Museum purchase, 1975.102.1 © 2012 The Connecticut Historical Society.

Land in Oxford and Derby, Lately Bought by Mr. Stoddard Chatfield, & surveyed at his request

SurveyorSurveyed by Noyes Darling (American, 1782 - 1846)

Date1824

MediumDrawing; ink on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 15 1/8 x 12 1/8in. (38.4 x 30.8cm) Sheet (height x width): 15 1/8 x 12 1/8in. (38.4 x 30.8cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number1975.102.1

DescriptionPlot of land and dimensions, including bearings and, presumably, length measurements. To the north is the Naugatuck River, to the east is the Naugatuck River and Moses Little's land, to the south is Baldwin's Creek, and to the east is Abiram Stoddard's land and Judge Humphrey's land. Sevearl trees are included as reference points: the "small white oak," located in the bottom left corner of the plot, the "large oak," in the bottom right corner, the "white oak stump" in the top left corner, and the "bounds by chestnut tree" at the top left. Several old boundary lines are marked, as well.

Collections

Maps and Charts: Finding Your Place in Connecticut History

Label TextThroughout the nineteenth century, thj boundaries of the towns along the Naugatuck River kept changing, as new towns were created and parcels of land were transferred from one town to another. The town of Derby once stretched for ten miles on both sides of the river. The town of Oxford was granted its independence by the General Assembly in 1798, despite opposition from the mother town. The land that Mr. Stoddard Chatfield purchased in 1824 was located in the towns of Oxford and Derby, but in 1850, this area became part of the new town of Seymour. By 1893, after additional losses, Derby was the smallest town in Connecticut. Parts of its former territory was now included in the towns of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Naugatuck, Oxford, and Seymour.

NotesCartographical Note: Scale: 1 inch equals 10 rods

Biographical Note: Stoddard Chatfield was born on November 19, 1793 and died on March 16, 1877. He married Abigail Tuttle on February 2, 1826. When young, he thought that he wanted to go to sea, but after one voyage to the West Indies, he changed his mind and decided to remain at home. He ran his father's lumber mill and owned and worked five farms in New Haven County. He is listed in the 1850 and 1860 Federal Census as living in Bethany, Connecticut, and in the 1870 Census as living in Woodbridge.

Status

Not on view