The Newtown bee., 1908-04-10
HONEST JOHN SMITH.

At one time there were two other
 John Smiths in town and they were
 distinguished from him as Black John
 Smith and plain John Smith. Honest
 John Smith served in the war of the
 Revolution, was present at Tryon's raid
 on Danbury, was captured and taken
 prisoner to New York. He entered
 the service as an enlisted man and was
 mustered out as lieutenant
 Near the house occupied by MT Will
 bur Fem there once stood an old house
 and the first known it was occupied by
 a man by the name of Grant Ford.
 His wife was Garfield. sister of Mrs
 Samuel Nettleton. He was a carpenter
 and in one family there is a chest
 which he made. He said "Woman's
 wants were never satisfied" Sherman
 Hollister II lived in this house short
 time before going into Nettleton Hollow
 to buy home and his oldest son, then
 little fellow. was sent up the hill
 to Deacon Preston Hollister's to bor-
 row fire, when theirs had not kept over
 night. The little boy was cold and he
 was anxious lest the barks between
 which the coals of fire were carried
 should get to burning. He is an old
 man now, but still remembers those anxious times. One of the women who had lived through that time how ever was sorry when matches were in- vented for "there would be more build ings burnt than ever." Clark Cal houn next lived at this place and built the present house. It was owned by the Calhoun family till the Fenns bought it.
 On the top of the hill as you come from Nettleton Hollow past Wilbur Fenn's you find the cellar of the old Hollister house. The first house which was built by Captain Gideon Hollister stood near there. He was born in Stratford, 1725. He married first Es- ther Preston in 175O and came here to live. He was a carpenter as well as farmer and with his own hands built two houses and had another built for him. He was captain oF militia and received his commission from the crown of England. He also represented his town in legislature. Their only son, Preston, died in the Revolutionary war. Captain Gideon married second Pa tience Hurd and they had eight child ren to whom reference is made else where. Patience in old age became very deaf but when the family were talking about something she would be- gin to talk upon the same subject. think it has been told before about her little son, Gideon, falling in the well. She in some way made him hold on to the bucket of the old sweep and said "Hold on tight, Gideon, till she had drawn him safely out; then she whipped him. Captain Gideon took up good deal of land when he came to Judea from Stratford and as his sons grew up he gave them each portion. Their son, Gideon Il, who succeeded his brother. Preston, and lived in the house now occupied by Samuel L. Hol- lster, used to go up on the mountain side and cut wood and timber where he chose, but Captain Gideon thought it was not fair to the others so he divided the land. He had become very old, but they bundled him up and took him on an OK sled down through the woods to place bounds, thus giving each a share. Our young men now have times of meeting and searching for those bounds, usually heap of stones, ! that they may continue to deal fairly. The land has always been owned by Hollisters. Captain Gideon and Pa tience Hurd's twins sons must have been small when he left them to go to the Revolutionary war for he was with Washington's army when it was nov ing south towards Yorktown. Ia ote from the "Hollister Book" concern l ing their twin sons:
 Sherman Preston and Preston Sher- man twins were baptized, February 177S. When young they closely resem- bled each other in size and features so that only on close acquaintance would people distinguish one from the other, | but as they grew older they were more | unlike in personal appearance. Each | had the same name, only reversed. | They married sisters, united with the church at the same time, were appoint ed deacons of the Congregational church at the same time and resigned | at the age of seventy. They also each had a son named for them. Dea- con Preston married Lois Ford and lived at the homestead which had been built near the site of the first house on the top of hill near the schoolhouse