New-York tribune., 1902-04-27
OLD DAYS IN STRATFORD
CONNECTICUT SHORE TO WN
WHICH ESCAPED RAW
AGES OF TORY T.RYON.

HIS WIFE ON SUNDAY-SAVED HER
FIRST sPINNING-MARRiED
ALoRD-MYsTERIOU
RAPPINGS.
A long struggling town is Stratford' conn. DC
ginning above the present railroad TRACKS, IL CA
tends in charming irregularity a mile OF iiio-e,
down to the meeting OF the Housatonc hl'er anu
Long Island Sound Its wide streets are lolis N-'
rooted by arches of elm branches.
Stratford's slories its elms ano 'le 'iu
New-England atmosphere which qefNdue'
nook end corner Its chief streets, some OF theni
more than a hundred feet in width are oofueieu
from end to end by the towering trees mere anu
,be,a on q side street where they have become
ses-esated from, their fellows in the march OF lne
wears some Of the ems are perfect IN 1ornl- 'us'
now they are all busy
Gathering green
From draughtS OF balrny ar
,,+,, che branches of the elms peer out
-, +he streets well preserved houses, whose
csaracteristics reveal them to be part OF lhe Pd
SIS well as Of the present In aristocralc ii-s'
with its triple row of elms. are imposing hou9es
NTH rnassv columned porticos. Fronting in Nam
:. a.. many Of the old New-England farmhouse
+,ne with long slanting back roof and green smut
ters Nearly every other house bears tne stamp +ar
of the architecture o. me o4s T;vs torch If Tryon
the Tory Governor on MS eNFeoit-e t oese6 II bv
Maven Fairfield and NorNalh nc Pe00NN - -
end left its old houses stanGlnS-
-7,. Same year that Milford, the other SIDE
of the Housatonic River, was settleo-4e0S- ST.
of stratford occupied by the tnghsh- Li''0
t,v little the village grew Now would come
settler from one place, one from another-
Even escaped criminals Were har5ored Wlthii 'i0
village limits and allowed to make Their MONIES
there At least one such was The Stratford set
tiers demonstrated that they were good judges OF
rfaih
pnd nerhaps they had fellow feeling for him. he
founded family that became well known IN StIat-
ford life was elected deacon in the church. ana
his name has been preserved by that OF street
1t was in 1G49 that John Birdsey, one or the
settlers of Milford. according TO tradition. in order
to escape the penalty his sins, swan across the
Housatonic River, and, climbing out on the o9Iat-
ford shore shook his hst as ne slood IL Ii1s
ping clothes three four men on the other SIDE
III never i've in your town with its sanctided
laws again" he muttered as he stopped shaking
The magistrate of the town OF Miif9rd whose con-
sttution was the Bleie Ilo IoIiie 10 Ill In rtan
and he had fed from the execution 9t the sentence
which number OF strokes OF TIE "lllp.
The great awakening was felt in Straford, and
George Whitef1ed made not few converts on his
visit there IN 1z40. Especially fruitful were his
abors on the day in October Of that year when
he preached to an interested audience Of towns
people from the steps of the church on Meeting
House Hill now Academy Hill The sermon was
blessed TO the conversion Of many souls, accord
ing to the old record.
On the outskirts Of the crowd gathered around
the steps that day gay hearted girl of
efteen .'Catee'' Gold. the second daughter Of the
pastor OF the Stratford Church. the Rev. Hezekiah
Gold. As she stood there in the Hight OF the set
ting listening attentively to the earnest words
OF the speaker, she was sight TO MAKE one gao gao
20 be alive Her remarkable beauty and cheery
sweetness ana me patheac enoa1s "a ei r. re6i,on
caused her name 20 be rennenaperea. aoiIoi m ION
says that her hair was so long that it fell to her
Within the course Of year after the famous
sermon she became engaged 10 a young cergy nan
sfnd,eS with her father Then followed a few
2cogsunptfon was to put an end their period Of
10Y On the last Cay Of September. It42 me cheery
A message had been sent 10 her lover, and when
so Se Ter neck the string OF gold beads which her
zrandmother had brought from England and gave
In the course Of time he married. children played
about bis feet esnfIes and died His wife died
and the close OF his life was spent among ms
sssfened about his neck the string OF quaint beads
which .-Catee" Gold had given him half a century
before.
. -,or-,tr,e,t object on the spre OF the Episcopal
c-hurch as one walks down the main street is the
,sree shining brass weathercock- 1t is said that
thsre are bullet holes in 1t. but they are not
TO be seen as peers up through the foliage
and one must climb TO see them 1t is seneraliy
taken for granted that they are there BRUSH
In the winter OF 1757-'5S part Of the REQ lent
commanded by Colonel Frasier. the man who SAID
..vytth one regiment could march through North
America % was Quartered in Stratford- There were
occasions when time hung heavily on the hahos
81 the soldiers, and they muttered as lhey SAT-
observation-disclosures people: let's go and take few
cracks Al that inpudent brass rooster on me
church, Just for practice Wen De netter aole
to hit a frenchrnan or an Indian. then
While some in Stratford were TO win laurels
from victories over the British in the Revolution
others were TO suffer lndgnities because OF the
war The house Of Joseph Lewis on Old MIL Hill.
was visited by a party Of British soldiers on one
of their plundering expeditions from Long Island
and rtfed of everything OF value that was movable
clothing food supplies and money. girl of
twelve IN the house performed deed OF daring
in miniature and a young paid for the hap
piness OF one evening with his sweetheart by two
years OF separation from her. II in the dead
of winters night that the foe made the unwel
come call. The British officer did follow the
usual forrnalscies when he made the visit. for in
stead Of taking trouble knock he ordered his
men 70 erlash in the door The crash Of the fall
tns door, followed by the tramp OF the IN
the har. below, the first intIrnarion
household that visitors within.
Get everything together quickly you can.
sns there's no necessity for hurting anybody"
Mr. Lewis could hear in the hall below
ssv amid the clatter of He jumped from
ffs he'd and hurried the head Of the stairs. The
solders had lighted a few candies and stuck them
upon their bayonets and the shadows danced upon
szas H2u at the head Of the stairs the candle