that the inhabitants of his town
could not live peaceably any longer
without a magistrate. The gover-
norenquired how many inhabitants
berlgjjlfed to the town, and who was
the fittest ft$.n forthe office. Thom-
as • answered that himself and his
neighbor were the only inhabitants,
and himself the only man qualified
for the appointment; for liis neigh-
bor was no more fit for a justice of ■
the peace than the d»—1 was. The
governor gave him his commission,
and. was highly amused with the
singularity of the application*.

Stratford, Ct.

Fairfield co. This town was first
settled in 1639, by persons from
Boston, Roxbury and Concord,
Mass. and. Wethersfield, Ct. Its
Indian name was Cupheag-.

Stratford. is about 6 miles in
length from north to south, and its
breadth from east to 'West is be-
tween 2 and 3 miles. It is bound-
ed north by Huntington, west by
Trumbull and Bridgeport, east by
the Housatonick, dividing it from
Milford, and south by Long Islapd
Sound. The central part of the
town is 13 miles S. W. froip New-
Haven, and 8 E. by N”. from Fair-
field. The township is mostly level
and free from stone, and there is a
very rich alluvial tract of mead-
ows on. the river and. harbor. The
principal street in the town, ts one
mile in length, running north and
south, parallel to the Housatonick;
it is level, pleasant, and ornament-
ed with shade trees. On this street,
and others, in the immediate vi-
cinity, there are about 200 dwell-
ing houses, and 4 houses for pub-
lic worship.

This place lies at the mouth of
Housatonick river, and has consid-
erable inland and coasting trade.
Stratford Point, jutting out into
the Sound, is very pleasant, and a
noted landing place for passengers.

Gen. David Wooster, was a
native of this town, and was born
in 1711. He was a brave and good
office^, an ardent patriot, and in his
various public and private relations,
sustained a character distinguished
for integrity, benevolence and vir-
tue. He was mortally wounded in
a skirmish with the British troops,
at the-time of-their incursion to
Danbury, in 1777.

Stratliam, N. H.

Rockingham co. This town lies 39
miles S. E. by E. from Concord, 3 E.
N. E. from Exeter, and is situated
on the E. side of. the W. branch of
the Piscataqua river. Stratliam is
distant about 8 miles from the sea.
The land is even, and well calcu-
lated for agricultural purposes.
Farming is so exclusively the em-
ployment of the people, that al-
though a-navigable river adjoins it,
there is little attention given to any
other pursuit. In the east part of
the town, in a swamp, is perhaps
the largest repository of peat in the
state. Thisdown was a part of the
Squ’amscot patent, or TIilton’s pur-
chase. It was made a town by
charter, March 20, 1718. Popula-
tion, in .1830, S3S.

Stratton, Vt*

Windham 'co. A mountainous
township in the west part of the
county, 18 miles N. E. from Ben-
nington, and 22 N. VV. from Brat-
tleborough. Branches of Deerfield
and Winhall rivers rise here from
two ponds. The soil is cold and
generally unprofitable.. Popula-
tion, 1S30, 312.

Strong, Me.

Franklin co. This excellent
township lies on both sides of Sandy
river,- 45 miles N. W. from Augus-
ta, and bounded South by Farming-
ton. Population, in 1837, 1,091.
There is a large body of intervale
land on the Sandy, very fertile and
productive. Strong contains a
pleasant and flourishing village,
some mills on the .stream, and sev-