^^^^ ,<Z^L^^^^^--^^ 
 
 STRATFORD'S 
 
 TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
 
 TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 SETTLEMENT 
 
 TOWN OF STRATFORD. 
 
 OCTOBER 3d, 1889. 
 
 COMPILED BY DIRECTION OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS. 
 
 1890.
 
 2012360
 
 
 *ft,
 
 "SANDY HOLLOW." 
 
 THE accompanying illustration represents the present appearance of the place 
 where the first settlers established themselves in 1639. It is believed that 
 the first settlers sailed from Wethersfield down the Connecticut River, thence along 
 the Sound and up the Housatonic (then the Pootatuck), landing in an inlet which 
 at that time formed an excellent harbor, at the place directly back of the barn 
 in the illustration. This inlet, since called Mac's Harbor, is now nearly filled up 
 and overgrown with sedge. The boat seen in the picture indicates the location 
 of a stream that still remains, to show where the former inlet ran. The old barn 
 stands on the site of the first "Meeting-house," erected directly after the settlement 
 of the town, and torn down in 16»4. The "Barrymore" house, to the left of the 
 barn, is one of the oldest houses • in the town, and tradition has it that some of 
 the beams from the old " Meeting-house " mentioned above found their way into its' 
 frame. The exact date of the erection of the house cannot be given. The land 
 upon which it stands was, in 1642, the property of Nicholas Knell, from whom 
 " Knell's Island," the land seen across the river in the illustration, was named. 
 The house of Rev. Adam Blakeman, the first minister, was on the corner opposite 
 the barn, to the west. The site does not appear in the illustration.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE celebration of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of the 
 Town of Stratford, on October 3d, 1889, gave so much pleasure 
 to the residents of the town, and was so thoroughly successful, that 
 there immediately arose a general desire to preserve in some suitable 
 form a fitting memento of the occasion. Participating in this desire, 
 and conscious of a public sentiment which called for some record of the 
 proceedings, which should be available in every household, the Gen- 
 eral Committee of Arrangements appointed Messrs. Howard J. Curtis, 
 Stiles Judson, Jr., Thomas B. Fairchild, Frederick C. Beach, 
 Wilfred M. Peck, and Samuel T. Houghton, a Committee to compile 
 and publish in book form a complete account of the events of the 
 day so memorable in the town's history. Much time and care have 
 been given to make the work attractive in appearance, as well as to 
 present a correct statement of any events connected with the cele- 
 bration. The illustrations are mostly from photographs taken by one 
 of the Committee, Mr. F. C. Beach, for which service gratuitously 
 performed, his associates take this opportunity of expressing their 
 thanks. If, from these printed pages, and the pictures of old and 
 easily recognized landmarks, the sons and daughters of Stratford who 
 have gone thence into other homes ; or those who still remain near 
 old familiar places, catch some new appreciation of the attractions of 
 this "Home, Sweet Home," of their childhood, the compilers will 
 feel that they have not labored in vain.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface, vi 
 
 The Story of Stratford, 13 
 
 List of House Lots and their Owners — 1654-1668, 24 
 
 Action of the Town, 27 
 
 Work of the Committees, 28 
 
 Programme of the Day, 31 
 
 Exercises of the Morning, 45 
 
 Arrival of Visitors, 46 
 
 Formation of the Parade, 47 
 
 The Parade, 48 
 
 Dedication of Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, 50 
 
 Address of Rev. I. M. Foster, 52 
 
 The Collation, 65 
 
 Exercises of the Afternoon, 65 
 
 Introductory Remarks of the President of the Day, .... 68 
 
 Address of Benjamin T. Fairchild ? Esq., 69 
 
 Address of Rev. George W. Judson, 72 
 
 Address of Hon. Curtis Thompson, 79 
 
 The Historical Tableaux, 91 
 
 The Loan Exhibition, 103 
 
 Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition, 105 
 
 Marking Historical Places, 125 
 
 The Veteran Association, and its Work, 129 
 
 Report of the Treasurer, 138 
 
 Press Notices, , I 39
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Site of First Settlement (Sandy Hollow), iv 
 
 Main Street, 12 
 
 Sketch of Major Andre, I 7 
 
 Christ Church (1743), 19 
 
 Phelps House, irj 
 
 Stratford Academy, 20 
 
 Map of Stratford, 1824 (Linslev's). 22 
 
 Map of Stratford, 1654 (Swan's), - :; 
 
 Congregational Church (1784). 24 
 
 Interior of Same, - 6 
 
 Walker House, 32 
 
 Dayton House, 40 
 
 Methodist Church, 44 
 
 The Parade, 48 
 
 Congregational Church (1859) 56 
 
 Christ Church (1857), 64 
 
 Judson House (1723)1 72 
 
 Elm Street, 
 
 Paradise Green, 88 
 
 Housatonic River, 
 
 Moses Wheeler's Tombstone, 98 
 
 Freeman Curtis House, 104 
 
 Thomas Wells House, 124 
 
 Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, 128
 
 THE STORY OF STRATFORD. 
 
 THE precise date of the first settlement of Stratford cannot be defin- 
 itely determined. Tradition, which has found its way into his- 
 tory, says that one family, that of William Judson, settled here as early 
 as 1638. There can be no doubt, however, that some time during the 
 summer, or in the early autumn, of 1639, a company from Wethers- 
 field, under the leadership of Eev. Adam Blakeman, gained the distinc- 
 tion of First Settlers in Stratford. 
 
 The name at first given to the settlement was Pequannock ; some- 
 what later it was called Cupheag, from the name of an Indian tribe dis- 
 placed by the white planters. How it acquired the name Stratford, or 
 just when the change of name occurred, is uncertain, but it is most 
 likely that it was so called after " Stratford-on- Avon," though the tie (if 
 any) connecting the two cannot now be ascertained. It is claimed, 
 however, by the descendants of William Beardsley, one of the original 
 settlers, that he came from Stratford-on-Avon. and that through his 
 influence the settlement received the name of Stratford. According to 
 Orcutt's History of Stratford, in June, 1640, and again in September of 
 the same year, the settlement was designated as Cupheag upon the 
 records of the General Court ; but in April, 1643, it is called Stratford. 
 
 In Orcutt's History already referred to, is a very interesting 
 statement concerning the acquisition of the land, and the consequent 
 difficulties with adjoining neighbors on the eastern border. 
 
 The township originally consisted of a tract of land lying along the 
 west bank of the Housatonic Eiver — then called the Pootatuck — in 
 length about twelve miles and in width about seven, the southern boun- 
 dary being Long Island Sound, distant from the settlement about three 
 miles. 
 
 New towns have from time to time been constituted out of parts of 
 the original township, each in its turn claiming from the older settle- 
 ment a large slice of territory ; but the old town still lives. 
 
 The earliest settlers located in the neighborhood of " Sandy Hol- 
 low," clustering their dwellings near the Meeting-house ; for our pious
 
 14 steatford's celebration. 
 
 forefathers thought it no sacrilege to use their house of worship as a 
 place of refuge and defence in the case of attack by the Indians. 
 
 This Meeting-house stood on the site of the barn of the late Captain 
 William Barrymore, and the first burial-ground was immediately around 
 it. All traces of this first resting place of the dead in Stratford have 
 disappeared ; although, when a few years ago, a well was sunk in the 
 neighborhood, human bones, probably those of some early settler, 
 were disinterred. 
 
 Coincident with the settlement of the town was the organization of 
 the Congregational Church of Stratford, with Rev. Adam Blakeman as 
 pastor. This church celebrated its 250th anniversary a short time 
 before the town celebration. 
 
 It is with some complacency, that the native Stratforder re- 
 counts the fact that this church in Stratford had a bell with which to 
 summon the godly to their devotions, while churches in other localities 
 called their worshippers together by the beating of a drum, or the blow- 
 ing of a horn. 
 
 Stratford also claims distinction in having had located here the 
 first Episcopal church erected in the State of Connecticut, the parish of 
 Christ Church having been organized in 1707, and the first church 
 having been completed and opened for services on Christmas day, 1723. 
 
 A Methodist Episcopal church was also organized in May, 1790, 
 it is said, by Jesse Lee, who then visited Stratford and formed a class, 
 which w r as the nucleus of the present society. 
 
 The first dwelling in Stratford was probably on the south-west 
 corner of " Academy Hill," where now stands the house of Mr. John 
 Wheeler, formerly owned by Abner Judson. It is said that William 
 Judson located his house on this spot as early as 1638. 
 
 " Academy Hill " was then known as "Watch House Hill," and 
 around it, on the northern side, was a stockade for protection against 
 the Indians. 
 
 In the selection of a site for their settlement, our fathers were ex- 
 ceedingly fortunate ; for the location is certainly favorable to health 
 and longevity. As evidence of this, it was stated only a few years ago, 
 that there could be counted among the residents along Stratford Avenue, 
 from the corner of Main Street down to " the shore," twenty-one persons 
 over the age of seventy years. 
 
 Few country towns have undergone less change during their exist- 
 ence than Stratford. Almost primitive are many of its appointments. 
 The old fashioned well sweep is not wholly extinct, and the recollection
 
 steatford's celebration. 15 
 
 of one, not the oldest inhabitant, recalls the stocks, in which unruly 
 members of society were made fast. 
 
 The quiet streets of this pretty country town, shaded by elm trees, 
 by whom or when planted no historian has discovered ; devoid of that 
 busy activity so noticeable in its neighbors adjoining on the east and on 
 the west ; the almost total absence of factories and mills, so generally 
 found in places of like size ; the comfort and independence of its in- 
 habitants, dwelling most frequently in homes owned by the occupants, 
 with but rarely a case of extreme destitution and want, " where the 
 richest is poor and the poorest live in abundance ;" almost realize the 
 poetic vision of Acadia. 
 
 Let it not be inferred, however, that, because of a regard for the 
 venerable, and a love for the antique, Stratford is behind the age, or is 
 indifferent to progress. The education of her children has been a matter 
 of much solicitude, and her common schools have always been far above 
 the average.- In 1812 a bequest of William Henderson made provision 
 for the establishment of a fund "for the education of poor children in 
 the town of Stratford." " Stratford Academy," situated on the hill to 
 which it gave name, was founded in 1804 and acquired a reputation far 
 and wide, as one of the best in the country ; Yale College recognized the 
 ability and learning there displayed, by conferring upon one of its late 
 principals, Frederick Sedgwick, the degree of A. M. This is the more 
 worthy of notice from the fact that Mr. Sedgwick, who was principal of 
 the Academy for over twenty-five years, was not a college graduate. 
 
 In 1885, the common schools of Stratford were merged in one 
 graded school, not a whit behind any similar institution elsewhere, 
 making ample provision for the education of coming generations. 
 
 The post road from New York to Boston passed through Stratford, 
 crossing the Housatonic River by a ferry, managed by Moses Wheeler, 
 at a point near the present " Washington Bridge." The name " Ferry " 
 still adheres to this locality. It was along this road that Washington in 
 1775 came from the westward, and at Benjamin's Tavern met Lafayette 
 coming from the opposite direction. 
 
 Washington again passed through here in 1789 ; the identical 
 chair in which the Father of his Country then sat, and the table from 
 which he ate, " are they not with us to this day? " 
 
 As the town did not have any " liberty pole " on the occasion of this 
 visit of Washington, the late Benjamin Fairchild, then a boy, climbed 
 the tavern pole and rove halyards with which to hoist the national 
 ensign in honor of the distinguished visitor.
 
 16 stratford's celebration. 
 
 Stratford does not boast herself of numerous mighty names among 
 her sons, nor have man}* of them become celebrities ; but many succeed- 
 ing generations have kept the hearthstones of their fathers clean, while 
 untold numbers have gone hence into the busy world seeking their 
 fortunes with varying success, carrying with them the impress of an 
 early training, and those sturdy, sterling qualities, which imparted to 
 their children and children's children, have made the name of New 
 England honored through all our country's length and breadth. 
 
 Among the most prominent names in Stratford history are : 
 
 Gen. David Wooster, of Revolutionary fame, bom in 1710. 
 
 William Samuel Johnson, LL.D., born in 1727, for thirteen years President of 
 Columbia College ; one of the delegates to the Convention which framed the Constitution 
 of the United States, and well known in national politics at the period in which he lived. 
 
 Col. Aaeon Benjamin, born August 17, 1757. He is described in Orcutt's History 
 as "a man of medium stature, but commanding presence; of large humanity, great purity 
 of character, iron energy, and unyielding integrity and honor ; who during the Revolu- 
 tionary war was more than a hundred times under fire, and in the attack on Stony Point, 
 as one of the forlorn hope, was the second man to enter the fort. His military mantle has 
 fallen upon his grandson, Col. Samuel N. Benjamin, whose brilliant record in the War of 
 the Rebellion is worthy of his grandsire." 
 
 Capt. Nehemiah Gorham, born Oct. 10, 1753. "He was an officer in the Army of 
 the Revolution, and served faithfully through the war which established the independence 
 of his country." 
 
 Gen. Joseph Walker, born in 1756, "who entered the American Army in 1777, 
 and served his country in the several grades from Captain to Major General." 
 
 Hon. Gideon Tomlinson, born in 1780, Governor of the State of Connecticut from 
 1827 to 1830, and United States Senator from 1831 to 1837. 
 
 Hon. David Plant, born in 1783, for four years Lieut. Governor of Connecticut, 
 and Member of Congress from 1827 to 1829 ; 
 
 Capt. D. Pulaski Benjamin, born in 1796, last survivor of the Dartmoor prisoners. 
 
 These are a few among those for whom distinction may be claimed 
 in public life, but there have been many of those whose names and deeds 
 are as household words among us, honored for their uprightness and 
 integrity, who kept 
 
 " Along the cool sequestered vale of life, 
 The noiseless tenor of their way." 
 
 The names of her honored dead, among the rank and file in the 
 armies of the Union during the late war are many, and are elsewhere 
 recorded in this book. 
 
 It is much to be regretted that the list of those from Stratford who 
 fought and died in the earlier wars of the nation, has not been pre- 
 served with exactness. There is no record of any battle nearer than 
 Fairfield ; but traces of an old redoubt near " Neck Bridge," prove that 
 the townsmen were on the watch to protect their homes from the enemy
 
 Stratford's celebration. 17 
 
 in the fight for independence ; and there is no doubt that her sons did 
 their duty in the army and navy in all these wars. Indeed, the name 
 of one of them, that of Jabez L. Tomlinson, is curiously interwoven 
 with the tragic fate of Major Andre. The story of the capture, trial, 
 and death of this lamented officer, whose zeal in the service of his king 
 led him to an untimely and shameful end, is too well known to need 
 repetition. Every incident connected with this sad event has peculiar 
 interest, not only because of the magnitude of the scheme in which he 
 was involved, but also by reason of the general commiseration for the 
 unfortunate man, whose amiability, manliness, and courage, in the face 
 of an ignominious death, won for him the respect and pity of his 
 adversaries. 
 
 So contagious was this generous feeling, that even Washington, as 
 if apprehensive that his judgment might receive a bias unfavorable to 
 the cause of justice, were the prisoner accorded a private interview, 
 purposely avoided meeting him ; but while acknowledging the subtle 
 charm of Andre's character and presence, nevertheless regarded him as 
 an exceedingly dangerous person, and gave the following instructions 
 to those having him in charge : " Major Andre, the prisoner under your 
 guard, is not only an officer of distinction in the British Army, but a 
 man of infinite art and address, who will leave no means unattempted 
 to make his escape and avoid the ignominious death which awaits him. 
 ***** You are therefore to keep two officers constantly in the 
 room with him, with their swords drawn, whilst the other officers who 
 are out of the room, are constantly to keep walking the entry, and 
 round the sentries to see that they are on the alert." 
 
 It was in conformity with these instructions, that Tomlinson, acting 
 as officer of the guard, was one of those appointed for this service on 
 the day originally fixed for the execution. During the entire day Andre 
 evinced the most remarkable self-possession and calmness and even 
 indulged in his favorite accomplishment of drawing. With pen and 
 ink he made a sketch of himself seated at a table ; and this sketch, 
 when completed, he gave to Tomlinson as a souvenir. This the latter 
 kept for years, but it finally in some way escaped the custody of private 
 hands and is now in the Library of Yale University. The excellent 
 reproduction of the original sketch, on the opposite page, is from a 
 photograph made by F. C. Beach, Esq., 1890. The old flint-lock musket 
 which Tomlinson carried during the Revolution is religiously preserved 
 in the family as an heir-loom of inestimable value. 
 
 That a place so picturesque as Stratford should be without its
 
 18 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 
 
 historical romance, would be an absurdity inconceivable. Stratford bad 
 its romance — a romance assuming an international character. 
 
 One day in the early fall of 1770, there came by stage-coach to 
 Stratford, a young and prepossessing gentleman. Whether attracted by 
 the natural beauty of the place, or from some strange freak of fancy, he 
 lingered for a day or two at Benjamin's tavern, the only hostelry of the 
 little town. On the corner now occupied by the Johnson mansion was 
 the dwelling, and near by was the shop, of the village blacksmith, 
 Samuel Folsom. The young traveler saw the daughter of this worthy 
 man, a charming girl of sweet sixteen, with beautiful brown hair, blue 
 eyes, and lovely face ; and completely lost his heart. His stay in town 
 was prolonged to seek her acquaintance, and win her love. 
 
 His manner toward the young lady, so different from that of her 
 rustic admirers, did not fail to impress her youthful fancy ; but his 
 advances were met with disfavor by Mrs. Folsom, who regarded with 
 suspicion the man about whose name and business lingered so much 
 mystery as attached to our hero. To the daughter, as he told of his 
 love he whispered his name, John Sterling ; his rank, the son of a 
 baronet in Edinburgh ; and his business, simply traveling for pleasure 
 and a knowledge of the world ; .at the same time enjoining secrecy on 
 her part about all concerning himself. 
 
 Parental objection at length yielded to the young suitor's ardent 
 pleadings ; he wooed and won, and they were wed, and merrily rang the 
 bells. For a brief season, however, the young wife had a most trying 
 ordeal. The baronet sent peremptory orders to his son to return to the 
 paternal roof. Like a dutiful son he obeyed ; but circumstances were 
 such that it was impossible for his wife at that time to accompany him. 
 Then burst upon her the busy gossip of all the neighborhood ; doubts 
 were expressed as to the true character of the man she had married, 
 his purposes, business, and the probability of her ever hearing from 
 him again. Through it all the young wife kept her steadfast faith in his 
 loyalty. 
 
 Soon came to New York, a ship especially fitted up for her accom- 
 modation, with men-servants and maids to wait upon her and bring her 
 in state to her husband's home. On her arrival in Scotland, she was 
 greeted with honors becoming the daughter of a noble house ; nor has 
 Stratford reason to be otherwise than proud of her daughter, Glorianna, 
 Lady Sterling. 
 
 One sad page in the history of Stratford, points to the fact that our 
 fathers were not wholly untainted with the superstition concerning
 
 CHRIST CHURCH 'Episcopal). 
 
 (Erected 1743, taken down 1857.) 
 
 From " Lippincott's Magazine," by kind permission of the J. B. 
 Lipptncott Co. 
 
 THE PHELPS HOUSE. 
 
 (Scene of the "Stratford Knookings.") 
 
 From a Photograph made by F. C. Beach, 1864, for " Lippincott's 
 
 Magazine," by kind permission of the J. B. Lippincott Co.
 
 stratfokd's celebration. 19 
 
 witches and witchcraft, so prevalent in the colonies during part of the 
 seventeenth century. 
 
 As one now passes along Broad Street towards the railroad station, 
 it is difficult to realize that over this same ground passed the unhappy 
 woman, Goody Bassett, condemned by a court of justice to suffer death 
 for witchcraft. Struggling with the officers carrying her to the gallows, 
 she tried to impede the march by seizing hold of a large boulder by the 
 wayside. Tradition says that on this rock were peculiar marks, traces 
 of the finger prints made by the wretched creature as she sought to 
 retain her hold against the strong armed officers of the law. 
 
 Let the veil of charity be drawn over these scenes, for who can tell 
 how the mistakes and foibles of this generation will be regarded in 
 the greater learning of two hundred years hence. 
 
 An event of more recent date is of interest to believers in the 
 supernatural. Stratford had its haunted house; no common nine-day 
 wonder, accounted for by enormous rats and mischievous mice, but a 
 genuine mysteVy replete with strange visions and hideous noises, agitating 
 alike the ignorant and the learned and causing apprehension and dismay 
 to those who sought an explanation in natural causes. In vain were all 
 the efforts of the village pastor to detect fraud, or solve the mystery ; 
 prayers, singing, and reading of the Scriptures (the pious methods 
 generally used in like cases) were of no avail to exorcise the ghostly 
 visitant. 
 
 Circumstances favored the spread of the uncanny intelligence. The 
 Fox family had just set the entire country in a furor by the startling 
 theory of spiritualistic communications. The most intricate of these 
 manifestations were immediately reproduced at the Phelps mansion. 
 Eappings were heard all over the house, inside and out ; the glass in a 
 whole sash would be demolished at once, as by magic; musical instru- 
 ments played by unseen hands gave the most dolorous music ; the blood 
 curdled at the conscious presence of the invisible, and the constant 
 change of procedure kept the community in a high state of excitement. 
 Letters from near and from far, asking information and offering sugges- 
 tions, proved that the case was one of national notoriety. Strangers, to see 
 for themselves, made pilgrimages hither, and the hack driver at the rail- 
 road station drove a flourishing business, and lost no opportunity of giv- 
 ing his passengers a full account of the latest developments. Of course, 
 the incredulous found a solution in the existence of a young wife accus- 
 tomed to the gaieties of the city and dissatisfied with the solemn stillness 
 of Stratford, seeking to effect a change to a more congenial atmosphere ;
 
 20 stbatfokd's celebration. 
 
 and aided in her efforts by a scheming daughter and precocious son, 
 remarkably adapted to the work in hand. But who would believe in 
 natural causes when the supernatural so readily explains all, and is 
 withal so fascinating. 
 
 At all events, after the removal of the family, who were really 
 more annoyed by curiosity seekers than by anything unearthly, the 
 house resumed its wonted quiet, nor have any of its subsequent occu- 
 pants given even a hint of any occurrence other than is usual in well- 
 ordered households. 
 
 Probably the greatest excitement that the old town ever knew 
 occurred in the old Academy. The story, briefly told, is as follows : 
 
 During the early days of the anti-slavery question, the agitation 
 looking to the abolition of slavery in the United States was just as un- 
 popular in Stratford as elsewhere; but, nevertheless, there were a few 
 courageous souls in the town, who, undaunted by the popular prejudice, 
 frequently met together to study the situation, form plans and adopt 
 measures for the furtherance of the cause. And indeed it needed 
 courage to espouse a cause which was regarded so unfavorably by the 
 public. So bitter was the feeling against these reformers, that they were 
 openly insulted without rebuke, designated as seditionists, and even 
 threatened with personal violence. So far was this animosity allowed 
 to develop, that one night at the close of a meeting of the abolitionists 
 held at the house of Deacon Lewis Beers, an attack was actually made 
 with rotten eggs, which were thrown with effect at those who attended 
 the meeting. As several of the assailants had been recognized, they 
 were afterwards arrested, and with the exception of the ringleader, who 
 left the town and so escaped arrest, were brought before Justice of the 
 Peace D. P. Judson. The court was held in the Academy, as the 
 largest building available for the purpose ; and almost every man in 
 the town was present at the trial, which was of the most exciting char- 
 acter. The best legal talent that could be obtained, was procured by 
 both parties. Ex- Governor Henry Dutton appeared for the prosecution, 
 and Alanson Hamlin for the defence. 
 
 Even in the court-room threats were outspoken against the abo- 
 litionists and all who should show anything like sympathy with them 
 or their cause, and public sentiment seemed to warrant even harsher 
 measures for the suppression of the obnoxious doctrine ; but notwith- 
 standing the clamor, and in spite of severe personal criticism and the 
 fact that the justice himself was not in sympathy with the aggrieved 
 parties, Squire Judson promptly convicted the accused and sentenced
 
 5 O
 
 stratford's celebration. 21 
 
 them each to pay a fine. Several prominent townsmen at once came 
 forward and gave their notes for the aggregate amount of the fines." Of 
 course these notes were never paid. 
 
 It is a remarkable coincidence that the Academy having been the 
 silent, inanimate witness of the threats, imprecations and abuse so 
 freely poured upon the friends of a despised race, should also afterward 
 pass entirely under the control of that race, as only a few years since 
 our colored brethren, the innocent causes of all this disturbance, with 
 the liberal aid of Stratford people, purchased the Academy and moved 
 it to Lundy's Lane, where it is now used by the colored Baptists as a 
 house of worship. It is also affirmed that those most prominent in their 
 bitter denunciation of the anti-slavery movement at the time of the trial 
 before Squire Judson, afterwards became strong supporters of the 
 administration which finally abolished slavery in the South. 
 
 As the beautiful Housatonic passing the town on its way to the 
 sea, constantly seeks new channels and year after year forms new bar- 
 riers and strengthens or removes older ones, so each succeeding genera- 
 tion takes a wider and more comprehensive view of life, as with the 
 dawning light of an increasing civilization it comprehends the situation, 
 adapting itself to the new, and discarding the old methods of thought and 
 life. The trend is always the same, towards the open sea — purity, 
 strength and freedom. 
 
 Since the first settlement of Stratford, eight generations have passed 
 away. For each, varied only in detail, the same old story suffices : 
 born, married, died. Each brought with it a fullness of love for the 
 newly born, and the departing left behind it the shadow of a great 
 sorrow. 
 
 Coming thus to the close of these long years, through which our 
 fathers toiled, rejoiced and sorrowed, we cannot do otherwise than 
 revere the memory of those who have gone before, and rejoice in the 
 possession of the place where a kind Providence fixed their happy lot 
 and ours.
 
 MAP OF STRATFORD, 1824-1890.
 
 Streets as are hud doHnon the map other 
 
 e than as they now run. are restored to their 
 
 and course in /64-0 to 1676, so Jar as re 
 
 to them in boundnries ?c enables to 
 
 i&rfaui or conjecture than 186Z. 
 
 MAP OF STRATFORD, 1640-1676. 
 
 Arranged, with Explanatory List, by Rev. Benjamik L. Swan.
 
 24 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 LIST OF 
 
 HOUSE LOTS AND THEIR OWNERS, 
 
 DURING THE EARLIEST YEARS OF STRATFORD HISTORY. 
 
 The ensuing list and assignment of lots in Stratford at the period of 
 its earliest settlement, is taken from the Land Eecords between 1654 
 and about 1668. No entries earlier than the former date are found, and 
 but few are taken subsequently to the latter. The lots are numbered 
 arbitrarily, for reference on the map on preceding page. 
 
 1. John Birdseye, Jr. 
 
 2. John Birdseye, Sr. The eastern half was, in 1679, sold to Hezekiah Dickinson, an- 
 
 cestor of President Jonathan Dickinson, of Princeton College. H. Dickinson mar- 
 ried a grand-daughter of Rev. Adam Blakeman. 
 
 3. Thomas (and then his son John) Sherwood. 
 
 4. Elizabeth Beardsley (widow of ). 
 
 5 and 8. Jeremiah Judson. 
 
 6. John Minor. 
 
 7. William Burritt. 
 9. Nathaniel Porter. 
 
 10. David Mitchell; ancestor of the late Prof. Mitchell, of North Carolina. 
 
 11. John Hurd. 
 
 12. | 1st, Thomas Seabrook ; then 12th, to John Birdseye, Jr.; and 13th, to Thomas Fair- 
 
 13. ) child, Jr. 
 
 14. John Peacock, and then to his daughters, Mrs. Phebe Burgess and Mrs. Deborah 
 
 (James) Clarke. 
 
 15. Henry Wakelyn, now written Wakelee. 
 
 16. Thomas TJffoot. The property is still in the family. 
 
 17. Robert Coe; afterward exchanged with Uffoot for a piece across the street, which 
 
 Ufibot had bought, and where the Coes have ever since lived. 
 
 18. Samuel Sherman ; then John Picket. Mr. Sherman seems to have afterward moved to 
 
 the western part of Stratford (Pequonnock), and the Pickets were among the first 
 settlers of Durham. 
 
 19. Philip Groves, the first and only ruling elder in Stratford Church. 
 
 20. Rev. Adam Blakeman, first minister of Stratford. His descendants are. written Blake- 
 
 man and Blackman. His only daughter, Mary, married Joshua Atwater, of New 
 Haven, and Rev. Thomas Higginson, of Salem, Mass. 
 
 21. John Barlow, then John Hurd, then TJffoot, then Coe.
 
 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 (Erected 1784, taken down 1859.) 
 
 From Church Manual by permission of the First Ecclesiastical Society of Stratford.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 25 
 
 22. Mr. Bryan bought of James Harwood (original owner) and sold to Rev. Adam Blake- 
 
 man, who gave it to his «on Joseph B. Through J. Harwood the Bl&kemans 
 became acquainted with Joshua Scottow, merchant, of Boston, whose daughter, 
 Rebecca, Benjamin Blakeman married. 
 
 23. Edward Higbee. 
 
 24. John Jenner ; then John "Wells ; then Widow Elizabeth Curtis, who, with her two sons, 
 
 "William and John, originated that name in Stratford 
 
 25. Arthur Bostwick. 
 
 26. Jeremiah Judson. His gravestone yet stands in Stratford. 
 
 27. Joshua Judson (brother of Jeremiah) ; then John Hurd. 
 
 28. Thomas Fairchild, Sr. 
 
 29. Richard Booth, whose land extended beyond the lota north, and ran northerly to the 
 
 rocks. 
 
 30. Isaac Nichols, Sr., west side. Stiles Nichols, and then Caleb, east side 
 
 31. Adam Hurd. 
 
 32. Francis Nichols ; then Caleb Nichols. 
 
 33. Thomas Quenby; then Joshua Atwater ; then Henry Tomlinson. 
 
 34. William Curtis ; afterward, west end, Thomas Curtis, who subsequently went among 
 
 the first settlers to Wallingford. 
 
 35. Adam Hurd's duplicate lot. 
 
 36. John Beach, ancestor of the Wallingford and Stratford name. 
 
 37. Joseph Hawley's original lot. 
 
 38. John Thompson. 
 38a. Francis Jecockes. 
 
 39. "William Read; then, by exchange, Joseph Hawley. 
 
 40. "William Crooker. 
 
 41. Joseph Judson. In 1640 "William Judson, the father. The original stone house stood 
 
 about four rods from the northeast corner. 
 
 42. Rev. Zachariah "Walker's half of parsonage lot. 
 
 43. Rev. Israel Chauncy's half of parsonage lot. 
 
 44. Hugh Griffin; then John Wheeler. 
 
 45. Richard Harvey; then John Bostwick; then Congregational Society for parsonage. 
 
 46. Francis Hall. 
 
 47. ) 
 
 v John Blakeman. 
 47 a. ) 
 
 48. A strip of low land, given to widow of Abraham Kimberly in 1680. 
 
 49. Daniel Sherman, son of Samuel, Sr. ; then Ebenezer Sherman. 
 
 50. Common, or highway; now the west half of B. Fairchild's lot. It was originally the 
 
 outlet of a short highway (coeval with the town settlement) that passed from 
 Main Street round the low wet land, now "W. A. Booth's lot, and led into the old 
 mill road through No. 50, as above said. Of this road the present burial-ground 
 lane is all that encroachments have left from Main Street to the burial-place, 
 though its width, resurveyed and confirmed in 1738, is above four rods. 
 
 51. Land of Isaac Nichols. 
 
 52. House lot of Samuel Sherman, Jr. (now the Roswell Judson lot). 
 
 53. The eastern section of the street of which No. 50 was a portion. 
 
 54. John Beers; then Samuel Beers; then, after 1700, Burton, Prindle, Tomlinson, M'Ewen, 
 
 55. Nathaniel Foote; then Benjamin Lewis; then Congregational Parish, for Mr. Cutler; 
 
 then Rev. Mr. Gold. 
 
 56. Burial-place.
 
 26 stratford's celebration. 
 
 57. Daniel Titterton, Jr. 
 
 58. Timothy Wilcoxson. 
 
 59. Jabez Harger, who went to Derby at its settlement, 1670. 
 
 60. John Hull, ancestor of Commodore Isaac; went to Derby 1670. 
 
 61. John Pickett ; went to Durham. 
 
 62. Robert Lane; above him was John Cooke, bounded north by Esek Lane or Street. 
 
 63. John Young, who died April, 1661, and his lot went to John Rose; afterward Robert 
 
 Walker. 
 
 64. Thomas Wells, above whom James Blakeman owned eight acres. 
 
 65. John Thompson, who lived on No. 38. 
 
 66. John Wells. 
 
 66a. Daniel Titterton, Sr. 
 6QI. John Wilcoxson, Sr. 
 
 67. John Peat (sometimes spelt Peake). 
 
 68. Moses Wheeler ; then, very soon, Richard Harvey; then his sons-in-law, Benjamin Peat 
 
 and Thomas Hicks, of Long Island. Hicks' wife first married, in 1655, John 
 Washborne. Thomas Hicks was ancestor of Elias Hicks, the Quaker. 
 
 69. Thomas Curtis, from his father, John (now Chatrield and Gorham lots). 
 
 70. William Wilcoxson, ancestor of all of that name, in and of Stratford. 
 
 71. William Beardslee, ancestor of all of that name, in and of Stratford. 
 
 72. John Brinsmade. 
 
 73. Nicholas Knell, whose wife was Governor Francis Newman's daughter. 
 
 74. Robert Rise; then Wheeler; then Richard Beach; then Rev. Israel Chauncy. 
 
 75. First church edifice and burial-ground. 
 
 76. Originally Uffoot's, who, in 1661, sold to Nicholas Gray, from Flushing, Long Island, 
 
 who had a tide-mill where the lane or highway crosses Little Neck Creek. 
 
 77. Granted, in 1671, by town, to N. Gray, if he maintain his dam wide enough for a "pass- 
 
 able cartway." 
 
 78. Jehiel Preston, 1662. 
 
 79. Site of the Second Church Edifice, from 1679 to 1743; Whiteficld preached in it, 
 
 October 26, 1740. 
 
 80. Site of the Third Church Edifice, from 1743 till burned by lightning in 1785. 
 
 A. Site of First Church Edifice and burying-ground. 
 
 B. do. Second do. do. from 1679 to 1743. Whitefleld preached in it, October 26. 
 
 1740. 
 
 C. do. Third Church Edifice, from 1743 till burned by lightning in 1785. 
 
 D. do. Fourth do. do. from 1786 to 1859. 
 do. Fifth do. do. erected in 1859. 
 
 E. Burial-place, opened 1678. 
 
 F Site of First Episcopal Church Edifice in Connecticut, 1723, with its graveyard, whicli 
 
 still occupies the spot. 
 G. Site of Second Episcopal Church Edifice, from 1744 to 1858. 
 
 do. present do. do. do. erected in 1858. 
 
 H. Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 I. Richard Booth's house-lot. 
 J. Joseph Booth's do. 
 K. John Booth's do.
 
 INTERIOR OF CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 (1784-1859.) 
 
 From Rev. Sam'l Orcutt's "History of Stratford." By permission. 
 
 Sketched by R. W. Bunnell, Esq., 1859.
 
 stratford's celebration. 27 
 
 ACTION OF THE TOWN. 
 
 At a Town Meeting, held September 22d, 1888, the idea of some 
 commemoration of the two-hundred-and-fiftieth recurrence of the date 
 of the settlement of the town was first brought to public attention, and, 
 on motion of Mr. R H. Russell, it was voted that 
 
 Anson H. Blakeman, Charles B. Curtis, 
 
 Albert Wilcoxson, Stiles Judson, 
 
 Morton Beardslee, 
 
 be appointed a committee to take into consideration the advisability of 
 suitably observing the two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the set- 
 tlement of this town, occurring in the year 1889, and if they deem it 
 expedient, to bring the matter before the town at a meeting to be called 
 for the purpose. 
 
 Later on, the demand for some observance of the anniversary being 
 quite general, a special town meeting was called, and held on the 29th 
 day of March, 1889, at which the matter was again considered, with the 
 following result : 
 
 Voted, " That the two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the 
 settlement of this town be appropriately celebrated on Thursday, Octo- 
 ber 3d, 1889, and that a general committee of twenty-four be appointed 
 to properly arrange for the same.' 1 
 
 The committee was then appointed as follows : 
 
 Stiles Judson, Jr., Bruce H. Weller, 
 
 Charles B. Curtis, Frederick J. Beardsley, 
 
 Anson H. Blakeman, Albert "Wilcoxson, 
 
 John E. Holmes, Stiles Judson, 
 
 Lewis Beardsley, Charles "Wilcoxson, 
 
 Thomas B. Fairchild, Samuel W. Beardslee; 
 
 John W. Thompson, Watson H. Smith, 
 
 Rufus W. Bunnell, Henry P. Stago, 
 
 Robert H. Russell, J. Henry Blakeman, 
 
 George H. Spall, Eugene Morehouse, 
 
 William B. Bristol, William H. Crawford, 
 
 Henry F. Meachen, George H. Tomlinson. 
 
 It was also voted, " That a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars 
 be appropriated by the town, for the purpose of defraying the expense
 
 28 
 
 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 
 
 of properly celebrating this anniversary of the settlement of the town, 
 and the dedication of a ' Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument ' on the same 
 date." 
 
 WORK OF THE COMMITTEES. 
 
 The gentlemen constituting the General Committee of arrange- 
 ments, subsequently added others to their number. They organized by 
 the election of officers named below, and appointed, from time to time, 
 the followins; committees, to attend to the details of the celebration : 
 
 President, Stiles Judson, Jr., . 
 
 Grand Marshal, Col. Selah G. Blakeman, 
 
 Chief of Staff, Capt. Eugene Morehouse, 
 
 Assistant Marshals, 
 
 Aides, ....... 
 
 Chief of Police, Sheriff Rob't L. Clarkson, 
 Police, ....... 
 
 Guests, ...... 
 
 BADGES. 
 
 White 
 Light Blue 
 Orange 
 Red 
 
 Dark Blue 
 Light Blue 
 Dark Blue 
 Pink 
 
 GENERAL COMMITTEE. 
 
 Robert H. Russell, 
 Frederick J. Beardsley, 
 Albert Wilcoxson, 
 Henry P. Stagg, 
 Thomas B. Fairchild, 
 John E. Holmes, 
 Lewis Beardsley, 
 William B. Bristol, 
 Rufus W. Bunnell, 
 Bruce H. Weller, 
 
 Stiles Judson, 
 Anson H. Blakeman, 
 Samuel W. Beardslee. 
 Henry F. Meachen, 
 J. Henry Blakeman, 
 Charles Wilcoxson, 
 Charles B. Curtis, 
 Watson H. Smith, 
 John W. Thompson, 
 George H. Tomlinson. 
 
 COMMITTEE ON PRINTING AND INVITATIONS— (Salmon Badge.) 
 
 Henry P. Stagg, Henry F. Meachen, 
 
 Rufus W. Bunnell, William H. Crawford, 
 
 Eugene Morehouse. 
 
 COMMITTEE ON COLLATION.— (Green Badge.) 
 
 George H. Spall, Lewis Beardsley, 
 
 J. Hexry Blakeman, Charles Wilcoxson, 
 
 Charles B. Curtis.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 29 
 
 COMMITTEE ON RECEPTION.— (Lilac Badge.) 
 
 David P. Rhoades, Frederick J. Beardsley, 
 
 Stiles Judson, Howard J. Curtis, 
 
 Thomas B. Fairchild, Henry P. Stagg, 
 
 Watson H. Smith. John W. Thompson, 
 
 Albert Wilcoxsox, Ezra Whiting. 
 
 COMMITTEE ON DECORATIONS.— (Yellow Badge.) 
 
 John W. Thompson, Bruce H. Weller. 
 
 John E. Holmes, George H. Tomlinsox, 
 
 William B. Bristol, Frederick C. Beach. 
 
 COMMITTEE ON FIREWORKS AND ILLUMINATIONS.— (Yellow Badge.) 
 
 John W. Thompson, George H Spall, 
 
 Anson H. Blakeman, John E. Holmes, 
 
 Watson H. Smith. 
 
 COMMITTEE ON PROGRAMME OF THE DAY.— (Yellow Badge.) 
 
 Robert H. Russell. • Henry P. Stagg, 
 
 Frederick J. Beardsley, Howard J. Curtis. 
 
 Samuel W. Beardslee, Eugene Morehouse, 
 
 Albert Wilcoxson, Samuel T. Houghton. 
 
 Thomas B. Fairchild. Frederick S. Beardsley. 
 
 PRESS COMMITTEE— (Brown Badge.) 
 
 Wilfred M. Peck, David L. Rhoades, 
 
 Frederick Lillingston, William H. Crawford. 
 
 Each of these committees performed the work assigned it with 
 fidelity and zeal. The Committee on Collation are particularly deserv- 
 ing of commendation for the neatness and fullness of the preparations 
 made to feed the multitudes who thronged the town. 
 
 The largest tent that could be procured, capable of holding over 
 one thousand people, was, by the courtesy of Asa Seymour Curtis, Esq., 
 set up in his lot on Elm Street, near Stratford Avenue. In the rear of 
 this large tent was a smaller one which was used as a kitchen and for 
 the reception of the viands contributed by the towns-people to feed the 
 visiting organizations and strangers in town. The supply of food was 
 ample, and no one had occasion to go away hungry.
 
 30 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 In addition to those fed at the tent, David P. Rhoades, Esq., Chair- 
 man of the Committee on Reception, entertained at his house, and with- 
 out cost to the Committee, a large number of guests invited by the 
 Town including Col. Watson, and the entire staff of the 4th Regi- 
 ment, C. N. G. 
 
 Mr. Thomas B. Fairchild, assisted by his sons, Messrs. Samuel W. 
 and Benjamin T. Fairchild, of New York, gave a generous entertainment 
 at his home to many of the prominent visitors and members of the press. 
 The lady guests present, were Mm Joseph R. Hawley and Miss Horner, 
 of Hartford; Mrs. William B. Wooster, Mrs. Sawyer, and Miss Bassett, 
 of Birmingham; Mrs. S. W. Fairchild and Mrs. A. B. Tappen, of New 
 York City; and Mrs. J. S. Caroli, of Bridgeport ; among the gentlemen. 
 were Gen. Samuel William Johnson, Judge A. B. Tappen, and Pierre- 
 pont Edwards Johnson, Esq., of New York; Gen. William B. Wooster. 
 of Birmingham ; Hon. David M. Read, Alfred C. Hobbs, Esq., Minor 
 R. Knowlton, Esq., and Dr. J. S. Caroli, of Bridgeport ; Nathan Baldwin, 
 Esq., and Col. Henry A. Taylor, of Milford, and a number of other 
 prominent persons from ont of town. 
 
 Arrangements were made with the New York, New Haven & Hart- 
 ford Railroad Company, to have flagmen posted, during the clay and 
 evening, at all the railroad crossings in town, to guard against accidents 
 at these points. Additional accommodations were also promised in the 
 way of increased train facilities, and a reduction of the regular fare 
 was allowed from all points on the line of the road or any of its 
 branches. The Railway Station was also handsomely decorated by 
 the Company. 
 
 Some idea of the great number present during the day, may be 
 gathered from the fact that the ticket agents of the Railroad Com- 
 pany, in Bridgeport and Stratford alone, sold 9,500 tickets. 
 
 A Bureau of Information, in charge of Mr. John W. Thompson, 
 was established near the railroad station, and proved a great public 
 convenience. 
 
 The General Committee having been sworn in as special police 
 for the day, police headquarters were fixed at a convenient locality 
 on Main Street; but it is worthy of note, that notwithstanding the 
 immense number of visitors, there was no call for the services of the 
 force during the celebration. 
 
 The following schedule was prepared by the Committee on Pro- 
 gramme, which was carried out with exactness : #
 
 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 31 
 
 PROGRAMME. 
 
 1. Ringing of Church Bells and Salute of 42 Guns, at sunrise. 
 
 2. Parade at 10.45. 
 
 General Order No. 2. 
 
 The formation of the procession, on the occasion of the Celebra- 
 tion of the Two-Hivndred-and- Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement 
 of the Town of Stratford, and Dedication of the Soldiers' and Sailors' 
 Monument, will be as follows : 
 
 The First Division will form on Main Street, the right resting on 
 Broad. Street. 
 
 The Second Division will form on the north side of Broad Street, 
 the right resting on Main Street. 
 
 The Third Division will form on New Lane, the right resting on 
 Main Street. 
 
 The Fourth Division will form on the south side of Broad Street, 
 the right resting on Main Street. 
 
 The procession will move promptly at 10.45 a. m. 
 
 Assistant Marshals will see that their divisions move promptlv. 
 
 LINE OF MARCH 
 
 The column will move from Johnson's corner, down Main Street, 
 to Samuel E. Curtis's corner, thence east to Elm Street, up Elm Street 
 to East Broadway, to King Street, to Air Line Road, thence east to 
 Main Street, up Main Street to Paradise Green ; countermarch down 
 Main Street to north side of Episcopal Church, to place of formation in 
 front of Grand Stand on Academy Hill. 
 
 The procession will move in the following order : 
 
 Col. Selah G. Blakeman, Grand Marshal. 
 El'Genk Morehouse, Chief of Staff. 
 
 ' AIDS. 
 
 J. Henry Blakeman. Frederick S. Beardslky. 
 
 Silas Burton, Charles B. Curtis, 
 
 Samuel C. Lewis. George H. Tomlinson, 
 
 Gideon M. Wakelef. Dwight E. Wakelee, 
 
 Charles H. Weli.s, George P. Cook, 
 
 Louis H. Wells, Henry F. Meachen, 
 
 ♦ Frank E. Blakeman, William Williamson, 
 
 George W. Coy, William A. Stagg.
 
 32 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 FIRST DIVISION. 
 
 Wheeler & Wilson Band. 
 
 Col. Thomas L. Watson and Staff. 
 
 4th Regiment, C. N. G. 
 Company F — Captain A. A. Betts, Norwalk. 
 Company B — Captain George W. Cornell, Bridgeport. 
 Company E — Captain James Sheridan, Bridgeport. 
 Company C — Captain W. F. Daniel, Stamford. 
 Company G — Captain Frank R. Nash, Danbury. 
 Company D — Captain Russell Frost. Norwalk. 
 Company K — Captain Eugene Morehouse, Stratford. 
 Company I — Captain Austin K. Deming, Winsted. 
 4th Machine Gun Platoon, Lieut George P. Rand, Bridgeport. 
 
 State Officers and invited Guests in Carriages. 
 
 SECOND DIVISION. 
 Assistant Marshal, Col. Henry Huss. 
 
 aids. 
 
 William E. Disbrow, Lieut. Rice. 
 
 John C. Morehouse, G. M. Mosemax. 
 
 Major L. N. Middlebrook. 
 
 Elias Howe, Jr., Post Band. 
 .Elias Howe, Jr., Post No. 3, Bridgeport. 
 Veteran Association, Stratford. 
 Kellogg Post Drum Corps. 
 Kellogg Post, No. 26, Birmingham. 
 Admiral Foote Post, No. 17. New Haven. 
 Ansonia Drum Corps. 
 T. M. Redshaw Post, No. 75, Ansonia. 
 Henry C. Merwin Post, No. 52, New Haven. 
 Gen. Von Stein wehr Post, No. 76, New Haven. 
 Echo Drum Corps, Mil ford. 
 George Van Horn Post, No. 39, Milford. 
 Harvey McDonough Post, No. 63, Westport. 
 Buckingham Post, No. 12, Norwalk.
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 T 
 
 a 
 
 m 
 
 ^7 
 
 * 
 
 O 
 
 >
 
 Stratford's celebration. 33 
 
 Nathan Hale Camp, No. 1, S. of V., New Haven. 
 William H. Mallory Camp, No. 11, S. of V., Bridgeport. 
 
 William B. Wooster Camp, No. 25, S. of V., Ansonia. 
 Charles L. Russell Camp, No. 26, S. of V., Birmingham. 
 
 THIKD DIVISION. 
 
 Assistant Marshal, Capt. Alonzo Gray. 
 
 aids. 
 
 William H. Benjamin, Lewis F. Jddson, 
 
 Edmund C. Wood. Willard R. Miller. 
 
 Maple Drum Corps. 
 
 Mutual Hook and Ladder Co., No. 1, Stratford. 
 
 Milford Cornet Band. 
 
 Arctic Engine Company, No. 1, Milford. 
 
 Americus Drum Corps. 
 Hope Hose Company, No. 2, Norwalk. 
 
 FOURTH DIVISION. 
 Assistant Marshal, Edwin F. Hall, 
 aids. 
 
 Charles E. Stagg, William B. Wheeler, 
 
 John E. Holmes, Frank L. Curtis, 
 
 John W. Beach, R. C. Pearson. 
 
 Excelsior Martial Drum Corps. 
 Oronoque Lodge, No. 90, I. O. 0. F., Stratford. 
 
 Uniformed Rank Knights of Pythias. 
 
 Veteran Association, Co. K, 4th Regiment C. N. G. 
 
 Cupheag Clul). 
 
 Citizens in Carriages. 
 
 Official : By order of 
 
 Col. S. G. Blakeman, Grand Marshal 
 Eug-ene Morehouse, Chief of Staff.
 
 34 stratfords celebration. 
 
 o. Salute of 13 Guns and Ringing of Church Bells, at 12 o'clock 
 4. Exercises at Academy Hill. 
 
 (a.) Music by the Band. 
 (b.) Prayer, by Rev. Joel S. Ives. 
 (c.) Unveiling and Dedication of Monument, con- 
 ducted by Win. H. Pierpont, Commander 
 Dept. of Conn., G. A. R. 
 (d.) Address by Rev. I. M. Foster. 
 (e.) Singing — ''America.'' John R. Lattin, leader, 
 with Band accompaniment. 
 
 •America." 
 
 My country! 'tis of thee. 
 Sweet land of liberty. 
 
 Of thee I sing ; 
 Land where my fathers died ! 
 Land of the Pilgrim's pnde ! 
 From every mountain side 
 
 Let freedom ring! 
 
 My native country, thee — 
 Land of the noble free — 
 
 Thy name — I love; 
 I love thy rocks and rills, 
 Thy woods and templed hills 
 My he^rt with rapture thrills 
 
 Like that above! 
 
 Let music swell the breeze, 
 And ring from all the trees 
 
 Sweet freedom's song. 
 Let mortal tongues awake; 
 Let all that breathe partake ; 
 Let rocks their silence break — 
 
 The sound prolong. 
 
 Our fathers' God! to Thee, 
 Author of liberty, 
 
 To Thee we sing. 
 Long may our land be brigh 
 With freedom's holy light. 
 Protect us by Thy might. 
 
 Great God! our King! 
 
 5. Collation.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 35 
 
 AFTERNOON.— (Commencing at 3 o'clock.) 
 
 6. Music by the Band. 
 
 7. Prayer by Rev. Charles L. Pardee. 
 
 8. Address by Benjamin T. Fairchild, Esq. 
 
 9. Address by Rev. George W. Judson. 
 
 10. Music by the Band 
 
 11. Address by Hon. Curtis Thompson. 
 
 12. Address by Gen. Joseph R. Elawley. 
 
 13. Singing — " Auld Lang Syne," with Band accompaniment. 
 
 ' Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 Should auld acquaintance be forgot 
 And never brought to rnin' ? 
 Should auld acquaintance be forgot 
 And days o* auld lang syne? 
 
 Chorus. — For auld lang syne, my dear, 
 
 For auld lang syne, 
 
 We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, 
 
 For auld lang syne. 
 Aud here's a hand, my trusty fiere, 
 And gie's a hand o' thine ; 
 And we'll tak a right good willie waught 
 For auld lang syne. 
 
 Chorus. — For auld lang syne, etc. 
 
 14. Artillery Salute and Ringing of Church Bells, at sunset. 
 
 EVENING. 
 
 15. Tableaux and Band Concert at 6.30 o'clock. 
 
 TABLEAUX. 
 
 The tableaux mentioned in the following programme will consist 
 of representations of old time life and incidents connected with the early 
 history of the town. The representations will be as follows: 
 
 1. The arrival of the first settlers in 1639. 
 
 The first settlers of Stratford consisted of seventeen families, as follows: 
 (Orcutt, Vol. I, p. 184.) 
 
 Number of Persons. 
 
 Rev. Adam Blakeinan, his wife and six children S 
 
 William Beardsley, his wife and four young children. . . ; 6 
 
 William Wileoxson, his wife and three young children •">
 
 36 stratfokd's celebration. 
 
 Number of Persons. 
 
 Richard Harvey and his wife 2 
 
 Widow Elizabeth Curtiss and two sons (young men) 3 
 
 Thomas Fairchild and his young wife 2 
 
 Philip Grover and his wife 2 
 
 John Hurd, probably his wife and son 3 
 
 Richard Mills, his wife and son 3 
 
 William Judson, his wife and sons .". 
 
 Francis Nichols and three sons 4 
 
 John Peat, his wife and two children 4 
 
 Robert Seabrook 1 
 
 Thomas Sherwood, his wife and six children 8 
 
 William Crooker and wife 2 
 
 William Quenby, his wife and two children \ 
 
 Arthur Bostwick, wife and son 3 
 
 66 
 
 2. Trading with the Indians. 
 
 3. Going to Church, two hundred and fifty years ago. 
 
 At a Town Meeting in 1689 it was voted as follows : 
 
 "Voted that the present Meeting House shall be fortified for use as a place of secur- 
 ity for women and children in all times of danger." 
 
 4. Trial of Goody Bassett for witchcraft, in 1650. 
 
 Resolution passed by the General Court at Hartford, May. 16iil : 
 
 "The Governor, Mr. Cullick, and Mr. Clark are desired to goe down to Stratford to 
 keep Courte upon the tryal of Goody Bassett for her life, and if the Governor cannot go, 
 then Mr. Wells is to go in his room." — Colonial Records. Yol. I, p. 220. 
 
 " In a trial at New Haven one of the witnesses in the course of her testimony re- 
 ferred to a goodwife Bassett who had been condemned for witchcraft at Stratford, and 
 another alluded to the confession of the witch at that place." — New Haven Colonial 
 Records, Vol. II, p. 77-88. Orcutt. Vol. I, p. 147. 
 
 " The place of Goody Bassett's execution is pointed out by tradition, and would 
 seem to be determined by the names 'Gallows Bridge' and 'Gallows Swamp,' used in 
 the first volume of Stratford Records. The bridge was located on the old Mill Road where 
 the railroad now crosses it." — Orcutt. Vol. I, p. 147-148. 
 
 5. Moses Wheeler's Ferry, 1653. 
 
 Resolution of the General Court at Hartford, May 18, 1648. 
 
 " The motion made by Mr. Ludlow concerning Moses Wheeler for keeping the ferry 
 at Stratford, is referred to such as shall keep the next Court at Fairfield, both in behalf of 
 the country and Town of Stratford." 
 
 The Ferry was established and on April 14, 1663, at Town Meeting at Stratford, it 
 was voted, "In consideration that the passage to the ferry was stopped up, the town gave 
 order to the townsmen to pull up the fence and make way for passengers where they had 
 laid out the way formerly, and they promised to bear them out in that act."
 
 Stratford's celebration. 37 
 
 Moses Wheeler, by tradition, is said to have been a man of great size and strength, 
 able to lift a barrel of cider and drink from the bung-hole. 
 
 The first bridge built between Stratford and Milford was completed about 1813. 
 
 6. The Wolf Hunt of 1693. 
 
 At a Town Meeting held April 17, 1693, "voted that all persons ratable should be 
 allowed for man and horse in this service of destroying wolves three shillings per day out 
 of the town treasury." 
 
 " It was voted and agreed, that the next Thursday shall be the day to go upon this 
 business of killing wolves, if the weather permit, or the next fair day ; all persons to be 
 ready by seven o'clock in the morning, upon the hill at the meeting-house, by the beat of 
 the drum." 
 
 "Joseph Curtiss, residing near Old Farms, and others, went to Newtown to gather 
 grain, and on their way home were attacked by the wolves so furiously that they threw 
 their bags of grain from their horses and rode home at full speed, to save themselves and 
 horses."— Orcutt, Vol. I, p. 289; Vol. II. p. 183. 
 
 7. The visit of Washington and Lafayette, during the Revolu- 
 tionary War. 
 
 During the early years of the Revolutionary War, Washington and LaFayette passed 
 through Stratford. * * * Alice Benjamin related, that while she was picking berries 
 when a child on the banks of the Houaatonic, near the ferry, she heard the cry that 
 soldiers were crossing the river. When they landed she was requested to show General 
 LaFayette to her father's (George Benjamin's) tavern. She walked from the ferry to the 
 tavern beside LaFayette's horse, while the General told her of his children in France. 
 When they reached the tavern she found Washington there. At the table she chanced to 
 pass near Washington, who placed his hand upon her head and spoke to her most kindly. — 
 Orcutt, Vol. I, p. 390. 
 
 8. The Wedding of Grlorianna Folsom and John Sterling, in 1771. 
 
 In the year 1770, John Sterling, of Edinburg, Scotland, son of a Baronet, while 
 traveling in America came to the town of Stratford. While stopping at the tavern he fell 
 in love with Glorianna Folsom, the beautiful daughter of the village blacksmith. He pro- 
 longed his stay, indefinitely, in the town, and, after great family objection, was married to 
 Glorianna in 1771. He was requested to return home by his father, but wrote back that 
 he was married and could not return, and the usual remittance not arriving he taught 
 school for several months. In 1772, upon the urgent request of his father, young Sterling 
 returned home, leaving his young wife at Stratford. In the early part of 1773 Glorianna 
 received word that she was to come to Scotland upon a certain ship, and that goods had 
 been sent to New York for her outfit, and also servants to attend her. She was fitted out 
 and went to Scotland, and in 1791 her husband became a Baronet. She sent a doll to the 
 daughter of her sister, Anna, which is partly preserved to this day and may be seen at the 
 "loan exhibition." A portion of the dress goods sent to her from Scotland is also pre- 
 served by the Misses Elizabeth and Maria Peck, of Stratford, whose grandmother was 
 Glorianna's sister. — Orcutt, Vol. I, p. 449
 
 3s Stratford's celebration. 
 
 BAND CONCERT. INTERSPERSING TABLEAUX. 
 PROGRAMME. 
 
 1. War Memories, ------ Beyer 
 
 2. Overture — " Poet and Peasant," .... Suppe 
 
 3. Waltz — "Santiago," ---.-. Corbin 
 •A. Medley— " A Night in New York," - - - Brook* 
 
 5. " The Mill in the Forest," — Idylle, - - Wilenberg 
 
 6. Medley—" Razzle D.izzle," - - - Occa 
 
 7. Ethiopa Jig, - - llteves 
 
 8. Star Spangled Banner. 
 
 ILLUMINATION AND FIREWORKS. 
 
 16. Grand Illumination and Fireworks at 8 o'clock, under the 
 direction of the Committee on Salutes and Fireworks. 
 
 1. Salute of Bomb Rockets. 
 
 2. Balloon Ascent— "The Educated Pig." 
 .'!. Balloon Ascent — " Jumbo." 
 
 4. Balloon Ascent— " Codfish." 
 
 5. Display of UnXLD Colored Rockets. — 1-pounders. 
 
 6. Display of UnXLD Colored Rockets. — 2-pounders. 
 
 7. Display of UnXLD Colored Floral Shells. 
 
 8. Umbrellas of Fire. 
 
 9. Floating Parachutes, with Changing Stars. 
 
 10. Display of UnXLD Fancy Exhibition Rockets — new effects. 
 
 11. UnXLD Volcanic Mines. 
 
 12. Set Piece— 1 ' The Tree of Liherty." 
 
 13. Rainbow Fountains. 
 
 14. UnXLD 12-inch Shells— "Jewelled Showers." 
 
 15. Battery Effect — "Electric Spreaders." 
 
 16. Display of Weeping Willow Rockets. 
 
 17. Display of Fancy Rockets — ''Horn of Plenty." 
 
 18. Japanese Shells, 12-inch — " Oriental Varieties." 
 
 19. UnXLD Meteoric Balloon, with brilliant trail. 
 
 20. UnXLD Shell Display—'' Prismatic Clouds." 
 
 Intermission and Grand Emerald Illumination of the surroundings. 
 
 21. Brilliant Crimson Illumination.
 
 STRATFORDS CELEBRATION'. 39 
 
 22. Display of Jewelled Streamer and Shooting Star Rockets. 
 
 23. Set Piece—" Sparkling Waterfall" 
 
 21. Display of Dragons and large Fancy Rockets. 
 
 25. Grand Display of Japanese Shells — " Eastern Splendor." 
 
 26. Grand Display of UnXLD Shells — Diamonds, Rubies, Emer- 
 
 alds and Pearls. 
 
 27. Set Piece — " Galling Battery." 
 
 28. Fiery Whirlwinds. 
 
 29. Display of Twin Asteroids and Constellation Rockets. 
 
 30. Nest of Golden Serpents. 
 
 31. Set Piece — " Chinese Brilliant." 1 
 
 32. Grand Aerial Bouquet. 
 
 33. Fountains of Golden Spray. 
 
 34. Extra Large Floral Shells. 
 
 35. Set Piece — " Crystal Spray Fountain.'' 
 
 36. Display of Telescope and Prize Cornetic Rockets. 
 
 37. Special Set Piece, representing the Old Stratford Meeting- House, 
 
 as it stood on Watch- House Hill in 1785. A thunder- 
 storm arises and lightning strikes the structure, which 
 burns to the ground. 
 
 38. Grand UnXLD and Japanese Shell Display. 
 
 39. Special Set Piece—" 1639— (STRATFORD)— 1889." 
 
 40. Grand Simultaneous Flight of Colored Rockets, forming a 
 
 vast Aerial Bouquet. 
 Grand Illumination of the principal streets by Japanese Lanterns, 
 under the direction of the Committee on Decorations. 
 
 THE COMMITTEE ON SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
 
 Over a month before the celebration took place it became evident 
 that the appropriation made by the town would be insufficient to meet 
 the expense that must be incurred to carry out all the plans sug- 
 gested by the General Committee. 
 
 Accordingly, a special "Committee on Subscriptions" was ap- 
 pointed, as follows: 
 
 Frederick C. Beach, John E. Holmes, 
 
 George H. Spall, Watson H. Smith, 
 
 Charles B. Curtis, J. Henry Blakemax. 
 
 It was decided, if possible, to raise a fund of six hundred dollars 
 by voluntary subscriptions, and the committee, through the patriotic
 
 40 
 
 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 
 
 and liberal spirit which prevailed, soon had its wish realized, for before 
 the celebration took place six hundred and fifty-two dollars had 
 been subscribed. The following is a nearly complete list of the sub- 
 scribers : 
 
 Charles A. Gilbert, 
 Alfred E. Beach, 
 Frederick C. Beach, 
 Mrs. Louisa A. Gilbert, 
 
 BlRDSEYE BLAKEMAN, 
 
 Mrs. Jesse Olney, 
 Chester Russell, 
 Samuel William Johnson, 
 Alexander Hawley, 
 Mrs. George Nichols, 
 William Barrymore, 
 William Shilston, 
 William Stephens, 
 Mrs. A. T. B. Dewitt. 
 Henry J. Lewis, 
 Benjamin Holmes, 
 Gen'l James L. Curtis, 
 John Benjamin, 
 Mrs. Ezra Wheeler, 
 Arthur De F. Wheeler, 
 Jefferson Clark, 
 Samuel T. Houghton, 
 William H. Benjamin. 
 Mrs. Susan C. Walker, 
 Anson H. Blakeman, 
 Benjamin Blakeman, 
 John W. Sterling, 
 John V. Wheeler, 
 Charles B. Curtis. 
 Curtis Thompson, 
 Watson H. Smith, 
 Elizabeth Linsley. 
 Mrs. Mary C. Leavitt, 
 William N. Ely, 
 Robert L. Clarkson. 
 Samuel E. Curtis, 
 Alfred Burritt, 
 Robert G. Curtis, 
 Mrs. Lewis W. Burritt, 
 Nehemiah 0. Gorhaji. 
 Lewis Coe, 
 William Nash, 
 L. M. Hopkins, 
 
 Edward L. Wells, 
 Russell T. Whiting, 
 David Pendleton, 
 Robert W. Curtis, 
 William Williamson, 
 John Heeney, 
 William McGrath, 
 Patrick Callahan, 
 Frank Edwards, 
 James Heneghan, 
 Benjamin G. Ryder. 
 Fred'k \V. Wilcoxson, 
 Lorenzo B. Beers, 
 Charles A. Lovell, 
 Asel Drew. 
 Geo. F. Lewis, M. D.. 
 Edwin F. Hall, 
 Ezra Whiting, 
 William Hughes, 
 William Strong, 
 David Fitzgerald, 
 G. W. A. Collard, M. D 
 David W. Judson, 
 William Hubbell. 
 Mrs. A. B. Judd, 
 John 0. M. Park, 
 Charles H. Carey, 
 Lucius Judson, 
 Fred'k J. Beardsley, 
 Daniel C. Wood, 
 Francis S. Avery, 
 Fred'k A. Benjamin, 
 Calvin Curtis, 
 John Lally, 
 John W. Cottrell, 
 Elliott J. Peck, 
 Preston H. Hodges. 
 John Burritt, 
 Charles F. Judson, 
 Augustus R. Marshall, 
 James Plumb, 
 Mrs. Daniel Hatch, 
 Lewis J. Fairchild.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 41 
 
 The expenses of the celebration absorbed six hundred dollars, leav- 
 ing a balance of fifty-two dollars, which it was afterwards decided should 
 be used towards defraying the cost of publishing a memorial of the 
 celebration. The committee made its final report in October, 1889, and 
 was then discharged. 
 
 THE COMMITTEE ON DECORATIONS. 
 
 Ttie work assigned this committee included the decorating of the 
 Town Hall, the Graded School building, and the Grand Stand. Resi- 
 dents along the line of march were requested to decorate their houses 
 and beautify their lawns. All the public squares and lawns were care- 
 fully mowed and raked. Even at the early dawn of the day of the cel- 
 ebration many of the people could be seen at work tidying up their 
 places, and before the procession began to move, nearly every house 
 on the line of march was tastefully decorated. A few of the oldest 
 houses had the date of their erection, combined with the figures " 1889," 
 displayed in large characters over their main entrances. 
 
 Captain William Barrymore greatly aided the committee in placing 
 strings of flags, kindly loaned for the occasion by the U. S. Navy De- 
 partment, on the two liberty poles near the public buildings. He was 
 also active in decorating a few private residences. 
 
 The shipping in the river was also gayly decorated in bunting. 
 
 The transformation from old-time quietness to the bustle of the 
 occasion was most effective. According to the opinion of the oldest 
 inhabitants, the streets of Stratford never looked so clean and hand- 
 some as on that day. 
 
 Co-operating with the Committee on Decorations was a special 
 " Committee on Arches,'' consisting of F. C. Beach, C. G. Gunther, and 
 Rev. Charles L. Pardee. An arch of thirty-five feet span and eighteen 
 feet high, designed by the committee, was erected across Main Street, 
 nearly opposite the residence of Henry J. Lewis, about one hundred 
 feet north of the Episcopal Church. It was tastefully trimmed with 
 evergreens as a background, and decorated with flags, and shields bear- 
 ing in gilt figures on their faces 1639- — 1889. Mrs. C. G. Gunther 
 materially aided the committee in preparing these shields, while Mr. C. 
 G. Gunther and Rev. Charles L. Pardee supervised and did most of the 
 work of decorating the arch. The top of the arch was decorated with 
 the Connecticut State colors, and very appropriately surmounted with 
 a stuffed eagle, with wings gracefully out-stretched, which was kindly 
 loaned for the occasion by C. A. Hayes, of Bridgeport.
 
 42 stratford's celebration. 
 
 On the right-hand side of the illustration entitled " The Military 
 Parade," in the distance will be seen the general shape of the arch. It 
 was so placed as to require the procession to pass under it twice. 
 
 An additional duty imposed upon the Committee on Decorations 
 was the provision of illuminations for the streets after nightfall. Main 
 Street, from the railroad to the corner of Stratford Avenue, was hung 
 with Japanese lanterns, two upon each large elm-tree; lanterns were 
 also hung upon all trees on Church Street leading to the railroad sta- 
 tion, also through Railroad Avenue to Broad Street, through Broad to 
 Main Street, and on New Lane Street from Main Street to Elm Street; 
 also on the three rows of trees in Elm Street as far south as Sandy Hol- 
 low, and on all the trees around Academy Hill. Upon the monument 
 were suspended numerous Japanese lanterns. The work of hanging 
 and lighting such a large number of lanterns, estimated t'o have been 
 over a thousand, was successfully accomplished. 
 
 THE COMMITTEE ON SALUTES, FIREWORKS, AND ILLUMINATIONS. 
 
 The obtaining of a suitable cannon for the firing of the morning, 
 noon, and sunset salutes was one of the chief things this committee had 
 to do. Mr. John W. Thompson and Mr. Watson H. Smith, of this 
 committee, arranged with the Mayor of New Haven to secure the use 
 of a cannon belonging to the State, kept at New Haven for similar 
 purposes. 
 
 The cannon arrived the afternoon previous to " Celebration Day," 
 and was located in position on Academy Hill the same evening by 
 Mr. John E. Holmes. Soon after, the powder for the gun arrived from 
 New Haven, having been brought over in a wagon. Mr. Aaron 
 Belden, who for forty years has had charge of the State gun at New 
 Haven, came with two assistants, to look after and help tire the cannon. 
 
 Early on the morning of the celebration day the gun was quickly 
 planted in position, with its mouth towards the northwest. As the first 
 light of the rising sun reflected from the gilded weather-cock on the 
 spire of the Episcopal Church, the order to fire was given, and the lan- 
 yard was pulled by Mr. Belden, he thus having the honor of firing the 
 first salute on that notable day. Subsequent salutes were fired in the 
 morning, at noon, and at sunset by Mr. John W. Thompson. No acci- 
 dent happened to mar this feature of the celebration. 
 
 During the firing of the salutes, the bells of nearly all the 
 churches were rang.
 
 STRATFORD S CELEBRATION. 43 
 
 Another important work the committee had in charge was the 
 selection of fireworks, the same not to cost over three hundred and fifty 
 dollars, yet to be of sufficient variety to make a display which should 
 suitably close the exercises of the day. A contract was awarded to the 
 Unexcelled Fireworks Company, of New York, who sent skilled men 
 to set up. and fire them. The barn of Mr. Henry J. Lewis was kindly 
 placed at the disposal of the committee for the storage and unpacking 
 of the fireworks. 
 
 During the afternoon, the set pieces were placed in position on 
 the north side of Academy Hill. The committee was assisted in the 
 work by Messrs. Frederick C. Beach, James E. Hubbell and Bruce 
 H. Weller.
 
 (Erected 1839.) 
 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 From a Photograph by F. C. Beach, 1890.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 45 
 
 EXERCISES OF THE MORNING. 
 
 When the early dawn of the morning of October 8d was ushered 
 in with a clear sky, invigorating air, and every prospect of a perfect 
 autumn day, the anxious misgivings entertained by those having the 
 success of the long anticipated celebration at heart, as to the clemency 
 of the weather, were turned into general rejoicing. 
 
 Nor was this circumstance of slight importance, for with the 
 elaborate programme of the day, consisting of continuous out-door 
 exercises, the labor and preparation of months would have been of 
 little avail without the aid of a bright and joyous day in keeping 
 with the occasion. 
 
 Especially did the Committee of Citizens, upon whose shoulders 
 rested the responsibility of sustaining the old town's credit, experience 
 a genuine sense of relief when the sun rose above the eastern horizon 
 in all its splendor as if to assure the dwellers in this ancient town that 
 all nature would smile upon their efforts to do honor to those founders 
 of two hundred and fifty years ago. 
 
 The townspeople were early astir ; those not assigned work in 
 the preparations to be made for the big parade and the exercises of the 
 day, having equally arduous duties to perform in the preparations 
 universally made throughout the community to receive and entertain 
 with old time hospitality the guests and visitors who were soon to 
 throng the village. 
 
 The arrival of the visitors on that morning meant to some, more 
 than a day of sight-seeing and entertainment, for their presence among 
 us was to be the occasion of happy reunions in many a family from 
 whose hearth-stone sons and daughters had gone forth to tight the 
 battle of life in distant communities. 
 
 The first demonstration in the day's exercises, and marking the 
 opening of the official programme, was the ringing of the church bells 
 at sunrise, and a salute of forty-two guns, one for each State of the 
 Union, fired from the rise of ground to be known in the future as
 
 46 stratford's celebration. 
 
 '•Monument Hill." As the morning advanced, the main street of the 
 village became transformed from the quiet thoroughfare it was wont to 
 be, into one of bustle and activity. 
 
 From all parts of the town the people wended their way to the 
 centre of the village which became b}^ common consent the rendezvous 
 for the expectant crowds ; but this earl)'- gathering of townspeople was 
 to be only a small proportion of the day's assemblage, for with every 
 incoming train hundreds of the interested and the curious poured into 
 the town. 
 
 In addition to the miscellaneous crowd of sight-seers, the different 
 military and civic organizations from neighboring towns arrived in rapid 
 succession, until even the oldest inhabitant became bewildered at the 
 numbers which the old town contained, and was forced to the conces- 
 sion that never before in her history had old Stratford acted the part 
 of hostess to so many guests. It is estimated that from 10,000 to 12,000 
 people were present, and the village was literally rilled to overflowing. 
 
 It was a joyous day, and the crowds on the streets were thorough lv 
 imbued with the spirit of the occasion. 
 
 Although complete preparations had been made by Robert L. 
 Glarkson, Sheriff of the County, assisted by his Deputies, to 
 preserve the public peace and protect the property of citizens from the 
 depredations usuall} r attending an assemblage of such magnitude, no 
 disturbances occurred and police interference happily became unneces- 
 sarj. In addition to the shrievalty of the county, the town constable- 
 were on the alert, and a special constabulary of private citizens were 
 sworn in, to aid the sheriff if it became necessary, in the maintenance 
 of peace and order. The presence of this well organized police force 
 together with the universal good nature exhibited by the constantly 
 moving crowd, prevented the success of the occasion from being 
 marred by any troublesome episode. 
 
 Long before the parade was formed, the points of interest within 
 the town, which had previously been designated by small sign-board.-, 
 had been visited by the numerous throng. 
 
 The old houses placarded with the figures of the year in which 
 they were built, some of the dates running as far back in the past as 
 the year 1712 : the broad streets lined with the grand old elms for which 
 Stratford is famed; the handsomely adorned arch which had been con- 
 structed across Main Street near the Episcopal Church ; the Soldiers' 
 Monument on " Academy Hill," draped with American flags and ready 
 for tlic dedication ceremonies : the large collection at the Town Hall, of
 
 stkatfokd's celebration. 47 
 
 old time relics, in itself one of the most interesting features of the day : 
 the elaborate decorations on the public buildings and private residences, 
 and the shipping in the harbor covered with flags and bunting ; ail 
 came in for a generous share of interest and furnished entertainment to 
 the visitors in the interim between their arrival and the formation of 
 the procession. 
 
 The newspapers of New York, Bridgeport and New Haven, 
 recognizing the public interest centered in the celebration of the 
 founding of one of the oldest towns in the United States, sent their 
 representatives to the scene. They were entertained by the Press 
 Committee and escorted in the carriages placed at their disposal, 
 around the village. 
 
 As the guests who had received special invitations from the Citizens' 
 Committee, including the Lieutenant-Governor of the State and the 
 public officials of sister towns, arrived at the depot, they were conducted 
 by the Reception Committee to the residence of David l\ Rhoades, 
 Esq., to wait while the Marshal and his aids, earl}- on duty, were busily 
 engaged in assigning to the organizations their proper places in line. 
 
 The highway and common at the intersection of Broad and Main 
 Streets, selected as the place of formation, was admirably adapted to the 
 purpose, and by ten o'clock was the central point of interest. The 
 uniformed bodies of men marching in different directions- to the places 
 assigned them ; the bands of music and drum corps each claiming the 
 ear of the .appreciative spectators: the carriages of every description, 
 from the old-fashioned gig in keeping with the memories of the day to 
 the handsome vehicle of modern style, which thronged the side streets; 
 all contributed to the picture of gayety presented. 
 
 Five divisions were made of the military and civic organizations 
 present. 
 
 The First Division formed on Main Street, its right resting on 
 Broad Street. The Second Division formed on the north side of Broad 
 Street, its right resting on Main, and the Third on " New Lane,'" or 
 East Broad Street, its right resting on Main. 
 
 Promptly at 10.45 a. m., the time previously decided upon, the 
 procession moved. 
 
 It was estimated that there were two thousand men in line, and 
 eighteen towns were represented by the various organizations partici- 
 pating. As they passed over the long line of march with military 
 precision, the -vast concourse of people lining the way on both sides 
 minced their interest and appreciation by cheers and applause.
 
 48 stratford's celebration. 
 
 Colonel Selah B. Blakeman acted as Grand Marshal, and the 
 promptness and efficiency with which his task was accomplished demon- 
 strated the wisdom of the selection. 
 
 The following named gentlemen assisted the Marshal in the 
 performance of his duties, and contributed largely to the prompt carry- 
 ing out of the arrangements for the parade and ensuring its success : 
 
 Captain Eugene Morehouse, Chief of Starr. 
 
 AIDS: 
 
 J. Henry Blakeman, Frederick S. Beardsley, 
 
 Silas Burton, Charles B. Curtis, 
 
 Samuel C. Lewis, George H. Tomlinson, 
 
 Gideon M. Wakelee, Dwight E. Wakelee, 
 
 Charles H. Wells, George F. Cook, 
 
 Louis H. Wells, Henry F. Meachen, 
 
 Frank E. Blakeman, William Williamson, 
 
 George W. Coy. William A. Stagg. 
 
 The Fourth Regiment, Connecticut National Guard, under Colonel 
 Thomas L. Watson, headed by the Wheeler & Wilson Band, led the 
 procession in fine form, its military carriage and steady marching 
 evoking continued applause along the line. Next came the carriages 
 containing the citizens' committee, the orators of the day, and the 
 invited guests. 
 
 Behind the procession of carriages marched the members of the 
 Grand Army Posts, which constituted the Second Division. As these 
 veterans, many of whom carried the scars of battle, marched along, and 
 the spectators gazed into the faces of men who had fought the battles of 
 the Republic, hats were raised and cheers went forth for the survivors 
 of our civil war. 
 
 The Hook and Ladder and Fire Companies, composing the Third 
 Division, made an excellent appearance, and in their neat costumes won 
 the admiration of all. 
 
 The Fourth Division, embracing the civic societies which had turned 
 out in honor of the occasion, also came in for their share of the interest 
 manifested by Stratford's visitors. An interesting feature of the par- 
 ade, in the Fourth Division, was the "Cupheag Club," of Stratford, a 
 social organization composed of a number of the young men of the 
 town. The members of the club were arrayed in fantastic garb, repre- 
 senting Indians, and on their ponies strongly suggested the manner of 
 people that the early settlers both bartered and fought with. A large
 
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 q > 
 
 * 33 
 
 P •< 
 
 W 13 
 
 w > 
 
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 Stratford's celebration. 49 
 
 wigwam, on wheels, made realistic in its appearance by its covering of 
 skins, was a part of the club's outfit. 
 
 The procession, passing under the handsomely decorated arch near 
 the Episcopal Church, proceeded down Main Street and over the route 
 indicated in the official programme. Never before had the village pre- 
 sented a more attractive appearance, and as the procession continued 
 its way under the noble old elms bordering the line of march, and 
 which still retained their summer foliage, passing the dwellings fash- 
 ioned in the architecture of two centuries ago, and over the broad 
 avenues of the village which are a source of pride to its people, the ex- 
 pressions of admiration for the beauty of the town were open and 
 general. 
 
 After traversing Elm and King streets, the procession again turned 
 into Main Street, and at the intersection of the "Air Line " road halted 
 for a brief rest, while the peal of church bells and a salute of thirteen 
 guns indicated that the hour of noon had arrived. Continuing onward 
 to " Paradise Green," the northern terminus of the parade, and making 
 the circuit of this beautiful plot of town common, the procession began 
 its return march, the head of the column meeting the still advancing 
 organizations at the lower or south end of the common, passing directly 
 down Main Street to the front of the Grand Stand on Academy Hill, 
 where the monument stood, draped with the national emblems which 
 concealed it from view. 
 
 The troops formed a hollow square facing the monument, the 
 Grand Army Posts and other organizations forming an interior line, 
 nearer to the monument, but leaving a wide open space between the 
 monument and the grand stand, which had been erected on the south 
 side of the shaft, one hundred feet distant. 
 
 As soon as the divisions had been aligned in their places around 
 the monument, and the guests had been seated on the platform, the 
 dedicatory exercises began in the presence of an audience of more than 
 two thousand people, gathered upon the hill. 
 
 After a selection by the band, the Rev. Joel S. Ives, the pastor of 
 the Congregational Church in Stratford, offered the following prayer: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O God of Nations, we invoke Thy favor. Thou hast been our 
 fathers' God ; Thou art the God of the children also. Through the 
 centuries Thou hast blessed Thy people : bless us to-day
 
 50 stratford's celebration". 
 
 Thou God of Battles, hear our prayer. Thou dost lift up and cast 
 down, according to the infinite counsels of eternit}\ For our prosperity 
 as a nation we thank Thee ; for Thy favor to this ancient common- 
 wealth, for Thy guiding and protecting arm in this community, whose 
 anniversary we celebrate to-day, for Thy fatherly solicitude toward all 
 Thy children. 
 
 We would recount the good hand of the Lord with us in the dark 
 days of war. We thank Thee for the holy men and women who, for 
 conscience' sake, built their brave homes in this new land. We thank 
 Thee for the foresight and courage which gave us independence, for the 
 sacrifice and loyalty which preserved it : and we would invoke the 
 richest of divine blessings upon this remnant of the grand army who 
 maintained the honor of our flag, beseeching Thy favor for them and 
 theirs. We are not unmindful of the broken ranks — of those who have 
 fought the fight and finished their course. Command Thy blessing, 
 we humbly pra}', as we now dedicate this memorial, this monument 
 built by loving hands, to the devotion, loyalty and sacrifice of those 
 who gave their lives for the Nation's life. * 
 
 Bless, we pray Thee, these representatives of the Connecticut 
 National Guard and all who are in the divine presence, and may the 
 virtues of the fathers and the loyalty of the " boys in blue "' be an in- 
 spiration to braver lives and nobler deeds. 
 
 We invoke Thy blessing in all the exercises of the day. In Thy 
 wisdom sruide us. We thank Thee for all the hallowed memories 
 awakened, and most earnestly beseech Thee that when the work of 
 life is with each of us complete, we may find an abundant entrance 
 into Thy presence and the rest of the Eternal Home, through riches of 
 srace in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 At the close of this prayer, Mr. Henry P. Stagg, President of the 
 Veteran Association, standing upon the mound at the foot of the monu- 
 ment, and addressing the President of the day upon the grand stand, 
 presented the monument to the town in the following words : 
 
 Mr. President: In behalf of the Stratford Veteran Association, 
 which I have on this occasion the honor to represent, I take pleasure in 
 presenting to you, as the duly accredited representative of the town of 
 Stratford, this monument. In vesting in the town this tribute to the 
 memory of our fallen comrades, we know that we have selected a safe
 
 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 51 
 
 custodian for that which is dear to the hearts of the survivors of our 
 late war. May this monument, now the property of the citizens of this 
 town, ever remain upon this historic ground, a perpetual memorial to 
 those who fought for liberty and saved the Union. 
 
 Mr. Stiles Judson, Jr., President of the day, accepted the monu- 
 ment for the town, speaking as follows : 
 
 Sir: In the name and in behalf of the town of Stratford, I accept 
 this Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument which you, in your official capa- 
 city, have just presented. In accepting it, allow me to express to you 
 and your comrades the high appreciation which our towns-people feel 
 for this splendid gift, which all are aware is the result of untiring effort 
 and labor on the part of the Veteran Association of this town. 
 
 For many years our citizens have desired that there should be 
 within our village some suitable memorial to those heroes who from 
 this community responded to their country's call, and gave up their 
 lives in defence of the Republic. To the end that this ambition might 
 be gratified were your labors put forth, with the knowledge that your 
 reward would be in the consciousness that the memory of those fallen 
 dead would thereby be perpetuated, and in the unveiling of this shaft 
 to-day in the presence of this gathering of people, you can justly feel 
 that your efforts have been crowned with success. From this time, not 
 only will this tribute of affection to your deceased comrades, standing on 
 this beautiful rise of ground, be an adornment to our village, but it will 
 be a visible and constant reminder to the generations to come of the 
 sacrifices made by these fallen heroes, that the integrity of the Union 
 might be preserved. 
 
 With peace and plenty about us and the nation again united and 
 prosperous, let us not forget that the arm should always be nerved to 
 action in support of principle; and though war be not waged, yet those 
 same traits of character which were displayed upon the battlefield a 
 quarter of a century ago, are to-day fully as necessary in the making 
 up of sterling manhood and good citizenship. 
 
 God forbid that this nation should ever again witness a strife call- 
 ing for the lives of her brave sons ; yet their death for country and 
 humanit}' was not in vain, for their deeds of valor shall ever live in the 
 heart of every loyal citizen, whether their names are engraved upon 
 enduring monuments or whether they lie in nameless and unmarked 
 graves. 
 
 The erection of this memorial shall not be without its fruits, for it
 
 52 STRATFORD S CELEBRATION. 
 
 will stand iu the centre of this beautiful village as a silent exhortation 
 to the youth of this town to keep alive the embers of patriotism, and to 
 cherish that love of country which should glow with holy lustre in the 
 breast of every American citizen. 
 
 Commander of the Department of Connecticut, Grand Army of the 
 Republic, Sir, I have been authorized to invite you at this time to 
 accept from the citizens of Stratford, at the hands of its accredited 
 representatives, this memorial, and to request that it may be dedicated 
 by you to the noble purpose for which it has been erected. 
 
 Upon the conclusion of the President's address, the veil which 
 had concealed the monument from view was drawn aside by Misses 
 Mary E. Wilcoxson and Georgiana Thompson, both daughters of 
 veterans. 
 
 Immediately following the unveiling of the shaft, Gen. William 
 H. Pierpont, of New Haven, Department Commander, G. A. R,, and 
 his staff of assistants were escorted from the Grand Stand to the monu- 
 ment, where the ceremonies of dedication were carried out with the 
 impressive ritual of the Grand Army. 
 
 Upon the conclusion of these ceremonies, the President of the day 
 introduced to the audience as the orator of the occasion the Rev. I. M. 
 Foster, himself a veteran of the war, who, in the experiences of the 
 battle-field and of Southern prisons, had demonstrated his loyalty to 
 his country and his fitness to voice the sentiments and the memories of 
 the survivors of the War of the Rebellion. 
 
 Mr. Foster spoke as follows : 
 Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades: 
 
 Twenty-four years have passed since the sound of battle died away 
 on our shores, and our victorious armies were disbanded, and our brave 
 boys returned to their homes and peaceful avocations. But as these 
 years have come and gone, they have failed to erase from our memories 
 the scenes through which we passed or to lesson our love for the prin- 
 ciples for which we fought Nor can we soon forget that the bones 
 of our loved ones are bleaching upon more than a hundred battle-fields, 
 and that all the rivers of the South have been reddened with their 
 blood. Because these scenes are fresh in our memories, and the princi-
 
 stratford's celebration. 53 
 
 pies and facts too, are dear to our hearts, we gather to-day to unveil 
 this monument which voices to us the loyal devotion of the men who 
 fell in the defence of the right. And surely this is fitting, and not one, 
 methinks, will hesitate to bring their offering or to present their tribute, 
 when for a moment we consider the results secured to us by their 
 valor. 
 
 It is to the valor of union arms that we to-day owe our continuance 
 as a people ; to union soldiers we are indebted for the opportunity to 
 work out the future possibilities of this nation and to accomplish the 
 purpose God had in view when he created us a people. 
 
 I believe that much more was involved in the late war than pre- 
 serving intact the power of the Government. This was worth our 
 mightiest effort. But in doing this, in sacrificing and struggling to pre- 
 serve the structure our fathers reared, we did much more. 
 
 For eighty-five years we had been the spectacle of Autocracies, 
 Aristocracies and Monarchies, and had been derided with the assertion 
 that our power would be insufficient to cope with great trouble at home, 
 but we would in the end go down as all other republics had done. 
 The valor of our brave boys added the last proof, necessary to demon- 
 strate the possibility and exemplify the success of self-government. For 
 until we gave proof of its success, the monarchies of the old world had 
 declared that such a government could not live ; and to this assertion 
 was there added the repeated attempts to establish a republic, but these 
 attempts had failed. 
 
 The principles underlaying the two forms of government, mon- 
 archy and democracy, have ever been in conflict. In the one, the 
 king rules by supposed hereditary right, his claim to the throne being 
 based on blood and descent ; while in the other the only warrant of the 
 governor is found in the consent of the governed. Monarchy regards the 
 people as subjects of the king, who are ever to remain his subjects ; while 
 democracy asserts the manhood of the masses, and every man's right to 
 individual liberty. Monarchy recognizes a few as born to rule; and all 
 the rest to obey ; democracy declares all men are born equal and each 
 man has a voice in making the laws which all must obey. 
 
 These two principles have been at war, and have alternately over- 
 come and succeeded each other. 
 
 Here and there in the world's history, republics have # existed for a 
 time, but only for a time, and passing away, monarchy ruled instead. 
 And it must be confessed that the successive overthrow of the world's 
 republics constituted a disheartening volume to the student of history
 
 54 stratford's celebration. 
 
 a hundred years ago. Whatever prosperity and success they might 
 have temporarily achieved, the stern fact alone remained that they had 
 all foundered and gone down ; and this fact was regarded as having 
 settled for ever the impracticability if not the impossibility of popular 
 government ; and the monarchs of the old world in consequence, a hun- 
 dred years ago, pulled their crowns down tight upon their brows, and 
 declared themselves " Kings by the grace of God," disdaining to rule by 
 the will of the people. 
 
 So much the greater honor to the brave men, who dared at the be- 
 ginning of our history to pledge " their lives, their fortunes and their 
 sacred honor," in another attempt at what had failed so signally and 
 often before. The truth is that government by the people, had never 
 before been fairly tested ; and the supposed failures of this principle 
 had therefore been only apparent, not real. It is easy to be deceived 
 by names ; what is called a republic in Europe is a very different thing 
 from that which we call bv the same name on this side of the Atlantic. 
 
 J 
 
 But every attempt and failure to establish a republic suggested the 
 possibility of something better in the future. The old perished, but 
 from its grave a grander form has risen. 
 
 A hundred years ago, a feeble people, we broke away from British 
 tyranny, and the old State House bell in Philadelphia rang out " Liberty 
 throughout all the land, and to all the inhabitants thereof ;" and declar- 
 ing to the world their belief that " all men are created equal ; that they 
 are endowed with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, 
 liberty and the pursuit of happiness ;" our fathers sought to establish a 
 republic that should attend the funeral of all the monarchies upon the 
 face of the earth. 
 
 It was a grand experiment they made, and it has now been tested by 
 more than a hundred years, and the test has been a bloody one. We 
 have been attacked by foreign foes, and have been united enough to re- 
 pel them. We have marched into other countries and have been able 
 to conquer them. But at last we were rent and torn by internal rebel- 
 lion ; enemies rose in our midst, which sought the overthrow of the Re- 
 public. To meet these enemies, did our fathers and sons and brothers 
 march forth ; to grapple with the strongest foe that has as yet attacked 
 the life of the nation, did this grand army go forth. The eyes of all the 
 world were on us. Kings and Emperors watched with interest the pro- 
 gress of the war, expecting, yea, even longing, to see us dismembered 
 and destroyed, that they might echo to the world "democracy is a 
 failure, we rule by Divine right."
 
 Stratford's celebration. 55 
 
 But the cannon balls striking against Sumter's walls, echoed and 
 re-echoed over the hills and through the valleys of the Northern States, 
 calling from their quiet homes a hundred thousand noble men, who, 
 meeting at Vicksburg, at Gettysburg, and in the Wilderness, at Peters- 
 burg, and Richmond, stood as the defence of the nation, and lifted higher 
 and still higher our noble old flag, till floating in the azure blue all na- 
 tions could see it, and all lands were impressed with the truth that we 
 could govern ourselves. 
 
 Patriotism was not dead. Love of liberty had not departed. The 
 spirit of our fathers had not forsaken us. We are their sons ; and to 
 preserve the heritage they had bequeathed to us, and to vindicate the 
 power of democracy before the world, brave men suffered, fought and 
 died. And what are the results ? Were they successful ; or did they 
 die in vain ? Nay, not so ; for to-day this great republic stands before 
 the world with her powers tested and developed, having forced the con- 
 clusion into the minds of all, that democracy is a thing of life. To-day 
 her promise of life is better than at any former period of her history. 
 Free from fetters and chains, we have entered upon the new century 
 with renewed strength and vigor, with possibilities beyond conception. 
 Its victories were to demonstrate the truth that men have the right and 
 power to govern themselves ; but the demonstrating to the world the 
 power of democracy was not the sole object of the war. It was, indeed, 
 a grand result, to bring the monarchs of the old world to the recognition 
 of the fact that democracy meant life, vitality and power ; it was indeed, 
 an achievement of which we may be proud, to force the kingdoms of 
 Europe to see that the American Republic was not a weak, driveling 
 child, but a giant of whom they may well stand in awe. It was surely 
 a glorious thing to give to the world the last proof necessary to exem- 
 plify the success of self-government ; but, closely linked to these, was 
 another result of equally great importance — indeed, of greater value. 
 
 By the valor of our comrades was it made possible for us to work- 
 out the mission God had in view in creating us a people. 
 
 As God is the author of individual life, so is He of national life ; 
 and as to men a mission is committed, a work to be wrought out, so is 
 it with nations. 
 
 All the facts of our national history warrant the conclusion that we 
 were created a people for the accomplishment of a special mission, and 
 that purpose is not yet accomplished for all men. No grander mission 
 was ever committed to any people than that which we hold in trust. 
 Our purpose embraces the interests of all men for all time, and touches
 
 56 stratford's celebration. 
 
 not only the homes in America and the lives of our citizens, but home 
 and life in every land. In the governments of the past, the interests of 
 the common people were nothing, the government was everything, the 
 individual but a subject, and the life, liberty and property of the sub- 
 ject were at the absolute disposal of those in power. The subject had 
 no rights the government was bound to respect. 
 
 A heartless king taxed his kingdom to exhaustion to gratify his 
 desires, or made war and conscripted his subjects to aggrandize his 
 reign, while the laboring classes were compelled to serve the royal bid- 
 ding without any other compensation than the coarse food which they 
 ate. We were commissioned to reverse this unnatural order of things. 
 It was reserved for us to establish the truth of individual liberty — to 
 exalt and protect the individual man by the provisions and sanction of 
 political law. It was for us to declare to the world that the govern- 
 ment was for the people, and that the individual man was greater than 
 the government, and that every man has a natural right to himself and 
 to whatever by industry and skill he may be able to secure. It was re- 
 served for us to exalt and crown as above the government, as above the 
 country, individual humanity — to teach the world that man is to the 
 government what the sun is to the universe — the centre and source of 
 life and power. It was for us to lead in breaking kingly chains and 
 monarchs' power. 
 
 The first great declaration of liberty made to any people was the 
 Magna Charta of England in 1215. This was followed by the Petition 
 of Right in 1689. But the third and great declaration of liberty was 
 the Declaration of Independence in 1776 in America. 
 
 This was a new departure in the best and highest sense ; the past 
 had stepped toward it, but never reached it. There had been various 
 forms of government — indeed, there had been limited republics, but 
 individual man was not the central idea thereof. 
 
 The Magna Charta has been called " the keystone of English lib- 
 erty." But that great instrument did not go far enough. It was at 
 best but a concession from a political superior to his inferiors, and was 
 not based upon the natural rights of man. Its design was to secure the 
 rights and privileges of those who framed it, and hence was limited to 
 themselves. It was intended mainly for the benefit of the nobles and 
 land-holders of England. 
 
 So what is known as " A Petition of Right," a bill passed by Par- 
 liament four hundred years after the date of the Magna Charta, was a 
 protest against the right of the crown to raise money without the con-
 
 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 (Erected 1859.) 
 
 From a Photograph by F. C. Beach, 1889. 
 
 By permission of the First Ecclesiastical Society of Stratford.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 57 
 
 sent of Parliament, to billet soldiers on the people without their con- 
 sent, and compel the people to make loans to the government by im- 
 prisonment. This was an advanced and illustrious step toward a better 
 future, but fell far short of that goal of individual liberty to which we 
 were commissioned to lead mankind. For we have taken a deeper, 
 broader, grander view of human liberty, inasmuch as we recognize lib- 
 erty as the common inheritance of each man — not the gift of a superior 
 to an inferior, but as the natural right of a man, simply and solely 
 because he is a man. 
 
 We have declared to the world that " all men are created equal," 
 whether they are the born freemen of the north or the emancipated 
 freedmen of the South. We have announced to the world the ultimate 
 truth of human rights for all men and for all time. 
 
 You have heard during the last few years, now and then, whis- 
 pered fears of a revolution in our government. Great excitement for a 
 time has prevailed. Now and then an extra session of Congress has been 
 called, and anxious ones have inquired, " What will be the result ?" 
 We have heard it said repeatedly during the past few years that "there 
 is trouble and danger ahead." And so there is, but not along that 
 line. A revolution in this country could not be justified, for the rea- 
 son that there are no rights to be secured by revolution which we do 
 not now possess ; and also for the reason that our government is regu- 
 lated by a constitution which is amendable by the express will of the 
 people. 
 
 There has been a rebellion, there may be another, but if there is 
 we will put it down as we did the last To thus exalt individual man, 
 to lift him from servitude to civil and political independence, is one 
 great mission of our nation. 
 
 And this principle was involved in the war — to protect, to vindicate 
 it our brave boys died. And our action as a people, in thus exalting 
 individual man, has found an echo in the hearts of all who have sighed 
 for liberty. 
 
 The power of our example is seen, not in the substitution of a re- 
 public for monarchies and aristocracies, but in the recognition of per- 
 sonal liberty, and the voice of the people in national legislation. 
 
 Look over the world to-day and note the changes that have oc- 
 curred during the last fifty years. Italy, not fifteen years ago, was still 
 in the gloom of the middle-ages. To-day Italy is a constitutional king- 
 dom, with the legislative authority resting conjointly in the king and in 
 the Parliament,
 
 58 stratford's celebration. 
 
 For ages Austria was the acknowledged champion of religious in- 
 tolerance, but to-day she has one of the most liberal constitutions in 
 continental Europe. 
 
 Germany, too, with a population of forty-live millions, has a con- 
 stitutional government If we turn to France, we shall find that the 
 people who were true to us a hundred years ago. when struggling for 
 liberty, have unfurled the banner of a republic. Cross the channel 
 into England, there the right of suffrage has been extended by reducing 
 the property qualification. Everywhere in the old world a parliament, 
 composed of the representatives of the people, is demanded, and auto- 
 crats are heeding the popular voice. 
 
 Thus have we led the nations by our example, step by step towards 
 the goal of civil liberty. This mission Providence committed to this 
 republic. 
 
 Let us not forget, then, that in our four long years of war our 
 soldiers suffered and died that we might finish our work. And how 
 grand a work is this ! A work that has engaged the attention and 
 strength of heaven, — that of lifting up humanity. 
 
 It is a grand thing to be a man ! Why, Mr. Chairman, I would 
 rather be a man than an angel ! Yes, I would. For of redeemed 
 humanity God has said, " They shall rule forever, kings and priests " 
 in the eternity to come. God has appeared to man in the past, but ever 
 in human form. He appeared to the patriarchs and prophets, but he 
 stood before them as a man. He came to redeem the world, but he took 
 upon him our nature and our form. Ay, we approach the throne in 
 the name of the man Christ Jesus. And the srrandeur of our mission is 
 that it is in the interest of common humanity. 
 
 But. my comrades and fellow-citizens, notwithstanding our victo- 
 ries in the past and the success we have already achieved, shall we be 
 foiled or defeated in the future ? If not, it behooves us to open our 
 eyes to the dangers that threaten us, and to recognize the presence of 
 enemies in our midst. The war is a thing of the past, and to-day we 
 honor the memory of brave boys who died in the defence of right. But 
 the principles for which they fought are not dead and can never die ; and 
 he who ignores them is not a true friend to the republic. And, alas ! 
 that there should be found in this beautiful land, purchased so dearly 
 and preserved by struggle, any who would trample upon the issues of 
 the war, or seek to blot out the principles written upon the pages of our 
 history with blood. 
 
 Against the maintenance of a victory so dearly won, which this
 
 stkatford's celebration. 59 
 
 monument commemorates, enemies are even now rising ; they are in our 
 midst, and their power is being felt. I am no alarmist. I would not 
 fear a ghost or a shadow ; but I would not be blind, nor would I have 
 you to be blind to the dangers that threaten us. 
 
 No armed forces are arrayed against us. We are a united country, 
 a united people ; but, with all this, enemies are digging away at the 
 foundations of the republic. 
 
 A love of freedom should manifest itself in a love of truth. 
 Where truth, virtue, honesty are the corner-stones, there is strength. 
 But, if in the character of the nation there should be developed a dis- 
 regard of these, our foundations shall crumble, our power depart. It 
 was not the strength of armies that overthrew ancient Babylon, but her 
 iniquities. 
 
 It was not war that destroyed the Roman Empire, but her vices 
 and her sins. And so we need not fear the armies of Europe, but fear 
 and tremble only before the destroying power of vice. As surely as vice 
 and iniquity ruin individual men, so surely will they destroy national 
 life and power. Dishonor and dishonesty will as certainly work our 
 destruction as armies of rebellion. 
 
 True freedom is the exaltation of virtue — ay, this is the life-blood 
 of freedom. Destroy this, and life is gone. A spirit which manifests 
 itself in Sabbath-breaking, in profanity, in intemperance, in dishonesty 
 and gigantic frauds, will destroy the life and power of true government. 
 A moral sentiment that permits vice to rule at the cost of truth, that 
 winks at iniquity and laughs at deception, will as surely undermine our 
 foundations and destroy our power as that God has spoken against sin. 
 Our civil duties — ay, more, our patriotism — should bind us to the 
 morals of God's law. Over and above all, God sits enthroned in power, 
 ruling in justice and goodness, holding in his hands the destinies of the 
 nations. 
 
 And to-day the danger that threatens us is a disregard of the 
 moral law of God. Our duty as citizens is not completed when we 
 have organized an army and vanquished a foe, but if we love our 
 country, and would guard her interests, it is ours to defend her from the 
 vices that destroy and the iniquities that ruin. Thus would I remind 
 you, my comrades, of the duties before us, which if faithfully met, will 
 lead us to the full accomplishment of our mission as a people. And 
 under the influence of the memories of the past struggle, in the presence 
 of this memorial of the brave and true, let us renew our allegiance to 
 the government we love, and declare again our faith in the principles of
 
 60 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 the Declaration of '76. And may there spring up in every heart a con- 
 sciousness of responsibility to freedom, which shall bring forth our 
 mightiest efforts to protect it in its growth and development, from the 
 lakes to the gulf, and from sea to sea. 
 
 And just here Mr. Chairman, allow me to say a word touching the 
 Grand Army of the Republic. It has been claimed that the organiza- 
 tion composed of old soldiers, known as the Grand Army of the Repub- 
 lic, is kept together in the interest of men who might at some time desire 
 to use it to secure position or to lead themselves to power, and that it 
 seeks to keep alive the animosities of the past 
 
 In the name of the thousands of soldiers who stood true in the day 
 of battle, and who followed the old flag through danger to victory, 
 I would deny this false charge. The Grand Army of the Re- 
 public knows no man, be he general, private soldier, or civilian, when 
 that man turns his back against the flag of freedom, or the institutions 
 of this grand republic. Having fought to preserve the nation's life, and 
 having succeeded too, its only desire is to have guarded with eternal 
 vigilance the liberties so dearly purchased. 
 
 Does any man say that the Grand Army of the Republic could be 
 used for unlawful purposes ? Cannot these men be trusted ? I turn for 
 my answer to Gettysburg, to Vicksburg, to Atlanta, to the Wilderness, 
 to Petersburg and Richmond. 
 
 I see the prison walls of Andersonville looming up in the distance. 
 And, Mr. Chairman it was my fortune to spend ten long months within 
 those prison walls. Around me I see the squalid multitudes of starving, 
 dying men. But see, the gates of the prison open, and a dozen rebel 
 officers enter. In their hands they each carry a little book, and distribut- 
 ing themselves among the crowds of prisoners they say, " Boys, you are 
 suffering and dying here. Let us put your names in this little book, and 
 go out with us and take the oath of allegiance to the Southern Con- 
 federacy, and we will feed you well, and clothe you, and bring back 
 health and strength." And the eyes of the prisoners snap fire, as spurn- 
 ing with contempt the offer they answer, " What ! put our names to the 
 wrong ! take the oath of allegiance to the Southern Confederacy ! turn 
 our backs on the old flag and strike against it ? Yes, this is a terrible 
 place we are in ; we are starving, but rather than take the oath of allegi- 
 ance to the Southern Confederacy, or lift our hands against the Stars and 
 Stripes, we will lie here and rot and die and be forgotten of humanity ! " 
 Can such men be trusted ? And this is the material of which the Grand 
 Army is composed, and such the principles that control it.
 
 STRATFOHDS CELEBRATION. 61 
 
 The Grand Army of the Republic stands to-day with its eyes turned 
 not towards the past, but looking hopefully to the future, believing 
 that before us is still a noble field of effort and of enterprise. 
 
 If the future history of the American Republic is to be one of 
 prosperity and success, we of to-day must not be unmindful of the obli- 
 gation resting upon us. We rejoice, as American citizens, in the pro- 
 tection which the nation affords us. On sea or on land, at home or 
 abroad, where'er we go, as long as our glorious old flag is seen floating 
 over us, we are sure that none will molest us. The strong arm of this 
 mighty nation is ever around us to give us protection. We glory in 
 the power and strength of our republic. Some years ago an American 
 ship dropped anchor in a foreign harbor. One of the sailors asked per- 
 mission of the captain to go ashore for a little time that he might view 
 the country, and as the ship was to remain in the harbor for several 
 days, permission w r as granted. The young man could not speak a word 
 of the language, but thought he could make himself sufficiently under- 
 stood to provide for his wants. He had been ashore scarcely twenty- 
 four hours when he was arrested, charged with having committed a 
 crime, the penalty of which was death. He sought in every way pos- 
 sible to make them understand and know that he was innocent; but 
 no, they took him off to court, and despite his every effort to establish 
 his innocence, the court declared him guilty and sentenced him to be 
 shot on his coffin the following day. He was in deep trouble. An in- 
 nocent man, alone in a foreign land, and a prisoner doomed to death ! 
 What shall he do? The happy thought strikes him, "I will send for 
 the American Consul, possibly he can help me." By signs he makes 
 his keeper understand what he wants, and the consul is sent for and is 
 soon in his presence. Here is a man who can understand him. Into 
 his ears he pours his trouble, and appeals to the consul to save him- 
 The consul appeals to the authorities for a new trial, but it is refused. 
 "No!'" say the}*, "he has been accused of crime; he has been properly 
 tried and convicted, and at the appointed time he must die !" The 
 morning dawns and the hour for execution has arrived, and the poor 
 sailor, accompanied by the consul, is led forth to die. The heart of the 
 sailor is full of sorrow at the thought of dying a culprit's death in a for- 
 eign land. Arrived at the place of execution, the sailor is placed upon 
 his coffin, while the guard that are to tire the fatal shot are drawn up in 
 line before him. A few moments are allowed him in which to give his 
 parting words to the .consul, when the commander waves his hand to 
 the consul to retire. For a moment he looks at the guard and then at
 
 62 stratford's celebration. 
 
 the sailor, then suddenly pulls from his coat an American flag, 
 and wrapping it around the sailor turns defiantly to the guard, and 
 bids them dare to fire a shot at that American flag. Not one 
 dares to fire. " He who lifts that flag or dares to put a bullet into 
 it," cries the consul, " will bring upon himself the strength and power of 
 the American Government!"' The boy was safe, none dared to do him 
 harm. "Give him a new trial," demands the consul. A new trial was 
 granted and he was acquitted. It was not the cloth that saved him. 
 but, covered with that flag, he had around him the strength and power 
 of the American Government. In this power you and I, my fellow cit- 
 izens, rejoice to-day. But it remains for us to perpetuate this power by 
 preserving sacredly the principles and institutions upon which the re- 
 public rests. The power is the fruit of the development of true and 
 noble principles. So long as these shall remain undisturbed, so long 
 shall the republic live. 
 
 Years a^o. as an American statesman with some of his friends 
 stood upon the lofty peaks of one of our mountains, he turned his ear 
 towards the plain as though he heard a sound. " What do you hear ?" 
 said one of his friends. " Hear ?" said he ; " I hear the tramp of the 
 coming millions." 
 
 To-day we stand upon the verge of a -new century. Hark ! what 
 do we hear? The tramp of the coming millions; and to these must we 
 give o'er the ship of state, with every timber sound, with sails all set, 
 with every part complete. Onward must the republic move through 
 the century just begun, securing still grander results than in the past. 
 But that this be, it is demanded that we be men who dare stand firm 
 for the right. 
 
 This, and this only, shall bring blessings and prosperity in the 
 future, and preserve the power and glory of the nation. 
 
 A few years ago I stood at the entrance of Lincoln Park in Wash- 
 ington, looking at the beautiful monument of Lincoln. On a large ped- 
 estal in bronze stands Lincoln ; before him is a stalwart African in the 
 act of rising. Around the African's limbs are chains, but they are 
 broken. On his wrists are fetters, but they are broken. In one hand 
 Lincoln holds the unrolled emancipation proclamation, while with the 
 other he is beckoning the African to rise to his feet. " Ah," said I 
 to my friend, " what does that tell us ?" Simply this : that in the years 
 gone by, when the nation was carrying a load that was weighing it down, 
 there were those who feared God more than men, who loved the truth 
 and their fellow-men more than the voice of praise and popularity.
 
 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 83 
 
 Struggling for the right, they sought the freedom of the enslaved. 
 At last the day dawned when the truth should triumph ; and Lincoln, 
 that man who loved his country more than life ; Lincoln, whose 
 name is revered by all this nation ; he whom the world has come to 
 know as the saviour of his country, led the van, and, breaking the 
 chains, unfurled the banner of freedom and justice to all. 
 
 This spirit engendered in the hearts of the present generation, and 
 adhered to by the citizens of our loved land, shall magnify our power 
 and multiply our blessings. It is this that shall enable us to enjoy the 
 liberties of our land ; and it is this that will enable us to perpetuate and 
 hand over to coming generations the institutions so loved and cherished 
 by us all. God bless the right ! and may the coming century unfold 
 to this nation greater blessings and still grander achievements. Unfurl 
 the flag, let its folds, the insignia of libertj r , float out o'er the land. 
 Grand old flag ! may the stars of the firmament as soon be blotted out as 
 the principles which thou hast nurtured and protected ; and of the dead, 
 whose memory we cherish, it may be said : 
 
 The patriots sleep in the land of their choice, 
 
 In the robe of a martyr, all gory, 
 And the} r heed not the tones of a world waking voice 
 
 That covers their ashes with glory. 
 What reck they of riches ? What care they for fame, 
 
 Or a world decked in grandeur or beauty ? 
 If the marble shall speak that records their proud name, 
 
 " They died at their post, doing duty ?" 
 
 The pilot that stood at the helm of our bark, 
 
 Unmoved by the tempest's commotion, 
 Was swept from the deck in the storm and the dark, 
 
 And sank in the depths of the ocean. 
 But little he'll grieve for the life it has cost, 
 
 If our banner shall still float in beauty, 
 And emblaze on its folds of the pilot we've lost, 
 
 " He died at his post, doing duty." 
 
 The warrior chieftain has sunk to his rest, 
 
 The sod of the mountain his pillow ; 
 For his bed the broad earth has opened her breast- 
 
 His dirge, the ocean's sad billow. 
 As long as the ocean wave weeps on our shore 
 
 And our valleys bloom out in their beauty, 
 So long will our country her heroes deplore 
 
 Who fell at their post, doing duty.
 
 64 stratford's celebration. 
 
 The eloquence and force of the speaker captivated the audience at 
 once, and throughout the whole of the address he was listened to with 
 the closest attention. Hearty and appreciative cheers were given the 
 speaker at its conclusion, and the morning's exercises were then 
 brought to a close with the singing of " Mv Country, 'tis of thee," 
 under the leadership of John R Lattin, and accompanied by the 
 Wheeler & Wilson band.
 
 CHRIST CHURCH. 
 
 (Erected 1857.) 
 
 From a Photograph hy F. C. Beach, 1890.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 65 
 
 EXERCISES OF THE AFTERNOON. 
 
 It was after two o'clock when the first part of the programme of the 
 day was finished, and the agreeable duty of entertaining the guests and 
 visitors was immediately entered upon. Lieutenant-Governor Merwin, 
 the orators of the day, and other invited guests were taken in carriages 
 to the residence of Mr. David P. Rhoades on King Street, where Colonel 
 Watson and staff, of the 4th Connecticut Regiment, joined them, and all 
 were most hospitably entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades. Meanwhile, 
 the organizations which took part in the parade were marched down 
 Elm Street to a large tent standing on a lot owned by Mr. Asa S. Curtis, 
 on the west side of Elm Street, midway between " "Watch House " Hill 
 and Stratford Avenue. Here, under the care and guidance of the provi- 
 dent Collation Committee, they were abundantly provided with entertain- 
 ment. Not only were the visiting organizations, whose presence so 
 materially added to the success of the celebration, thus entertained, but 
 as the invited guests passed from the tables and the tent, the general 
 visitors, who had gathered in the town by thousands, and for whom the 
 supplies provided by private parties were altogether insufficient, were 
 gladly welcomed to the vacant places at the tables ; and so, from the 
 time that the tent was thrown open until nightfall, the tireless Collation 
 Committee continued the work of entertainment. Even while the 
 afternoon exercises were progressing, the good work went on at the 
 tent. All who came, departed satisfied, and the repute of Stratford's 
 people as bounteous hosts was maintained. 
 
 In addition to the preparations for entertainment thus publicly 
 made and conducted, the possibilities of the day attracted many thrifty 
 persons to erect tents and tables here and there about the centre of the 
 town, where there could be procured for a modest sum the staple deli- 
 cacies usually found on such occasions ; while many far-sighted people 
 who live back from the shore could be seen in their wagons and 
 carriages enjoying the lunch which they had brought with them.
 
 66 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 While the guests of the day and the public were thus being provided 
 for, at almost every house in town the latch string was out and around 
 tables bountifully spread groups of relatives and friends were enjoying 
 the hospitality of our people. 
 
 That mid-day feast was a joyful hour in many a home. The charm- 
 ing weather, the gaily- decorated houses, the thronging crowds in the 
 streets, the holiday air of the town, made the blood of the most sluggish 
 nature stir. Gay talk and laughter, praise of the present occasion, 
 happy reminiscence of the past, mingled in pleasant confusion in many 
 homes. But the time for entertainment was all too short. The pro- 
 gramme for the afternoon, which was more distinctively commemorative 
 of the town's birth and history than were the exercises of the forenoon, 
 was soon to begin. And so, after the lunch at Mr. Rhoades', the officers 
 of the da} r , the invited guests and orators, escorted by the Marshal of the 
 day and his aids, were again taken to the grand stand. As they passed 
 down Main Street the scenes of the morning were renewed — the same 
 crowds upon the streets moving toward " Academy Hill," the dwellings 
 gaily decorated, the grand old elms ever graceful, the green lawns, all 
 bespoke a rare occasion and Stratford at her best. 
 
 Upon the hill about the grand stand a large audience again 
 assembled ; it differed from the assembly of the morning, for the mili- 
 tary and civic organizations were missing, as no attempt was made to 
 keep the companies together after the collation, but many of the mem- 
 bers of the organizations mingled with the audience, and their gay 
 uniforms gave life and variety to the scene. The grand stand was 
 soon filled, and the large audience gathered before it, while here and 
 there upon the extended common small groups of people were to be 
 seen passing to and fro either in the enjoyment of some companionship 
 which the day had made possible, or more pleased to visit some old 
 landmark than to join the thronging audience of the orators. It was 
 a pleasant and inspiriting sight to look over the broad common to 
 see the packed grand stand, the large audience alive with interest and 
 pleasure, the people in carriages crowding close upon those on foot, the 
 visitors strolling on the common, and back of all the gaily-decorated 
 dwellings skirting the hill, and making a fitting frame for so pleasant a 
 picture. 
 
 The very location of the platform was an inspiration to the 
 speakers, whose theme was the town's birth and history ; the lawns that 
 stretched before them, covered remnants of the foundation stones of two 
 meeting-houses, where the fathers worshipped for a century before
 
 Stratford's celebration. 67 
 
 the Revolution. And at the foot of the hill la)' the old church-yard, in 
 the midst of which once stood the first Episcopal church erected in Con- 
 necticut. Here also was the watch-house of the first settlers, from which 
 came the name " Watch-house Hill," and across the northern brow 
 of the nill the early settlers, to protect themselves from the Indians, 
 built a stockade. On the common east of the old church-yard an Eng- 
 lish regiment had lain encamped through a long winter in Colonial days. 
 
 Amid such inspiring surroundings the historical addresses of the 
 afternoon were made ; that they were deeply interesting, and happily 
 diversified, will appear from their perusal. 
 
 The exercises of the afternoon were opened by the Rev. Charles L. 
 Pardee, of the Episcopal church in Stratford, with the following prayer: 
 
 God, who art the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings 
 and Lord of lords ; the almighty Ruler of nations, we adore and mag- 
 nify Thy glorious name for all the great things which Thou hast done 
 for us. We render Thee thanks for the goodly heritage which Thou 
 hast given us ; for the civil and religious privileges which we enjoy ; 
 and for all Thy favors from the beginning of our lives to this day. 
 And we pray Thee that we may show forth our thankfulness for all 
 these not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to 
 Thy service, and by walking before Thee in holiness and righteousness 
 all our days. Preserve, we beseech Thee, to our country the blessings 
 of peace, and secure them to all the nations of the earth. May the king- 
 dom of the Prince of Peace come in the hearts and lives of all men, that 
 so our only strife may be who shall love Thee most and serve Thee 
 best. We ask Thy blessing on all in municipal, legislative, judicial and 
 executive authority, that they may discharge the duties of their several 
 offices to the promotion of Thy glory, the interest of true religion and 
 virtue, the peace, good order and welfare of this town, state and nation. 
 Continue to prosper our institutions for the promotion of sound learn- 
 ing, the diffusion of virtuous education, and the advancement of Christian 
 truth. Take from us an evil heart of unbelief, and shed the quickening 
 influences of the Holy Spirit on all the people of this land. Save us 
 from the guilt of abusing blessings and privileges, and of confusing- 
 liberty and license. Give us a just sense of all these Thy mercies, and 
 may the blessings which, from the labor of others, we are reaping 
 to-day, be so duly appreciated by us as that we may serve Thee faith- 
 fully in this life, in humility, holiness, and obedience, so that finally we 
 lose not Thy eternal blessings ; and to Thy name be all the honor and 
 glory, world without end. Amen.
 
 68 Stratford's celebration". 
 
 Mr. Stiles Judson, Jr., the President of the day, then spoke the fol- 
 lowing words of welcome : 
 
 Fellow-citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen : The pleasant duty and privi- 
 lege devolves upon me to extend a cordial greeting in the name of our 
 towns-people to the guests who are with us to-day to participate in the 
 celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settle- 
 ment of the town of Stratford. It is with the most kindly feelings that 
 we bid you welcome ; our village has put on holiday attire to receive 
 you, and the hospitality of her citizens you cannot over-tax on this 
 pleasant reunion of old Stratford's sons and daughters. 
 
 If through the exercises of this day it becomes apparent to you that 
 our people are proud of this old town, which two centuries and a half 
 ago was founded on the shores of the Housatonic, near to the blue 
 waters of the Sound, we ask you to look upon it as a pardonable pride ; 
 for in the beauty of our town, in the fact of her early settlement, in 
 the men and women of sterling worth and character who have lived and 
 died 'neath the old elms that shade our village and in the memories 
 that cluster around us, we find just cause for the pride exhibited. 
 
 The scene of animation presented on the streets of the old town 
 to-day is new and strange to her ; the picture of restfulness and repose 
 we are wont to see being more in accord with her existence and tradi- 
 tions. Her sons and (laughters, though ever loyal to their birth-place, 
 do not claim for her the activity or material growth witnessed in some 
 of our sister towns. 
 
 The disturbing forces to be found within the cities are absent from 
 us. The jar of commerce and the turbulency of politics strike no 
 responsive chord among a people born to rural scenes. Yet, withal, the 
 old town, during these many years, has not been idle, for not only has 
 the weal of her own children been cared for, but she has laid the founda- 
 tions of other communities. 
 
 She looks to the northward and beholds the town of Huntington 
 nestled among the hills, and her affection goes out to this, her first-born. 
 The towns of Trumbull and Monroe are connected with us by the same 
 link of kinship, and these neighboring communities, through their re- 
 presentatives with us on this occasion, will bear witness that the family 
 tie is made stronger to-day. She looks to the westward and beholds 
 the city of Bridgeport, which is soon to become the first city of our Com- 
 monwealth. The smoke rising from its thousand factory-chimneys gives 
 evidence of the activity and enterprise of the rugged New England 
 character. Who shall say that much of its phenomenal growth and
 
 Stratford's celebration. 69 
 
 prosperity is not due to the impress made on the body politic by those 
 founders whose memory we honor by these anniversary exercises. Yet, 
 though eclipsed in the shadow of Bridgeport's progress, we feel no 
 twinge of jealousy, but only friendship and good-will. On the road to 
 fortune and success the old town wishes her god-speed, for in the town 
 of Bridgeport she recognizes her youngest born. It is, then, with special 
 significance that the citizens of those towns join with us in giving ex- 
 pression to our fealty to the first settlers of Stratford. 
 
 But her influence and prestige extend over a wider field than this, 
 for from the. old home have gone forth many of her children to other 
 communities and to distant climes, and their early associations have, in 
 memory, been carried with them. 
 
 Many a family reunion will be held this day, and recollections 
 revived by the sight of old familiar places, and when at the close of the 
 day we " speed the parting guest," it will be with the belief that your 
 sojourn with us, brief as it is, will have been the means of awakening a 
 renewed interest and affection towards the old town. 
 
 Though the years, in passing, have left the marks of time on 
 old Stratford's landscape, with her ancient dwellings standing as sen- 
 tinels of the past ; though the moss of centuries is thick upon the stones 
 marking the resting-places of those early settlers who braved the perils 
 of the wilderness in making this their abode, yet the mantle of age rests 
 lightly upon her, and the frost of two hundred and fifty winters has 
 failed to blight her beauty and freshness. Old Stratford is young again 
 to-day in the spirit with which she welcomes you, and the joyousness 
 of this occasion shall be to her as a life-giving spring from which she 
 will draw long-continued life and happiness. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin T. Fairchild, one of Stratford's sons, and a descend- 
 ant of one of the first settlers, was then introduced, and delivered the 
 following address : 
 
 Stratford to-day enacts her part in the series of celebrations which 
 have followed the course of the founders of New England from 
 Plymouth to Connecticut. In many a fair and prosperous town and 
 village the descendants of the Pilgrim and the Puritan have vied in 
 extolling the valor and the virtues of their forefathers. 
 
 When we of Stratford come to-day to reckon up the debt which 
 we owe to our ancestors, it is with hearts full of reverent joy and 
 gratitude for the blessings and privileges which have descended to us.
 
 70 stratford's celebration. 
 
 Here on this historic and hallowed spot, to-day freshly consecrated, the 
 place of the Watch House, the Church of Christ, and the School, the 
 suggestive trio of the Puritan's environment, we come to fill our minds 
 with the spirit and the scenes of long by-gone but never-to-be-forgotten 
 days ; to listen to stories which can never to us become twice-told or 
 tedious tales. For, indeed, the genius of the poet and the painter still 
 kindles at the story of the Pilgrim, and each generation finds in his life 
 a new lesson and a fresh inspiration. 
 
 After two hundred and fifty years we come to-day to pay our 
 loving and loyal tribute to the memory of those heroic men, who with 
 sublime faith and fortitude, planted their homes on the shores of a new 
 land and began those struggles for the rights of self-government which 
 made their little communities the germs of free and independent com- 
 monwealths and fashioned the lines upon which were built the Consti- 
 tution, and determined under God the destiny of a mighty republic. In 
 this, the hour of exultation and congratulation, we are content to sound 
 no higher key, to place no higher estimate upon these men than the 
 verdict of mankind has already accorded them. " In all history," it is 
 said, "there has been no instance of colonization so exclusively effected 
 by picked and chosen men." 
 
 What was the character and the purpose of these colonists, what 
 the influence which inspired and equipped them to overcome obstacles, 
 to endure hardships before which expeditions with all the potent 
 incentives of gain and conquest and adventure had repeatedly suc- 
 cumbed? It was a migration of men inspired as they believed by 
 Divine guidance, who purposed in a new land to found a State where 
 they might govern their lives according to the laws of God and the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ as interpreted by their conscience. 
 
 If, in the light in which we now happily live, the religion of the 
 Puritan seems sombre and stern, it was nevertheless the very force and 
 fervor of this religion, united with an intense aspiration for individual 
 liberty that made possible the civil and religious freedom which we 
 now enjoy. A religion of such vital quality that it supported him 
 through trials, struggles and vicissitudes without parallel in the history 
 of a people. Under its guidance were developed wisdom and states- 
 manship of the highest order. 
 
 "For," said the greatest of English historians, "the Puritan brought 
 to civil and military affairs a coolness of judgment and an immutability 
 of purpose which some writers have thought inconsistent with religious 
 zeal, but which were in fact the necessary effects of it." It was the
 
 stratpord's celebration. 71 
 
 Puritan preacher who, in 1638, made the immortal declaration that 
 "The choice of public magistrates belongs unto the people by God's 
 own allowance," that "Tne foundation of authority is laid firstly in the 
 free consent of the people," and thus formulated the " most important 
 profession of political faith in our history." The first practical assertion 
 of the principle which lies at the foundation of the American system. 
 
 Dissent brought the Pilgrim to Plymouth, and from Massachusetts 
 to Connecticut. The Puritan's progress is the evolution of dissent. The 
 pastor led his people as the shepherd his flock, and it may be said that 
 each sheep betrayed a strong inclination to jump for himself. 
 
 Connecticut founded by dissenters from the theocratic system of 
 Massachusetts, made the most rapid progress in civil and religious 
 liberty ; here developed the prototype of our commonwealths, here was 
 the birthplace of American democracy. It is with pride to-day that we 
 claim descent from the founders of this, one of the oldest plantations of 
 the Connecticut colony. We know that the little company who here 
 first set up their altar and their hearth-stones, and the settlers added 
 unto them, were of the best type of its founders. The Church was the 
 centre and the well-spring of the community and the Stratford divines 
 were men of conspicuous learning, ability and influence. Two of them 
 were called to the rectorship of Yale, and one, Dr. Johnson, to King's 
 College. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Johnson exerted a wide and powerful influence in 
 educational and ecclesiastical affairs. His son, William Samuel John- 
 son, was also President of Columbia College, and Stratford has the honor 
 to have sent him as one of the three men chosen to represent Connecti- 
 cut in the Federal Convention, and he was largely instrumental in 
 moulding the Constitution upon the Connecticut form and principles. It 
 is of no slight significance also, that here, scarce farther away than the 
 " meeting-house " spire cast its shadow, was erected the first Episcopal 
 Church in New England. This fair and beautiful town, so broadly and 
 nobly planned, itself ever bears eloquent testimony to the liberality, 
 taste and sagacity of its founders. 
 
 From this vantage ground where our forefathers, with musket and 
 sword, kept watch and ward over the little plantation, a village now 
 invites the eye as fair as the old home he loved so well, and to which in 
 his long vigils he must in fancy oft have turned his wistful gaze across 
 the sea. 
 
 What serene and benignant star presided at the birth of Stratford, 
 that from the days when our fathers contended with the savage and
 
 72 stratford's celebration. 
 
 built their cabins in the clearing, no tales of massacre color her record 
 and the sword and the torch have never devastated her homes ? 
 
 That during all the century and more, which have witnessed the 
 winning of a continent from ocean to ocean, whilst cities have multiplied 
 around her and the railroad bears its "expresses" heedlessly by, the 
 spell of peace and beauty still pervades and possesses her precincts, such 
 as was only broken by the cheery sound of the coach-horn in the days 
 when the stage rolled up to the door ©f Benjamin's Tavern. 
 
 With what measure of affection shall we, whose love to her is 
 welded by so many sacred associations, regard this, the rarely beautiful 
 village, which has been from generation to generation the home of our 
 fathers ? 
 
 Stratford has known how to grow old beautifully. Athwart these 
 broad greens at evening the lengthening shadows lie, and the stately 
 elms bend over the long streets their spreading arches in vista more 
 beautiful than Cathedral nave. May peace and prosperity ever dwell 
 beneath their tranquil shade. 
 
 At the close of Mr. Fairchild's address the President introduced the 
 Rev. George W. Judson, of Orange, Massachusetts; Mr. Judson is a de- 
 scendant of one of the first settlers, and but recently ceased to reside in 
 the town. In introducing Mr. Judson, the President referred to him as 
 the orator of the Judson family. Mr. Judson spoke as follows : 
 
 Mr. President, Fellow-Townsmen, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
 
 The gentleman is mistaken. I am no orator, as (my cousin) Brutus 
 is ; but, as you know me all, a plain, blunt man, that loves old Strat- 
 ford ; and that they know full well who give me public leave to speak 
 of her , for I have neither wit, nor words, action nor utterance, nor the 
 power of speech to stir mens souls. I only speak right on, tell you 
 what you yourselves do know, show you old Stratford's glory, and bid 
 that speak for me. But were I Brutus, and Brutus Antony, there were 
 an Antony should " make things hustle." 
 
 But, seriously, I esteem it a decided honor to be invited to 
 take part in these anniversary exercises to-day — an honor which 
 I take, however, as meant not so much for myself personally, as 
 for the family name, which, together with the President of the 
 day, I represent upon this occasion. For while through the two 
 hundred and fifty years of Stratford's history the Judson family has 
 not been especially conspicuous, it may be said, I think, that it has,
 
 T? ,-,
 
 stratfoed's celebration. 73 
 
 in the main, always held an honored and respected place. And it is a 
 matter for a Judson to feel just a little proud of to-day, that history and 
 tradition agree that in all probability it was a Judson, one William 
 Judson, who was the first white man to set his foot upon our historic 
 soil with a view to settlement. History does not certainly tell us 
 whether, when Judson came here in 1638, he came alone or with one 
 Thomas Fairchild (the ancestor of him who has addressed us to-day), 
 and one other, name unknown. But almost certainly Judson was here 
 in 1638, a year before the first colony (of which he was one) came for 
 settlement. Not any very great precedence, to be sure, but enough to 
 feel just a little proud of to-day. 
 
 But do not think, fellow-townsmen, that I propose to take up your 
 time to-day in fulsome eulogy of my ancestors, or of any one else's 
 ancestors. It seems to me to be very poor taste to indulge in that way. 
 For we, the descendants of these ancestors of ours, are what we are, as 
 they were what they were. If they were good men and true, as many 
 of them were, it is indeed proper for us to honestly recount their vir- 
 tues, and to try to imitate their example. If they did not amount to 
 much (and some of them did not), it is for us to do what we can to 
 improve upon their example. In any event, it is poor taste for us to 
 try and make out a case for all our sires of peculiar and unapproach- 
 able virtues. They possessed sterling and robust qualities of character, 
 most of them ; but the best of them were also men of like passions and 
 like frailties with ourselves. 
 
 And I confess it did me good (clergyman though I am), while look- 
 ing up the history of my own sires of so long ago, to find on record in 
 the annals of the town two or three incidents in their careers which, 
 though not exactly justifiable, nor by any means to be commended, yet 
 serve to show that these sires of ours were men like ourselves, liable 
 upon occasion to let their human nature lead them where they ought not 
 to go. One of these incidents is recounted of Jeremiah or Joshua 
 Judson — I forget which one — (which does not matter, since these were 
 both good Biblical names), who was fined for selling cider to the 
 Indians. Of course, it must have been good sweet cider. 
 
 And as showing that the boys of the olden time had some of the 
 same perversity in them which seems to delight to lodge with boys in 
 these degenerate days, we read also of two sons of the aforesaid Jere- 
 miah or Joshua Judson who were sentenced to sit for a day in the stocks 
 as a punishment for moonlight expeditious after "ye wholesome water- 
 millions."- This sentence was mercifully suspended on the ground
 
 74 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 of that liking for the fruit which makes .us all akin. And if it did not 
 have too musty a flavor, I should be tempted to tell the story told of 
 the brave Captain Judson in the Revolutionary War, when, as captain 
 of the Stratford " Home Guard," he one night led his company against 
 a supposed landing of the British at Lighthouse Point, and on his way 
 to the point saw in the dim distance the cornstalks waving, when, think- 
 ing that the British were advancing, Captain Judson cries, " Halt ! the 
 British are upon us; scatter, boys, scatter! " (But for the account of 
 this valorous deed see the History of Fairfield County, which so many 
 of you have purchased, and which you so highly prize for its accuracy, 
 fullness and cheapness.) 
 
 But I am here to-day to talk seriously for a little time ; for this is 
 a serious occasion, this gathering at a 250th Anniversary. Two 
 hundred and fifty years is a good long while, and it is a serious 
 thing for a town to reach such a ripe old age. 
 
 Think of it! Two hundred and fifty years ago, Charles the First 
 was on the throne of England and Cromwell was just laying those 
 plans which were to revolutionize his nation politically. Two hundred 
 and fifty years ago, Louis XIII. sat on the throne of France and the 
 continent of Europe was right in the middle of its thirty-years' war 
 which was to change the whole complexion of its international relations 
 and re-adjust its balance of power. Two hundred and fifty years ago, 
 Shakespeare had but just died and his genius was as yet but half 
 recognized ; while John Milton that " fountain of English, pure and 
 undefiled," had not yet written any of the works which gave him 
 immortal fame. And as for the rest of that long list of names which 
 have made our English literature what it is — the grandest of the world 
 ver y few of them had yet come from that great unknown which pre- 
 cedes birth with more literalness than it follows death. And turning to 
 the realms of science and industry, hardly one of the great inventions 
 and discoveries had yet been made which have since revolutionized 
 these departments of human progress. And as for our own magnificent 
 populous domain as we see it to-day, what was it then but a vast 
 howling wilderness, save for a fringe of settlements on its eastern 
 border, few and far between, whose inhabitants lived in constant terror 
 of extermination by the native savages who from the great unknown 
 interior were constantly making predatory excursions to the coast. 
 
 But I wish to speak more directly to-day, what our good old age 
 means for us as a town : what it has done for us : what its ripe 
 experience suggests for the future. For one thing, our old age as a
 
 stratford's celebration. 75 
 
 town has given to us an individuality of our own. All our old 
 towns have this; they have all lived long enough to have character- 
 istics of their own. The new towns scattered up and down over our 
 New England you will often find to be as alike as two chips, save for • 
 differences of situation and industry ; but not so the old ones. 
 
 Who would ever confound Stratford and Milford ? They each 
 have an individuality of their own that is not likely soon to be destroyed, 
 even though you have freed the bridge between the two towns from its 
 ancient toll. Who ever confounded Milford and Stratford boys or girls? 
 (though the Milford girls and Stratford boys seem to get taken by, if not 
 for, each other). Why, there is an individuality even to the Stratford 
 mosquito. 
 
 Have a care, then, for the projects of the Stratford Land Improve- 
 ment Company, lest they exterminate, in their march of improvement, 
 one of the most ancient and honored families of the place, a family whose 
 deeds and prowess have made Stratford known, respected and feared, 
 wherever her name has gone abroad ! But seriously, again, there is 
 something valuable in this old, staid respectable individuality of such 
 towns as our own. It helps connect us with the past. It makes us feel 
 that we have an interest in the doings of the olden time. It makes us 
 look with keen scrutiny upon the new-fangled schemes which spring up 
 on every side to improve the past by obliterating it. Let us, then, try 
 to preserve this individuality, for it will become the more precious as 
 the days go by. 
 
 Have a care, therefore, for the ambitions of our wide-awake daughter 
 on our western border. We rejoice in her prosperity and rapid growth, 
 for is she not our daughter ? But we should not yet be ready to pull 
 down the old homestead, or leave it for her more modern abode ! Let 
 us rather still keep the old place up ! Let Bridgeport send over her 
 children to visit or to board, but not yet to rule and lord it over the 
 old home now that her ancient glory has departed. And as you thus 
 keep one eye upon Bridgeport's real estate boomers and schemers, keep 
 your other eye upon your own politicians, lest they for a share of the 
 mess of pottage of city honors and city offices sell the birthright of our 
 old town, never to be regained, though it be sought carefully and with 
 tears. 
 
 Again, these old towns of which Stratford is one of the oldest in 
 this Commonwealth have, through and because of their age, a kind of 
 town or family honor, which their children always feel proud to uphold 
 and sustain. We Americans naturally and justly do not think much of
 
 76 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 a titled or blooded aristocracy, such as England and Germany possess, 
 for the bad features of an aristocracy exceed the good ones. But for all 
 that, there are good points in an aristocracy. For one thing, every 
 poorest son of an aristocratic English or German family feels weighing 
 upon him, as an incentive to a noble, honorable life, the family name 
 and fame, and more than death he dreads to disgrace that family name. 
 Now, one has something of this feeling as he goes out from one of these 
 old towns. If I had gone away to my life work from the town of 
 Squedunk, settled yesterday, or the day before, or last year, the repu- 
 tation of the town I left would not amount to much as an incentive with 
 me to a good work and an honorable life ; but to go forth from old 
 Stratford does mean something, as inciting one to live an honorable and 
 useful life. A man holds up his head a little higher when he goes into 
 the town clerk's office to be registered for the first time in his adopted 
 town, when he can say, " I was born in Stratford," than he could when 
 he must say " I was born in Squedunk." This is another reason why 
 you ought not to let Bridgeport destroy our name and assume our life, 
 because our family name and its honor is at stake. Not that Bridge- 
 port has not a family name and honor of her own, but we want ours and 
 not hers ; and we want to transmit our own name and not another's to 
 our children. Never in the lifetime of any of us may we come home to 
 look for the old homestead in vain ; to find in its place a monument or a 
 public drinking fountain, inscribed: "Sacred to the memory of Old 
 Mother Stratford, whose eldest daughter so crowded her by her growth 
 that she gave up the old homestead and died in her daughter's embrace ; 
 to commemorate which graceful and timely departure the aforesaid 
 daughter has affectionately erected this monument to her mother's mem- 
 ory." God forbid ! Eather may the old mother still live, hale and 
 hearty as of yore, to welcome her sons and daughters from afar when two 
 hundred and fifty years more shall have rolled away, as she welcomes 
 them to-day. 
 
 But there is another side to this matter of age as related to town 
 life that I want to speak of before I close, by way of criticism and warn- 
 ing. While we revere our past, and live in the light of its experience, 
 we must have a care not to worship the past, or think so much of the old 
 age of our town as to forget to think of her future, or fail to adjust our- 
 selves to the new conditions which confront us for the future. To meet 
 this future we must go forward with something besides the ghost of 
 a dead past in our memories, and a pride of past accomplishments in our 
 thought.
 
 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 77 
 
 May I be permitted, then, before I close, to humbly offer a few sug- 
 gestions with regard to the future before our historic old town, and the 
 way we should face the future as it emerges into the present. 
 
 Permit me a word, first, to the old residents. Don't be too-too-ex- 
 clusively-exclusive. Don't be too afraid of new-comers to your midst. 
 It is indeed a good thing to have had ancestors who early settled here in 
 this old town ; but it does not signify that new-comers may not have just 
 as worthy ancestors as we, though they were not so fortunate as to settle 
 here. The course of wisdom, then, is to cultivate the friendly and ap- 
 proachable, and not the critical and hostile, spirit towards the new-comers. 
 Thus, instead of exciting their hostility you will win them over to an 
 admiration of all that is worthy in our town life, and make them as true 
 and loyal to Stratford in the future as you are now. Be as proud, then, 
 of your own good name and of the good name of your ancestors as you 
 will ; but do not be so loftily conscious of your own assumed family 
 superiority as to live in constant fear lest you should soil your hands by 
 the clasp of brotherhood in ordinary social intercourse with those who do 
 not chance to have so long a pedigree as you have ! Such a sight were 
 enough to make both gods and men laugh, if it were not so pitiful ! 
 Pitiful, as disclosing our own self-sufficiency. Pitiful, as revealing that 
 lack of the genuine spirit of human brotherhood, which is worth infinitely 
 more than connection lateral or relationship lineal. Above all, may 
 God save us from that Pharisaic spirit which thank God that we are not 
 as others are, especially that we are not as these unknown publicans are 
 who do not even know who their great-great-grandfathers were, but who 
 have nevertheless dared to come among us and even go up to the house 
 of God with us. 
 
 I suggest, also, that the ripe experience of our old age ought to 
 teach us in the future to have a care not to preserve too hostile a spirit 
 towards labor, and especially toward manufacturing interests. It would 
 indeed be a pleasant thing if this grand old Main Street of ours (as 
 no doubt this street will), and a grand thing in some ways if all these 
 other streets could be built up wholly for residential purposes, with resi- 
 dences, too, of the better class. But the ideal American community is 
 not made up only of residents of the professional and what we call of the 
 polite trades ; it includes as well, what we more distinctively call the 
 workers of society. Farmers, mechanics, craftsmen of every kind, our 
 ideal American community must find a place for ; and all of these it 
 must try to assimilate into the organism that constitutes its industrial 
 and social life. Instead of being then afraid of the establishing of manu-
 
 78 stkatford's celkbratiox. 
 
 factories we should welcome them — especially if they call for skilled 
 American labor : and we should try to impress upon their operatives the 
 stamp of our own ambition and culture and life. I say that is the ideal 
 American community which finds an honored place in its organism for 
 labor, of whatever kind it be, whether of hand or of brain, so it be hon- 
 est; and which makes nt> invidious comparisons on account of the par- 
 ticular kind or compensation of the work by which an honest living is 
 gained. For unless, gentlemen, unless we can do this — make all labor 
 of hand or brain equally honorable in our estimate of social worth and 
 privilege — there is a sad day before this nation. For on this rock of 
 wealth and its ease, despising the labor which created it, on this rock has 
 split many a social and industrial craft in the past; and this rock, if not 
 kept clear of, is going to wreck many a seeming social and industrial 
 prosperity of the future. Oh ! I have been very grateful many a time 
 in the past few years, when home-sickness for old Stratford has for a 
 moment come over me, that my lot has been cast for the present in — if 
 not so beautiful a town as my native place — yet in as truly American a 
 town as exists, I believe, in all new England. A town where wealth 
 puts on no supercilious airs, and where honest labor of every kind, if 
 combined with an honest reputation, is the passport to every social priv- 
 ilege, church amenity, and political honor. 
 
 Don't be afraid, then, of doing your part in preserving the dignitv 
 of labor which is so essential to our best community and national life. 
 
 But a word more and I am done. And that word relates to the 
 educational possibilities and duties ever enlarging before you. I well 
 remember the struggle which began in this town, it must be twenty 
 years ago, for the betterment of our educational interests by the estab- 
 lishment, in the place of our scattered ungraded schools, of the central 
 graded school. The remembrance of the hot debates upon that matter 
 in the school-houses and the Town Hall will ever remain in my memory 
 as the most marvelous thing in the way of debate that I ever listened to, 
 or ever heard of. You know how the early movement ingloriously 
 failed, and how only when the old fighters were recruited by a younger 
 generation success came, and the long hoped for graded school was built 
 and equipped. Now you are resting on your well won laurels and enjoy- 
 ing the fruits of your victory. But, remember, that if Stratford is to 
 continue her growth, there are new campaigns before you along the same 
 line where you have already fought and won, and now is the time to 
 begin to look forward to, and to plan for these campaigns. Let it be 
 your proud boa«t. as your population shall multiply and your children
 
 Stratford's celebration. 79 
 
 increase, to always keep apace of the demands which these make upon 
 you for education ; so that the reputation of this town, now so well es- 
 tablished in this once neglected respect, may be always sustained, grow- 
 ing, indeed, more lustrous as the years go by. And with your educa- 
 tional endeavor, let there go hand-in-hand that effort to promote temper- 
 ance, morality and true religion, which, combined with education and 
 culture, make a town not only a good place to live in, but as .well a good 
 place to go out from, to continue in other fields of service the good work 
 begun at home. 
 
 All hail ! then, good old mother Stratford ! In all things good and 
 true we wish thee well ! As years gone by have added to thy glory, so 
 may the years to come increase thy fame. And still, while years and 
 centuries roll, back to thy home may thy children's children come with 
 loving hearts to ever wish thee well. 
 
 At the close of Mr. Judson's address the Hon. Curtis Thompson 
 was introduced. Mr. Thompson is a descendant of one of the earliest 
 settlers, and a native and former resident of the town. Mr. Thompson 
 delivered the following address : 
 
 It gives me great pleasure to join the people of Stratford in this 
 commemoration. Standing here, my memory calls up many scenes 
 and events of my youth. Forty years ago, on this green, stood the old 
 brick school-house, and where the Veterans 1 Monument now stands, 
 stood the old Academy, with the poplar trees around it. The old school 
 teachers, Peter P. Curtis, Hamilton Burton, Emily Stillson, Asa 
 Seymour Curtis, Frederick Sedgwick, and others engaged in the 
 great work of teaching, are all dear to my memory. They were not 
 only intelligent and devoted instructors, but also kind and true friends. 
 Our ministers have recently celebrated the 250th anniversary of the 
 founding of the " First Ecclesiastical Society," and have deservedly 
 praised the work of the talented and learned men of their calling, but 
 the work of the school teachers and laymen has been quite as effective 
 as that of the ministers, and let us not forget it to-day. 
 
 And the old Episcopal Church, built in 1743, was then standing. 
 It had a beautiful glass chandelier, and old-fashioned high-back pews. 
 On its steeple stood the same old weather-cock that stands upon the 
 new church to-day, made, it is said, by Colonel John Benjamin, Jr., a 
 goldsmith. Colonel Frazier's Highland Battalion, which was encamped 
 on this common, in 1757-8, amused themselves, it is said, by shooting 
 at it, piercing it many times.
 
 80 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 Not since 1757 have there been here so many soldiers as we have 
 seen to-day. Some of us can remember the only battle which ever 
 occurred in this town. It was when Capt. John Mitchell's famous 
 company, dressed and equipped as Indians, had a sham battle on this 
 green ; some of the participants got so warmed up in the conflict, as to 
 be dangerous and hurtful to the others. 
 
 We can also remember how in 1847, when Clark Bissell, of 
 Norwalk, was elected Governor : he was met and escorted by our mili- 
 tary bands, through this town over this common, while he journeyed in 
 state from Norwalk to the Capitol. 
 
 Then, where the children of the County Home now live, resided 
 Governor Plant, as we were proud to call him. He was Lieutenant- 
 Governor from 1828 to 1827, and Member of Congress from 1827 to 
 1829. His stately and dignified carriage and pleasing manners, as we 
 often saw him on his favorite horse, won our youthful regard. Next 
 west of Governor Plants house, dwelt the Eev. William B. Weed, the 
 Congregational minister, an odd, very able, learned and eloquent divine. 
 Those who knew and heard him can never forget him. 
 
 Now, let me examine briefly the beginning of this town. It was 
 settled under the auspices of the Connecticut Colony, which had on 
 January 14, 1638-9, adopted a constitution which has become the pat- 
 tern of the constitutions of all the States, and of the Republic itself. In 
 that great work some of the pioneers of this town took part, and share 
 in its credit, for some of them lived in Hartford and Wethersfield before 
 they came to Stratford in 1639. It was about nineteen years after the 
 landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. For some years the English and 
 the Dutch had been contending for Connecticut. In 1633 the famous 
 Holmes sailed up the Connecticut River, by the Dutch fort, landing at 
 Windsor, where he built his house and fortified it. In 1635 Hartford, 
 Windsor and Wethersfield were founded by emigrants from Massa- 
 chusetts settlements, and strange enough they came here that they might 
 enjoy a larger freedom in civil affairs than they were allowed there. If 
 England was sifted to obtain the choice grain that planted Massa- 
 chusetts, Massachusetts was again sifted to obtain the choice grain that 
 planted Connecticut, The relation of these plantations in respect to 
 government was not long in doubt, for they soon set up a court, 
 so-called, for themselves, and assumed all the powers of sovereignty ; 
 not only the ordinary powers of managing civil affairs, but also the 
 extraordinar}' powers of making war and peace and contracting alliances 
 with the Indian tribes. At the court held in 1636, their circumstances
 
 S .3 m 
 
 B Q m 
 
 £ o
 
 Stratford's celebration. 81 
 
 were such that it was judged necessary for every man to be a soldier, 
 and in May, 1637, with much self-reliance, if not audacity, the court 
 declared war against the powerful Pequots and raised an army of ninety 
 men, under command of Captain John Mason, which took the field 
 against the enemy, and after a great victory over the Pequots, in their 
 strongholds east of the Thames, drove the remnant of the enemy to the 
 west, where they secreted themselves in the great swamp now in the 
 limits of Fairfield, and where they were again conquered and destroyed 
 as a tribe. " Roger Ludlow, and some of the principal gentlemen of the 
 river settlements," accompanied the army. They were probably the 
 first Englishmen who had seen this beautiful territory. It was in June, 
 and they were charmed with the situation, and spread most favorable 
 reports of its features and prospects. 
 
 The gentlemen who settled New Haven arrived in Boston in the fall 
 of 1637, and stimulated by these reports they sailed from Boston, and early 
 in 1638 founded New Haven, which, with Milford and a few other towns, 
 constituted a separate colony until 1662. The liberal ideas of Hooker, 
 Ludlow and others, who founded the Connecticut Colony, were not 
 pleasing to the New Haven Colony, which agreed with Massachusetts in 
 allowing onl} r church members to vote. The Connecticut principle was 
 stated by the gifted Hooker, in his great sermon of March 31, 1638, 
 " That the choice of public magistrates belongs unto the people by God's 
 own allowance, who have the power also to set the bounds and limita- 
 tions of the power and place unto which they call them." Let us rejoice 
 that in the same year, 1639, from the same body of freemen who had the 
 genius and will to frame the instrument which embodied these principles, 
 came our fathers into this goodly land of Cupheag, and established for 
 themselves and their successors a township where assuredly all these 
 years those great principles of civil government have been preserved. 
 I wish I could tell you something of the personal qualities, doings and 
 lives of the pioneers. Whether they came here by land or water, we do 
 not know. We know they were Puritans, most if not all of them hav- 
 ing; belonged to the Church of England. We know that in 1640 the 
 Puritan emigration stopped, because . the} 7 were kept busy at home; so 
 that Stratford must have been settled mainly by the planters removing 
 from other plantations of New England. 
 
 The pioneers of Milford had Tibbals, and those of Fairfield had 
 Ludlow to lead them, but who led the pioneers of Stratford ? We do not 
 know, and infer that then as now they were all leaders and equals. It 
 may not have been settled as quickly as Oklahoma has been, but the
 
 82 stratford's celebration. 
 
 conquest of the Pequots, and the claims of the Dutch led to a very rapid 
 occupation of Stratford and Fairfield. Indeed it seems to be clear that 
 they did not wait to buy the land from the Indians. 
 
 The Paugussett Indians living hereabouts were treated as allies of 
 the Pequots, and conquered with them, and so the conquerors took these 
 lands, " to maintain their rights that God by conquest had given to them." 
 The quieting of the title of the Indians was legally secured by a decision 
 of the Court in 1659, and morally secured by deeds from the Indians in 
 1671. The Patent from the General Court was issued in 1687, so as to 
 perfect the title, and strengthen their position, against the claims of Sir 
 Edmund Andros, who had been appointed governor and sought to 
 deprive us of our charter rights. He claimed that " an Indian deed 
 was no better than the scratch of a bear's paw.' 
 
 Mr. Orcutt, who has examined this question recently, informs me 
 that the southern half of the townships of Stratford and Fairfield was 
 purchased from the Indians by the Connecticut Colony, and not by the 
 plantations, nor any of their members ; that the same was afterwards sold 
 by the Colony to the plantations, and that the other parts of such town- 
 ships were bought from the Indians, as may be seen by the deeds on record. 
 
 Owing to the loss of the early records of this plantation, it has been 
 a difficult task to ascertain exactly the facts concerning the settlement 
 of Stratford. To the Eev. Benjamin L. Swan, Eev. Samuel Orcutt, and 
 Eowland B. Lacey, Esquire, we owe a debt of gratitude ; their faithful 
 work has produced results which will be of increasing interest and value 
 as time rolls on. 
 
 Mr. Orcutt has given to us, in his valuable work, the following 
 names as composing the honored heads of the first families of this plan- 
 tation : 
 
 Rev. Adam Blakeman, Richabd Harvey, 
 
 William Wilcoxson, Thomas Fairchild, 
 
 Elizabeth Curtis (widow), John Hurd, 
 
 Philip Groves, William Jcdson, 
 
 Richard Mills, John Peat, 
 
 Francis Nichols, Thomas Sherwood, 
 
 Robert Seabrook, William Quenbt, 
 William Crooker, and 
 
 William Beardslet, Arthur Bostwick, 
 
 who with their families numbered sixty-five persons. 
 
 I have heard it doubted whether any planters were here in 1639 ; 
 but the General Court in that. year sent Gov. John Haynes and Mr. 
 Thomas Wells down to confer with the planters at Pequonnook, to give
 
 stbatford's celebration. 83 
 
 them the oath of fidelity, make such free as they see fit, order them to 
 send deputies to the General Court, and give them power to choose seven 
 men from among themselves to decide differences ; and they were further 
 desired to speak with Mr. Prudden and that plantation, that the difference 
 between them and Pequonnock Plantation may be peaceably decided. 
 So there were planters here in 1639, and controversies too, probably 
 growing out of the occupation or purchase of parts of the land by the 
 rival colonies of New Haven and Connecticut, or by individual members 
 of the sama 
 
 Our fathers were genuine Puritans ; and, speaking of the Puritans 
 generally, John Fisk says : " By 1600 the majority of the country 
 gentlemen and of wealthy merchants in the towns had become Puritans, 
 and the new views had made great headway in both universities, 
 and at Cambridge had become dominant," and he further says that our 
 fathers belonged " to that middle-class of self-governing, self-respecting 
 yeomanry that has been the glory of free England and free America." 
 
 We have strong proof of the high character, culture and civilization 
 of the first settlers of Stratford : 
 
 1st. In these old town records, which show how well versed in compo- 
 sition, writing, and knowledge they were. 2d. In the plan and layout 
 of these wide, straight streets, and large commons, which show how pub- 
 lic-spirited and far-seeing they were. 3d. Look at these wide thorough- 
 fares, radiating from this location — north to Huntington, northwest to 
 Trumbull, and west — the old King's highway — to Fairfield, and think 
 how much they did to make this place like old Rome — all roads leading 
 to it. 4th. In 1646 Stratford gave <£6 14s. to maintain scholars at Cam- 
 bridge, evincing wonderful zeal and self-sacrifice in behalf of learning, 
 when the burdens of settling and protecting themselves had been well 
 nigh too great to bear. 5th. In the choice of a name, which, unlike 
 Fairfield and Milford, has no local significance, and is suggestive, we 
 believe, of their liberal and scholarly taste. It appears to have been first 
 called Stratford in 1643. 
 
 It is worthy of notice that the first institutions set up by our fathers 
 were courts, so that all controversies could be promptly and legally dis- 
 posed of. Our fathers believed in law and in liberty, or " liberty under 
 law," and courts were necessary at the start. 
 
 Our fathers were agitators. Under that marvel of a constitution, of 
 1639, the General Courts met twice a year " to agitate the affairs of the 
 Commonwealth; " they were vigilant, and did not content themselves with 
 biennial sessions.
 
 84 stratford's celebration. 
 
 Brissot, an eminent Frenchman, in 1788, travelled in this country, 
 and after his return he wrote a book of wonderful power and sagacity, 
 from which I quote a few lines : " There is but one real power in gov- 
 ernment, and it is in referring it back to its source as often as possible 
 that it is to be rendered beneficent ; it becomes dangerous in proportion 
 as it is distant from its source.'' He wrote also that " the Americans are 
 destined to be the first people on earth, without being the terror of others, 
 because of three principles : 1st. All power is elective ; 2d. The legis- 
 lature is frequently changed; 3d. The Executive has but little force." 
 
 Brissot's prophecy of the Americans becoming a great nation, with- 
 out becoming a terror to othei^s, has thus far been most happily fulfilled. 
 I can conceive of no more perfect ideal of national power and grandeur, 
 nor of one more opposite to that of other great nations of the past and 
 of the present. Long may the United States hold fast, in theory and in 
 practice, to this grand destiny, and show to all the world that not in 
 armies and navies, but in righteousness and justice, lie the true founda- 
 tions of national security, strength and influence. 
 
 Notice another thing ; our first controversy was with Milford, which 
 seemed to be unlike Stratford. Lambert, in his history of that town, 
 says : 
 
 " There was no saddler in Milford during the first fifty years, and sad- 
 dles being very scarce, sheep skins were used as a substitute. It was re- 
 marked by the Stratford people that if the devil should go into Milford 
 in the shape of a lamb, they would skin him to get his hide for a saddle." 
 
 But I conceive the reason why we have been so distinct, to be the 
 wide river; the "inconvenient f'eriy," as Brissot called it, and the ex- 
 pense of crossing it. The first motion for a ferry was made in 1653, 
 "both in the behalf of the country and the town of Stratford," and 
 Moses Wheeler was the first ferryman. 
 
 In 1800 the first bridge over the river was built. In this year, 1 889, 
 we rejoice that the legislature, thanks to the efforts of the Hon. Senator 
 David M. Read, of Bridgeport, has made the bridge free, both on behalf 
 of the county and of Stratford, and we will have closer relations with 
 Milford hereafter. 
 
 Let me briefly refer to the changes made in the territorial limits of 
 this formerly large township : . 
 
 From 1639 to 1789 — 150 years — Stratford retained its original 
 boundaries. During that period its history is the history of the five 
 townships, now carved out of it. Huntington was set off in 1789 ; Trum- 
 bull in 1797 ; Bridgeport in 1821 ; and Monroe was set off from Hunt-
 
 Stratford's celebration. 85 
 
 ington in 1823. West Stratford has been cut off, and added to Bridge- 
 port this year. The policy of Stratford has thus far been to let them go 
 in peace, and they have gone with her benedictions. Taking the five 
 towns together as one, and they show a growth of population equal to 
 any town in this State except New Haven, and in wealth they would 
 stand third. But what will become of old Stratford if Bridgeport's 
 growth goes on. Heaven forbid that her name shall become lost ! 
 
 In 1784 the first five cities of this State were incorporated : New 
 Haven, Hartford, Middletown, New London and Norwich ; all carved 
 out of the old towns, and bearing their names. Bridgeport was then 
 unknown by name. It had been called Pequonnock and Newfield. In 
 1800 it was made a borough, in 1821 a town, and in 1836 it was made 
 the sixth city of the State. Now, is it too much to ask that when its ter- 
 ritory shall reach from Ash Creek to the Housatonic River, its name 
 shall be changed from Bridgeport to Stratford ? 
 
 My friend, Senator Read, who honors us by his presence, assures 
 me that he will aid us in thus preserving the name of our beloved town, 
 when the time for action shall come. 
 
 Mrs. Schenck, in her history of Fairfield, states that the "neck of 
 land laying southeast of Golden Hill, near ' Greenlea,' or Sea Side Park, 
 received the name of ' Wolves' Pit Plain,' " presumably owing to the 
 abundance of prowling wolves which in those days were caught there in 
 pits dug for that purpose. Too many pits now exist in the same area, 
 but wolves are not caught in them. 
 
 Our history has been in the main a quiet one. The people must 
 have been stirred up in 1651 by the trial and execution of Goody Bassett 
 for witchcraft. This religious malady seized on many of the most 
 notable men of that time. We are not proud of that event. Still, that 
 first generation was above all an orderly and virtuous one in New Eng- 
 land. Rev. Hugh Peters wrote, in 1660 : " In seven years, among 
 thousands there dwelling, I never saw any drunk, nor heard any oath, 
 nor any begging, nor Sabbath broken." Lechford wrote: "Profane 
 swearing, drunkenness and begging are but rare in the compass of this 
 patent, through the circumspection of the magistrates and the provi- 
 dence of God, hitherto ; the poor living by their labors and great wages 
 proportionately better than the rich by their flocks, which, without 
 exceeding great care quickly waste." And Cotton Mather called this 
 " Utopia." 
 
 Perhaps Sabbath keeping was not always voluntary in those days. 
 This case is cited by Lambert, at Milford : " In 1647 Wm. Blayden was
 
 86 strattord's celebration. 
 
 publicly and severely whipped for not attending meeting, although he 
 plead that all the clothes he had were unfit to wear, being all wet 
 through the preceding Saturday, as he had beeu abroad after cattle in 
 the woods in a violent rain, and on Sunday had kept his bed." This is 
 justified by Dr. Colton, who said : " If the worship be lawful (and they 
 the judges), the compelling to come to it compelleth not to sin, but the 
 sin is in the will that needs to be forced to Christian duty." 
 
 In 1672 Capt. John Minor and others seceded and founded Wood- 
 bury. This, for the time, with the two ministers on hand, caused dis- 
 cussion and heat. The establishment of the Episcopal church brought 
 at first great discord into the community. But it proved a great bless- 
 ing. In 1723, the Eev. Samuel Johnson came as its rector, who, with 
 his distinguished son, Wm. Samuel Johnson, by their brilliant talents, 
 scholarship and political abilities, added greatly to the fame of Stratford. 
 
 The Eev. Dr. E. E. Beardsley of New Haven, himself a worthy 
 descendant of one of our earliest settlers, has admirably portrayed the 
 lives and characters of these great and good men, who, with the Eev. 
 James H. Linsley, are, so far as I know, the only Stratford residents 
 whose lives have been published in book form. 
 
 The truth compels us to say that in the Eevolutionary contests 
 the people of Stratford were divided, although the resolutions of the 
 town meeting had the true ring. 
 
 Gen. David Wooster was the great hero, while Gen. Joseph Walker, 
 Col. John Benjamin, Col. Aaron Benjamin, Col. Samuel Whiting, Capt. 
 Ebenezer Coe, Capt. Nehemiah Gorham, Capt. Beach Tomlinson, Capt. 
 Stephen Middlebrook, Lieut William Thompson, George Thompson, 
 Zachariah Blakeman and others were conspicuous soldiers of that war. 
 Permit me to give a few extracts from the books of noted men about 
 Stratford. John Adams, in 1774, writes: "We stopped at Curtiss'. 
 The people here say Boston is suffering from persecution ; but now is the 
 time for all the rest to be generous, and Boston people must be supported." 
 
 President Dwight, in 1798, writes : " Stratford is better built than 
 either Fairfield or Norwalk. The inhabitants have long been agitated 
 by religious and political controversies." 
 
 Samuel Peters, who married, in 1773, Mary, the daughter of Wm. 
 Birdseye, of Stratford, wrote, in his history of this State : " Stratford is 
 a beautiful place. The people are said to be the most polite of any in 
 the Colony, owing to the singular moderation of the town in latterly 
 admitting Europeans to settle among them. Many persons come also 
 from the Islands and southern provinces for the benefit of their health."
 
 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 87 
 
 The late Charles Hawley of Stamford, who was born in Huntington 
 in 1792, and was Lieut. -Governor from 1838 to 1812, told me that Strat- 
 ford was regarded as the leading point of business, culture and fashion, 
 in the county, when he was a boy. And yet it is said that Elisha Mills, 
 who was a delegate with Wm. Samuel Johnson to the State convention 
 which adopted the U. S. Constitution, kept a store about 1780 in Hunt- 
 ington, "which was the largest in all the country round, and people 
 came from Norwalk and other places on the sound to trade with him." 
 
 Old Stratford, as an agricultural and old-fashioned commercial place, 
 held its own, but when the great West compelled Connecticut to turn to 
 manufacturing and invention, Stratford fell behind. Mrs. Kirk truly 
 says : " The village has never been stirred by those uneasy activities 
 which overturn other New England towns," or if such an impulse has 
 been felt, " Stratford has cast off its unruly suburbs with their enter- 
 prises, industries and ambitions." 
 
 Mrs. Kirk is the cultured daughter of Jesse Olney, author of 
 "Olney's Geography." From this stand we can see the brick house 
 where the celebrated man resided. He was State Comptroller from 
 1867 to 1869. She is the author of a brilliant article published in Lip- 
 pincotfs Magazine (July, 1879), entitled " Stratford on the Sound," in 
 which, among other things, she charmingly describes the old postmaster, 
 David Brooks, in his old post-office, receiving and distributing the mail ; 
 also the modern witchcraft, called " Stratford Knockings," which so 
 greatly excited this community and State in 1850, not so much, however, 
 as to cause any loss of life. 
 
 Stratford has retained in her life and manners most of the old-time 
 customs ; a marked equality and high average of moral and intellectual 
 manhood ; homes of comfort and peace, of plain living and deep think- 
 ing, in which few are very rich or very poor ; and a people interested in 
 public affairs. The people here practised civil service reform before it 
 became the dogma of parties. From 1650 to 1835 there were only ten 
 town clerks — leading citizens of the town — Joseph Hawley, Capt. John 
 Minor, Lieut. Joseph Curtis, Deacon John Thompson, Eobert Fairchild, 
 Kobert Walker, Aaron Benjamin, Elijah Ufford, Silas Burton and David 
 Brooks. For fifty-two and a half years, between 1803 and 1857, 
 David Brooks was postmaster. 
 
 In 1782, before any division of its original territory, Stratford was 
 made a Probate District. Eobert Fairchild was for many years its judge, 
 and Robert Walker clerk. In 1840, after the towns of Huntington, 
 Trumbull, Monroe and Bridgeport had been set off, the Probate District
 
 88 stratford's celebration. 
 
 of Bridgeport was formed of such towns, and the Stratford Probate 
 Records, between 1782 and 1840, were removed to, and they are now 
 kept in the vaults of the Bridgeport Probate Court. Stratford was 
 again, in 1840, made a separate Probate District, with Honorable David 
 Plant, ex-Lieut.-Governor, as judge. Matters of probate for Stratford 
 people, between 1698 and 1782, are to be found in the Fairfield Probate 
 Court ; between 1666 and 1698, in the County Court or Probate Court 
 of Fairfield, and prior to 1666 in the Records of Hartford, if anywhere. 
 
 Robert Walker and William Samuel Johnson were, I think, the 
 only persons resident in this town who have been Superior Court judges 
 of this State. Stratford has had neither President nor Governor ; but in 
 the person of our honorable fellow-citizen, James Langdon Curtis, there 
 has been a candidate for Governor of this State in 1884, and for Presi- 
 dent of the United States in 1888. 
 
 Gideon Tomlinson, born here in 1780, removed to Fairfield, and 
 was member of Congress, United States Senator, and Governor of this 
 State. 
 
 The descendants of old Stratford families are widely scattered. 
 Among them can be found many of distinction ; our United States Sen- 
 ator, Joseph R. Hawley, is a descendant of Joseph Hawley, whose home 
 lot was on the corner where the Leavitt house now stands ; and the late 
 Rev. Joseph P. Thompson, D.D., of New York, was a descendant, as I 
 have also the honor to be, of John Thompson, whose home lot was 
 on the opposite corner, where the Gorham house now stands. The 
 late Governor John J. Bagley, of Michigan, was a descendant of Wm. 
 Judson, of this place. 
 
 Almost everywhere will you find children of those whose ancestors 
 dwelt in this grand old nursery. 
 
 This summer, at Stockbridge, I found a " Curtisville," and on in- 
 quiry ascertained that in 1750 three brothers, Abel, Isaac and Elnathan 
 Curtis came there from Connecticut, " each of whom had a family of 
 twelve children.*' They were the descendants of Elizabeth Curtis of this 
 town. I saw also there a splendid mansion, owned by a descendant of 
 our Rev. Adam Blakeman, whose home fronted the first church at 
 "Sandy Hollow." 
 
 And there are many others who have won honor and renown by 
 their lives and characters, who are proud to trace their lineage back to 
 the ancient families of old Stratford. At this time I can only say that 
 among them can be found those who bear the familiar names of Beach, 
 Beardsley, Benjamin, Birdseye, Blakeman, Booth, Brooks, Burritt,
 
 PARADISE GREEN. 
 
 From a Photograph made by F. C. Beach, 1865, for " Lippincott's 
 Magazine." By kind permission of the J. B. LrppiNcoTT Co. 
 
 HOUSATONIC RIVER (.Near Wheeler's Mill). 
 
 From a Photograph made by F. C. Beach, 1865, for "Lippincott's 
 
 Magazine." By kind permission of the J. B. Lippincott Co.
 
 Stratford's CELEBRATION. 89" 
 
 Burton, Chauncey, Coe, Curtis, Fairchild, Hawley, Hubbell, Hurd, 
 Johnson, Judson, Lewis, McEwen, Minor, Nichols, Peck, Plant, Shelton, 
 Sherman, Sterling, Stiles, Thompson, Tomlinson, Walker, Wells, 
 Wetmore, Wheeler, Whiting, Wilcoxson and Wooster. 
 
 Many others are deserving of mention, such as the Eev. James H. 
 Linsley, who lived on Elm Street. He was a learned and gifted man, 
 noted for his varied talents, and remarkable for his scientific researches 
 and works. Through him and his accomplished wife and daughters 
 Stratford has derived much credit and many advantages. 
 
 Mr. Linsley was a pioneer in the temperance, and Deacon Lewis 
 Beers in the anti-slavery cause, and each had to endure that martyrdom 
 which a person receives for being in advance of his day and generation. 
 
 I may speak a word in behalf of those who in more recent days 
 have become citizens of this town ; without them this commemoration 
 could hardly have taken place. They have become embued with the 
 spirit of true children of old Stratford. 
 
 What, indeed, do we not owe to these new names — the Russells, the 
 Rhoades, the Clarksons, the Staggs, the Talbots, and others, who have 
 so generously contributed time and substance to make this celebration 
 such a grand and complete success. 
 
 But I must close, omitting much I should like to speak of. What 
 is the real significance of this day's work ? In calling to remembrance 
 the doings of our fathers we honor them and ourselves. They found 
 this place a wilderness, filled with savage beasts and men. They sub- 
 dued and converted it into a paradise. But it was not for that they came 
 hither. History teaches us that when liberty and law were triumphant 
 in England, Englishmen ceased to emigrate ; and that for one hundred 
 and fifty years after 1640 there were but few accessions to New England. 
 Our fathers came, and did their work here for liberty and law. 
 
 Read Kennan's story of Russia's treatment of her freedom-loving 
 sons in Siberia, and learn what a hateful thing despotism is. The 
 Stuarts were as bad as the Czars. Liberty and law have been preserved 
 to us. Shall we preserve them intact ? The insidious forces of despotism 
 are constantly at work under new forms ; but we can and must resist 
 them. 
 
 The maxim "A people without morals may acquire liberty, but 
 without morals they cannot preserve it," I believe is true; and, if so, a 
 serious duty devolves upon us and our successors. Aided by the pre- 
 cepts and examples of our truly noble ancestry, we ought not to fail ; 
 but we cannot disguise the fact that of late certain forces have been
 
 99 stratford's celebration. 
 
 slowly working a change in the habits and morals of our people. "We 
 must not be deluded. Liberty without wisdom and virtue may be the 
 greatest of evils. Human nature is alike everywhere. " It is a moral 
 influence, which, with the blessing of God, has formed a state of society 
 so eminently desirable. The same influence which has formed it is 
 indispensable to its preservation." 
 
 Before the speaking was concluded the night was falling, and 
 crowds were pouring into the town by rail and by carriage to witness the 
 historical tableaux and the fireworks with which the celebration was to 
 close.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 91 
 
 THE HISTORICAL TABLEAUX. 
 
 Seldom is there seen a more charming picture than that presented 
 by this usually quiet New England village at the close of that beautiful 
 autumn day. The sight-seers still lingered, wandering about under the 
 graceful elms, admiring the old houses, some of which had witnessed 
 nearly all of the marvelous changes of these two hundred and fifty 
 years ; the incoming trains were constantly adding to the number of 
 visitors those who were unable to be present during the day ; the wide 
 streets, across which lay the afternoon shadows, were still beautiful in 
 their holiday attire of flags, bunting and chinese lanterns, ready for the 
 illumination of the evening ; clouds were gathering in the western sky, 
 and upon them Mother Nature, as if to outdo her kindly spirit of the 
 day, was painting a gorgeous sunset, resplendent in vermilion and gold ; 
 upon the broad piazzas of cheerful homes family groups in happy 
 reunion were chatting of the olden days, and reviving pleasant recollec- 
 tions of life in dear old Stratford. But as night set in, "Academy Hill " 
 became once more the centre of attraction for the crowds, for there was 
 to be exhibited a somewhat unique feature of the day's celebration — 
 the historical tableaux representing old-time life and incidents con- 
 nected with the history of the town. 
 
 In authentic story and oft-repeated tradition the deeds of the early 
 settlers, and of the fathers in the Eevolution, have been handed down 
 through the years until those of the present day have a very good 
 knowledge of the general features of the most important events in our 
 history, but of the no less interesting details of those events, very poor 
 conceptions indeed. To cull from the splendid story of Stratford's past 
 the most stirring and picturesque scenes ; to make a special study of the 
 leading characters in those events ; to determine the costumes appro- 
 priate for each character, and to reproduce the whole picture in living 
 tableau, on a large scale, in the open air, and under artificial lights, was, 
 at once, a happy thought and a difficult undertaking.
 
 92 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 Credit is due to Mr. Howard J. Curtis for first turning the attention 
 of the General Committee to this feature of the celebration, and a large 
 measure of praise belongs to those ladies and gentlemen who entered 
 most heartily into the preparations for the tableaux. A liberal appro- 
 priation was made for meeting the necessary expenses of such an 
 exhibition, and a Committee on Tableaux was formed, composed of 
 Robert H. Eussell and Wilfred M. Peck as stage managers, Mrs. Howard 
 J. Curtis, Mrs. C. G. Gunther, and Mrs. Frederick H. Allen. 
 
 After careful research, eight tableaux were selected, covering the 
 leading events in the history of the time, from 1639 when the hardy 
 settlers first camped in the forest on the western bank of the river, called 
 in Indian language Pootatuck, down to the time when, after the Revo- 
 lution, the Colonies became an independent Republic. 
 
 Much study was required in the matter of costumes, characters, 
 scenery and stage effects that the pictures might be true representa- 
 tions of the events as they actually occurred. Those called upon to 
 represent the different characters in the scenes entered cheerfully into 
 the spirit of the work, and after many rehearsals the tableaux were ready 
 for presentation. 
 
 The exhibition was given in the evening between six and eight 
 o'clock, on a large stage twenty-four feet wide and sixteen feet in depth, 
 with a drop curtain in front and upright frames on the sides and rear for 
 supporting the scenery, which was erected just south of the Episcopal 
 church, at the foot of " Academy Hill," where the ground sloped grad- 
 ually toward the stage, forming a natural amphitheatre for the large 
 concourse of people to witness the tableaux. 
 
 The stage was effectively illuminated by calcium lights, under the 
 direction of Mr. Frederick C. Beach. The scenery for the occasion was 
 painted by Mr. Frederick Lillingston — one scene representing the front 
 of the old Benjamin tavern, with the old-fashioned porch and swinging 
 sign, and another an old-time kitchen, with its huge fireplace, high 
 mantel and tall clock. 
 
 The audience which waited in front of the stage for nearly two 
 hours, as the scenes were shifted and the tableaux arranged, was esti- 
 mated at about eight thousand people, and they testified their apprecia- 
 tion of the entertainment not less by their patience in waiting for so 
 long a time than by the generous applause which greeted each presenta- 
 tion of a picture. 
 
 Those who took part in the tableaux were as follows :
 
 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 93 
 
 Mrs. Frederick H. Allen. 
 Miss Florence W. Allen. 
 Miss Emma G. Allen. 
 Mr. Preston H. Aspell. 
 Mr. Frederick S. Beardsley. 
 Mr. Edward M. Wells. 
 Mr. I. L. Belden. 
 Miss Grace Belden. 
 Mr. Robert Blakeman. 
 Mr. Charles W. Blakeslee. 
 Mrs. Charles W. Blakeslee. 
 Master Clayton Blakeslee. 
 
 Mr. William B. Bristol. 
 
 Mr. Sterling Bunnell. 
 
 Mr. Frank Bunnell. 
 
 Miss Mary J. Burns. 
 
 Miss Katherine Burns. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin W. Byington. 
 
 Mrs. Howard J. Curtis. 
 
 Miss Emma L. Curtis. 
 
 Mr. Frank R. Curtis. 
 
 Mr. George A. Fairchild. 
 
 Mr. Robert B. French. 
 
 Mr. C. G. Gunther. 
 
 Mrs. C. G. Gunther. 
 
 Miss Annie Ives. 
 Master Joel Ives. 
 Mr. George T. Jewell. 
 Mrs. George T. Jewell. 
 Mr. John E. Judson. 
 Mr. Samuel C. Lewis. 
 Miss Alice P. Lillingston. 
 Mr. George Morehouse. 
 Mr. Eliot W. Peok. 
 Master Earl C. Peck. 
 Miss Elsie A. Powers. 
 Mr. David L. Rhoades. 
 Miss Laura Richards. 
 Mr. William H. Rogers. 
 Mr. Lewis H. Russell. 
 Master Meigs B. Russell. 
 Mr. James U. Sammis. 
 Mr. Charles E. Stagg. 
 Mr. Charles K. Stagg. 
 Mr. William H. Stevens. 
 Miss Amey T. Taintor. 
 Miss Julia M. Taintor. 
 Miss D. Winifred Todd. 
 Miss Sally D. Wells. 
 Miss M. Louise Wolfe. 
 
 Tableau I. 
 The Arrival of the Settlers. 
 
 History says the first settlers came from Wethersfield, Conn., but 
 in what direction, or whether by land or water they reached their new 
 home, even tradition is comparatively silent. The love of adventure, 
 the spirit of pioneer enterprise, or, more probably, the desire to plant a 
 new colony with institutions based upon their own peculiar ideas of 
 social and religious freedom, lured the first seventeen families into tlie 
 wilderness to occupy the Indian village of Cupheag,— "a place of 
 
 shelter." 
 
 Those seventeen families were as follows : 
 
 Rev. Adam Blakeman, his wife and six children. 
 William Beardsley, his wife and four young children. 
 William Wilcoxson, his wife and three young children. 
 Richard Harvey and his wife. 
 Widow Elizabeth Curtis and two sous (young men). 
 Thomas Fairchild and his wife. 
 
 Philip Groves (or Grover) and his wife. 
 
 John Hurd and probably his wife and son.
 
 94 stratford's celebration. 
 
 Richard Mills, his wife and son. 
 William Judson, his wife and three sons. 
 Francis Nichols and three sons. 
 John Peat, his wife and two children. 
 Robert Seabrooke. 
 
 Thomas Sherwood, his wife and six children. 
 William Crooker (or Crocker) and his wife. 
 William Quenby, his wife and two children. 
 Arthur Bostwick, his wife and son. 
 In all, seventeen families, containing sixty-five souls. 
 
 When the curtain rose a camp in the woods was presented. In the 
 foreground was a fire of rough logs, over which hung a huge kettle 
 suspended from a rude tripod ; grouped about the fire were women 
 preparing the first repast ; to the right another group were engaged in 
 unpacking the baggage, taking from old chests and bundles cooking 
 utensils, articles of camp furniture, guns, chairs, bedding, blankets, and 
 such other articles as the settlers would naturally bring with them to 
 their new home. The background of the picture consisted of trees of 
 the forest, placed in various positions to imitate nature, while above 
 these the scenery was arranged to represent the blue sky. 
 
 The posing of the characters, the simple costumes of the settlers, 
 and the various articles of camp life displayed, formed a striking picture 
 of what must have been a beautiful scene there " in the forest primeval " 
 on the bank of the river two hundred and fifty years ago, and gave all 
 present a vivid impression of life in the pioneer days of the colonies. 
 
 Tableau II. 
 
 Trading with the Indians. 
 
 This picture represented the settlers trading with the Indians. The 
 pioneers of Stratford purchased from the natives their title to the soil, 
 and all dealing with the red men was marked by a spirit of fairness 
 somewhat unusual for those times. This friendly spirit was productive 
 of mutual advantages, and the tableau represented a scene which must 
 have been often enacted in those early days. The background of the 
 picture was one of the rude log houses of our fathers ; in the doorway 
 stood women and children ; in the foreground were the white men and 
 Indians ; to the right some of the settlers were weighing with a mam- 
 moth pair of steelyards a large bundle of skins, which the Indians had 
 brought to exchange for such things as the settlers had to offer in trade ; 
 seated on the ground on the left was a group of red men watching the
 
 Stratford's celebration. 95 
 
 proceedings with cautious eyes ; just behind the group stood the giant 
 form of their chief, Okenuck — the bright costumes and painted cheeks 
 of the Indians making a strong contrast with the sombre-colored clothes 
 and pale faces of the white people. 
 
 Tableau III. 
 Going to Church, two hundred years ago. 
 
 This tableau was a reproduction of a scene peculiar to early times, 
 and illustrative of the spirit which moved the people of those days to 
 face danger and even death " that they might worship the God they 
 loved according to the dictates of their own consciences." The settlers . 
 knew that while their relations with the Indians were for the most part 
 friendly, nevertheless the red men were fickle and treacherous, and 
 that to enjoy the privilege of worshipping God in peace, they must 
 watch as well as pray. As early as 1652 it was voted in town meeting 
 " That the present meeting-house shall be fortified as a place of safety 
 for women and children in all times of danger." The men carried their 
 guns with them to and from the meeting, and, without doubt, from this 
 watchfulness on the part of the men, came the custom, important in 
 those times, of having the men occupy the end of the pew next to the 
 aisle — a custom that lingers still in these days of peaceful worship. 
 
 The tableau represented the men, women, and children passing 
 
 along a path close to the edge of a wood in winter; in the background 
 
 the evergreen trees were covered with the newly fallen snow, while the 
 
 drifts were piled high on either side of the way. In the foreground 
 
 were the sturdy settlers armed with flint-locks, ever watchful lest the 
 
 wary red men might surprise them from some convenient ambush ; just 
 
 behind this guard walked the aged minister and his wife, followed 
 
 closely by women and children carrying foot-stoves, while in the rear 
 
 was another force of armed settlers — the whole forming a beautiful and 
 
 suggestive picture. 
 
 Tableau IV. 
 
 The Trial of Goody Bassett. 
 
 This tableau was given a prominent place on the programme. In 
 dark and gloomy contrast this one sad picture stood out against all the 
 bright and stirring scenes in the early years of Stratford. The children 
 of our now peaceful village could hardly realize that this solemn pict- 
 ure had a rightful place among the rest in this beautiful gallery of 
 views of the olden time ; their elders, too, would willingly have left it
 
 -96 stratford's celebration. 
 
 out, were it not that tradition and history alike demanded a place for it 
 if a truthful glimpse of those times was to be presented. In Ma} 7 , 1651, 
 the General Court at Hartford passed the following resolution: "The 
 Governor, Mr. Cullick, and Mr. Clarke, are desired to goe down to 
 Stratford to keep Courte upon the tryal of Good} 7 Bassett for her life, 
 and if the Governor cannot goe, then Mr. Wells is to go in his room." — 
 Col. Eecords, Vol. L, p. 220. 
 
 "The place of Goody Bassett's execution is pointed out by tradition, 
 and would seem to be determined by the names ' Gallows Bridge ' and 
 'Gallows Swamp,' used in the first volume of Stratford Eecords. The 
 bridge was located on the 'Old Mill ' road where the railroad now crosses 
 it."— Orcutt, Vol I, p. 147. 
 
 The trial of the witch was selected for the representation upon the 
 stage. In the centre of the background, upon an elevated platform, be- 
 hind a long desk, were seated the Governor and his assistants compos- 
 ing the Court ; to the right stood the haggard form of Goody Bassett 
 between two officers of the law, her woe-begone expression indicating 
 that she knew too well what would be her fate ; standing beside her, 
 with head resting upon the shoulder of the unfortunate woman, was a 
 female form whom, tradition says, was the only friend Goody Bassett 
 had in that bitter hour, and who clung to her in belief of her innocence 
 even to the end; in front of the Court stood a female witness with up- 
 lifted hand taking the oath which was being administered by one 
 of the Governor's assistants ; to the left were the townsfolk, neighbors 
 of Goody Bassett, who had crowded in to witness the downfall of the 
 witch who had been the terror of their lives; some faces showing faint 
 signs of sympathy for the prisoner, but more bearing expressions sug- 
 gestive of the cruel taunting which the place forbade them to utter, and 
 the still more cruel triumph so impatiently awaited by the crowd. 
 Viewed from before the stage, under the mournful spell which seemed 
 to fall upon the entire audience as the curtain rose, the picture was 
 weird and solemn in the extreme, and was pronounced by many the 
 finest tableau presented. The Governor at the trial was represented by 
 Mr. William H. Stevens, and the witch by Miss Sallie D. Wells. 
 
 Tableau V 
 Moses Wheeler's Ferry. 
 
 The history upon which this picture was based is very authentic. 
 The ferry was for many years the only means of crossing the Housatonic
 
 stratford's celebration. §7 
 
 River at Stratford. The General Court at Hartford, May 18, 1648, 
 voted as follows : " The motion made by Mr. Ludlow concerning Moses 
 Wheeler for keeping a ferry at Stratford, is referred to such as shall 
 keep the next court at Fairfield, both in behalf of the country and the 
 town of Stratford." (Col. Eecords, Vol. I, p. 163.) The court at Fair- 
 field gave a favorable order, and, as appears from the town records, the 
 ferry was running as early as 1653. The inhabitants were to be " ferried 
 over for one half-penny per person, and two pence for man and beast." 
 The agreement stipulated that if Moses Wheeler should leave the ferry 
 after twenty-one years, the town should pay him for his improvements 
 and take the property. It also appears that the property subsequently 
 came back into the control of the town, for, on October 31, 1687, it was 
 voted in town meeting as follows: "That what land the town hath at 
 or near the ferry, upland and meadow, now in the possession of Moses 
 Wheeler, Sr., that the produce and benefit thereof shall henceforth for- 
 ever be paid and improved for and towards the maintaining of a 
 publique school for and in the town of Stratford." This seems to have 
 been the first provision made by the town for the support of public 
 school instruction. Moses Wheeler died at the age of one hundred 
 years. Tradition says he was a man of great size and strength, able to 
 lift a barrel of cider and drink from the bung-hole. 
 
 The picture on the stage presented what must have been a common 
 scene on the Housatonic River in the days of the ferry. The back- 
 ground represented the shore, rocky and wooded, with the blue sky 
 beyond. From a large rock on the right the ferry-boat was pushing off 
 into the stream. The passengers, old and young, were dressed in the 
 costume of the period, and were arranged in various attitudes. Some, 
 gun in hand, were standing looking for a chance shot ; others appa- 
 rently were bent upon enjoying the quiet beauty of the scene or the 
 novelty of the sail. The representation of the gently flowing water in 
 the foreground added much to the natural effect of the picture, while 
 the posing of the figures and the expressions of the faces suggested 
 Dobell's famous painting of " From Shore to Shore." 
 
 " In Childhood's hour, with careless joy, 
 Upon the stream we glide : 
 With Youth's bright hopes we gayly speed 
 To reach the other side. 
 
 " Manhood looks forth with careful glance, 
 Time steady plies the oar, 
 While Old Age calmly waits to hear 
 The keel upon the shore."
 
 98 
 
 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 The giant form of Moses Wheeler was well represented by William 
 H. Stevens, standing in the stern, in the act of pushing the boat off into 
 the stream. 
 
 r- 
 
 kW lie ///Mpf 
 
 TOMBSTONE OF MOSES WHEELER. 
 From a Pen and Ink Sketch made by Mr. T. B. Faikchtld, in 
 
 Tableau VI. 
 
 "The Wolf Hunt." 
 
 The history upon which this tableau was based is as follows : 
 " Wolves were a great annoyance to the people of Stratford until about 
 1725. Premiums of various amounts were offered by the town at 
 different times in addition to the premiums offered by the Colony ; yet 
 the animals increased rather than diminished." At a town meeting 
 held April 17, 1693, it was "voted that all persons ratable should be 
 allowed for man and horse, in the service of destroying wolves, three 
 shillings per day out of the town treasury."
 
 - Stratford's celebration. 9& 
 
 "It was voted and agreed that the next Thursday shall be the 
 day to goe upon the business of killing wolves if the weather permit, 
 or the next fair day ; all persons to be ready by seven o'clock in the 
 morning upon the hill at the meeting-house by the beat of the drum." 
 — Orcutt, Yol. I., p. 289. 
 
 "Joseph Curtis, residing near 'Old Farms,' and others went to 
 Newtown to gather grain, and on their way home were attacked by the 
 wolves so furiously that they threw their bags of grain from their 
 horses and rode home at full speed to save themselves and horses." — 
 Orcutt, Vol. II, p. 183. 
 
 The tableau was a representation of the scene on Meeting-house 
 Hill. In the foreground were the men and boys, dressed in various 
 hunting costumes. Some were examining the old flint-locks, others 
 filling the powder-horns and shot-bags, and others restraining the enthu- 
 siasm of the dogs that were to aid in the chase. The posing of the 
 characters was full of animation, revealing the courage of the old-time 
 hunter and the stirring heroism of even the boys and dogs, and gave a 
 fine opportunity for a lively display of the accoutrements of the hunt 
 two hundred years ago. 
 
 Tableau VII. 
 The Visit of Washington and La Fayette. 
 
 During the early years of the Revolutionary War, Washington and 
 La Fayette met and dined together at the Benjamin Tavern in Stratford. 
 Alice Thompson, daughter of George Benjamin, the tavern-keeper, died 
 in May, 1862, nearly ninety-eight years old. She often related the story 
 that " on that occasion she and other girls were gathering berries on the 
 banks of the Housatonic near the ferry, when suddenly a cry was heard 
 that soldiers were crossing the river, and presently an officer with a 
 number of others landed and asked the ferry-man to direct them to the 
 tavern. He replied, "Yonder is the tavern-keeper's daughter;" and, 
 calling Alice, bade her show General La Fayette the way to her father's 
 house. She walked beside his horse on the way to the village, La 
 Fayette talking to her in his charming broken' English, telling her of his 
 children, and asking her if she would not like to go to France with him 
 and see them. On reaching home she found that Washington had 
 arrived by the western road. Her mother, thus unexpectedly called 
 upon to provide a clinnerfor two such distinguished guests, would have 
 apologized for her fare, but was assured by Washington, that all he
 
 100 stratford's celebration. 
 
 wanted was simple food, and that what was good enough for her family 
 was good enough for him. Mrs. Benjamin happened to have some 
 potatoes, then a great rarity, and Alice obtained leave to place them 
 upon the table. In doing this she stepped between Washington and 
 La Fayette, when the former, placing his hand upon her head, turned 
 her face towards him and asked her name, and, after some other ques- 
 tions, told her to be a good girl, and gave her his blessing. — Orcutt, Vol. 
 I, pp. 389-90. 
 
 The picture of this noteworthy event, as represented upon the 
 stage, had for a background the front of the old Benjamin Tavern. In 
 the open door stood the tavern-keeper's wife, making her politest cour- 
 tesy ; near the steps stood the landlord, respectfully bowing a welcome 
 to his distinguished guests. On the right were Washington and La 
 Fayette in Continental costume, posing in all the splendid military bear- 
 ing of the olden time. Behind them were the officers of their respective 
 suites, while at the side of General Washington stood little Alice Ben- 
 jamin, looking up into his face in childish wonderment. At the left 
 were servant girls of the tavern, peeping from behind some shrubbery 
 to catch a glimpse of the scene and its distinguished actors, the whole 
 forming a life-like picture worthy of the event. Mr. John E. Judson 
 represented the character of General Washington, and Mr. George A. 
 Fairchild that of La Fayette, in this tableau, while the character of little 
 Alice was taken by Julia Thompson, the ten-year-old great-grand- 
 daughter of the Alice Benjamin of history. 
 
 Tableau VIII. 
 The Wedding of Glorianna Folsom. 
 
 The subject of the closing tableau was the Wedding of Glorianna 
 Folsom, a revival of the crowning scene in the beautiful romance of 
 Stratford. This tale has been told so often to the children about the 
 hearthstone, so graphically described in Orcutt's History, and again 
 so well repeated in the story of Stratford elsewhere in this book, that 
 a brief rehearsal is all that is needed here to form the groundwork 
 of the tableau. Stripped of much that tradition has added, the sim- 
 ple story runs that in the closing days of the autumn of 1770 there 
 came to Stratford a stranger, wandering upon pleasant errands of his 
 own. Charmed with the quiet beauty of the rural scene, and the still 
 more enchanting beauty of the face and character of Glorianna Fol-
 
 stratfokd's celebration. 101 
 
 som, a sweet girl of sixteen summers, he lingered at the Benjamin 
 Tavern until an acquaintance was formed which soon ripened into 
 mutual love. The stranger was John Sterling, the son of a Scottish 
 baronet. Against all opposition of the mother and the elder sister of 
 Glorianna, young Sterling won his bride, the marriage taking place 
 March 10, 1771, and being recorded by a simple entry in the records of 
 Christ (Episcopal) Church, Stratford. After the wedding they remained 
 in Stratford, young Sterling teaching school "in the old Pendleton 
 house " for a year or more. In the autumn of 1772 the baronet wrote for 
 his son to come home and bring his beautiful wife. Sterling departed 
 alone, promising to send for his wife as soon as possible, but Dame Gos- 
 sip at once made the prophecy that Glorianna would never more behold 
 the young Scottish nobleman. However, in 1773 there came into the 
 harbor of New York a ship, fitted for her special comfort, with a quan- 
 tity of goods of elegant material, and with maid-servants to assist in 
 the preparations for bearing Glorianna away to her future home in 
 Scotland, where a magnificent reception awaited her. John Sterling, 
 upon the death of his father in 1791, succeeded to the title of baronet, 
 which he held till his death. The Lady of Sterling Castle, though so 
 widely separated from her family in America, kept up a most cordial in- 
 tercourse with them as long as she lived, sending several of her children 
 to visit them. "In Playfair's Baronetage of Scotland it is stated that 
 Sir John and Glorianna Sterling had nineteen children in the first eigh- 
 teen years of their marriage. It is said by the descendants of her rela- 
 tives here that she was the mother of twenty-two children. The Baron- 
 etage of Scotland shows that one of her sons succeeded to his father's 
 title, and that one of her descendants held the title in 1879."-~Orcutt 
 Vol. L, p. 451. 
 
 As a fitting representation of the romance the wedding was se- 
 lected for the tableau. On the right of the picture were the bride and 
 groom dressed in the costume of colonial time, standing before the aged 
 minister who was pronouncing the words of the beautiful marriage cer- 
 emony of the Church of England; just behind them stood the father, 
 mother, and elder sister, while the background of the scene was occupied 
 by the wedding guests elegantly attired for the occasion; near the 
 middle foreground were two little friends of the bride, boy and girl, he 
 in velvet suit, with long, dark curls about his shoulders, she in white, 
 with flowing golden hair, both looking up in wondering admiration 
 into the faces of the beautiful bride and the stately groom. The ap- 
 plause which greeted the tableau called up the curtain several times,
 
 102 stratford's celebration. 
 
 and when it fell at last there lingered in the hearts of all a regret that 
 the enchanting scene of beauty could not remain forever. The bride 
 on this occasion was represented by Miss Emma L. Curtis, the groom 
 by Mr. Frederick S. Beardsley, the minister by Mr. Elliott W. Peck, the 
 father by Mr. James U. Sammis, the mother by Miss D. Winifred Todd, 
 the sister by Mrs. James U. Sammis, and the two little friends, Master 
 Earl C. Peck and Miss Grace Belden. 
 
 The Minuet. 
 
 After the tableau of Glorianna's marriage the curtain rose again, 
 displaying the guests at the wedding moving gracefully through the 
 measures of the stately minuet to the music of the violin in the skilful 
 hands of Mr. C. G. Gunther. This feature of the entertainment was 
 under the direction of Miss Florence W. Allen, whose careful training 
 enabled the young people to reproduce this old-time dance of our 
 fathers and mothers with all the grace and dignity of a hundred years 
 ago. Miss M. Louise Wolfe, in a beautiful costume once worn at the 
 Court of Denmark, having for partner Mr. John E. Judson dressed in 
 colonial style, led the minuet; Miss Florence W. Allen wearing a dress 
 made for the ball given in honor of the opening of the Erie Canal, Miss 
 Amy F. Taintor in a costume the fac-simile of the one worn by Glori- 
 anna, Miss Elsie A. Powers and Miss Alice P. Lillingston, appropri- 
 ately dressed, and looking the " fair women " of the time they repre- 
 sented, were led with courtly dignity through the mazes of the dance 
 by their respective gentlemen, Messrs. Preston H. Aspell, Benjamin W. 
 Byington, Eobert B. French, and William B. Bristol, who, in tinsel and 
 gold and velvet, personated the "brave men" of those good old times. 
 As the dance drew to its close the lights gradually grew dim, and 
 as the dancers made their final courtesies the growing darkness gently 
 wrapt them round, and these living pictures of the days of long ago 
 seemed to fade into a veiled and mystic past, leaving only their beauti- 
 ful impressions upon the tablets of memory.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 103 
 
 THE LOAN EXHIBITION. 
 
 It was late in the month of August preceding the date of the cele- 
 bration, when the General Committee of Arrangements decided to make 
 a Loan Exhibition of antique articles one of the features of the cele- 
 bration. 
 
 The Committee then voted to appoint Howard J. Curtis a committee 
 of one, to prepare a Loan Exhibition, to arrange some Historical 
 Tableaux, and to mark places of historic interest in the town, with 
 power to add to his committee, to select and employ such assistants 
 as he might think desirable. The work of arranging the Historical 
 Tableaux was placed in charge of a committee whose names are given in 
 the article entitled "Historical Tableaux." 
 
 The following ladies kindly consented to take the responsibility of 
 the preparation and management of the Loan Exhibition : 
 
 Mrs. George A. Talbot, 
 Mrs. Preston H. Hodges, 
 Mrs. Cornelia Tucker, 
 
 Misa S. Elizabeth Judson, 
 
 and 
 Mis8 Sarah Russell. 
 
 They were assisted in a careful canvass of the town, in the prepara- 
 tion of the Town Hall, and in the collection and arrangement of the 
 articles exhibited, by the following ladies and gentlemen : 
 
 Horace H. Judson, 
 Edwin P. Hall, 
 William B. Cogswell, 
 Ransom B. Burritt, 
 Mrs. William N. Ely, 
 Mrs. Charles C. Wells, 
 Mrs. Anson H. Blakeman, 
 Mrs. Robert W. Curtis, 
 Miss Alice E. Curtis, 
 Miss Jennie P. Smith, 
 
 Miss Helen M. Sammis, 
 Miss Amey Talbot, 
 Miss Cornelia Burritt, 
 Miss Elizabeth M. Burritt, 
 Miss Georgiana Wilcoxson, 
 Miss Alice Judson, 
 Miss May Smith, 
 Miss May Peck, 
 Miss May Curtis, 
 Mrs. Howard J. Curtis. 
 
 The labor performed by these ladies and gentlemen in the prepara- 
 tion for this exhibition was very great The canvass of the town, the
 
 104 stratford's celebration. 
 
 examination of the lists of articles brought in by the canvassers, the 
 selection of those articles desired for exhibition, the preparation of a 
 catalogue, the arrangement of the hall, so as to make the best display 
 and still preserve the greatest possible amount of space for visitors, 
 were tasks requiring skill, taste, good management, and great labor. 
 
 The catalogue of the exhibition, commenced on the third day 
 preceding the celebration, was carried to a successful conclusion by 
 Mrs. Preston H. Hodges, Miss Sarah Eussell and Miss S. Elizabeth 
 Judson ; and it came to the exhibition hall, warm from the press, late 
 on Wednesday evening. 
 
 The exhibition was without doubt one of the most interesting and 
 instructive parts of the celebration, and although the time for prepara- 
 tion was short, the exhibition could scarcely have been improved by 
 more labor or longer preparation. All the antique articles were dis- 
 played that could be well arranged in the hall. The general effect 
 was excellent, and it was in fact a large and complete exhibition of 
 antiques. The exhibition was held in the Town Hall on the lower 
 floor. Along the sides and across the end of the room a railing was 
 placed about five feet from the wall, and within this railing were 
 arranged the larger articles on exhibition, the old furniture including 
 two choice old English sideboards ; old farming implements ; ancient 
 musical instruments, and other antique articles of interest without 
 number. On a long table within this rail was arranged a large and 
 interesting exhibit of firearms and other articles of war and the hunt. 
 
 Upon the walls were hung old portraits of many former inhabitants 
 of the town, and pieces of old tapestry and articles of clothing and 
 bedding were also there displayed. Through the centre of the room 
 tables were arranged in a long line, and upon these were placed, back to 
 back, two rows of glass showcases. 
 
 Within these the smaller and more valuable articles on exhibition 
 were placed ; here could be found choice old China, rare pieces of 
 ancient embroidery, jewelry, old books, and innumerable articles prized 
 as relics and heirlooms in many families. 
 
 Mr. Lorenzo B. Beers and Mr. Robert W. Curtis prepared and 
 exhibited a case of beautiful Indian relics from the rare collections 
 made by them in the town and vicinity. 
 
 It would be impossible to give any adequate description of the 
 interesting antiques exhibited. The reader must turn to the catalogue 
 of the exhibition which follows this article, and from a study of it 
 form a proper idea of the extent and character of the exhibition.
 
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 Stratford's celebration. 105 
 
 During the day of the celebration a visitors' book was kept at the 
 Loan Exhibition, and while from the crowded condition of the room it 
 was impossible to secure more than a portion of the visitors' names, 
 about one thousand signatures were secured This book is kept on file 
 with the town records. For the benefit of the towns-people the exhibi- 
 tion was continued during the Friday afternoon and evening following 
 the celebration. On Saturday morning a large party of workers went 
 to the hall at eight o'clock, and at once began the task of distributing 
 the articles to their proper owners, and with the aid of many horses 
 and wagons the work was speedily accomplished. At twelve o'clock, 
 noon, the last load left the hall and the Loan Exhibition was a thing 
 of the past. The committee have yet to hear of a single article lost or 
 badly injured. It is needless to say that the safe return of the articles 
 to their owners gave a feeling of great relief to the committee in charge, 
 yet it was with something akin to sadness that the work of closing the 
 exhibition was completed. It had cost much labor, and had <nven 
 much pleasure. It will be many days before the scattered integers of 
 the exhibition will again be gathered together to entertain and instruct 
 a host of visitors. 
 
 CATALOGUE OF LOAN EXHIBITION. 
 
 MRS. HENRY THOMPSON. 
 
 1. Coat-of-arms. 
 
 2. Silver candle snuffers and tray. 
 
 3. Chair of Mrs. John Thompson, used until her death in her 97th year. 
 
 4. Looking-glass 140 years old. 
 
 5. Small trunk of Delia Thompson. 
 
 6. Two blue China plates, Mrs. John Thompson. 
 
 7. Tea-table of Mary Beardsley, 1739. 
 
 8. Small milk pitcher of Mary Beardsley, 1739. 
 
 9. Chair of Mary Beardsley. 
 
 10. Silver candlesticks. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES D. CURTIS. 
 
 11. Grammar and history, of 1790, which belonged to Judson Curtis, father of C. D. 
 
 Curtis. 
 
 12. Continental money, 06j^ cts., 10 cts., and $30, bills of 1815. 
 
 13. An old paper, " National Intelligencer," containing an account of a robbery com- 
 
 mitted in Stratford at Benj. Ufford's store, which stood on the site where the 
 Graded School building now stands. 
 
 14. Olive oil glasses, over 200 years old, belonging to Mrs. Judson Curtis. 
 
 15. Antique pitcher. 
 
 16. Large platter, blue and white China, with cake plate to match.
 
 106 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 17. A small platter formerly, owned by Sophia Beardaley. 
 
 18. Two pistols; flint lock, 1765. 
 
 10. Picture of " Charter Oak " at Hartford. 
 
 20. Small plate. 
 
 21. Picture, " The Prayer at Valley Forge." 
 
 22. Gin glass. 
 
 MRS. JOHN O. M. PARK. 
 
 23. Wineglass. 
 
 24. Coffee-pot. 
 
 25. Wooden spoon. 
 
 26. Glass bottles. 
 
 27. Polly Howe's Chinese bandbox. 
 
 28. Cocoanut shell carved by American Iudians. 
 
 29. Indian sandals. 
 
 30. White gauze veil. 
 
 31. Portmanteau. 
 
 32. Music-book, 1804. 
 
 33. Small basket. 
 
 MRS. BENJAMIN WELLS. 
 
 34. Pewter platter belonging to Rev. Nathan Birdseye. 
 
 35. Hymn-book from which he read the 7 2d psalm, when 100 years old, in the Congre- 
 
 gational Church. 
 
 MRS. LEWIS H. RUSSELL. 
 
 36. Portrait of Asa Benjamin, date 1795. 
 
 37. Portrait of Hannah Plant Benjamin, 1795. 
 
 38. Portrait of Everard Benjamin, 1795. 
 
 39. Silk bed-quilt of H. P. Benjamin. 
 
 40. Wristlet worked by Clara Benjamin at the age of 76. 
 
 41. Teapot, milk cup, and plate, 1790. 
 
 42. Shoulder shawl of H. P. Benjamin. 
 
 43. Needle case of H. P. Benjamin. 
 
 44. Toast rack. 
 
 45. Dutch oven. 
 
 46. Portrait of Eliza Russell Tomlinson. 
 
 47. Miniature of Robert Morris Russell. 
 
 48. Miniature of Amelia Russell. 
 
 49. Bound volume of newspaper called " Genius of Liberty," printed by Henry P. 
 
 Russell, father of L. H. Russell, 1806. 
 
 50. China bowl. 
 
 MRS. ELIZA T. FAIRCHILD. 
 
 51. Red cloak of Judge Robert Fairchild's mother, Martha Fairchild. 
 
 52. Chintz bed-quilt of Martha Fairchild, 1739. 
 
 53. Wineglasses of Martha Fairchild, 1739. 
 
 54. Punch bowl of Martha Fairchild, 1739. 
 
 55. Picture, "Birth of Christ," date, 1739. 
 
 56. Portrait of Dr. William T. Shelton. 
 
 57. Silver tobacco-box of Dr. William T. Shelton.
 
 steatford's celebration. 107 
 
 MRS. CHARLES P. BURRITT. 
 
 58. Mortar and pestle. 
 
 59. Wooden foot-stove. 
 
 60. Game board, 1782. 
 
 61. Pair of stays. 
 
 MRS. DENNIS COE. 
 
 62. Pewter plate, 150 years old. 
 
 63. Wooden bowl. 
 
 64. Bed-quilt, 100 years old. 
 
 65. Bed-spread, 130 years old. 
 
 MRS. LEWIS COE. 
 
 MISS SARAH A. COE. 
 
 66. Basket presented to Mrs. James Coe by Rev. Mr. Stebbins, Pastor of Congregational 
 
 Church, 1184. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES B. SNIFFEN. 
 
 67. Sword belonging to Lieut. Abel Birdseye, 1747. 
 
 68. Cane belonging to William Birdseye. 
 
 69. Silver tankard. 
 
 70. Two pictures. 
 
 71. Dressing-table. 
 
 72. Chair. 
 
 MISS JULIA PENDLETON. 
 
 MISS ELIZABETH M. BURRITT. 
 
 73. Two miniatures. 
 
 74. Silver ear-rings. 
 
 75. Pink kid slippers, 100 years old. 
 
 76. Tinder-box; pewter tankard. 
 
 77. Sampler, 100 years old. 
 
 78. China. 
 
 79. Silver watch. 
 
 80. Books. 
 
 MRS. SUSAN A. BARRYMORE. 
 
 81. Brass warming-pan, with iron handles, 175 years old. 
 
 82. Iron andirons, 175 years old. 
 
 83. Bellows, 100 years old. 
 
 84. Mortar and pestle. 
 
 85. Mahogany courting chair, 100 years old. 
 
 86. High back chair, 100 years old. 
 
 87. Stand or work-table, 25 inches high. 
 
 88. Table. 
 
 89. Blue teapot. 
 
 90. Platter. 
 
 91. Picture of the Kings of England (engraved on wood), from William the Conqueror 
 
 to George II.
 
 108 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 CHARLES WILCOXSON. 
 
 92. Chair, 200 years old. 
 
 93. Pistols and sword. 
 
 94. Silver candlesticks. 
 
 ROBERT G. CURTIS. 
 
 95. Drinking-flask. 
 
 96. Powder-horn. 
 
 97. Pewter dish. 
 
 98. Pewter mug. 
 
 99. Churn. 
 
 100. Books. 
 
 101. Eye-glasses. 
 
 102. Chair. 
 
 103. Two plates. 
 
 104. Brass candlesticks. 
 
 ALBERT WILCOXSON. 
 
 LEWIS F. JUDSON. 
 
 SAMUEL W. BEARDSLEE. 
 
 ELI LEWIS. 
 
 105. Bed-quilt made by Mrs. Hepzibah Lewis Wooster, a daughter of Eli Lewis, 100 
 
 years old. 
 
 106. Silver spoon; sleeve buttons, said to be beryl, set in silver, made by Mier Miers, a 
 
 Jew goldsmith, who lived on the hill in the rear of the Levi Curtis home- 
 stead. 
 
 107. Pillow of blue woolen, partly lined with home-made linen, fomerly owned by Mrs. 
 
 Elam "Wooster, 100 years old. 
 
 108. Bible of Mrs. Naomi Walker Lewis, the daughter of James Walker and Jerusha 
 
 Nichols, 1789. 
 
 109. Coat, seal browB, wooleD, lined with home-made linen, formerly owned by the Eli 
 
 Lewis who was born January 19ih, 1742. 
 
 1 10. Chest for nine square bottles, about 150 years old. It was originally the property of 
 
 Stiles Curtis, who married Rebecca Judson in 1730, the great-grandparents of 
 the present owner. 
 
 111. Ancient gun, of English manufacture, made in 1741; supposed to have been the 
 
 property of James Lewis, the great-grandfather of the present owner. 
 
 112. Toasting iron, supposed to be 125 years old, formerly owned by Mrs. Elam Wooster. 
 
 113. Willow- ware cup and saucer, formerly owned by Mrs. Elam Wooster. 
 
 114. Music book, the "Chorister's Companion," printed by T. & S. Green, 1782, for 
 
 Simeon Jocelyn and Amos Doolittle, New Haven ; formerly owned by Eli 
 Walker Lewis. 
 
 MRS. CAROLINE THOMPSON. 
 
 115. 
 
 Teapot. 
 
 116. 
 
 Books. 
 
 117. 
 
 Spectacles. 
 
 118. 
 
 Snuffbox. 
 
 119. 
 
 Ear-rings. 
 
 120. 
 
 Vaudyke collar.
 
 121. Chair. 
 
 stratford's celebration. 109 
 
 MRS. SEYMOUR WELLS. 
 MRS. ELLSWORTH WILCOX. 
 
 122. Teapot. 
 
 123. Nutmeg grater. 
 
 124. Chair. 
 
 125. Small stand. 
 
 126. Account book, 1773. 
 
 127. Spoon. 
 
 MRS. ALONZO GREY. 
 
 128. Knife, spoon and bowl. 
 
 129. Curved chair. 
 
 130. Coin, 1774. 
 
 MRS. DAVID W. JUDSON. 
 
 131. Bible, 1744. 
 
 132. Prayer book, 1812. 
 
 133. Samplers, 1767. 
 
 134. Samplers, 1810. 
 
 135. Samplers, 1819. 
 
 136. Blue plate. 
 
 137. Vinegar aud oil bottle. 
 
 138. Tin sugar bowl. 
 
 139. Silver candlestick and snuffers. 
 
 140. Map of Stratford. 
 
 141. Breastpin. 
 
 142. Tea-set. 
 
 143. Teacup. 
 
 144. Teapot. 
 
 145. Brass candlestick. 
 
 146. Dress. 
 
 147. Comb. 
 
 148. Crape shawl. 
 
 149. Calash. 
 
 MRS. ABIGAIL TOMLINSON. 
 
 150. Home-made table-cloth, date 1760. 
 
 151. Linen bed-curtains. 
 
 152. Round table, formerly owned by General Walker. 
 
 153. Backgammon board. 
 
 154. Small plate, cup, saucer, and spoon, 130 years old. 
 
 155. Two plates, dark blue delf. 
 
 156. Two fruit dishes. 
 
 157. China, very old. 
 
 158. Candlesticks, formerly owned by J. H. Tomlinson. 
 
 159. Spoons. 
 
 160. Picture of Gov. Gideon Tomlinson. 
 
 161. Coffee-pot and teapot. 
 
 162. Castor. 
 
 163. Bed-spread.
 
 110 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 164. Picture, "Washington crossing the Delaware." 
 
 165. Picture, " Battle of Lake Champlain." 
 
 166. Wedgwood pilcher, 1752. 
 
 167. Plate, pink and green. 
 
 168. Teapot and plate. 
 
 169. Sugar bowl. 
 
 170. Sugar bowl. 
 
 171. Milk pitcher. 
 
 172. Cups and saucers and custard cups. 
 
 173. Red cloak, 100 years old. 
 
 174. Two large spoons, 130 years old. 
 
 175. Silhouette. 
 
 176. Chair. 
 
 177. Table. 
 
 178. Military cap. 
 
 179. Spectacles. 
 
 1 80. Portrait of Got. Gideon Tomlinson. 
 
 181. Gun which was used by the sentinel who guarded Major Andre before his execution. 
 
 FRANK E. BLAKEMAN. 
 
 182. Study chair of Rev. Nathan Birdseye. 
 
 J. HENRY BLAKEMAN. 
 
 183. Chair formerly owned by Mrs. Elihu Curtis, and exhibited in the Crystal Palace in 
 
 New York in 1854, reported to have been buried for preservation during the 
 Revolutionary War; 125 years old at least. 
 
 184. Cavalry sabre, carried by present owner's grandfather, James Blakeman, during the 
 
 Revolutionary War. 
 
 185. Six linen doilies, embroidered by the owner's mother, Mrs. James Blakeman, when 80 
 
 years old, the linen having been spun and woven by her when 18 years of age. 
 
 ANSON H. BLAKEMAN. 
 
 186. Cream pitcher. 
 
 187. Set of small teaspoons, formerly owned by Mrs. Ezra Birdseye; 120 years old. 
 
 188. Small blue plate, 100 years old. 
 
 MISS MYRA CURTIS. 
 
 189. Chair. 
 
 190. Mirror. 
 
 191. Four books. 
 
 1 92. China plate, cup and saucer. 
 
 193. Plaid cloak. 
 
 194. Collar. 
 
 195. Bed-spread. 
 
 MRS. PETER P. CURTIS. 
 
 196. Spoons and cream pitcher. 
 
 197. Round table and candle stand. 
 
 198. Pewter plates. 
 
 199. Bed-quilt; original owners, Phoebe Thompson and Wm. Beardsley ; 200 years old.
 
 Stratford's celebration. Ill 
 
 MRS. FREDERICK A. BENJAMIN. 
 
 200. Pacing of a military coat worn by Col. Aaron Benjamin, when Adjutant, in Revo- 
 
 lutionary War. 
 
 201. Silver epaulette worn by Col. Benjamin in the war of 1812. 
 
 202. Two order books of Adjutant Aaron Benjamin of the Revolutionary army, in his 
 
 own handwriting, transcribed and read to his regiment in 1779 and 1781; the 
 open one showing Gen. Wayne's order for the attack on Stony Point, in 
 which Adjutant Benjamin participated. 
 
 203. Two bills of Continental money, date 1778. 
 
 204. Dulcimer, date 1750. 
 
 205. A bell harp, date 1750. 
 
 MRS. GEORGE, BARTRAM. 
 
 206. A tray, over 100 years old. 
 
 MR. WILLIAM CURTIS. 
 
 207. " Connecticut Journal," 1789, with address of a Senator to President Washington. 
 
 MISS AUGUSTA WHEELER. 
 
 208. China plate, 108 years old; belonged to Col. Philo Lewis. 
 
 209. Counterpane, 100 years old; belonged to Miss Nancy Lewis. 
 
 210. Two-tined fork, silver handle ; belonged to Miss Polly Howe. 
 
 211. Silver watch, over 100 years old ; belonged to Captain Samuel Lewis. 
 
 212. A deed recorded by Joseph Curtiss, who was Town Clerk in Stratford for fifty suc- 
 
 cessive years, 1677-1727. 
 
 213. Lace capes. 
 
 MRS. MOSES WHEELER. 
 
 214. Bead bag, knitted by Elizabeth Nichols Middlebrook, 1790. 
 
 215. China teapot, milk pitcher, and sugar bowl ; belonged to Hannah Beach Nichols, 
 
 1761. 
 
 MRS. WILLIAM J. PECK. 
 
 216. Wine stand, from the Abner Judson house ; 150 years old. 
 
 217. Book (1706) owned by Timothy Titherton, who married into Silas Hubbell's family, 
 
 being the 5th generation removed from the present owner. 
 
 218. Two muslin caps, formerly owned by Mrs. Silas Hubbell, Sr. ; 100 years old. 
 
 219. Antique looking-glass, formerly owned by Mrs. Silas Hubbell, Sr. ; 100 years old. 
 
 MRS. ELIZA CHATFIELD. 
 
 220. Goblets, made from wood of the old Episcopal Church, erected 1743. 
 
 MISS MARY FAIRCHILD. 
 
 221. Old vase of great antiquity. 
 
 MRS. F. H. FELLOWS. 
 
 222. Picture of the Second Episcopal Church in Stratford (built 1743), framed with wood 
 
 taken from the church when torn down.
 
 112 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 MRS. JOHN HARD. 
 
 223. Table and urn, made from wood of the old Episcopal Church. 
 
 MRS. SAMUEL T. HOUGHTON. 
 
 224. Fruit dish, used in the Houghton family over 100 years. 
 
 225. Bottle, with wooden stopple, fitted with great ingenuity by a Continental soldier on 
 
 the morning after the battle of Bunker Hill, and given by him as a souvenir 
 to Samuel T. Houghton's great-grandmother, who had just furnished break- 
 fast for the soldier and his comrade »n the morning after that memorable 
 fight. 
 
 MRS. SHELDON P. CURTIS. 
 
 226. Indian mortar and pestle. 
 
 MRS. SAMUEL L. BOOTH. 
 
 227. Tape loom. 
 
 228. China sugar bowl, slop bowl, custard cup, and tea caddy. 
 
 229. Plate with portrait of Lafayette. 
 
 230. "Wagon seat, first ever used in Stratford. 
 
 231. Dresses, 150 years old. 
 
 232. Portrait. 
 
 233. Picture, woven in silk, of Sir Robert Peel. 
 
 MRS. SAMUEL A. PATTERSON. 
 
 234. Milk pitcher. 
 
 MRS. ORVILLE CURTIS. 
 
 235. Table-cloth, 250 years old, a Wells heirloom. 
 
 MRS. JULIUS E. THOMAS. 
 
 236. A plate. 
 
 237. Ancient warrant for arrest. 
 
 MRS. MARY T. MALLETT 
 
 238. Carving ; came over in the Mayflower. 
 
 239. Mug, 100 years old. 
 
 240. Silver snuffbox. 
 
 241. Tumbler of painted glass. 
 
 242. Silver sugar tongs and spoons. 
 
 243. Syrup cup, and plate. 
 
 244. Lantern. 
 
 245. Old deeds; the most ancient, 1735. 
 
 MISS MARIA WILCOXSON. 
 
 246. China. 
 
 247. Picture. 
 
 248. Jewelry.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 113 
 
 MRS. SUSAN T. WALKER. 
 
 249. Antique mitts. 
 
 250. Walker Bible. 
 
 251. Walker table. 
 
 252. Milk pitcher. 
 
 253. Bed curtain. 
 
 254. Gen. Joseph Walker's commission as Captain, 1777. 
 
 MRS. MUNSON CURTIS. 
 
 255. Old chair. 
 
 256. Engraving of Washington and family. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES P. BURRITT. 
 
 257. Old pair of breeches. 
 
 258. Picture in silk. 
 
 259. Sugar bowl. 
 
 MRS. HOWARD J. CURTIS. 
 
 260. Silver salver. 
 
 261. Smallest books known in the country. 
 
 262. Mother of pearl boxes, with lace. 
 
 263. Spoons. 
 
 264. Candlesticks and snuffers. 
 
 MR. JOSEPH CURTIS. 
 
 265. Autograph of Washington, on discharge of Connecticut soldiers. 
 
 266. SewiDg silk shawl, and collar. 
 
 MISS SARAH PERRY. 
 
 267. Muslin cap, 100 years old. 
 
 268. Silver spoon, 80 years old, hammered from a silver dollar; it formerly belonged to the 
 
 present owner's grandmother, Mrs. Sally Perry. 
 
 MRS. LEWIS BEARDSLEY. 
 
 269. Snuffers and tray. 
 
 MRS. JOHN H. SELLECK. 
 
 270. Old chair. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES GILBERT. 
 
 271. Table of Gen. Joseph Walker. 
 
 272. Sword. 
 
 MR. WILLIAM STRONG. 
 
 273. Second piano ever in Stratford. 
 
 MRS. DAVID P. JUDSON. 
 
 274. Old English oak cupboard, brought to Stratford in 1639 by William Judson. 
 
 275. English oak chest, with drawers, brought to Stratford in 1639 by William Judson.
 
 114 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 276. Fruit or pickle dish, white stone-ware, salt glazed, Aaron Wood, Staffordshire, 
 
 England, 1*740-60. 
 
 277. Fulham jug, made at the pottery established by Dr. Dwight, who patented his 
 
 discovery of "the mystery of transparent earthen-ware commonly known by 
 the name of porcelain, China or Persian ware." This jug was sent, with 
 other pieces, from England, by Lady Sterling (Glorianna Folsom, married 
 March 10, 1771, in Stratford, Conn.) to her sister, Anna Folsom, who married 
 Abram Tomlinson ; given by her great-grand daughters, the Misses Peck, 
 to the present owner, together with what remains of a doll, also sent by 
 Lady Sterling. 
 
 278. Josiah Wedgwood plate, 1752. 
 
 279. Mayflower snuffbox, enamelled on copper, 1620. 
 2S0. Patch box, specimen of Bilston enamel, 1790. 
 
 281. First size teacup, 1750. 
 
 282. Plate G-en. David Wooster. 
 
 283. Delft- ware bowl and plate, 1700. (Dayton family.) 
 
 284. Pieces of oak beam taken from the building adjoining the Dayton homestead, 
 
 erected in 1650 ; presented to the owner by the artist, Mrs. Lily Curtis 
 Angell. 
 
 285. Gilt card basket. (Wiley family.) 
 
 286. Faith, Hope and Charity, 1730. (DeForest family.) 
 
 287. Admiral Pocock; William Pitt; Maria, from " Sterne's Sentimental Journey;" and 
 
 Sweet Poll of Plymouth ; Parson Wetmore's parlor pictures. 
 
 288. Delft-ware inkstand, Parson Wetmore's, Pastor Congregational Church, 1753-1780. 
 
 289. Newspapers, "The American Telegraph" (published when Bridgeport was Newfield, 
 
 1797). 
 
 290. " Connecticut Patriot," 1828. 
 
 291. " Connecticut Gazette," New London, 1786. 
 
 292. Latin book, used in Yale College, 1752. 
 
 293. Fairfield County Convention, W. H. Harrison, 1840. 
 
 294. Continental money ; £5 note issued by the Colony of New York, 1758. 
 
 MR. ROBERT H. WETMORE. 
 
 295. Parson Wetmore's punch bowl. 
 
 MISS CELIA CURTIS. 
 
 296. Dressing- table, date 1764. 
 
 297. Curtis Bible, date 1599. 
 
 298. Fruit dish. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES C. WELLS. 
 
 299. Chair, exhibited in the Crystal Palace, New York, in 1854, 125 years old, formerly 
 
 owned by Mrs. Elihu Curtis, of Oronoque. 
 
 300. Tray, formerly owned by Mrs. Ezra Birdseye. 
 
 301. Bible, 105 years old, containing the record of the death of Lieutenant Nathan Wells, 
 
 who died May 20, 1776. 
 
 302. Manual of the first Continental Congress, held in Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. 
 
 303. Pewter tumblers; originally belonged to the family of Moses Wheeler. 
 
 304. Teapot ; sugar bowl. 
 
 305. Cloak and bonnet.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 115 
 
 MR. DAVID B. BOOTH. 
 
 306. Old account book, 1690. 
 
 307. Brass knocker. 
 
 308. Continental money, Sets., 1777. 
 
 MRS. SAMUEL N. WELLS. 
 
 309. Cup and saucer and teapot. 
 
 310. Cap, 200 years old. 
 
 311. Two small spoons. 
 
 REV. COLLIS I. POTTER. 
 
 312. Tumbler, 130 years old; came from the present owner's great-grandmother, Mrs. 
 
 Daniel Ford, of Litchfield, Ct. 
 
 313. Fan, 130 years old. 
 
 MISS JENNIE SHELTON. 
 
 314. Two Spanish silver dollars, found in the oellar of Dr. Shelton's residence. 
 
 315. Ancient needlework. 
 
 316. Sheets spun by Mrs. Caroline Shelton. 
 
 MRS. FREDERICK LILLINGSTON. 
 
 317. Ancient work-bag. 
 
 318. One chair. 
 
 319. Tea caddy. 
 
 320. Shawl. 
 
 321. Chair. 
 
 322. Plates. 
 
 323. Two old flags. 
 
 324. Wedding dress. 
 
 325. Old clock. 
 
 MRS. WILLIAM E. WHEELER. 
 
 MISS SUSAN C. CURTIS. 
 
 MRS. C. G. GUNTHER. 
 
 MRS. LAMSON VAN VOORHIS. 
 
 MRS. JOHN W. LATTIN. 
 326. Highdaddy, 130 years old; formerly owned by Jacob Baldwin. 
 
 327. Warming-pan. 
 
 328. Spoon. 
 
 329. China cup. 
 
 330. Glass. 
 
 331. Miniature. 
 
 MRS. WILSON FRENCH. 
 
 MISS EMILY BOOTH. 
 
 MRS. LEWIS BURRITT.
 
 116 stbatford's celebration. 
 
 MRS. L. L. WOODING. 
 
 332. Dress. 
 
 MRS. S. C. DICKINSON. 
 
 333. Bible. 
 
 334. Pitcher. 
 
 MR. FREDERICK F. PERRY. 
 
 335. Silver dollar, 1782, formerly owned by "William M. Perry. 
 
 336. Silver dollar, 1795, formerly owned by "William M. Perry. 
 
 337. Silver dollar, 1800, formerly owned by "William M. Perry. 
 
 338. Silver dollar, 1818, formerly owned by "William M. Perry. 
 
 MRS. PHILIP C. LEWIS. 
 
 339. Tea-pot stand, over 100 years old, came from present owner's grandfather, Col. 
 
 Philo Lewis. 
 
 340. Small dressing-table, over 100 years old, came from present owner's grandfather, 
 
 Col. Philo Lewis. 
 
 341. Bead bag, 100 years old. 
 
 FROM THE "JOHNSON HOMESTEAD." 
 
 342. Basin and ewer, old Chinese, 150 years old. 
 
 343. Early brown Derby cup and saucer, 125 years old. 
 
 344. Embroidered white satin slippers and brocade dress, worn by Mrs. Samuel Johnson, 
 
 about 1740. 
 
 345. Screen, worked about 1760. 
 
 346. Table, bought at the auction sale of the effects of the last Colonial-Governor of 
 
 New York. 
 
 347. Autograph letters from Benjamin Franklin. John Hancock, and General "Washington. 
 
 348. Old laces, Venetian, Pomp. 
 
 349. Tea-pot, cups and saucers, old Chinese, the first importation to the colonies. 
 
 MISS MARY L. SNOWDEN. 
 
 350. Miniature side saddle, 100 years old, came to the present owner from her grand- 
 
 mother, Mrs. Robert Bogardus. 
 
 351. Opera glass, 100 years old, owned by same. 
 
 352. Tea spoon, buried in Trinity Church -yard during the revolution. 
 
 353. Homer's Poems (Melmoth's edition). 
 
 354. Domestic Memories, dedicated to Mrs. General Washington in 1790. 
 
 355. Black velvet hat, and riding hat, worn by Mrs. X. H. Snowden 
 
 356. Flute used by Rev. S. F. Snowden, when a student in the Princeton College, 100 
 
 years ago. 
 
 MRS. GEORGE A. TALBOT. 
 
 357. Pictures of the twelve months, female figure. 1 , very old. 
 
 358. Two old engravings. 
 
 :'-59. Dresses, nearly 100 years old. 
 
 360. Lace, slippers and embroidery, same period. 
 
 361. Chair, 150 years old. 
 
 362. Specimens of China, 200 years old.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 117 
 
 363. Combs, 100 years old. 
 
 364. Small articles of jewelry. 
 
 365. Old silver. 
 
 366. Old tankard. 
 
 367. Toilet glass, 150 years old. 
 
 368. Arm chair, same date. 
 
 369. Carved fan. 
 
 370. Candlesticks. 
 
 371. Bronze mirror. 
 
 MRS. WILLIAM N. ELY. 
 
 372. Spinning wheel and flax spinner, used from 1790 to 1830. 
 
 373. Newspaper of 1780, with the account of the treachery of Benedict Arnold. 
 
 374. Pearl jewelry, worn by the owner's great-grandmother, Mrs. Thomas Olcott, who 
 
 lived in Stratford 1 50 years ago. 
 
 375. Lace shawl, worn by the owners grandmother, Mrs. Capt. Nehemiah Gorham ; 125 
 
 years old. 
 
 MRS. JOHN W. STERLING. 
 
 376. Several numbers of " Connecticut Journal," 1775 and 1782. 
 
 377. Dr. Hezekiah Tomlinson's arm chair, 1770. 
 
 378. Wood engravings of battles of Concord and Lexington, by Paul Revere, first wood 
 
 engraving done in America. 
 
 379. Silver bodkin used by Sarah Blackleach, about 1740. 
 
 380. Tomlinson coat of arms, brought to Stratford by Henry Tomlinson, 1657. 
 
 381. Solomon Plant's hymn-book, 1761. 
 
 382. Bed-curtain, 1790. 
 
 383. Picture, Washington driving the Chariot of Liberty. 
 
 MISS AMEY TALBOT. 
 
 384. Breastpin. 
 
 385. Ivory box. 
 
 MRS. A. E. ROWLAND. 
 
 386. Old tankard. 
 
 387. Coral and pearls over 100 years old. 
 
 MRS. E. M. CURTIS. 
 
 388. Silver pitcher, hidden from the British in the well at Harvey's farm. 
 
 MISS AMEY TAINTOR. 
 
 389. Carved comb, 100 years old. 
 
 MISS JULIA TAINTOR. 
 
 390. Knife and fork, period before the Revolution. 
 
 MRS. EMILY WHEELER. 
 
 391. China jar, very old. 
 
 392. Four delft plates. 
 
 393. Fiying pan, originally owned by Moses Wheeler, 250 years old.
 
 118 stkatford's celebration. 
 
 MISS CORNELIA I. CURTIS. 
 
 394. Book of Paintings, 80 years old. 
 
 395. Satin bag. 
 
 396. Two Silhouettes. 
 
 397. Doll, S6 years old. 
 
 MISS SELENE A. BROOKS. 
 
 398. Map of Stratford, 100 years old. 
 
 399. Map of Stratford, 66 years old. 
 
 MRS. ABRAHAM LEWIS. 
 
 400. Silver spoon, 163 years old. 
 
 401. Silver spoon, 144 years old. 
 
 MRS. C. M. BLAKEMAN. 
 
 402. Hatchel. 
 
 403. Sugar bow). 
 
 MR. STILES JUDSON. 
 
 404. Old documents. 
 
 405. Faucy piece, or stint, worked by Mrs. Eliza Booth Peek when 10 years of age, 1810. 
 
 406. Small teapot, over 100 years of age. 
 
 407. Sugar bowl, 50 years old. 
 
 MRS ROBERT H. RUSSELL. 
 
 408. Portrait of Nathaniel Lamson, Mrs. Russell's grandfather, date 1795, also his fob 
 
 watch chain. 
 Sundries belonging to Mary, wife of Nathaniel Lamson and daughter of the Hon. 
 Andrew Adams, and Mary, daughter Zachariah Fairchild, of Stratford, as 
 follows : 
 
 409. Punch bowl. 
 
 410. Screen, embroidered by Mary Adams, in her 17th year, 1798. 
 
 411. Silver knitting sheath and needle case. 
 
 412. Pewter sugar bowl. 
 
 413. Foot stove. 
 
 414. Two wool-cards. 
 
 415. Fire pan. 
 
 416. Spinning wheel. 
 
 417. Silver bodice-pins, over 150 years old. 
 
 418. Two teaspoons, over 150 years old. 
 
 419. One cornelian ornament for fob watch chain. 
 
 420. Dress worked by Amanda Lamson in her 8th year. 
 
 421. Bead neck-lace of Amanda Lamson, made in her 16th year. 
 
 422. Spectacles, over 150 years old. 
 
 All the above articles were brought to Stratford by Mrs. Amanda Lamson Van 
 Voorhis, in 1870. 
 
 MRS. SARAH T. DOUGHERTY. 
 
 423. Portrait of Dr. Hezekiah Judson. 
 
 424. Two Silhouettes, male and female heads.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 119 
 
 MISS JULIA FAIRCHILD. 
 
 425. Portrait of Judge Robert Fairchild. 
 
 426. Chair belonging to Judge Robert Fairchild. 
 
 427. Letter from John Quincy Adams to Robert Fairchild. 
 
 MRS. PRESTON H. HODGES. 
 
 428. Cup and saucer, and chair, the wedding outfit of the present owner's grandmother,. 
 
 Helen Birdseye, who was married in 1184 to Thaddeus Birdseye, son of old 
 Parson Birdseye, of Oronoque. 
 
 MRS. JANE S. DUNBAR. 
 
 429. Chairs, formerly of present owner's grandmother, Mrs. Alice Thompson. 
 
 MR. BENJAMIN T. FAIRCHILD. 
 
 430. Old English sideboard or cupboard, brought from England to this country by Robert 
 
 Coe, of Ipswich, Suffolk, England, in the year 1634. He came in the 
 ship Francis, John Cutting, Master, with seventy-five others; his son. Robert 
 Coe, brought the cupboard to Stratford in the year 1640. It remained on the 
 same premises, and in the possession of the Coe family, for seven generations 
 until 1873. 
 
 MRS. ELBERT WELLS. 
 
 431. Key of Episcopal Church built in 1143. 
 
 432. Latin book used by Parson Birdseye when in Yale College. The book is dated 1729. 
 
 433. Baby's cap, hand-worked, over 100 years old. 
 
 MR. LORENZO B. BEERS. 
 
 434. Old coins. 
 
 435. Powder-horn used in Revolutionary War. 
 
 436. Silver cake-basket and fruit dish, which belonged to Mr. A. .D. Laing's mother in 
 
 1808. 
 
 437. Small brass kettle, 100 years old, formerly belonging to Mr. Laing's grandmother. 
 
 438. Pier-table with mirror, formerly belonging to A. D. Laing's mother. 
 
 439. Certificate, on parchment, of the marriage of A. D. Laing's father and mother, 1808. 
 
 MRS. A. T. B. DeWITT. 
 
 440. Pair of wine stands, formerly owned by Captain Samuel C. Nicoll. 
 
 441. Mustard spoon of Rebeckah Lewis, who married Dr. Joshua Poor in 1771, from which 
 
 it dates. 
 
 442. Portrait of David Poor. 
 
 MR. WATSON H SMITH. 
 
 443. Antique pitcher. 
 
 444. Account book of the First Ecclesiastical Society. 
 
 MRS. HAMILTON BURTON. 
 
 445. Very old China plate. 
 
 MRS. HENRY WELLS. 
 
 446. Old fan, formerly owned by Elizabeth "Wells, 150 years old.
 
 120 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 
 
 MRS. FREEMAN L. CURTIS. 
 
 447. First music book of the Congregational Church. 
 
 448. Two ancient plows. 
 
 449. Bureau. 
 
 450. Portraits of Freeman Curtis and wife. 
 
 451. Teapot, platter, and plate. 
 
 452. Reel. 
 
 453. Small portrait of Stiles Curtis. 
 
 MRS. SUSAN T. WALKER. 
 
 454. Miniature of Mrs. Bigelow, sister of Gen. Jos. Walker. 
 
 MISS ELIZABETH LYON LINSLEY. 
 
 455. Harris' collection of voyages and travels; two volumes, illustrated; London, 1705. 
 
 These two folio volumes were part of the library of Lord North, whose coat 
 of arms is within each book. This is the Lord North, Baron North, and Baron 
 Grey, who was Lieut. -General of Queen Anne's forces and served under the 
 Duke of Marlborough in the Low Countries. The next owner was "William 
 Lyon, of New Haven, who was a distinguished collector and antiquarian; at 
 his decease in 1830, his library descended to his son William, and later to his 
 daughter Elizabeth Lyon and thence to the present owner his granddaughter. 
 They were brought to Stratford in 1884. 
 
 456. Plan of Stratford, Connecticut, surveyed and delineated by the Rev. James H. 
 
 Linsley. 
 
 MRS. ALBERT B. CURTIS. 
 
 457. Ancient fan, formerly owned by Mrs. Thomas Curtis, of Woodbury, 100 years old. 
 
 458. Old China plate, over 100 years old. 
 
 MR. ROBERT W. CURTIS. 
 
 459. King's arm, manufactured under George I., stored in the Tower of London; taken out 
 
 by George III. for the use of the troops sent to America in the Revo- 
 lutionary war. 
 
 460. Specimens of Indian relics. 
 
 461. Old table, hidden from the enemy in the "Great Swamp," Stratford, during the Re- 
 
 volution, bearing the marks of the stains plainly on the legs. 
 
 462. Hourglass; has been in the McEwen family since 1771. 
 
 463. Quadrant, over 100 years old. 
 
 464. Old bellows. 
 
 465. China teapot, creampot and sugar bowl, in the possession of the McEwen family for 
 
 five generations. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES R. GORHAM. 
 
 466. Rocking chair, formerly used by Mrs. Mary Whippo, great aunt of the owner; 150 
 
 years old. 
 
 MISS ELIZABETH WHEELER. 
 
 467. Candle sticks and pewter porringer, formerly the property of Nancy Ufford, who 
 
 married Dr. Ezra Curtis, and after his death, Mr. John Wells; 150 years old.
 
 Stratford's celerlation. 121 
 
 468. China cup, saucer and plate, belonged to Phoebe Curtis, who married Ezra Birdseye ; 
 
 at least 125 years old. 
 
 469. Tablespoon, belonged to Hannah Hawley, who married Captain Samuel Wheeler ; 1 20 
 
 years old. 
 
 470. China teapot, belonged to Betsy Booth, wife of Capt. Daniel Booth ; 150 years old. 
 
 MRS. FRANCES L. GRAY. 
 
 471. A huge wooden spoon used by the Indians to stir samp. 
 
 472. Old stone ink-stand, brought from England. 
 
 MR. JOSEPH CURTIS. 
 
 473. Ball ticket, 1814. 
 
 474. Dictionary, 1720. 
 
 475. Connecticut laws, 1784. 
 
 MR. WILFRED M. PECK. 
 
 476. Gen. Montgomery's mustard dish; 150 years old. 
 
 MR. HENRY G. WHEELER. 
 
 477. Four Staffordshire plates. 
 
 MRS. BENEDICT PECK. 
 
 478. Teapot. 
 
 479. Two cups and saucers. 
 
 480. Yeast bowl, all over 100 years old. 
 
 MR. NATHAN B. WELLS. 
 
 481. Quill wheel, 100 years old. 
 
 482. Swifts, 100 years old. 
 
 483. Carpenter's tools, formerly owned by Nathan Beach, 1780. 
 
 484. Tin candle-moulds. 
 
 485. Sign of St. John Lodge, No. 8, F. and A. M., 1792. 
 
 MRS. JEFFERSON CLARK. 
 
 486. Ancient spoons from Holland ; York, England; Lincoln, England ; and Stratford-on- 
 
 Avon. 
 
 MR. LEWIS BEARDSLEY. 
 
 487. Andirons, shovel and tongs. 
 
 488. Large pistol. 
 
 489. Indian stone axe. 
 
 MR. SAMUEL W. BENJAMIN. 
 
 490. Quilt, corded and spun by Miss Eliza Southworth, and woven by Silas Burton, 
 
 father of Hamilton Burton. The fringe was made by Miss Southworth in 1809. 
 
 491. Sampler, worked by Miss Southworth when 9 years old. 
 
 MRS. EDMUND DIKEMAN. 
 
 492. Sugar bowl and tumbler. 
 
 493. Mortar, very old.
 
 122 stratford's celebration. 
 
 MRS. HENRY BOOTH. 
 
 494. Pitcher which came from England in ship Lucretia. 
 
 MRS. JOSEPH B. CURTIS, BRIDGEPORT. 
 
 495. "Wedding suit of the father of the late Harry Curtis. 
 
 MR. CHESTER DORMAN. 
 
 496. Very old wood carving. 
 
 497. Newspaper printed after the death of Gen. Washington. 
 
 MR. MORTON BEARDSLEE. 
 
 498. Plate, 150 years old, owned by Abraham Beardslee. 
 
 499. Plate, 100 years old, owned by Abijah Beardslee. 
 
 500. Mug, milk pitcher, soup dish and coffee pot. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES MOORE. 
 
 601. History of the French Reformation, bought of Rainsford, a bookseller in London, and 
 brought to Stratford by Rev. John Mitchell; two volumes, published in 1683. 
 Each volume contains the number in the library, name and residence, and 
 coat of arms of the Duke of Bedford. 
 
 502. Portraits from Holbein, of Henry "VIII., Queen Catharine, Cranmer, Anne Boleyn, 
 
 Cardinal Woolsey and Thomas Cromwell. 
 
 503. Fac-simile of the pen and ink sketch of Major Andre, drawn by him the day before 
 
 his execution. It was procured in New Haven between the years 1832 and 
 1835, by Mr. Charles Moore, and brought to Stratford in 1856. The original 
 was presented by Major Andre to Jabez L. Tomlinson, when acting as officer 
 of the guard, and in whose presence the sketch was made. He said that it 
 was drawn without the aid of a mirror. The original sketch was afterward 
 (1832) presented to President Jeremiah Day, D.D., of Yale College. 
 
 MR. ASA S. CURTIS. 
 
 504. Flint-lock gun, carried in the battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut, by Henry Curtis, 
 
 father of Elijah and Henry Curtis, of Stratford. 
 
 505. Set of knives and forks, brought to this country from the "West Indies, previous to 
 
 the year 1800, by Reuben Curtis, son of Thomas Curtis. 
 50G. Saddle bags and Adjutant's staff. Pots and kettles. 
 
 MR. EZEKIEL CURTIS. 
 
 507. Very ancient chair. 
 
 MR. STEPHEN D. SMITH. 
 
 508. Ancient clock. 
 
 MR. SYLVANUS C. DICKINSON. 
 
 509. Silver tankard, 1782. 
 
 510. Spun flax, 100 years old. 
 
 511. "Connecticut Herald," 1815.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 123 
 
 MR. NATHAN G. POND. 
 
 512. Old deed of land. 
 
 513. Original alarm sent along the coast to John Brooks, during the Revolutionary war. 
 
 514. Post-bag, Boston, 1744. 
 
 MR. ABIJAH MCEWEN. 
 
 515. Round hair trunk, very old, covered with figures formed by brass nails. 
 
 516. Books of Rev. William McEwen, written by him in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1600, and 
 
 brought to this country. 
 
 517. Newspaper, printed in Danbury, Conn., December, 1793, containing a speech of 
 
 Gen. Washington to the House of Representatives, also a message. 
 
 518. Parchment written in the reign of Charles I; it relates to freeing a slave in Con- 
 
 necticut. 
 
 519. Account book of John McEwen, sheep-skin cover, 1621-1726. One charge to Josare 
 
 (Josiah) Hawley, an ancestor of Gen. Joseph R. Hawley. 
 
 520. Cane, brought from Glasgow by John McEwen, the first one of the kind in this 
 
 country ; over 250 years old. 
 
 521. Glass tumbler, belonging to Gea. Joseph Walker, very old. 
 
 522. Key of the first Gongregational Church, brought from England ; weight three-quarters 
 
 of a pound. 
 
 523. Lock of the same church, one foot in length, made of iron. 
 
 524. Wooden candlesticks, in height over fifteen inches, used in gallery of old Congrega- 
 
 tional Church. 
 
 525. Basa viol, used in Congregational Church over 30 years. Second one in use. 
 
 526. Pitcher used in Congregational Church; bought for and used by Rev. Wm. B. Weed. 
 
 527. Flask with leather case, dated 1755 ; brought from Scotland. 
 
 528. Rocker, formerly in Uffoot (Ufford) family ; very ancient. 
 
 MISS JANETTE BOOTH. 
 
 529. Indian stone axe. 
 
 530. Old palms for hat-making. 
 
 531. Small wooden bowl. 
 
 532. Scarf of sewing silk. 
 
 533. Milk cup, sugar bowl, and decanter. 
 
 534. Spectacles. 
 
 535. Old spoon, cup and saucer. 
 
 536. Old chairs and tea table. 
 
 537. Punch tumblers. 
 
 MRS. ELVIRA MILLER. 
 
 538. Ancient necklace. 
 
 539. Old arm chair. 
 
 MISS J. E. HUNTER. 
 
 540. Silver fruit dish, formerly owned by Gen. Joseph Walker. 
 
 MRS. FREDERICK J. BEARDSLEY. 
 
 541. Three chairs, 150 years old. 
 
 542. Comb. 
 
 543. Teapot, representing bear.
 
 124 stratford's celebration. 
 
 544. Specimen of pink dinner set. 
 
 545. Specimen of blue dinner set. 
 
 546. Specimen of fine gilt tea set and other old China, 7 pieces. 
 
 547. Tete-e-tete set, three pieces. 
 
 548. Pewter plate. 
 
 549. Bullet mould, made and used during the Revolution. 
 
 550. Little round teapot, 200 years old. 
 
 MRS. EDWIN J. SPALL. 
 
 551. Badge worn by Chancellor Livingston. 
 
 552. Small articles of jewelry. 
 
 MRS. JOSEPH W. DUFOUR. 
 
 553. Two vases, over 100 years old. 
 
 554. Old pictures, over 100 years old. 
 
 MRS. FRANK R. SAMMIS. 
 
 555. Old arm chair, 200 years old. 
 
 556. Silver spoons, made in 1800 for the owner's great-grandmother, Polly French, as 
 
 part of her wedding outfit. 
 
 MR. ALFRED BURRITT. 
 
 557. Pewter tankard, 175 years old. 
 
 558. Silver spoon, 175 years old.
 
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 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 125 
 
 MARKING HISTORICAL PLACES. 
 
 While the town of Stratford has not been the scene of an historical 
 event of national importance, there have transpired within its borders 
 many events of great local interest, which show that the great move- 
 ments of the country and world left their marks in this village, as else- 
 where. Whoever has read the preceding pages of this book will recall 
 that in the great wave of fanaticism and superstition which swept over 
 New England in 1651 the little band of settlers at Stratford were swept off 
 their feet, and Goody Bassett yielded to them her life, condemned for the 
 crime of witchcraft ; and so, also, when later a religious movement arose 
 which was to break away from the regime of Congregationalism and 
 establish a branch of the Established Church of England in Connecticut, 
 Stratford was foremost in the movement, and to-day points with pride 
 to the site of the first Episcopal Church in Connecticut. In the War of 
 the Eevolution, and in the struggle of 1812, Stratford was well repre- 
 sented ; and in the later moral struggles for the abolition of slavery and 
 the suppression of intemperance, the " story of Stratford," heretofore 
 given in this volume, will show that the yeast of reform and anti-reform 
 worked with great vigor in our quiet town. As to Stratford's part in 
 the late Civil War, that is elsewhere fittingly portrayed. 
 
 In spite, then, of the good fortune of our ancestors in escaping the 
 fate of Fairfield and Ridgefield in the Revolutionary War, which, how- 
 ever, left our town barren of historical events, the general Committee of 
 Arrangements provided that places of historical interest should be 
 marked in some appropriate way. In marking the various places 
 selected, a list of which appears below, the following method was 
 adopted : Small white tablets, about fourteen inches long by ten inches 
 wide, were made, and upon these were neatly lettered the inscriptions 
 appearing below, and the tablet was then fastened to a post set in the 
 ground at the proper place.
 
 128 stratford's celebration. 
 
 The following is a list of places marked and the inscriptions used : 
 
 1. " Site of the First Meeting-House, 1639-1680." 
 
 This place, called " Sandy Hollow," was the centre of the first settle- 
 ment. The first burial ground was back of the church. 
 
 This tablet was placed in front of the barn, known now as the 
 " Barrymore " barn, on Elm Street. 
 
 2. "Site of the Second Meeting-House, 1680-1743, on Watch 
 House Hill." 
 
 February 19, 1689, at town meeting, voted that the Meeting-House 
 should be fortified as a place of security. 
 This tablet was placed on the hill some distance to the east of the 
 Soldiers' Monument. 
 
 3. " Site of the Third Meeting-House, 1743-1785." 
 
 This house was struck by lightning and burned 1785. The Fourth 
 Meeting-House stood on the site of the present Congregational Church. 
 1785-1858. 
 
 This tablet was placed on the hill a little way east of the Soldiers' 
 Monument. 
 
 4. " Site of the First Episcopal Church in Connecticut, 1723-1743." 
 
 This burial ground, which was around the church, was opened in 
 1723. The stone steps of the old church may be seen in the burial 
 yard. 
 
 This tablet was placed in the southern part of the old Episcopal 
 church -yard. 
 
 5. "Site of the Second Episcopal Church, 1743-1858." 
 
 Said to have been the finest church in the Colony when built. 
 This tablet was placed on the common, north of the present 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 6. "Gallows Bridge." 
 
 The place where tradition says that Goody Bassett was hung for 
 witchcraft in 1650. 
 
 This tablet was placed on the north side of the highway known 
 as the "Old Stage Eoad," over Old Mill Hill, just west of the track 
 of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. 
 
 7. "The Palisades." 
 
 The early settlers built a row of palisades across the brow of this hill 
 (Watch House Hill), running about one quarter of a mile west of the 
 hill, thence south, enclosing the settlement. 
 
 This tablet was placed on the brow of the hill known formerly as 
 Watch House Hill, and later as " Custody," " Meeting House," and 
 Academy Hill.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 127 
 
 8. " Site of the blacksmith shop of Samuel Folsom." 
 
 Samuel Folsom was the father of Glorianna Folsom, the heroine of 
 Stratford's romance. 
 
 This tablet was placed in the extreme north-east corner of the 
 Johnson Homestead. 
 
 9. "Grave of Governor Gideon Tomlinson." 
 
 Governor of Connecticut, 1827-18:50. 
 United States Senator, 1831-1 S31. 
 
 10. " Johnson Vault." 
 
 Dr. Samuel Johnson, and his son, William Samuel Johnson, were 
 buried here. 
 
 11. "Grave of Lieut. William Thompson." 
 
 He was shot, and mortally wounded, in the defence of Ridgetield, 
 in 1777. 
 
 12. "Grave of Gen. Joseph Walker." 
 
 A gallant soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
 
 13. "Grave of Captain D. Pulaski Benjamin." 
 
 He was a prisoner of war at the famous Dartmoor Prison, in Eng- 
 land, during the War of 1812. 
 
 14. "Grave of Col. Aaron Benjamin." 
 
 Who fought with great bravery in the Revolutionary War, and in 
 the War of 1812 commanded the Post at New London. 
 
 15. "Judson Place." 
 
 This house was built in 1723. The original Judson House was 
 stone. The foundations of this house were made from the stone of 
 the old house. 
 
 This tablet was placed in the yard of the Abner Judson house, 
 south of Watch House Hill. 
 
 16. "Site of the former residence of Dr. Samuel Johnson." 
 
 First rector of the Episcopal Church in Stratford, and President of 
 King's College, in New York City, from 1754 to 176:;. 
 
 And also of his son, William Samuel Johnson. 
 
 One of Connecticut's three representatives in the Convention which 
 formed the United States Constitution ; and, later, President of Colum- 
 bia College, New York City, from 1787 to 1800. 
 
 This tablet was placed before the barn, on the Johnson Homestead, 
 which faces Broad Street.
 
 128 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 17. " The Walker House." 
 
 This house was the residence of Gen. Joseph Walker, who fought 
 with distinguished bravery in the Revolutionary "War. and later be- 
 came a Major General. 
 
 This tablet was placed before the third house north of the railroad, 
 on the east side of Main Street. 
 
 18. " Entrance to the oldest burial ground in the town." 
 First used February, 1678. 
 
 This tablet was placed at the entrance to what is called the " Con- 
 gregational " Burying Ground. 
 
 19. " The Wolf Pits." 
 
 The first settlers dug a large pit at this place to protect themselves 
 .from wolves. 
 
 This tablet was placed in the Congregational Burying Ground, in 
 
 the depression directly back of the McEwen place.
 
 
 SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. 
 From a Photograph made by E. O. Hubbell, October, 1889.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 129 
 
 THE VETERAN ASSOCIATION. 
 
 In the celebration of the town's quarto-millennial birthday, the 
 interest created and success attained, were contributed to so largely by 
 the organized efforts of the " Veteran Association " of the town, and the 
 hearty co-operation individually of its members, that the authors of this 
 work feel that this association is entitled to, more than a passing recog- 
 nition at their hands. The labor of love performed by its members, 
 covering a long period of years, in raising the funds necessary to erect 
 in the town a suitable memorial to our soldier and sailor dead, is so 
 thoroughly appreciated by our townspeople as to justify a digression 
 from the main purposes of this book to the extent of furnishing a brief 
 sketch of the work of this organization. 
 
 For a number of years previous to the existence of the Stratford 
 "Veteran Association" as such, the surviving veterans of the Civil 
 War resident in the town, as also, might be added, the citizens gener- 
 ally, had evinced an earnest desire that there should be within the old 
 town from whose borders had marched away many brave soldiers to 
 aid the Republic in its days of peril, a visible and substantial tribute to 
 those deceased comrades to whom the call to arms was also a call to lay 
 down their lives in defense of the Union. 
 
 The means of attaining this end, and what should be the character 
 of the memorial, became a general theme of conversation in the village 
 until finally an organized movement was set on foot by the veterans to 
 accomplish their purpose. 
 
 The first meeting of the resident veterans was held at the Town 
 Hall, June 4, 1885, as the call stated, " for the purpose of effecting a 
 permanent organization whose aim and object shall be to cement the 
 bond of union between the veterans of the town, and to take the initial 
 steps towards erecting a suitable monument to the memory of the 
 deceased soldiers and sailors who represented the town in the rebellion, 
 and for the transaction of such other business as may be necessary 
 and proper to come before said meeting."
 
 130 stratfokd's celebration. 
 
 Twenty-seven veterans responded to this call, and a permanent 
 organization was formed. Edward L. Woodin was elected President ; 
 William H. Curtis, Vice-President ; L. Howard Eussell, Secretary, and 
 Asa S. Curtis, Treasurer. 
 
 Soon after this preliminary meeting had been held by the veterans 
 a public meeting of citizens was called for the purpose of awakening a 
 more general interest in the subject, and in order to give the townspeople 
 an opportunity to participate in the advancement of the project. 
 
 The meeting was held at the Town Hall, June 16, 1885, the Hon. 
 F. A. Benjamin presiding. After considerable discussion the meeting 
 adjourned to July 9, when a Citizens "Monument Association" was 
 formed, the object being to aid the veterans in accomplishing the result 
 which they had at heart. 
 
 The plan adopted was to raise the required sum by subscriptions 
 in the nature of membership fees for admission to the Monument Asso- 
 ciation. This mode of raising money, while resulting in a large 
 number of subscriptions, did not prove satisfactory and was shortly 
 afterwards abandoned. From this time on the committee having the 
 matter in charge bent their energies in the direction of public entertain- 
 ments of various kinds, but, notwithstanding the persistency of their 
 efforts, at the end of the year 1887 one hundred dollars only had been 
 realized. 
 
 However, fortune was soon to smile upon a worthy cause. About 
 this time Company K, of the Fourth Eegt. C. N. G., Stratford's mili- 
 tary organization, moved from the second story of Masonic Hall, where 
 its armory had previously been, to its new quarters in the third story, 
 formerly occupied by the Masonic Lodge. 
 
 The company, in furnishing its new armory, having exceeded the 
 appropriation allowed by the State, a necessity arose in this organization 
 for the raising of funds with which to complete the work on the plan 
 desired. Again was the old proverb, " Necessity is the mother of in- 
 vention," exemplified, for out of the joint needs of the Veteran Asso- 
 ciation and Company K was born the idea which was destined to meet 
 with phenomenal success. It was resolved that a joint fair should be 
 held b}^ the organizations named, and committees to represent their 
 respective interests and arrange the details of the matter were ap- 
 pointed, and at once entered upon their arduous duties. 
 
 The joint committee consisted of Henry P. Stagg, William E. 
 Wheeler, John W. Thompson, Sylvanus C. Dickinson and Edgar Os- 
 borne, from the Veteran Association, and Capt. Eugene Morehouse,
 
 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 131 
 
 William B. Bristol, Charles K. Stagg, George N. Morehouse and C. 
 Edwin Dufour, from Company K. The -laches, ever ready in the ad- 
 vancement of any good work, were appealed to for aid, and their 
 response was of a character to convince the most skeptical of their loy- 
 alty and zeal. Busy hands soon fashioned the intricate pieces of 
 needlework without which the ideal and popular fair would be impos- 
 sible, and before the day fixed upon for the beginning of the fair had 
 arrived a bewildering array of articles of every description were placed 
 at the disposal of the committee. 
 
 The preparatory work in the different departments having been 
 completed, the fair was finally opened April 2, 1888. Everything 
 seemed to combine to render the occasion an auspicious one, and those 
 on whose shoulders rested the responsibility of the undertaking felt 
 that they had been richly rewarded in the success which had so far 
 crowned their labors. 
 
 Throughout the week of the fair, throngs of people came and 
 went, and the numerous articles contributed found ready customers 
 when exhibited for sale within the hall in which the fair was in 
 progress. 
 
 On the first evening of the fair, Governor Lounsbury and staff 
 attended, as did also Col. Watson and staff, of the Fourth Eegiment. 
 They were received and entertained by a committee appointed for the 
 purpose, and upon entering the hall in which the fair was being held, 
 and taking seats upon the platform temporarily constructed, were wel- 
 comed by Wilfred M. Peck, Principal of the Stratford Graded School, 
 in a short address. Gov. Lounsbury, Gen. Pine, Col. Watson, and 
 others of the visiting guests responded ; they were then conducted 
 around the hall to the different booths, in which all of Stratford's 
 beauty was centred. The hall was elaborately but artistically deco- 
 rated, and, with the gayly attired crowds of people passing to and fro, 
 presented an enlivening spectacle. 
 
 The following is a list of the booths and the names of those in 
 charge of them : 
 
 BOOTHS. 
 
 GEN. SEDGWICK.— Manager, Miss Sarah Russell. Assistants, Miss P. B. Russell, 
 Miss Helen U. Sammis, Miss Jennie Smith, Miss E. M. Burritt, Miss "Winifred 
 Todd, Miss May Curtis, Miss Georgie Wilcoxson. 
 
 GEN. PHIL KEARNEY.— Manager, Mrs. F. H. Allen. Assistants, Miss Florence 
 Allen, Miss Elsie Powers, Miss Edith Allen, Miss Emma Allen, Miss Alice 
 Lillingston, Miss M. L. Wolfe, Miss Vinnie Churchill.
 
 132 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 GEN. SHERIDAN. — Manager, Miss Ida Burritt. Assistants, Miss Bertha Clark, Miss 
 Alice Mat Wilcoxson, Miss Carrie Tibbals. Miss Lizzie Clark, Miss Jennie 
 Clark, Mrs. N. W. Farley. 
 
 GEN. GRANT. — Manager, Mrs. Frederick Lillingston. Assistants, Mrs. L. B. Beers, 
 Mrs. F. B. Beers, Mrs. R. W. Curtis, Miss Georgie Thompson, Miss Nela Thomp- 
 son, Miss Florence A. Beers, Miss Grace C. Lillingston. 
 
 GEN. J. R. HAWLEY. — Manager, Mrs. C. G. Gunther. Assistants, Mrs. C. A. Ives, Miss 
 Ella Jackson, Miss Alice Curtis, Miss Susan C. Curtis. 
 
 LINCOLN. — Manager, Mrs. G. W. Fairchild. Assistants, Mrs. Fannie Peck, Mrs. F. R. 
 Sammis, Miss Mary C. Fairchild, Miss Maria "Wilcox, Miss Harriet Smith, Miss 
 Sadie Powers, Miss Vina Smith, Miss Susan C. Wilcoxson. 
 
 GEN. LOGAN. — Manager, Miss Mary A. Deyine. Assistants, Mrs. "W. A. Stagg, Miss 
 H. Lena Lobdell, Miss Eleanor A. Peck, Miss Grace Blakeman, Miss Mary 
 Judson, Miss Helena D. Cowles, Miss Jane Tucker. 
 
 GEN. GARFIELD. — Manager, Mrs. Melville J. Curtis. Assistants, Mrs. H. F. Meacham, 
 Mrs. A. B. Graham, Mrs. S. A. Patterson, Mrs. J. W. Beach, Mrs. E. R. "Wilcox, 
 Mrs. D. C. Wood, Mrs. "W. G. Sturges. 
 
 ELIAS HOWE, Jr. — Manager, Mrs. S. C. Dickinson. Assistants, Mrs. Cornelia A. 
 Tucker, Mrs. Charles E. Stagg. 
 
 ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. — Manager, Mrs. Lewis F. Judson. Assistants, Miss Carrie 
 Peck, Miss May Peck, Miss Emma Curtis, Miss Alice Curtis, Miss Helen Coe. 
 
 ADMIRAL FOOTE.— Manager, David L. Rhoades. Assistants, "The Cupheag Club." 
 
 FLORAL BOOTH. — Miss Helen P. Stagg, Miss Ida Atwood, Miss May Smith, Miss 
 Annie Osborn, Miss Milly Evans, Miss Martha Blakeman. 
 
 ART GALLERY. — Mrs. Calvin Curtis, Miss Amy Talbot, Frederick Lillingston, 
 Howard B. Moore. 
 
 Connected with the fair throughout its continuance was a refresh- 
 ment department, presided over by the following ladies : Mrs. Wilson 
 French, Mrs. Charles Blakeslee, Mrs. Robert H. Russell, Mrs. Francis S. 
 Avery, Mrs. George H. Spall, Mrs. Charles E. Hubbell. 
 
 In the lower hall, Capt. Wilson French exhibited to the numerous 
 visitors an interesting collection of war relics, contributed for the occa- 
 sion by citizens of the town. 
 
 When the fair closed it was found that the result far exceeded the 
 most sanguine expectations. The net proceeds of the fair amounted to 
 $2,417.82, of which $200.00 went into the treasury of Company K, and 
 the sum of $2,217.82 to the Veteran Association. 
 
 This sum was further supplemented in various ways until the 
 necessary amount was finally secured, and the desire to have within our 
 village an enduring reminder of Stratford's defenders of the republic 
 has been gratified.
 
 stratpord's celebration. 133 
 
 The monument selected by the veterans, and subsequently pre- 
 sented to the town, is of Greek architecture. Its height is thirty- 
 five feet and five inches, and at the base it is eight feet 
 square. Upon the top of the monument stands a figure repre- 
 senting the color-sergeant in defence of the American flag. The 
 figure is six and one-half feet in height, and it is nine feet to the point 
 of the flag-staff. The base is of rough ashlar work, representing quarry 
 faced granite. The plinth, or second base, bears upon the front the in- 
 scription, " Gettysburg and Antietam ; " upon the right, " Lookout Moun- 
 tain " and " Olustee ; " upon the back, " Chancellorsville " and " Wilder- 
 ness," and upon the left, " Fredericksburg " and " Fort Wayne." 
 
 The tablets are set between Grecian columns and beneath Grecian 
 porticos. Upon the front is the inscription, " Dedicated to the memory of 
 those who fought for liberty and saved the Union," and beneath this 
 are the following lines : 
 
 " Yet loved ones have fallen, and still where they sleep 
 A sorrowing nation shall silently weep, 
 And spring's brightest flowers with gratitude strew 
 O'er those who once cherished the Red, White and Blue." 
 
 Upon the right tablet is the G. A. R badge, and upon the left tab- 
 let the United States coat of arms. The back tablet bears the inscrip- 
 tion, " Erected by the Stratford Veteran Association and its friends, 
 October 3, 1889." Below this is inscribed the quotation, "The Union 
 shall and must be preserved." Upon the front die cap is " 1776 ;" the 
 right, " 1861-5 ;" the rear " 1817," and the left, " 1812," the dates of 
 the Revolutionary, Civil, and Mexican wars, and the war of 1812. 
 The raised tablet of the bottom shaft contains on the front the 
 Tenth Corps badge ; the right, the Wilson's Cavalry Corps badge ; 
 the back, Second Corps badge, and the left, the Nineteenth Corps 
 badge. 
 
 The shaft of the monument bears upon the front the infantry em- 
 blem of crossed muskets. Upon the right face of the shaft is the cav- 
 alry emblem of crossed sabres ; upon the back face is the artillery em- 
 blem of crossed cannon, ramrods, and upon the left, the naval 
 emblem representing a capstan, anchor, and crossed capstan bars. 
 These four emblems are surrounded by wreaths representing laurel and 
 oak, and are in bas-relief. All of the emblems and corps badges are in 
 relief, and the inscriptions are in bold raised letters. 
 
 The entire monument is cast from white bronze metal, its color 
 being a light gray. It weighs about 485 pounds per cubic foot,
 
 134 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 The following articles were deposited in a metal box underneath 
 the monument : 
 
 Records of the Cupheag Club of Stratford ; Records of the Veteran Association of 
 Stratford ; Records of Pequonnock Lodge, I. 0. 0. F.; Records of St. John's Lodge, F. & 
 A. M.; Records of Christ Church, Stratford; Records of M. E. Church, Stratford; Records 
 of Congregational Church, Stratford; Records of Stratford Library; Records of Co. K, 
 4th Reg't C. N. G.; New York "World," containing an account of New York Centennial ; 
 Photographic views of Stratford; Newspapers of the day; Historical Address, by Joel S. 
 Ives; Conn. Register and Manual, 1889; Orcutt's History of Stratford; Set of Silver 
 Proof Coins from United States Mint. 
 
 To whom the credit for the success of the fair belongs is best told 
 in the resolutions subsequently adopted by the Veteran Association : 
 
 Whereas, The Veteran Association of Stratford have completed and dedicated an ele- 
 gant monument to the memory of their comrades who gave their lives that our country 
 and nation might be perpetuated as one country with one flag and one destiny; it is 
 hereby 
 
 Resolved, That we return our hearty thanks to those who so generously and heartily 
 aided us in our great fair. 
 
 First. To the officers and men of Co. K, 4th Reg't C. N. G., who first proposed the 
 fair and then so generously and willingly aided to carry it to a successful culmination. 
 
 Second. To the citizens of other towns who sympathized with and aided us by their 
 donations of articles of value for the fair, enhancing its attractions in a large degree, and 
 whose presence with open purse-strings was a substantial factor in the final success of 
 this long to be remembered scheme. 
 
 Third. To the citizens of this town who so generally aided us in our patriotic en- 
 deavors to perpetuate the memory of our departed heroes, and whose partial reward comes 
 when they point with pride to the noble shaft which now adorns " Monument Hill" — a 
 lasting memorial to the memory of those brave men who sacrificed their lives for their 
 country and liberty — the exceptions to the honored list of donors being so few that thry 
 only appear the more conspicuous. 
 
 "The fittest place for man to die is where he dies for man." 
 
 The location, and kind of monument to be erected, was finally de- 
 cided upon at a meeting of the Veteran Association held at the Town 
 Hall, April 19, 1889, when it was unanimously voted that it be built of 
 white bronze by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Conn., 
 and located upon " Academy Hill." 
 
 The entire cost of the monument and the labor involved in prepar- 
 ing its site was $3,700, a considerable portion of the work of rendering 
 the ground suitable for its reception having been gratuitously performed 
 by the willing hands of members of the Association. 
 
 The following are the names of the volunteers in the War of the 
 Eebellion whose remains are buried in the Union and Putney Cem- 
 eteries in Stratford :
 
 Stratford's celebration. 135 
 
 Abbott, Woolsey Co. I, 6th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Austin, William M Surgeon, U. S. A. 
 
 Andrews, John M Co. M, 1st Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Brooks, Benjamin 23d N. Y. Vols. 
 
 Booth, John R Co. D, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Burton, Henry Co. C, 27th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Burton, Frank P Co. D, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Beardsley, Isaac Co. D, 2d Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Blakeslee, Henry M , Co. I, 6th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Clinton, Dewitt F Co. B, 1st Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Curtis, William H Co. C, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Curtis, Francis R Co. A, 14th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Curtis, Hanford Co. A, 14th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Curtis, Benjamin Co. A, 14th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Cozier, Edward Co. A, 4th U. S. A. 
 
 Crofut, Stephen C Co. D, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Dibble, Everett B U. S. N. 
 
 Dibble, Elliott B 2d Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Dart, Anson W 2d Light Battery. 
 
 Euerle, George M Co. I, 23d Conn. Vols. 
 
 Emery, N. M Co. A, 9th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Hine, Charles R Co. A, 1st Conn. Cav. 
 
 Johnson, Charles A Co. K, 2d Heavy Art. 
 
 Judson, Frederick M Co. C, 12th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Lewis, Charles B Co. D, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Lewis, Curtis Co. H, 7th N. Y. Vols. 
 
 Peck, Robert C Co. I, 6th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Peck, James A 2d Light Battery. 
 
 Peck, Lewis Co. I, 133d N. Y. Vols. 
 
 Powers, Almon D Co. I, 6th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Quire, Henry T.. .Co. A, 15th N.Y. Heavy Art. and 11th Vet. Res. Corps. 
 
 Riggs, Jonathan 1st Light Battery. 
 
 Roberts, Henry 2d Light Battery. 
 
 Russell, A. Benjamin U. S. N. 
 
 Slawson, David A Co. K, 9th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Stratton, Frederick Co. G, 20th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Wolfe, Peter Co. B, 1st Conn. Vols. 
 
 Weitzel, Wilbur A Co. I, 33d N. J. Vols. 
 
 Wheeler, John L Co. D, 2d Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Veterans of the War of the Kebellion, 1861-1865, resident in 
 Stratford at the time of the erection of the monument and belonging to 
 the Veteran Association or otherwise : 
 
 Beardsley, John B Co. M, 1st Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Blakeman, J. Henry Co. D, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Blakeman, Selah G Co. D, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Bunnell, Rufus W Co. I, 23d Conn. Vols. 
 
 Baldwin, William A Co. B, 20th Conn. Vols.
 
 136 stratford's celebration. 
 
 Clark, Charles H Co. D, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Cozier, Burr W 2d Light Battery. 
 
 Cook, Thomas W Co. G, 10th CoDn. "Vols. 
 
 Curtis, Charles E Co. M, 1st Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Curtis, Asa S Fife Major, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Daniels, Edward B Co. D, 12th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Dickinson, Sylvanus C 1st Light Battery. 
 
 French, Wilson Co. G, 17th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Freeman, Edward (colored) Co. I, 29th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Furnald, George L Co. H, 30th N. J. Vols. 
 
 Gilbert, Charles E Co. H, 2d Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Gray, Alonzo Co. C, 2d Conn. Vols. 
 
 Hine, George A Co. A, 2d Conn. Heavy Art. 
 
 Hine, George S Co. F, 27th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Hopkins, Peter Co. K, 11th N. J. Vols. 
 
 Hubbell, James S Co. D, 23d Conn. Vols. 
 
 Johnson, Matthew (colored) Co. K, 29th Ills. Vols. 
 
 Middlebrook, Nathan B 2d Light Battery. 
 
 Moore, James Co. G, 6th Conn. Vols.. 
 
 Noble, Ebenezer , Co. I, 47th N. J. Vols. 
 
 Osborne, Edgar Co. K, 15th Mich. Vols. 
 
 Purdy, George H Co. A, 29th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Plumb, Frederick W Co. I, 33d Wis. Vols. 
 
 Richardson, George A Co. C, 28th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Roberts, Charles F 2d Light Battery. 
 
 ^Russell, Lewis H Co. B, 7th N. Y. Vols. 
 
 Sanger, Darius R Co. T, 27th Mass. Vols. 
 
 Selleck, John H Co. A, 3d Conn. Vols. 
 
 Spall, George H 2d Light Battery. 
 
 Sprague, Orville Co. I, 8th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Stagg, Henry P Co. A, 7th N. Y. Vols. 
 
 Singleton. Wm. F. (colored) Co. B, 3 1st Conn. Vols. 
 
 Stephens, Henry G 31st N. Y. Vols. 
 
 Thomas, Julius E Co. F, 4th Tenn. Vols. 
 
 Thompson, John W Co. E, 48th N. Y. Vols. 
 
 Wheeler, William E Co. F, 1st Conn. Cav. 
 
 White. Boston (colored) Co. I, 29th Conn. Vols. 
 
 White, Chas. H. (colored) Co K, 29th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Williams, John L. (colored) Co. H, 29th Conn. Vols. 
 
 Wilcoxson, William B 2d Light Battery. 
 
 Total 45 
 
 The officers of the Veteran Association at the time of the dedi- 
 cation of the monument were H. P. Stagg, President; William E. 
 Wheeler, Secretary, and Asa S. Curtis, Treasurer. 
 
 Since the erection of the monument the Veteran Association and 
 the community at large have suffered a loss in the deaths of William E. 
 Wheeler and Capt William Barrymore. Both were earnest workers in
 
 Stratford's celebration. 137 
 
 carrying out the plans to secure a memorial to their deceased comrades, 
 and greatly assisted in making the celebration a success. 
 
 Capt. Barrymore rendered conspicuous aid to his country during 
 the dark days of the war while in the naval service of the Government, 
 and at the time of his decease was a member of U. S. Grant Post, 
 No. 327, of Brooklyn, K Y. 
 
 One by one the surviving veterans of that great conflict for princi- 
 ple and good government are dropping in life's arena, and year by year 
 some are summoned from Stratford to answer the last roll-call. 
 
 But though they pass away, causing, as they sink, scarcely a ripple 
 on the ocean of humanity, their privations endured and sacrifices made 
 will leave a lasting impression. 
 
 On the shafts erected in their honor by the hands of their surviv- 
 ing comrades shall be recorded the valor of our citizen soldiery, who 
 fought that the integrity of the Union might be maintained, and their 
 memory shall be perpetuated in the patriotic impulses of each succeeding 
 generation.
 
 138 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 TREASURER'S REPORT. 
 
 RECEIPTS. 
 
 Amount received from Town, .... $1,000 00 
 
 " " from Subscription Committee, 652 00 
 
 $1,652 00 
 
 EXPENDITURES. 
 
 Printing and Invitations, 
 
 Wheeler and Wilson Band, .... 
 
 Fire Works, 
 
 Decorations, - - 
 
 Arch, 
 
 Salutes, --.... 
 
 Bureau of Information, 
 
 Subscription Committee's Expenses, 
 
 Press Representatives, Entertainment of 
 
 Grand Stand, and Tables, .... 
 
 Collation, ...... 
 
 Tableaux, ..... 
 
 Loan Exhibition, - 
 
 Historical Places, Marking of 
 
 Reception Committee, .... - 
 
 Police Sign, 
 
 Horse Hire, ...... 
 
 J. J. McGakay, repairs to wagon injured, 
 Appropriation to Hook and Ladder Co., 
 
 Balance on hand, 
 
 $1,652 00 
 
 $147 
 
 70 
 
 121 
 
 60 
 
 354 50 
 
 187 
 
 72 
 
 25 
 
 00 
 
 71 55 
 
 3 
 
 00 
 
 9 
 
 61 
 
 41 
 
 50 
 
 85 
 
 00 
 
 239 
 
 19 
 
 114 28 
 
 78 
 
 03 
 
 12 
 
 00 
 
 73 00 
 
 1 
 
 00 
 
 15 
 
 00 
 
 6 
 
 50 
 
 10 
 
 00 
 
 $1,596 
 
 18 
 
 55 
 
 82 
 
 GEORGE H. SPALL, 
 
 Treasurer,
 
 Stratford's celebration, 139 
 
 PRESS NOTICES. 
 
 "Hartford Courant" Editorial, October 4, 1889. 
 
 "Hartford congratulates Stratford on her very fitting, enthusiastic and successful 
 celebration of her 250th birthday, and wishes her many happy returns. All the old towns 
 of this good old Land of Steady Habits are so fortunate in their public history and family 
 traditions that there should be no petty jealousies and rivalries,— only for a generous rivalry 
 in gbod works, of which sucb a commemoration as Stratford engaged in yesterday is by no 
 means the least. It is pleasant to think of the eager interest with which the accounts of it 
 will be read in distant States by men and women of Stratford stock who have yet to make 
 their first pious pilgrimage to the ancient home of their fathers." 
 
 Extracts from News Column of " Hartford Courant," of October 4, 1S89. 
 
 It was a Boston Herald editorial writer thafe thought that the people were getting tired 
 o£ celebrating anniversaries. If that gentleman had had occasion to take a train from New 
 York to Bridgeport at almost anv hour yesterday a single glance out the window as the 
 train passed Stratford would have made him see the necessity of revising that opinion. If 
 he had gone so far as to have stopped over an hour in the charming old town, he would 
 not only have been glad to retract his hasty generalization, but would probably have been 
 anxious to put himself on record as one impressed with the sincerity and enthusiasm with 
 which old New England is ever ready proudly to recall her noble past. 
 
 The fickle skies put on their brightest smiles Thursday and the clear cool October day 
 was in itself an assurance of a successful celebration. Crowds poured in all the morning 
 from Bridgeport and New Haven and the intervening towns, and late afternoon still saw 
 the trains loade.d. Hundreds were coming and going at all hours and an estimate of the 
 shifting crowds is very difficult. Eight thousand were probably on Stratford's streets when 
 the parade was passing, and first and last many more must have counted themselves among 
 the day's visitors. All the wav through the day was a success. The procession was long 
 and interesting, the dedication' of the graceful shaft on Academy Hill was impressive and 
 the address inspiring, the guests and visiting organizations were bountifully provided for, 
 the afternoon's civic celebrations brought out good speeches and an interested audience, 
 and ingenious tableaux and elaborate fireworks wound up the big jubilee. 
 
 The loan exhibition in the Town Hall would have set a relic hunter wild. It seemed as 
 if everything was there that was ever used in olden times for household furniture or per- 
 sonal attire. The catalogue numbered 535 of them and there were hundreds of others 
 unnumbered. The hall was packed with visitors. 
 
 The marking of various historical sites by small signs or tablets was a very thoughtful 
 and helpful device. One ran up against them everywhere and learned a deal of interesting 
 history in a very simple way. 
 
 The treatment of the press representatives was most courteous and generous, ine com- 
 mittee did everything possible for their convenience. 
 
 The volunteer fire companies made a very pretty feature of the parade. Ihe Cupneag 
 Club, dressed and painted as Indians and mounted on ponies, added a "Wild West flavor. 
 
 "Neio YorJc Times " Editorial, October 3, 1889. 
 
 Stratford, in Connecticut, celebrates to-day the notable fact that she has arrived at the 
 mature age of a quarter of a thousand years. What with her streets bedecked with
 
 140 stratford's celebration. 
 
 bunting and strung with gay-colored lanterns, tableaux in her most ancient houses and 
 elsewhere, depicting life in the good old colony times, and scenery and Indian paraphernalia 
 which will recall perilous days in the infancy of the town as well as the proud memories of 
 Washington's visit, there will no doubt be great enjoyment, wind and weather permitting. 
 Stratford, Guilford, Milford, and Madison are all Connecticut towns that were founded in the 
 year 1639, and four Massachusetts towns have also been rejoicing lately in their two hundred 
 and fiftieth anniversaries, so that the present year is quite rich in historical reminiscences 
 for the southern part of New England. In those days Connecticut was in the wilderness, 
 and was spoken of in Boston as "out west." Although the Dutch claimed the territory 
 between the Hudson and the Connecticut, enterprising English pioneers pushed into the 
 valley of the latter river and along the coast of Long Island Sound. If Stratford has 
 carefully refrained from setting the Housatonic River on fire, she has yet done her full 
 share among our more venerable towns for the glory and good of the country, and merits 
 an enjoyable celebration of her birthday. 
 
 "New Haven Palladium" Editorial, October 4, 1889. 
 
 Stratford has had a brilliant demonstration in token of her vivid recollection of the 
 settlement of that choice old town 250 years ago. It brought out its orators and its 
 relics; and it almost makes one able to see clear back through this long vista of years 
 when one reads of how they brought to light such mementoes of the past as a carving 
 knife imported in the Mayflower, the key of the first church in Stratford (1640), an oaken 
 sideboard made in England and brought to Stratford in 1640, a specimen of the first 
 engraving done in America, by Paul Revere, who certainly carved his name and fame 
 deep into history ; the seat to the first wagon used in Stratford in 1650, showing that they 
 walked several years before they began to ride; the table at which Washington ate wheo 
 he visited Stratford in 1777, besides many other weird and interesting objects of tender 
 memory. 
 
 "Hartford Post" Editorial, October 4, 1889. 
 
 The town of Stratford is the last of the Connecticut towns to celebrate a 250th 
 anniversary this year. This it did yesterday, and there was a gathering of people of the 
 old town that was notable for its size, and for the inspiration which prevailed. Although 
 not so deeply connected with the religious life of the StHte as it was the fortune of Guilford 
 to be, Stratford has always borne the honor of being one of the " staid old towns " of the 
 State. And this is honor enough. It is from such towns as this that the little common- 
 wealth has gathered much of its inspiration and its peaceful, industrious nature. 
 
 " Bridgeport Standard " Editorial, October 3, 1889. 
 HONOR TO OLD STRATFORD. 
 
 The celebration which is taking place in Stratford to-day marks an era in its history to 
 which few towns in this country have attained, and stamps its venerable qualities with 
 the sign of a proper recognition. Bridgeport, as one of the later children of this old town, 
 has a°legitimate interest in the celebration, and in all of the historic events which it com- 
 memorates, and it is therefore especially appropriate that one of Bridgeport's honored sons, 
 by adoption, a native of Stratford, should deliver the oration which most particularly 
 rehearses the motive and significance of the occasion. The oration of the Hon. Curtis 
 Thompson, which will be found elsewhere, together with the other excellent literary and 
 miscellaneous exercises, constitute a most admirable memorial of the occasion, and are 
 worthy of the good name of the good old town, which has seldom failed when called upon 
 in any worthy cause during its two hundred and fifty years of life. The hospitality of its 
 citizens has become proverbial, and their very best endeavor to-day has been seconded by 
 delegations from many other sections of the State, and the celebration, as a whole, has been 
 eminently successful and satisfactory. All honor to old Stratford, all honor to her patriotic 
 citizens who appreciate her wealth of years and worth of historic endowment ; and the 
 sons who have gone out from her in the past, but who tc-day return to do her reverence, 
 may well feel a thrill of pride in her green and honorable old age, and in the respect which 
 it inspires. The proximity of Bridgeport makes it probable that when the two hundred
 
 Stratford's celebration. 141 
 
 and fiftieth anniversary of that city shall be celebrated, the old town of Stratford may . 
 occupy a portion of the corporate limits, but her distinctive character can never be entirely 
 lost, and her superior age and historic associations must always keep her apart, in a sense, 
 from the more modern developments, however much she may be surrounded by them. 
 Trumbull, Huntington and Monroe have, together with Bridgeport, reason to feel pride in 
 the honored old age of their venerable mother; and when in the future they, too, may be 
 absorbed in the ever-extending limits of our lusty young city, the old boundaries out of 
 which they all originally sprung will be restored, and "Old Stratford" will be herself 
 again, under such changed conditions as all things municipal and mundane are subject to 
 on this continent, in the passing of the centuries. 
 
 Extracts from " Bridgeport Standard," October 3, 1889, News Column. 
 
 Stratford is in its glory to-day. It enters the second half of its third century of exist- 
 ence, and a vast company, perfect weather, and all other conditions needed for a successful 
 celebration, combine to make this day very auspicious. The sun was greeted at its rising with 
 a salute of forty-two guns from Academy Hill, and the ringing of all the village church bells, 
 and its rays fell upon houses gaily decorated with bunting, and every dwelling a century or 
 more old placarded with the figures of the year in which it is supposed to have been built. 
 The scene, for beauty, with the aged elms still retaining their summer's foliage, was never 
 
 Incoming trains brought crowds of sightseers who swelled the throng to immense pro- 
 portions. Chief of Staff Eugene Morehouse was early on duty, and as fast as the organiza- 
 tions arrived they were assigned to proper places in line. The blare of brass bands, the 
 flying flags and the shining uniforms of the military just set the old town crazy with 
 exuberance. The oldest inhabitant is now content to go to his grave possessing the knowl- 
 edge that he has witnessed the supreme moment in the history of the town. As fast as 
 the honored guests began to arrive they were taken in charge by the reception committee 
 and conducted to Mr. David P. Rhoades' residence, which was superbly decorated with 
 flags, bunting, emblems, and Chinese lanterns. Mr. Rhoades stood at the gate and per- 
 sonally received each guest. The department officers of the G-. A. R., the orator of the 
 day, and other distinguished guests were dined by Mr. Rhoades at one o'clock. 
 
 THE DECORATIONS. 
 
 Most of the houses along the line of march are decorated, and all the stores and public 
 buildings. Much of this work was done by decorating companies, but private families 
 have displayed a good deal of taste and ingenuity in adorning their own residences. It 
 would be impossible to decide which was the handsomest among so many, but some 
 attracted more comment than others, and were frequently cheered by the parade. 
 
 The High School, the Congregational Church, Cupheag Club House, and the Leavitt 
 residence, corner of Main Street and Stratford Avenue, displayed a great variety of colors 
 and designs. Sheriff Clarkson made a fine display of flags and bunting. Dr. Cogswell 
 had a neat design. Henry F. Meachen showed some curios among the decorations of 
 Riverview. Capt. Barrymore's, one of the oldest houses in town, was nearly hidden in 
 flags, which represented all the colors used in the U. S. navy. F. C. Beach was arti>tic in 
 his display. The old Pendleton House on Elm Street looked very modest and retiring 
 behind immense flags and streamers. The Curtis residence, recently purchased of the 
 Austin heirs, showed a wealth of decorations. Asa S. Curtis was as pronounced in decora- 
 tion as in principles, and his house, overlooking the hill, was very beautiful. The handsome 
 De "Witt place made an elaborate display. The Fairchild and Dunbar residences showed 
 the greatest number and variety of flags. All the nations and more, too, were represented. 
 On upper Main Street the decorations were exceedingly handsome, and Paradise Green 
 looked like paradise indeed. King Street was simply a mass of flajrs and streamers. The 
 residences of Messrs. Ezra Whiting, Calvin Curtis, Stiles Hurd, Edgar Osborne, Charles 
 Blakeslee and others were in becoming attire, and flags fluttered everywhere. Broad Street 
 was in holiday garb and ihe dressing rich and beautiful, and people stopped to admire the 
 residences of Postmaster G. H. Spall and Thomas B. Fairchild. The Housatonic Club 
 House and the shipping in the harbor were covered with flags and bunting. 
 
 Carriages full of people thronged the side streets, and cheered on the veterans and 
 firemen as they passed to their positions in line. 
 
 About 11 o'clock the parade started with Grand Marshal S. G. Blakeman in command.
 
 142 stratford's celebration. 
 
 .The Fourth Regiment, under Ool. T. L. Watson, headed by the Wheeler & Wilson Band, led 
 the procession in fine form, Company K, of Stratford, getting a large share of applause from 
 their numerous friends. The carriages containing the invited guests came next. The first 
 carriage was occupied by Stiles Judson, Jr., President of the Day, and Lieut. Governor Mer- 
 win. Governor Bulkeley was unable to be present, as he is taking a trip to Canada with the 
 First Regiment. The division of Grand Army veterans, headed by the G. A. R. Band of this 
 city, came in for a large share of attention. Their trappings were not gaudy, but as men 
 gazed into the faces of veterans who had fought for their country, their hats were raised in 
 admiration and respect. The Grand Army boys were in fact the heroes of the occasion, and 
 Post Elias Howe, Jr., of this city, turned out in larger numbers than any other in line. The 
 firemen with their numerous drum corps made a good showing. A prominent feature of the 
 parade was the appearance of the famous Cupheag Club of Stratford, the members of which 
 were dressed as Indians and mounted on ponies. A large wigwam on wheels was a part of 
 the club's outfit. 
 
 The Loan Exhibition of old and rare objects, which has been collected by the committee 
 having charge of that part of the programme, has proven an exceedingly interesting feature 
 of the day. The collection is very large, and contains articles of great value and of rare his- 
 toric interest. One of the most suggestive articles exhibited is a plough loaned by Free- 
 man L. Curtis, such as the farmers used one hundred and fifty years ago. Its hewn beam 
 and wooden share are in strong contrast to the polished steel articles of the present day. 
 Mr. Gunther loaned a flag of the original pattern, containing thirteen stars. A number of 
 articles are shown here that were brought from England, and carefully preserved as heir- 
 looms, or accidentally discovered and reclaimed by relic hunters. One such is a court cup- 
 board of solid English oak, brought from England in the ship Francis, in 1640. Another 
 sideboard of solid English oak, owned by Mrs. David P. Judson, was brought over in 1639 
 by the first Judson who came to Stratford. 
 
 From the Johnson homestead is shown a wedding slipper worn by Mrs. Samuel John- 
 son in 1726, a hand-made screen, worked one hundred and fifty years ago, and an old pair of 
 spectacles. Near by are the holster pistols and spurs of Col. Ephraim Wilcoxson, a table- 
 cloth one hundred and fifty years old, belonging to Mrs. Orville Curtis, a piano one hundred 
 years old, the property of William Strong, candle moulds, and an old pillion. 
 
 The table at which Washington ate while stopping at Benjamin's Tavern, and General 
 Montgomery's mustard dish, one hundred and fifty years old. loaned by Wilfred M. Peck, 
 are interesting objects. 
 
 From Bridgeport " Morning News," October 4, 1889. 
 
 Stratford did herself proud yesterday. The long waited for day of the celebration of 
 the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of the town has come and gone, 
 and the residents need well feel proud of the manner in which the quarto-millennial cele- 
 bration was carried out. Nor is this all. On a beautiful green spot, on the crest of Acad- 
 emy Hill, stands a handsome monument, a tribute to the fallen brave. 
 
 The day opened with every indication that it would be a pleasant one, and this lifted a 
 great load from the shoulders of the good people in that vicinity. At sunrise there was a 
 salute of forty-two guns, followed by the ringing of church bells. This ushered in the line 
 of exercises, which continued all day, ending with the beautiful tableaux and display of 
 fireworks in the evening. 
 
 The whole town was a veritable bazaar of red, white, and blue bunting, flags, and Ja- 
 panese lanterns. On each incoming train were hundreds of passengers to swell the number 
 of those already in town, and those who had driven in by all manner of conveyances. 
 
 The parade moved at 11 o'clock, a. m., in the order, and composed of the companies 
 and divisions, previously printed in the News. All along the line of march the procession 
 was greeted with cheers, and remarks of applause were heard on all sides. 
 
 After the parade the unveiling and dedicatory exercises at the monument were carried 
 out. Drawn up on either side of the monument were the veterans, in honor of whose fallen 
 comrades the beautiful emblem has been erected. After a selection by the Wheeler & Wil- 
 son Band, and a prayer by Rev. Joel S. Ives, the flag which had veiled the monument was 
 drawn away, and amid the cheers of the assembled thousands the tribute erected iu com- 
 memoration of the deeds of a nation's fallen soldiers stood out clear and distinct against the 
 blue sky. Misses Georgia Thompson and Mamie Wilcoxson, becomingly arrayed in red, 
 white, and blue, drew the rope which gave the view of the monument.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 143 
 
 Mr. H. P. Stagg, on behalf of the veterans, presented it to the town, and Stiles Judson, 
 Jr., President of the Day, in a few well chosen remarks, made the speech of acceptance. The 
 dedicatory exercises were under the direction of "William H. Pierpont, of New Haven, Com- 
 mander of the Department of Connecticut, G. A. R., and were according to the rules of that 
 
 order. , , 
 
 Rev. I. M. Foster, of New York, followed with an address. Intensely pathetic at times, 
 he awakened many memories in the minds of the veterans ranged near the platform from 
 which he was speaking. Ever and anon some witty remark from the speaker, and the 
 silence which prevailed while he was speaking, would be broken by applause. 
 
 After singing "America," the companies adjourned to the tents erected near by, where 
 a collation was served. , . . 
 
 At 6.30 o'clock the evening celebration began. By this time thousands of visitors had 
 arrived, and the concert by the Wheeler & Wilson Band was listened to by a vast assem- 
 blage of spectators. The concert was followed by a number of tableaux, which were a most 
 pleasing part of the day and evening programme. They were intended to represent inci- 
 dents which actually took place during the early years of the settlement of the town They 
 were given on Academy Hill. The lights were nicely arranged, and everything passed off 
 evenly, and so as to reflect much credit on the committee in charge of this part of the exer- 
 cises. Perhaps the most elaborate was the one representing Glorianna Folsom's wedding, 
 in which a number of Stratford young ladies, attired in very becoming though old-fashioned 
 dresses, danced the minuet. The remainder, representing the coming of the settlers; trading 
 with the Indians; crossing the ferry; trial of the witch; "Washington and Lafayette; going 
 to church, and the wolf hunt, were nicely arranged, and gave evidence of a great amount of 
 research and preparation. Many of the articles used in the mimic representation of the 
 scenes had figured before in the actual events. 
 
 The exhibition of relics at the Town Hall was a very elaborate one, and credit is due 
 to the managers of this display for the careful manner in which all the curios were marked 
 and placed so as to show to the best advantage. There were nearly 600 exhibits, furnished 
 by about 100 contributors, and the display elicited hearty commendation. 
 
 The national colors were displayed everywhere in Stratford yesterday. Even the dogs 
 wore blankets of red, white and blue. 
 
 The display of fireworks last evening at Academy Hill was very elaborate, and was 
 witnessed by thousands, who showed their enthusiasm in various ways. Previous to the 
 exhibition the Wheeler & Wilson orchestra rendered a concert, which was appreciated by 
 all. The grand illumination commenced a few minutes after 8 o'clock by a salute of bomb 
 rockets, followed by three balloon ascensions, which elicited hearty commendation. 
 Among' the set pieces were "The Tree of Liberty," "The Sparkling "Waterfall," "The 
 Gatling Battery," and a special set piece, "Stratford, 1639—1889." All these pieces were 
 very elaborate and pleased all who witnessed them. The chief display was a special set 
 piece, representing the old Stratford meeting-house as it stood on "Watchhouse Hill in 1785. 
 A thunder-storm arises and lightning strikes the structure, which burns to the ground. 
 This piece was especially worthy of mention, and was the finest display of pyrotechnics 
 during the evening. The large number present showed their appreciation of this set piece 
 by loud and repeated cheers. The displays were too numerous to enumerate, but suffice it 
 to say that everything on the programme was carried out in good shape. 
 
 The Consolidated Road were the recipients of many , well, not thanks, for the 
 
 accommodations afforded the visitors. During the afternoon nearly every train left 
 hundreds behind, and in the evening the management of the road received the condemnation 
 of all. A special train of twelve cars was made up about 9 o'clock and loaded within 
 fifteen minutes. Notwithstanding this, the cars were left on the side track for fully three- 
 quarters of an hour waiting to depart homewards. Several started home on foot, disgusted 
 with the service of the road. 
 
 " Bridgeport Standard," October 4, 1889. 
 
 The afternoon and evening trains to Stratford yesterday swarmed with Bridgeporters, 
 eager to see the old town celebrate. At 7 o'clock, when the curtain rose on the tableaux, 
 Academy Hill was black with people. All around were strings of lanterns, which gave the 
 scene a brilliant effect. A huge stage was erected at the foot of the hill, near the 
 Episcopal Church. The crowd on the hill thus obtained an excellent view of the pictures 
 of ancient life, which were accurately and beautifully portrayed. There were about forty 
 persons engaged in the tableaux, all attired in costumes similar to those worn by the first
 
 144 STRATFORD'S CELEBRATION. 
 
 settlers two hundred and fifty years ago. Glorianna Folsom's wedding was presented in 
 fine shape, and brought out repeated cheers. In this picture a number of Stratford's 
 prettiest young ladies danced a minuet arrayed in dresses of ancient pattern. The trial of 
 the witch; the wolf hunt; Washington and Lafayette; going to church; and numerous 
 other character representations were all well done, and showed a vast amount of work and 
 preparation. 
 
 During the progress of the tableaux the Wheeler & Wilson band rendered an artistic 
 programme of music, which contained many popular selections of the day. Suddenly a 
 rocket whizzed high into the air and terminated in a shower of colored balls of fire. Then 
 another and another rose, shrieking ominously. Presently a huge fire balloon started off 
 on a voyage to Milford. Three others were sent up, and they sailed on till they appeared 
 to be fixed stars in the sky. Several fountains of fire commenced to play, and the sparks 
 danced merrily up and seemed to be thrown out in big handfuls. Crowds of young men 
 shouted "ab-h-h!" at each fresh exhibition, and well they might, for it was in some 
 respects one of the prettiest and liveliest display of fireworks that ever took place in the 
 Slate. Bombs, which souDded like the firing of cannon, and were thrown into the air almost 
 out of sight, and then burst into fire, descending to the ground in a golden stream, were 
 loudly applauded. Flat whizzing pin-wheels, sent for some distance into the air and 
 making a noise like an express train off the track, caused much amusement. The crowning 
 point was reached when the set-piece representing the old Stratford meeting-house struck 
 by lightning was fired off. The outline of the church as it blazed forth in colored fire was 
 declared to be a perfect representation by those who had seen pictures of the building. 
 The firing of the set-piece containing the word Stratford closed the celebration. 
 
 Then commenced the rush for the trains. The scene at the depot surprised everybody. 
 All wanted to go home at the same time. The regular train arrived and left with men 
 hanging on by their heels, but the crowd did not seem at all diminished. Extra trains 
 were sent for and speedily filled. They were obliged to run slow in order to give the 
 conductors time to collect the tickets. Finally all the tired Bridgeport people reached home 
 safely, well pleased with the celebration, its triumphs and its discomforts. 
 
 It is estimated that there were 10,000 people in Stratford yesterday. The number 
 registered on the Loan Collection book was altogether nearly 1,000. 
 
 Among the distinguished guests in Stratford yesterday were Gen. Samuel W. Johnson, 
 Pierrepont Edwards Johnson, Hon. A. B. Tappen, of New York ; Mrs. Joseph R. Hawley 
 and sister, Lieut-Governor Merwin, Senator Read, ex-Mayor Fones, and others. 
 
 Bridgeport "Evening Farmer , n October 3, 1889. 
 
 The day of Stratford's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary dawned clear and bright, to 
 the delight of the residents of the ancient town, who had for weeks anticipated the event, 
 which was expected to surpass any previous celebration that had occurred in the place. The 
 air was cool and bracing, and taken altogether it was a perfect day for the celebration. At 
 early dawn the old town awoke from its quietude, and people were bustling about to com- 
 plete the arrangements for carryiug out the programme of the day. Early trains brought 
 numbers of visitors; with each incoming train there arrived guests — men in uniform, bands 
 of music, drum corps, and G. A. R veterans. The streets were alive with people; national 
 airs and martial music resounded from all portions of the town ; nearly every man wore a 
 bright colored badge fastened to the lapel of his coat, and the women were attired in gala 
 costume. At sunrise a salute of forty-two guns was fired, and the church bells rung out a 
 merry peal. 
 
 The decorations are universal, and surpass all previous displays and private expecta- 
 tions. Every private residence along the line of march is gayly decked with red, white, 
 and blue bunting, and flags float from the windows. The decorations of some of the private 
 residences are elaborate, while every public building is in gala attire. The residence of 
 David P. Rhoades, near the depot, is handsomely dressed, the national colors, tastefully 
 arranged, being displayed from every available portion of the building. The Sterling home- 
 stead, a handsome stone residence on Main Street, is the centre of another fine display. 
 Among other buildings profusely decorated are the Town Hall, the Graded School building, 
 W. M. Peck's residence, Congregational and Episcopal Churches, and H. J. Lewis' resi- 
 dence. The house occupied by Judge Robert H. Russell, on Main Street, was built in 1773, 
 and over the front door is the date. Near the Episcopal Church, extending across Main 
 Street, is an arch of evergreen, bearing on the sides the dates, 1639 and 1889, and from the
 
 stratford's celebration. 145 
 
 centre is suspended a large flag. Across Broad Street are several streamers of flags. Two 
 large flags float in the breeze from the pinnacle of the two flag-poles on Maim Street, and 
 from each pole, extending to adjoining buildings, are strings of flags of various nations. 
 
 A feature of the celebration is the Loan Exhibition of relics in the Town Hall, and the 
 room has been crowded with sight-seers all day. Each article on exhibition is numbered, 
 and a catalogue of the exhibition is furnished which explains the peculiar point of interest 
 of everything in the hall. Large crowds from Bridgeport are arriving on every train, and 
 it is estimated that at least 15,000 people are in the town. 
 
 Governor Bulkeley and staff, and General Joseph R. Hawley, who were expected to be 
 present, were unable to come. Both Governor Bulkeley and General Hawley are in Mon- 
 treal with the First Regiment C. N. G. General Hawley in some way confused the dates 
 of the celebration and of the trip to Montreal, and accepted an invitation to be present, but 
 subsequently sent notice that he could not come. Lieut. Governor Merwin, of New Haven, 
 arrived shortly after ten o'clock. 
 
 The evening features of the Stratford celebration were quite as successful as the earlier 
 parts of the programme. None of the recent celebrations by any of the towns of the State 
 have had as extensive a programme as that carried out in Stratford, and the latter's novelty 
 in many respects augmented its interest. The late afternoon trains yesterday, and the early 
 eveniug trains, carried immense crowds from this city and vicinity, while nearly all the 
 residents of Milford visited their neighbors across the river to ascertain if they could equal 
 Milford's celebration. They found that, in extensiveness and in crowds, the occasion far 
 surpassed Milford's recent efforts. Between six and seven o'clock an immense crowd had 
 gathered at the depot in this city, and the trains were crowded, even to the lowest step of 
 the platforms. Such a crowd has never before been seen in the old town. Every street 
 was a mass of shifting people. At 6.30 o'clock last evening over 10,000 people gathered on 
 Academy Hill to witness the tableaux and fireworks, and to hear the band concert. The 
 triple attractions went off smoothly and grandly. The tableaux reflected great credit to 
 the ladies of Stratford, who worked faithfully to make them a success. In costuming, 
 grouping, ancient accessories of various kinds, and impressiveness of effect, there was left 
 nothing to be desired. The selections played by the Wheeler & Wilson Band elicited ap- 
 plause, and the display of fireworks was grand. 
 
 The hospitality shown by Stratford residents to guests could not have been more uni- 
 versal and generous. Mr. David P. Rhoades, whose elegant residence was one of the most 
 brilliantly illuminated last evening, entertained a large number of guests, including all the 
 members of the press. David L. Rhoades and Wilfred M. Peck, of the press committee, 
 were active in making it agreeable for all the visiting newspaper men, showing them all the 
 places of interest in the old town. At the press headquarters was served a collation, and 
 at the quarters of the Cupheag Club a lavish entertainment was also provided. Sheriff 
 Clarkson had as guests a number of court officials and his deputy sheriffs. 
 
 A number of pickpockets worked successfully in the big crowds and at the depot late 
 last night while several thousand people were awaiting trains. Aaron Belden, of New Ha- 
 ven, was robbed of a pocket-book containing eight dollars, at the depot. The thief snatched 
 the money from Belden as he was buying a ticket. A. man named G. H. Swan, who lives on 
 Pembroke Street, in this city, was robbed of a valuable gold watch. Swan missed his watch 
 while standing near the grand stand, listening to the exercises on Academy Hill. His 
 chain was haDging from his vest. Detective Frank Taylor and special officer Wilson, of 
 this city, were on duty at the Loan Exhibition, and prevented several suspicious looking 
 men from pilfering in the Town Hall building. 
 
 Upwards of 10,000 were carried to Stratford yesterday over the Consolidated Road 
 and, all things considered, the service was very well performed. Not that there was not 
 a great deal of discomfort from crowding, and that many of the trains could not take on all 
 the waiting passengers, but altogether most people were accommodated, and the transpor- 
 tation of the great throng did not result in a single accident. Such trouble as there was 
 arose from the fact that the railroad officials did not give Stratford credit for the power of 
 attracting a multitude, and consequently made very inadequate provisions for the rush. In 
 place of the hundreds they had provided for there were thousands, and the large additional 
 facilities which the situation called for had to be furnished off-hand. Only one special 
 train from each way was arranged. A dozen or more were run from this city as the need 
 of them became apparent, but most of these during all day did not carry anything like their 
 full capacity, because, through lack of time to be advertised, the public did not know of 
 them. To furnish such extra cars as could be pressed into service kept Station Agent Hunt 
 on the hustle. He obtained permission from headquarters to have several express trains,
 
 146 stratford's celebration. 
 
 including the White Mountain and the through Naugatuck trains, stop at Stratford, and thus 
 helped relieve the pressure. It was further relieved by detaching from through down 
 trains every car that was not occupied. Nevertheless there was considerable crowding, 
 many of the trains leaving this city with people packed on the platforms and in the aisles 
 like swarming bees. Fortunately, the run was so short that the ordeal of standing was 
 not prolonged. 
 
 Tickets for Stratford ran out at the office here as early as eight o'clock in the morning, 
 and after that Naugatuck Junction tickets were used. The trains of from twelve to eighteen 
 cars had two conductors aboard, but they had time to punch only a small part of the 
 tickets. In the evening special trains were kept running steadily between this city and 
 Stratford, and about eleven o'clock the last of the homeward-bound crowd had been 
 delivered at the depot here. 
 
 Bridgeport u Evening Post," October 3, 1889. 
 
 Fortune smiles on old Stratford to-day, for if those who have the celebration and 
 dedication of the soldiers' monument in charge had been given the privilege of selecting 
 such a day as desired they could not have chosen better or decided upon w.eather that 
 would have been more favorable in every respect. 
 
 It is the greatest day for Stratford that the present residents of that ancient town have 
 ever known, and it is safe to say that none of them will ever again know such a day there. 
 
 The people of the old town were astir early and, of course, the first thought was 
 " the weather, what is the day going to be? " "When they looked out and saw the pros- 
 pect they were delighted and those religiously inclined gave utterance to their thanks 
 in a manner somewhat different from the way many others expressed their pleasure. 
 
 At sunrise the chur>;h bells were rung and there was also a salute of 42 guns, one for 
 each State. These ceremonies completed, preparations for the big events of the day, which 
 were to come later, began to be made. They were the final preparations, however, for 
 about all preparations that could be made beforehand were completed before the sun went 
 down last night and there remained but very little to be done. 
 
 Last night the town was full of visitors, many of whom had come from a long dis- 
 tance to be present at the first of the celebration exercises. The early trains this morning 
 brought more and from all directions by every known method of conveyance, except 
 electricity, they came and came until the town was full to overflowing. There were old 
 and young, of all classes and conditions in life, and the utmost good nature prevailed on 
 all sides. The expression on many a countenance might be interpreted as reading "Strat- 
 ford is having a celebration to-day. I am here and expect to do my part towards enjoying 
 it myself and making it as pleasant as possible for others." 
 
 With such a spirit prevailing how could the occasion fail of being a success. In all 
 such events much depends upon the way the people feel towards them. If they realize 
 what they mean and calmly consider that the events are not alone those of the day, but 
 that they extend back over periods of centuries and commemorate deeds of statemanship 
 and valor, and also are to have an influence for good on the present and future, then does 
 the celebration become a success, because it has a meaning which can be comprehended 
 by all who have arrived at that age when they are able to judge, think and act for them- 
 selves. This comprehension seems to be uppermost in Stratford to-day and it is good for 
 the people of that place and good for their visitors. 
 
 At the Town Hall there is a very large collection of relics loaned by the residents of 
 Stratford. 
 
 The town is decorated in 'a most elaborate manner. All of the historic houses are 
 appropriately decorated and marked with dates of their building in large figures. The 
 residence of David P. Rhoades, the headquarters of distinguished guests, was noticeable 
 for the elegant display. 
 
 It would be an impossible task to describe all of the places decorated, for the humblest 
 to the finest dwelling were all noticeable and all had something to show in honor of the 
 great day. 
 
 About 1,200 members of the various organizations participated in the procession and 
 all made an excellent appearance. The members of the Cupheag Club made the best 
 appearance of any organization in line. They were dressed in Indian costume and rode on 
 horseback. On a float drawn by four horses was a wigwam and canoe. The Cupheags 
 also attracted attention by their Indian yells.
 
 Stratford's celebration. 147 
 
 It is estimated that there are at least 15,000 people in the old town to-day and most 
 of the visitors will remain to-night to see the fireworks and tableaux, which will be a 
 grand display. 
 
 Bridgeport, Hartford, Newtown, Norwalk and New Haven papers were represented by 
 reporters. 
 
 The press committee had a room on the second floor of the Town Hall building for 
 reporters. After the parade, Chairman Peck invited the pencil pushers to the room in 
 which was a long table filled with eatables and two large bowls, one at each end. 
 
 Newtown "Bee," October 4, 1889. 
 
 Old Stratford's 250th birthday was brightly beautiful overhead and gloriously cele- 
 brated by citizen and guest. Fully 10,000 people crowded into the village by rail and 
 private conveyance, vastly different from the little company of seventeen families that 
 accompanied Rev. Adam Blakeman there from Wethersfield in 1639 and settled about 
 their first church in Sandy Hollow. But, great as was the throng of Thursday, it could 
 not overtax the royal hospitality of generous citizens and was easily handled and accom- 
 modated in wide, shady streets and upon Academy Hill, in the midst of which stands 
 the new soldiers' monument. The only flaw in the programme was that Stratford should 
 have tried to crowd two such important events as the quarto-millennial of its history and 
 an enduring tribute to its patriot dead into one brief day. Each was worthy of a day 
 and celebration all its own. 
 
 Never was village gayer with flags and bunting, every house, with hardly an excep- 
 tion, makiug a brave exhibition of red, white and blue. Spots of historical moment were 
 indicated by small signs giving brief particulars. The quadruple procession, Col. Selah 
 G. Blakeman, marshal, started about 11 o'clock, and was a half hour in passing a given 
 point. Col. Watson and his Fourth Regiment boys led the van, escorted by the Wheeler 
 & Wilson band, and followed by Lieut.-G-ov. Merwin and other distinguished guests in car- 
 riages. The second division included the Grand Army veterans, fast growing grizzled 
 and gray, and the younger " Sons of Veterans." The suits of several of the drum corps 
 were very fine. The firemen were next in line, followed by a company of uniformed Strat- 
 ford boys, drawing a miniature fire engiue of ancient pattern. The fourth division was 
 composed of Odd Fellows and other organizations, with the Cupheag Club rigged out as 
 savage red men. 
 
 Arriving at Academy Hill, Stiles Judson, Jr., presided as master of ceremonies on the 
 stand put up south of the monument. Rev. Mr. Ives led in prayer, after which the monu- 
 ment, presented by H. P. Stagg and accepted by Mr. Judson, was turned over to Com- 
 mander W. H. Pierpont, of the State Department of the Grand Army, whose crutches were 
 eloquent tributes to patriotic service. Commander Pierpont and his associate department 
 officers formally dedicated the monument according to the prescribed ritual, and then Rev. 
 I. M. Foster, of New York, gave the most eloquent address of the day. He pictured the 
 success of the Union cause as a vindication to the world, especially the Old World mon- 
 archs, that Democracy had passed through the severest trial and stood the test. 
 
 The security of the individual man and of the common people had been unalterably 
 established, but the victory won must be preserved. Virtue is the life blood of freedom, 
 while vice ruins any nation ; and it is along this line that our enemies are now to be met 
 and battled with. Frequent applause greeted the speaker, and his stories brought down 
 the house. 
 
 The Grand Army boys were given their innings first, and held the field until 3 o'clock, 
 the hour set for the other part of the twin celebration, the 250th birthday; the quarto- 
 millennial was postponed until the hungry crowds could be fed, which gave Bridgeport 
 papers a chance to sell reports of the speeches on the streets of the city before they were 
 delivered iu Stratford. 
 
 It was about 4 o'clock when the afternoon programme began. Rev. C. L. Pardee 
 offered prayer, and B. T. Fairchild, a New York wholesale merchant, and Rev. G. W. 
 Judson, of Orange, Mass., spoke for their native Stratford. The historical address par 
 excellence was given by Curtis Thompson, Bridgeport's attorney, whose early home was in 
 Stratford. His oration extolled the sturdy virtues of the Puritan, with its especial 
 development in the goodly land of Cupheag, from which have been set off Huntington in 
 1789, Trumbull in 1797, Bridgeport in 1821, which also gobbled up West Stratford this 
 year, Monroe being set off from Huntington in 1823. Stratford belonged to the Connecticut,
 
 ]48 Stratford's celebration. 
 
 not the New Haven colony, and its land was taken from the Indians by Connecticut as a 
 trophy of the successful Pequot war. Many in the past have testified to the charms of 
 Stratford, which is still a happy village, with "a marked equality and high average of 
 moral and intellectual manhood; homes of comfort and peace, of plain living and deep 
 thinking, in which few are very rich or very poor, and a people interested in public 
 affairs." Gen. Hawley was unable to be present, although his name was placed on the 
 programme. 
 
 The tableaux in the evening were in charge of Principal Peck and R. H. Russell, Esq., 
 and were shown near the Episcopal Church. There were eight of them, all founded on the 
 early history of the town. The arrival of Rev. Adam Blakeman and his flock of sixty-five 
 persons was the subject of the first ; then they were shown trading with the Indians, and 
 going to church with gun and foot-stove. The trial of Goody Bassett, Stratford's witch, 
 was the subject of the fourth tableaux. Moses Wheeler's ferry across the Housatonic 
 River came next, and then the wolf hunt of 1693, at which time the town paid three 
 shillings a day for man and horse to hunt them. The visit of Washington and Lafayette 
 to Stratford illustrated the Revolutionary period, and the marriage of Gloriana Folsom, 
 beautiful daughter of Stratford's blacksmith, who captured the heart of a Scot and became 
 Lady Sterling. Many of the costumes were prepared with great attention to detail, and 
 made a beautiful effect. There were forty numbers on the fireworks programme, and 
 these, with the general use of Japanese lanterns about the streets, painted the town red 
 for a fact. 
 
 The Loan Exhibition on the lower floor of the Town Hall was rich in interest to the 
 historian and antiquarian. Here were shown, around the sides of the hall arid in glass 
 cases in its centre, portraits and paintings of " ye olden time," silverware, a piano 100 
 years old, the spinning and flax wheels, the table at which Washington ate at Benjamin's 
 tavern, the sideboard of solid English oak brought from England by the Judson family in 
 1639, a wooden plow owned by Freeman L. Curtis, a carving knife that came over in the 
 Mayflower, and ever so many more. It was a very complete and exceedingly interesting 
 display, and drew forth warm words of praise from the throngs who crowded to see it. 
 
 " New Haven Journal and Courier ? October 4, 1889. 
 
 Another of the old Continental towns celebrated its two hundred and fiftieth birthday 
 yesterday. It was Stratford. The old town was dressed in the gayest attire which it has 
 been in for many a year to mark the notable event ; and to say that the natives of Strat- 
 ford were proud of their town and the way in which it welcomed its thousands of guests 
 is to say but very little. Flags were flying from numbers of flag-poles, and as the incom- 
 ing trains wheeled into the town with their heavy burdens, the visitors beheld a mass of 
 bunting, flags, and decorations of all kinds upon every hand. The weather was delight- 
 fully pleasant, and everything promised happily for the old town's celebration and dedica- 
 tion of her bran-new soldiers' and sailors' monument. Every train was crowded, and the 
 number of people who visited the town during the day is placed as high as 15,000. 
 
 The streets about the new monument near the centre of the town were thronged with 
 promenaders. The monument itself stood veiled in the stars and stripes. The old Judson 
 homestead opposite, probably the oldest in Stratford, as it dates back to 1723, was gaily 
 adorned. The Leavitt homestead was a mass of red, white and blue. The Town Hall, Con- 
 gregational Church, School building, and Post-Office were prettily decorated. Nearly all of 
 the private residences were likewise adorned. Among those most noticeable were the 
 residences of David P. Rhoades, where Lieut. -Governor S. E. Merwin was entertained; 
 Henry J. Lewis, Esq.; Mr. Bunnell, of Lambert & Bunnell, Bridgeport; Judge Russell; 
 Hon. Frederick A. Benjamin ; Perry homestead, 1759 ; an old house, 1717. Deputy Sheriff 
 Charles B. Curtis' residence was buried in patriotic colors. 
 
 By the time the procession was ready to start at half-past ten the streets were a mov- 
 ing throng of spectators. The paraders marched through the town and reached the monu- 
 ment about one o'clock. 
 
 There were nearly 1,500 paraders in line. A salute of thirteen guns was fired at 
 noon. Immediately after the arrival of the parade at Academy Hill, the exercises of 
 unveiling the monument began. The troops formed a hollow square, with the Grand 
 Army in the centre. The Wheeler & Wilson band played a selection, Rev. Joel S. Ives 
 offered prayer, and H. P. Stagg, Esq., presented the monument to the town. 
 
 The flag which veiled the monument was then drawn aside by Miss Georgiana Thomp-
 
 Stratford's celebration. 149 
 
 son and Miss Mary E. Wilcoxson. The impressive services of the dedication were then 
 conducted by General William H. Pierrepont, Commander of Department of Connecticut, 
 G. A. R. 
 
 Rev. I. M. Foster, of New York (late of New Haven), delivered the address. 
 
 Mr. Foster's address was at times very eloquent and inspiring, and aroused much 
 enthusiasm. He also interspersed several well-told and amusing anecdotes that illustrated 
 his point very effectively, and were received with a big outburst of applause and merriment 
 from the large concourse of people present. He spoke vigorously over half an hour, and 
 closely held the attention of his audience. 
 
 The exercises closed with the hymn " America," the "Wheeler & Wilson band accom- 
 panying. An elaborate collation was then given the visitors in a large tent a short distance 
 from the speaker's stand, and at three o'clock the afternoon programme began. Rev. 
 Charles L. Pardee, of Christ Church, Stratford, offered prayer, and Stiles Judson, Jr., 
 President of the day, made an address of welcome. 
 
 B. T. Fairchild, Esq., of New York, spoke of the character and purpose of the early 
 colonists, who grounded their work so well. 
 
 Rev. G. W. Judson, of Orange, Mass., followed with a short address. The remarks of 
 Curtis Thompson, Esq., were extended and full of interest. He gave a good review of 
 Stratford's history. 
 
 General Joseph R. Hawley was to be the next speaker, but he was not present, and 
 Lieutenant-Governor Merwin spoke briefly. He congratulated the old town upon its happy 
 anniversary and upon the elegant tribute to the soldier and sailor dead which now stands 
 upon Academy Hill. 
 
 Afier the exercises were over, the crowds that lingered in the town scattered here and 
 there. Every train was bringing hundreds of visitors to swell the throng, and the evening 
 display was made the most beautiful and brilliant event of the celebration. Nearly every 
 house in the town was hung and lighted with Chinese lanterns. All sorts of novel devices 
 were used to make everything pretty and attractive. At half-past six o'clock the pro- 
 gramme began by a band concert. Between the pieces rendered was given a series of 
 interesting and remarkable tableaux. They consisted of representations of old-time life and 
 incidents connected with the early history of the town. They illustrated the arrival of the 
 first settlers in 1639; trading with the Indians ; going to church 250 years ago; trial of 
 Goody Bassett for witchcraft in 1650: Moses Wheeler's ferry, 1653; the wolf hunt of 
 1693; the visit of Washington and Lafayette during the revolutionary war; the wedding 
 of Glorianna Folsom to John Sterling in 1771. 
 
 At 8 o'clock there was a brilliant display of fireworks. The crowds gathered about 
 the brightly-lighted park and watched the display with great interest. Forty pieces were 
 exhibited. The prettiest of these were the balloon ascensions, " Sparkling Waterfall," 
 " The Tree of Liberty," " Gatling Battery," "Chinese Brilliant," "Old Stratford Meeting- 
 house as it stood on Watch House Hill in 1785," in which a thunder storm arose and light- 
 ning struck the structure, which was quickly in flames. The closing piece was inscribed, 
 "1639 — Stratford — 1889." Over it was sent a simultaneous flight of colored rockets, form- 
 ing a vast aerial* bouquet. This ended old Stratford's two hundred and fiftieth birthday 
 celebration and the dedication of her soldiers' and sailors' monument. The crowds then 
 flocked to the trains, and the depot presented a scene of crowding and hurrying which beg- 
 gars description. 
 
 JOTTINGS. 
 
 The Admiral Foote Post, G. A. R., delegation of New Haven, numbering twenty men, 
 rode in a large carryall in the procession. The route was estimated at about four miles in 
 length. Mr. Dickinson, janitor at the post-office, was in charge of the delegation. All re- 
 port a fine time and much satisfaction with the trip and celebration. All the visiting dele- 
 gations commended the collation, which was ample and inviting. 
 
 Henry C. Merwin Post, G. A. R., delegation of New Haven, was under the command 
 of Commander Thomas E. Twitchell. 
 
 Among the New Haven people at the celebration other than those in line were Capt. 
 Charles H. Townshend ; Mr. Fairchild, the coal dealer, and wife ; Mr. Joseph B. Manville]
 
 150 stkatford's celebration. 
 
 the carriage manufacturer, and wife; Lyman M. Law, Mrs. Toes and daughter, Sexton 
 Smith, of Center Church ; H. H. Peck, the bookseller, and brother, and a few others. 
 
 Lieut.-Governor Merwin was much pleased with the celebration, and highly commended 
 the public spirit manifested by old Stratford's people. 
 
 The depot ticket office at Stratford never had a bigger rush of business than that of 
 yesterday in the memory of the oldest inhabitants. 
 
 The fakirs and peddlers had a harvest time, and one energetic street peddler sold many 
 watches and chains at twenty-five cents for the chain, and the watch thrown in free. He 
 sold a number to New Haven Grand Army men, who brought them home to give the 
 children. 
 
 Before closing, mention should be made of the exhibit in the Town Hall, where was 
 an elaborate display of relics of olden times which had been loaned by residents of the 
 town. It was crowded with sightseers all through the day. Many of the visitors registered 
 their names in a book for that purpose, and many hundreds of signatures were obtained.
 
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