TT CAN FAIRLY BE SAID that<br > _Rowayton is in my bloodMy an<br > Jicestors were among the first to push<br > down into this section oftheTowne ofNorwakeһas early as the 1 660s<br > Norwalk was purchased from various local Indians in 1 640 by Roger Lud<br > lOW and Daniel Partrick(or Patrick)but wasnt settled by the white man until<br > some eleven years later in 1 65 1Two years later in 1 653 one Richard Ray<br > mond moved to Norwalkwith wife ludith and son lohnfrom Saybrook<br > ConnecticutHe and two brothers were the first of the family line in this<br > countryhis name appearing in the records ofSaLlemMassachusettsas a free<br > manMaV 141634<br > Richard was a mariner by professionowneror possibly part owner<br > ofa sailing packetHopewellengaged in coastal tradingHis trading carried<br > him ever westward eventually into Long Island Soundmaking him one of<br > the very first commercial watermen on the SoundHis grandsonlohnwas<br > born in NorwalkSeptember 91 665the first Raymond to be bom in Ameri<br > caWeve been stuck in the mud around here almost without interruption<br > ever sincemine being the eleventh generation<br > 1 was born in RowaytonSeptember 91 9 1 6in my grandmotherS<br > house at 1 28 Rowayton AvenueFrom the time 1 was a small boyI have<br > been exposed to RowaytonS pastMy fatheralso a marinerafter finishing<br > a stint in command of a navy tug during World War I(picking up decora-<br > dons from the French and Italian governments along the way)went to sea<br > Consequently he was seldom home during my early yearsAs a resultmy<br > grandmotherS three brothersone of whom rived next doorand the two<br > others nearbybecame my surrogate fathersTheir tales of their times and<br > what they heard from their elders in turn reached back almost to the found<br > ing ofthe RepublicToo bad for all of our generation that SO little was ever<br > committed to paper at that time<br > Ifit had beenmuch ofwhat follows might have been written by some<br > one far better qualified than IEdgar DLynchOscar MillsSEdward Dib<br >