Daniel Hawley
1734 - 1797

Trumbull, Connecticut

Sources: 'From Valley Forge to Freedom A Story of a Black Patriot' by E. Merrill Beach (also see Nero Hawley) and the current owner of the Ephraim Hawley House, T. Pieragostini.
Photo left: Daniel Hawley's house on 49 Daniel's Farm Road in Trumbull, Connecticut. I did not know about this house so I was unable to take a photo when we visited. The photo is from Wikipedia.







Biography
There are two Daniel Hawley's represented (1st, Ephraim's son, and 2nd, Oliver's son and Ephraim's great-grandson) in the Ephraim Hawley line.
Daniel Hawley (2nd) is descended from Joseph Hawley through Ephraim, Daniel (1st), and Oliver Hawley. Daniel (2nd) was born in August of 1734, the son of Oliver and Bethia Hawley. He married Phebe Mallet, daughter of Peter and Mary Mallet March 26, 1758. Daniel and Phebe's home at 49 Daniels Farm Road was a wedding gift recorded August 21, 1758, from Oliver Hawley. They had ten children.

The Daniel Hawley House, built in 1756, was built in the area commonly called "Daniel's Farm" after Daniel (1st - Ephraim's son). Daniel (1st) inherited 48 acres on both sides of the Pequonnock River in the northern part of the "White Plains" area when he turned 21 in 1708. The house is situated on "Daniel's Farm Road" named after Daniel (1st) who probably couldn't wait until he turned 21 to get his "farm". Daniel (1st) was orphaned as a young boy after his parents died in 1690 and 1696 respectively and had to wait until he turned 21 to inherit his share per olde English law.

Nero Hawley, was a slave and property of Daniel Hawley.

Daniel' Work
Besides having a farm, Daniel Hawley owned a cider mill and brick making equipment at the Clay Pit and had an interest in a sawmill which was used the same water power as the adjoining gristmill which was owned by Daniel' brother, Ebenezer Hawley. Daniel's gristmill and the nearby store (owned by Ebenezer) were financed in the amount of over 1100 pounds by the Honorable John Hancock of Boston, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. On several occasions Mr. Hancock passed over the Boston Post Road, which was only four miles from the mill; and he generally stopped at Thaddeus Burr's in Fairfield, Connecticut, about ten miles away. The Burr Homestead was the scene of Hancock's marriage to Dorothy Quincy in 1775. While in this area he might have taken a short trip on one of his visits to survey his investment in North Stratford. A portrayal of Daniel's gristmill is used in the seal of the Trumbull Historical Society (photo right).

Daniel died in 1797 at the age of 63. He owned several pieces of land in addition to his business interests.





Pequonnock River & Grist Mills in Trumbull, Connecticut
The Hawley family was evidentally involved with the local building and rebuilding of the Grist Mills: In January 1722, Gideon and Ephraim Hawley agreed to build or rebuild a mill or mills on the stream of the Pequonnock River at the narrows by White Plain just east of White Plains Road (see image below from Google books). In the mid-18th century, Daniel Hawley built a mill "at the spring on the Pequonnock River" along White Plains Road just north of Daniels Farm Road in Trumbull Center near. Daniel, who resided just northeast of the present bridge, was a grand nephew of Gideon and Ephraim Hawley. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pequonnock_River


Image-above: Trumbull National Guard Unit Co. C 8th Reg. of the Connecticut National Guard, Commanded by Capt. Charles E. Plumb, circa 1867. The Grist Mill in the background was built by Gideon and Ephraim Hawley in 1722 at White Plains Trumbull. Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pequonnock_River


Source: A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport Volume 2 By Samuel Orcutt - Google Books.


Image-above: Abandoned millstone in Trumbull at the Daniel Hawley site taken in March 2010 according to Wikipedia. I wish I would have known about this when we visited in the summer of that same year. Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pequonnock_River