Roger Sherman Chapter NSDAR, inc. New Milford, Connecticut
Samuel Canfield
Born 1724 Died 1799 ~~ Buried At Center Cemetery
According to Samuel Orcutt in “The History of New Milford and Bridgewater”, Samuel Canfield was one of the leading citizens of my time. I’m not so sure about that, though it is gracious of him to say so. I lived in a time of great turmoil when all citizens had to make hard choices and many stepped up and did their duty. I was not an exception.
I was born Samuel Canfield, Jr. in 1724 in New Milford. I am the son of Deacon Samuel Canfield, an upstanding and godly man, and Abigail Peck, a lady of the highest quality. My father had moved from Milford to New Milford before I was born. He spent the rest of his life dedicated to the Church and town. His example made it easy for me to do the same.
Like many gentlemen of my era I became a land speculator and managed to elk out a good living. Not only did I buy farms and land in New Milford, but expanded to other parts of Connecticut and New York. Rubin Booth and I invested in land at Fort Henry which when completed made me the largest tax payer in New Milford.
I entered politics in 1765 and with Bushnell Bostwick was the representative to Hartford for 10 years. As war approached I was appointed to the Committee of Correspondence and then later that year joined the 13th Connecticut Regiment.
Because of my experience with the militia I was appointed as Lieutenant Colonel in 1776 and in 1781 was sent personally by Washington to guard West Point under the command of General McDougal and as many troops as I could muster. While I was stationed there two of my officers were New Milford men, Quartermaster James Baldwin and Surgeon George Hurd. Connecticut men made up the rest of the regiment.
George Washington called West Point “the most important post in America.” For the Revolutionaries holding West Point meant preventing the British from controlling the Hudson River and dividing the colonies in two. By the time I was placed in charge the war had gone to the south and in Virginia Washington’s troops, with the French, defeated the British at Yorktown. Because of its importance, Washington returned to West Point after the fighting to await the ratification of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
I returned to New Milford and took up where I had left off until once again in 1787 I was called to duty to help extinguish the plans of some farmers in Sharon and Norfolk to join Shay’s Rebellion. This armed rebellion had 4,000 members, mostly farmers and laborers, who were angry with the Federal government for the debt crisis and higher taxes that were the result of paying the war debt. Farms were being foreclosed and in 1786 Massachusetts farmers centered in Springfield started to organize and rebel.
The Governor called out the 14th Militia under General Swift to support me in stopping the rebels in Litchfield County. I was charged to establish government and good order. I was successful in my endeavors and the perpetrators were arrested.
I died in 1799 and took up residence in the Center Cemetery with the rest of my family.
There is a rumor that I was going insane before I died, but I truly do not remember and my thinking is obviously clear now. Also, there are stories about how my home on Grove Street is haunted. I do not know who would find haunting a lady’s bedroom and at times even resting in her bed as appropriate behavior, but this person is a scoundrel and I strongly disavow any knowledge of such behavior.