NORWALK.
 

'35
 

HO ME-L OT   ]'I T T
 

Rev. Thomas Hanford, of Home Lot, No. 8, was Norwalk's pastor-primus, and one
of the notable divines of his day. He was born in England in 1621, and belonged to a
family of ancient and honorable name. The following extract from Breton's "Beauties of
England and Wales," dated London, 181 i, will give some idea of the British Hanford
House :

" Wollas-Hall, the seat of the Hanford family since 1536, stands on the north side of
Bredon Hill at about one third of its ascent from the vale of Eversham, and the whole estate,
with the part of Breedon Hill, upon which it is situated, is called Wooler's Hill, a name
given to it about the time of the Conquest from the great number of wolves that infested the
country at that time. It is at present the seat of Charles Hanford, Esq., the first of whose
ancestors in possession of it was a son of Sir John Hanford, K'nt., who purchased it from
the great Lord Burleigh in the early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, since which time
it has come in an unbroken line of descent to its present possessor. The porch has the
family motto, "Memorare Novissima," cut in the stone over the entrance door with the date
161 I answering to the early part of the reign of James the First, but the greater part of the
building is of much older date. The mansion is built of an excellent hard stone, harder
than Portland and darker in color, but what is curious to observe that none like it is found
in the neighborhood. This is a great subject of regret, for time has no other effect upon it
than to give it a venerable appearance, while the protruberances and edges of the stone are
as sharp as when first cut.     The great hall, which has a screen and music-gallery, like that
 

Hoyt resemblance. Quiet countenance, firmness as
well as perfect demeanor-poise were characteristics of
Mary's brother (Charles) who was a central figure in
.1 beautiful Norwalk ceremony, viz., his bridal, by
Bishop Mcllvaine of Ohio, to a daughter of Eben¬
ezer D. Hoyt of Main Street. The Raymond aunts
of Mrs. Charles R. Sherman were the maternal heads
of Norwalk remark-families of days past. One of
these aunts, Esther (Mrs. Hezekiah Rogers,) a social
spirit, lived next door neighbor to the Shermans.
Another, Elizabeth, was the wife of the notable Dr.
Uriah Rogers, Jr., and another, Hannah, married
Lemuel Brooks, M. D., of Norwalk. These three
sisters were the grand-daughters of Nathaniel Street,
who was the grandson of Rev. Samuel and Anna
(daughter of Hon. Richard Miles of New Haven)
Street. The interesting claim* is made that the
mother of Rev. Samuel Street, and consequently the
foremother of all the Norwalk Streets and many of
the Norwalk Raymonds, was a sister of the New
England pioneeress. Miss Elizabeth Pool, whose
memorial at the entrance of Mount Pleasant Ceme-
tci-y, Taunton, Mass., reads thus:

*Tlie author ha^ not iiivestigatcil this claim.    U is
 

The females of Taunton have erected this monument
in honor of
Elizabeth Pool,
Foundress of the Town of Taunton in 1637,
Horn  before  the  settlement  of America in  England
1589,
Died at Taunton, May 21, 1654.
Miss   Mary   Hoyt,   afterward   Mrs.   Charles   R.
Sherman,   delightfully   received   her  friends   at  the
Hoyt  hill-side   home.    Among  her   guests,   at   one
gathering, was her school-mate, a grand-daughter of
the   Lord   of   the    Manor   of   Philipsburgh.    These
young   ladies  attended   together   the  noted   Harlem
Seminaiy, kept by the three English  Sketchley sis¬
ters, of which institution Miss Charlotte Dickinson
(later  the  wife   of  Dr.   Thomas   Church   Brownell,
third   bishop  of Connecticut)   was   also  a   member.
The  pupils of  this school  (removed later to Pough-
keepsie)  were   interested   in   the   movements of  the
elegant  Elizabeth   Patterson   of   Baltimore  and   her
young suitor, Jerome Bonaparte, which two were, at
that period, socially conspicuous.    Nearly forty years
 

■a\ from carefully prepared Street familv data.