Zachariah Fairchild was the fourth son of Thomas and Emma Fairchild, born in Stratford on Dec. 14, 1651. Thomas fathered Zachariah late in life at the age of 41. Zachariah resided in Stratford for all of his 51 years. He married Hannah Beach on Nov. 3, 1681 and they had eight children.
Hannah’s father, John Beach was also one of the early Stratford settlers and his home was located four lots away from the Fairchild location on what is now Elm Street.
On May 22, 1677 Zachariah’s land was recorded in the Stratford land records. It included a house purchased from Thomas Fairchild, land received as a gift from his brothers Samuel and Thomas, his cousin Jehiel Preston and his step-mother. He died intestate. The inventory, dated Sep. 6, 1703 had an extensive list of produce, animals and farm equipment. He owned many acres of land.
One biographer wrote that Zachariah Fairchild and Daniel Brinsmead were appointed as Stratford constables in 1693. However they refused to enforce violations related to religious misbehavior and were therefore fined 20 shillings each according to the law.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: COLONIAL AMERICA
The spiritual leader of the original Stratford families was Reverend Adam Blakeman who was born in Staffordshire, England in 1598 and attended Oxford’s Christ Church College. During most of his years as Stratford’s minister Blakeman gave stability and popularity to the Stratford plantation. For a quarter of a century he shielded the colony from the split between more orthodox Puritans and their children who tended to rebel against some of the most strict church rules. The orthodox Puritans deemed that those who did not strictly adhere to the rules were not in “full communion,” unable to participate in communion or vote in Church matters, and not permitted to have their children baptized. Given how important family was to the Puritans, this created resentment and subdued conflict.
When Reverend Blakeman fell ill and passed away on September 7, 1665 a young minister named Israel Chauncey assumed his duties. Chauncey favored tight compliance with Puritan rules and restrictive church membership to those who did not comply and, given his youth, he lacked the personality and presence of Adam Blakeman. Over time the group that were less strict in their practices decided to form a second church in Stratford. There was subsequent squabbling since there was only one meeting house in the town and Chauncey was reluctant to share it with another minister and congregation. On May 5, 1670 the Connecticut General Court weighed in on the ongoing dispute, authorizing the Second Church of Stratford under the Reverend Zechariah Walker.
Three years earlier, in 1666, the General Court had granted Thomas Fairchild, Joseph Judson, Samuel Sherman, William Curtis, Joseph Hawley and John Minor, all highly respected Stratford residents the authority to purchase lands at Pootatuck from the Indians to be reserved for a village or plantation. Ultimately the Stratford group acquired these lands, renamed Woodbury by the General Court in 1674. Some of those who were involved in the purchase at Pootatuck were members of Reverend Walker’s congregation. As early as 1667 it was apparent to some of Reverend Walker’s congregation that the controversy of the last two years would eventually result in settlement of a new plantation.
In May 1672 on the advice of Governor John Winthrop, Jr. the General Court granted a second authorization to establish a new plantation at the location that later became known as Woodbury, which means a dwelling place in the woods. This act allowed the Reverend Zechariah Walker and his church to found the new town. In the spring of 1673 Joseph Judson and John Minor were part of the band of fifteen families who made the 40-mile trek over narrow and winding Indian trails, following the banks of the Housatonic River to the location of the new town in the wilderness. Several sons of the original inhabitants including Thomas Fairchild Jr. elected to move to Woodbury. Thomas was married and had his first son while in Stratford but his other children were born in Woodbury.
It should be noted that Governor John Winthrop, Jr. a friend of Thomas Fairchild recognized that religious intolerance demonstrated by the first generation of Puritan settlers was bad for commerce. As Governor he therefore recognized that permitting new settlements to flourish and to encourage less religious intolerance was essential for the long-term well-being of Connecticut.
This background information provides a context demonstrating reasons why Fairchild family members began leaving Stratford and spreading to other parts of the growing colonies in the coming years. Although Zachariah Fairchild lived his entire life in Stratford some of his children were part of the next migration from Connecticut to New Jersey which was the first step in the eventual migration to Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina.
American Generation #2
Zachariah Fairchild and Wife and Children
| Zachariah Fairchild | b: Dec 14, 1651, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: Jun 23, 1703, Stratford, Fairfield, CT |
| Hannah Beach Fairchild(Married Nov. 3, 1681) | b: Dec 12, 1665, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: May 9, 1726, Wallingford, New Haven, CT |
Children
| Mehitabel (Mabel) | b: Mar 29, 1683, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: Sep 27, 1684, Stratford, Fairfield, CT |
| Hannah | b: Aug 1, 1685, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: Dec 12, 1706, Stratford, Fairfield, CT |
| David | b: May 16, 1688, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: 1741, Newtown, Fairfield, CT |
| Agur | b: Oct 1, 1691, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: May 4, 1712, Stratford, Fairfield, CT |
| Caleb | b: Sep 10, 1693, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: May 1, 1777, Morristown, NJ |
| James | b: Feb 12, 1695, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: 1761, Stratford, Fairfield, CT |
| Mary | b: May 7, 1698, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: Aug 29, 1803, Litchfield, CT |
| Zachariah | b: Nov 21, 1701, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: Aug 6, 1777, Morristown, NJ |
| Abiel | b: Jan 15, 1703, Stratford, Fairfield, CT d: Aug 14, 1785, New Haven, CT |