www.danburyhistorical.org

Danbury, Connecticut was developed by families from nearby Norwalk, Connecticut. All eight came from Norwalk, except for one, who came from Stratford. Their land was purchased from Indian owners in 1685. The first settlers in Danbury were, Mr. Thomas Taylor, Mr. Francis Bushnell, Mr. Thomas Barnum, Mr. John Hoyt, Mr. James Benedict, Mr. Samuel Benedict, Mr. James Beebe and Mr. Judah Gregory. Mr. Taylor was also one of the first families of Norwalk. In 1684 the General Assembly “appointed a committee for the planting of a Town above Norwalk or Fairfield’ (current spelling) Mr.You can find a quick rundown here Taylor was one of those families. His son, Nathan, was the grandfather of P.T. Barnum. Much has been written that settlers died young in those days, Mr. Taylor lived to be 92 years old. Mr. Thomas Barnum was originally from Fairfield, CT. He then moved to Norwalk where he was in charge of the town-s children. He was allowed a “small stick’ to correct them and he would return them to their parents if they did something wrong, or if their parents would not take them, they were turned over the authorities. He then moved to Danbury. Thomas Barnum was the 15th child of Sr. Francis Barnham and was the ancestor of the well known P. T. Barnum. John Hoyt was born in Windsor, CT and five of his children were born in Norwalk, CT. James and Samuel Benedict were brothers. Their father, Thomas had been appointed to create a new settlement ” Paquiage, which was later named Danbury. James and Samuel married two of the Gregory girls. Mr. Benedict-s oldest son, James, was the first English male child born in Danbury. The names Taylor, Barnum, Hoyt, Gregory and Benedict are still in existence in Danbury and these families are direct descendents of the original families.