The 1881 Woodbridge Town Budget: Shedding light on the people and their community

As the Town of Woodbridge embarks on its annual budget presentation meetings this week, it feels like the perfect time to look back and reflect on how our community has approached town finances in the past. Of course, I rarely need an excuse to dive into my collection of archival treasures, but budget season feels especially fitting. After all, the timeless task of budget setting offers more than an opportunity for mere number crunching — this process can also reveal how a community comes together to build consensus and express its values. Let’s step back and glimpse 19th-century life in our small town through the lens of its 1881 budget.

The 1881 budget reflects a town deeply engaged in maintaining its infrastructure, supporting education, and providing for its residents. Major budget categories highlight several areas of expenditure and together with information about repayment of previous debt and new borrowing taken on, the document's details provide a snapshot of how Woodbridge managed its finances, balancing loans, expenses, and limited resources to sustain its operations.
The largest portion of expenditures in the annual budget went toward maintaining and repairing the town's infrastructure, including bridges and key transportation routes. Education funding covered teacher wages, fuel, and other incidentals for the town’s school districts. Next, assistance was provided to residents in need, reflecting the community’s commitment to caring for its most vulnerable members. Lastly, the salaries and compensation for officials were included, recognizing their efforts in managing town affairs, alongside smaller miscellaneous costs for election-related activities, burial certificates, and public notices.
The town’s expenditures for the year were carefully itemized, giving us a clear picture of where resources were allocated. These are all summed up in the final pages where the Treasurers Report appears:
Roads and Bridges: $2,195.96
This category included labor, materials (such as chestnut bridge planks), and other costs to ensure infrastructure remained functional. It accounted for the largest share of the budget, reflecting the importance of maintaining transportation routes in a rural community.
Schools: $2,229.95
Funding for schools was comparable to infrastructure costs, covering teacher wages, fuel, and supplies across multiple districts. Education was a clear priority for the town, ensuring access to learning for local children.
Paupers (Public Support): $559.53
This included support for residents in need, such as financial aid, medical care, and burial expenses. The relatively modest allocation reflects the smaller number of individuals requiring assistance but underscores the town’s care for its vulnerable members.
Town Officers: $447.52
Salaries for elected and appointed officials, such as the selectmen, treasurer, and tax collector, were a key component of the budget. These funds compensated individuals who kept the town running efficiently.
Miscellaneous Expenses: $376.26
Smaller expenses included items like printing reports, maintaining public records, and even paying for a walnut ballot box. These details highlight the operational costs of running our small town in 1881.
The precision of the records, down to individual payments for services and materials, shows a commitment to accountability and careful management of public funds. What's more, the individuals named in the report were clearly integral to the smooth operation of Woodbridge’s government. Their efforts ensured that roads were passable, schools were functional, and public services were delivered efficiently. Let's review who is mentioned (you can read more about some of the men who are included in previous essays here at TownHistory by following the links provided).
Central to the governance of Woodbridge in 1881 are the elected and appointed officials whose names appear in the budget report, reflecting their roles in overseeing the town’s administration and specific projects:
- Henry F. Merwin, First Selectman
- Rollin C. Newton, Second Selectman
- Theodore R. Baldwin, Third Selectman
- P.E. Peck, Treasurer
- William H. Warner and William W. Cowell, Auditors
Other named contributors included E.N. Sperry, Collector of Taxes, and J.F. Nichols and W.F. Hotchkiss, Registrars of Electors. Also named are several contractors and laborers who maintained roads and bridges, with their specific tasks recorded in detail.

To meet its financial needs, the Town relied on both temporary and permanent loans, with individuals like David R. Baldwin playing a significant role. Baldwin personally lent the town $2,500, representing the largest single liability listed in the budget. An additional $133.33 in interest was due on his notes, emphasizing his pivotal support for the town’s financial stability. In addition, temporary loans totaling $2,067.95 were borrowed and repaid during the year, including $1,800 from the New Haven Savings Bank, $260 from P.E. Peck, and $7.95 from H.F. Merwin. The town also worked to reduce its long-term debt, repaying $200.00 and $150.00 on two loans held by John Peck, originally taken in 1875 and 1876, respectively. These repayments highlight the town’s efforts to manage its borrowing responsibly while addressing both short-term needs and longstanding obligations.
Despite these efforts, the town’s liabilities exceeded its available resources. Estimated income included $96.00 from the 1879 tax book, $791.54 from the 1880 tax book, $212.06 from the Town Deposit Fund, and a balance of $207.32 in the treasury, totaling $1,306.92. The town faced an excess of $2,031.41 in liabilities over resources. In order to balance the books, the Town continued its past practice of borrowing.
All told, this historical budget document is more than just a financial report; it’s a record of the priorities that shaped Woodbridge in the late 19th century. By looking closely at these records, we gain unique insights into the community’s values and we can also catch a glimpse of the individuals who worked tirelessly to uphold them.
In 1881, the Town was lead by H. F. Merwin and knowing more about his life story helps set the context of his involvement serving the community of Woodbridge in the role of First Selectman. Henry Fletcher Merwin (1838–1927) was a farmer, Civil War veteran, and a dedicated public servant whose life spanned leadership in Woodbridge, Connecticut, and later Beaver City, Nebraska. Born in Woodbridge he was the only surviving child of his parents, John Miles Merwin and Mary Newton. When Henry was just six years old his mother died in childbirth on June 26, 1844, Her death is poignantly recorded in the Woodbridge Bill of Mortality that year, which states that she was "buried with her infant on her arm" at the age of 33. The loss of his mother at such a young age must have shaped Henry’s early life.
By his mid-20s he was serving in Company A of the 10th Connecticut Infantry during the Civil War, rising from private to corporal. Henry's experience in the Battle of Kingston, South Carolina, became a defining moment. On December 14, 1862, a rebel bullet severed two fingers on Henry’s hand and struck a miniature Bible his stepmother Eliza Ann Peck Merwin had given him, carried under his belt buckle. According to write-up of his life, “To the little bible he carried, Mr. Merwin always attributed the saving of his life. Handicapped through life by the mangled hand, he suffered intensely his last years from a catarrh [infection] that developed around the old wound, causing pain which he bore stoically.”
“When his wound had sufficiently healed he was detailed to recruiting service and sent to New Haven, Connecticut,” where he met Lucy Belden Blakeslee (1836-1930), and “this meeting resulted in their marriage on March 20, 1864.” The couple began their family in Woodbridge, welcoming son John Howard Merwin in August 1865. Henry balanced farming and family life with his role as a civic leader, as the couple's daughter Mary, and a second son Fletcher Newton Merwin, were born in the ensuing years.
In 1877 however, tragedy struck when at just 11 years old their son John contracted malignant diphtheria, a feared and often fatal illness of the time. Known for its aggressive and devastating course, diphtheria could cause severe throat obstruction, heart damage, and systemic complications, leaving families powerless as they watched loved ones succumb. Young John’s death would have brought immense grief to the Merwin family, as he was their first child, born shortly after their marriage following Henry’s harrowing experience of injury during the Civil War. But the loss of a child to disease was a grim reality in the 19th century, as medical advancements like antitoxins and vaccines were still decades away. The Merwins, like so many families of the era, had no means to prevent or effectively treat such disease. Today, their son's gravestone at the East Side Burying Ground, inscribed tenderly with the name "Johnnie," reflects the depth of their love and loss.

In 1882, shortly after his term as First Selectman concluded, Henry and Lucy moved their family to Beaver City, Nebraska. Their journey west marked a new chapter for the family, perhaps driven by a desire for renewal after their loss. Henry became a respected figure in Beaver City, serving as mayor and contributing to the community's growth. The couple’s surviving son, Fletcher, followed his father’s legacy of public engagement, becoming the editor of the Beaver City Tribune.
When Henry passed away on February 6, 1927, at the age of 89, his obituary published in the Table Rock Argus highlighted his virtues as “brave in support of his country, loyal to his friends, faithful in all the duties of husband and father, and earnest and true in his religious obligations.” Lucy survived him another three years, and they are interred side-by-side in Mount Hope Cemetery in Beaver City. The decision Henry and Lucy made to relocate west, leaving their son Johnnie's final resting place behind, must have been a difficult one. But perhaps knowing he was so nearby Henry's mother Mary, and his father John and stepmother Eliza Ann in the old cemetery in Woodbridge, brought the couple lasting comfort as they recalled the family's hometown.
In part two of this look at the 1881 Town Budget we will delve deeper into the stories of the individuals who received services provided by their fellow community members. Stay tuned...