Thomas Fitch IV (c. 1699 – July 18, 1774) was

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

from 1754 to 1766.

Family and early life

Fitch was born at Norwalk,

, the son of Thomas Fitch III (1675–1731), an investor in the

Equivalent Lands The Equivalent Lands were several large tracts of land that the Province of Massachusetts Bay made available to settlers from the Connecticut Colony after April 1716. This was done as compensation for an equivalent area of territory that was under ...

and his first wife, Sarah Boardman Fitch. He graduated from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

in 1721 then went on to obtain a master's degree. Fitch married Hannah Hall in 1724. The couple had several children, the first Thomas Fitch, V, was born in 1725. Thomas Fitch IV served as Norwalk Justice of the Peace, Deputy and Assistant to the Connecticut General Assembly, Deputy Governor, Chief Justice (to the Connecticut Superior Court), and finally Governor of the Colony of Connecticut. Fitch died July 18, 1774. He is buried in the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery.

His grave inscription

:THE HONORABLE THOMAS FITCH,

ESQ. Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman a ...

:GOV. OF THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT, :Eminent and distinguished among mortals. :for great abilities, large acquirements, and a :virtuous character. :a clear, strong, sedate mind, :and an accurate, extensive acquaintance :with law and civil government; :a happy talent of presiding, :close application and strict fidelity, :in the discharge of important trusts, :no less than. :for his employments by the voice of the people :in the chief offices of State, :and at the head of the colony. :Having served his generation by the will of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, :fell asleep July 18 in Domini 1774, :in the 75th year of his age.

Fitch house

The Fitch house was partially burned during the " burning of Norwalk" raid carried out by

William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...

and British troops in July 1779 and only one wing of the house was left standing. Fitch descendants lived in the rebuilt house until 1945. In 1956 the Fitch house was relocated to make way for the construction of the

Connecticut Turnpike The Connecticut Turnpike (officially the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike) is a controlled-access highway and former toll road in the U.S. state of Connecticut; it is maintained by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT). Span ...

. It stands today as part of the Mill Hill Historic Park in Norwalk next to the

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

Legacy

Fitch Street in East Norwalk is named in honor of the Fitch family including: Thomas Fitch I (1612–1704), a town founder; Thomas IV, the governor; and Thomas Fitch V, soldier and patriot. His son,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Thomas Fitch, V (1725–1795), served with British colonial troops in the French and Indian Wars; primarily in upstate New York, near Fort Crailo. After that conflict Thomas, V returned to Norwalk and was a prominent resident during and after the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. He served as a town councilman and helped with the reconstruction efforts after the burning of Norwalk in 1779. The former Thomas Fitch school along Strawberry Hill Avenue in Norwalk was named in his honor, as well as to honor the other Thomas Fitches who contributed to the town. The unincorporated settlement of Fitchville, located in the

Firelands The Firelands, or Sufferers' Lands, tract was located at the western end of the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio. It was legislatively established in 1792, as the "Sufferers' Lands", and later became named "Fire Land ...

area of the historic

Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms o ...

in the

State of Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, is named for the governor and his family.

References

External links