Chauncey Judd – Part I

#Middlebury

Chauncey Judd kneels before his captors in this woodcut that was featured in the book by Israel P. Warren, “Chauncey Judd: The Stolen Boy,” published in 1874. (Robert Rafford scan)

It Happened in Middlebury

By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD

Stories about Middlebury abound in the pages of history books, and most Middleburians know the chilling story of Chauncey Judd, “the stolen boy.” Because newcomers may be unaware of this harrowing tale, it is time to revisit this famous Naugatuck Valley Connecticut adventure.

The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia in July 1776, but within a few weeks the British had defeated American patriots at the Battle of Long Island in Brooklyn, the largest battle of the war. They subsequently took control over much of the rest of Long Island. The citizens of Long Island included many loyalists, called Tories, who opposed the colonies breaking away from mother England.

Their opponents, called Whigs, supported a revolution against England, hoping to break away from what they regarded as tyranny and injustice and form their own country. The war would rage on for over five years, with Middleburians such as Augustus Peck, Benjamin Fenn, and David Abbott, in all about 31, entering the war for independence as soldiers.

Connecticut had far more Whigs (or “patriots”) than did Long Island, although most of the island was part of our state until the 1670s. There was great friction and intrigue between Connecticut and the Island throughout the war, including spy rings, plundering and pirating.

Long Island Sound, which separates Connecticut from the Island, became the scene of tumultuous action; patriots from Connecticut would attack and rob British ships; they manned whale boats and crossed the Sound to the Island to raid British camps, steal provisions and arms, and otherwise harass the enemy. Even the private homes of loyalists and patriots were raided by their opponents. Supporters and opponents of the war made it intolerable for their opponents to live in their neighborhoods and took measures to appropriate their homes, after which loyalists would flee, some to Canada.

By 1780, a Brookhaven, Long Island merchant, Captain Ebenezer Dayton (1744-1802) who supported the revolution, found it impossible to carry on his trade on the island. He and his wife, Phebe Smith (1749-1827), and their three children fled to Milford, Conn. and thence to Bethany to escape the hostile and dangerous Tory atmosphere. They had no sooner settled in Bethany when trouble, in the form of local Tories, visited them.

Tural (or Turel) Whittemore Tavern stands on Indian Hill at 114 S. Main St. in Seymour. Today, it’s an ice cream shop, but in March 1780 it served as a meeting place for a group of local Tories and Captain Alexander Graham, a deserter from the Continental Army who joined the British on Long Island. He was well aware of Dayton’s revolutionary sympathies, and also of his rich store of merchandise.

Graham and the local Tories hatched a plot to visit the captain’s house, a few miles to the northeast. In the early hours of March 15, a band of seven, following Captain Graham, raided the Dayton house, which still stands at 388 Amity Road in Bethany.

Captain Dayton was away that day, or the event would have turned out much differently. They tied up Mrs. Dayton and the three children and two African-American children. They took clothing, linens, jewelry, muskets and 450 pounds of gold and money.

The raiders’ mood was elated as they headed north to Oxford and Middlebury with their booty. They were confident no one would be out in the early morning hours to see them make their escape. As luck would have it, a merry quilting party had been held in Naugatuck that night, and Ditha Webb, a local girl, had been escorted home from the party by her young suitor, Chauncey Judd (1764-1823). Judd stayed a little too long, and as he made his way along the road toward home, he recognized some of the men coming from the opposite direction. The meeting was friendly at first, but as they were about to part ways, some of the men grew anxious about being recognized by young Chauncey, and they decided to detain him.

Bob Rafford is the Middlebury Historical Society president and Middlebury’s municipal historian. To join or contact the society, visit MiddleburyHistoricalSociety.org or call Bob at 203-206-4717.