desire for a liberal edu- 
 cation, he left the farm, and at fourteen years of 
 age taught a district school successfully for three 
 years in the neighborhood. Then, undaunted by 
 the difficulties in his way and encouraged by the 
 sympathy and counsel of his valued friend. Major 
 Samuel Comstock, he prepared for Yale College at 
 the Academy at Greenfield Hill, under the instruc- 
 tion of Rev. William Belden (himself a native of 
 Wilton j, as an assistant pupil. He entered as 
 sophomore, graduating in the class of 18 16. Poor 
 health and weak eyes, brought on by a severe attack 
 of measles, hampered him much in his college 
 
.-/ HISTORICAL SKETCH 43 
 
 course. To keep) up in the required course of study 
 he memori/ed much of the exercises from having; 
 them read to him, by tiie kindness of classmates, 
 and witli these hindrances he graduated with a 
 high standing. After his graduation, " unable from 
 the state of his eyes to study a profession, he was 
 fullv iHTSuaded that he was called, in the provi- 
 dence of God, to the instruction of youth." 
 Returning to his native town, he opened the Wil- 
 ton Academy soon after his graduation. His 
 marriage to Miss Harriet Smith, of New Canaan, 
 took place April 30, 1818, and the establishment of 
 his hospitable home in the former parsonage, pur- 
 chased of Rev. Mr. Haight. He taught this 
 Wilton Academy seventeen and a half years, with 
 an interval of three years" teaching in Norwalk. 
 
 Then he removed to New Haven in 1839, to 
 take charge of Hopkins Grammar School. What 
 this devoted and competent teachers influence was 
 over the lives of his many scholars from all over the 
 country, most of whom have passed with him to 
 the world beyond, no estimate could be given. 
 The love and respect of his scholars, the testimony 
 given to his kindness, courtesy and learning have 
 ever been a fitting and permanent memorial to his 
 labors. Wilton owes to him a lasting debt of 
 gratitude for his elevating influence in the cause of 
 education, shown forth even to this day here and 
 also in Norwalk in the cultivation of mind and up- 
 rightness of purpose in the men and women he 
 instructed. Mr. Olmstead was also active as a 
 citizen of his native town, representing it in legis- 
 lature several years, ' ' where his report as chair- 
 man of a select committee on common schools in 
 1826 was readoptcd in 1S28 by the joint committee 
 
44 U7L TON PARISH 
 
 on common schools, and its principles and sugges- 
 tions now form the fundamental provisions of the 
 Common School law." His sound advice was 
 much sought and relied upon by his townsmen, and 
 in the last years of his life, when he made his 
 occasional visits to Wilton, it would be difficult to 
 know who enjo3'ed them most, those who deemed 
 them like a benediction, or his pleasure in meeting 
 friends for whom he felt such a strong attachment. 
 After he had resigned the cares of his profession, he 
 found much ' ' pleasure and profit as a member of 
 the Circle of retired Ministers and Laymen," in New 
 Haven, and death came suddenly to him December 
 3, 1868, when he was addressing the "Circle" in 
 his own home upon one of the momentous ques- 
 tions of that day. 
 
 Rev. Samuel G. Willard, a dear friend and 
 former pupil, states that in anticipation of the one 
 hundred and fiftieth anniversary of \\^ilton church 
 in 1876, he gave him this sentiment, "which will 
 be recognized as characteristic of the man and is 
 fit to be engraven as his epitaph: ' Unswerving, 
 supreme fidelity to Truth and Right!'" Let us take 
 this also as the closing tribute to the memory of 
 all the good men and women of the past history, 
 as the foundation stone of their character. 
 
 LofC. 
 

> 
 
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