Historic Families And Enterprises Come Alive On Sunday At The Library

The Tercentennial Showcase for Newtown Historic Families will be presented at the Booth Library on Sunday, December 4, opening at 11 am and running until 4 pm.

It will take place on the same day as the Newtown Christmas Festival but there will be no charge. The showcase will take place on the entire third floor of the library, which is accessible through stairways or an elevator. Memorabilia from 30 families will be on display.

The showcase will display and present to Newtown for the first time a handmade historic quilt, sometimes called a friendship quilt, that originally belonged to a former doctor in Newtown and was discovered in the attic of Tad Sanford of Redding in close to mint condition.

Mr Sanford contacted Mae Schmidle of the Tercentennial Committee and offered the quilt for display at the showcase of historic families after which he has requested that the quilt be donated to Newtown, “where it rightfully should reside,” and to the historical society. The quilt is full of handwritten names, famous and recognizable families in town such as Botsford, Jackson, Johnson, Fairchild, Taylor, Sanford, Crofut, and Northrup to name a few.

“While the whole showcase for historic families is, indeed, a first for the Town of Newtown,” commented Ms Schmidle, who has the quilt temporarily in her keeping, “the first-time display of this rare and unusual gift adds a very special dimension to our historic event.”

Also featured prominently at the historic showcase will be the Ferris family. The Newtown Ferris family started with Zachariah Ferris who came from England in 1673 and married Sarah Blood. He became a property owner in Fairfield, Stratfield, and New Milford and also received a land grant in Newtown in 1708. The Ferris family has been the first family in agriculture in Newtown continuously for ten generations. The Ferrises and their descendants were and continue to be prominent and active members of the community, serving on boards and commissions. Recently Shirley Ferris served as agriculture commissioner for the State of Connecticut.

 Marie Ferris Walker will display photos and trophies and ribbons won at agricultural fairs by her father, Donald Ferris.

Caroline Stokes, curator of the library, is scouring the attic of the Booth Library in search of little known memorabilia of the town benefactress Mary Elizabeth Hawley to display at the historic showcase. In her youth, Mary Elizabeth had approximately a 22-inch waist, carried a silk embroidered parasol, and had a riding crop with a sterling silver head.

Attorney Robert Hall is a direct descendant of the Nichols family, large landowners whose members held many important and prestigious positions in town, including long service on the local Board of Education. Members of his family were mill operators. One of the account books for the mill is for Cyrenius H. Booth.

Also on display by descendant Joan Glover Crick will be memorabilia and artifacts from the many descendants of the John Glover family. John Glover was one of the very first settlers in 1708; he came up the Housatonic River from Milford with his second wife and rapidly growing family. He was immediately active in petitioning the General Court of Connecticut (now the General Assembly) to secure the rights and privileges of all other towns, i.e., the ability to elect officers and lay taxes. For most of his life he was the major landholder in town and settled in the Hanover District. He was one of three people who immediately volunteered to built a meeting house/church and he and his son Captain John Glover laid out the main roads in Newtown.

Joan Crick will bring pictures of bearded, mutton chopped, and handlebar mustached Glovers, as well as letters and other family treasures. Subsequent Glovers served in just about every elected office in Newtown, including John as the first town clerk and other Glovers who organized Newtown Savings Bank.

A display from the Shepherd family will include memorabilia from seven generations.

Several Newtown enterprises and historic churches will also showcase their contributions to Newtown history and the historic families that made them famous.

 Barbara Bloom will display family treasures from the Hanlon family. Hiram Hanlon came from Park Avenue in New York and settled his family here and became Newtown’s first constable.

A local realtor will showcase pictures from very important family farm houses and pictures of a very early valedictorian from Newtown High School who was her mother.