Now & Then

New Canaan Now & Then: The Jewett Estate [Part 2 of 2]

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. [Part 1 of this two-part installment can be found here.]

Mr. Robert Jewett, like his father and brother, attended Tabor Academy and he went on to Rockford College. After completing a Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics in 1972, he began a 41 year teaching career at Saint Paul Academy and Summit School in St. Paul, Minnesota. His work was exhibited throughout the midwest and on Martha’s Vineyard.

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New Canaan Now & Then: The Jewett Estate [Part 1 of 2]

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The land at 589 Oenoke Ridge was owned by Ms. Esther Howard Leeming who deeded the property for $1 to Ms. Mary K. Minor on Sept. 30, 1922. 

Ms. Leeming was the daughter of Edward Tasker Howard who died on Aug. 7, 1918. At the time of his death, his estate was valued at $172,553.80 and $60,011.98 was left to Ms. Leeming which included two-fifths of the estate on Oenoke Ridge. 

Mr. Howard was the son of John Tasker Howard who was one of the founders of the Plymouth Church in Massachusetts.

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New Canaan Now & Then: Wisteria Hill

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. Wisteria Hill on Smith Ridge Road was built in 1910 for Mr. William Harris Cary. 

The property was purchased from Frederick S. Odell of Mount Vernon, N.Y. Mr. Odell was a surveyor and had a hand in the development of Mead Park and Lakeview Cemetery. It does appear that he never lived on the property. The land was described as being part of the 50-acre parcel that Odell had purchased in 1905 from Mr. Alfred Newton Oakley of Pleasantville, N.Y. Mr. Odell sold to Edward Beers Thomas and his son in law William H. Cary, both of Brooklyn, New York on Nov. 2, 1909.

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New Canaan Now & Then: The Charles Weed House

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The frame house on Weed Street was built in the 1750s for Charles Weed. 

His father, also Charles Weed, was the cousin of the better known Weeds who settled further south. Mr. Weed and his wife Susannah were listed among the members of a church in Darien as late as June 4, 1744, indicating they had lived in Darien prior to the move to New Canaan. The Weeds were married on November 15, 1733 in Stamford, Connecticut. Mr. Weed died in 1759 and the property was passed to his eldest son, Charles, who was born in 1734. 

The will stated that the property contained a house with a second home being built. This second home became the family home for the Weeds.

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New Canaan Now & Then: Josiah Weed House

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The Josiah Weed House is a 2 ½ story, side-gabled house that was built in 1745 (town records indicate 1780 construction) with a fieldstone foundation. 

John Bouton I is the earliest owner of the property on record and was a descendant of two notable families from Norwalk. Mr. Bouton’s great grandfather, also named John Bouton, arrived in Boston in 1635. It is unclear when Mr. Bouton passed away, but there is a record that his widow, Alice, married Matthew Marvin in 1647. The Marvins were part of a group known as the Ludlow Agreement Settlers and moved to Norwalk in 1650.