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Norwalk's Revolutionary Past Spreads to South

NORWALK, Conn. – You may know that Norwalk was burned during the Revolutionary War, but did you know there's a connection to the burning of Atlanta nearly 100 years later?

That was one of the many facts revealed by Madeleine Eckert during a Norwalk Historical Society Revolutionary War tour of the cemetery at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Monday. Eckert roamed the grounds dressed in period garb as she pointed out interesting tombstones and sepulchers.

As the talk came to a conclusion, Eckert told about the Hoyt family, whose homes were spared when troops serving under Gen. William Tryon burned Norwalk in 1779.

"According to Norwalk land records, the Isaac Hoyt property was confiscated after Isaac absconded during Tryon's raid," Eckert said. "But somehow it appears that Isaac and Mary Hoyt retuned to Norwalk and there was a cover-up concerning Isaac being a suspected Tory. When the house was torn down in the 1800s, they found silver hidden in the walls."

Eckert detailed more of the siblings' history and added, "Isaac and Mary were the grandparents of Civil War Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, famous for the burning of Atlanta and his devastating march to the sea. Interesting, it is said the Mary Raymond Hoyt displayed signs of mental imbalance and it has been said that Gen. Sherman also displayed signs of mental illness himself."

One more thing: According to Eckert, "It is said that the first ice cream made in Norwalk was made at the Hoyt table, consisting of pure cream simply flavored and frozen."

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