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A MODERN HISTORY 

OF 

NEW LONDON COUNTY 

CONNECTICUT 



EDITOK-IN-CHIEF 

BENJAMIN TINKHAM MAKSHALL, A.M., D.D. 

PRESIDENT OF CONNECTICUT COLLEGE, NEW LONIX^N 




VOLUME I 

1922 
LEWIS HISTOKICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

NEW YOKK CITY 



.1^7 ^13 



OOPT RIGHT 

LEWIS HaSTORICAL PUBLISHXNG COMPANY 

1922 



I 

JUL 27 1925^ 
)C1ASG4023 'N 



FOREWORD 

The early history of New London County has been well covered by 
Miss Caulkins' histories of Norwich, and of New London, in various local 
addresses on special occasions, and in more formal articles prepared for the 
20oth anniversary of the founding of Norwich. Notable amongst these was 
the historical address of Daniel Coit Gilman, delivered at Norwich on Sep- 
tember 7, 1859. To enumerate the special papers delivered at the meetings 
of the New London County Historical Society, at the dedication of monu- 
ments and public buildings of the county, on patriotic occasions, on the 250th 
anniversary of the town of Norwich (1909). and in almost countless addresses 
on special topics given before interested audiences in churches and halls, 
not to mention the many excellent contributions of the press, would in itself 
be an arduous task, interesting though it might be. 

Very few parts of our country are more filled with historical associations. 
Indian legends, mingled with a vast amount of verifiable Indian history; 
Revolutionary stories, with a record of honorable action surpassed nowhere ; 
loyal patriotism in the days of the Civil War, under the leadership of Governor 
Buckingham, himself a resident of Norwich, all these offer a wealth of 
material to the investigator. Out of the great mass of historical writings 
inspired by such a splendid past there looms up a background, a heritage 
of memories, that should urge on every citizen of New London County today 
to better citizenship, to more devoted public service. 

From some of these records and addresses we have quoted— they were 
written bv men and women who were near the events described— for we 
believe that true patriotism is a deep sentiment toward one's native land, 
not simply a series of outward acts. This abiding sentiment of affection 
and unselfishness in a people, as in an individual, is rooted in memory. By 
the memory of earlier days, by knowledge of the sacrifices of earlier patriots 
who made liberty possible for us, will the true spirit of Americanism be best 
nourished. Nor is the Indian history without value. Even if, in the light of 
history, "the noble red man" of Cooper's novels seems a somewhat idealized 
figure, surely nowhere else in America may be found a better typical picture 
of the early' relations of the white settler and the aborigine. We see them 
both at their best and at their worst. We have the grim picture of John 
Mason as he leads his resolute forces on to the utter destruction of the Pe- 
quots, and we have the picture of Uncas in all things, "Wauregan," living 
in unbroken amity with the Norwich colonists ; we learn of Samson Occum, 
the Mohican who visited England and brought back ten thousand pounds to 
Dartmouth College. The present work, then, aims to emphasize only such 
features of the early history of our country as are helpful to the modern 
reader in visualizing the days of occupation, of settlement, and colonial devel- 
opment, the essential background by which to emphasize modern conditions. 
Our history for the last fifty years, inasmuch as this has not been printed 
in any one volume, will be described with greater minuteness. It is hoped 



thit this portion of the work may be helpful for some years to come as x 
storehouse of information. 

Among the well informed persons who have labored in this under- 
taking, the principal place is to be given to Professor Henry A. Tirrell, 
Principal of the Norwich Free Academy, as the author of the exhaustive chap- 
ter on Education, and writer on other topics. Other more important papers 
and of enduring value arc those on "Church History," by Rev. Henry W. 
Hulbcrt, D.D., Pastor of the First Church of Christ, Groton ; on "Medicine, 
Physicians and Surgeons," by Charles B. Graves, M.D., former President 
Connecticut State Medical Society ; on "Insurance," by Walter F. Lester, 
President New London County Mutual Fire Insurance Company; on "Vol- 
unteer and Paid Fire Departments," by Howard L. Stanton, Chief Norwich 
Fire Department, and on "Old Families and Old Homes of Norwich" and 
kindred topics," by Mrs. Edna Miner Rogers, Regent of Faith Trumbull 
Chapter, D. A. R. 

The publishers of the History, The Lewis Historical Publishing Com- 
pany, through its agents, editors and official staff, has secured and arranged 
all the genealogical and biographical matter proper, which appears in the 
work, and for this material the Editor-in-Chief bears no responsibility. 




CONTENTS 

Chapter I— General Facts About New London County— Naming and 
Earliest Settlement of the Twenty-one Towns— Scenery— Geography 
—The Aborigines— Uncas and the Mohegans— John Mason— Mian- 
tonomah— Early Government— Customs of Settlers— Journal of 
Madam Sarah Knight— Religious Conditions . - - - i 
Chapter II— The Beginnings of Education— General Definition of Edu- 
cation—Outline of Educational Development in Connecticut— Early 
Schools in Norwich— Early Schools in New London— The "Norwich 
Tests"— The District System— Supervision— Trade Schools— Model 
Schools— Normal Schools— Education of Indians in Early Days- 
Founding of Dartmouth— Samson Occum— Dr. Nott's Sermon- 
Music Vale Seminary ---------31 

Chapter III— An Era of Unrest— Revolutionary War— Nathan Hale- 
Battle of Groton Heights— Rathbun's Narrative— Account of Rufus 
Avery — Of Stephen Hempstead— AUyn's Account of Death of Col, 
Ledyard— The War of 181 2— Early New London Whalers— Early 

Manufactures— Life of Daniel W. Coit " 5' 

Chapter IV— Little Known Facts About New London County— Begin- 
nings of Railroads and Telegraphs— Shipbuilding— Adams Express 
Company— Donald G. Mitchell's "Looking Back at Boyhood"— 
Ancestors of Six Presidents— Father of Oliver and Matthew Perry 

Wolves in Early Days— Shaw Mansion — Celebrated Sons and 

Daughters of New London County 81 

Chapter V— The City of New London— "Edelwiss"— John Winthrop 
the Younger— Natal Day— Bride Brook— Home Lots— Will of Mary 
Harries— Estate of Governor Winthrop— Anecdotes of Revolutionary 
War— Arnold's Account of the Expedition Against New London- 
Whale Fisheries at New London and Stonington— Stephen Decatur — 
Voyage of the "Savannah"— The Early Press— Poem on the Old Mill 97 
Chapter VI_The City of Norwich— Stedman's "Inland City"— Deed of 
Norwich— First Proprietors— Settlement from Saybrook— Life of 
Capt. Mason— The Early Press— Visits of Eminent Men— Effects 
of War— Benedict Arnold— Anecdotes of Early Times— Early Indus- 
tries—Early Physicians— Lincoln at Norwich— Data About Founders 
and Interesting Spots --------- 123 

Chapter VII— Other Towns of New London County— Colchester— East 
Lyme— Franklin— Griswold — Groton — Lebanon — Eminent M e n — 
The War Office— "Brother Jonathan"— Early Settlers— Lisbon— 
Lyme and Old Lyme— Salem— Sprague— Stonington— Voluntown— 

Waterford »77 

Chapter VIII— New London County Today— Its Population— Improve- 
ments— Scenery— Historic Relics— Public Buildings— Industries— 



vi NEW LONDOX COUXTY 

Grand Lists — Index of Manufactures — Anniversary Celebrations at 
New London and Norwich - - - 2II 

Chapter IX — Miscellaneous Information — Resources of the County — 
Character of Industry in Each Town — Assets — Changing Population 
— Financial Statistics — Lists of Public Officials — Significant dates 
— Representatives and Senators (State) .-.--. 227 

Chapter X — Educational Institutions — Connecticut College— Norwich 
Free Academy- — Bacon Academy — The Bulkeley School — Williams 
Memorial Institute — New London Vocational High School — Mystic 
Oral School for the Deaf — The Wheeler School . - - 243 

C+iapter XI — Religion in New London County — Early Conditions — 
Various Types of Churches — Theological Differences — Foreign 
Service — Connection Between Church and School — The Colonial 
State Church — Preaching to the Indians — "Rogerenes" — "Half-Way 
Covenant" — Parishes and Towns — The Congregational Denomina- 
tion — Baptist Churches in the County — The Episcopal Church — 
Methodism — Various Religious Bodies — Roman Catholic Churches 
— Universalists - 271 

Chapter XII — Counts and Lawyers in N'cw London County— New Lon- 
don District — Norwich District — Bozrah District — Colchester Dis- 
trict — East Lyme District — Groton District — Lebanon District 
— Ledyard District — Lyme District — Montville District — North 
Stonington District — Old Lyme District — Salem District — Stoning- 
ton District — Lawyers of Note — Members of County Bar — Memorial 
Addresses — County Court House — Eulogies - - - . ^23 

Chapter XIII — Medicine and Medical Men — Early Life of the Pioneers — 
Primitive Conditions of Medical Practice — Epidemic Diseases — 
Cholera — Medical Organization — Early Physicians — References 363 

Chapter XIV — New London County Press — New London Day — Nor- 
wich Bulletin — Cooley's Weekly — Editors and Manaprers - - 401 

Chapter XV — Banks — Early Banking — Famous Banks — National Bank 
System— Union Trust and Bank Company— New London City 
National Bank — Merchants' National Bank of Norwich — Norwich 
Savings Society— Thames National Bank, Norwich — Savings Bank 
of New London— National Whaling Bank — Mystic River National 
Bank— First National Bank of Stonington— National Bank of Com- 
merce of New London — Uncas National Bank — Groton Savings Bank 
— Chelsea Savings Bank — Mariners Savings Bank — Dime Savings 
Bank— Jewett City Savings Bank— Jewett City Trust Company- 
Bankers Trust Company— Pawcatuck Bank and Trust Company — 
Wintlirop Trust Company -------- 423 

Chapter XVI— Fire Insurance in New London County— A Primitive 
Necessity — First American Companies— Mutual Assurance Company 
of the City of Norwich— Last of Eighteenth and First of Nineteenth 
Century — The Norwich Fire Insurance Company— A New London 
Company — Other Early Companies in Connecticut — New London 



CONTENTS vii 

County Mutual Fire Insurance Company — Fire Insurance Agents in 
the County — List of Agencies in the County - - - - 457 

Chapter XVII — Norwich Fire Department — Early Days — Serious Fires 
— Actions of Common Council — Norwich Companies at Boston Fire 
in 1872 — Various Ordinances Regulating the Fire Department — 
Statistics of Alarms "Rung In" — Pension Fund — Equipment - 475 

Chapter XVIII — New London Fire Department — Early History — First 

Companies — Chiefs and Other Officers — Groton Fire Company - 489 

Chapter XIX — Community Activities — History of Various Firms — 

Manufacturing — Taftville — Civic Spirit ----- ^g^ 

Chapter XX — Fraternal Brotherhoods — Masonic — Odd Fellows — Other 
Orders — Fourteen Lodges of New London County — First Building 
in the World erected by Masons exclusively for Masonry — Elks 507 

Chapter XXI — Patrons of Husbandry — History of the Grange — Oliver 

H. Kellcy — Granges in New London County — Picture of the Grange 521 

Chapter XXII — The Red Cross — The Four Chapters of New London 
County — Work of Norwich Chapter — New London Chapter — Vari- 
ous Activities ..- 529 

Chapter XXIII — Notable Places and Homes — Washington's Visits to the 
County — Stage Coach and Tavern Days — Various Famous Taverns 
— Potteries of Norwich — Silversmiths of New London County — Pine- 
hurst — The Barrel House ........ 533 

Chapter XXIV— Military History— Civil War— Spanish War— World 

War — Muster Roll of Spanish W^ar — Honor Roll of Various Towns 581 

Addenda — Mary Lydia Bolles Branch — Benedict Arnold — The Groton 

Massacre — Fire Insurance — Norwich Fire Department - - 617 





LIGllTHOUi 



CHAPTER I 

GENERAL FACTS ABOUT NEW LONDON COUNTY 

The Early Towns— Natural Features of the Region— The Indian Occupants— First 
White Settlers — Illuminating Documents from the Past. 

New London County, occupying the southeastern part of Connecticut, 
is bounded on the east by the State of Rhode Island, on the south by Long 
Island Sound, on the west by Middlesex and Tolland counties, and on the 
north by Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties. 

The county, with an area of approximately seven hundred square miles, 
is composed of twenty-one towns, Bozrah, Colchester, East Lyme, Franklin, 
Griswold, Groton, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Lyme, Montville, New London, 
North Stonington, Norwich, Old Lyme, Preston, Salem, Sprague, Stoning- 
ton, Voluntown, Waterford ; and has a population (census of 1920) of 155,311. 

This county was one of the first four counties of the State, organized 
in 1666, and originally included a considerable part of the present Middle- 
sex county, extending as far west as Clinton. Of the five first cities of 
Connecticut chartered in 1784, New London county had two. New London 
and Norwich. Of the twenty-one towns of the county: 

New London was settled as "Pequot" in 1646; named from London, 
England, and authorized as a town in 1658. 

Stonington was settled in 1649 ^"d named Stonington in 1666. 

Norwich, named from Norwich, England, in 1659, was settled by a Say- 
brook colony in 1660. 

Lyme, named from Lyme Regis, England, in 1667, was set ofT from 
Saybrook in 1665. 

Colchester was settled and named from Colchester, England, in 1699. 

Preston was named in 1687 from Preston, England. 

Lebanon, named from Lebanon in Sxria, was incorporated in 1700. 

Groton, set off from New London in 1704. was named from the English 
home of Governor John Winthrop in 1705. 

Voluntown, "Volunteers Town," named in 1708, was settled in 1719. 

Bozrah, with Biblical name, was set off from Norwich in 1786. 

Franklin, set off from Norwich, in 1786, was named for Benjamin 
Franklin. 

Lisbon, set off from Norwich in 1786, was named from Lisbon, Portugal. 

Montville, set off from New London in 1786, took the French name of 
"Mount Ville." 

Waterford, set off from New London in 1801, took a name descriptive 
of its nature. 

North Stonington was set off from Stonington in 1807. 

Griswold, named from Governor Roger Griswold, was set off from 
Preston in 1815. 
N.L.— 1-1 



2 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Salem, named from Salem, Massachusetts, was set off from Colchester, 
Lyme, and Montville in 1879. 

Ledyard, named from Colonel William Ledyard of Fort Griswold fame, 
was set off from Groton in 1836. 

East Lyme was set off from Lyme and Waterford in 1839. 

Old Lyme was set off from Lyme in 1855, and named Old Lyme in 1857. 

Sprague, named from its founder, William Sprague, was set off from 
Lisbon and Franklin in 1861. 

The following note is prefixed to the list of Connecticut towns printed 
in the Connecticut Register and Manual (1920). 

Until 1700, almost the only official action of the colonial government (General 
Court) in regard to town organization, was to authorize the town name, usually 
chosen by its leading man, from his home in England. In October, 1700, we find 
implied or quasi incorporation, such as exists to this day, in the records: "This assem- 
bly doth grant to the inhabitants of the town of Lebanon all such immunities, privi- 
ledges and powers, as generally other townes within this Colonie have and doe enjoy." 
The authoritative legal definition of a town in England, contemporary with the earliest 
Connecticut settlements, is given in the first edition of "Coke's Commentaries upon 
Littleton," published 1628; "It can not be a town in law, unless it hath, or in past time 
hath had, a church, and celebration of Divine services, sacraments and burials." The 
church bodies which moved bodily with their pastors from Massachusetts to Con- 
necticut, proceeded to exercise the secular powers which we regard as those of the 
town, but the English township is known by its ecclesiastical name of parish. Several 
of our towns were first set ofT as parishes, from great town tracts; yet the town in 
Connecticut colony essentially separated church and state in government, in that 
it never restricted political suffrage to church-members. As to dates, the official 
colonial records are followed, as soon as they begin, 163C. 

For the beauty and variety of its natural scenery. New London county 
is excelled by very few regions of equal area. Its southern shore, from the 
broad sweep of the Connecticut river eastward along a coast of singular 
charm, with its jutting points and its alluring inlets; by Niantic bay, which 
Governor Winthrop, as he looked off from the heights above, called one of 
the most beautiful spots he had ever seen, outward to the majestic estuary 
of the Thames with its noble harbor; still eastward by the beautiful islets 
of Noank and Mystic till that point is reached where the States of Rhode 
Island, New York and Connecticut meet near the harbor of Stonington, is 
as wonderful today as when the Indians gazed upon its beauties. 

And the scenery of the coast is matched by the wooded hills, the rushing 
streams, the placid lakes, the rich valleys, farther inland. The summer 
visitor today is found in all parts of the county, not only in the summer 
colonies built up near the coast, but in many a broad estate whose owner 
is content to preserve the forest, the rockbound glens, the rich verdure that 
Nature has so generously supplied. 

The chief waters of the county besides its large ponds and lakes are the 
Connecticut, Thames, Shetucket, Quinnebaug, Yantic, Pawcatuck, Mystic, 
Poquonock, and Niantic rivers, all flowing in a general southerly course to 



GENERAL FACTS 3 

the Sound. Its navigable waters and its abounding water power have con- 
tributed largely to its economic development, from the early days when 
extensive commerce sprang up with all quarters of the globe, to the later 
times when manufacturing founded the fortunes of many of its citizens. With 
such natural advantages Connecticut enterprise and ingenuity have made 
possible a growth far beyond the expectations of the men of even fifty years 
ago. One part of this history will be devoted to this remarkable expansion 
of recent years. 

No true conception of the growth of the county is possible without an 
understanding of the character and customs of the early settlers, the diffi- 
culties they had to overcome, their relations with the Indians, their participa- 
tion in the broader colonial interests, in the Revolutionary War, in the affairs 
of the State and Nation. 

The first settlers, many of them of Pilgrim stock and practically all of 
them of Puritan origin, had the same deep religious convictions and the 
same stamina that other New England colonists had. They had inherited 
from their Anglo-Saxon ancestors a genius for self-government, which, 
checked by the Stuart despotism in England, burst into bloom in the new 
life of a New World. Hardships were endured and overcome. Yet in the 
midst of a severe struggle for existence, they never lost sight of the great 
things of life. Religion, education, and morality were the strong supports 
of local governments founded on law and order. Difficulties strengthened 
their characters both individually and collectively. It may well be said 
that the menace of hostile Indians was one of the main incentives to co- 
operation amongst the early settlers of New England. 

The Pequot War was undoubtedly the first step toward the settlement 
of New London county, for it was not until that tribe had been virtually 
annihilated that it was safe for colonists to settle in this region. Of the many 
anecdotes connected with the war, some will be given in the histories of 
separate towns. We print a general survey from Kurd's "History of New 
London County": 

The territory was preoccupied by the Pequots. a powerful tribe of 
Indians belonging to the widespread Algonquin or Delaware race. This 
powerful tribe had by their cruelty become the dread of the whites far and 
near. Rendered bold by numbers, and jealous of every encroachment, they 
had resolved upon nothing less than the utter extermination of the whites, 
and shrank from no means, however appalling, which might conduce to the 
accomplishment of their bloody purpose. Massachusetts had in 1634, with 
much effort, induced them to allow the peaceable settlement of certain por- 
tions of their domain, and to offer satisfaction for former outrages. But the 
natives were slow to fulfill the conditions of this treaty, and Captain Endicott 
was sent out by the Massachusetts colony, at the head of ninety men, to 
enforce the treaty and to chastise them for their past offenses. 

This ill-advised expedition failed utterly of its objects, and only tended 
to exasperate the Pequots, who during the succeeding fall and winter were 
untiring in their attempts to league the other Indians with them in a war 
of extermination against the whites, and redoubled their own efforts to rid 



4 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

themselves of the noxious strangers. Savages lurked in every covert, and 
there was no safety for life or property. The colonists could not travel 
abroad, or even cultivate their fields, but at the peril of their lives. Their 
cattle were driven ofif, their houses burned, the navigation of the river was 
seriously impeded, and even the fort at Saybrook was in a state of constant 
siege. By spring the situation had become critical in the extreme. Nearly 
thirty murders had been committed, and utter ruin threatened the colony 
unless decisive measures should at once be taken. In this emergency a 
General Court was convened at Hartford on the nth of May, 1637, at which 
it was decided to proceed at once to an offensive war against the Pequots, 
and for the first campaign to send out a force of ninety men under Capt. John 
Mason, then in command of the fort at Saybrook. 

About this time. Mason and the warrior Uncas met and formed a 
temporary alliance, which was, however, destined to continue without serious 
interruption for a long series of years, and prove of great and lasting benefit 
to the settlements. Uncas was related both by birth and marriage to the 
Pequot royal family, but .soon after his marriage he became involved in diffi- 
culties, the nature of which is not exactly known, which resulted in his 
banishment to the Narragansett country. He was afterwards permitted to 
return, but a recurrence of the same troubles led to his banishment for a 
second and even a third time. He thus at length became permanently exiled 
from his own people, and we find him upon the Connecticut river, near the 
infant settlements of Hartford and Windsor, in the spring of 1637, at the head 
of about seventy warriors. Both Mason and Uncas were eminently fitted to 
be military leaders, each of his own race. Mason possessed marked military 
tastes which had been developed and trained in the wars of the Netherland 
under Lord Fairfax; while Uncas, by nature brave and shrewd, had, as a 
member of the royal family of a strong and warlike nation, abundant oppor- 
tunity to acquire a thorough knowledge of the methods of Indian warfare. 
An alliance of two such representative men of the two races then competing 
upon American soil could not fail to make an impress upon their peculiar 
surroundings. Uncas agreed to join the expedition with his warriors, and 
the united forces embarked at Hartford on the 20th of May of the same year 
and proceeded to drop down the river. In the course of the voyage the 
Indians had opportunity to demonstrate their fidelity, which had been unjustly 
suspected by some. As the water in the river was low and the passage tedious, 
the Indians were at their own request allowed to disembark and proceed 
along the bank. When near Saybrook, they met and defeated a party of 
Pequots, killing seven and taking one prisoner. After their arrival at Say- 
brook, the commandant of the fort, still distrustful of Uncas. addressed the 
sachem as follows: "You say you will help Captain Mason, but I will first 
see it ; therefore send twenty men to Bass river, for there went last night 
six Indians there in a canoe; fetch them, dead or alive, and you shall go with 
Mason, or you shall not." Uncas did as he was required. His warriors 
found the enemy, killed four of them, and took another prisoner. This exploit 
of the sachem was regarded by Lieutenant Gardiner as a sure pledge of his 
fidelity. 

Captain Mason had received instructions to land at Pequot Harbor, but 
his military judgment led him to sail direct to the Narragansett country and 
make his attack upon the enemy from a point whence they would least expect 
it. He accordingly proceeded thither, and on Saturday, May 30th, towards 
evening, dropped anchor off the shores of the Narragansett. As there was a 
strong northwest wind, they remained on shipboard until Tuesday, when 
Mason landed and marched directly to the residence of Canonicus, the Nar- 



GENERAL FACTS 



ragansett chief, and informed him of his design of attacking the Pequots in 
their strongholds, and demanded a free passage through the Narragansett 
country. The request was readily granted, and Miantonomoh, nephew of 
Canonicus, suggested that the numbers of the English and Mohegans were 
too small for an invasion of the Pequot country, and volunteered to send two 
hundred of his braves with the expedition, though he did not himself ofTer 
to accompany them. 

On the following morning the vessels were manned with a small force, 
as a larger could not be spared, and were ordered to sail for the mouth of 
Pequot river. The land force, consisting of seventy Englishmen, and sixty 
Mohegan warriors under Uncas, with tlie addition of two hundred Narra- 
gansett volunteers, commenced its march westward. After proceeding about 
twenty miles through a rough country, with only a narrow Indian foot-path 
for their passageway, they arrived at a place called Nehantic, where they 
remained overnight. When the English resumed their march on the follow- 
ing morning they were overtaken by others of the Narragansett people, so 
that they were followed, as they supposed, by near five hundred warriors. 
As the day was warm and the way rough, several of the men fainted from 
exposure and want of food. After a march of about twelve miles they reached 
a ford in the Pawcatuck river, where a halt was made for rest and refresh- 
ment. It had been ascertained that the majority of the Pequot warriors were 
in two forts or inclosures of palisades, one of which was commanded by 
Sassacus in person, and both regarded by the Indians as within and without 
impregnable. Mason had originall}- designed to divide his forces and attack 
both places simultaneously, but from information received during the halt 
upon the Pawcatuck he learned that the forts were situated at too great a 
distance apart to allow of a division of his force, and he decided to advance 
at once upon the fort on Pequot Hill. The Narragansetts, on learning of 
his design to attack Sassacus in his stronghold, were smitten with deadly 
fear. "Sassacus," they said, "was all one god, and could not be killed." So 
great was their trepidation that a hundred of their number beat a precipitate 
retreat, and reported in the Providence plantation that the English had all 
fallen. 

At this time ^lason called Uncas to him, and asked him what he thought 
the Indians would do. "The Narragansetts," replied this brave sachem, "will 
all leave us," "but as for himself 'he would never leave us'; and so it 
proved, for which expression I shall never forget him. Indeed, he was a 
great friend, and did great service." The Pawcatuck was the last boundary 
before the country of the Pequots, and as the Narragansetts found them- 
selves nearing the strongholds of their dreaded rivals, their timidity increased 
and all but a handful turned back. The Mohegans, however, encouraged by 
their chief, mustered the courage to proceed. The small army advanced 
cautiously till towards evening, when they came to a little swamp between 
two hills, near what are now called Porter's Rocks, where they halted for 
the night. Rising at an early hour on the following morning, they reached 
the fortress a little before daybreak. The plan of attack had been so 
arranged that Mason was to approach the enemy through the main entrance 
on the northeast side with one division, while Underbill was to make an 
attack on the southwestern entrance with his division. Uncas with his 
force was to form an outer line to act as circumstances might indicate. When 
within a rod or two of the fort a dog barked, and the alarm was given. The 
troops rushed on, discharging their muskets through the palisades, and then 
forced an entrance. Mason, with his part3^ drove the Indians along the main 
avenue of their fortress towards the west till they were met by Underbill 



6 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

and his division, \vho had effected an entrance upon that side, when, finding 
themselves between two fires, they were forced to retreat to their wigwams, 
where a desperate resistance was made. For a few moments the conflict 
seemed doubtful, when Mason, realizing the gravity of the situation, hit 
upon the expedient of burning out the foe, and snatching a brand from the 
fire applied it to the dry matting of a wigwam. The fire spread with great 
rapidity, and the whole seventy wigwams were soon in flames. The English 
retired without the wigwams, and Uncas and his followers formed a circular 
line close in the rear of the English. The consternation of the Pequots was 
so great that but few attempted to escape. About six or seven were made 
prisoners by the English, eighteen were captured by the Mohegans, and 
seven only made their escape. It so happened that one hundred and fifty 
warriors from the other fortress were this night in the fort upon Pequot Hill, 
which made the victory still more complete. 

This famous encounter occurred on Friday, June 5th. The same day. at 
an early hour, the small fleet entered Pequot Harbor. As Mason's force was 
about to move in the direction of the vessels, a party of Indian warriors 
approached them from the other fort, but one or two volleys from their trusty 
weapons served to keep them at a safe distance. The few Narragansetts that 
hung upon the rear of the little column as it moved steadily up the hill were 
not slow in making their appearance when the contest was decided, evincing 
all the courage of tried veterans. They finally accompanied Captain Mason 
to the harbor, and afiforded some assistance to those who conveyed the 
wounded. The total loss on the part of the English was two killed and 
twenty wounded. 

Sassacus at this critical period was in the fortress on Fort Hill, where 
he was loudly denounced by his warriors as the procuring cause of their late 
disaster at the other fort. The Pequots at this fort were also greatly exas- 
perated at the course of Uncas and his followers, and caused all of their near 
relatives to be slain, except seven who made their escape. 

On the day after the battle, a council of the Pequot nation was held to 
decide upon their future course of action, and after a hasty deliberation they 
resolved to leave their country, but not till they had destroyed their fortress 
and wigwams and such remaining property as could not be carried away. 
The principal band, headed by Sassacus in person, fled westward and did not 
make any considerable halt till they had reached a large swamp in Saco, the 
present township of Fairfield. Thither they were pursued by Captain Mason 
and his faithful ally Uncas. Captain Stoughton also accompanied the expe- 
dition in command of a company from Massachusetts. The fugitives were 
discovered in their new quarters, and were without difficulty routed and 
utterly dispersed. Sassacus did not risk a halt at the swamp, but with a few 
of his followers fled directly to the Mohawk country for a safe retreat, but 
was there slain by the nation, and his scalp was sent to Connecticut as a 
trophy. As a result of the swamp fight and the death of their late chieftain, 
the Pequot nation became nearly extinct. Although powerless for harm, the 
few remaining fugitives were i)ursued with unrelenting malignitv by the 
English. Even the surrounding tribes were not permitted to harbor them 
with impunity, but were required by treaty and otherwise to effect, if possible, 
their utter annihilation. The Pequots were not allowed to dwell in their 
old homes, to visit the graves of their fathers, or to be called Pequots any 
more. Lastly, the conquered territory was not to be claimed by the sachems, 
but to be considered as the propert}-' of the English of Connecticut, as their 
own by right of conquest. 

The expedition against the Pequots is the most remarkable recorded in 




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^ ins. ^A^ 'tl}A^ {^*^ '^ <.^^r^^ ^'^ ^/M 



GENERAL FACTS 7 

American history, and one which for boldness of plan and brilliancy of 
execution may well claim a place among the most daring exploits of universal 
history. The Pequots outnumbered Mason's forces ten to one, and the day 
might have been lost had it not been for the faithful service of Uncas and 
his followers. 

Uncas, as lineal descendant of the royal family, laid claim to the sov- 
ereignty of the conquered territory, and while by the terms of the treaty 
the portion upon the Sound was given up, his claim to the remainder of the 
Pequot country was admitted by the English, and he was acknowledged as 
the lawful sachem of a territory embracing the northern half of New London 
and the southern half of Windham and Tolland counties. Some of the sur- 
viving Pequots had been assigned him by the terms of the treaty, and many 
former tributaries of the vanquished tribe yielded their allegiance to him, 
and added to his power, but his greatest source of strength lay in the favor 
of the English, which he had fairly won. 

His rapid rise and growing favor greatly excited the envy of surrounding 
chieftains, especially of those of the Narragansetts and their allies, the Con- 
necticut River Indians, and they were untiring in their efforts to effect his 
overthrow. At first they endeavored to cause a rupture between Uncas and 
the English, but failing in this scheme they next attempted to take his life by 
assassination. Several fruitless endeavors of this kind were made, but in 
these diabolic attempts upon his life he was more than a match for them; 
their calumnies and their murderous designs were made to recoil upon their 
own heads. Failing in their secret plotting, their enmity ripened into open 
warfare. In the summer of 1643, only six years after the rout at Mystic 
Fort, Miantonomoh, at the head of six or seven hundred warriors, suddenly 
appeared in the very heart of the Mohegan country by a succession of rapid 
marches. He moved proudly to the contest, doubtless with the assurance 
that his numerical superiority and the suddenness of his irruption would 
secure for him an easy victory over his foe and rival. But Uncas was not 
to be overcome by a surprise. He hastily collected a band of about three 
hundred warriors and met the invaders upon his own territory, on the Great 
Plain, probably in the vicinity of the present Fair Grounds in Norwich. He 
felt the necessity, however, of resorting to strategy in his present emergency, 
and hence proposed a parley, which was accepted, and the two chieftains met 
on the plain between their respective armies. Uncas then proposed that the 
fortunes of the day should be decided by themselves in a single combat, and 
the lives of their warriors spared, saying, "If you kill me, my men shall be 
yours : but if I kill you, your men shall be mine." 

Miantonomoh disdainfully replied, "My men came to fight, and they shall 
fight." Uncas on this immediately gave a preconcerted signal to his followers 
by falling flat upon the ground. At that instant a shower of arrows were 
discharged upon the enemy, and, raising the war-cry, the Mohegans rushed 
forward with Uncas at their head, dashing so unexpectedly upon the invading 
column of warriors that a widespread panic ensued, resulting in their pre- 
cipitous and headlong flight without even a show of resistance. The retreat- 
ing force was pursued in its flight to Sachem's Plain, in the direction of the 
fords of the Shetucket, at which place Miantonomoh became the prisoner of 
Uncas. About thirty of the Narragansetts were slain, and among the pris- 
oners were a brother of Miantonomoh and two sons of Canonicus. Uncas 
kindly treated his royal prisoner, and without any unnecessary delay took 
him to Hartford and surrendered him into the hands of the English. His 
case was laid before commissioners of the United Colonies at their meeting 
in Boston in September, and the question was there debated whether it was 



8 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

right and proper to put the prisoner to death. As the commissioners were 
unable to agree, the question was by them referred to an ecclesiastical council, 
which gave its verdict in favor of his execution. It was further decided that 
the sentence should be carried into effect by Uncas, but without torture. 
After furnishing a sufficient force to prevent the recapture of the prisoner, 
Miantonomoh was surrendered into the hands of Uncas, who took him to 
the place of capture, where he was stricken down by Waweequa, a brother 
of Uncas. A monument now marks the site of this tragical event. The 
Narragansetts at several different times invaded the Mohegan country, im- 
patient to avenge the death of their late chief, but Uncas and his followers 
were uninjured on account of the aid of the English, which was always 
extended. 

It is noteworthy that the first settlements in the county, at New London 
and Norwich, were made under the leadership of some of the most influential 
men of New England. John Winthrop, the younger, who received a grant 
at Fisher's Island, given first by Massachusetts in 1640, confirmed by Con- 
necticut in 1641, and by New York in 1668, received from Massachusetts in 
1644 a grant of a "plantation at or near Pequot." Here he lived from 1646 
till he was chosen governor of the Colony of Connecticut in 1657. He it was 
who secured in 1662 that famous charter from Charles II which was saved 
from Sir Edmond Andros by hiding it in "The Charter Oak." John Mason, 
of whom we shall have more to say, was one of the early leaders of the 
Norwich settlement. 

Under such stalwart leaders as these, the young communities grew and 
flourished, till by the end of the seventeenth century towns were found at 
New London, Stonington, Norwich. Lyme, Preston, Colchester, and Lebanon. 
From these towns were set off the other fourteen towns as stated above. 

The story of the Charter has been told by Mr. Daniel Howard in a 
document on Connecticut history issued by the State Board of Education: 

At the time when Connecticut was settled and when her infant settle- 
ments formed their first written constitution, the king of England paid very 
little attention to what was being done in this new State. On the other hand, 
the people of Connecticut paid very little attention to their connection with 
England. They did not even mention England or the king in the constitu- 
tion that they drew up in 1639. 

England at that time was very poorly governed. Her king was a tyrant 
who tried to rule by illegal methods. The people would not submit to such 
a rule, and in 1639 they put their king to death. No one wonders under such 
conditions wh}' Connecticut made no mention of the fact that she belonged 
to England. No wonder also that the king paid little attention to Connecticut, 
for he had troubles enough at home. From 1649 to 1660 England had no 
king. The people who were at the head of the English government had so 
many troubles on their side of the ocean, however, that they, too, paid little 
attention to Connecticut. 

In 1660 a great change in affairs took place. In that year a new king, 
Charles II, came to the English throne. With him came peace and order 
in England. The new government had time to look abroad and it was sure 
to give its attention to what was going on in America. Connecticut thought 
it was wise for her to maintain friendly relations with the new king. She 



GENERAL FACTS 9 

must have his permission to carry on her government, and she might need 
his protection to shield her from the Indians, the Dutch, and other enemies. 
Accordingly, in 1661 the Connecticut people took the necessary steps to win 
the king's favor. They declared that their settlements were English, and 
that they themselves being the king's faithful subjects owed allegiance to 
the English crown. 

The next step was to send Governor Winthrop to England with a petition 
for a charter. The king was a good-natured man, fond of honors and atten- 
tions, and at the same time desirous of adding to his wealth and revenue. 
So when Governor Winthrop presented him with the ring that the king's 
father had given to the governor's grandfather, his heart was touched with 
gratitude and affection. When the governor told him that the land which 
the settlers had bought of the Indians and fought for at the peril of their 
lives was now a fertile and populous territory capable of adding much to 
the wealth and income of his kingdom, he was favorably impressed. Lord 
Say, Lord Seal, and other friends, aided Governor Winthrop in persuading 
the king to grant the charter and in 1662 it received the royal signature. 
Governor Winthrop received two copies of the charter. One of these he 
sent to America immediately. The other copy he kept in his possession and 
brought it to Hartford himself. How the people at Hartford, Windsor and 
Wethersfield rejoiced ! New Haven at first objected to being united to the 
three river towns, for she had hoped to remain a separate colony. Soon, 
however, she accepted the situation, and all the Connecticut towns were 
happily united under one government. 

Under this liberal charter the colony grew and prospered for the next 
twenty-five years. The form of government was popular, for the people 
were required simply to make no laws contrary to those of England. The 
charter guaranteed to the colony substantially the same rights and privileges 
that the people had claimed for themselves when they made the constitution 
of 1639. It was the people's ideal of what a charter ought to be, for it granted 
all they had asked and even wished for. No wonder they regarded it as 
a priceless blessing. 

Neither is it any wonder that the people were filled with anxiety and 
distress when a new king, James II. came to the throne of England and tried 
to take from them this precious charter. The new king believed that it would 
be a good thing to unite all the New England settlements into one strong 
colony under an able English governor. In this way they would be better 
prepared to defend themselves against their Dutch, French, and Indian 
neighbors. 

The king did not stop to inquire whether this change in government 
would please the people of New England or not. In 1686 he sent Sir Edmund 
Andros to Boston as governor, with instructions to seize the charters of 
Rhode Island and Connecticut and annex those colonies to Massachusetts 
and the rest of New England. From Boston the new governor sent to 
Governor Treat at Hartford asking that the charter of Connecticut should 
be sent to him. 

Failing to obtain the charter in this way. Governor Andros determined 
to go to Hartford himself and demand it. Attended by several members of 
his council, two trumpeters, and a body-guard of red-coated soldiers, he left 
Boston. Traveling on horseback, they reached the Connecticut river at a 
point opposite Wethersfield in the afternoon of October 31, 1687. The ferry 
boat took them to the other side of the river, where a troop of Hartford 
soldiers met them and escorted them to Hartford with all the pomp and 
dignity befitting the reception of a royal governor. At Hartford, Governor 



lo NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Treat, his assistants, and the members of the General Assembly, received 
them with courtesy and respect. In the evening the General Assembly was 
in session to hear what Governor Andros had to say. He was escorted to 
the governor's seat and the Assembly listened to his message. He demanded 
that the Charter of Connecticut should be given to him and that it should 
no longer be a separate colony. 

Governor Treat made an eloquent and touching plea in reply. He 
pictured the toil, the hardship, and the sufferings of the early settlers. He 
told how they had fought with tribes of murderous savages, how they had 
turned the wilderness into a land of happy homes, how they had obtained 
their cherished charter, growing and prospering under its protection until 
relinquishing it would be like giving up life itself. 

Still Governor Andros insisted that the charter must be surrendered. 
There it lay upon the table around which they were sitting. How could the 
charter be saved? Suddenly the candles were extinguished. There were no 
matches in those days, and it took some time to relight the candles. When 
this was done the charter was missing. 

What had become of it? Governor Andros never knew, but we know 
that good friends of Connecticut carried it away and hid it. Andros had no 
right to demand it, and the Connecticut Assembly were determined that he 
should not obtain it. 

Captain Joseph Wadsworth was the man who carried it away. Believing 
that the English governor would try to find it. he tried to think of a safe place 
in which to hide it. He hid it finallv in the hollow trunk of a large oak tree 
standing near the home of Samuel Wyllys. 

Equally interesting is Mr. Howard's account of Colonial life at that time : 

For us to go back to the old colonial days and visit the people who then 
lived in Connecticut is, of course, impossible, yet we must go back at least in 
imagination if we are to understand the kind of life they lived. 

Let us suppose that we are on a journey through Connecticut a few 
years before the time when Governor Andros tried to deprive the people of 
their charter. How strange it seems that everybody travels either on horse- 
back or afoot. We see neither steam nor electric cars nor automobiles, and 
the people do not even own carriages or wagons. How poor the roads are ! 
They are little better than beaten paths through the woods and fields. Men 
are at work on their farms, harvesting their crops, and cutting down trees 
in order to clear new land to plant next year. The homes are mostly grouped 
in villages and look very much alike. 

In the center of almost every house is a great stone chimney ten or twelve 
feet square from the floor of the cellar up to the floor of the second story, 
above which it decreases in size as it approaches the roof. In the center of 
the front of the house is a door opening into a hall from which a stairway 
leads to the second story. On the right and left are doors opening from the 
hall into large rooms on each side of the chimney. In the rear of the chimney 
is another large room. One of these rooms is the kitchen, which in most 
cases is also the living room of the family. The other large rooms are used 
for parlors or guest rooms, and the smaller sleeping rooms are up stairs. 

We see no stoves, but on three sides of the chimney are huge fireplaces. 
In the kitchen fireplace is an iron crane on which hang two great kettles. 
The oven is built into one side of the fireplace. The sides of the rooms are 
plastered, but the joists and floor overhead are not covered, and nails are 
driven into the joists to serve as hooks on which to hang small articles. The 



GENERAL FACTS ii 

windows have small diamond-shaped panes of glass set in frames of lead. 
The floors have no carpets. The furniture is plain and useful rather than 
ornamental. In one room is a spinning wheel and a hand loom on which the 
farmer's wife and daughters spin the wool that has been cut from the backs 
of the sheep, and weave it into cloth from which to make garments for the 
family. 

After the evening meal, eaten from pewter and wooden dishes by the 
light of tallow candles in the great kitchen, we enjoy listening to the stories 
told by farmers and their neighbors as they sit about the great fireplace, 
some of them cracking nuts and others making brooms and various useful 
articles. We hear strange news of what has happened during the day. A 
man has been arrested for swearing and has had to stand in the pillory one 
hour and then receive a whipping. Another man has had to sit for hours in 
the stocks to punish him for drunkenness. 

Last night farmer Jones had five sheep killed by a wolf, and today he 
and his sons have been hunting for the beast that did the damage. Tomorrow 
farmer Smith is to begin building a barn and his neighbors are going to the 
"raising" to help erect the framework, for it is their custom to be friendly 
and give their services to a neighbor on such occasions. On the morrow we 
go to the "raising," and late in the afternoon, when the framework of the 
barn has all been put in place and securely pinned together, we sit down at 
the great tables and enjoy the feast prepared by Mrs. Smith and her daughters. 
All go home early, for tomorrow is Sunday, and in Connecticut the observance 
of the Sabbath begins on Saturday at sunset. Family worship is followed by 
religious instruction given to the children and to the servants. 

On Sunday morning a drum beats and everyone goes to church. The 
minister and the congregation all carry their muskets. Why? Because hostile 
Indians are liable to attack them at any minute. Sentinels and guards watch 
outside the door during the sermon, which lasts two hours. After luncheon, 
the congregation returns for another long sermon. The tithingman with his 
long rod tipped at one end with brass and at the other with a rabbit's foot, 
prevents anj^one who is weary from going to sleep. An old man becomes 
drowsy. He is gently touched upon the head with the brass end of the rod 
and awakes with a start. In another pew a lady is awakened by having her 
face brushed by the rabbit's foot. Though these good people could not help 
becoming tired and sleepy, they had a high regard for their pastor's teaching, 
for it was to him that they went for advice and counsel not only for their 
religious life but for almost every question that arose regarding what was 
right and proper in their social life and customs. 

The life of these early settlers was quiet, healthful, and happy. They 
labored industriously and contentedly on their farms and in the forests. All 
that they earned was their own to use and enjoy. They made their own 
system of government and laws, and enjoved the justice and liberty that these 
gave them. They believed in education for themselves and for their children. 
Their moral and religious character made them trust and respect one another 
and earned them the respect and esteem of people in other colonies. 

What sort of people these early settlers were may be judged by a love 
letter sent in 1674 by Rev. Edward Taylor, of Massachusetts, to Miss Eliza- 
beth Fitch, daughter of Rev. James Fitch, the first clergyman settled in 
Norwich : 

Wethersfield, Mass., 8th day of the 7th month, 1674. 

My Dove : — I send you not my heart, for that I hope is sent to Heaven 



12 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

long since, and unless it has awfully deceived me it hath not taken up its 
lodgings in any one's bosom on this side the royal city of the Great King; 
but yet the most of it that is allowed to be laved out upon any creature doth 
safely and singly fall to vour share. So much my post pigeon presents you 
with here in these lines. Look not (I entreat you) on it as one of love's hyper- 
boles. If I borrow the beams of some sparkling metaphor to illustrate my 
respects unto thyself by, for you having made my breast the cabinet of your, 
affections as I yours mine, I know not how to ofifer a fitter comparison to' 
set out my love by, than to compare it unto a golden ball of pure fire rolling 
up and down my breast, from which there flies now and then a spark like a 
glorious beam from the body of the flaming sun. But alas! striving to catch 
these sparks into a love letter unto yourself, and to gild it with them as with 
a sun beam, and, that by what time they have fallen through my pen upon 
paper, they have lost their shine and fall only like a little smoke thereon 
instead of gilding them. Wherefore, finding myself so much deceived, I am 
ready to begrudge my instruments, for though my love within my breast is 
so large that my heart is not sufficient to contain it, yet they can make it 
no more room to ride into, than to squeeze it up betwixt my black ink and 
white paper. But know that it is the coarsest part that is couchant there, 
for the finest is too fine to clothe in any linguist and huswifry, or to be 
expressed in words, and though this letter bears but the coarsest part to you, 
yet the purest is improved for you. But now, my dear love, lest my letter 
should be judged the lavish language of a lover's pen, I shall endeavor to show 
that conjugal love ought to exceed all other love. 1st, appears from that 
which it represents, viz: The respect there is betwixt Christ and his church, 
Eph. 5th, 25th. although it difl^ers from that in kind; for that is spiritual and 
this human, and in degree, that is boundless and transcendent, this limited 
and subordinate; yet it holds out that this should be cordial and with respect 
to all other transcendent. 2d. Because conjugal love is the ground of conjugal 
union, or conjugal sharing the effects of this love, is also a ground of this 
union. 3d, From those Christian duties which are incumbent on persons in 
this state as not only a serving God together, a praying together, a joining 
in the ruling and instructing their family together, which could not be carried 
on as it should be without a great degree of true love, and also a mutual 
giving each other to each other, a mutual succoring each other in all states, 
ails, grievances; and how can this be when there is not a love exceeding all 
other love to anv creature? And hereby if persons in this state have not 
love exceeding all love, it's with them for the most part as with the strings 
of an instrument not tuned up, when struck upon makes but a jarring, harsh 
sound. But when we get the wires of an instrument equally drawn up, and 
rightlv struck upon, sound together, make sweet music whose harmony doth 
enravish the ear; so when the golden strings of true affection are struck up 
into a right conjugal love, thus sweetly doth this state then harmonize to 
the comfort of each other and to the glorv of God when sanctified. But yet, 
the conjugal love most exceed all other, yet it must be kept within bounds, 
for it must be subordinate to God's glory: the which that mine may be so, it 
having got you in its heart, doth offer my heart with you in it as a more rich 
sacrifice into God through Christ, and so it subscribeth me. 

Your true love till deatli. 

Edward T.wlor. 

This for my friend and only beloved. Miss Elizabeth Fitch, 
at her father's house in Norwich. 



GENERAL FACTS 13 

No more interesting description of Colonial life at this time can be found 
than "The Journal of Madame Sarah Knight," the record of a journey from 
Boston to New York in 1704. Inasmuch as Madame Knight was a resident 
of Norwich and New London for many years, we print the journal entire: 

Monday, Octb'r. ye second, 1704. About three o'clock afternoon, I begun 
my Journey from Boston to New Haven ; being about two Hundred Mile. My 
Kinsman, Capt. Robert Luist, waited on me as farr as Dedham, where I was 
to meet ye Western post. 

I visitted the Reverd. Mr. Belcher, ye Minister of ye town, and tarried 
there till evening, in hopes ye post would come along. But he not coming, 
I resolved to go to Billingses where he used to lodg. being 12 miles further. 
But being ignorant of the way, Madm Billings, seeing no persuasions of her 
good spouses or hers could prevail with me to Lodg there that night. Very 
kindly went wyth me to ye Tavern, where I hoped to get my guide. And 
desired the Hostess to inquire of her guests whether any of them would 
go with mee. But they being tyed by the Lipps to a pewter engine, scarcely 
allowed themselves time to say what clownish — (Here half a page of the 
MS. is gone.)— Pieces of eight, I told her no, I would not be accessary to 
such extortion. 

Then John shan't go, sais shee. No, indeed, shan't hee; And held forth 
at that rate a long time, that I began to fear I was got among the Quaking 
tribe, beleeving not a Limbertong'd sister among them could out do Madm. 
Hostes. Upon this, to my no small surprise, son John arrose, and gravely 
demanded what I would give him to go with me? Give you, sais I, are you 
John? Yes, says he, for want of a Better; And behold! this John look't as 
old as my Host, and perhaps had bin a man in the last Century. Well, Mr. 
John, sais I, make your demands. 

Why. half a pss. of eight and a dram, sais John. I agreed, and gave him 
a Dram (now) in hand to bind the bargain. My hostess catechis'd John for 
going so cheap, saying his poor wife would break her heart — (Here another 
half page of the MS. is gone).— His shade on his Hors resembled a Globe 
on a Gate post. His habit, Hors and furniture, its looks and goings Incom- 
parably answered the rest. 

Thus Jogging on with an easy pace, my Guide telling mee it was 
dangero's to Ride hard in the Night, '(which his horse had the sence to avoid) 
Hee' entertained me with the Adventurs he had passed by late Rideing, and 
eminent Dangers he had escaped, so that, Rembring the Hero's in Parismus 
and the Knight of the Oracle, I did'nt know but I had mett wth a Prince 
disguis'd. When we had Ridd about an how'r, wee come into a thick swamp, 
wch. bv Reason of a great fogg, very much startled mee, it being now very 
Dark. ' But nothing dismay'd John : Hee had encountered a thousand and a 
thousand such Swamps, having a Universal Knowledge in the woods; and 
readily Answered all my inquiries wch. were not a few. 

In about an how'r, or something more, after we left the Swamp, we come 
to Billinges, where I was to Lodg. My Guide dismounted and very Com- 
plasantly help't me down and shewd the door, signing to me wth his hand 
to Go in; wch I Gladly did— But had not gone many steps into the Room, 
ere I was Interogated by a young Lady I understood afterwards was the 
Eldest daughter of the family, with these, or words to this purpose, (viz.) 
Law for mee— what in the world brings You here at this time a night?— I 
never see a woman on the Rode so DreadfuU late, in all the days of my 
versall life. Who are You? Where are You going? I'm scar'd out of my 



14 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

witts — with much now of the same Kind. I stood aghast, Prepareing to reply, 
when in comes my Guide — to him Madam turn'd, Roreing out : Lawfull heart, 
John, is it You? — how do do! Where in the world are you going with this 
woman? Who is she? John made no Ansr. but sat down in the corner, 
fumbled out his black Junk, and saluted that instead of Debb ; she then 
turned agen to mee and fell anew into her silly questions, without askmg 
me to sitt down. 

I told her she treated me very Rudely, and I did not think it my duty 
to answer her unmannerly Questions. But to get ridd of them, I told her 
I come there to have the post's company with me to-morrow on my Journey, 
&c. Miss star'd awhile, drew a chair, bid me sitt. And then run up stairs 
and putts on two or three Rings, (or else I had not seen them before,) and 
returning, sett herself just before me, showing the way to Reding, that I 
might see her Ornaments, perhaps to gain the more respect. But her 
Granam's new Rung sow, had it api)eared, would afifectcd me as much. I 
paid honest John wth money and dram according to contract, and Dismist 
him, and pray'd Miss to shew me where I must Lodg. Shee conducted me 
to a parlour in a little back Lento, wch w'as almost fill'd wth the bedstead, 
wch was so high that I was forced to climb on a chair to gitt up to ye wretched 
bed that lay on it ; on wch having Strecht my tired Limbs, and lay'd my 
head on a Sad-colourd pillow, I began to think on the transactions of ye 
past day. 

Tuesday, October ye third, about 8 in the morning, I with the Post 
proceeded forward without observing any thing remarkable ; And about two, 
afternoon. Arrived at the Post's second stage, where the western Post mett 
him and exchanged Letters. Here, having called for something to eat, ye 
woman bro't in a Twisted thing like a cable, but something whiter; and 
laying it on the bord, tugg'd for life to bring it into a capacity to spread ; wch 
having wth great pains accomplished, shee serv'd in a dish of Pork and 
Cabbage, I suppose the remains of Dinner. The sause was of a deep Purple, 
wch I tho't was boil'd in her dye Kettle; the bread was Indian, and every 
thing on the Table service Agreeable to these. L being hungry, gott a little 
down ; but my stomach was soon cloy'd and what cabbage I swallowed serv'd 
me for a Cudd the whole day after. 

Having here discharged the Ordnary for self and Guide, (as I understood 
was the custom,) About Three afternoon went on with my Third Guide, who 
Rode very hard ; and having crossed Providence Ferry, we come to a River 
wch they Generally Ride thro'. But I dare not venture ; -so the Po.st got a 
Ladd and Cannoo to carry me to tother side, and hee rode thro' and Led my 
hors. The Cannoo was very small and shallow, so that when we were in .she 
seem'd redy to take in water, which greatly terrified mee. and caused me to 
be very circunspect, sitting with my hands fast on each side, my eyes stedy, 
not daring so much as to lodg my tongue a hair's breadth more on one side 
of my mouth then totjier, nor so much as think on Lott"s wife, for a wry 
thought would have overestt our wherey : But was soon put out of this pain, 
by feeling the Cannoo on shore, wch I as soon almost saluted with my feet : 
and Rewarding my sculler, again mounted and made the best of our way 
forwards. The Rode here was very even and ye dav pleasant, it being now 
near Sunsett. But the Post told rnee we had neer 14 miles to Ride to the 
next Stage, (where we were to Lodg.) I askt him of the rest of the Rode, 
forseeing wee must travail in the night. Hee told mee there was a bad River 
we were to Ride thro', wch was so very firce a hors could sometimes hardly 
stem it : But it was but narrow, and wee should soon be over. I cannot 
expre.ss The concern of mind this relation sett me in: no thought but those 



GENERAL FACTS 15 

of the dans^'ro;; River could entertain my Imagination, and they were as 
formidable as varios. still Tormenting me with blackest Ideas of my Ap- 
proaching fate— Sometimes seing my self drowning, otherwhiles drowned, 
and at the best like a holy Sister Just come out of a Spiritual Bath n- drip- 
ping Garments. 

Now was the Glorious Luminary, wth his swift Coursers arrived at his 
Stage, leaving poor me wth the rest of this part of the lower world in dark- 
ness, with which wee were soon Surrounded. The only Glimmering we now 
had was from the spangled Skies, Whose Imperfect Reflections rendered 
every Object formidable. Each lifeless Trunk, with its shatter'd Limbs, 
appear'd an Armed Enymie ; and every little stump like a Ravenous de- 
vourer. Nor could I so much as discern my Guide, when at any distance, 
which added to the terror. 

Thus, absolutely lost in Thought, and dying with the very thoughts of 
drowning, I come up wth the post, who I did not see till even with his Hors : 
he told mee he stopt for mee ; and wee Rode on Very deliberately a few 
paces, when we entered a Thickett of Trees and Shrubbs. and I perceived by 
the Hors's going, we were on the descent of a Hill, wch, as wee come neerer 
the bottom," 'twas totaly dark wth the Trees that surrounded it. But I knew 
by the Going of the Hors wee had entred the water, wch my Guide told mee 
was the hazardos River he had told me off; and hee. Riding up close to my 
Side, Bid me not fear — we should be over Imediatly. I now ralyed all the 
Courage I was mistriss of. Knowing that I must either Venture my fate of 
drowning, or be left like ye Children in the wood. So, as the Post bid me, 
I gave Reins to my Nagg; and sitting as Stedy as Just before in the Cannoo, 
in a few minutes got safe to the other side, which hee told mee was the 
Narragansett country. 

Here We found great difficulty in Travailing, the way bemg very narrow, 
and on each side the Trees and bushes gave us very unpleasant welcomes 
with their Branches and bow's, wch wee could not avoid, it being so exceed- 
ing dark. My Guide, as before so now, putt on harder than I, wth my weary 
bones, could 'follow ; so left mee and the way behind him. Now Returned 
my distressed apprehensions of the place where I was : the dolesome woods, 
mv Company next to none. Going I knew not whither, and encompassed wth 
Terrifying darkness ; The least of which was enough to startle a more Mas- 
culine' courage. Added to which the Reflections, as in the afternoon of ye 
day that my Call was very Questionable, wch till then I had not so Prudently 
as'l ought considered. Now,, coming to ye foot of a hill, I found great diffi- 
culty in ascending; But being got to the Top, was there amply recompenced 
with the friendly Appearance of the Kind Conductress of the night. Just then 
Advancing above the Horisontall Line. The Raptures wch the Sight of that 
fair Planett produced in mee, caus'd mee, for the Moment to forgett my 
present wearvness and past toils, and Inspir'd me for most of the remaining 
way with very diverting tho'ts, some of which, with the other Occurances of 
the day, I reserved to note down when I should come to my Stage. My 
tho'ts on the sight of the moon were to this purpose : 

Fair QTithia. all the Homage that I may 

Unto a Creature, unto thee I pay; 

In Lonesome woods to meet so kind a guide. 

To Mee's more worth than all the world beside. 

Some Tov I felt just now. when =afe got o're 

Yon Surlv River to this Rugged =hore. 

Deeming Rough welcomes from these clownish Trees, 

Better than Lodgings wth Nereidees. 

Yet swelling fears surprise ; all dark appears— 



i6 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Nothing but Light can disipate those fears. 
My fainting vitals can't lend strength to say, 
But softly whisper, O I wish 'twere day. 
The murmur hardly warm'd the Ambient air, 
E're thy Bright Aspect rescues from dispair: 
Makes the old Hagg her sable mantle loose. 
And a Bright Joy do's through my Soul diffuse. 
The Boistero's Trees now Lend a Passage Free, 
And pleasant prospects thou giv'st light to see. 

From hence wee kept on, with more ease yn before ; the way being 
smooth and even, the night warm and serene, and the Tall and thick Trees 
at a distance, especially wn the moon glar'd light through the branches, fill'd 
my Imagination wth the pleasant delusion of a Sumteous citty, fill'd wth 
famous Buildings and churches, wth their spiring steeples, Balconies, Gal- 
leries, and I know not what: Grandeurs wch I had heard of, and wch the 
stories of foreign countries had given me the Idea of. 

Here stood a Lofty church — there is a steeple. 
And there the Grand Parade — O see the people ! 
That Famouse Castle there, were I but nigh. 
To see the mote and Bridg and walls so high— 
They'r very fine ! sais my deluded eye. 

Being thus agreeably entertain'd without a thou't of any thing but 
thoughts themselves, I on a suden was Rous'd from these pleasing Imagina- 
tions, by the Post's sounding his horn, which assured mee he was arrived at 
the Stage, where we were to Lodg: and that musick was then most musickall 
and agreeable to mee. 

Being come to mr. Havens', I was very civilly Received, and courteously 
entertained, in a clean comfortable House; and the Good woman was very 
active in helping ofif my Riding clothes, and then ask't what I would eat. I 
told her I had some Chocolett, if shee would prepare it; which with the help 
of some Milk, and a little clean brass Kettle, she soon effected to my satis- 
faction. I then betook me to my Apartment, wch was a little Room parted 
from the Kitchen by a single bord partition ; where, after I had noted the 
Occurances of the past day, I went to bed, which, tho' pretty hard, Yet neet 
and handsome. But I could get no sleep, because of the Clamor of some of 
the Town tope-ers in next Room, Who were entred into a strong debate 
concernign ye Signifycation of the name of their Country, (viz.) Narra- 
ganset. One said it was named so by ye Indians, because there grew a 
Brier there, of a prodigious Highth and bigness, the like hardly ever known, 
called by the Indians Narragansett ; And quotes an Indian of so Barberous 
a name for his Author, that I could not write it. His Antagonist Replycd 
no — It was from a Spring it had its name, wch hee well knew where it was, 
which was extreem cold in summer, and as Hott as could be imagined in the 
winter, which was much resorted too by the natives, and by them called 
Narragansett, (Hot and Cold,) and that was the originall of their places name 
— with a thousand Impertinances not worth notice, wch He utter'd with such 
a Roreing voice and Thundering blows with the fist of wickedness on the 
Tabic, that it pierced my very head. I fretted, and wish't 'um tongue 
tyed ; but wth as little succes as a friend of mine once, who was (as she said) 
kept a whole night awake, on a Jorny, by a country Left, and a Sergent. 
Insigne and a Deacon, contriving how to bring a triangle into a Square. They 
kept calling for tother Gill, wch while they were swallowing, was some Inter- 
mission ; But presently, like Oyle to fire, eiicreased the flame. It set my Candle 



GENERAL FACTS 17 

on a Chest by the bed side, and setting up, fell to my old way of composing 
my Resentments, in the following manner: 

I ask thy Aid, O Potent Rum! 

To Charm these wrangling Topers Dum. 

Thou hast their Giddy Brains possest — 

The man confounded wth the iBeast — 

And I, poor I, can get no rest. 

Intoxicate them with thy fumes: 

O still their Tongues till morning comes! 

And I know not but my wishes took effect ; for the dispute soon ended wth 
'tother Dram; and so Good night! 

Wednesday, Octob'r 4th. About four in the morning, we set out for 
Kingston (for so was the Town called) with a french Docter in our company. 
Hee and ye Post put on very furiously, so that I could not keep up with 
them, only as now and then they'd stop till they see me. This Rode was 
poorly furnished wth accommodations for Travellers, so that we were forced 
to ride 22 miles by the post's account, but neerer thirty by mine, before wee 
could bait so much as our Horses, wch I exceedingly complained of. But the 
post encourag'd mee, by saying wee should be well accommodated anon at 
mr. Devills, a few miles further. But I questioned whether we ought to go 
to the Devil to be helpt out of affliction. However, like the rest of Deluded 
souls that post to ye Infernal denn. Wee made all posible speed to this Devil's 
Habitation; where alliting, in full assurance of good accommodation, wee 
were going in. But meeting his two daughters, as I suposed twins, they so 
ncerly resembled each other, both in features and habit, and look't as old as 
the Divel himselfe, and quite as Ugly, We desired entertainm't, but could 
hardly get a word out of 'um, till with our Importunity, telling them our 
necesity, &c. they call'd the old Sophister, who was as sparing of his words 
as his daughters had bin, and no. or none, was the reply's hee made us to our 
demands. Hee differed only in this from the old fellow in to'ther Country: 
hee let us depart. However, I thought it proper to warn poor Travailers to 
endeavour to Avoid falling into circumstances like ours, wch at our next Stage 
I sat down and did as followeth: 

May all that dread the cruel feind of night 
Keep on, and not at this curs't Mansion light. 
'Tiss Hell: 'tis Hell! and Devills here do dwell: 
Here dwells the Devill— surely this's Hell. 
Nothing but Wants: a drop to cool yo'r Tongue 
Cant be procur'd these cruel Feinds among. 
Plenty of horrid Grins and looks sevear. 
Hunger and thirst. But pitty's hanish'd here — 
The Right hand keep, if Hell on Earth you fear! 

Thus leaving this habitation of cruelty, we went forward ; and arriving at an 
Ordinary about two mile further, found tollerable accommodation. But our 
Hostes, being a pretty full mouth'd old creature, entertain'd our fellow trav- 
ailer, ye french Docter, wth Inumirable complaints of her bodily infirmities; 
and whisperd to him so lou'd, that all ye House had as full a hearing as hee; 
which was very divirting to he company, (of which there was a great many,) 
as one might see by their sneering. But poor weary I slipt out to enter my 
mind in my Jornal, and left my Great Landly with her Talkative Guests to 
themselves. 

From hence we proceeded (about ten forenoon) through the Narragan- 
sett country, pretty Leisurely ; and about one afternoon come to Paukataug 
River, wch was about two hundred paces over, and now very high, and no 
N.I..— 1-2 



i8 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

waj' over to to'ther side but this. I darid not venture to Ride thro, my courage 
at best in such cases but small, And now at the Lowest Ebb, by reason of 
my weary, very weary, hungry, and uneasy Circumstances. So takeing leave 
of my company, tho' wth no little Reluctance, that I could not proceed wth 
them on my Jorny, Stop at a little cottage Just by the River, to wait the 
Waters falling, wch the old man that lived there said would be in a little 
time, and he would conduct me safe over. This little Hutt was one of the 
wretchedest I ever saw a habitation for human creatures. It was supported 
with shores enclosed with Clapbords, laid on Lengthways, and so much 
asunded, that the Lig:ht come throu' every where; the doore tyed on wth a 
cord in ye place of hinges ; The floor the bear earth ; no windows but such 
as the thin covering afforded, nor any furniture but a Bedd wth a glass Bottle 
hanging at ye head on't ; an earthan cupp, a small pewter Bason, A Bord wth 
sticks to stand on, instead of a table, and a block or two in ye corner instead 
of chairs. The family were the old man, his wife and two Children ; all and 
e\ery i^art being the picture of poverty. Notwithstanding both the Hutt and 
its Inhabance were very clean and tydee : to the crossing the Old Proverb, 
that bare walls make giddy hows-wifes. I Blest myselfe that I was not one 
of this misserable crew ; and the Impressions their wretchedness formed in 
me cauesd mee on ye very Spott to say : 

Tho' III at ease, A stranger and alone. 
All my fatigu's shall not extort a grone. 
These Indigents have hunger wth their ease ; 
Their best is wors behalfe then my disease. 
Their Misirable hutt wch Heat and Cold 
Alternately without Repulse do hold; 
Their Lodgings thyn and hard, their Indian fare. 
The mean Apparel which the wretches wear. 
And their ten thousand ills wch can't be told, 
Makes nature cr'e 'tis midle age look old. 
When I reflect, my late fatigues do seem 
Only a notion or forgotten Dreem. 

I had scarce done thinking, when an Indian-like Animal come to the door, 
on a creature very much like himselfe, in mien and features, as well as Ragged 
cloathing; and having 'litt, makes an Awkerd Scratch wth his Indian shoo, 
and a Nodd, sitts on ye block, fumbles out his black Junk, dipps it in ye 
Ashes, and presents it piping hott to his muscheeto's, and fell to sucking 
like a calf, without speaking, for near a quarter of an hower. At length the 
old man said how do's Sarah do? who I understood was the wretches wife, 
and Daughter to ye old man: he Replyed, — as well as can be expected, &c. 
So I remembred the old say, and suposed I knew Sarah's case. Butt hee 
being, as I understood, going over the River, as ugly as hee was, I was glad 
to ask him to show me ye way to Saxtons, at Stoningtown ; wch he promising, 
I ventur'd over wth the old mans assistance ; who having rewarded to content, 
with my Tattertailed guide, I Ridd on very slowly thro' Stoningtown, where 
the Rode was very stony and uneven. I asked the fellow, as we went, divers 
questions of the place and way, &c. I being arrived at my country Saxtons, 
at Stonington, was very well accommodated both as to victuals and Lodging, 
the only Good of both I had found since my setting out. Here I heard there 
was an old man and his Daughter to come that way, bound to N. London ; 
and being now destitute of a Guide, gladly waited for them, being in so good 
a harbour, and accordingly, Thirsday, Octobr ye 5th, about 3 in the after- 
noon, I sat forward with neighbor Polly and Jemima, a Girl about 18 Years 
old, who hee said he had been to fetch out of the Narragansetts. and said 
they had Rode thirty miles that day, on a sory lean jade, wth only a Bagg 



GENERAL FACTS 19 

under her for a pillion, which the poor Girl often complain'd was very uneasy. 

Wee made Good speed along, wch made poor Jemima make many a 
sow'r face, the mare being a very hard trotter ; and after many a hearty and 
bitter Oh, she at length Low'd out: Lawful Heart father! this bare mare 
hurts mee Dingeely, I'me direfull sore I vow; with many words to that pur- 
pose ; poor Child sais Gafifer — she us't to serve your mother so. I don't care 
how mother us't to do, quoth Jemima, in a pasionate tone. At which the old 
man Laught, and kik't his Jade o' the side, which made her Jolt ten times 
harder. 

About seven that Evening, we come to New London Ferry : here, by 
reason of a very high wind, we mett with great difficulty in getting over — 
the Boat tos't exceedingly, and our Horses capper'd at a very surprizing 
Rate, and set us all in a fright ; especially poor Jemima, who desired her 
father to say 'so jack' to the Jade, to make her stand. But the careless parent, 
taking no notice of her repeated desires. She Rored out in a Passionate 
manner: Pray suth father. Are you deaf? Say 'so Jack' to the Jade, I tell 
you. The Dutiful Parent obey's ; saying 'so Jack,' 'so Jack,' as gravely as if 
hee'd bin to saying Catechise after Young Miss, who with her fright look't 
of all coulers in ye Rain Bow. 

Being safely arrived at the house of Mrs. Prentices in N. London, I 
treated neighbour Polly and daughter for their divirting company, and bid 
them farewell ; and between nine and ten at night waited on the Revd Mr. 
Gurdon Saltonstall, minister of the town, who kindly Invited me to Stay 
that night at his house, where I was very handsomely and plentifully treated 
and Lodg'd ; and made good the Great Character I had before heard concern- 
ing him ; viz. that hee was the most afifable, courteous, Genero's and best 
of men. 

Friday, October 6th. I got up very early, in Order to hire somebody to 
go with mee to New Haven, being in Great perplexity at the thoughts of 
proceeding alone ; which my most hospitable entertainer observing, himself 
went, and soon return'd wth a young Gentleman of the town, who he could 
confide in to Go with mee ; and about eight this morning, wth Mr. Joshua 
Wheeler my new Guide, takeing leave of this worthy Gentleman, Wee ad- 
vanced on towards Seabrook. The Rodes all along this way are very bad. 
Incumbered wth Rocks and mountainous passages, wch were very disagree- 
able to my tired carcass ; but we went on with a moderate pace wch made 
ye Journy more pleasent. But after about eight miles Rideing, in going over 
a Bridge under wch the River Run very swift, my hors stumbled, and very 
narrowly 'scaped falling over into the water ; wch extreemly frightened mee. 
But through God's Goodness I met with no harm, and mounting agen, in 
about half a miles Rideing, come to an ordinary, were well entertained by a 
woman of about seventy and vantage, but of as Sound Intellectuals as one of 
seventeen. Shee entertain'd Mr. Wheeler wth some passages of a Wedding 
awhile ago at a place hard by, the Brides-Groom being about her Age or 
something above. Saying his Children was dreadfully against their fathers 
marrying, wch shee condemned them extreemly for. 

From hence wee went pretty briskly forward, and arriv'd at Saybrook 
ferry about two of the Clock afternoon ; and crossing it, wee call'd at an Inn 
to Bait, (foreseeing we should not have such another Opportunity till we 
come to Killingsworth.) Landlady comes in, with her hair about her ears, 
and hands at full pav scratching. Shee told us shee had some mutton wch 
shee would broil, wch I was glad to hear; But I supose forgot to wash her 
scratchers; in a little time shee brot it in; but it being pickeld, and my Guide 
said it smelt strong of head sause, we left it, and pd sixpence a piece for our 



20 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Dinners, wch was only smell. So wee putt forward with al speed, and about 
seven at night come to Killingsworth, and were tollerably well with Travillers 
fare, and Lodgd there that night. 

Saturday, Oct. 7th, we sett out early in the Morning, and being something 
unaquainted wth the way, having ask't it of some wee mett, they told us wee 
must Ride a mile or two and turne down a Lane on the Right hand ; and by 
their Direction wee Rode on but not Yet comeing to ye turning, we mett a 
Young fellow and ask't him how farr it was to the Lane which turn'd down 
towards Guilford. Hee said wee must Ride a little further, and turn down 
by the Corner of uncle Sams Lott. My Guide vented his Spleen at the 
Lubber; and we soon after came into the Rhode, and keeping still on, without 
any thing further Remarkabell, about two a clock afternoon we arrived at 
New Haven, where I was received with all Possible Respects and civility. 
Here I discharged Mr. Wheeler with a reward to his satisfaction, and took 
some time to rest after so long and toilsome a Journey; And Inform'd myselfe 
of the manners and customs of the place, and at the same time employed 
myselfe in the affair I went there upon. 

They are Govern'd by the same Laws as wee in Boston, (or little differ- 
ing,) thr'out this whole Colony of Connecticot, And much the same way of 
Church Government, and many of them good. Sociable people, and I hope 
Religious too: but a little too much Independant in their principalis, and, as 
I have been told, were formerly in their Zeal very Riggid in their Admin- 
istrations towards such as their Lawes made Offenders, even to a harmless 
Kiss or Innocent merriment among Young people. Whipping being frequent 
and counted an easy Punishment, about wch as other Crimes, the Judges were 
absolute in their Sentances. They told mee a pleasant story about a pair of 
Justices in thoes parts, wch I may not omit the relation of. 

A negro Slave belonging to a man in ye Town, stole a hogs head from 
his master, and gave or sold it to an Indian, native of the place. The Indian 
sold it in the neighbourhood, and so the theft was found out. Thereupon the 
Heathen was Seized, and carried to the Justices House to be Eramined. But 
his worship (it seems) was gone into the field, with a Brother in office, to 
gather in his Pompions. Whither the malefactor is hurried, And Complaint 
made, and satisfaction in the name of Justice demanded. Their Worships 
can't proceed in form without a Bench: whereupon they Order one to be 
Imediately erected, which, for want of fitter materials, they made with 
pompions — which being finished, down setts their Worships, and the Male- 
factor call'd, and by the Senior Justice Interrogated after the following man- 
ner. You Indian why did You steal from this man? You sho'dn't do so — it's 
a Grandy wicked thing to steal. Hol't Hol't, cryes Justice Junr, Brother, 
You speak negro to him. I'le ask him. You sirrah, why did You steal this 
man's Hoggshead? Hoggshead? (replys the Indian,) me no stomany. No? 
says his Worship; and pulling off his hatt. Patted his own head with his 
hand, sais, Tatapa — You, Tatapa — you; all one this. Hoggshead all one this. 
Hah ! says Netop, now me stomanv that. Whereupon the Company fell into 
a great fitt of Laughter, even to Roreing. Silence is co-manded, but to no 
effect: for they continued perfectly Shouting. Nay, sais his worship, in an 
angry tone, if it be so, take mee off the Bench. 

Their Diversions in this part of the Country are on Lecture days and 
Training days mostly; on the former there is Riding from town to town. 
And on training dayes The Youth divert themselves by Shooting at the 
Target, as they call it, (but it very much resembles a pillory,) where bee 
that hitts neerest the white has some yards of Red Ribbin presented him, 
wch being tied to his hattband, the two ends streaming down his back, he 



GENERAL FACTS 21 

is Led away in Triumph, wth great applause, as the winners of the Olympiack 
Games. They generally marry very young: the males oftener as I am told 
under twentie than above; they generally make public wcdings, and have a 
way something singular (as they say) in some of them, viz. Just before Joyn^ 
ing hands the Bridegroom quitts the place, who is soon followed by the 
Bridesmen, and as it were, dragg'd back to duty — being the reverse to ye 
former practice among us, to steal ms Pride. 

There are great plenty of Oysters all along by the sea side, as farr as I 
Rode in the Collony, and those very good. And they Generally lived very 
well and comfortably in their famelies. But too Indulgent (especially ye 
farmers) to their slaves : sufering too great familiarity from them, permitting 
ym to sit at Table and eat with them, (as they say to save time,) and into 
the dish goes the black hoof as freely as the white hand. They told me that 
there was a farmer lived nere the Town where I lodgd who had some differ- 
ence wth his slave, concerning something the master had promised him and 
did not punctualy perform ; wch caused some hard words between them ; 
But at length they put the matter to Arbitration and Bound themselves to 
stand to the award of such as they named — wch done, the Arbitrators Hav- 
ing heard the Allegations of both parties. Order the master to pay 40s to 
black face, and acknowledge his fault. And so the matter ended: the poor 
master very honestly standing to the award. 

There are every where in the Towns as I passed, a Number of Indians 
the Natives of the Country, and are the most salvage of all the salvages of 
that kind that I had ever Seen : little or no care taken (as I heard upon en- 
quir}-) to make them otherwise. They have in some places Landes of their 
owne, and Govern'd by Law's of their own making; — they marry many wives 
and at pleasure put them away, and on the ye least dislike or fickle humour, 
on either side, saying "stand away" to one another is a sufficient Divorce. 
And indeed those uncomely Stand aways are too much in Vougue among the 
English in this (Indulgent Colony) as their Records plentifully prove, and 
that on very trivial matters, of which some have been told me, but are not 
proper to be Related by a Female pen, tho some of that foolish sex have had 
too large a share in the story. 

If the natives committ any crime on their own precincts among them- 
selves, ye English takes no Cognezens of. But if on the English ground, 
they are punishable by our Laws. They mourn for their Dead by blacking 
their faces, and cutting their hair, after an Awkcrd and frightful! manner; 
But can't bear You should mention the names of their dead Relations to 
them: they trade most for Rum, for wch thcyd hazzard their very lives; and 
the English fit them Generally as well, b)^ seasoning it plentifully with water. 

They give the title of merchant to every trader; who Rate their Goods 
according to the time and spetia they pay in : viz. Pay, mony. Pay as mony, 
and trusting. Pay is G'-ain, Pork, Beef, &c. at the prices sett by the General 
Gourt that Year; mrny is pieces of Eight, Ryalls, or Boston or Bay shillings 
(as they call them,) or Good hard money, as sometimes silver coin is termed 
by them ; also Wampom, vizt. Indian beads wch serves for change. Pay as 
mony is provisions, as aforesd one Third cheaper then as the Assembly or 
Genel Court sets it; and Trust as they and the mercht agree for time 

Now, when the buyer comes to ask for a comodity, sometimes before the 
merchant answers that he has it, he sais, is Your pay redy? Perhaps the 
Chap Reply's Yes: what do You pay in? says the merchant. The buyer 
having answered, then the price is set ; as suppose he wants a sixpenny knife, 
in pay it is I2d — in pay as money eight pence, and hard money its own price. 



22 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

viz. 6d. It seems a very Intricate way of trade and what Lex Mercatoria 
had not thought of. 

Being at a merchants house, in comes a tall country fellow with his 
alfogeos full of Tobacco ; for they seldom Loose their Cudd, but keep Chewing 
and Spitting as long as they'r eyes are open, — he advanc't to the midle of the 
Room, makes an Awkward Nodd, and spitting a Large deal of Aromatick 
Tincture, he gave a scrape with his shovel like shoo, leaving a small shovel 
full of dirt on the floor, made a full stop, Hugging his own pretty Body with 
his hands under his arms. Stood staring rown'd him, like a Catt let out of a 
Baskett. At last, like the creature Balaam Rode on, he opened his mouth 
and said: have You any Ribinen for Hatbands to sell I pray? The Questions 
and Answers about the pay being past, the Ribin is bro't and opened. Bump- 
kin .Simpers, cryes "its confounded Gay I vow" ; and beckning to the door, 
in comes Jone Tawdry dropping about 50 curtsees, and stands by him : hee 
shows her the Ribin. "Law, You," sais shee, "its right Gent, do You, take 
it, tis dreadfull pretty." Then she enquires, "have You any hood silk I pray?" 
wch being brought and bought, "Have You any thred silk to sew it wth" 
says shee, wch being accomodated wth they Departed. They Generaly stand 
after they come in a great while speachless. and sometimes dont say a word 
till they are askt what they want, which I impute to the Awe they stand 
in of the merchants, who they are constantly almost Indebted too ; and must 
take what they bring without Liberty to choose for themselves ; but they 
serve them as well, making the merchants stay long enough for their pay. 

We may Observe here the great necessity and bennifitt both of Education 
and Conversation ; for these people have as Large a portion of mother witt, 
and sometimes a Larger, than those who have bin brought up in Cities ; But 
for want of emprovements. Render themselves almost Ridicules, as above. 
I should be glad if they would leave such follies, and am sure all that Love 
Clean Houses (at least) would be glad on't too. They are generaly very 
plain in their dress, throuout all ye Colony, as I saw, and follow one another 
in their modes ; that You may know where they belong, especially the women, 
meet them where you will. 

Their Cheif Red Letter day is St. Election, wch is annually Observed 
according to Charter, to choose their Govenr: a blessing they can never be 
thankfull enough for, as they will find, if ever it be their hard fortune to 
loose it. The present Governor in Connecticott is the Honble John Win- 
throp Esq. A Gentleman of an Ancient and Honourable Family, whose Father 
was Govenor here sometime before, and his Grand father had bin Govr of 
the Massachusetts. This gentleman is a very curteous and afable person, 
much Given to Hospitality, and has b^- his Good services Gain'd the affections 
of the people as much as any who had bin before him in that post. 

Deer. 6th. Being by this time well Recruited and rested after my Journy, 
my business lying unfinished by some concerns at New York depending 
thereupon, my Kinsman. Mr. Thomas Trowbridge of New Haven, must needs 
take a Journy there before it could be accomplished, I resolved to go there 
in company wth him, and a man of the town wch I engaged to wait on me 
there. Accordingly, Dec. 6th we set out from New Haven, and about 11 
same morning came to Stratford ferry; wch crossing, about two miles on 
the other side Baited our horses and would have eat a morsell ourselves. But 
the Pumpkin and Indian mixt Bred had such an Aspect, and the Bare-legg'd 
Punch so awkerd or rather Awfull a sound, that we left both, and proceeded 
forward, and about seven at night come to Fairfield, where we met with good 
entertainment and Lodg'd ; and early next morning set forward to Norowalk, 
from its halfe Indian name North-walk, when about 12 at noon we arrived, 



GENERAL FACTS 23 

and Had a Dinner of Fryed Venison, very savoury. Landlady wanting some 
pepper in the seasoning, bid the Girl hand her the spice in the little Gay 
cupp on ye shelfe. From hence we Hasted towards Rye, walking and Lead- 
ing our Horses neer a mile together, up a prodigies high Hill ; and so Riding 
till about nine at night, and there arived and took up our Lodgings at an 
ordinary, wch a I'rench family kept. Here being very hungry, I desired a 
fricasee, wch the Frenchman undertakeing, managed so contrary to my notion 
of Cookery, that I hastened to Bed superless; And being shewd the way up a 
pair of stairs wch had such a narrow passage that I had almost stopt by the 
Bulk of my Body ; But arriving at my apartment found it to be a little Lento 
Chamber furnisht amongst other Rubbish with a High Bedd and a Low one, 
a Long Table, a Bench and a Bottomless chair, — Little Miss went to scratch 
up my Kennell wch Russelled as if shee'd bin in the Barn amongst the Husks, 
and supose such was the contents of the tickin- — nevertheless being exceeding 
weary, down I laid my poor Carkes (never more tired) and found my Cover- 
ing as scanty as my Bed was hard. Anon I heard another Russelling noise 
in Ye Room — called to know the matter — Little miss said shee was making 
a bed for the men ; who, when they were in Bed, complained their leggs lay 
out of it by reason of its shortness — my poor bones complained bitterly not 
Deing used to such Lodgings, and so did the man who was with us ; and poor 
I made but one Grone, which was from the time I went to bed to the time I 
Riss. which was about three in the morning, Setting up by the Fire till Light, 
and having discharged our ordinary wch was as dear as if we had had far 
Better fare — wee took our leave of Monsier and about seven in the morn 
come to New Rochell a french town, where we had a good Breakfast. And 
in the strength of that about and how'r before sunsett got to York. Here 
I applyd myeslf to Mr. Burroughs, a merchant to whom I was recommended 
by my Kinsman Capt. Prout, and received great Civilities from him and his 
spouse, who were now both Deaf but very agreeable in their Conversation, 
Diverting me with pleasant stories of their knowledge in Brittan from whence 
they both come, one of which was above the rest very pleasant to me viz. my 
Lord Darcy had a very extravagant Brother who had mortgaged what Estate 
hee could not sell, and in good time dyed leaving only one son. Him his 
Lordship (having none of his own) took and made him Heir of his whole 
Estate, which he was to receive at the death of his Aunt. He and his Aunt 
in her widowhood held a right understanding and lived as become such Rela- 
tions, shee being a discreet Gentlewoman and he an Ingenios Young man. 
One day Hee fell into some Companv though far his inferiors, very freely 
told him of the 111 circumstances his fathers Estate lay under, and the many 
Debts he left unpaid to the wrong of poor people with whom he had dealt. 
The Young gentleman was put out of countenance — no way hee could think 
of to Redress himeslf — his whole dependance being on the Lady his Aunt, 
and how to speak to her he knew not — Hee went home, sat down to dinner 
and as usual sometimes with her when the Chaplain was absent, she desired 
him to say Grace, wch he did after this manner : 

Pray God in Mercy take my Lady Darcy 

Unto his Heavenly Throne; 
That Little John may live like a man, 
And pay every man his own. 

The prudent Lady took no present notice. But finishd dinner, after wch 
having sat and talk't awhile (as Customary) He Riss, took his Hatt and 
Going out she desired him to give her leave to speak to him in her Clossett, 
Where being come she desired to know why hee prayed for her Death in 



24 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

the manner aforesaid, and what part of her deportment towards him merritted 
such desires. Ilee Reply'd, none at all, But he was under such disadvan- 
tages that nothing but that could do him service, and told her how he had 
been affronted as above, and what Impressions it had made upon him. The 
Lady made him a gentle reprimand that he had not informed her after 
another manner, Bid him see what his father owed and he should have money 
to pay it to a penny, And always to lett her know his wants and he should 
have a redy supply. The Young Gentleman charm'd with his Aunts Discrete 
management, Beggd her pardon and accepted her kind offer and retrieved his 
fathers Estate, <.K:c. and said Hee hoped his Aunt would never dye. for shee 
had done better by him than hee could have done for himself. — Mr. Burroughs 
went with me to Vendue where I bought about lOO Rheem of paper wch was 
retaken in a fly-boat from Holland and sold very Reasonably here — some ten, 
some Eight shillings per Rheem by the Lott wch was ten Rheem in a Lott. 
And at the Vendue I made a great many acquaintances amongst the good 
women of the town, who curteosly invited me to their houses and generously 
entertained me. 

The Cittie of New York is a pleasant, well compacted place, situated on 
a Commodius River wch is a fine harbour for shipping. The Buildings Brick 
Generaly, very stately and high, though not altogether like ours in Boston. 
The Bricks in some of the Houess are of divers Coullers and laid in Checkers, 
being glazed look very agreeable. The inside of them are neat to admiration, 
the wooden work, for only the walls are plasterd, and the Sumers and Gist 
are plained and kept very white scovvr'd as so is all the partitions if made 
of Bords. The fire places have no Jambs (as ours have) But the Backs run 
flush with the walls, and the Hearth is of Tyles and is as farr out into the 
Room at the Ends as before the fire, w'ch is Generally Five foot in the Low'r 
rooms, and the peice over where the mantle tree should be is made as ours 
with Joyncrs work, and as I supose is fasten'd to iron rodds inside. The 
House where the Vendue was, had Chimney Corners like ours, and they and 
the hf-arths were laid wth the finest tile that I ever see, and the stair cases 
laid all with white tile which is ever clean, and so are the walls of the 
Kitchen wch had a Brick floor. They were making Great preparations to 
Receive their Govenor, Lord Cornbury from the Jerseys, and for that End 
raised the militia to Gard him on shore to the fort. 

They are Generaly of the Church of England and have a New England 
Gentleman for their minister, and a very fine church set out with all Cus- 
tomary requsites. There are also a Dutch and Divers Conventicles as they 
call them, viz. Baptist, Quakers, &c. They are not strict in keeping the 
Sabbath as in Boston and other places where I had bin. But seem to deal 
with great exactness as farr as I see or Dcall with. They are sociable to 
one another and Curteos and Civill to strangers and fare well in their houses. 
The English go very fasheonable in their dress. But the Dutch, especially 
the middling sort, differ from our women, in their habitt go loose, were 
French muches wch are like a Capp and a head band in one, leaving their 
ears bare, which are sett out with Jewells of a large size and many in 
number. And their fingers hoop't with Rings, some with large stones in 
them of many Coullers as were their pendants in their ears, which You 
should see very old women wear as well as Young. 

They have Vendues very frequently and make their Earnings verv well 
by them for they treat with good Liquor Liberally, and the Customers Drink 
as Liberally and Generally pay for't as well, by paying for that which they 
Bid up Briskly for. after the sack has gone plentifullv about, tho' sometimes 
good penny worths are got there. Their Diversions in the Winter is 



GENERAL FACTS 25 

Riding Sleys about three or four Miles out of town, where they have Houses 
of entertainment at a place called the Bowery, and some go to friends Houses 
who handsomely treat them. Air. Burroughs cary'd his spouse and Daughter 
and myeslf out to one Madame Dowes, a Gentlewoman that lived at a farm 
House, who gave us a handsome Entertainment of five or six Dishes and 
choice Beer and metheglin. Cyder, &c. all which she said was the prciduce 
of her farm. I believe we mett 50 or 60 slays that day — they fly with great 
swiftness and some are so furious that they'le turn out of the path for none 
except a Loaden Cart. Nor do they spare for any diversion the place affords, 
and sociable to a degree, they'r Tables being as free to their Naybours as to 
themselves. 

Having here transacted the affair I went upon and some other that fell 
in the way, after about a fortnight's stay there I left New-York with no 
Little regrett, and Thursday, Dec. 21, set out for New Haven with my 
Kinsman, Trowbridge, and the man that waited on me about one afternoon, 
and about three come to half-way house about ten miles out of town, where 
we Baited and went forward, and about 5 come to Spiting Devil, Else Kings 
bridge, where they pay three pence for passing over with a horse, which the 
man that keeps the Gate set up at the end of the Bridge receives. 

We hoped to reach the french town and Lodg there that night, but 
unhapily lost our way about four miles short, and being overtaken by a great 
storm of wind and snow which set full in our faces about dark, we were very 
uneasy. But meeting one Gardner who lived in a Cottage thereabout, offered 
us his fire to set by, having but one poor Bedd, and his wife not well, &c. or 
he would go to a House with us, where he thought we might be better 
accommodated — thither we went, But a surly old shee Creature, not worthy 
the name of woman, who would hardly let us go into her Door, though the 
weather was so stormy none but shee would have turnd out a Dogg. But 
her son whose name was Gallop, who lived Just by Invited us to his house 
and shewed me two pair of stairs, viz. one up the loft and tother up the 
Redd, wch was as hard as it was high, and warmed it with a hott stone ?'â–  
the feet. I lay verj' uncomfortably, insomuch that I was so very cold and 
sick I was forced to call them up to give me something to warm me. They 
had nothing but milk in the house, wch they Boild, and to make it better 
sweetened wth molasses, which I not knowing or thinking oft till it was down 
and coming up agen wch it did in so plentiful! a manner that my host was 
soon paid double for his portion, and that in specia. But I believe it did me 
service in Cleering my stomach. So after this sick and weary night at East 
Chester, fa very miserable poor place,) the weather being now fair, Friday 
the 22d Dec. we set out for New Rochell, where being come we had good 
Entertainment and Recruited ourselves very well. This is a very pretty 
place well compact, and good handsome houses, Clean, good and passable 
Rodes. and situated on a Navigable River, abundance of land well fined and 
Cleerd all along as wee passed, which caused in me a Love to the place, wch 
I could have been content to live in it. Here wee Ridd over a Bridge made of 
one entire stone of such a Breadth that a cart might pass with safety, and 
to spare — it lay over a passage cutt through a Rock to convey water to a 
mill not farr off. Here are three fine Taverns within call of each other, very 
good provision for Travailers. 

Thence we travailed through Merrinak, a neet, though little place, wth 
a navigable River before it, one of the pleasantest I ever see — Here were good 
Buildings, Espccialy one. a verv fine seat, wch they told mc wasCol.Hethcoats, 
who I had heard was a very fine Gentleman. From hence we come to Hors 
Neck, where wee Baited, and they told me that one Church of England parson 



26 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

officiated in all these three towns once every Sunday in turns throughout the 
Year ; and that they all could but poorly maintaine him, which they grudg'd 
to do, being a poor and quarelsome crew as I understand by our Host; their 
Quarelling about their choice of Minister, they chose to have none — But 
caused the Government to send this Gentleman to them. Here wee took leave 
of York Government, and Descending the IMountainos passage that almost 
broke my heart in ascending before, we come to Stamford, a well compact 
Town, but miserable meeting house, wch we passed, and thro' many and 
great difficulties, as Bridges which were exceeding high and very tottering 
and of vast Length, steep and Rocky Hills and precipices, (Buggbears to a 
fearful female travailer.) About nine at night we come to Norrwalk, having 
crept over a timber of a Broken Bridge about thirty foot long, and perhaps 
fifty to ye water. I was exceeding tired and cold when we come to our Inn, 
and could get nothing there but poor entertainment, and the Impertinant 
Bable of one of the worst of men, among many others of which our Host 
made one. who, had he bin one degree Impudenter, would have outdone his 
Grandfather. And this I think is the most perplexed night I have yet had. 
From hence, Saturday, Dec. 23, a very cold and windy day. after an Intoler- 
able night's Lodging, wee hastened forward only observing in our way the 
Town to be situated on a Navigable river wth indifcrent Buildings and people 
more refind than in some of the Country towns wee had passed, tho' vicious 
enough, the Church and Tavern being next neighbours. Having Ridd thro 
a difficult River wee come to Fairfield where wee Baited and were much 
refreshed as well with the Good things wch gratified our appetites as the 
time took to rest our wearied Limbs, wch Latter I employed in enquiring 
concerning the Town and manners of the people, <S:c. This is a considerable 
town, and filld as they say with wealthy people — have a spacious meeting 
house and good Buildings. But the Inhabitants are Litigious, nor do they 
well agree with their minister, who (they say) is a very worthy Gentleman. 
Thev have aboundance of sheep, whose very Dung brings them great 
gain, with part of which they pay their Parsons sallery. And they Grudg that, 
preferring their Dung before their minister. They Lett out their sheep at 
so much as they agree upon for a night; the highest Bidder alwavs caries 
them. And they will sufficiently Dung a Large quantity of Land before morn- 
ing. But were once Bitt by a sharper who had them a night and sheared 
them all before morning — from hence we went to Stratford, the next Town, 
in which I observed but few houses, and those not very good ones. But the 
people that I conversed with were civill and good natured. Here we staid 
till late at night, being to cross a Dangerous River ferry, the River at that 
time full of Ice ; but after about four hours waiting with great difficulty wee 
got over. My fears and fatigues prevented my here taking any particular 
observation. Being got to Milford, it being late in the night. I could go no 
further ; my fellow travailer going forward, I was invited to Lodg at Mrs. 

, a very kind and civill Gentlewoman, by whom I was handsomelv 

and kindly entertained till the next night. The people here go very plain in 
their apparel (more plain than I had observed in the towns I had passed) 
and seem to be very grave and serious. They told me there was a singing 
Quaker lived there, or at least had a strong inclination to be so. His Spouse 
not at all affected that way. Some of the singing Crew come there one dav 
to visit him, who being then abroad, they sat down (to the woman's no small 
vexation) Humming and singing and groneing after their conjuring way — • 
Says the woman are you singing quakers? Yea says They — Then take my 
squalling Brat of a child here and sing to it says she for I have almost split 
my throat wth singing to him and cant get the Rogue to sleep. They took 



GENERAL FACTS 27 

this as a great Indignity, and mediately departed. Shaking the dust from 
their Heels left the good woman and her child among the number of the 
wicked. This is a Seaport place and accommodated with a Good Harbour, 
But I had not opportunity to make particular obesrvations because it was 
Sabbath day — This Evening. 

December 24. I set out with the Gentlewomans son who she very civilly 
offered to go with me when she see no parswasions would cause me to stay 
while she pressingly desired, and crossing a ferry having but nine miles to 
New Haven, in ashort time arrived there and was Kindly received and well 
accommodated amongst my Friends and Relations. 

The Government of Connecticut Collony begins westward towards York 
at Stamford (as I am Told) and so runs Eastward towards Boston (I mean 
in my range, because I dont intend to extend my description beyond my 
own travails) and ends that way at Stonington — And has a great many Large 
towns Iving more northerly. It is a plentiful Country for provisions of all 
sorts and its Generally Healthy . No one that can and will be dilligent in 
this place need fear poverty nor the want of food and Rayment. 

January 6th. Being now well Recruited and fitt for business I discoursed 
the persons I was concerned with, that we might finish in order to my return 
to Boston. They delayd as they had hitherto done hoping to tire my Patience. 
But I was resolute to stay and see an End of the matter let it be never so 
much to my disadvantage— So January 9th they come again and promise the 
Wednesday following to go through with the distribution of the Estate 
which they delayed till Thursday and then come with new amusements. 
But at length by the mediation of that holy good Gentleman, the Rev. Mr. 
James Pierpont, the minister of New Haven, and with the advice and assist- 
ance of other our Good friends we come to an accommodation and distribu- 
tion, which having finished though not till February, the man that waited on 
me to York taking the charge of me I sit out for Boston. We went from 
New Haven upon the ice (the ferry being not passable thereby) and the 
Rev. Mr. Pierpont wth Madam Prout Cuzin Trowbridge and divers others 
were taking leave wee went onward without any thing Remarkabl till wee 
come to New London and Lodged again at Mr. Saltonstalls — and here I 
dismist my Guide, and my Generos entertainer provided me Mr. Samuel 
Rogers of that place to go home with me — I stayed a day here Longer than 
I intended by the Commands of the Honble Govenor Winthrop to stay and 
take a supper with him whose wonderful civility I may not omitt. The 
next morning I Crossed ye Ferry to Groton, having had the Honor of the 
Company, of Madam Livingston (who is the Govenors Daughter) and Mary 
Christophers and divers others to the boat — And that night Lodgd at 
Stonington and had Rost Beef and pumpkin sause for supper. The next 
night at Haven's and had Rost fowle, an the next day wee come to a river 
which by Reason of Ye Freshetts coming down was swell'd so high wee 
feard it impassable and the rapid stream was very terryfying — However we 
must over and that in a small Cannoo. Mr. Rogers assuring me of his good 
Conduct, I after a stay of near an how'r on the shore for consultation went 
into the Cannoo. and Mr. Rogers paddled about 100 yards up the Creek by 
the shore side, turned into the swift stream and dexterously steering her in 
a moment wee come to the other side as swiftly passing as an arrow shott out 
of the Bow by a strong arm . I staid on ye shore till Hee returned to fetch 
our horses, which he caused to swim over himself bringing the furniture in 
the Cannoo. But it is past my skill to express the Exceeding fright all their 
transactions formed in me. Wee were now in the colony of the Massachusetts 
and taking Lodgings at the first Inn we come to had a pretty difficult passage 



28 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

the next day which was the second of March by reason of the sloughy ways 
then thawed by the Sunn. Here I mett Capt. John Richards of Boston who 
was going home, So being very glad of his Company we Rode something 
harder than hitherto, and missing my way in going up a very steep Hill, 
my hors dropt down under me as Dead; this new surprize no little hurt me 
meeting it Just at the Entrance into Dedham from whence we intended to 
reach home that night. But was now obliged to gett another Hors there and 
leave my own, resolving for Boston that night if possible. But in going over 
the Causeway at Dedham the Bridge benig overflowed by the high waters 
comming down I very narrowly escaped falling over into the river Hors 
and all wch twas almost a miracle I did not — now it grew late in the after- 
noon and the people having very much discouraged us about the sloughy 
way wch they said wee should find very difficult and hazardous it so wrought 
on mee being tired and dispirited and disapointed of my desires of going home 
that I agreed to Lodg there that night wch wee did at the house of one 
Draper, and the next day being March 3d wee got safe home to Boston, where 
I found my aged and tender mother and my Dear and only Child in good 
health with open arms redy to receive me, and my Kind relations and friends 
flocking in to welcome mee and hear the story of my transactions and 
travails I having this day bin five months from home and now I cannot fully 
express my Joy and Satisfaction. But desire sincearly to adore my Great 
Benefactor for thus graciously carying forth and returning in safety his un- 
worthy handmaid. 

The country sufi'ered little from the ravages of King Philip's War, new 
settlers continued to arrive, the population grew, the new generation took 
up the tasks of clearing the land, tilling the soil, and carrying on the various 
crafts needed in a small community. 

A list of the names of the original families of these towns will include 
many names familiar to students of American History — names prominent in 
the Colonial period, in the Revolutionary War, and in the development of our 
whole country as the pioneers spread westward to Pennsylvania, Ohio, and 
ultimately on to the Pacific. Under the history of each town will be found 
the names of early settlers. 

Before 1710 New London county had furnished for Connecticut three 
Governors, and two Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. 

Though the founders were closely allied, there seems to have been much 
rivalry between New London and Norwich in early days. The first and only 
magistrate of the county during his lifetime was John Mason, of Norwich, 
and he usually held his court at home. After his death, a New London man 
was appointed. There was for many years an effort on the part of Norwich 
to have sessions of the Superior Court held in Norwich half the time. The 
first county court house was located in New London in 1724. After the 
burning of New London in 1781. a new one was erected at the head of State 
street. Norwich became a "half-shire" town in 1734, and soon erected a jail 
with whipping post and pillory near by. Its court house of 1829 was burned 
in 1865. and replaced soon after by the present court house at the "Landing." 

It is hard for the present generation to realize how closely knit were 
Church and State in these colonial days. Dr. Daniel Coit Oilman, later 



GENERAL FACTS 29 

president of Johns Hopkins, at that time librarian of Yale College, delivered 
at Norwich in September, 1859, at the celebration of the 200th anniversary 
of Norwich, an address which is a mine of information on matters pertaining 
to the early history of New London county. We quote his words regarding 
religious conditions at the close of the seventeenth century: 

I have already said that the first manuscript records of the church have 
perished. One curious printed document has lately been discovered, bearing 
date 1675, which is interesting in its bearing on the history of these times. 
The only complete copy with which I am acquainted belongs to Mr. George 
Brinley, of Hartford, who has kindly permitted me to bring it before you. 
It is an old fashioned duodecimo of 133 pages, printed in 1683, bearing on 
its title page the autographs of Increase Mather and of Mather Byles. It 
contains three distinct treatises; the first, "An explanation of the solemn 
advice, recommended by the council in Connecticut colony to the inhabitants 
in that jurisdiction"; and the third, "A brief discourse proving that the first 
day of the week is the Christian Sabbath." Both of these are attributed to 
Mr. Fitch. Appended to the former is "The Covenant, which was solemnly 
renewed by the church in Norwich, in Connecticut colony, in New England, 
March 22, 1675." The volume is introduced by a letter from Increase Mather, 
"to the reader," in which he says that "the reverend and worthy author had 
no thought of publishing these brief and nervous discourses until such time 
as others did importune him thereunto," and proceeds to comment on their 
scope and character. 

The circumstances which attended this "renewal" are worthy of mention. 
The war with King Philip was then raging. Norwich, though much exposed 
by its situation on the frontier, had freely contributed more than its quota 
to the active army; so freely, indeed, that the Cieneral Court sent on from 
Hartford ten men, from New Haven eight, and from Fairfield eight, "to lye 
in garrison at Norwich," as a guard to the inhabitants. So great was the 
danger in those days that the watch in each plantation was ordered "at least 
an hour before day, to call up the inhabitants, who should forthwith rise and 
arm themselves, march to the fort, and stand guard against any assault of 
the enemy until the sun be half an hour high in the morning." Under these 
circumstances, on the 13th of March. Mr. Fitch writes to the council in Hart- 
ford. After acknowledging the receipt of a letter from the council, with their 
orders for a fast day, he continues : 

"Blessed be the Lord who hath moved your hearts in so necessarie and 
seasonable worke. We intend. God willing, to take that very daye, solemnly 
to renew our covenant in our church state, according to the example in Ezra's 
time, and as was sometimes practised in Hartford congregation by Mr. Stone, 
not long after Mr. Hooker's death. If other churches doe not see cause to 
doe the same, yet wee hope it will not bee offensive ; but doe verily conclude 
if y be rule for y practise, this is a time wherein the Providence of God does 
in a knocking and terrible manner call for it." 

The covenant evinces the same spirit, and to some extent it employs the 
same phrases as this letter. After a general recognition of the displeasure of 
God, as displayed "by blasting the fruits of the earth and cutting off the 
lives of many by the sword, laying waste some plantations and threatening 
ruin to the whole," the covenant is renewed in seven particulars, which may 
be condensed as follows: 



30 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

1. All the males who are eight or nine years of age shall be presented 
before the Lord in his congregation every Lord's day to be catechised, until 
they be about thirteen in age. 

2. Those who are about thirteen years of age, both male and female, 
shall frequent the meetings appointed in private for their instruction, while 
they continue under family government or until they are received to full 
communion in the church. 

3. Adults who do not endeavor to take hold of the covenant shall be 
excommunicated. 

4. Brethren shall be appointed to admonish those parents who are negli- 
gent of their children. 

5. The Lord's supper shall be celebrated once in every six weeks. 

6. Erring brethren are to be rebuked. 

7. Finally, "seeing we feel by woful experience how prone we are soon 
to forget the works of the Lord, and our own vows ; we do agree and deter- 
mine, that this writing or contents of it, shall be once in every year read in 
a day of fasting and prayer before the Lord, and his congregation; and shall 
leave it with our children, that the}' do the same in their solemn days of 
mourning before the Lord, that they may never forget how their fathers, 
ready to perish in a strange land, and with sore grief and trembling of heart, 
and yet hope in the tender mercy, and good will of him, who dwelt in the 
burning bush, did thus solemnly renew their covenant with God : and that 
our children after us, may not provoke the Lord and be cast off as a degen- 
erate off-spring, but may tremble at the commandment of God, and learn to 
place their hope in him, who although he hath given us a cup of astonish- 
ment to drink, yet will display his banner over them, who fear him. 

Speaking of the religious awakening that took place in New London 
county in the earlier part of the eighteenth century. Rev. Mr. Northrop says : 

The awakening took deep root in New London county, where the 
Separatist movement was pronounced, and the knell of dis-establishment 
began to be sounded. . . . New religious ideas come in, and the estab- 
lished Congregational Church of Connecticut undergoes dissolution and gives 
place to the rights of free worship. And with the freer and wider thinking 
begins a better thought of the outside world. Some of the most fruitful be- 
ginnings of the great modern missionary movement had their origin right 
here on this soil, and so it has come to pass that New London county has 
the distinction of having given more for the evangelization of the world than 
any other county in the United States. 




CHAPTER II 

THE BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 

Education Recognized as a First Necessity — First Free School— Oth-r Schoo's and 
Early Teachers — Contrasts Between the Old and New Syst;ms of Education — The 
Norwich Tests — School Legislation — Provision for the Indians. 

In view of the great importance of education in the development of New 
England as a whole, no less in our county than elsewhere, we interrupt our 
narrative history to insert a review of educational progress in New London 
county. In order that we may discuss this subject in a broad sense, we prefix 
a brief definition of education from the standpoint of history. 

Education is the process by which an individual comes into possession 
of some part of human progress and thus fits himself to take part in the life 
of his own generation. This process, in a normal person, is taking place most 
of the time from birth to death. 

We are all creatures of the past ; in physical appearance, in traits of body 
and mind, in desires, and in powers, we are the "heirs of all the ages" of 
human evolution. As there is abundant evidence that man has improved 
from his original condition, we may fairly say that the inheritance of each 
generation from the preceding one has steadily increased in value as human 
experience has covered new fields of action. Each generation progresses, 
first by acquiring the gains of former generations, then by new experiences 
of its own. 

Somewhat after the beginning of written language the accumulation of 
records of the past became so great that specially trained men were needed 
to preserve and interpret these records. And so great has been the increase 
in the amount and complexity of human progress, that great institutions have 
arisen to secure for humanity the perpetual possession of its most valuable 
gains. 

These gains may be grouped under two heads: first, gains in aims; 
secondly, gains in powers. Under these two topics may be grouped, I be- 
lieve, all the progress of every epoch of history as well as that of every 
individual in any epoch. Let us then briefly subdivide human aims and 
human powers. 

In so far as man's aims are affected by a belief in the supernatural, we 
group them under the name of Religion. In so far as his aims affect his 
dealings with his fellow men we may group them under the head of Morality. 
The moral code has on the one side the sanction of the institution of Religion, 
and on the other side the support of the institution of Government. 

Human powers may be subdivided into knowledge, or power in under- 
standing; efficiency, or power in action; emotion, or power to feel and ap- 
preciate. It is evident then that the great institutions of mankind exist for 
the purpose of educating man in these aims and powers. The progress of 



32 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

humanity is the aggregate gain of individuals in spiritual inspiration, in 
moral desires, in respect for law, in power to enjoy what is best, in sym- 
pathy for others, in the virtues and habits that promote efficiency, in the 
understanding necessary to direct one's efforts intelligently. 

The School is that institution which exists primarily for the distribution 
of knowledge. Now the mass of human knowledge has become so great that 
no one can hope to put into practice more than a very small part of it. It is 
necessary therefore that the individual choose a time when he will begin to 
put his attention on the details of his life work rather than on the broader 
understanding of human progress. This point of time marks the division 
between his liberal culture and his technical training. 

When shall technical training begin? No one knows. The answer will 
vary with the individual's powers and opportunities. It is fair to say that 
liberal culture should be prolonged until its further continuance would inter- 
fere with the technical efficiency of the individual. 

But even technical information will be of little use to an individual unless 
he has the personal virtues that make him efficient. Strength of will, tact, 
good habits, and many other qualities, are to be ranked even higher than 
understanding. In modern times, therefore, the school has become in minia- 
ture a world of itself, in which the right minded pupil may learn lessons of 
morality, lessons of personal power, as well as lessons in understanding and 
appreciation. 

Besides the four great institutions there are other tremendous forces at 
work moulding the lives of individuals and communities; Literature, Paint- 
ing, Music, the Press, and too many other forces to mention have today a 
greater influence than ever before in the history of the world. 

A full definition of education, then, in its broadest sense, would be some- 
thing like this:— Education is the process whereby the individual, through 
the Home, the Church, the State, the School, and through all the remainder 
of his environment, learns his own noblest capabilities, learns to obey moral 
law, gains power to do. and understanding to direct that power. 

In treating those facts which it is most advisable that a man entering 
into life should accurately know, Ruskin says: 

I believe that he ought to know three things: First, Where he is; sec- 
ondly. Where he is going; thirdly. What he had best do, under those cir- 
cumstances. 

First : Where he is. — That is to say, what sort of a world he has got into ; 
how large it is; what kind of creatures live in it, and how; what it is made 
of, and what may be made of it. 

Secondly : Where he is going. — That is to say, what chances or reports 
there are of any other world besides this; what seems to be the nature of 
that other world. . 

Thirdly : What he had best do under the circumstances. — That is to say. 
what kind of faculties he possesses ; what are the present state and wants of 
mankind; what is his place in society; and what are the readiest means in 
his power of attaining happiness and diffusing it. The man who knows these 
things, and who has had his will so subdued in the learning them, that he 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 33 

is ready to do what he knows he oujjht, I should call educated ; and the man 
who knows them not, uneducated — though he could talk all the tongues of 
Babel. 

The men who settled Connecticut believed that every one should be able 
to read the word of God. Every church therefore had its teacher as well 
as its preacher. In advance of any Colonial legislation relating to common 
schools, almost every settlement had its teacher for part of the year at the 
most. The first laws did little more than guarantee the practice common 
in most towns. The settlers realized that the system of government dimly 
outlined in the "Mayflower Compact" of 1619, expanded in the Fundamental 
Orders of 1639, which to us of today stands forth as the "first written con- 
stitution known to history" and the foundation for republican form of gov- 
ernment, made universal education essential to self-preservation. 

Connecticut was the first State in the Union to set apart and establish 
a fund for the support of common schools. This was done after the sale 
of the "Western Reserve" lands in 1795 for $1,200,000. By the Constitution 
of 1818, Article 8, Par. 2, this fund is forever set apart for public schools : 

§ 2 The fund, called the "School Fund," shall remain a perpetual fund, 
the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated to the support and 
encouragement of the public or common schools throughout the state, and 
for the equal benefit of all the people thereof. The value and amount of said 
fund shall, as soon as practicable, be ascertained in such manner as the Gen- 
eral Assembly may prescribe, published and recorded in the Comptroller's 
office ; and no law shall ever be made authorizing said fund to be diverted 
to any other use than the encouragement and support of public or common 
schools, among the several school societies, as justice and equity shall require. 

The first law relating to common schools in Connecticut was enacted 
by the town of New Haven in 1641, and provided for a free school to be sup- 
'ported out of "the Common Stock." The next law was passed in Hartford 
in 1643. providing a free school for the poor children, with tuition charge for 
those able to pay. In 1646 a compilation of laws of the colony shows that 
every township of fifty families should maintain a school, and any town of 
one hundred families a grammar school. After the union of New Haven 
and Connecticut under the charter of 1662. many acts were passed relating 
to common schools. In 1700. every town of seventy families was required 
to maintain constantly a schoolmaster able to teach reading and writing. 
Towns of smaller size had to keep a school half the year. A grammar school 
was required in every shire town. The rate for school expenses was fixed 
at a minimum of forty shillings for every 1,000 in the county lists, and, if 
insufficient, was to be further secured by joint levy on inhabitants and parents 
of children. School committees, as distinct from other town officers, are 
first mentioned in 1708. 

Parishes were recognized as school districts, though under general control 
of the towns. The close connection between churches and schools was pos- 
sible because the population was homogeneous. But gradually came about 
N.L.— 1-3 



34 



NEW LONDON COUNTY 



a sjstem of the separation of the church and school. By 1798, schools were 
managed by themselves as school societies or districts. The gradual return 
to town management by the consolidation of school districts followed the 
change of school laws in 1856. The types of schools of course changed as 
school laws became better adjusted to the needs of growing communities. 
In the various communities grew up private schools alongside the common 
elementary school. As types of such schools may be mentioned those de- 
scribed by Miss Caulkins in her "History of Norwich": 

The schools in Norwich were neither intermitted or neglected during 
the Revolutionary War. An institution of higher grade than elementary 
was sustained in the town-plot through all the distractions of the country. 
It called in many boarders from abroad, and at one period, with Mr. Goodrich 
for its principal, acquired considerable popularity. This school is endorsed 
by its committee, Andrew Huntington and Dudley Woodbridge, in 1783, as 
furnishing instruction to "young gentlemen and ladies, lads and misses, in 
every branch of literature, viz., reading, writing, arithmetic, the learned lan- 
guages, logic, geography, mathematics," <S:c. Charles White, teacher. 

The exhibitions of the school were commonly enlivened with scenic 
representations and interludes of music. A taste for such entertainments 
was prevalent. The j'oung people, even after their emancipation from schools, 
would sometimes take part in theatrical representations. We learn from the 
town newspaper that in February, 1792. a select company of young ladies 
and gentlemen performed the tragedy of "Gustavus" and "The ^Mistakes of 
a Night" at the court-house. 

The school-ma'am of former times, with her swarming hive of pupils, was 
an institution of which no sample remains at the present day. She was a 
life-long incumbent, never going out of one round of performance: always 
teaching little girls and boys to sit up straight and treat their elders with 
respect; to conquer the spelling-book, repeat the catechism, never throw 
stones, never tell a lie ; the boys to write copies, and the girls to work 
samplers. If they sought higher education than this, they passed out of 
her domain into finishing schools. Almost every neighborhood had its school- 
ma'am, and the memory is still fresh of Miss Sally Smith at the Landing, and 
Miss Molly Grover of the Town-plot. 

Dancing-schools were peculiarly nomadic in their character; the instruc- 
tor (generally a Frenchman) circulating through a wide district and giving 
lessons for a few weeks at particular points. Reels, jigs and contra-dances 
were most in vogue: the hornpipe and rigadoon were attempted by only a 
select few; cotillions were growing in favor; the minuet much admired. In 
October, 1787, Griffith's dancing-school was opened at the house of Mrs. 
Billings in the town-plot. He taught five different minuets, one of them a 
duo, and another a cotillion-minuet. His lessons were given in the morning, 
with a scholars' ball once a fortnight. Ten years later, J. C. Devereux was 
a popular teacher of the dance. He had large classes for several seasons at 
the court-house, and at Kinney's hotel in Chelsea. 

In 1799, a school for young ladies was opened in the house of Major 
Whiting upon the Little Plain, by Mrs. Brooks, who devoted herself espe- 
ciallv to feminine accomplishments, such as tambour, embroidery, painting 
in water-colors, instrumental music, and the French language. She had at 
first a large number of pupils from this and the neighboring towns, but the 
attendance soon declined, and the school was relinquished. In general the 
young ladies at such schools only remained long enough to practice a few 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 



35 



tunes on the g:uitar, to tambour a muslin shawl and apron, or embroider a 
scripture scene, and this gave the finishing stroke to their education. 

It was common then, as it is now, for parents with liberal means to send 
both their sons and daughters from home to obtain greater educational ad- 
vantages. Young ladies from Norwich often went to Boston to finish their 
education, and now and then one was placed under the guardian care and 
instruction of the Moravian sisterhood in their seminary at Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania. 

In 1782 an academical association was formed in the western part of 
the town-plot, consisting of forty-one subscribers and one hundred shares 
of rights. The old meeting-house of the Separatists was purchased and re- 
paired for the use of this institution. The first principal was Samuel Austin, 
and the range of studies included Latin and Greek, navigation and the mathe- 
matics. Two popular school-books then just issued were introduced by 
Mr. Austin into this school — Webster's "Grammatical Institutes," and "Geog- 
raphy Made Easy," by Jedidiah Morse. Mr. Morse was himself subsequently 
a teacher in this institution, which was continued with varying degrees of 
prosperity for thirty years or more. Alexander Macdonald, author of a school- 
book called "The Youth's Assistant," was one of its teachers. He died May 4, 
1792, aged forty. Newcomb Kinney was at one time the principal, and had 
for his usher John Russ of Hartford, afterward member of Congress from 
1819 to 1823. In 1800, Sebastian C. Cabot was the chief instructor. This 
school was kept in operation about thirty years. After it ceased, the lower, 
part of the building was occupied by the public school, and the upper part, 
being suitably prepared, was in use for nearly twenty years as a Methodist 
chapel. 

Dr. Daniel Lathrop, who died in 1782, left a legacy of £500 to the town 
for the support of a free grammar school, upon certain conditions, one of 
which was that the school should be kept during eleven months of each year. 
A school upon this foundation was opened in 1787, and continued for about 
fifty years. The brick school-house upon the green was built for its accom- 
modation. Its first teacher was Ebenezcr Punderson. But the most noted 
of its preceptors and the one who longest held his place was Mr. William 
Baldwin, an excellent instructor, faithful and apt to teach, but a rigid dis- 
ciplinarian, and consequently more respected than beloved by his pupils, until 
after-life led them to reverse the decisions of earlier days. The young have 
seldom judgment and generosity sufficient to make them love those who 
control them for their good. 

In 1843 the Lathrop donation was relinquished, with the consent of the 
legislature, to the heirs-at-law of Thomas Coit, a nephew of Dr. Lathrop, to 
whom by the provision of the testator's will it was in such case to revert. 
The investment had depreciated in value, and the restrictions with which 
the legacy was incumbered made it, in the advanced state of educational 
institutions, more of a hindrance than a help. The school had been for many 
years a great advantage to the town, but having accomplished its mission, 
it quietly ceased to be. 

Evening schools of short duration, devoted to some special study, were 
not uncommon. The object was usually of a practical nature, and the stu- 
dents above childhood. The evening school of Consider Sterry, in 1798, 
covered, according to his program, the following range of instruction: "Book- 
keeping in the Italian. American and English methods, mathematics, sur- 
veying and plotting of lands; price is. 6d. per week. Navigation and the 
method of finding longitude by lunar observations and latitude by the sun's 
altitude, one dollar for the complete knowledge." 



36 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Few men are gifted by nature with such an aptitude for scientific research 
as Consider Sterry. His attainments were all self-acquired under great dis- 
advantages. Besides a work on lunar observations, he and his brother pre- 
pared an arithmetic for schools, and in company with Nathan DaboU, an- 
other self-taught scientific genius, he arranged and edited a system of prac- 
tical navigation, entitled "The Seaman's Universal Daily Assistant," a work 
of nearly three hundred pages. He also published several small treatises, 
wrote political articles for the papers, and took a profound interest in free- 
masonry. 

In June, 1800, a school was inaugurated at the brick house on the Little 
Plain, with Mr. William Woodbridge for the principal. The assembly room 
was fitted up with desks and benches for an academical hall ; both sexes were 
admitted, and the whole was under the supervision of a board of four citi- 
zens — Joseph Howland, Samuel Woodbridge, Thomas Fanning, Thomas 
Lathrop. But the situation was too remote from the centers of population, 
and after a trial of two or three years this school was relinquished for want 
of patronage 

A select school for young persons of both sexes was long sustained in 
the town-plot, but with varying tides of prosperity and decline. After a void 
of two or three years, it was revived in 1803 by Pelatiah Perit, who had just 
then graduated from Yale College, and was only eighteen years of age. Lydia 
Huntley, afterwards Mrs. Sigourney, was one of his pupils. 

Among other teachers of the town-plot, who were subesquently hon- 
orable and noted in their several callings, the following are well remembered: 
Daniel Haskell, president of the Vermont University; Henry Strong, LL.D., 
eminent in the law ; John Hyde, judge of county court, judge of probate, etc. ; 
Dr. Peter Allen, a physician in Ohio; Rev. Joshua L. Williams, of Middle- 
town ; J. Bates Murdock, afterwards an officer of the Second War with Great 
Britain; Phineas L. Tracy, who from 1827 to 1833 was Member of Congress 
from Genesee county, New York. 

A proprietary school was established at the Landing in 1797, by twenty- 
seven heads of families. The school-house was built on the slope of the hill 
above Church street, and the school was assembled and organized by the 
Rev. Walter King. David L. Dodge was the first regular teacher. In 1802, 
the Rev. Thomas Williams was the'preceptor. He was noted for his assiduous 
attention to the health and morals as well as the studies of his pupils. He 
drilled them thoroughly in the "Assembly's Catechism," anl used with his 
younger classes a favorite manual called "The Catechism of Nature." Other 
teachers of this school were Mr. Scarborough, Ebenezer Witter, John Lord 
(president of Dartmouth College), George Hill, and others. But no one 
retained the office for so long a term as Dyar T. Hinckley, of Windham, & 
man of earnest zeal in his profession, who was master of desk and bench in 
Norwich for twenty years or more, yet never removed his family or obtained 
a regular home in the place. He was a schoolmaster of the old New Eng- 
land type, devoted to his profession as an ulterior pursuit, and expending 
his best energies in the performance of its duties. 

Schools at that period consisted uniformly of two sessions a day, of 
three hours each, with a half-holiday on Saturday. Mr. Hinckley, in addition 
to this, had sometimes an evening or morning school, or both, of two hours 
each, for pupils not belonging to the day-school. The morning hours were 
devoted to young ladies, and from an advertisement of May, 1816, giving notice 
of a new term, we ascertain the precise time when the class assembled: 
"Hours from 5 o'clock to 7 A. M." Let no one hastily assume that this early 
summons wotild be neglected. Living witnesses remain to testify that it 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 37 

drew a o;oodly number of young aspirants who came out, fresh and vigorous, 
at sunrise or a little later, to pursue their studies. 

Another institution that made its mark upon society was the Chelsea 
Grammar School, organized in 1806, but not incorporated till 1821, when it 
was impowered to hold real estate to the value of $20,000. The school-house 
was on the side-hill opposite the Little Park, in Union street. This institution 
continued in operation, with some vacant intervals, about forty years, secur- 
ing for its patrons the benefits of an academical education for their children 
without sending them homo. Many prominent citizens of Norwich here 
received their first introduction to the classics, the sons in numerous instances 
taking possession of seats once occupied by their fathers. 

No complete list of the preceptors has been obtained; but among the 
remembered names are several that have since been distinguished in literary 
and professional pursuits — Dr. Jonathan Knight, of New Haven; Charles 
Griswold, of Lyme; Jonathan Barnes, Wyllis Warner, Roswell C. Smith, 
Rev. Horace Bushnell, D.D., and Rev. William Adams, D.D. These men were 
all young at the time. The preceptors of most schools, here and elsewhere, 
at that period, were college graduates, accepting the office for a year, or at 
most for two or three years, between taking their degree and entering upon 
some other profession. But teachers to whom the vocation is but a stepping- 
stone to something beyond on which the mind is fixed, however faithful and 
earnest in their present duties, can never raise an institution to any per- 
manent standard of excellence. It is well therefore that these temporary 
undertakings should give way to public schools more thoroughly system- 
atized and conducted by persons who make teaching a profession. 

In Chelsea, beginning about 1825, a series of expedients for enlarging 
the bounds of knowledge afford pleasing evidence of the gradual expansion 
of intellect and enterprise. A lyceum, a circulating library, a reading club, 
a society for mutual improvement, and a mechanics' association, were suc- 
cessively started, and though most of them were of brief duration, they were 
cheering tokens of an advance in the right path. 

The Norwich Female Academy was incorporated in 1828. This insti- 
tution was greatly indebted for its origin to the persevering exertion of 
Mr. Thomas Robinson, who was the principal agent of the corporation. The 
brick hall erected for its accommodation stood on the hill facing the river, 
higher than any other building then on the declivity. Neither cfwrt-house 
nor jail had gained a foothold on the height, which was well forested, and 
toward the north surmounted by a fine prospect station, overtopping the 
woods, and known as Rockwell's Tower. The academy had the rugged hill 
for its background, but on other sides the view was varied and extensive; 
and when at recess the fair young pupils spread in joyous freedom over the 
height, often returning with wild flowers and oak-leaf garlands from the 
neighboring groves, neither poetry nor romance could exaggerate the interest 
of the scene. 

The most prosperous year of this academy was 1833, when the number 
of pupils amounted to nearly ninety, many of them boarders from other 
places. But the exposed situation of the building, and the rough, steep ascent 
by which only it could be reached, were adverse to the prosperity of a female 
academy, and it soon became extinct — disbanded by wintry blasts and icy 
foot-paths. 

In her "History of New London," Miss Caulkins thus covers the early 
history of public education in New London : 

The town school located on this spot was the free grammar-school, which 



38 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

had for its main support the Bartlet and other public revenues, and had been 
originall)' established further up the hill, on Hempstead street, but had 
descended from thence about 1750. It was now removed a few rods to the 
north, and placed in the highway fronting the Erving lot (Church street in 
that part not having been opened), with no wall or inclosure around it, 
these not being deemed at that time necessary. The dwelling houses in this 
part of the town were few, and the neighboring hills and fields were the play- 
ground of the boys. In the rear was the Hallam lot, extending from Broad 
street to the old meeting-house square, with but one building upon it, and 
that in its north-east corner. A little more distant, in the rear of the court- 
house, was the Coit "hollow-lot," shaded by large trees, and enriched with 
a rivulet of pure water (where Cottage street now runs). Still further back 
was a vacant upland lot (known as Fosdick's or Melally's lot), containing 
here and there a choice apple-tree, well known to schoolboys ; this is now 
the second burial ground. 

We have heard aged people revert to these scenes, the days when they 
were pupils of the free grammar-school, under the sway of "Master Owen"; 
when a house of worship had not given name and beauty to Zion's Hill, 
and only a cellar and a garden, tokens of former residence of one of the 
early settlers of the town, were to be seen on the spot where the Trott man- 
sion now stands. (This is supposed to have been the place where stood the 
house on Charles Hill, fortified in the time of the Indian war. The present 
house was built by Samuel Fosdick, at the head of Niantic river, but taken 
apart, brought into town, and erected in 1786. It has been occupied by J- P- 
Trott, its present owner, more than half a centurj'.) Later than this (about 
1796) General Huntington broke ground upon the hillside and erected his 
house (now Hurlbutt's), in the style called cottage ornee. Beyond this, on 
the present Coit property, was a gushing spring, where the eager schoolboy 
slaked his thirst and cooled his heated brow; and not a quarter of a century 
has elapsed since the space now occupied by the Williams mansion and 
grounds was an open, irregular hillside over whose rugged surface troops 
of children, as they issued from the school-room, were seen to scatter in 
their various sports, like flocks of sheep spreading over the hills. 

In the year 1795, the old school-house, a low, red building of one room, 
with a garret above, entered by a flight of stairs and a trap door, where 
refractory pupils were committed for punishment ; and with desks and benches, 
which, though made of solid oak, were desperately marred by ink and knife; 
was abandoned, and the school removed to a larger building of brick, erected 
for its accommodation in the highway, south of the court house, where it 
fulfilled another period of its history, of nearly forty years. Here the chair 
of instruction, or more properly the throne (for the government was despotic), 
was occupied after 1800 by Dr. Dow, the number of whose subjects usually 
amounted to about 150, though sometimes rising to 200. 

In 1833, 3 ^^'^ ^""^ much superior edifice was erected for the grammar 
school on a lot south of the Second Congregational Church, chiefly through 
the exertion and liberality of Joseph Hurlbut, to whom a vote of thanks was 
rendered by the town, October 9th, 1833. In this building the Bartlet or 
grammar school is still continued under the care of the town, but the fund 
is inadequate to its support and the pupils are taxed to supply the deficiency. 

The most noted teachers of this school since 1750, those whose ofifice 
covered the longest term of years, were John Owen (the remains of "Master 
Owen." were laid in the second burial ground, but no memorial stone marks 
the spot. If a sufficient number of his old pupils are yet upon the stage of 
life to undertake the charge, it would be a creditable enterprise for them 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 39 

to unite and raise some simple but iitting monument to his memory. He 
was for many years both town and city clerk) — and Ulysses Dow; both were 
peculiar characters, and each remained in office nearly forty years. The 
former died in 1801, aged sixty-five; the latter in 1844, aged seventy-eight. 
The Union School was an establishment incorporated by the General 
Assembly in October, 1774. The petition for the act was signed by twelve 
proprietors, who state that they had "built a commodious school house, and 
for several years past hired and supported a school-master." The original 
proprietors were Richard Law, Jeremiah Miller, Duncan Stewart, Silas Church, 
Thomas Allen, John Richards, Robinson Mumford, Joseph Cristophers, Mar- 
vin Wait, Nathaniel Shaw, Jr., Roger Gibson, Thomas Mumford. 

This school was intended to furnish facilities for a thorough English 
education and the classical preparation necessary for entering college. The 
school-house stood on State street, and by the subsequent opening of Union 
street was made a corner lot. This was a noted school in its early days, 
yielding a larger income than ordinary schools, and the station of preceptor 
was regarded as a post of honor. It has been heretofore stated that Nathan 
Hale held that office in 1775, and that he left the school to enter the army. 
He was the first preceptor after the act of incorporation. A few only of his 
successors can be named. Seth Williston, a graduate of Dartmouth College 
and since known as a divine of considerable eminence, was in charge for 
two years. Jacob B. Gurley, from the same seminary, succeeded Williston 
in May, 17Q4, and was the principal for three years. (Mr. Gurley is a native 
of Mansfield, Connecticut, but since 1794 a resident of New London, where 
he began to practice as an attorney in 1797.) Ebenezer Learned, a native 
of the town, and a graduate of Yale College, filled the chair of instruction 
in 1799. Knight, of the Medical College of New Haven, Olmstead of Yale, 
Mitchell of the University of North Carolina, and many other names of note, 
are among the teachers after 1800. 

The school house was taken down and the land sold after 1830, and in 
1833 a reorganization took place, a new charter was obtained, and a bricK 
school house flourished for a few years, but could not be long sustained. 
The Bartlet and common schools gathered in the great mass of pupils; the 
number wishing to pursue a more extensive system of education was small, 
and the Union School, an old and venerated establishment, was discontinued. 
In 1851 the building was sold to the Bethel Society, by whom it has been 
converted into a commodious house of worship. 

No provision seems to have been made for the education of females in 
anything but needle-work, reading, writing, and the first principles of arith- 
metic, until the year 1799. A female academy was then built by a company 
of proprietors, in Green street, and incorporated by the legislature. It con- 
tinued in operation, with some intervals of recess, about thirty years. The 
property was then sold and the company dissolved in 1834. A new female 
academy was built the same \ear on Broad street, and the system of instruc- 
tion commenced by Rev. Daniel Huntington. This institution has hitherto 
met with fair encouragement. Since 1841 it has been in charge of H. P. 
Farnsworth. principal. The pupils are arranged in two departments, and for 
a few years past the average number has been about eighty. 

Private schools of similar nature were found in other towns of the county, 
and will be mentioned in the town histories. Higher education was sought 
by many leading men. Miss Caulkins gives a list of eighty-six names of 
men native to New London who had received a college education up to the 
year 1850. A similar list for Norwich may be found in the "Norwich Jubilee 



40 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Voluine," and includes over 130 names. Beginning with the middle of the 
nineteenth century have come steady advances in educational methods and 
equipment. The legislation of the State has promoted this by State aid and 
by compulsory school laws. To describe adequately the progress made in 
education in New London county for the past fifty years would involve a 
discussion of educational progress in all civilized lands, and especially in the 
LTnited States. The laws relating to the schools in Connecticut fill over 
200 pages of printed matter. New statutes are enacted with each new legis- 
lature. In general, it must suffice to say that Connecticut aims to keep pace 
with country-wide educational progress, but is far less centralized in policy 
than many States. Consequently there have survived in our county an 
unusual number of schools that are the products of local initiative rather 
than of State patronage or State control. The word "Progress" covers the 
history of education in New London county for the past seventy-five years. 
In answer to some people who feel that the new "frills" have been brought 
into our grammar schools at the expense of the "Three R's," the following 
paper was prepared and printed in the "School Review": 

THE NORWICH TESTS, 1862-1909 

In spite of the conclusive evidence of the well-known "Springfield tests"* 
of four years ago, one still hears not infrequently a lament that "the good old 
days" are gone. It may not be amiss, therefore, for me to submit to the 
readers of the "School Review" a brief account of another series of tests 
recently given in a Connecticut community, covering a period of about 
fifteen years later than that covered by the Massachusetts inquiry. 

In 1906, shortly after the preliminary report of the Springfield tests, we 
decided to try some of our old examination papers on present-day pupils of 
Norwich, Connnecticut. An arithmetic paper of 1856 was set before an 
eighth-grade division of the Broadway Grammar School of this city. Since 
we had the original papers of fifty years ago, we were able to make an exact 
comparison of results. The eighth-grade pupils of 1906 had still more than 
a year's work in grammar school before taking our regular entrance exam- 
inations. The results were as follows: 

1856 1906 

Pupils examined 73 27 

Members attaining loo per cent 3 4 

Lowest mark 40 per cent 10 percent 

Average mark 75 percent 88 per cent 

Average age 15^ tyA 

In other words, the pupils of 1906 though two years younger than the pupils 
of 1856 did much better work on the very examination for which the pupils 
of 1856 had been prepared. A result so surprising led us to doubt our own 
tests. It was thought that possibly the division of pupils of 1906 was a 
picked division, or that possibly the school did not represent the average 
of our gramiTiar schools ; for, still retaining the antiquated system of district 
management, we have no such uniformity of grammar school work as is found 
in many communities. We resolved accordingly to make another test that 
should better represent our whole community and our average pupils. Wc 
sent out to three of our largest districts papers in arithmetic, geography, 
history, and grammar, given as entrance examinations in 1862 and 1863. 



BEGINNINUS OF EDUCATION 41 

These examinations were given in February, 1909, without previous 
warning or preparation, and under supervision of school principals, who, in 
making^' their returns, were ignorant of the results of 1862-63, and likewise 
of each others results. It was declared by each principal independently that 
his own pupils would have done much better if the tests had been taken 
later in the year, after reviews had been completed. The papers given were 
as follows: 



* See The Spnnt}ficM Tests, issued by the Holden Book Cover Co., Springfield, Mass. 

ARITHMETIC 

1. A man bought a house for $4,000, and paid $250 for repairs, and sold it so as to gain 
loVi per cent on his investment. For how much did he sell it? 

2. How much is 3/4x2/3x7/9 divided by 2/5x8/11x5/8. , , , 

3 Required, the simple interest on $9036 for 3 years 6 months 12 days, at 6 per cent. 

4 If six vards of cloth cost £4 I3f. what will 11 yards cost? _ 

5. Find the amount of $.304.56 for four years, at 7 per cent, simple mterest. 
t. Subtract 3x4 7/8 from 9x5 2/3. , . j • , u , 

7 What is the sum of 5 1/2, 6 2/3. and 7 1/4 m decimal numbers.' 

8. Reduce 0.425 to a vulgar fraction in lowest terms. r . 1 „ ,„^ ,a 

9. How many yards of carpeting Vi yard wide will cover a floor 27 feet long and 16 

*'*io.'A'load of hay weighs 2,625 lbs. What is it worth at $15 per ton? 
GEOGRAPHY 

1 Where is Chicago situated? Cairo? Memphis? Pensacola? Richmond? 
2. Where is Pike's Peak. 

3 On what waters would vnu sail from Norwich to Baltimore.' 

4. What separates the Red Sea from the Mediterranean? 

c;. What is the length of a degree of longitude? , xt / n -ir- • • 5 

6. What are the principal ports of the United States, south of Norfolk, Virginia? 

7. Name the principal mountain ranges of Europe. 

8. Praw a map of Virginia. r,- a 1 
g. Through what State does the Connecticut River flow? 

10. When it is noon at Norwich, what time is it 15 east of this place? 

HISTORY 
T. What were the motives which induced the colonists of Virginia and of New England 
to form settlements in America? 

2 What did Penn make the basis of his institutions? 

3 What was the cause of the Revolutionary War? ^ „ , . , 

4 What foreign assistance had the Americans during the Revolution.' 
5' When was the battle of Bunker Hill fought? 

% f:!;^ whaT Je^so'nT wif :" r^'Ked by the United States against Great Britain 

'" 's'^In whose administration was Louisiana annexed to the United States, and from 
whom purchased? 

q What was the Missouri Compromise? _ 

10. Which of the States is called the Old Dommion? 

GR.\MMAR 
,, Give the principal parts of the verb lo love, and write out the inflection of the tenses 
of the indicative mode. 

^3 '^Vr!ira'sttencTconce"rninrGeneral Lyon, ...ich shall contain a relative clause. 
4.' Is the following sentence correct? If no,, make ,t so: ^''°"«,/*:,'; J'"' ^ "^"jf ^„ 
\ "I intended to have been there." Is this setjtence correct? If not, make it so. 
6. In the following stanza parse the words in italics: 

The muse, disgusted at an age, and clime 

Barren of every glorious theme. 
In distant lands now waits a better time. 
Producing subjects worthy fame. 



42 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

7. Analyze the stanza. 

8. Compare Good, had, little, and strong. 

9. Give the principal parts of go, strike, run, rise, and sit. 
10. Name and define tenses. 

It will be noted that in the fourth question of the arithmetic paper the 
table of English money is involved. Since we no longer require this in our 
entrance tests it is not usually taught in our grammar schools. Again in 
the eighth question the term "vulgar" fraction is used, a term superseded by 
"common" fraction in most of our textbooks. In history likewise the tenth 
question involves a term no longer taught in our schools. In one of the 
schools a substitute question was given instead of the fourth, and the word 
"common" instead of "vulgar." No suggestion was made, however, as to 
the tenth question in history. In the other two schools no comment whatever 
was made on any of the questions, and many pupils registered a flat failure 
on questions that they would have answered if worded in today's terms. The 
results of the tests may be tabulated as follows : 

School I II III Total Total 

1909 1862-63 

Number 31 25 35 91 88 

Age 14 14 14 14 15 

Arithmetic gsVo 90% 85% 90% 54% 

Geography 85% 80% 70% 7^7c 66% 

History 777" 82% 71% 76% 57% 

Grammar 85% 74% 75% 78% 63% 

Combined Average 8o7o 60% 

I cannot say that the results were at all surprising in view of the previous 
tests of iqo6. But that the average pupil of Norwich grammar schools today, 
at the age of fourteen, is better fitted in all subjects than was the average 
pupil of fifteen forty odd years ago, shows most clearly that modern fads have 
not brought with them a loss of the much-praised disciplinary studies of 
former times. 

Even without the formal tests, a comparison of the old examinations 
with those set today for entrance to our school is sufficient to show the 
greater advancement of modern pupils. I do not submit for this brief sketch 
any samples of our present papers, but have taken pains to collect such 
samples from a number of the best high schools of New England. In every 
case the examinations of today are more difficult than those of forty or fifty 
years ago. 

But someone may ask — as Cicero has it — "Did not the teachers of an 
earlier day. even if they were not so well trained or so skillful as those of 
today, did they not, after all, succeed in giving the pupil a stimulus to effort, 
a spirit of ambition, that modern teachers fail to give? See the great men 
that have come from those schools." 

The reply must be that only time can tell what sort of men will come 
from the schools of today. Doubtless it has always been true, and always 
will be true, that men of great natural ability and energy will rise to prom- 
inence, whether schools be good or bad. The only pertinent question is 
whether the greatness of our leaders of today can be traced to the excellence 
of their grammar school training. Have we any evidence that their teachers 
roused them to power of thought? 

A survey of the entrance records of those alumni of this school who have 
shown great intellectual power fails to suggest any such power at the end 
of their grammar school training. A few, out of many, examples must suffice 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 43 

for illustration. One of the greatest oriental scholars of this country was 
able to secure only 65 in geography and 62 in grammar on such examinations 
as are printed above. Another alumnus, who stood among the very leaders 
of his college class and has risen to a position of prominence in many public 
affairs, secured marks of 55 in grammar. 60 in arithmetic, and 65 in geography. 
A professor of history in one of our greatest universities was marked 39 in 
grammar, and 60 in arithmetic, though he showed even then his natural bent 
for history by getting a mark of 90. A well-known editor received 62 in 
grammar. A prominent judge secured 60 in history. But further examples 
are needless to show that the grammar schools of their day did not rouse 
such men to intellectual achievements. 

Another lesson is easily learned from the perusal of old records — it is 
unsafe to estimate a child's mental capacity by the casual blunders he may 
make, even if they seem to us colossal. To conclude that because a boy 
cannot locate the Nile River he is therefore entirely ignorant of geography 
is as unsafe as it is common today in the writings of critics of our schools. 
To infer that because a boy makes some stupid blunders in judgment in his 
examinations he is therefore unable to reason at all, is equally unwise. What 
can be said of the intelligence of a boy who could make the following answers 
in history? 

1. When was the battle of Bunker Hill fought? Ans.: 1402. 

2. When was the Constitution adopted? Ans.: The same year. 

3. For what reasons was war declared by the United States against Great Britain in 
1812? Ans.: Admission of Texas into the United States. 

Yet in other studies, and in general intelligence, this boy seemed to be 
above the average of his class. 

One suspects that much so-called disciplinary study was of a wooden 
and mechanical sort. Those were the days when pupils memorized geometry 
propositions by number, recited history verbatim, and memorized in Latin 
grammar exceptions that the}' would never meet in their reading of Latin. 
The only argument in defense of the older grammar school training that 
seems sound may be stated sornewhat as follows: All efifort that ends in 
success has a strengthening effect on character. The grammar schools of 
bygone days made learning difficult. Therefore they built up character. 

For the few boys or girls who won the fight, surmounted the difficulties 
of poor instruction, and worked out their own salvation, undoubtedly the 
process was a strengthening one, but for the mass of the pupils the process 
was not worthy of comparison with that of our modern schools. 

On the whole the tests show us, not that we are perfect, for our imper- 
fections are glaring and discouraging, but that we must look for aid to the 
best educational thought of the present and future in our own land and 
abroad, rather than to a past system on which we have made many im- 
provements. 

Speaking in broad terms, the progress since 1856 might be grouped under 
the following heads: Better trained teachers, better text books, better school 
buildings and equipment, better supervision, better teaching methods, com- 
pulsory attendance laws, graded schools, evening schools, continuation 
schools, trade schools, high schools, medical inspection, better financial sup- 
port of schools, education of the deaf, care of the defective and the orphaned 
and destitute, restriction of child labor, and many forms of welfare work 
closely connected with education. These improvements are of course not 



44 XEW LOX^DON COUNTY 

peculiar to our county, but have been worked out in many cases with a view 
to the special needs of a given community. 

New London county, too, has a history rich in private generosity. An 
unusual number of institutions have been started by private bequests. As a 
part of our outline of education we take pleasure in tracing the history of 
some of these foundations. It is well for us to remember, however, that, 
with all the modern devices for making education and life itself an easy 
process, there is grave danger that in many cases the young people of today 
fail to attain the strength of character and mind that comes through over- 
coming difficulties and hardships. 

The summary given below, based on a report of the State Board of Edu- 
cation, shows the course of legislation since 1700, a period of 215 years. Most 
of this legislation deals with support and maintenance. 

Support of Public Schools. — The system of public instruction in Con- 
necticut in 1700 embraced the following: 

1. A tax of "forty shillings on every thousand pounds of the lists of 
estates." was collected in every town with the annual tax of the Colony, and 
payable proportionately to those towns only which should keep their schools 
according to law; 

2. A school in everv town having over seventy families, kept eleven 
months in the year, and in every town with less than seventy families, kept 
for at least six months in the year ; 

3. A grammar school in each of the four "head county towns" to fit youth 
for college, two of which grammar schools must be free; 

4. A collegiate school, toward which the general court made an annual 
appropriation of £120. 

In 1773 an act was passed granting all the moneys that should arise from 
the sale of seven townships, in what is now Litchfield county (viz. : Norfolk, 
Goshen, Canaan. Cornwall, Kent, Salisbury and Sharon), to the towns of the 
colony then settled for the support of schools, "to be divided in proportion 
to the number of their polls and ratable estate." The amount realized from 
the sale of all these townships cannot now be determined. Norfolk was 
sold for £6,824 los. ; Kent for £1,225 ^9^- I" the revised statutes published 
in 1750, the "Act for educating and governing children" remains nearly the 
same as it was in 1650 with the addition made in 1670. The "Act for appoint- 
ing, encouraging, and supporting Schools" was the same as in 1700, with the 
additions mentioned above. In 1754 the amount to be paid from the treasury 
was reduced to los. on each £1,000; in 1766 it was raised to 20s.; and in 
1767 it was restored to 40s., where it remained till 1820. 

In May, 1766, the selectmen in each town were authorized to collect any 
sums which remained unpaid at that date for excise on liquors, tea, etc., and 
pay the same to the school committee in the several towns and societies, to 
be set apart as a fund to be improved for the encouragement of schools. And 
at the October session, 1774, the treasurer of the colony is directed to pay 
out to the several towns the principal sums paid in by them as excise money, 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 45 

together with the interest due at the time of payment, "which moneys shall 
be appropriated to the use of schools." The money received from this source, 
with that received from the sale of the townships in Litchfield county, con- 
stituted the principal part of the so-called School Society funds. 

By the Charter of 1662, given by Charles II., Connecticut was bounded 
on the north by the Massachusetts line, and on the south by the "sea" (Long 
Island sound), and extended from Narragansett bay to the "South sea" 
(Pacific ocean). The parts of this territory covered by the grants already 
made to New York and New Jersey were never claimed by Connecticut; 
and the part covered by Pennsylvania was given up to the claims of that 
State; the remaining portion was held by Connecticut till after the Rx^volu- 
tionary War, when it was all ceded to the United States, except about 3,300,- 
000 acres in what is now the northwestern part of Ohio. The territory was 
known as the "Western Reserve," or the "Lands west of Pennsylvania." In 
May, 1795, an act was passed appropriating the interest on the moneys which 
should be received on the sale of these lands to the support of schools, "to 
be paid over to the said societies in their capacity of school societies according 
to the lists of polls and ratable estate of such societies respectively." The 
societies here referred to were formerly known only as parishes or societies, 
and later as ecclesiastical societies. This act recognizes them in a distinct 
capacity and denominates them school societies. 

The "lands west of Pennsylvania" were sold August, 1795, for $1,200,000, 
by a committee appointed for that purpose, and their report was accepted 
by the legislature in October of the same year. 

The first apportionment of the income of the school fund was made in 
1779. In March, 1800, the dividends were $23,651. Up to this time the fund 
was managed by the committee that negotiated the sale. In 1800, three 
persons, with the treasurer, were appointed "managers" of this fund. In 1810 
Hon. James Hilhouse was appointed commissioner of the school fund. Dur- 
ing the fifteen years of his administration the annual dividend averaged 
$52,061.35, and the capital was increased to $1,719,434.24. 

In 1810 the expense of keeping a district school above the amount of 
public money, was apportioned according to the number of days of attend- 
ance of each person at school; in 181 1 this was so altered as to authorize the 
apportionment according to the number of persons attending. 

In 1820 an act was passed providing that the appropriation of $2 upon 
every $1,000 (40s. on every £1,000) in the list of each school society should 
not be paid whenever the income of the school fund equalled or exceeded 
$62,000, which it did the next year. From this date the income of the fund 
was apportioned to the several school societies and districts according to 
the number of persons over four and under sixteen in each, on the first Mon- 
day of August in each year. 

In 1836 the United States revenue was in excess of the expenditures, and 
Congress directed all the surplus except $5,000,000, to be divided and depos- 
ited with the several States, according to their representation in Congress. 



46 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

The amount thus appropriated was $37,468,859.97, but owing to the financial 
revulsions only three-fourths of this amount was paid to the States. This 
State received as its share $764,670.60. At the session of the legislature the 
same year an act was passed requiring this money to be distributed among 
the several towns in the State in proportion to their population, and that one- 
half at least of the entire income received from such funds should be annually 
appropriated for the promotion of education in the common schools. This 
is denominated the "Town deposit fund." The amount actually distributed 
to the several towns was $763,661.83. 

In 1841 an act authorized the school societies to divide the public money 
either according to the number of persons in the districts between four and 
sixteen, or according to the number who had attended the school ; but no 
district was to receive less than $50; and dividends from the school fund were 
not to be paid to any district unless its school had been kept at least four 
months of the year. It was also provided that "two or more adjoining school 
districts might associate together and form a union district with power to 
maintain a union school, to be kept for the benefit of the older and more 
advanced children of such united district." In 1842 the act constituting a 
board of commissioners was repealed. 

In 1846, the act passed in 1841 requiring the school societies to appro- 
priate to each district at least $50 was amended, making the amount $35, pro- 
vided there were not less than twelve children in the district. 

In 1854, each town was required "annually to raise by taxation a sum 
equal to one cent on the dollar on their grand list (as made up at that time) 
for the support of schools," and the whole amount to be annually distributed 
to the several school societies within each town, under the direction of the 
selectmen and town treasurer. When the amount of public money received 
by any district was less than thirty-five dollars, it was to be increased to that 
amount from the money raised by the town for the purposes of education, 
and the year for school purposes was to end on the 28th of February. 

In 1858, school districts were authorized to fix a "rate of tuition" not 
exceeding two dollars for any term ; but they might exempt therefrom all 
persons whom they considered unable to pay the same, and the town was 
to pay the amount abated. In 1862 this was raised to six dollars a year, and 
to twelve dollars for high schools. 

In i860 the amount to be raised by the town for schools was fixed at 
not less than three-tenths of a mill on the dollar, which is about the same 
as the amount fixed in 1854. In 1866 this was raised to four-tenths. In 1861 
an act provided that the amount raised by towns for school and the income 
of the town deposit fund should be distributed under the direction of tht. 
selectmen and school visitors ; but that no district should receive less than 
thirty-five dollars of the public moneys. 

In 1868 the amount to be raised by the town was "such sums as each 
town may find necessary to make the schools free, not less than six-tenths 
of a mill on the dollar," and in addition to four-tenths of a mill before 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 47 

required ; and the public money, with the exception of so much as was neces- 
sary to make the amount to each district fifty dollars, was to be divided 
"according to average daily attendance." 

In 1869 the amount to be raised by the towns was fixed at not less than 
one mill on the dollar; sixty dollars to be apportioned to each district, and the 
balance of the public money to be "divided according to aggregate attendance." 

In 1871 an annual appropriation was made from the State treasury of a 
sum equal to fifty cents for each person between four and sixteen years of 
age, to be paid to the several towns with the dividends of the school fund. 

In 1872 the legislature voted an appropriation to schools from the State 
treasury "equal in dollars to one-half the number of persons between four 
and sixteen years of age." In 1872 the sum of $1.50 for every person between 
the age of four and sixteen was voted. 

In 1893 an act was passed providing that when the income of the school 
fund did not warrant the payment of seventy-five cents per enumerated 
scholar, making with $1.50 a grant of $2.25 to the towns for each enumerated 
child, the deficiency should be paid from the State treasury. In 1897 it was 
directed that the income of the school fund be covered into the treasury, and 
that $2.25 be paid to the towns for each enumerated child. 

In 1903, an act was passed giving towns having grand lists of less than 
$500,000, a grant from the State treasury upon the basis of average attend- 
ance in addition to the grant of $2.25 per child enumerated to enable them 
to make an expenditure of $25.00 per child in average attendance for support 
of schools. Each of these towns was required to expend the proceeds of a 
four-mill tax for the support of the schools. This act was amended in 1907 
so that all towns having grand lists of less than $1,000,000 could obtain the 
grant. In 1909 this law was further amended so that all towns having grand 
lists of less than $1,750,000 could obtain the grant. The tax rate for towns 
having lists under $500,000 was reduced to three mills; those having lists 
over $500,000 and less than $1,000,000, three and one-half mills; those having 
lists over $1,000,000 and less than $1,250,000, four mills ; and those having lists 
over $1,250,000 and under $1,750,000, six mills. In 191 1 this law was again 
amended so that all towns having grand lists under $2,500,000 could obtain 
the grant. Those having lists under $500,000 were required to expend two 
and one-half mills; those having lists over $500,000 and less than $1,000,000, 
three mills; those having lists over $1,000,000 and less than $1,500,000, three 
and one-half mills; those having lists over $1,500,000 and less than $2,000,000, 
four and one-half mills ; and those having lists over $2,000,000 and under 
$2,500,000, six mills. 

District System. — In May, 1717, the obligation heretofore imposed on 
towns of seventy families to maintain a school for eleven months, was ex- 
tended to parishes or ecclesiastical societies having that number of families; 
and parishes having less than seventy families were to maintain a school 



48 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

for half the year; and the majority of householders in any parish were author- 
ized to lay taxes for the support of the school. 

In October, 1766, a law was passed authorizing each town and society 
to "divide themselves into proper and necessary districts for keeping their 
schools, and to alter and regulate the same from time to time, as they shall 
have occasion ; which districts shall draw their equal proportion of all public 
moneys belonging to such towns or societies, according to the list of each 
respective district therein." In his report of 1853, Dr. Henry Barnard says 
that "this act, with the operation of other acts transferring to school societies 
the direction and control of schools, which should have been confined to towns, 
has resulted in distributing the means of education most unequally over the 
state, and lowering the standard of education." 

In 1794 school districts were authorized "by vote of two-thirds of all the 
qualified voters, passed at a meeting called for that purpose, to lay a tax to 
build a schoolhouse, and to locate the same, and to choose a collector." 

In May, 1798, the school societies were invested with the powers, and 
subjected to the duties, which the former laws had given to and required of 
towns and ecclesiastical societies relative to the same objects, and from this 
date they are known in law as school societies — with territorial limits some- 
times co-extensive with a town, or in some cases a part of a town, and in 
other cases parts of two or more towns. These school societies not only had 
the control of schools, but generally of the burying grounds within their 
limits. In the revision of the laws respecting schools made in 1799, these 
societies are required to appoint "overseers or visitors," whose duties were 
nearly the same as those now required of school visitors. School societies 
were authorized to form school districts, and these districts to tax themselves 
for the purpose of building and repairing school houses, to appoint a clerk, 
a treasurer, and a collector; but the "committee to employ teachers and 
manage the prudentials" was appointed by the school societies. School soci- 
eties were authorized to institute and support schools of higher order. The 
law did not specify how long a time in each year the schools should be kept 
open. 

In 1886, towns were authorized to direct their school visitors to purchase 
at the expense of the town the text books and other school supplies used in 
the public schools. This act provided that the books and supplies should 
be loaned to the pupils of the public schools free of charge. 

In 1886 the employment of children under thirteen in mechanical, mer- 
cantile, and manufacturing establishments was forbidden, and the State Boarc^ 
of Education was authorized to enforce the law. In 1895 the age was changed 
to fourteen. Under this law children under fourteen and unemployed children 
between fourteen and sixteen are sent to school by the agents of the State 
Board of Education. 

In 1889, towns were authorized to discontinue small schools, and in 1893, 
school visitors were authorized to provide transportation for children wher- 
ever any school was discontinued. 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 



49 



In 1893, \vomen were given the right to vote for school officers, and also 
to vote upon any matter relating to education or to schools. In the same year 
women were made eligible to serve on the board of directors of any public 
library or on the Connecticut Public Library Committee. 

In 1893, the State Board of Education was directed to appoint a com- 
mittee to be known as the "Connecticut Public Library Committee," and in 
1895 acts were passed providing for the expenses of said committee and for 
annual appropriations for public libraries. 

In 1897 it was enacted that children residing in towns whose grand list 
was less than $900,000 might, with the consent of the school visitors, attend 
a non-local high school, and that a tuition fee not exceeding two-thirds of 
$30 should be paid from the State treasury. In 1899 the $900,000 limit was 
removed so that all towns might receive the State grant for scholars attending 
non-local high schools. 

In 1903, the State was authorized to pay one-half the expense of con- 
veying children to and from non-local high schools, provided that not more 
than twenty dollars be paid by the State for each scholar conveyed. 

In 1921 the sum to be refunded towns for high school tuition was in- 
creased to $50. 

In 1899 it was provided that the eyesight of the pupils in the public 
schools should be tested annually, and in 1901 this law was modified so that 
after 1904 the test should be made triennially. 

Supervision. — In 1903, the supervision of schools was authorized. Two 
or more towns together employing not less than twenty-five nor more than 
fifty teachers were authorized to form a supervision district which should 
continue for three years at least, and employ a superintendent of schools. The 
State was required to pay one-half of the annual salary of the superintendent 
provided that one-half did not exceed $800. This act also provided that upon 
the petition of the school board of any town employing not more than ten 
teachers, the State Board of Education should appoint an agent who should 
discharge the duties of superintendent of schools in said town Any town for 
which a superintendent was appointed under this act was required to pay 
one-quarter of the salary of the superintendent, and the State was required 
to pay three-quarters. In 1907, this act was so amended that any town 
having not more than twenty teachers could petition the State Board of 
Education to appoint an agent to discharge the duties of superintendent, the 
town to pay one-quarter of the salary and the State three-quarters A further 
amendment to this act was made in 1909 so that towns having over twenty 
and not more than thirty teachers could appoint a superintendent of schools 
and obtain one-half of the salary of said superintendent from the State, pro- 
vided the half should not exceed $800 per year. Another amendment pro- 
vided that the State should pay the entire salary of superintendents appointed 
for towns having not more than twenty teachers. 

Trade Schools. — In 1907, the establishment of free public schools for 

N.I..— 1-4 



50 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

instruction in the principles and practice of trades was authorized. The State 
Board of Education was authorized to expend a sum not to exceed $50,000 
for the support and maintenance of not more than two schools. No action 
was taken under the provisions of this law, and it was repealed in 1909, when 
an act authorized the State Board of Education to establish two schools, and 
providing an annual appropriation of $50,000 for their support. 

In 1913, the act of 1909 was amended so that town school committees 
and district boards of education could establish and maintain schools or 
courses of instruction in distinct trades, useful occupations and avocations, 
and obtain from the State annually a grant not to exceed fifty dollars per 
pupil in average attendance. This amendment also provided that the sum 
of $125,000 should be appropriated for the maintenance of such schools. 

Model Schools. — In 191 3, the State Board of Education was authorized 
to organize one school in each town having twenty teachers or less as a model 
school for observation and instruction of training classes conducted by 
the supervisor, and it was provided that the board might pay the teacher 
not to exceed three dollars per week, provided that the town in which the 
model school is located should pay not less than ten dollars a week or not 
less than the wage which was paid for teaching in said school during the 
previous year. 

In "An Act concerning schools," passed in 1839, a school district is for 
the first time declared to be a "body corporate, so far as to be able to purchase, 
receive, hold, and convey any estate, real or personal, for the support of 
schooling in the same, and to prosecute and defend in all actions relating to 
the property and affairs of the district." This act also empowered school 
districts to appoint their committees. It named the branches (the same as 
those now required) which a person must be found qualified to teach before 
he could receive a certificate from the school visitors. This act also provided 
that any school society might "apportion the public money among the dis- 
tricts, either according to the number of persons between four and sixteen, 
or according to the amount of attendance for a period of six months in each 
year." It was also provided that school districts might tax themselves to 
the amount of $30 the first year and $10 each year afterwards for school 
libraries; and that two or more districts might associate for supporting a 
high school. In 1856, school societies were abolished, and their property and 
their obligations transferred to towns. 

In 1865 towns were authorized to consolidate their school districts; and 
the act constituting the State Board of Education was enacted. The act 
making the principal of the normal school ex-officio superintendent of common 
schools was repealed. 

In 1870 the time schools must be kept in each year was made at least 
thirty weeks in districts in which there were twenty-four or more persons 
between four and sixteen years of age; and twenty-four weeks, at least, in 
other districts; and the appropriation of funds was to be made under the 
direction of the school visitors and selectmen. 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 51 

In 1888 the towns were required to maintain schools thirty-six weeks 
in each year in districts numbering one hundred or more children, and twenty- 
four weeks in other districts. In 1889 this was changed to thirty-six weeks 
for districts enumerating fifty or more, and thirty weeks for other districts. 
In 1895 thirty-six weeks was prescribed for all schools. 

In 1909, the district system was abolished in fifty-seven towns. Ninety- 
one towns had voluntarily consolidated their districts previous to the passage 
of this act and several had obtained special legislation under which con- 
solidation in part had been established. 

Normal Schools. — In 1849, the State Normal School was established at 
New Britain. In 1889, a second normal school was established at Willimantic. 
In 1893, normal schools were authorized at New Haven and Bridgeport. In 
1895 so much of this act as provided for a normal school at Bridgeport was 
repealed. In 1903, a normal school at Danbury was established. 

In 1909, an act was passed providing that the State Board of Education 
may at all times maintain, in any of the normal schools, one student, selected 
on the basis of scholarship and general fitness, from each town in the State 
having a valuation of less than one and one-half million dollars. The board 
was authorized to pay the living expenses of each student, not to exceed $150 
in any one year. Each student was required to enter into an agreement with 
the State Board of Education to teach in one of the towns from which such 
students are nominated or appointed for a period of three years after gradu- 
ation unless excused by the State Board of Education. 

In 1882 was enacted a law requiring "instruction concerning the effect of 
intoxicating beverages" if "twelve persons of adult years" petitioned the 
school visitors therefor. If the visitors did not grant the petition, an appeal 
to town meeting was provided. In 1886 physiology and hygiene relating 
especially to the effect of alcohol on the human system were made obligatory 
subjects and put on the same plane as reading and writing; school officers 
were required to examine teachers in these subjects. In the same year the 
State Board of Education was authorized to prescribe the books and to pre- 
pare a text-book and charts to be distributed to schools without charge. 
Under the law about forty thousand copies of a text-book were distributed. 
In 1893 the "nature of alcoholic drinks and narcotics" became an obligatory 
study. Graded text-books must be used in every school and studied by all 
pupils. In the lower grades one-fifth of each book must be devoted to "the 
nature and effects" of alcohol and narcotics; in higher grades the books must 
contain at least twenty pages relating to the subject. Massing these pages 
at the end of a book is not compliance with the law. Teachers must have an 
examination as to the "effects and nature of alcoholic drinks upon the human 
system." Failure to comply with the provisions of the law is "sufficient 
cause" for forfeiture of public money. 

In 1884, the State Board of Education was authorized to grant certificates 
of qualification to teach in any public school in the State and to revoke the 



52 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

same. In 1895, an act provided that certificates granted by the State Board 
of Education should be accepted by local boards in lieu of any other ex- 
amination. 

In 1885, the establishment of evening schools was provided for by law. 
Provision was made thereby for the instruction of persons over fourteen years 
of age in spelling, reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, and such other 
Studies as might be prescribed by the board of school visitors. A grant of 
$1.50 per child in average attendance was fixed by this act to be paid from 
the treasury of the State. In 1893, this law was amended so that it was com- 
pulsory on every town and school district having ten thousand or more in- 
habitants to establish and maintain evening schools. It was provided that 
no person over fourteen and under sixteen years of age should be employed 
in any manufacturing, mercantile, or mechanical occupation in any town where 
evening schools were established, unless he had attended an evening school 
twenty consecutive evenings in the current school year and was a regular 
attendant. The State grant was increased to $3 per pupil in average attend- 
ance. One hundred sessions of a school was required as a conditon of obtain- 
ing the State grant. 

In 1895, the law was amended so that only seventy-five sessions were 
required to obtain the grant, and the grant was reduced from $3 per child 
in average attendance to $2.25. A further amendment of the law was made 
in 1909 so that on petition of at least twenty persons over fourteen years of 
age, instruction in any study usually taught in a high school might be in- 
troduced. The last legislation in Connecticut (1921) has been compiled by 
the State Board of Education and the report may be secured by application 
to the Commissioner of Education. It is too voluminous for us to print in 
this chapter. 

We have spoken of the importance placed on education by the early 
settlers, and have enumerated many such schools in New London and Nor- 
which. The settlers also felt a responsibility for the welfare of the Indians. 
Many of these aborigines were suffering from drunkenness and ignorance, 
and it was not easy to get them to take an interest in a higher life. The 
pastors in New London and Norwich did their best. We submit a curious 
document, signed by the Mohegan Chief, Uncas. 

When King Charles the First sent his red-faced well-beloved cousin "a 
Bible to show him the way to heaven, and a sword to defend him from his 
enemies," Uncas valued the latter gift much more than he did the former. 
But I am happy to bring forward one new fact to show that he w^s not at all 
times indifferent to the other present. It has often been stated that Uncas 
uniformly opposed the introduction of Christianity among the people of his 
tribe. Within a few days past an original document has come to light which 
bears important testimony on this interesting question. It is nothing less 
than a bond in which, under his own signature, the sachem promises to 
attend the ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Fitch, whensoever and wheresoever 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 53 

he ma}' choose to appoint. This paper is so remarkable that I shall take the 
liberty of reading it in full. If we cannot call it the sachem's creed or con- 
fession of faith, it is at least his covenant : 

Be it known to all men and in special to the Authority of The Colony of 
Conecticott That I Uncas sachim of the Munheags, now resident in Pame- 
chaug doe by these presents firmly engage and binde my selfe, that I will 
from time to time and at all times hereafter, in a constant way and manner 
attend up j\Ir. James Fitch Minister of Norwich, at all such seasons as he 
shall appoint for preaching and to praying with the Indians either at my now 
residence, or wheresoever els he shall appoint for that hoh' service, and 
further I doe faithfully promis to Command all my people to attend the same, 
in a constant way and solemn manner at all such times as shall be sett by the 
sayd Mr. James Fitch minister, alsoe I promis that I will not by any wayes 
or meanes what soe ever, either privatly or openly use any plots or contrive- 
ances by words or actions to affright or discourage any of my people or others, 
from attending the Good work aforesayd, upon penalty of suffering the most 
grevious punishment that can be inflicted upon me, and Lastly I promis to 
encourage all my people by all Good wayes and meanes I can, in the due 
observance of such directions and instructions, as shall be presented to them 
by the sayd !Mr. James Fitch aforesayd, and to the truth hereof this seaventh 
day of June in the year one thousand six hundred seventy and three I have 
hereunto set my hand or mark. 

Wittnesed by us mark 

John Talcott The * of Uncass 

Tho: Stanton. Ser. 
Samuell Mason. 

Let us look with charity, my friends, upon this promise, remembering 
that every man, red face and pale face alike, is accepted "according to that 
which he hath, and not according to that which he hath not." 

Of interest in education on the part of New London county citizens, the 
following is a proof, quoted from Dr Gilman's address: 

Yale College is even more indebted to Norwich. Before it was char- 
tered by the State, Major James Fitch (another son of Reverend James) gave 
to the new collegiate school a farm of 637 acres of land, and offered the glass 
and nails for a house. The following is his proposal : 

Majr. Fitch's Generosity Proposed 1701. — In that it hath pleased y Lord 
our God as a token for Good To us and children after us to put it into the 
hearts of his faithfull ministers: to take soe great paines, and be at soe con- 
siderable charge for setting up a coledgeat schoole amongst us and now for 
farther promoating, of this God pleasing worke I humbly, freely and heartily 
offer, on demand to provid glass for a house and if people doe not come up 
to offer what is reasonable and needfull that I will than provid nails of all 
sorts: to be used in building a houes and hall: 2iy I give a farme, 637 Acrs 
of land and when I come home I will send ye draft and laying out to Mr. 
Danl. Taylor that he may make such a Deed proper in such a case the farme 
of value at 150 f I will alsoe take some pains to put it in a way of yearely 
profitt 30 i charge I hope will bring 20 £ p ycare in a little time. 

Newhaven October 16 1701 James Fitch. 



54 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

It was this noble gift which insured at that time the establishment of the 
now venerable institution. Not many years after. Dr. Daniel Lathrop, beside 
a large donation to the public school of his native place, gave £500 to the 
college without limitations ; and within the memory of most of those now 
present, Dr. Alfred E. Perkins, impressed with the thought that "a true 
university in these da}S is a collection of books," gave a fund of $10,000 to 
the college library in New Haven, thus perpetuating his name in grateful 
remembrance, and exerting an influence which will increase till the college 
and the country are no more. Three citizens of Norwich, "to the manner 
born," have thus given to Yale College the largest donations which, at each 
successive time, its treasury had received from any individual, and their 
example has been followed by many others, giving in proportion to their 
means. 

The most remarkable of the attempts to civilize the Indians is doubtless 
that of Rev. Eleazer Wheelock of Lebanon. The remarkable results of his 
effort with Samson Occum is shown in the following account of the origin 
of Dartmouth College, taken from Kurd's "History of New London County, 
Connecticut": 

In 1735, Eleazer Wheelock, a clergyman of fine talents, of earnest char- 
acter, and of devoted piety, was settled over the Second Congregational 
Church, in the north part of the town of Lebanon. Like many other ministers 
of the day and afterwards, he had several young men in his family, whom he 
taught the higher branches of English and in the classics. 

In December, 1743, a young Mohegan Indian, about twenty years of age, 
Samson Occom, whose name has since become more famous than that of any 
other of the tribe, unless perhaps the first Uncas, applied to Mr. Wheelock 
for admission among his scholars. Occom was born in 1723, at Mohegan, 
and grew up in the pagan faith and the rude and savage customs of his tribe. 
During the great religious awakening of 1739-40 he had become convinced 
of the truth of Christianity, and deeply alarmed for his own lost condition. 
For six months he groaned in the gloom of his darkness, but then light broke 
into his soul, and he was seized with an irresistible impulse to carry this great 
light to his benighted race, and to become a teacher to his lost brethren, and 
with his heart swelling with this impulse he now stood before Wheelock, 
asking to be instructed for this great work. 

It was not in the heart of Wheelock to resist this appeal, and he at once 
admitted him to his school and family with open arms, and in the spirit of his 
mission. Occom had already learned the letters of the alphabet, and could 
spell out a few words, and such was his zeal and devotion to study that in 
four years he was fitted to enter college; but his health had been so impaired 
b)' intense application, and lacking also the means, he never entered. Leav- 
ing school, he returned to his tribe, preaching and teaching salvation through 
Christ alone, with power and effect, supporting himself meantime, like the 
rest of his tribe, by hunting and fishing, and the rude Indian arts of making 
baskets and other Indian utensils, and occasional!}' teaching small Indian 
schools, but during all this time still pursuing his own studies in theology 
and Bible literature. , 

In this mission he visited other tribes. In 1748 he went over to Long 
Island and spent several years there among the Montauk, the Shcnecock, and 
other tribes, preaching and teaching with great success. At one time a great 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 55 

revival occurred under his labors there, during which many Indians were 
converted. August 29, 1759, he was ordained by the Suffolk Presbytery of 
Long Island, and was ever after regarded as a regular member of that ecclesi- 
astical body. 

The case of Occom and its instructive results attracted wide attention 
from the first start, and Mr. Wheelock determined to open his school to other 
Indian youths who desired to engage in and be fitted for the same work, 
and in a short time it became exclusively an "Indian School" for missionary 
purposes, so that by 1762 he had more than twenty Indian students^ preparing 
for the conversion of their countrymen. 

This new movement attracted the earnest attention of the leading clergy- 
men and Christian philanthropists throughout all New England and the 
Northern colonies. To all who looked with anxiety for the conversion and 
civilization of the aborigines of this part of North America, this school was 
long considered the brightest and most promising ground of hope. Notes of 
encouragement came pouring in from various sources throughout all the New 
England colonies, from ministers' councils, from churches, and from eminent 
leaders and philanthropists, with money contributions, cheering on the move- 
ment, and all aiming to increase the numbers in training, and to give to the 
school a wider sweep in its influence. Probably no school in this or any other 
land or age ever awakened so widespread and intense an interest or seemed 
freighted with such a precious and hopeful mission as did then this little 
parochial school, kept in the obscure parsonage of a countr}' minister. 

In 1765 a general conference of the friends of the school was held, at 
which it was. determined to send Samson Occom to England to show to our 
English brethren there what Christianity had done for him, and what it could 
do for the natives of North America, and that Rev. Nathaniel Whitaker, of 
Norwich, should go with him, to enlist co-operation in the cause and to 
solicit contributions in its aid. Occom was then forty-three years old, well 
educated, and spoke English clearly and fluently. His features and com- 
plexion bore every mark of his race, but he was easy and natural in social 
manners, frank and cordial, but modest in conversation, and his deportment 
in the pulpit was such as to command deep attention and respect. He could 
preach extemporaneously and well, but usually wrote his sermons. Such, 
then, was this son of the forest, and such his sublime mission to the English 
mother-land — to convert the natives of a pagan continent to Christianity 
and civilization through the ministry of pagan converts of their own race. 

His appearance in England produced an extraordinary sensation, and he 
preached with great applause in London and other principal cities of Great 
Britain and Scotland to crowded audiences. From the i6th of February, 1766, 
to the 22d of July, 1767, he delivered between three and four hundred sermons, 
many of them in the presence of the king and the roj'al family and the great 
nobles of the land. Large contributions were taken up after each of thess 
discourses ; the king himself gave £200, and in the whole enterprise £700 
sterling were collected in England and about £300 in Scotland. 

This success resulted in transferring Wheelock's Indian School to New 
Hampshire, which it was thought would be a better place for an Indian sem- 
inary, as being more retired and less exposed to disturbing influences than 
the more thickly settled colony of Connecticut. It was then incorporated as 
Dartmouth College (taking its name from the pious and noble Earl of Dart- 
mouth, whom Occom's mission in England had warmly enlisted in the cause), 
for the special object and purpose of educating and training Indian ^-ouths 
for the ministrv and missionary work of their race; but after the death of 
Eleazer Wheelock. its founder and president, and especially after the death 



56 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

of his son, John Whcelock, who succeeded him as president, its original and 
distinctive character as an Indian seminary gradually changed until it became, 
as it still remains, assimilated in character and purpose with the other colleges 
of the country ; and so the glowing dream, the fervid zeal, and the sanguine 
hopes and expectations of its great-souled founders faded away. 

In 1771, a Mohegan Indian, named Aloses Paul, was tried at New London 
and condemned to death for the murder, in a drunken brawl, of Moses Clark. 
A large assembly of English and Indians collected to witness the execution. 
At the recjuest of the prisoner, Samson Occom was appointed by the authori- 
ties to preach a funeral sermon in the presence of the poor wretch, as was the 
custom of the time, just before he was launched into eternity. Upon his own 
coffin, in front of the pulpit, sat the doomed man. Next around him were 
seated his brethren of the Mohegan tribe, the audience filling the rest of the 
church, a great crowd surrounding it, and a military company acting as guard. 

The sermon is still preserved in the library of the Connecticut Historical 
Society at Hartford (Pamphlet No. 225) ; the text from Romans vi. 23: "For 
the wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus 
Christ our Lord." It is not eloquent, it is not grand oratory, but it is some- 
thing higher than eloquence, and in its sad and solemn moaning over the 
degraded and lost condition of his race, in their pagan darkness, their wicked- 
ness, the awful consequences of drunkenness, their besetting sin, it has all the 
moving power and pathos of a Hebrew wail. 

The first part of the discourse dwells at length upon the peculiar mean- 
ing and significance of the term "death," as used in the text, its endless char- 
acter, and was addressed to the audience at large, and rising with the vast- 
ness of the idea, he exclaimed, "Eternitv ! O Eternity! Who can measure itl* 
Who can count the years thereof? Arithmetic fails, the thoughts of men and 
angels are drowned in it. How shall we describe eternity? To what shall 
we compare it? Were a fly to carry off one particle of this globe to such a 
distance that it would take ten thousand years to go and return for another, 
and so continue till he had carried off. particle by particle, once in ten thou- 
sand years, the whole of this globe and placed it in that distant space, just 
as it is now here, after all this, eternity would remain the same unexhausted 
duration ! And this eternal death must be th.e certain portion of all impeni- 
tent sinners, be they who they may. Negroes. Indians. English, or what nation 
soever ; honorable or ignoble, great or small, rich or poor, bond or free, all 
who die in their sins must go to hell together, 'for the wages of sin is death.' " 

He next addressed the doomed prisoner upon his coffin, pointed out to 
him the enormity of his crime, and how by drunkenness, and by despising 
the warnings and counsels of Christian teachers, he had been led to it; ex- 
plained to him the wav of salvation, urging him with pathos and earnest 
energy at once to accept it, and like the dying thief upon the cross beside 
the crucified Saviour, to throw himself upon the mercy of that same Saviour, 
and so, even at the eleventh hour, escape eternal death. 

PIc then turned to the Mohegans present: "My poor kindred!" he ex- 
claimed, "you see the woful consequences of sin by seeing this, our poor, 
miserable countryman, now before us, who is to die for his sins and his great 
crime, and it was especially the sin of drunkenness that brought this destruc- 
tion and untimely death upon him. There is a dreadful woe denounced from 
the Almightv against drunkards; and it is this sin, this abominable, this 
beastly sin of drunkenness that has stript us of every desirable comfort in 
this life. By this sin we have no name or credit in the world ; for this sin we 
are despised, and it is right and just, for we despise ourselves. By this sin 
we have no comfortable houses, nor anything comfortable in our houses. 



BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION 57 

neither food, nor raiment, nor decent utensils; we go about with ragged and 
dirty clothing and almost naked, most of the time half starved, and obliged 
to pick up and eat such food as we can find ; and our poor children suffering 
every day, often crying for food, and we have nothing for them, and in the 
cold winter shivering and crying, pinched with cold. All this comes from the 
love of strong drink. And this is not all the misery and evil we bring upon 
ourselves by "this sin. for when we are intoxicated with strong drink we drown 
our rational powers, by which we are distinguished from the brute creation ; 
we unman ourselves, and sink not only to a level with the beasts of the field, 
but seven degrees beneath them ; yea, we bring ourselves to a level with the 
devils : and I don't know but we make ourselves worse than the devils, for I 
never heard of a drunken devil." 

He closed his discourse with a fervid exhortation to his IVIohegan brethren 
to break ofT from their sins, and especially from their besetting sin of drunk- 
enness, by a gospel repentance; to "take warning by the doleful sight now 
before us," and from the dreadful judgments that have befallen poor drunk- 
ards. "You that have been careless all your dav now awake to righteousness 
and be concerned for your never-dying souls." Fight against all sin, and espe- 
cially against your besetting sin, "and above all things believe in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and you shall have eternal life, and when you come to die your 
souls will be received into hea-\-en, there to be with the Lord Jesus and all the 
saints in glory, which God in His infinite mercy grant, through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen." 

In 1786 he gathered a few Mohegans and several other Indians from other 
tribes in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Long Island, and went with them to 
Oneida county. New York, and there formed the nucleus of the clan after- 
wards known as the Brothertown tribe among the Six Nations. He con- 
tinued as their minister, actin? also as a missionarv among the Six Nations, 
until his death, which occurred in July, 1792. more than three hundred Indians 
following him mournfully and tearfulh- to the grave. 

Another young Mohegan. Joseph Johnson, educated in Wheelock's school, 
became also a preacher of great power and influence. He was sent early as 
a missionary to the Six Nations of New York, and afterwards co-operated 
with Occom in the establishment there of the Brothertown clan. At the 
breaking out of the war of the Revolution the Six Nations, a powerful and 
warlike Indian confederacy, were at first much inclined to favor the English 
side and to become the allies of the British forces of Canada, and to this 
end were strongU' tempted by the insidious wiles of British emissaries, backed 
by the glittering display and lavish use of British gold. 

Against this danger both Johnson and Occom exerted the whole weight 
of their great moral powers and their wide influence, the former especially 
appealing for help, in averting this impending danger, to Governor Trumbull 
and other friends here, and to the Assembly. His zeal and patriotic efforts 
attracted the attention of Gen. Washington, and while at Cambridge, direct- 
ing the siecre of Boston, he wrote him a letter with his own hand, dated Feb. 
20, 1776, thanking him for his patriotic and important services, and in closing 
he says. "Tell the Indians that we do not ask them to take up the hatchet for 
us unless they choose it, we only desire that they will not fight against us. 
We want that the chain of friendship should always remain bright between 
our friends, the Six Nations, and us. We recommend you to them, and hope 
by spreading the truths of the gospel among them it will always keep the 
chain bright." 

Another remarkable illustration of the importance of education to our 



58 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

forefathers is found in a sermon of Rev. Dr. Nott, pastor of the Franklin 
church from 1782 till 1852. This pastorate of seventy years, linked with 
those of Rev. Benjamin Lord and Rev. Dr. .Strong of Norwich, forms a note- 
worthy chain of human lives. Together they served their parishes 187 years! 
One succeeded another in turn in such a manner that these three men, each 
well acquainted with the successor in the ministry though not in the same 
parish, covered, and might well have conveyed by word of mouth, the history 
of New London county from 1717 to 1852! The sermon referred to was 
delivered on the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Nott's settlement at Franklin. 
He says: 

That I have contributed to the general improvement of my people in knowledge, par- 
ticularly the children and youth — as I have statedly visited the schools twice, usually three 
times a year, and likewise taught many of the young men Arithmetic, English Grammar, 
and Geography — I presume none will question. In the mean time, I trust I have con- 
tributed, in a degree, to the improvement of many others. More than forty young men. ir» 
whole or in part, have fitted for college under my direction ; twenty belonged to this 
town. A considerable number of the whole entered quite advanced in standing. About 
half a dozen of the scholars, who belonged to different colleges, have likewise spent con- 
siderable time with me ; some of them a term or two. .About the same number of young 
gentlemen have studied theology with me. A large number of school-masters, and some 
persons who have studied physic, made merchants, mechanics, and farmers, I have aided, 
more or less, in their education. I would be far from saying: "By the strength of my 
hand I have done it, and by my wisdom " I would, with the most lively gratitude, say, 
I have done it by the strength of that Almighty Being! "Who raiseth up the poor out 
of the dust, and lif teth the beggar out of the dunghill : and I mention it in this public 
manner that he may have the glory. (Since I began to fit for college, April, 1774, I have 
contributed something towards the education, as nearly as I can recollect, of between two 
and three hundred gentlemen, ladies, or children.) As a little wheel in mechanism sometimes 
puts in motion one much larger, I have been instrumental, in the hand of Divine Providence, 
of bringing forward into public life some persons who have given a far wider spread to 
knowledge than I was ever able to do ; and some, who now hold in society, and in the Church 
of Christ, a respectable standing. A wheel in the middle of a wheel. O, the depths of the 
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, 
and his ways past finding out. 

The first music school in this country was founded by Mr. Oramel Whit- 
tlesey at Salem, in 1835, under the name of Music Vale Seminary, and was 
maintained with great success for over forty years. Here were educated in 
music many hundred young women from different parts of the country. 

At the time when public high schools were starting in Massachusetts 
under the leadership of Horace Mann and others, public-spirited citizens in 
New London county had founded or soon afterwards founded private insti- 
tutions of high school grade. As time has passed, these institutions have 
survived, doing their work under private management, partly by means of 
their original funds and partly by funds given by the public for the secondary 
education of boys and girls. It is a curious fact that of the seven private 
schools recognized by the State of Connecticut as doing satisfactorily the 
work of a public high school, five are found in New London county. A brief 
statement about each school has been prepared by the principal or by a 
trustee of each and will be found elsewhere in this work. 



CHAPTER HI 
AN ERA OF UNREST 

The War for Independence — The Battle of Groton Heights — Narratives of Jonathan 
Rathbun, Rufus Avery and Stephen Hempstead — The British Fleet off New London 
— The War Marks the Beginning o£ Manufacture and Whaling. 

Much of the detail of local history will be found under the separate his- 
tories of various towns. New London county sent its full quota and more for 
every colonial enterprise. It was a large partaker in all the efforts that make 
Connecticut history glorious. We quote from Mr. Daniel Howard : 

In the days of the Revolution, "Brother Jonathan" of Lebanon was Wash- 
ington's right hand man. It used to be the custom to call the United States 
"Brother Jonathan," just as we now call the country by the nickname of 
"Uncle Sam." We do not know who was the first man to apply the name to 
our country, but it was George Washington who caused the name to be 
adopted. 

When the Revolutionary War broke out in the thirteen colonies there 
was one governor and only one who joined the patriots in their struggle 
against the British king and his tyranny. That Governor was Jonathan Trum- 
bull of Connecticut. When we read of what he did to help Washington and 
his army, we can realize why Washington loved him, trusted him, and looked 
to him for help and advice whenever he was in trouble. 

The War for Independence began in 1775, and Governor Trumbull was 
among the first men to encourage volunteers to go to Boston and Cambridge 
in order to help form the American army. The next year, when Washington's 
army went to New York, more than half of his 17,000 men were from Con- 
necticut. Throughout the six years of the war, Washington depended upon 
Jonathan Trumbull more than he did upon any other man to help him collect 
troops, provide food, clothing, and ammunition, write letters to committees 
of safety for their advice and assistance in carying on the war, and to do 
everything that was necessary to keep the soldiers and the patriots united 
and loyal to the army and its commander-in-chief. Washington soon formed 
the habit of saying whenever he needed advice or assistance, "Let us consult 
Brother Jonathan." "Brother Jonathan" seemed to represent the whole coun- 
try, and in time public speakers, poets, authors, newspaper men, in fact every- 
body, came to use "Brother Jonathan" as a nickname for the United States. 

Nathan Hale's name will be honored as long as America endures. It was 
April 20, 1775, in the Union Grammar School at New London, about thirty 
boys were busy with their lessons. We can imagine how diligentl}^ they were 
working, for many of them were anxious to enter college, win honors, and 
eventually become as popular and highly esteemed as was their young teacher, 
whom they idolized. This teacher was Nathan Hale. 

Young Hale, although not quite twenty years of age, had already won 
high reputation as a scholar, a teacher, a thinker, and a leader among the 
people. He was born in the town of Coventry, June 6, 1775. He grew up 
in a typical Connecticut home. Having been prepared for college by his good 
pastor, he was graduated from Yale University in 1773 with the highest 
honors. The first year after his graduation he taught in the little red school 
house at East Haddam. His success there led to his engagement the next 



6o NEW LONDON COUNTY 

year as teacher of the fine new grammar school at New London. He was 
tall, broad-shouldered, graceful. Intelligence beamed from his large blue 
eyes, and noble, good-natured face. A leader in athletics among the boys, a 
leader in the discussion of public questions among the men, it was no wonder 
that everybody loved him. 

The political troubles between the American Colonies and England had 
made him a bold and outspoken patriot, and often since the day he entered 
college his eloquent words had roused his hearers to the highest enthusiasm 
in defense of their rights and liberties. On this particular morning his 
thoughts were with his pupils and their schoolroom discussions. Suddenly 
there was heard the sound of excited voices in the street. One window was 
open, and the boys caught some words that filled them with excitement. 
The teacher counseled them not to let their thoughts wander from their 
lessons. 

The noise and excitement outside the building continued. The boys were 
too much disturbed to work, and the teacher himself found that he was 
as anxious as the bo}'S to know what was happening. He closed his school, 
and with his boys rushed toward the crowd that had surrounded the statue 
of King George. A man on horseback was speaking, but Llale was too far 
away to hear what he was saying. When the speech was finished, the crowd 
sent up a great shout. "What is it all about " asked Hale. "Haven't you 
heard? It is a message from Lexington, where the British have fallen on our 
brothers and sought to cut them to pieces. Yesterday there was a battle." 
"Has it come to that?" asked Hale in astonishment. "Hush! Hark! he is 
going to speak again. No, he is falling from his horse. This way!! Bring 
him into the tavern. Give him something to revive him. No wonder after 
such a ride!" Another man addressed the crowd: "Let all who wish to form 
some plan to help Massachusetts, meet me tonight at Miner's Tavern." 

Hale went to his lodgings. He was so absorbed with the terrible news 
that had come from Lexington that he thought no more of school. In the 
evening he joined the throng of serious, thoughtful men. assembled at Miner's 
Tavern. After listening to an earnest speech by the Hon. Richard Law. Hale 
asked permission to speak. He ascended the platform and began to talk. As 
they listened to his eloquence and observed his manly bearing, his hearers 
forgot all else in their desire to seize their muskets and swords and march to 
the aid of their countrymen in Massachusetts. Hale closed with these words: 
"Let us not lay down our arms until we have gained our Independence!" 
Independence! That was a new thought. But it was a thought that would 
soon be in thousands of minds. 

That night Hale made arrangements to go with the two companies of 
soldiers who were to be sent to Cambridge. The following morning they 
left New London at sunrise. At Cambridge, Hale became a favorite with the 
officers and men. For months he worked hard to train and exercise his com- 
pany of soldiers, and his bravery, daring and resourcefulness won compli- 
ments from his commander-in-chief, Washington. 

The next year, 1776, Washington's army moved from Boston to New 
York and fought the British at Long Island. The British won the battle, 
and the Americans were forced to retreat to Harlem Heights, leaving New 
York City in the hands of the enemy. Washington was in great distress. 
If he onlv knew the plans of the British, he might prepare his armj^ to meet 
them. If he could learn just how the city was fortified and guarded, he 
might then capture it. There was only one way to get the needed information. 
He must send a spy into the British camp. That spy must be no ordinary 
soldier. He must be skilled in military affairs, able to make drawings and 



AN ERA OF UXREST 6i 

descriptions of the fortifications, capable of understanding and reporting 
everything he saw, and above all else fearless and willing to risk his life. 

Washington asked Colonel Knowlton to endeavor to find such a man 
among the officers. Colonel Knowlton called the officers together and asked 
for a volunteer to undertake the dangerous task. No one responded. It was 
the disgrace of being a spy that held them back. The Colonel pleaded elo- 
quently for someone to undertake the work on which the fate of the whole 
army might depend. Still, no answer. Nathan Hale, who had just risen 
from a sick bed, was seen approaching. He asked, "What is going on?" 
They told him. Without a moment's hesitation, he exclaimed: "I will under- 
take it." 

Captain Hull, his friend and former classmate in college, exclaimed, "You 
do not know what you say. You a spy !" Another of the officers cried out, 
"There is someone other than you for such service." "Who?" asked Hale. 
There was no answer. 

Hale repeated his offer, saying, "I wish to be useful, and every kind of 
service for the public becomes honorable by being necessary." His brother 
officers said no more. That afternoon Hale reported to Washington and 
received his instructions. With a friend he left the room and walked from 
Harlem Heights to Norwalk, fifty miles up the Sound on the Connecticut 
shore. There he disguised himself as a Tory schoolmaster, and alone boarded 
a sloop that took him to Huntington, Long Island. Having landed near the 
Widow Chichester's tavern, and knowing this to be a resort for Tories and 
friends of the British, he passed by and made his first stop at the home of 
William Johnson, about a mile from his landing place. After resting a few 
hours and obtaining such information as he could about the journey he wished 
to make, he set out for the British camp, claiming to be looking for a position 
to teach. He visited the British camp on Long Island, and crossed over to 
New York City, where the British had taken full possession since he left 
Washington's headquarters. Here he spent some days visiting with the 
soldiers. .A.11 this time he was studying the plans of the fortifications, and 
whenever he had an opportunity to be alone he drew sketches and wrote out 
in Latin descriptions of what he had seen. 

When he could learn no more, with these maps and sketches concealed 
in his shoes, he started on his homeward journey. In safety he found his 
way back to Huntington, where he arrived in the morning, and expecting a 
boat to meet him. It was very early when he arrived, and seeing no boat he 
decided to go to the Tory tavern for breakfast. At the tavern he talked with 
the Tories, but he did not notice that one of them left the room after he 
entered. Several hours later a boat was seen approaching. The Tories at 
once scattered, fearing the boat might contain Connecticut Yankees, whom 
they did not wish to meet. Hale assured them that the Yankees would not 
hurt a poor schoolmaster, and offered to go and see what they wanted. 

We can imagine how eagerly he hastened to the edge of the water, ex- 
pecting to meet his friends, but alas! what a disappointment! W'hen he was 
within range of the boat's crew a dozen men leveled their guns at him and 
cried. "Surrender or die!" He was trapped. 

The man who had left the tavern was a Tory relative who had recognized 
him and sent word to a British ship. The commander of this ship had sent 
the boat to capture Hale. He was at once rowed to the guardship, "Halifax." 
"Are you a captain in the Continental army?" asked the commander. "I am," 
replied Hale. "Why are you disguised?" was the next question. There was 
no answer. "Search him," ordered the commander. The papers and drawings 
were found in his shoes. That settled it. He was a spy. 



62 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Hale was sent at once to the headquarters of General Howe in New 
York City. Howe was dumbfounded. "Why did you, a man of learning and 
fine appearance, attempt this sort of work?" Hale answered, "I am serving 
my country, and for that reason I will do any service that my country de- 
mands." Howe admired his spirit, and this thought came into his head, 
"What a gain if this man would serve us. Surely ambition and place can 
tempt him." "I will grant you full pardon, if you will join the British army, 
and you shall be speedily promoted to a high position." Hale answered, 
"Nothing so increases my loyalty to my country as this temptation to for- 
sake her." "Then you must die for her," was the grim response of General 
Howe. 

Turning to his desk, he wrote out the commitment, which directed 
William Cunningham to receive Nathan Hale, keep him in custody until 
morning, and then see that he was hanged by the neck until dead. A British 
officer then conducted Hale to the quarters of Cunningham, the provost mar- 
shal. This cruel and brutal man was in the habit of treating his prisoners 
most shamefully. He would insult them, kick them, and parade them up 
and down the corridors, with Richmond, his negro hangman, carrying a coil 
of rope behind them. Many were hanged in the yard back of the jail and 
their bodies left to dangle for hours where other prisoners would see them 
and shudder at the sight. 

This man questioned Hale as to his age and history, and read the death 
warrant telling him that he was to die at daybreak. Every minute of that 
time would be needed to saj' good-bye to his father, brothers, and sisters, and 
to write a last loving letter to Alice Adams Ripley, the young lady who 
waited in her Connecticut home, longing and hoping for the time when he 
would return from the war and make her his wife. He asked that his hands 
might be untied and that he might have a light and some writing materials. 
The heartless Cunningham refused his request. Hale asked for a Bible. 
Again he was refused with jeers and insults. He was placed in his cell, and 
after Cunningham had fallen into a drunken stupor, a kind-hearted British 
officer who was his guard furnished him materials and a light. The hours 
of that sad night were passed in writing his last letters to the dear ones 
at home. 

At daybreak the provost came. The prisoner had not slept, but was ready. 
He handed his letters to Cunningham, who opened them, read them, tore 
them into fragments, and stamped upon them, saying the rebels should never 
see such letters. No one should ever know that a man died with such cour- 
age. Oh, the anguish that pierced the soul of Nathan Hale! Yet he gave 
no sign of his feelings. 

He was ordered to prepare for the death march. He asked for a clergy- 
man, but his request was refused. The line of march took him through a 
vast crowd of men and women to the place of execution in Colonel Rutger's 
apple orchard. Hale, clothed in white, with his arms bound behind him, was 
preceded by a file of soldiers. The soldiers formed a hollow square, with 
an apple tree in the center. Underneath the tree the grave had been dug. 
The hangman placed his ladder against a limb of the tree and adjusted the 
rope. Four negroes placed the coffin beneath the hanging noose. Hale was 
ordered to stand upon the coffin. While the final preparations were being 
made, he stood with his manly form erect and his beautiful face illuminated 
with the glow of courage and heroism. Even the hardest of the soldiers were 
awed by the sight. Cunningham hoped to destroy the impression produced 
by the sublime spectacle and called to Hale to make his last confession. 

The martyr, whose face had been turned upward in prayer, after casting 



AN ERA OF UNREST 63 

upon Cunnin!2:ham a look of unutterable contempt, turned his eyes to the 
spectators. The women were sobbinfj and the men had turned away their 
faces. All became silent and his voice, strong, full, and ringing with the 
energy of courage and patriotism, uttered these immortal words: "I only 
regret that I have but one life to lose for my Country!" The provost was 
stunned. His rage almost choked him. As soon as he could collect himself 
he roared, "Swing the rebel ofiF!" 

Noble, heroic death ! Thus passed away the martyred patriot spy, but 
his name will live forever and furnish us with an inspiration for great and 
noble deeds. 

The battle of Groton Heights has often been described. But the account 
found below, by Jonathan Rathbun, has been out of print for fifty years: 

I was born in Colchester, Connecticut, in 1765. When 16 years of age, 
I joined as a volunteer a company of militia, belonging to my native town, 
and marched to the relief of New London, intelligence having just reached 
us of an attack on that place by the British under the conduct of the traitor 
Benedict Arnold. We left home to the number of about one hundred men 
early in the morning of the 7th of September, 1781, the day after the battle. 
Oo our arrival in New London we witnessed a scene of suffering and horror 
which surpasses description. The enemy were not to be found, but they had 
left behind them the marks of their barbarism and cruelty. The city was in 
ashes. More than one hundred and thirty naked chimneys were standing in 
the midst of the smoking ruins of stores and dwelling houses. Very little 
property had escaped the conflagration except a part of the shipping which, 
on the first alarm, was sent up the river. But though the city was destroyed, 
it was far from being deserted. Numerous companies of militia from the 
neighborhood were pouring into the town ; and the inhabitants, who had fled 
from their burning dwellings, were returning to gaze with anguish on the 
worthless remains of their property. Women were seen walking with con- 
sternation and despair depicted in their countenances, leading or carrying 
in their arms their fatherless and houseless babes, who in a few short hours 
had been bereaved of all that was dear on earth. Their homes, their pro- 
visions and even their apparel, were the spoils of the enemy or lay in ashes 
at their feet. Some were inquiring with the deepest distress for the mangled 
bodies of their friends, while others were seen following the carts which bore 
their murdered fathers, husbands or brothers to the grave. More than forty 
widows were made on that fatal day. Never can I forget the tears, the sobs, 
the shrieks of woe which fell from the kindred of our brave countrymen who 
then gave their lives to achieve our national independence. It was my melan- 
choly duty to assist in the burial of the dead, which brought me directly into 
the midst of these heart-rending scenes where the wife first recognized her 
husband, the mother her son, the sister her brother, in the body of a mangled 
soldier, so disfigured with wounds and clotted with blood and dust as to be 
scarcely known ! Often on my visits to New London have I walked near the 
spot where I helped to inter my slaughtered countrymen ; and, though many 
years have since rolled away, the recollection is still fresh in my mind, awak- 
ening anew the strong feelings of sympathy I then felt, and rousing into 
activity the love of my country. 

I recollect several interesting facts connected with the capture of Fort 
Griswold and the burning of New London, which I believe are not mentioned 
in the narratives of Messrs. Avery and Hempstead. 

After the capture of the fort and the massacre which followed, the enemy 



64 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

laid a line of powder from the magazine of the fort to the sea, intending to 
blow up the fort, and complete the destruction of the wounded within and 
around it. Stillman Hotman, who lay not far distant, wounded by three 
strokes of the bayonet in his body, proposed to a wounded man near him to 
crawl to this line and saturate the powder with their blood, and thus save 
the magazine and fort, and perhaps the lives of some of their comrades not 
mortally wounded. He alone succeeded in reaching the line, where he was 
found dead lying on the powder, which was completely wet with his blood. 
I do not find his name among the killed in the list of Mr. Avery. 

Another fact of a different character was currently reported at the time 
and deserves to be recorded to the deeper disgrace of the infamous Arnold. 
He had a sister living in New London, with whom he dined on the day of 
the battle, and whose house was set fire to, as is supposed, by his orders, im"- 
mediately afterwards. Perhaps he found her too much of a patriot for his 
taste, and took this step in revenge. 

The next year, 1782, I was led by the spirit which the scenes I had wit- 
nessed in New London had fanned into a flame, to leave my father's house 
and the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, and to enlist as a private in the 
Connecticut State troops. Never shall I forget the impressive circumstances 
under which I took the soldier's oath. With five others of my townsmen who 
enlisted with me, I was marched into the meeting house on the first Monday 
in April, it being Freeman's Day, and there in the presence of a large con- 
course of people we swore to discharge our duty faithfull}-. We were ordered 
to Fort Stanwich, in Stamford. Connecticut, where I remained during all but 
the last month of my term of service. Here I was subjected to the usual 
hardships of military life. Many a time have I been out for several days on 
scouting parties, sometimes to the distance of twenty-five miles. These 
were not only attended with fatigue, cold and hunger, but with no little peril 
of life. On one occasion a rifle ball passed through my hat and cut away the 
hair of my head, but a kind Providence protected me. 

A party of fourteen men under Lewis Smith were surprised by a body 
of mounted troops to the number of sixty, by whom they were ordered to 
surrender. Lewis Smith, perceiving the hopelessness of resistance against 
such an overwhelming force, inquired of the British officer in command 
whether if they should surrender they would be treated as prisoners of war. 
The answer was, "Yes," but no sooner had they lowered their muskets thart 
the enemy shot them down. 

As a specimen of the hardships to which the private soldier in time of 
war is constantly liable, I may mention the following: One evening the 
orderly sergeants passed around among the men and with a whisper com- 
manded us to equip ourselves without noise; and then we were marched out 
of the fort to a woods two miles distant and ordered to lie down on the frozen 
ground, where we passed a bitter cold night with only a single blanket and 
our overcoats to protect us. We afterwards learned that this step was taken 
to avoid the enemy, who it was reported were that night to attack the fort 
with an overwhelming force. From such exposures and hardships as these 
my constitution received a shock from which I have never recovered. The 
sickness of my father was considered a sufficient reason for giving me a dis- 
charge ; and after eleven months' service I left Stamford for Colchester. On 
reaching home I was immediately taken sick, and for six months was unable 
to do any business. From that time mingled mercies and misfortunes have 
attended' me. The infirmities thus contracted in the service of my country 
disabled me from arduous manual labor, and much of my life has therefore 
been spent in trade and other light employments. My heaviest misfortune, 



AN ERA OF UNREST 65 

however, has been the sickness of my excellent wife, who for forty years has 
been confined to her bed, and for whose medication and comfort, with the 
other expenses of my family, the earnings of my industry have proved in- 
sufficient, especially since the infirmities of old age have come upon me. But 
of none cf these things do I complain. They are wisely appointed, and 
have been greatly alleviated by the kindness of a generous community. I 
mention them for the sole object of interesting my countrymen in my present 
effort to supply my wants through this little book. 

The following narrative by Rufus Avery, orderly sergeant under Captain 
William Latham, containing an account of the transactions at New London 
and Groton on the 6th of September, 1781, is in. his own words: 

I had charge of the garrison the night previous to the attack. The enemy 
had not yet appeared near us, nor did we expect them at this time more than 
ever ; but it is true "we know not what shall be on the morrow." About 3 
o'clock in the morning, as soon as daylight appeared, so as I could look off, 
I saw the fleet in the harbor, a little distance below the light house; it con- 
sisted of thirty-two in number — ships, brigs, schooners and sloops. It may 
well be imagined that a shock of consternation and a thrill of dread appre- 
hension flashed over me. I immediately sent for Capt. William Latham, who 
was captain of said fort, and who was near by. He came and saw the fleet, 
and sent notice to Colonel Ledyard, who was commander of the harbor, and 
also of Forts Griswold and Trumbull. He ordered two large guns to be loaded 
with heavy charges of good powder, &c. Captain William Latham took 
charge of the one which was to be discharged from the northeast part of the 
fort, and I had to attend the other on the west side, and thus we as speedily 
as possible prepared to give alarm to the vicinity, as was to be expected in 
case of danger, two guns being the specified signal for alarm in distress. But 
a difficulty now arose from having all our plans communicated by a traitor! 
The enemy understood our signal was two regular guns, and they fired a 
third, which broke our alarm, and caused it to signify good news or a prize, 
and thus it was understood by our troops, and several companies which were 
lying back ready to come to our assistance in case of necessity were by this 
measure deterred from coming. The reader may well suppose, though time 
would not permit us to consider or anticipate long, that the sense of our 
helplessness without additional strength and arms was dreadful ; but the try- 
ing events of the few coming hours we had not known ! Colonel Ledyard 
now sent expresses from both forts, to call on every militia captain to hurry 
with their companies to the forts. But few came ; their excuse was that it 
was but a false alarm, or for some trifling alarm. The enemy's boats now 
approached and landed eight hundred officers and men, some horses, car- 
riages and cannon, on the Groton side of the river, about 8 o'clock in the 
morning; and another division on the New London side, below the light 
house, consisting of about seven hundred officers and men. The army on 
Groton banks was divided into two divisions. Colonel Ayres took command 
of the division southeast of the forts, consisting of about half, sheltering them 
behind a ledge of rocks about one hundred and thirty rods back ; Major 
Montgomery, with his division about one hundred and fifty rods from the 
fort, behind a high hill. The army on New London side of the river had 
better and more accommodating land to march on than that on Groton side. 
As soon as their army had got opposite Fort Trumbull, they divided, and 
one part proceeded to the city of New London, plundered and set fire to the 
shipping and buildings, the rest marched down to Fort Trumbull. Captain 



66 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Adam Shapley, who commanded, seeing that he was likely to be overpowered 
by the enemy, spiked his cannon and embarked on board the boats which 
had been prepared for him in case of necessity; but the enemy were so 
quick upon him that before he and his little handful of men could get out of 
the reach of their guns, seven men were badly wounded in the boats. The 
remaining ones reached Fort Griswold, where, poor fellows, they met a 
mortal blow. 

Ayres and Montgomery got their army stationed about 9 o'clock in the 
morning. When they appeared in sight, we threw a number of shots among 
them, but they would immediately contrive to disappear behind their hills. 
About 10 o'clock they sent a flag of truce to demand the surrender of the fort. 
When the flag was within about forty rods from the fort, we sent a musket 
ball in front of them, and brought them to a stand. Col. Ledyard called a 
council of war to ascertain the minds of his officers and friends about what 
was best to be done in this momentous hour, when every moment indicated a 
bloody anrl decisive battle. They all agreed in council to send a flag to them. 
They did so, choosing Capt. Elijah Avery, Capt. Amos Staunton, and Capt. 
John Williams, who went immediately to meet the British flag and receive 
their demand, which was to give up the Fort to them. The council was then 
inquired of what was to be done, and the answer returned to the British 
flag was that "the Fort would not be given up to the British." The flag then 
returned to their division commanded by Ayres, but soon returned to us 
again ; when about a proper distance our flag met them and attended to 
their summons, and came back to inform Col. Ledyard that the enemy 
declared that "if they were obliged to take it by storm, they should put the 
Martial Law in full force," that is, "what they did not kill by ball, they should 
put to death by sword and bayonet!" Col. Ledyard sent back the decisive 
answer that "we should not give up the Fort to them, let the consequences 
be what they would." 

While these flags were passing and repassing, we were exchanging shots 
with the British at Fort Trumbull, as they had got possession of it before 
the battle commenced in action at Fort Cjriswold. We could throw our shot 
into Fort Trumbull without any difUculty, but the British could not cause 
theirs to enter Fort Griswold, because they could not aim high enough. They 
had got possession and in use some of our best pieces and ammunition, which 
were left in Fort Trumbull, when Captain Shapley left it and retreated. About 
II o'clock in the morning, when they perceived what we were about to do, 
they started with both their divisions. Colonel Ayres advancing with his in 
solid columns. As soon as they reached the level ground and in a proper 
range, we saluted them with an eighteen-pounder, then loaded with two bags 
of grape shot. Capt. Elias H. Halsey was the one who directed the guns, and 
took aim at the enemy. lie had long practiced on board a privateer, and 
manifested his skill at this time. I was at the gun with others when it was 
discharged into the British ranks, and it cleared a very wide space in their 
solid columns. It has been reported by good authority that about twenty 
were killed and wounded by that one discharge of grape shot. As soon as 
the column was broken by loss of men and officers, they were seen to scatter 
and trail arms, coming on with a quick step towards the fort, inclining to 
the west. We continued firing, but they advanced upon the south and west 
sides of the fort. Colonel Ayres was mortally wounded. Major Montgomery 
now advanced with his division, coming on in solid columns, bearing around 
to the north, until they got east of the redoubt or battery, which was east 
of the fort, then marching with a quick step into the battery. Here we sent 
among them large and repeated charges of grape shot which destroyed a 



AN ERA OF UNREST 67 

number, as we could perceive them thinned and broken. Then they started 
for the fort, a part of them in platoons, discharging their guns; and some of 
the officers and men scattering, they came around on the cast and north 
side of the fort. Here Major Montgomery fell, near the northeast part of 
the fort. We might suppose the loss of their commanders might have dis- 
ma3'ed them, but they had proceeded so far, and the excitement and deter- 
mination on slaughter was so great, they could not be prevented. As soofr 
as their army had entirely surrounded the garrison, a man attempted to open 
the gates ; but he lost his life in a moment, before he could succeed. There 
was hard fighting and shocking slaughter, and much blood spilt before another 
attempt was made to open the gates, which was at this time successful ; for 
our little number, which was only one hundred and fifty-five, officers and 
pri%-ates (the most of them volunteers), were by this time overpowered. There 
was then no block house on the parade as there is now, so that the enemy 
had every chance to wound and kill every man. When they had overpowered 
us and driven us from our station at the breastwork into the fort, and Colonel 
Ledyard saw how few men he had remaining to fight with, he ceased resist- 
ance. They all left their posts and went on to the open parade in the fort, 
where the enemy had a fair opportunity to massacre us, as there were only 
six of us to an hundred of them ! This, this was a moment of indescribable 
misery! We can fight with good hearts while hope and prospects of victory 
aid us; but, after we have fought and bled, and availed nothing, to yield to 
be massacred by the boasting enemy "tries men's hearts !" Our ground was 
drenched w-ith human gore, our wounded and dying could not have any 
attendance, while each man was almost hopeless of his own preservation; 
but our country's danger caused the most acute anxiety. Now I saw the 
enemy mount the parapets like so many madmen, all at once, seemingly. 
They swung their hats around, and then discharged their guns into the fort, 
and those who had not fallen by ball they began to massacre with sword and 
bayonet. I was on the west side of the fort, with Capt. Edward Latham and 
Mr. C. Latham, standing on the platform, and had a full view of the enemy's 
conduct. I had then a hole through my clothes by a ball, and a bayonet 
rent through my coat to the flesh. The enemy approached us, knocked down 
the two men I mentioned, with the britch (breech) of their guns, and I 
expected had ended their lives, but they did not. By this time that division 
which had been commanded by Montgomery, now under charge of Bloom- 
field, unbolted the other gates, marched into the Fort, and formed into a 
solid column. I at this moment left my station and went across the parade 
towards the south end of the barracks. I noticed Col. William Ledyard on 
the parade stepping towards the enemy and Bloomfield, gently raising and 
lowering his sword" as a token of bowing and submission; he was about six 
feet from them when I turned my eyes off from him, and went up to the 
door of the barracks and looked at the enemy, who were discharging their 
guns through the windows. It was but a moment that I had turned my 
eyes from Col. L. and saw him alive, and now I saw him weltering in his 
gore! Oh, the hellish spite and madness of a man that will murder a reason- 
able and noble-hearted officer, in the act of submitting and surrendering! I 
can assure my countrymen that I felt the thrill of such a horrid deed more 
than the honorable arid martial-like war of months ! We are informed that 
the wretch who murdered him exclaimed as he came near, "Who commands 
this fort?" Ledyard handsomely replied, "I did, but you do now." at the same 
moment handing him his sword, which the unfeeling villain buried in his 
breast! The column continued marching towards the south end of the 
parade, and I could do no better than to go across the parade before them, 



68 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

amid their fire. They discharged three platoons, as I crossed before them 
at this time. I believe there were not less than five or six hundred of the 
British on the parade, and in the Fort. They killed and wounded every man 
they possibly could, and it was all done in less than two minutes! I had 
nothing to expect but to drop with the rest; one mad looking fellow put his 
bayonet to my side, swearing, "by Jesus he would skipper me !" I looked him 
earnestly in the face and eyes, and begged him to have mercy and spare my 
life! I must say, I believe God prevented him from killing me, for he put his 
bayonet three times into me, and I seemed to be in his power, as well as 
Lieut. Enoch Staunton, who was stabbed to the heart and fell at my feet ali 
this time. I think no scene ever exceeded this for continued and barbarous 
massacre after surrender. There were two large doors to the Magazine, 
whick made a space wide enough to admit ten men to stand in one rank. 
There marched up a platoon of ten men just by where I stood, and at once 
discharged their guns into the Magazine among our killed and wounded, 
and also among those who had escaped uninjured, and as soon as these 
had fired, another platoon was ready, and immediately took their place when 
they fell back. At this moment Bloomfield came swiftly around the corner 
of the building, and raising his sword with exceeding quickness, exclaimed, 
"stop firing! or you will send us all to Hell together!" I was very near him 
when he spoke. He knew there must be much powder deposited and scat- 
tered about the Magazine, and if they continued throwing in fire we should 
all be blown up. I think it must, before this, have been the case, had not 
the ground and everything been wet with human blood. We trod in blood ! 
We trampled under feet the limbs of our Countrymen, our neighbors and 
dear kindred. Our ears were filled with the groans of the dying, when the 
more stunning sound of the artillery would give place to the death shrieks. 
After this they ceased killing and went to stripping, not only the dead, but 
the wounded and those who were not wounded. They then ordered us all 
who were able to march, to the N. E. part of the parade, and those who 
could walk to help those who were wounded so bad as not to go of them- 
selves. Mr. Samuel Edgcomb Jr. and myself were ordered to carry out 
Ensign Charles Eldridge, who was shot through the knee joints; he was a 
very large, heavy man, and with our fasting and violent exercises of the day, 
we were but ill able to do it. or more than to sustain our own weight; but 
we had to submit. We with all the prisoners were taken out upon the 
parade, about two rods from the Fort, and ordered to sit down immediately, 
or they would put their bayonets into us. The battle was now ended. It 
was about i o'clock in the afternoon, and since the hour of eight in the 
morning, what a scene of carnage, of anxiety, and of loss had we experienced ! 
The enemy now began to take care of their dead and wounded. They 
took off si.x of the outer doors of the barracks, and with four men at each 
door, thev brought in one man at a time. There were twenty-four men thus 
employed for two hours, as fast as they could walk. They deposited them 
on the west side of the parade, in the Fort, where it was the most com- 
fortable place, and screened from the hot sun which was pouring down upon 
us, aggravating our wounds, and causing many to faint and die who might 
have lived with good care. By my side lay two most worthy and excellent 
officers, Capt. Youngs Ledyard, and Capt. N. Moore, in the agonies of death. 
Their heads rested on my thighs, as I sat or lay there. They had their 
reason well and spoke. They asked for water. I could give them none, as 
I was to be thrust through if I got up. I asked the enemy, who were passing 
by us, to give us some water for my dying friends and for m}self. As the 
well was near they granted this request; but even then I feared they would 



AN ERA OF UNREST 69 

put something poison into it, that they might get us out of the way the 
sooner; and they had said, repeatedly, that the last of us should die before 
the sun set! Oh what revenge and inhumanity pervaded their steeled hearts! 
They effected what was threatened in the summons, sent by the flag in the 
morning, to Colonel Ledyard, "That those who were not killed by the musket, 
should be by the sword," &c. But I must think they became tired of human 
butchery, and so let us live. They kept us on the ground, the garrison 
charged, till about two hours had been spent in taking care of their men; 
and then came and ordered every man of us that could walk, to "rise up." 
Sentries were placed around with guns loaded, and bayonets fixed, and orders 
given that ever}' one who would not, in a moment, obey commands, should 
be shot dead or run through ! I had to leave the two dying men who were 
resting on me, dropping their heads on the cold and hard ground, giving them 
one last and pitying look. Oh God, this was hard work. They both died 
that night. We marched down to the bank of the river so as to be ready 
to embark on board the British vessels. There were about thirty of us sur- 
rounded by sentries. Captain Bloomficld then came and took down the names 
of the prisoners who were able to march down with us. Where I sat, I had 
a fair view of their movements. They were setting fire to the buildings and 
bringing the plunder and laying it down near us. The sun was about half 
an hour high. I can never forget the whole appearance of all about me. New 
London was in flames! The inhabitants deserted their habitations to save 
life, which was more highly prized. Above and around us were our unburied 
dead, and our dying friends. None to appeal to for sustenance in our ex- 
hausted state but a maddened enemy — not allowed to move a step or make 
any resistance, but with loss of life — and sitting to see the property of our 
neighbors consumed by fire, or the spoils of a triumphing enemy! 

Reader, but little can be described, while much is felt. There were still 
remaining, near the fort, a great number of the British who were getting 
ready to leave. They loaded up our large ammunition wagon that belonged 
to the fort with the wounded men that could not walk, and about twenty of 
the enem}^ drew it from the fort to the brow of the hill which leads down to 
the river. The declivity is very steep for the distance of thirty rods to the 
river. As soon as the wagon began to move down the hill, it pressed so hard 
against them that they found they were unable to hold it back, and jumped 
away from it as quickly as possible, leaving it to thrash along down the hill 
with great speed, till the shafts struck a large apple tree stump, with a most 
violent crash, hurting the poor dying, and wounded men in it, in a most 
inhuman manner. Some of the wounded fell out and fainted away; then a 
part of the company where I sat, ran and brought the men and the wagon 
along. They by some means got the prisoners who were wounded badly 
into a house nearby belonging to Ensign Ebenezer Avery, who was one of 
the wounded in the wagon. Before the prisoners were brought to the house 
the soldiers had set fire to it, but others put it out, and made use of it for 
this purpose. Captain Bloomfield paroled, to be left at home here, these 
wounded prisoners, and took Ebenezer Ledyard, Esq., as hostage for them, 
to see them forthcoming when called for. 

Now the boats had come for us who could go on board the fleet. The 
officer spoke with a doleful and menacing tone, "Come, you rebels, go on 
board." This was a consummation of all I had seen or endured through the 
day. This wounded mv feelings in a thrilling manner. After all my suffer- 
ings and toil, to add the pang of leaving my native land, my wife, my good 
neighbors, and probably to sufTcr still more with cold and hunger, for already 
I had learned that I was with a cruel enemy. But I was in the hands of a 



70 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

hig^her power — over which no human being could hold superior control — : 
and by God's preservation I am still alive, through all the hardships and 
dangers of the war, while almost every one about me, who shared the same, 
has met either a natural or an unnatural death. When we, the prisoners, went 
down to the shore to the boats, they would not bring them near, but kept 
them off where the water was knee deep to us, obliging us, weak and worn 
as we were, to wade to them. We were marched down in two ranks, one 
on each side of the boat. The officer spoke very harshly to us, to "get aboard 
immediately." They rowed us down to an armed sloop, commanded by one 
Captain Thomas, as they called him, a refugee tory, and he lay with his 
vessel within the fleet. As soon as we were on board, they hurried us down 
into the hold of the sloop, where were their fires for cooking, and besides 
being very hot, it was filled with smoke. The hatch-way was closed tight, 
so that we were near suffocating for want of air to breathe. We begged them 
to spare our lives, so they gave us some relief, by opening the hatch-way and 
permitting us to come up on deck, by two or three at a time, but not without 
sentries watching us with gun and bayonet. We were now extremely 
exhausted and faint for want of food ; when after being on board twenty-four 
hours, they gave us a mess of hogs brains ; the hogs which they took on 
Groton banks when they plundered there. 

After being on board Thomas's sloop nearly three days, with nothing 
to eat or drink that we could swallow, we began to feel as if a struggle must 
be made, in some way, to prolong our existence, which, after all our escapes 
seemed still to be depending. In such a time, we can know, for a reality, how 
strong is the love of life. In the room where we were confined were a great 
many weapons of war, and some of the prisoners whispered that we might 
make a prize of the sloop. This in some way was overheard, and got to the 
officer's ears, and now we were immediately put in a stronger place in the 
hold of the vessel ; and they appeared so enraged that I was almost sure we 
should share a decisive fate, or suffer severely. Soon they commenced calling 
us, one by one, on deck. As I went up they seized me, tied my hands behind 
me with a strong rope-yarn, and drew it so tight that my shoulder-bones 
cracked and almost touched each other. Then a boat came from a fourteen- 
gun brig, commanded b}' one Steele. Into this boat I was ordered to get, 
without the use of my hands, over the sloop's bulwarks, which were all of 
three feet high, and then from these I had to fall, or throw myself into the 
boat. My distress of body and agitated feelings I cannot describe; and no 
relief could be anticipated, but only forebodings of a more severe fate. A 
prisoner with an enemy, an enraged and revengeful enemy, is a place where 
I pray my reader may never come. Thev made us all lie down under the 
seats on which the man sat to row, and so we were conveyed to the. brig; 
going on board, we were ordered to stand in one rank by the gunwale, and 
in front of us was placed a spar, within about a foot of each man. Here we 
stood, with a sentry to each of us, having orders to shoot or bayonet us if 
we attempted to stir out of our place. All this time we had nothing to eat 
or drink, and it rained and was very cold. We were detained in this position 
about two hours, when we had liberty to go about the main deck. Night 
approached, and we had no supper, nor anything to lie upon but the wet deck. 
We were on board this brig about four days, and then were removed on board 
a ship commanded by Capt. Scott, who was very kind to the prisoners. He 
took me on to the quarter deck with him, and appeared to have the heart of 
a man. I should think he was about sixty years of age. I remained with 
him until I was exchanged. Capt. Nathaniel Shaw came down to N. York 
with the American flag, after me and four others, who were prisoners with 



AN ERA OF UNREST 71 

me, and belonged to Fort Griswold, and who were brave, and fine young men. 
Gen. Mifflin went with the British flag to meet this American flag. I sailed 
with him about twenty miles. He asked me many question.s, all of which I 
took caution how I answered, and gave him no information. I told him I was 
very sorry that he should come to destroy so many, many brave men, burn 
their property, distress so many families, and make such desolation. I did 
not think they could be said to be honorable in so doing. He said "we might 
thank our own countrymen for it." I told him I had no thanks for him. I 
then asked the Gen. if I might ask him a few questions. "As many as you 
please." I asked him how many of the army who made the attack upon New 
London and Groton were missing? As you, sir, are the commissary of the 
British army, I suppose you can tell. He replied "that by the returns, there 
were two hundred and twenty odd missing, but what had become of them he 
knew not." We advanced, and the flags met and I was exchanged and per- 
mitted to return home. Here I close my narrative; for, as I was requested 
I have given a jjarticular and unexaggerated account of that which I saw 
with mine own eyes. 

The author of the following narrative of events, Stephen Hempstead, 
entered the service of his country in 1775, and arrived in Boston on the day 
of the battle of Bunker Hill. He was at Dorchester Point; was on Long 
Island at the time of the retreat of the American army ; and was also a volun- 
teer in the first ships that were to destroy the "Asia," 84-gun ship, and a 
frigate lying above Fort Washington. In this attempt they were unsuccessful, 
although grappled to the enemy's vessel twenty minutes. For the bravery 
displayed by them they received the particular thanks of the commanding 
officer in person and in general orders, and forty dollars were ordered to be 
paid to each person engaged. He was afterwards wounded by a grapeshot 
while defending the lines at Harlem Heights, which broke two of his ribs. He 
continued in the service, and was again wounded on the 6th of September, 
1781. He formerly resided in New London. He enjoyed the reception of 
General LaFayette in that place during his last visit to this country, and 
within a few years wrote this account in full, for publication : 

On the morning of the 6th of September, 1781, twenty-four sail of the 
enemy's shipping appeared to the westward of New London harbor. The 
enemy landed in two divisions, of about 800 men each, commanded by that 
infamous traitor to his country, Benedict Arnold, who headed the division that 
landed on the New London side, near Brown's farms; the other division, 
commanded by Col. Ayres, landed on Groton Point, nearly opposite. I was 
first sergeant of Capt. Adam Shapley's company of State troops, and was 
stationed with him at the time, with about 23 men, at Fort Trumbull, on the 
New London side. This was a mere breastwork or water battery, open 
from behind, and the enemy coming on us from that quarter, we spiked our 
cannon, and commenced a retreat across the river to Fort Griswold in three 
boats. The enemy was so near that they overshot us with their muskets, and 
succeeded in capturing one boat with six men commanded by Josiah Smith, 
a private. They afterwards proceeded to New London and burnt the town. 
We were received by the garrison with enthusiasm, being considered experi- 
enced artillerists, whom they much needed ; and we were immediately assigned 
to our stations. The Fort was an oblong square, with bastions at opposite 
angles, its longest side fronting the river in a N. W. and S. E. direction. Its 



72 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

walls were of stone, and were lo or :2 feet high on the lower side and sur- 
rounded by a ditch. On the wall were pickets, projecting over 12 feet; above 
this was a parapet with embrasures, and within a platform for the cannon, 
and a step to mount upon, to shoot over the parapet with small arms. In the 
S. \V. bastion was a flag-staff, and in the side near the opposite angle was 
the gate, in front of which was a triangular breastwork to protect the gate; 
and to the right of this was a redoubt with a three-pounder in it, which was 
about 120 yards from the gate. Between the Fort and the river was another 
battery, with a covered way. but which could not be used in this attack, as 
the enemy appeared in a different quarter. The garrison with the volunteer;^ 
consisted of about i6a men. Soon after our arrival, the enemy appeared in 
force in some woods about half a mile S. E. of the Fort, from whence they 
sent a flag of truce, which was met by Capt. Shapley, demanding an uncon- 
ditional surrender, threatening at the same time to storm the F"ort instantly 
if the terms were not accepted. A council of war was held, and it was the 
unanimous voice that the garrison were unable to defend themselves against 
so superior a force. But a militia Colonel who was then in the Fort and 
had a body of men in the immediate vicinity said he would reinforce them 
with 2 or 300 men in fifteen minutes, if they would hold out; Col. Ledyard 
agreed to send back a defiance, upon the most solemn assurance of immediate 

succor. For this purpose, Col. started, his men being then in sight; 

but he was no more seen, nor did he even attempt a diversion in our favor. 
When the answer to their demand had been rettirned by Capt. Shapley, the 
enemy were soon in motion, and marched with great rapidity, in a solid 
column, to within a short distance of the ?"ort, where, dividing the column, 
they rushed furiously and simultaneously to the assault of the S. W. bastion 
and the opposite sides. They were, however, repulsed with great slaughter, 
their commander mortally wounded, and Major Montgomery, next in rank, 
killed, having been thrust through the body whilst in the act of scaling the 
walls at the S. W. bastion, by Capt. Shapley. The command then devolved 
on Col. Beckwith, a refugee from New Jersey, who commanded a corps of 
that description. The enemy rallied and returned the attack with great vigor, 
but were received and repulsed with equal firmness. During the attack a 
shot cut the halyards of the flag, and it fell to the ground, but was instantly 
remounted on a pike pole. This accident proved fatal to us. as the enemy 
supposed it had been struck by its defenders, rallied again, and rushing with 
redoubled impetuosity, carried the S. W. bastion by storm. Until this mo- 
ment, our loss was trifling in number, being 6 or 7 killed, and 18 or 20 
wounded. Never was a post more bravely defended, nor a garrison more 
barbarously butchered. We fought with all kinds of weapons, and at all 
places with a courage that deserved a better fate. Many of the enemy were 
killed under the walls by throwing simple shot over them, and never would 
we have relinquished our arms, had we had the least idea that such a catas- 
trophe would have followed. To describe this scene I must be permitted to 
go back a little in my narrative. I commanded an i8-pounder on the south 
side of the gate, and while in the act of sighting my gun, a ball passed through 
the embrasure, struck me a little above the right ear, grazing the skull, and 
cutting ofif the veins, which bled profusely. A handkerchief was tied around 
it and I continued at my duty. Discovering some little time after that a 
British soldier had broken a picket at the bastion on my left, and was forcing 
himself through the hole, whilst the men stationed there were gazing at the 
battle which raged opposite to them, cried, "my brave fellows," the enemy 
are breaking in behind you," and raised my pike to despatch the intruder, 
when a ball struck my left arm at the elbow, and my pike fell to the ground. 



AN ERA OF UNREST 73 

Nevertheless I grasped it with my right hand, and with the men, who turned 
and fought manfully, cleared the breach. The enemy, however, soon after 
forced the S. \V. bastion, where Capt. Shapely, Capt. Peter Richards, Lieut. 
Richard Chapman and several other men of distinction, and volunteers, had 
fought with unconquerable courage, and were all either killed or mortally 
wounded, and which had sustained the brunt of every attack. Capt. P. Rich- 
ards, Lieut. Chapman and several others were killed in the bastion ; Capt. 
Shapely and others wounded. He died of his wounds in January following. 

Col. Ledyard, seeing the cnemj' within the fort, gave orders to cease 
firing, and to throw down our arms as the Fort had surrendered. We did 
so, but they continued firing upon us, crossed the fort and opened the gate, 
when they marched in, firing in platoons upon those who were retreating to 
the magazine and barrack rooms for safety. At this moment the renegade 
Colonel B. commanding, cried out, who commands this garrison? Col. Led- 
yard, who was standing near me, answered, "I did sir, but you do now," at 
the same time stepping forward, handed him his sword with the point towards 
himself. At this instant I perceived a soldier in the act of bayoneting me 
from behind. I turned suddenl}' round and grasped his bayonet, endeavoring 
to unship it, and knock off the thrust — but in vain. Having but one hand, 
he succeeded in forcing it into my right hip, above the joint, and just below 
the abdomen, and crushed me to the ground. The first person I saw after- 
wards was my brave commander, a corpse by my side, having been run 
through the body with his own sword by the savage renegade. Never was 
a scene of more brutal wanton carnage witnessed than now took place. The 
enemy were still firing upon us in platoons, and in the barrack rooms, which 
were continued for some minutes, when they discovered they were in danger 
of being blown up, by communicating fire to the powder scattered at the 
mouth of the magazine, while delivering our cartridges; nor did it then 
cease in the rooms for some minutes longer. All this time the bavonct was 
"freely used," even on those who were helplessly wounded and in the agonies 
of death. I recollect Capt. Wm. Seymour, a volunteer from Hartford, had 
13 bayonet wounds, although his knee had previously been shattered by a 
ball, so much so that it was obliged to be amputated the next day. But I 
need not mention particular cases. I have already said that we had 6 killed 
and 18 wounded previous to their storming our lines; 85 were killed in all, 35 
mortally and dangerously wounded, and 40 taken prisoners to New York, 
most of them slightly hurt. 

After the massacre, they plundered us of everything we had, and left 
us literally naked. When they commenced gathering us up together with 
their own wounded, they put theirs under the shade of the platform, and 
exposed us to the sun, in front of the barracks, where we remained over an 
hour. Those that could stand were then paraded, and ordered to the landing, 
while those that could not (of which number I was one) were put in one 
of our ammunition wagons, and taken to the brow of the hill (which was very 
steep, and at least 100 rods in descent), from whence it was permitted to run 
down by itself, but was arrested in its course, near the river, by an apple tree. 
The pain and anguish we all endured in this rapid descent, as the wagon 
jumped and jostled over rocks and holes is inconceivable; and the jar in its 
arrest was like bursting the cords of life asunder, and caused us to shriek 
with almost supernatural force. Our cries were distinctly heard and noticed 
on the opposite side of the river (which is a mile wide), amidst all the con- 
fusion which raged in burning and sacking the town. We remained in the 
wagon more than an hour, before our humane conquerers hunted us up, when 
we were again paraded and laid on the beach, preparatory to embarkation. 



74 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

But by the interposition of Ebenezer Ledyard (brother to Col. L.), who 
humanely represent our deplorable situation, and the impossibility of our 
bein^ able to reach New York, 35 of us were paroled in the usual form, beinjj 
near the house of Ebenezer Avery, who was also one of our number, we were 
taken into it. Here we had not long remained before a marauding party set 
fire to every room, evidently intending to burn us up with the house. The 
party soon left it, when it was with difficulty extinguished and we were thus 
saved from the flames. Ebenezer Ledyard again interfered and obtained a 
sentinel to remain and guard us until the last of the enemy embarked, about 
II o'clock at night. None of our own people came to us till near daylight the 
next morning, not knowing previous to that time that the enemy had departed. 

Such a night of distress and anguish was scarcely ever passed by mortal. 
Thirty-five of us were lying on the bare floor — stifT, mangled, and wounded 
in every manner, exhausted with pain, fatigue and loss of blood, without 
clothes or anything to cover us, trembling with cold and spasms of extreme 
anguish, without fire or light, parched with excruciating thirst, not a wound 
dressed nor a soul to administer to one of our wants, nor an assisting hand 
to turn us during these long tedious hours of the night; nothing but groans 
and unavailing sighs were heard, and two of our number did not live to see 
the light of the morning, which brought with it some ministering angels to 
our relief. The first was in the person of Miss Fanny Ledyard, of Southold, 
L. L, then on a visit to her uncle, our murdered commander, who held to my 
lips a cup of warm chocolate, and soon after returned with wine and other 
refreshments, which revived us a little. For these kindnesses she has never 
ceased to receive my most grateful thanks and fervent prayers for her felicity. 

The cruelty of our enemy cannot be conceived ; and our renegade country- 
men surpassed in this respect, if possible, our British foes. We were at least 
an hour after the battle, within a few steps of a pump in the garrison, well 
supplied with water, and, although we were suffering with thirst, they would 
not permit us to take one drop of it, nor give us any themselves. Some of 
our number, who were not disabled from going to the pump, were repulsed 
with the bayonet, and not one drop did I taste after the action commenced, 
although begging for it after I was wounded, of all who came near me, until 
relieved by Miss Ledvard. We were a horrible sight at this time. Our own 
friends did not know us — even my own wife came in the room in search of 
me, and did not recognize me, and as I did not see her, she left the room to 
seek for me among the slain, who had been collected under a large elm tree 
near the house. It was with the utmost difficulty that many of them could 
be identified, and we were frequently called upon to assist their friends in 
distinguishing them, by remembering particular wounds, &-c. Being myself 
taken out by two men for this purpose, I met my wife and brother, who, after 
my wounds were dressed by Dr. Downer, from Preston, took me — not to my 
own home, for that was in ashes, as also every article of my property, fur- 
niture and clothing — but to my brother's where I lay eleven months as help- 
less as a child, and to this day I feel the effects of it severely. 

Such was the battle of Groton Heights; and such, as far as my imperfect 
manner and language can describe, a part of the sufferings which we endured. 
Never, for a moment, have I regretted the share I had in it ; I would for an 
equal degree of honor, and the prosperity which has resulted to my country 
from the Revolution, be willing, if possible, to suffer it again. 

Stephen Hempstead. 
The following note in Allen's history of the "Battle of Groton Heights" 



AN ERA OF UNREST 75 

shows that even today there is considerable doubt as to just how Colonel 
Ledyard was killed. Mr. All}n's subscript to the note of Harris indicatec 
again the lack of conclusive evidence on this point : 

Since this transaction there has ever existed in the public mind great 
uncertainty as to who was the murderer of Colonel Ledyard, the odium being 
divided between Major Bromficld, who succeeded Major Montgomery in 
command of the British troops on that occasion, and Captain Beckwith, of 
the 54th regiment. No person who actually witnessed the deed survived the 
battle,* or if any did they left no account of it behind them; and therefore 
the version of the manner of Ledyard's death commonly received as the cor- 
rect one is but merely a conjecture, at the most. By this, the deed is ascribed 
to the officer who received Ledyard's surrender of the fort, supposed by the 
greater number to have been Major Bromfield ; others at the time, and for 
a long time subsequent, laid the infamous transaction to the charge of Captain 
Beckwith, supposing him to have been the officer who met Ledyard and 
demanded the surrender. 

Let us consider the matter a little, and see if we be able to reconcile the 
known facts and strong probabilities in the case, with this generally received 
opinion. Upon the entry of the British officer to the fort, and at his demand 
of who commanded it. Colonel Ledyard advanced to answer, "I did," etc., at 
the same time tendering him the hilt of his sword in token of submission. 
It is obvious that in this action Colonel Ledyard must have presented the 
front of his person to that officer. Now, had the latter, in taking the sur- 
rendered sword, instantly (as all accounts charge him with having done) 
plunged it into him, is it not also evident that it must have entered in front 
and passed out of the back of his person? The vest and shirt worn that day 
by Colonel Ledyard, preserved in the Wadsworth Athenaeum at Hartford, 
upon examination reveal two rough, jagged openings, one on either side, a 
little before and in a line with the lower edge of the arm-holes of the vest. 
The larger of these apertures is upon the left side; the difference in size 
between it and that on the right corresponds with the taper of a sabre blade 
from hilt to point, showing conclusively that the weapon entered from the 
left and passed out at the right, and that the person by whom the wound was 
inflicted must have stood upon the left side of the wearer when the plunge 
was made. These holes are marked : that on the left as "where the sword 
entered," and that on the right as "where the sword came out" — so marked, 
doubtless, by the person who presented these memorials to the society, a near 
relative of Colonel Ledyard, and who considered them as the marks of the 
fatal wound. These are the only marks visible upon the garment. It is a 
reasonable supposition that when the British officer entered and thundered 
his demand he carried his drawn sword in his right hand ; for we can scarcely 
imagine an officer rushing unarmed into a place of such danger and demand- 
ing a surrender. Now. in case he did so carry his sword, he must necessarily 

• Mr. Harris is in error here. I believe, as I myself have heard this action described 
by three people whose fathers saw the murder, and often told of it to their children 
(see notes on Andrew Gallup and Caleb Avery). This being the case, most of the 
ground for Mr. Harris's argument is taken away. The argument, though ingenious, is 
not conclusive, since no one can by reasoning be certain what positions would be 
taken in moments of such excitement. The most natural positions are those which 
agree with the popularly received account, as men of military experience and educa- 
tion, I think, will agree. — A. 



76 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

cither have sheathed, dropped, or changed it to his left hand, in order to 
receive Ledyard's with the right ; and this hardly seems possible. We must 
therefore suppose that he received it in his left hand; and if so, does it not 
appear as most unreasonable that, having a sword in either hand, he would 
have used that in his left with which to make the thrust? Yet he must have 
done so if it was by his own sword that Ledyard met his death. Neither does 
it appear possible that in the heat and excitement of the engagement, coolly 
calculating the chances, he would have passed around to the left of his victim 
for the purpose of making the wound more surely fatal — the only reason for 
which we can suppose it to have been done. 

We have seen from the position occupied by the parties that the wound, 
if inflicted instantly on the surrender of the sword, must have been given 
in front ; the marks in the vest conclusively prove it to have been given in the 
left side. We have seen the awkward position of the officer with his own 
sword in his right and Ledyard's in his left hand — a situation almost pre- 
cluding the idea of his making the stab with the latter. We have also seen 
that no person who witnessed it left any testimony regarding the affair, and 
that all the commonly received version of it is based upon is really but 
the surmises of a people wrought almost to desperation by their losses and 
wrongs, who in the first moments of exasperation would naturally attribute 
an act of such enormity to the commander as the representative of the enemy. 
Now, after considering all these facts and probabilities, is it not a more 
rational conclusion that the wound was given by a by-standing ofificer — a 
subaltern or aid, perhaps — than that it was inflicted by the officer to whom 
Ledj'ard offered his sword? It certainly so appears to us. But in case that, 
despite all these reasons for believing that officer innocent of the crime, he 
was really guiltv of the two to whom it has been charged, against but one 
is there any evidence to sustain the charge, and this is purely circumstantial. 
Captain Beckwith acted as aid to Lieutenant-Colonel Ayres on the dav of the 
battle, and was the officer sent to demand the surrender of the fort. He, with 
Lord Dalrymple, was sent by Arnold as bearer of despatches to Sir Henry 
Clinton, and in all probability furnished the account of the battle for Riving- 
ton's Gazette, which appeared in that paper before the remainder of the 
expedition had reached New York. In this account, in which the details of 
the conference regarding the surrender are given with a minuteness with 
which only an eye-witness could give them, personal malice toward Colonel 
Ledyard is a salient feature, which the most unobservant reader cannot fail 
to notice. The writer appears to have considered the flag and the officers 
bearing it insulted in the conference; and in his reference to the garrison, 
and to Colonel Ledyard in particular, he expresses himself in the most con- 
temptuous and bitter terms. 

If he was the officer to whom the surrender was made, it is possible that 
on beholding the man who he fancied had insulted him he allowed his rage 
to supplant his manhood, and. forgetting his military honor, plunged his 
sword into his vanquished enemy. From Miss Caulkins' "History of New 
London" we learn that he afterward passed through New York on his way 
to Barbadoes. While there he was charged by the newspapers of that city 
with the murder, which he indignantly denied. A correspondence was opened 
between him and a relative of Colonel Ledyard in reference to the question, 
when he produced documents which exculpated him. In view of this, how- 
ever, as between him and Major Bromfield. circumstantial evidence is strongly 
in favor of the latter, who doubtless could have furnished as full documentary 
proof of his innocence, had he been called upon for it. — H. 



AN ERA OF UNREST 

The population of New London county had grown by 1800 to about 
40,000, Stonington at that time being its largest town. Commerce was carried 
on extensively with the West Indies and with South America and Europe. 
The war between England and France was at that time a source of much 
profit to New England, but with the Embargo Act of 1807 the shipping 
interests of the county were hard hit. It is small wonder that the Federalists 
opposed Jefferson's policy. 

One wonders, of course, why New England, in spite of impressment of 
our seamen by the Mother Country and her renunciation of a well settled 
shipping rule, was so luke-warm in its animosity against her and so hostile 
to France. The reasons are three: In the first place, the French privateers 
of the West Indies and their depredations on New England commerce; sec- 
ondly, Jefferson was at the same time a French adherent, and author of a 
commercial policy the stupidest conceivable from our standpoint. He had 
called a halt in navy making and had forced on the country the embargo and 
non-intercourse acts. But the third reason was by far the most important, 
viz.: The feeling in every real New England man that Great Britain was 
fighting the battle of Christendom against Bonaparte. "Suppose England 
has changed her maritime rules," our fathers said, "let us in at the game, no 
matter what rule she makes. Give us seaway, and give us a port ahead — we 
will find our way in. Never mind the cruising frigates or the blockade, actual 
or on paper. If we are caught, ours the loss." 

The thought that, after all, Old England might not win hung like a cloud 
over every New England hamlet. Open the limp sheets of those old Con- 
necticut journals. Even in our actual fighting days from 1812 to 1815, clip- 
pings from the English papers that slipped in via Halifax were what people 
wanted most to read — not news of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. Wellington 
and Napoleon were the real figures on the world's stage. And our grand- 
fathers judged rightly. 

.Such were the feelings that gave birth to the Hartford Convention. Have 
we in Connecticut anything to apologize for in that gathering? If so, it 
doesn't appear in its journal— and Theodore Dwight was an honest man. 
Do we wish it had never met? If that page were taken from New England 
history, we should always miss something— a rare sample of her sober courage, 
her four-square view of things as they are. If other events— the treaty, and 
Jackson at New Orleans— had not come near at the time of its adjournment, 
its name would never have been spoken with a sneer or written with nullifica- 
tion in the context. 

But with the end of the war of 1812 came the dying out of the Federalist 
party and a new era for industrial New England. The New England of 
commercial prosperity soon took up manufacturing on a large scale. New 
London and Stonington still had their thriving fleets of merchantmen and 
whalers, concerning which we quote from an article by Miss Charlotte M. 
Holloway, in the "Connecticut Quarterly": 



78 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

The first ship fitted out from New London was the "Rising Sun," Squire, 
captain, 1784; but the voyage was not a long nor eventful one, and to the ship 
"Commerce," rather, which cleared from New London February 6, 1794, is 
due the honor of having been the pioneer of the New London whaling fishery, 
and the first to make for southern latitudes, and after a cruise of fifteen months 
it returned July 6, 1798, with a full cargo of oil. It would have been inter- 
esting to know more than the meagre record of the name of the captain. 
Ransom, but the "Commerce" after another voyage was put into the West 
Indian trade, and was lost of? Cape Henry, December 25, 1799. Gen. William 
Williams, of the Williams family noted for benefactions to the city, had also 
sent out the "Criterion," which was successful, but for some reason, though 
endeavor was made to form a comjjany in New London to prosecute whaling, 
the published call in "Green's Gazette" met with insufficient response, and 
the project languished till 1805, when Dr. Samuel H. P. Lee purchased the 
"Dauphin." built by Joseph Barber, at Pawkatuck Bridge, especially for whal- 
ing. Dr. Lee organized a whaling company, but it is not alone through 
service to her commerce that New London is debtor to this noble man, for 
in the terrible yellow fever epidemic of 1798 which decimated the population, 
he remained at his post working day and night to save life and stimulating 
others to heroism and endurance. Soon three ships were in commission — the 
"Daphne," "Leonidas" and "Lydia" — and their catches were sufficient to war- 
rant the company in continuing; but there came the deterrents of the Em- 
bargo and the War of 1812. So that the real birth of the whale fishing in 
New London can be dated from 1819, when Thomas W. Williams fitted out 
the "Mary" (Captain Davis), Daniel Dcshon and others the "Carrier," Doug- 
las, and the "Mary Ann," Inglis ; in 1820, the "Pizarro," Elias Coit ; 1821, the 
brig "Thames" and the ships "Commodore Perry" and "Stonington," the 
latter so large that it was made a stock enterprise, divided into shares of one 
thirty-second each. Both ships sailed the same year around the Horn, and 
after an absence of twenty-eight months brought back, the "Carrier" 2,100 
and the "Stonington" 1,550 barrels. By 1827 there were six ships fitted out 
by T. W. Williams, and N. and W. W. Billings had three — the "Commodore 
Perrv," which was the first copper-bottomed whaler sent from this port, and 
the "Superior" and the "Phoenix." The "Commodore Perry" made seventeen 
voyages and the "Stonington" thirteen before they were broken up in 1848. 
The "Neptune," which T. W. Williams bought in 1824, was built in 1808, and 
had returned from an unsuccessful voyage when it was purchased from its 
New Bedford owner for $1,650. After its addition to the New London fleet 
it made more than twenty voyages. It was in the "Neptune," 1829, that Capt. 
Samuel Green, the oldest living whaling captain in New London, made his 
first voyage. His last was in the "Trident," in 1871, and so frightful was his 
experience that he determined, should he escape, never again to risk his life 
in the fatal trap which had caught so many good men and ships. In Sep- 
tember the fleet of 34 vessels was gathered in a narrow strip from two hund- 
red yards to half a mile in width, from Point Belcher to two or three miles 
south of Wainright Inlet. The whaling had been fairly good, and despite the 
warnings of the Esquimaux, who told them the ice was closing in, they 
remained until the wind changed and the ice floes were driven upon them; 
the vessels were crushed, the crews abandoned them, glad to save their lives, 
and after untold hardships, from the 29th of .August to the 14th of September, 
when they abandoned the vessels, the devoted masters and crews started to 
reach the "Arctic" and another vessel which was free of the ice. 

From this firm and New London the first steam whaler was sent to the 
whaling grounds, and the first steam sealer. In the whaler "Pioneer," Capt. 



AN ERA OF UNREST 79 

Ebenezer Morgan, better known as '"Rattler" Morgan, was made the best 
whaling voyage on record; sailing June 4, 1864, for Hudson's Bay, she 
returned September 18, 1865, with 1,391 barrels of whale oil, and 22,650 
pounds of whalebone, a cargo worth $150,000, while the outlay for vessel 
and fitting was but $35,800. This was the best whaling voyage' ever made. 
The principle on which whaling was conducted was co-operative, the owners 
furnishing ship, outfit, and providing for the honoring of the captain's drafts; 
the captain was quite often a part or whole owner. Capital had two-thirds of 
the gain and the other third was divided proportionately among the officers 
and men. There being no wages settled, every incentive was furnished for 
diligence, and somtimes a bonus was offered to the first man who sighted a 
whale. There were very many daring and successful whalers from New 
London ; indeed, the solid comfort and foundation of many of her homes came 
from the splendid fortitude and perseverance of these heroes of the sea. There 
were no more brave and successful captains than the three brothers Smith — 
Capt. Robert Smith, who was killed on his sixth voyage, in 1828, while captur- 
ing a whale; Capt. Frank Smith, in seven successive voyages, in 1831-37, 
brought home 17,301 barrels of oil; and Capt. James Smith, the third brother, 
made fame and fortune, but left whaling for commander of a packet between 
Honolulu and San Francisco. Capt. "Jim" Smith, of the "Manhansett," who 
is really known wherever a college boy goes for his skill and urbanity, is the) 
youngest ex-whaler in New London. The names of Morgan, Smith, Blyden- 
iDurgh. Davis, Chapell, Green, Ward, Tinker, Buddington, Hempstead, Baker, 
Brown. Allyn, Spicer, Fuller, Rice, Benjamin, Tyson, Pendleton, Fish, and 
others are sure to be thought of when whaling is mentioned. Today there 
is very little done, save for the obtaining of whalebone, and whaling is 
practically a past industry as far as New London is concerned. 

The water power of the county soon began to turn the wheels of cotton 
mills. The race of merchants still continued to thrive, but the cotton industry 
added to population more rapidly. In 1840 Norwich was the largest town of 
the county. During the early part of the nineteenth century many a man left 
the county to engage in foreign trade and return with his "pile." 

In the interesting life of Daniel Wadsworth Coit, edited by his nephew, 
Mr. William C. Oilman, may be found a very interesting proof that the Pil- 
grim blood still ran in the veins of their descendants. The indenture, signed 
and sealed by all the parties to it, bound his employers to teach him "the 
trade, art, and mystery of a merchant" ; he on his part, and his father for him, 
agreeing that "he shalf of his own free will and accord his master faithfully 
serve, his secrets keep, and his lawful commands everywhere readily obey; 
shall not contract matrimony; shall refrain from vice, and from business on 
his owm account; and in all things shall behave himself as a faithful apprentice 
ought to do during his term of service." His only compensation was to be 
his board and washing. The theory was that the employer stood in the place 
of a parent to the apprentice, was interested in his welfare, gave him special 
opportunities for advancement and improvement, with a commercial educa- 
tion that was a full equivalent for his services. By this system, now almost 
obsolete, except as it may be suggested by the youthful experience of Admiral 
Sir Joseph Porter in "Pinafore," he received a training that was invaluable 
in the important and complicated transactions in which he was concerned in 



8o NEW LONDON COUNTY 

later years. The art of writing a faultless business letter, acquired early in 
life, was an accomplishment not to be despised, in which he excelled. 

The particular duties of the youngest clerk, as he describes them, were 
"to open the store at an early hour, to sweep and dust the floors, to make fires 
throughout the winter, and not infrequently to roll empty hogsheads and 
barrels through the streets for packing, and to shoulder and carry goods from 
one part of the city to another." If the hours were no more than sixty minutes 
long there were more working hours in twenty-four than there are now, and 
that work was often carried well into the night, appears by letters to his 
parents, written when he was "so sleepy he could hardly keep his eyes open." 
His career is embodied to some degree in the "Notes of Daniel Wadsworth 
Coit," as follows: 

1787 — November 29. Born, Norwich, Conn. 

1803 — Apprenticed to merchants in New York. 

1808 — Began business on his own account. 

1818— September 27. Sailed from New York for Peru. 

1819 — January 14. Arrived at Lima. 

1820 — April. Sailed from Guayaquil for Gibraltar. 

1820 — September 27. Arrived at Gibraltar. 

1820-22 — Traveled in Spain, France, and England. 

1822— June. Sailed from London for South America. 

1822 — October. Arrived at Buenos Ayres. 

1822— December. Crossed the Andes to Valparaiso. 

1823 — December. Arrived at Lima. 

1828 — June. Sailed from Lima for New York. 

1829 — May. Sailed from New York for England. 

1829-32 — Traveled in Europe. 

1832 — June. Returned to Norwich. 

1833 — October. Visited Grand Rapids. 

1834 — September i. Married Harriet Frances Coit. 

1834-41 — Lived in New York and New Rochelle. 

1841-47 — Lived in Norwich. 

1848 — January. To Mexico for Howland and Aspinwall. 

1849 — March. From Mexico to San Francisco. 

1849-52 — In business in San Francisco. 

i8s2 — Tune. Returned to his home in Norwich. 

1876— July 18. Died. Norwich. 

From the above it can be seen that he left home in 1818 to be gone ten 
years! That he left again in 1829 to be gone three years; traveled; lived in 
Norwich, 1841-1847; left home for four years, and returned to remain twenty- 
four years, dying at the age of eighty-nine ! 




CHAPTER IV 
LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT NEW LONDON COUNTY 

The Beginnings of Railroads and Telegraphs — Old-Time School Reminiscences — Celeb- 
rities in All Walks of Life. 

The history of New London County in education has been touched upon. 
Its history in banking, in the professions, in public improvements, in religious 
affairs, in industrial development, and in various other aspects of community 
life, will be discussed in special articles. It is fair to say that the county has 
been progressive in its activities. 

As early as 1800 was built the turnpike between Norwich and New 
London, "the first turnpike built in the United States," states Dr. Dwight in 
his "Travels." Adams Express Company was started as an enterprise in 
Norwich and New London. Regular steamship connection with New York 
started as early as 1816. The tunnel on the Norwich & Worcester railroad, 
just outside of Norwich, is the first railroad tunnel constructed in the United 
States. The Norwich & Worcester railroad was one of the earliest in the 
country. As early as 1847 a telegraph company was started by citizens of 
New London and Norwch. The railroad from New London to New Haven 
(1849-52) completed the first railroad connection between Boston and New 
York. The New London, Willimantic & Springfield railroad was built 
by 1850. In whaling and seal fisheries the hardy navigators of New London 
and Stonington were pioneers in southern waters. The Rogers Brothers were 
captain and sailing master of the "Savannah," the first steamship to cross the 
ocean. The abundant water power of the county gave it an early start in 
manufacturing, especially in the paper and cotton industries. The two largest 
steamships ever built in America, "The Minnesota" and "The Dakota," each 
of 3.300 tons, were built in Groton. 

In the Civil War the county was the home of the Connecticut War Gov- 
ernor, and sent far more men than its quota. In the period of reconstruction 
after the war. New London county throve in wealth and population. To 
recount the new enterprises started, the patents granted to men of the county, 
the public improvements made, would be beyond the scope of this outline 
history of the county. Suf^fice it to say that by 1910 the population had 
increased to 91,253. 

The effects of steam transportation by land and sea were soon felt in 
the prosperity of the county. Before 1850, the Norwich & Worcester, the 
New London Northern, the New York, Providence & Boston railroad, the 
Shore Line, had been chartered, and regular steamboat service established 
with New York. The age of steam brought prosperity and increasing popu- 
lation. The census of i860 shows a population of over 60,000 in the county. 
Schools had been built generally, college training had become not unusual, 
the press had developed. New London county still continued to furnish men 



82 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

of influence in the nation. Before 1850 the county had sent eight men to be 
governors of Connecticut, five men to be chief justices of the Supreme Court 
of the State, and three United States Senators, and twelve members of Con- 
gress. From the old home had gone forth men who made their mark in 
other parts of the Union. 

What life was at that time may be seen by a letter sent to Norwich by 
Donald G. Mitchell, "Ik Marvel," called "Looking Back at Boyhood": 

I pity those young folks who pass their early years without having any 
home knowledge of gardens or orchards. City schools and city pavements 
are all very well ; but I think if my childish feet had not known of every-day 
trampings through garden alleys or on wood walks, and of climbings in 
hay-lofts or among apple boughs when fruit began to turn, half of the joys 
of boyhood, as I look back at them, would be plucked away. 

So it happens, that when I am asked for some reminiscences of those 
early days, gone for sixty years or more, the great trees that sheltered my 
first home stir their branches again. Again I see the showers of dancing 
petals from the May bloom of apple or peach trees strewing the grass, or the 
brown garden mold, with a little of that old exultation of feeling which is 
almost as good as a prayer — in way of thanksgiving. 

I think I could find my way now through all the involvements of new 
buildings and new plantings on ground that I have not visited for fifty years, 
to the spot where the blood peach grew, and where the mulberry stood and 
the greengage loaded with fruit in its harvest time, and the delightful white- 
blooming crab, lifting its odors into the near window of the "boys' room." 

Then there was a curiouslj' misshapen apple tree in the far orchard, 
with trunk almost prone upon the ground, as if Providence had designed it 
for children to clamber upon. What a tree it was to climb ! There many a 
time we toddlers used to sit, pondering on our future, when the young robins 
in the nest overhead would be fully fledged, catching glimpses, too, before 
yet leaves were fully out, of the brown hermitage or study upon the near 
wooded hillside, where my father, who was a clergyman, wrought at his 
sermons. 

It is only a dim image of him that I can conjure up as he strode at 
noontime down the hill. Catching up the youngest of us with a joyous, 
proud laugh, he led the toddling party — the nurse bringing up the rear — in 
a rollicking procession homeward. 

A more distinct yet less home-like image of this clergyman I have in 
mind as he leaned over the pulpit of a Sunday, with a solemnity of manner 
that put one in awe, and with an earnestness of speech that made the Bible 
stories he expounded seem very real. 

But the sermons of those davs were very long for children. It must 
have been, usually, before the middle of the discourse that I went foraging 
about the square pew, visiting an aunt who almost always had peppermints 
in her bag. or in lack of this diversion I could toy with the foot-stove under 
my mother's gown, or build fortifications with the hymn-books. 

The "lesser" Westminster Catechism also, with which we had wrestlings, 
was somewhat heavy and intellectually remote. But it was pleasantly tem- 
pered by the play of the parlor fire, or the benignly approving smiles when 
answerings were prompt. In summer weather the song of a cat-bird or 
brown-thrasher in the near tulip-tree chased away all the tedium of the West-' 
minster divines, or perhaps lifted it into a celestial atmosphere. 

The Bible stories, though, as they tripped from my mother's tongue, were 



LITTLE KNOWX FACTS 83 

always delightful. I thought then, and still think — at sixty-nine! — that her 
ways of religious teaching were by many odds better than that of the West- 
minster divines. And there were some of her readings from the hymn-book 
that tingle in my ears today. 

That compulsory Bible-reading, chapter after chapter, and day by day, 
so common in well-regulated families of those times, has for me a good many 
ungrateful memories. Wrathful, unwholesome burnings were kindled by this 
enforced rote reading of a book wherefrom gladsome and hopeful spfendors 
ought to shine. 

Of other earliest reading I remember with distinctness that great budget 
of travel and adventure, good for week-days or Sunday, called "The Pilgrim's 
Progress." Mercy, and Great-heart, and Christian, and Giant Despair, too. 
were of our family. Nor can I cease to call to mind gratefullv the good 
woman (Maria Edgeworth) who in the earliest days of our listening to 
stories made us acquainted with the "Basket-maker's" children who scotched 
the carriage wheels, and with "Lazy Lawrence" and "Eton Montem." 

At what precise age I went to my first school I cannot say. It may have 
been five or six. A roundabout blue jacket with bell buttons I know I had, 
and a proud tramp past the neighbors' houses. 

The mistress was an excellent woman, everybody said, with a red ruler 
and discipline, and spectacles. A tap from her spectacle-case was a sum- 
mons every morning to listen to her reading, in quiet monotone, of a chapter 
in the Bible; after which, in the same murmurous way, she said a prayer. 

She taught arithmetic out of Colburn, I think, and Woodbridge's Geog- 
raphy to the older ones ; but her prime force was lavished upon spelling. We 
had field-days in that, for which we were marshalled by companies, toeing 
a crack in the oaken floor. What an admiring gaze I lifted up upon the 
tall fellows who went with a wondrous glibness through the intricacies of 
such words as "im-prac-ti-ca-bil-i-ty" ! 

The mistress had her own curious methods of punishment ; and I dimly 
remember how an obstreperous boy was once shut under the lid of the big 
writing-desk — not for very long, I suspect. But the recollection of it, and 
of his sharp wail of protest, gave a very lively emphasis to my reading, years 
after, of Roger's story of the Italian bride Ginevra who closed the lid of a 
Venetian chest upon herself in some remote loft where her skeleton, and 
her yellowed laces, were found years afterwards by accident. 

Another of the mistress's methods of subduing masculine revolt was in 
tying a girl's bonnet upon a boy's head. I have a lingering sense now of 
some such early chastisement, and of the wearisome pasteboard stiffness, and 
odors of the bonnet ! 

Of associates on those school benches. I remember with most distinctness 
a tallish boy, my senior by two years or so, who befriended me in many 
skirmishes, decoyed me often into his leafy dooryard. half-way to my home, 
where luscious cherries grew, and by a hundred kindly offices during many 
succeeding years cemented a friendship of which I have been always proud. 
A photograph of his emaciated, but noble face, as he lay upon his death- 
bed in Paris, is before me as I write. 

Another first school which I knew as privileged pupil — not esteeming the 
privilege largely — was in the old town of Wethersfield, where I went on 
visits to my grandfather. I remember his great shock of snowy white hair, 
and how he was bowed with age. He wore most times long gray hose, with 
knee buckles, and a huge coat like those in Franklin pictures, whose pockets 
were often bulged out with a biscuit or an ear of corn. With these he loved 
to pamper his white pony, or other favorite beast. 



84 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

The school to which the old gentleman introduced me solemnly was near 
by, and of the Lancastrian order. Mr. Joseph Lancaster had come over 
from England not many years before to indoctrinate America. 

There was great drill of limbs and voices ; but what specially impressed me 
was a long tray or trough of moistened sand, where we were taught to print 
letters. I think I came there to a trick of making printed letters which was 
never lost. 

There was a quiet dignity about Wethersfield streets in that day. There 
were great quiet houses before which mighty trees grew — houses of the 
Welles, of the Chesters, of the Webbs — in some of which Washington had 
lodged in his comings or goings. 

It was through that quiet Wethersfield street, and by way of the "Stage" 
office at Slocomb's Hotel in Hartford, that I must have traveled first to Judge 
Hall's Ellington school. There for six ensuing years, off and on, I wrestled 
with arithmetic and declamation, and Latin and Greek. It was a huge build- 
ing — every vestige gone now — upon a gentle eminence overlooking a peace- 
ful valley town. I am sure some glimpses of the life there must have found 
their way into some little books which I have had the temerity to publish. 

The principal, a kindly, dignified old gentleman, lived apart, in a house 
amongst gardens and orchards ; but the superintendent, the English master, 
the matron and the monitors, were all housed with us, and looked sharply 
after discipline. 

When I hear boys of near kith complaining of the hardships they endure, 
I love to set before them a picture of the cold chambers opening upon the 
corridors in that huge building. 

We dressed there by the dim light coming through ventilators over the 
doors, from lamps swinging in the hall. After this it was needful to take a 
swift rush out of doors, in all weathers, for a plunge into the washroom door, 
where we made our ablutions. Another outside rush followed for the doors 
opening upon the dining-hall, where morning prayers were said. Then an 
hour of study in a room reeking with the fumes of whale-oil lamps went 
before the summons to breakfast. 

There were two schoolrooms. The larger was always presided over by 
a teacher who was nothing if not watchful. The smaller was allotted to a 
higher range of boys, and here the superintendent appeared at intervals to 
hear recititations. 

I shall never forget the pride and joy with which I heard the superin- 
tendent — I think it was Judge Taft, thereafter Attorney General, and Minister 
to Russia-^announce, once upon a time, my promotion to the south school- 
room. Frank Blair, the general of Chickamauga, was a bench-mate with 
me there. Once upon a "composition" day we were pitted against each other ; 
but who won the better marks I really cannot say. 

Teacher Taft was an athlete. He could whip with enormous vigor (some 
boys said), but I have onlv the kindest recollections of him. I used to look 
on with amazed gratification as he lifted six "fifty-sixes," strung upon a 
pole, in the little grocery shop past which we walked on our way to swim 
in Snipsic Lake. 

What a beautiful sheet of water it was in those days ! Its old shores are 
now all submerged and blotted out by manufacturers' dams. What a joyous, 
rollicking progress we made homeward, of a Saturday afternoon, with the 
cupola and the great bulk of building lifting in our front against the west- 
ern sky! 

The strong point of the teaching at Ellington was, I think, Latin. I am 
certain that before half my time there was up, I could repeat all the rules 
in Adams' Latin Grammar verbatim, backward or for^vard. 



LITTLE KNOWN FACTS 85 

As for longs and shorts and results and quantities and the makeup of 
a proper hexameter, these were driven into my brain and riveted. Even 
now I am dimly conscious on uneasy nights, of the Quadrupcdante putretn 
sonitu making its way through my dreams with the old schoolboy gallop. 

I could stretch this screed farther, but the types forbid. The home, with 
a glimpse of which I began the paper, had been broken up a long time before 
the high school experience came to an end. Later, in the spring of 1837, the 
shattered, invalid remnant of its flock was sailing homeward from a winter 
in Santa Cruz. In July of the same year I set off from Ellington, by the 
"Hartford, Ware and Keene Dispatch Line" of stages, seated beside the 
driver, with twenty dollars in my pocket and my trunk on the roof of the 
coach, to enter Yale College. 

The military history of the county will be given elsewhere. The great 
"war governor," William A. Buckingham, was a resident of Norwich, born 
at Lebanon. 

Since Civil War days, the county has grown in population to over 155,000 
in 1920. The remarkable feature in the growth of population of the country 
for the past fifty years has been the influx of foreign born. This county, 
like the rest of New England, has been engaged in absorbing a mixed foreign 
population into the institutions with which they are unfamiliar. The great 
instrument for doing this has been the public school system, which will be 
treated of in a special chapter on education. 

The county history is very rich in biography. Sketches of the lives of 
many famous individuals are inserted hereinafter. The list is by no means 
exhaustive, for it is safe to say that no equal area and population in our 
country is richer in ties of relationship with the makers of American history. 

Alexander Von Humboldt once wrote that, "judged by the number of 
centenarians," a semicircular region with New London as its center and a 
radius of fifteen miles was "the most healthful spot on the globe." 

The first railroad tunnel in America was made in this county. 

From New London county have come ancestors of at least six Presidents: 
Fillmore, Grant, Garfield, Hayes, Cleveland, and Harding. 

The father of Oliver Perry, of Lake Erie fame, and of Matthew Perry, 
who made the historic voyage opening up Japan to western civilization, kept 
a store in Norwich. 

The two largest vessels ever built in America, the "Minnesota" and 
"Dakota," said to be each of 3,300 tons burden, were built at Groton. 

Dartmouth College was founded in what was then Lebanon, now the 
town of Columbia, in Windham county. 

The oldest burial ground in the county is in New London, dating 
from 1653. 

Wolves were once so abundant in the county that the early settlers 
paid a bounty of twenty shillings for each one killed. 

The commerce of New London was at one time excelled by only two 
ports in the country — Boston and New York. 

The Shaw mansion in New London was constructed by Acadians driven 



86 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

from home at the time described by Longfellow in "Evangeline." 

The first Naval Expedition sent out by the Continental Congress left 
New London in January, 1776. 

The "Savannah," officered by the Rogers Brothers of New London, was 
the first vessel to "steam" across the Atlantic. 

Silas Deane, who was appointed one of the Peace Commission at the 
end of the Revolutionary War, came from Preston. 

In early days in this county, as elsewhere, churches were often founded 
by lotteries, and the expenses of installing clergymen frequently included a 
considerable item for "liquor." 

Stephen Whitney, one of the promoters of the Great Pacific railway, 
came from this county, as did President Tuttle, of the Boston & Maine rail- 
road. 

Andrew Jackson visited Norwich at the dedication of the Un-cas Monu- 
ment. He pronounced the parade one of the longest he had seen in a place 
of the size (the boys circled around behind him and rejoined the procession 
in a well nigh endless chain). 

The two leading men of the colony of Connecticut, John Winthrop, the 
younger, and John Mason, were long residents of this county. 

This county contains two of the five oldest cities in the State, and is one 
of the four original counties in Connecticut. 

In 1799 New London was almost depopulated by yellow fever. 

Three citizens of Norwich have given to Yale College the largest dona- 
tions which, at each successive time, its treasury had received from any indi- 
vidual. These men were Major James Fitch, Dr. Daniel Lathrop, and Dr. 
Alfred E. Perkins. 

Norwich has an unpleasant distinction in one instance in being the 
birthplace of Benedict Arnold. There is nothing to be added. 

Avery Waitstill, a native of Groton, removed to North Carolina, where 
in 1775 he became a member of the Mecklenburg Convention, and as such 
was one of the signers of the famous Mecklenburg Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. 

James Cook Ayer, the father of the "patent medicine" business, was born 
in Groton. He established a medicine factory in Lowell, and accumulated a 
fortune estimated at $20,000,000. For years he published and distributed free 
five million copies of "Ayer's Almanac," largely devoted to advertising his 
goods. For some years before his death, he was confined in an asylum, his 
brain having become affected. 

Isaac Backus, a Baptist minister, was born in Norwich, 1724. He led in 
the "Separatist" movement, for years held to open communion, but at length 
abandoned it. He was a voluminous writer on historical as well as religious 
subjects. For thirty-four years he was a trustee of Rhode Island College, 
now Brown University. 

Anna Warner Bailey, born in Groton, 1758, and died there in 1850, wife 
of Captain Elijah Bailey, of that place, witnessed the massacre by the British 



LITTLE KNOWN FACTS 87 

at Fort Griswold, September 6. 1781. The next clay she visited the spot, 
searching for an uncle, whom she found fatally wounded, and to whom she 
brought his wife and child. When the British were threatening New London 
in July, 1813, "Mother Bailey," as she was known, aided the patriots by 
tearing up garments for cartridge making. 

Edward Sheffield Bartholomew, born in Colchester, 1822, died in Italy, 
1858, a sculptor of great ability, performed his work in Rome during his 
later years. Many of his productions are in the Wadsworth Gallery, Hartford. 

Dr. Timothy Dwight, twelfth president of Yale College, was a native 
of Norwich, son of James Dwight, and grandson of Timothy Dwight, the 
third president of the institution. It was under the presidency of him whose 
name heads this paragraph, that the college received the legal title of Uni- 
versity. President Dwight was highly successful in extending the curriculum 
of the institution, and in advancing its material interests. He was a member 
of the American committee for the revision of the English version of the 
Bible from 1872 to its completion in 1885. He was the author of several 
volumes, notably one on "The True Ideal of an American University," which 
appeared serially in 1871-72 in "The New Englander," of which he was then 
editor, and which had much to do in efTecting the transition of Yale from a 
collegiate to a university status. 

Daniel Coit Oilman, first president of Johns Hopkins University, was 
born in Norwich, July 6, 1831. 

Frederick Stuart Church, famous as a painter and etcher, was a resi- 
dent here. 

Jedidiah Huntington, soldier of the Revolution and one of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence, was born in Norwich, August 4, 1743, and 
died in New London, September 25, 1818. Jabez Huntington, his father, was 
a wealthy merchant and a patriot leader; he served three years in the Revo- 
lutionary army, and only leaving it on account of failing health. The son, a 
Harvard graduate, entered the army as a captain in April, 1775, two years 
later was made a brigadier-general, and served in New York and Pennsylvania 
until the close of the war, and was breveted major-general. He was a mem- 
ber of two courts-martial — that which tried General Charles Lee, and that 
which convicted Major Andre. He was sheriff of New London county, State 
treasurer of Connecticut, and collector of customs at New London. He was 
one of the founders of the Society of the Cincinnati, and a man of deep piety 
and charitable disposition. 

The famous explorer, John Led\ard, was a native of Groton, born in 
1751, son of John and Mary (Hempstead) Ledyard, his father a ship captain. 
Young Ledyard w-as a mere child when his father died, and he was brought 
up in the home of his grandfather. At the age of eighteen, his benefactor 
having died, Ledyard entered Dartmouth College as a divinity student, with 
a desire to fit himself for missionary work among the Indians, to whom he 
was so drawn that he soon abandoned his studies and made his abode among 
them. This was the beginning of his venturesome career. Making a canoe 



88 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

voyage down the Connecticut river to Hartford, he went on to New London, 
where he shipped as a common sailor in a vessel bound for Gibraltar. There 
he enlisted in the British army, and after his discharge therefrom voyaged 
to the West Indies and thence to New York and London. In the latter place 
he fell in company with Captain Cook, who was preparing for his third and 
what was destined to be his last great voyage. The two were mutually 
pleased with each other, and the younger man became the commander's most 
trusted lieutenant, and was by his side when Captain Cook was killed on 
one of the Hawaiian Islands, February 14, 1779. Returning with the expedi- 
tion to England by way of Kamtchatka, the British authorities in accordance 
with its naval rules took from Ledyard his notes of the expedition. For two 
years Ledyard remained in the British navy, leaving it at the outbreak of the 
Revolution rather than do battle against his countrymen. In 1784 he con- 
ceived an idea of fitting out an expedition to explore the northwestern Amer- 
ican coast, and visited Spain and France in hopes of securing necessary means, 
but without success. Finally, at London, he found friendly scientists who 
furthered his purpose, and he voyaged to Finland and thence to St. Peters- 
burg, where he started for Siberia, but under suspicion of being a spy was 
harried out of Russia into Poland. Returning to London, an expedition was 
outfitted for him to explore the interior of Africa, and he sailed in June, 1788, 
but at Cairo sickened and died, January 17, 1789. His notes of travel were 
of value, and to this day his narrative of Captain Cook's voyage is famed for 
its vividness and brilliance. He was a nephew of William Ledyard, who was 
brutally murdered by the Tory Major Bromficld, at Fort Griswold, Groton 
Heights, Connecticut, after its surrender, in 1781. 

Isaac H. Bromley, whom Chauncey M. Depew spoke of as "a most con- 
scientious journalist, and with whom no personal relations interfered with 
what he felt was a public duty," was born at Norwich, March 6, 1833, and 
died there, August 11, 1898; his parents were Isaac and Mary (Hill) Bromley. 
He was also married in Norwich, to Adelaide, daughter of Jabez and Clarissa 
T. Roath. He was admitted to the bar, but journalism claimed the greater 
part of his life work. During the Civil War he was a captain in the i8th 
Connecticut Regiment. In 1858 he established the Norwich "Morning Bulle- 
tin," and conducted it until 1868, when he left it to become editor and part 
owner of the Hartford "Evening Post." After leaving the paper last named 
he served in turn on the editorial staff of the New York "Sun" and "Tribune," 
and after ten years on the latter paper became editor of the "Commercial 
Advertiser," a position which he relinquished to accept appointment as a 
government director of the Union Pacific railroad, serving as such until 1884, 
when he took the editorial management of the Rochester "Post-Express." In 
October, 1891, he returned to the New York "Tribune," with which he was 
associated until a few months before his death. He was one of the organizing 
members of Sedgwick Post, G. A. R., of Norwich. 

Charles Harold Davis, one of America's foremost landscape painters, a 
native of Massachusetts, following ten years' professional studies in France 



LITTLE KNOWN FACTS 89 

and other art centers, for five years resided continually at Mystic, winter as 
well as summer, painting directly from nature. His fame is world-wide. 

Samson Occum is a name famous in association with what became Dart- 
mouth College. He was a Mohegan Indian living in New London county, 
who was converted and educated by Eleazer Wheelock, the founder of the 
above named institution. Occum came to fame as a preacher, and was a 
valuable aid to his instructor in his educational work and in laying the founda- 
tions of schools and academies. In 1766 Occum and Rev. Nathaniel Whitaker, 
of Norwich, visited Great Britain and raised nearly £12,000 (a large sum in 
those days) for these purposes. 

Rev. Lyman Abbott, famous as divine and author, and especially as an 
exponent of the so-called liberal theology, born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 
was fitted for college in Norwich. 

Bela Lyon Pratt, the well-known sculptor, was a native of Norwich, a 
son of George and Sarah Victoria (Whittlesey) Pratt, his father one of the 
most accomplished lawyers in Connecticut. Young Pratt began drawing and 
modeling at home while but a child, and received his technical training in the 
School of Fine Arts of Yale University, in the Art Students' League of New 
York City under St. Gaudens, and in Paris under Chapin and Falguiere, 
finally entering the Ecole des Beaux Arts at the head of his class and winning 
three medals and two prizes. He was soon afterward made instructor in 
modeling in the Muesum of Fine Arts, Boston. Among his many fine works 
are some of great local interest — the Avery bust, "the Puritan," at Groton, 
and the bronze statue of John Winthrop at New London. 

Christopher R. Perry, who served with credit in both the American army 
and navy during the Revolution, was for a time a resident of Norwich, where 
he conducted a store. Two of his sons are among the most conspicuous 
figures of their day — Oliver Hazard Perry, the "Don't give up the ship" hero 
of Lake Erie during the war with Great Britain in 1812-14; and Matthew 
Galbraith Perry, who crowned a notable naval career with the opening up 
of Japan *to the commerce of the world. 

The brilliant Commodore Stephen Decatur, of Tripoli fame, and captor 
of the British frigate "Macedonian," was for a long period during the war of 
1812-14 an enforced sojourner in the Thames river, the mouth of which was 
blockaded by a squadron of the enemy. His fall in the duel with Commodore 
Barron is one of the pitiful tragedies of our naval history. 

Henry Ward Beecher was a frequent visitor to our county, and scenes 
and reminiscences of Norwich figure throughout his famous "Star Papers." 
Lebanon was the home of the famous Trumbull family, which had as 
one of its most distinguished representatives Colonel John Trumbull, of 
Revolutionary fame, but more famous as the historical painter of that stupen- 
dous period, most of which are in the Art Gallery at Yale University. 

Dr. William Thompson Lusk, one of the world's greatest physicians, 
and a distinguished professional instructor and author, was born in Norwich, 
May 23, 1838, and died June 12, 1897, son of Sylvester Graham and Elizabeth 



90 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Freeman (Adams) Lusk. His father was a well-known merchant, senior 
member of the Norwich firm of Lusk, Lathrop & Co. The son received his 
elementary education in the city of his birth, but on account of an eye 
affection was obliged to leave college in his freshman year. Going to Switzer- 
land for treatment, and experiencing benefit, he studied medicine in Heidel- 
berg and Berlin. Returning home he entered the army shortly after the 
outbreak of the Civil War, and served about two years, rising to a captaincy. 
At Bull Run, under fire, he carried his wounded captain from the field. He 
completed his professional studies at Bellevue Medical College, New York 
City, and graduated valedictorian of his class. He then pursued post-graduate 
studies in Edinburgh, Paris, Vienna and Prague. On his return home he 
engaged in practice in Bridgeport, Connecticut, later locating in New York 
City, where he held first rank as an operator and instructor. He was the 
first in America to successfully perform the Caesarian section, which he re- 
peated on several occasions with a very small percentage of mortality. He 
was a prolific professional writer, and one of his principal works, "Science and 
Art of Midwifery," was translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic and 
other languages. 

The village of Lyme was the birthplace of the distinguished lawyer and 
jurist, Morrison R. Waite. who succeeded Salmon P. Chase as Chief Justice 
of the United States Supreme Court, appointed by President Grant. 

Governor William Alfred Buckingham, famous as one of the "War Gov- 
ernors" of the Civil War period, and one of the most trusted of President 
Lincoln's supporters, was born May 28, 1804, in Lebanon, New London 
county. He was educated in the local schools and at Bacon Academy, Col- 
chester. He taught school for a time, afterward serving as clerk in a store 
in Norwich. After similar service for a short time in New York City, he 
returned to Norwich, and established a drygoods business, afterward becom- 
ing a large and successful manufacturer of ingrain carpets, and then of rubber 
shoes. He was mayor of the city for four terms ; and in 1858 was elected 
governor, to which office he was returned for eight consecutive terms. At 
the opening if the Civil War, he was the first governor to send to the front 
a completely equipped regiment, pledging his personal credit to cover the 
expense until the legislature could be assembled. The successive quotas of 
troops were always more than filled, and under his leadership the State 
contributed to the army and navy almost one-half of her able-bodied popu- 
lation. President Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton held him in the 
highest esteem. The war having ended. Governor Buckingham declined 
further service as such, and was elected to the United States Senate, in which 
he served with conspicuous ability until his death, February 5, 1875, a short 
time before the end of his senatorial term. He was one of the founders of the 
Broadway Congregational Church of Norwich and of the Norwich Free 
Academy, and was devoted to religious and charitable work. His home in 
Norwich was purchased by Sedgwick Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
and is known as the Buckingham Memorial. 



LITTLE KNOWN FACTS 91 

Donald Grant Mitchell, who as "Ik Marvel" gave untold delight to readers 
of a generation now well nigh passed away, with his "Dream Life" and 
"Reveries of a Bachelor," was a native of Norwich, born April 12, 1822, son 
of Pastor Mitchell, of the Second Congregational Church in Norwich, and 
grandson of the distinguished Judge Stephen M. Mitchell, of Western Re- 
serve fame. After graduating from Yale, finding his health somewhat im- 
paired, he passed three years on the farm of his grandfather, in Salem, where 
he undoubtedly received impressions of rural beauties and pleasures which 
he later pictured so beautifully in his writings. He traveled on foot in Eng- 
land for more than a year, and out of his observations wrote his "Fresh 
Gleanings; a New Sheaf from Old Fields." Meantime he had taken up law 
studies, but unable to bear office confinement, made another voyage to Europe, 
and was in Paris during the revolution of 1848. Returning home, he engaged 
in literary work, as founder and editor of "The Lorgnette," a weekly; and 
then producing in turn the two volumes entitled above, and for which he is 
most famous. In 1854 President Pierce appointed him Consul to Venice, 
and where he collected material of which he made good use in volumes and 
magazine contributions written later. His earlier works were published under 
his nom de plume of "Ik Marvel," but when he came to "My Farm of Edge- 
wood" and "Rural Studies," and others, he assumed his proper name. All his 
writings were characterized by tender yet manly sentiment, and his descrip- 
tions of rural life were enlightening and* inspiring. 

The name of Oliver Wendell Holmes awakens a pathetic interest in con- 
nection with that of Abraham Lincoln. About the time that gem of American 
literature. Dr. Holmes' "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," was appearing 
serially in "The Atlantic Monthly," then in its second year, the delightful 
essayist and poet wrote "The Last Leaf." one stanza of which appealed so 
deeply to the martyred President that he frequently repeated it: 

"The mossy marbles rest 
On the lips that he has pressed 

In their bloom; 
And the names he loved to hear 
Have been caned for many a year 
On their tomb." 

Dr. Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and finished his 
literary education at Harvard. His grandfather, a resident of Woodstock, 
wrote as follows in his diary under date of August 4, 1803, as quoted in the 
"Life of Oliver Wendell Holmes," by John More, Jr. : "Mrs. Temperance 
Holmes, my much honored and beloved mother (she was therefore Oliver 
Wendell Holmes' grandmother), was born at Norwich in Connecticut, A. D. 
1733. . . . My mother was an admirer of learning, though she received 
her education in a part of the town of Norwich (Newcnt parish) which did 
not probably furnish her any signal advantages at school, yet she had a 
mother who was at once a school and library to her." It is worthy of note 
that Holmes, in his "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," speaks of the "Coit 
Elms" of Norwich. 



92 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Edmund Clarence Stedman, who ranked very high as a poet and essayist, 
lived in Norwich during all his boyhood. He was born in Hartford, son of 
Edmund Stedman, a merchant of that city; his mother was Elizabeth C. 
Dodge, the poetess. His father died when he was but two years old, and 
he was sent to his great-uncle, James Stedman, at Norwich, and where he 
began and continued his education until his sixteenth year, when he entered 
Yale College. An incident of his literary career was his service as a corre- 
spondent of the "New York World," from the Army of the Potomac, during 
the Civil War. He became a member of the New York Stock Exchange, and 
much of his most excellent literary work was accomplished during the hours 
that most busy men give to recreation. During his later years he gave him- 
self entirely to literary work. 

Lydia Sigourney, an author and poet who has been called "the American 
Hemans," was a native of Norwich, born September I, 1791, only daughter 
of Ezekiel and Sophia (Wcntworth) Huntley. She was an ardent student 
from her very youth, and became proficient in Latin and Greek. In associa- 
tion with Miss Ann M. H}de, she opened a select school for young ladies, 
and made it so much of a success that after four years, at the earnest solicita- 
tion of leading families in Hartford, she removed her school to that city. 
When about twenty-four, on the suggestion of a friend, she published "Moral 
Pieces in Prose and Verse," a collection of her occasional writings. The 
volume was well received, and paved the way for her life occupation. In 
1819 she gave up her school, and became the wife of Charles Sigourney, a 
merchant of Hartford. Her husband, a most congenial mate, failed in both 
health and business, and out of necessity she gave herself unreservedly to 
pen work, becoming one of the most voluminous writers of her day, her 
published volumes numbering nearly sixty, and her contributions to maga- 
zines and periodicals some two thousand. Much of her verse work was on 
the solicitation of friends, on special occasions, and generally unrecompensed. 
She was a graceful writer, and all that she produced was marked with lofty 
sentiment. She was a devoted friend of the sorrowing and afflicted, and in 
Hartford her memory is held as highly in honor for her charitable work as 
for her literary talent. She lived many years in widowhood, and died at 
Hartford, June 10, 1865, in her seventy-fifth year. 

Captain Samuel Chester Reid, one of the most brilliant officers of the 
old American Navy, was born in Norwich, August 25, 1783. His father, 
Lieut. John Reid, of the British Navy, was taken prisoner at New London 
on a night in October, 1778, while in command of a night boat expedition 
sent out from the British squadron. While in custody, he resigned his com- 
mission, and on being exchanged took sides with the Americans. In 1781 
he married Rebecca Chester, a descendant in the fourth generation of Captain 
Samuel Chester, of the British Navy, who settled in New London. Her 
father, John Chester, was among the American soldiers at Bunker Hill, and 
afterward a member of the Connecticut convention which ratified the Con- 
stitution of the United States. Such was the parentage of Samuel Chester 





imO.NCK OK W 1 1,1^1 AM 



LITTLE KNOWN FACTS 93 

Reid. Following in the footsteps of the father, he took to the sea at the 
age of eleven, but was soon among the prisoners taken during the difficulties 
between France and the United States. Later he served under Commodore 
Truxton. In the war of 1812 he held the rank of captain, and as commander 
of the brig "General Armstrong" performed one of the most notable feats 
in naval annals, off Fayal, fighting with his nine guns and ninety men a 
British squadron of three vessels with 130 guns and 200 men, finally scuttling 
his ship rather than surrender. Swimming ashore, he was taken into custody 
by the Portuguese authorities, who refused to surrender him to the British, 
and out of which refusal grew an extended diplomatic discussion which was 
finally settled by Louis Napoleon as arbitrator, who decided against the 
American claim as to neutral rights. The gun with which Reid sank his 
vessel was presented to the United States by the King of Portugal. In peace 
times Captain Reid performed services of the highest usefulness — the inven- 
tion and construction of the signal telegraph at the Battery in New York 
and the Narrows between the upper and lower bays; and the perfecting of 
the pilot boat system at Sandy Hook. He designed the American flag as it 
is today — the thirteen stripes representing the original States, and a star for 
each of all. The flag of his designing was first raised over the National Hall of 
Representatives in Washington City on April 13, 1818. Captain Reid mar- 
ried Mary, daughter of Captain Nathan Jennings, of Willington, Connecticut, 
who fought at Lexington, crossed the Delaware with Washington, and was 
commended for gallantry at Trenton. 

Mrs. Leland Stanford, wife of the late Senator Stanford of California, was 
a member of the Lathrop family of Norwich. In memory of a son who died 
at the age of sixteen, named for the father. Senator and Mrs. Stanford founded 
the Leland Stanford University, contributing for the purpose an eighty- 
three thousand acre tract of land, valued at eight millions of dollars. 

Francis Hopkinson Smith, a most talented artist, excelling in water 
color landscapes, also successful as an author and platform lecturer, added 
to his varied accomplishments surpassing skill as a mechanical engineer, his 
most famous piece of work in that line being the foundation and pedestal of 
the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. He was the designer and builder 
of the Race lighthouse off New London, a task which occupied him for six 
years. He was a native of Marv'land. 

Richard Mansfield lived in New London some years before his death. 
His widow, whose stage name was Beatrice Cameron, continues to make it 
her legal residence. 

David Ames Wells, an economist of the highest rank, a native of Massa- 
chusetts, was for many years identified with Norwich, which was his place 
of residence for over twenty years, and where he died, November 5, 1898. He 
was known as a high-class mechanician and inventor before coming into the 
field in which he attained international repute; one of his inventions was 
the machine for folding book and newspaper sheets, and which is practically 
the same as used at the present time. Giving his attention to taxation prob- 



94 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

lems, he produced his economic work, "Our Burden and Our Strength" (1864), 
which was an important factor in the restoration of the government credit, 
which had been seriously inspired during the Civil War. This led to his being 
appointed chairman of a congressional commission to devise a revenue taxa- 
tion system, and which eventuated in the creation of a special Commissioner 
of the Revenue, and his appointment as such official. Among his important 
public services were the redrafting and perfecting of the internal revenue 
laws, the introduction of the stamp system for taxes on tobacco, liquors, etc. ; 
and the organization of the Bureau of Statistics of the United States Treas- 
ury Department. From a Protectionist, he became a Free Trader, and to 
this was due his failure of reappointment to his revenue commissionership, 
in 1870. However, that year he was called to the chairmanship of a com- 
mission on the New York State tax laws, for which he prepared two elab- 
orate reports and a revised code. In 1872 he became a lecturer on economics 
in Yale Universit}'. The remainder of his life was passed in railroad arbitra- 
tions and railroad and canal taxation questions, and in writing various vol- 
umes on these and similar topics. 

The Rev. Horace Bushnell. a divine of the loftiest spirituality and a 
graceful author, in young manhood was a school teacher in Norwich. His 
"Nature and the Supernatural," published in 1858, daring in its time, became 
profoundly suggestive in the vast field now illumined by the revelations of 
evolution. This was but one of several fine volumes from his pen. His 
clerical life was passed with the North Congregational Church in Hartford, 
but he was frequently heard in public addresses in principal eastern cities. 
In 1855, his health being seriously impaired, he visited California, and was 
there tendered the presidency of the State University, which he declined, 
fn 1859 he resigned his pastorate in Hartford, and devoted himself to literary 
labors. He died in Hartford, February 17, 1876. 

John Fox Slater, a liberal contributor to educational and other philan- 
thropic objects, was a native of Rhode Island, but his life was principally 
passed in Norwich. He was a principal figure in manufacturing enterprises, 
displaying therein a capacity similar to that of his distinguished uncle, Samuel 
Slater, "the father of American manufactures." He was chiefly instrumental 
in the establishment of the Free Academy in Norwich, for which as a tribute 
to his memory, two years after his death in Norwich, May 7, 1884, his son, 
William Albert Slater, erected a memorial building. Mr. Slater's greatest 
benefaction was his gift of a million dollars in 1882 as a fund for industrial 
education of the freedmen — the blacks emancipated during the Civil War 
by President Lincoln. 

Joseph Lemuel Chester, antiquarian, born in Norwich, 1821, after some 
years devoted to journalism in Philadelphia, went to England and died in 
London, May 28, 1882. He took up his residence there in order to search out 
the genealogical history of early New Englanders, and among his works was 
"Marriage, Baptismal and Burial Registers of the Collegiate Church or 



LITTLE KNOWN FACTS 95 

Abbey of St. Peter, Westminster," in which edifice a tablet to his memory 
was placed after his death. 

Thomas Winthrop Coit, Episcopal clergyman, was born in New London, 
June 28, 1803, and died in Middletown in 1885. After occupying several 
important rectorates and college lectureships, he became a professor in the 
Divinity School at Middletown. He made many contributions to church lit- 
erature, and was regarded as one of the best scholars and ablest writers of 
his denomination. 

John Lee Comstock (1789-1858), born in Lyme, was an industrious 
writer of te.xt-books on the natural sciences, and a skilled draughtsman, mak- 
ing most of the illustrations for his books. His "Mineralogy" was used at the 
\\'cst Point Military Academy, and his "Natural Philosophy," which was 
republished in London and Edinburgh, had a sale of nearly nine thousand 
copies. 

Erastus Corning (1794-1872), born in Norwich, became one of the leading 
ironmasters and bankers of his day. His master work was in the development 
of the railroad system of the State of New York and of Hudson river trans- 
portation. He held various public offices, including several terms in Congress. 

John Gardiner Calkins Brainard, of New London (1796-1828), studied 
for the bar, but forsook it for journalism. He wrote much verse which 
brought him a certain celebrity. His brother. Dr. Dyar Throop Brainard, a 
physician (1810-1863), was a chemist, and an eminent botanist. 

Mary Lydia (Holies) Branch, her husband a lawyer in New York, 
beginning in 1865 wrote much for periodicals, principally stories and verse 
for young people. 

John Newton Brown (1803-1868), born in New London, Baptist clergy- 
man, held pastorates in Providence, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and 
Virginia. In Boston he edited the "Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge," 
which was republished in England. He was afterward editor of the "Chris- 
tian Chronicle" and the "National Baptist," and was editorial secretary of 
the Baptist Publication Society. 

Asa Burton (1752-1836), was born in Stonington and passed his child- 
hood there and in Preston. He became a Congregational minister, was noted 
as a theological teacher, and prepared some sixty young men for the ministry. 
He published a volume on "First Principles of Metaphysics, Ethics, and 
Theology." 

George Deshon, born in New London (1823), was a West Point graduate, 
a room-mate of Gen. U. S. Grant. He was converted to Catholicism, and 
resigned from the army to enter the Order of Redemptorists, and was one of 
its most efficient missioners. 

The Daboll family of Groton was remarkable for three generations of 
most useful men. Nathan Daboll (1750-1818), was a famous teacher, and 
instructed as many as fifteen hundred persons in navigation. His treatise 
on arithmetic, published at New London in 1799, was long a standard text- 
book, as was also his "Practical Navigator." In 1773 he began the publication 



96 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

of the "Connecticut Almanac." His son Nathan (1782-1863) was a State 
legislator; he aided his father compiling his "Arithmetic," and published the 
"Almanac" from the death of the father and until his own. His son, of the 
same name, was also a State legislator, aided his father in both of the works 
before named, and also continued the "Almanac." Celadon Leeds Daboll, 
another son of the second Nathan, was an inventor and was father of the 
application of the principle of the clarionet to the construction of the fog- 
horn as a coast signal. This device was perfected by his brother, Charles 
Miner Daboll, in the steam fog-horn. 

James Deane, Indian missionary (1748-1823), born in Groton, during the 
Revolutionary War was an Indian interpreter at Fort Stanwix, and later was 
employed by Congress to pacify the northern Indians. He wrote an essay 
on Indian mythology, which has been lost. 

Charles Wheeler Denison (1809-1881), born in New London, edited a 
newspaper there before he was of age. He became a minister, and edited 
"The Emancipator," the first anti-slavery paper published in New York City. 
He was a potent advocate of the Union during the Civil War, before the 
cotton operatives in England. 




'i.> 



CHAPTER V 
THE CITY OF NEW LONDON 

Its Founding — First House Lot Ov/ncrs — The Winthrops — Dealings with th; Indians 

During the Revolutionary War— Development of Whaling — Some Remarkable Voy- 
ages — The War of 1812 — Steam Navigation — Early Newspapers — Manwaring Hill. 

From "The Edelwiss," a poem by John G. Belles, the following extract 
is taken, illustrative of the river Thames, and of incidents in the history of 
New London and vicinity : 

But I do love my own fair Thames, 

E'er fed by living fountains 
And noble streams of Indian name 

Upspringing in the mountains. 

All gliding through the valleys sweet 

To that delightful river. 
By airy wing of zephyr touched, 

I've seen its waters quiver. 
While jauntily upon its breast 
My little skiff would rock and rest; 
And I have seen its quiet depths 

Reflecting cloud and sky, 
And gazed along its winding course 

Far as could reach the eye, 
Where, nestled 'mid the distant hills. 

Its cradled waters lie. 
I ne'er beheld a lovelisr scene, 
Or skies more bright, or hills more green, 
Or blissful morning more serene. 
While islands in the distance rest 
A-S emeralds on the water's breast. 
The traveler, with admiring eyes, 
E.xclaims, "Can this be Paradise?" 

There towers that lofty monument 

On Groton's tragic height, 
To mark the spot where martyrs fell 

Undaunted in the fight. 

There Ledyard sleeps, and many a score 

Of heroes each renowned. 
Who midst the battle's wildest roar 

Were firm and foremost found. 

Amid the storm of fire they sang 

"Columbia sha'il be free," 
And every whizzing bullet rang 

For honor, liberty. 



98 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Allyns and Edgecombs left their plow 

To win immortal fame, 
And glory sets on many a brow 

I need not call by name. 

Let Hempstead's memory be bright 

Who wrote the battle's story, 
Wounded and bruised and down the steep 

Hurled in that wagon gory; 

And left for dead among the dead 

Till, touched by gentle hands, 
He saw his wife and rose again 

To live long in the land. 

'Twas there Decatur with his fleet 

Held hostile ships at bay, 
And guarded well the sacred place 

Where patriot ashes lay. 

The town of New London is at once the oldest and the smallest in area 
of New London county. Its boundaries are the same as those of the city 
of New London, namely : On the north, the town of Waterford ; on the east, 
the town of Groton, from which it is separated by the estuary of the Thames 
river, forming beautiful New London harbor; on the south by Long Island 
Sound; on the west by Waterford. 

Its founder, John Winthrop the younger, was the son of the John Win- 
throp who, leading the second Puritan emigration from England, became 
governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The son John, born in 1606, 
spent the years 1622 to 1625 at the LTniversity of Dublin. At the age of 
twenty-one (1627) he served under the Duke of Buckingham in France, was 
married in 163 1, and the saine }ear arrived in Massachusetts. After the 
death of his first wife in 1634, he returned to England, married again in 
1635, and returned to take charge of the settlement at Saybrook in 1636; 
from Massachusetts he obtained a grant of Fisher's Island in 1640, confirmed 
by Connecticut in 1641, and later by New York in 1668. In 1644, shortly 
after his first settlement on Fisher's Island, he obtained from Connecticut a 
grant of a plantation "at or near Pequod." This grant he began to occupy 
in 1645. 

The Natal Day of New London is thus described by Miss Caulkins: 

At a General Court held at Boston, 6th of May, 1646. Whereas Mr. 
John Winthrop, Jun., and soine others, have by allowance of this Court 
begun a plantation in the Pequot country, which appertains to this juris- 
diction, as part of our proportion of the conquered country, and whereas this 
Court is informed that some Indians who are now planted upon the place, 
where the said plantation is begun, are willing to remove from their planting 
ground for the more quiet and convenient place appointed — it is therefore 
ordered that Mr. John Winthrop may appoint unto such Indians as are 
willing to remove, their lands on the other side, that is, on the east side of 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 99 

the Great River of the Pequot country, or some other place for their con- 
venient plantinf^ and subsistence, which may be to the good liking and 
satisfaction of the said Indians, and likewise to such of the Pequot Indians 
as shall desire to live there, submitting themselves to the English govern- 
ment, &c. 

And whereas Mr. Thomas Peters is intended to inhabit in the said 
plantation, — this Court doth think fit to join him to assist the said Mr. 
Winthrop, for the better carrying on the work of said plantation. A true 
copy, &c. — (New London Records, Book VI.) 

The elder Winthrop records the commencement of the plantation under 
date of June, 1646: 

A plantation was this year begun at Pequod river by Mr. Winthrop, 
Jun., (and) Mr. Thomas Peter, a minister, (brother to Mr. Peter, of Salem,) 
and (at) this Court, power was given to them two for ordering and govern- 
ing the plantation, till further order, although it was uncertain whether it 
would fall within our jurisdiction or not, because they of Connecticut chal- 
lenged it by virtue of a patent from the king, which was never showed us. 
It mattered not much to which jurisdiction it did belong, seeing the con- 
federation made all as one; but it was of great concernment to have it planted, 
to be a curb to the Indians. 

The uncertainty with respect to jurisdiction hung at first like a cloud 
over the plantation. The subject was discussed at the meeting of the com- 
missioners at New Haven in September, 1646. Massachusetts claimed by 
conquest, Connecticut by patent, purchase and conquest. The record says: 

It was remembered that in a treaty betwixt them at Cambridge, in 1638. 
not perfected, a proposition was made that Pequot river, in reference to the 
conquest, should be the bounds betwixt them, but Mr. Fenwick was not then 
there to plead the patent, neither had Connecticut then any title to those 
lands by purchase or deed of gift from Uncas. 

The decision at this time was, that unless hereafter, Massachusetts should 
show better title, the jurisdiction should belong to Connecticut. This issue 
did not settle the controversy. It was again agitated at the Commissioners' 
Court, held at Boston, in July, 1647, at which time Mr. Winthrop, who had 
been supposed to favor the claims of Massachusetts, expressed himself as 
"more indifferent," but affirmed that some members of the plantation, who 
had settled there in reference to the government of Massachustts and in 
expectation of large privileges from that colony, would be much disappointed 
if it should be assigned to any other jurisdiction. 

The majority again gave their voice in favor of Connecticut, assigning 
this reason — "Jurisdiction goeth constantly with the Patent." 

Massachusetts made repeated exceptions to this decision. The argument 
was in truth weak, inasmuch as the Warwick Patent seems never to have 
been transferred to Connecticut, the colony being for many years without 
even a copy of that instrument. The right from conquest was the only valid 
foundation on which she could rest her claim, and here her position was 
impregnable. 



loo NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Mr. Peters appears to have been from the first associated with Winthrop 
in the projected settlement, having a co-ordinate authority and manifesting 
an equal degree of zeal and energy in the undertaking. But his continuance 
in the country, and all his plans in regard to the new town, were cut short 
by a summons from home inviting him to return to the guidance of his 
ancient flock in Cornwall. He left Pequot, never to see it again, in the 
autumn of 1646. In November he was in Boston preparing to embark. 

Mr. Winthrop removed his family from Boston in October, 1646; his 
brother, Deane Winthrop, accompanied him. They came by sea, encounter- 
ing a violent tempest on the passage, and dwelt during the first winter on 
Fisher's Island. Some of the children were left behind in Boston, but joined 
their parents the next summer, at which time Mr. Winthrop, having built a 
house, removed his family to the town plot. Mrs. Lake returned to the 
plantation in 1647, and was regarded as an inhabitant, having a home lot 
assigned to her and sharing in grants and divisions of land as other settlers, 
though she was not a householder. She resided in the family of Winthrop 
until after he was chosen governor of the colony, and removed to Hartford. 
The latter part of her life was spent at Ipswich. 

Governor Winthrop, of Massachusetts, regarded the new plantation with 
great interest. As a patriot, a statesman and a father, his mind expatiated 
upon it with hope and solicitude. A few days after the departure from 
Boston of his son, with his family, he wrote to him: "The blessing of the 
Lord be upon you, and He protect and guide you in this great undertaking. 
I commend you and my good daughter, and your children, and 
Deane, and all your company in your plantation (whom I desire to salute,) 
to the gracious protection and blessing of the Lord." 

To this chapter may properly be added the relation of a romantic incident 
that occurred at an early period of the settlement, and which had an important 
bearing on the western boundary question that subsequently threw the town 
into a belligerent attitude toward Lyme. 

In March, 1672, when the controversy in respect to bounds between New 
London and Lyme was carried before the legislature, Mr. Winthrop, then 
governor of the colony, being called on for his testimony, gave it in a narra- 
tive form, his object being to show explicitly that the little stream known 
as Bride Brook was originally regarded as the boundary between the two 
plantations. The preamble of his deposition is in substance as follows: 

When we began the plantation in the Pequot country, now called New 
London, I had a commission from the Massachusetts government, and the 
ordering of matters was left to myself. Not finding meadow sufficient for 
even a small plantation, unless the meadows and marshes west of Nahantic 
river were adjoined, I determined that the bounds of the plantation should 
be to the brook, now called Bride Brook, which was looked upon as certainly 
without .Saybrook bounds. This was an encouragement to proceed with the 
plantation, which otherwise could not have gone on, there being no suitable 
accommodation near the place. 



CITY OF NEW LONDON loi 

In corroboration of this fact, and to show that the people of Saybrook 
at first acquiesced in this boundary line, the governor related an incident 
which he says "fell out the first winter of our settling- there." This must have 
been the winter of 1646-47, which was the first spent by him in the plantation. 
The main points of the story were these: 

A young couple in Saybrook were to be married ; the groom was Jonathan 
Rudd. The governor does not give the name of the bride, and unfortunately 
the omission is not supplied by either record or tradition. The wedding day 
was fixed, and a magistrate from one of the upper towns on the river was 
engaged to perform the rite : for there was not, it seems, any person in Say- 
brook duly qualified to officiate on such an occasion. But, "there falling out 
at that time a great snow," the paths were obliterated, traveling obstructed, 
and intercourse with the interior interrupted ; so that "the magistrate in- 
tended to go down thither was hindered by the depth of the snow." On the 
seaboard there is usually a less weight of snow, and the courses can be more 
readily ascertained. The nuptials must not be delayed without inevitable 
necessity. Application was therefore made to Mr. Winthrop to come to 
Saybrook and unite the parties. But he, deriving his authority from Massa- 
chusetts, could not legally officiate in Connecticut. "I saw it necessary (he 
observes) to deny them in that way, but told them for an expedient for their 
accommodation, if they come to the plantation it might be done. But that 
being too difficult for them, it was agreed that they should come to that place, 
which is now called Bride Brook, as being a place within the bounds of that 
authority whereby I then acted ; otherwise I had exceeded the limits of my 
commission." 

This proposition was accepted. On the brink of this little stream, the 
boundary between the two colonies, the parties met Winthrop and his friends 
from Pequot, and the bridal train from Saybrook. Here the ceremony was 
performed, under the shelter of no roof, by no hospitable fireside; without any 
accommodations but those furnished by the snow-covered earth, the over- 
arching heaven, and perchance the sheltering side of a forest of pines or 
cedars. Romantic lovers have sometimes pledged their faith by joining 
hands over a narrow streamlet; but never, perhaps, before or since, was the 
legal rite performed in a situation so wild and solitary and under circum- 
stances so interesting and peculiar. 

We are not told how the parties traveled, whether on horseback, or on 
sleds or snow-shoes; nor what cheer they brought with them, whether cakes 
or fruit, the juice of the orchard or vineyard, or the fiery extract of the cane. 
We only know that at that time conveniences and comforts were few, and 
luxuries unknown. Yet simple and homely as the accompaniments must have 
been, a glow of hallowed beauty will ever rest upon the scene. We fancy 
that we hear the foot tramp upon the crisp snow ; the ice crack as they 
cross the frozen stream; the wind sighs through the leafless forest; and the 
clear voice of Winthrop swells upon the ear like a devout strain of music, 
now low, and then rising high to heaven, as it passes through the varied 



I02 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

accents of tender admonition, legal decision and solemn prayer. The im- 
pressive group stand around, wrapped in their frosty mantles, with heads 
reverently bowed down, and at the given sign the two plighted hands come 
forth from among the furs and are clasped together in token of a lifelong, 
affectionate trust. The scene ends in a general burst of hearty hilarity. 

Bride Brook issues from a beautiful sheet of water known as Bride Lake 
or Pond, and runs into the Sound about a mile west of Giant's Cove. In a 
straight line it is not more than two miles west of Niantic Bay. The Indian 
name of the pond, or brook, or of both, was Sunk-i-paug, or Sunkipaug-suck. 

The names of those who first received house lots in the new settlement 
numbered thirty-six: John Gager, Cary Latham, Samuel Lathrop, John Steb- 
bins, Isaac Willey, Thomas Miner, William Bordman, William Morton, Wil- 
liam Nicholls, Robert Hemstead, Thomas Skidmore, John Lewis, Richard 
Post, Robert Bedeel, John Robinson, Deane Winthrop, William Bartlett, 
Nathaniel Watson, John Austin, William Forbes, Edward Higbie, Jarvis 
Mudge, Andrew Longdon, William Hallett, Giles Smith, Peter Beesbran, 
James Bemis, John Fossecar, Consider Wood, George Chappell. Of these 
grants not all were taken up ; apparently Watson, Austin, Higbie, Hallett, 
Smith, Busbraw, Fossecar, and Wood did not settle in the town. Mudge and 
Chappell came a little late, as did Jonathan Brewster, Thomas Wells, Peter 
Blatchford, Nathaniel Masters, all by 1650. The location of the lots may be 
found in Miss Caulkins' "History of New London." A considerable colony 
of people came with Rev. Mr. Blinman from Gloucester. Other settlers came 
in from time to time, and by the end of 1651 the settlers from Cape Ann 
had received house lots. The original town plot is thus described by Miss 
Caulkins : 

The first home lots were laid out chieflj' at the two extremities of the 
semicircular projection which formed the site of the town. Between these 
were thick swamps, waving woods, ledges of rock, and ponds of water. The 
oldest communication from one to the other was from Mill Brook over Post 
Hill, so called from Richard Post, whose house lot was on this hill, through 
what is now William street to Manwaring's Hill, and down Blackball street 
to Truman street was the harbor's north road. Main street was opened, and 
from thence a cut over the hill westward was made (now Richards and 
Granite streets). Bank street was laid out on the very brink of the upland, 
above the sandy shore, and a space (now Coit street) was carried around 
the head of Beacon Cove to Truman street, completing the circuit of the 
town plot. No names were given to any of the streets for at least a century 
after the settlement, save that Main street was uniformly called the Town 
street, and Bank street the Bank. Hempstead street was one of the first 
laid out, and a pathway coincident with the present State street led from the 
end of the Town street west and northwest to meet it. Such appears to 
have been the original plan of the town. The cove at the north was Mill 
Cove; the two coves at the south, Bream and Close. Water street was the 
beach, and the head of it at the entrance of Mill Cove, now Sandy Point. 

In 1657 Mr. Winthrop removed to Hartford, as governor of the Colony. 

The patent of New London issued by Deputy Governor Robert Treat 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 103 

gives the names of seventy-seven men, but Miss Caulkins is of the opinion 
that at that time (1704) there must have been approximately one hundred 
and sixty full-grown men in the town. 

It is not the purpose of this volume to enter into the full details of early 
history, which have been so admirably compiled for New London and Nor- 
wich by Miss Caulkins. We print such selections rather to give a general 
picture of this period of county history. The names found on the rate lists, 
in the town records, and in various public places, are names famous in the 
history of New England, and indeed of the United States as a whole. The 
descendants of these settlers have been the builders of America. From Kurd's 
"History of New London County" we print the will of Mary Harris, "one 
of the oldest wills extant in the county" : 

The last Will and Testament of Mary Harries, taken from her owne 
mouth this 19th of Jan., 1655. 

I give to my eldest daughter, Sarah Lane, the bigest brass pan, and to 
her daughter Mary, a silver spoone. And to her daughter Sarah, the bigest 
pewter dish and one silken riben. Likewise I give to her daughter Mary, a 
pewter candlesticke. 

I give to my daughter, Mary Lawrence, my blew mohere peticote and 
my straw hatt and a fether boulster. And to her eldest Sonne I give a silver 
spoone. To her second sonne a silver whissle. I give more to my daughter 
Mary, my next brasst pann and a thrum cushion. And to her youngest sonne 
I give a pewter bassen. 

I give to my youngest daughter, Elizabeth Weekes, a peece of red broad 
cloth, loeing about two yards, alsoe a damask livery cloth, a gold ring, a silver 
spoone, a fether bed and a boulster. Alsoc, I give to my daughter, Elizabeth, 
my best hatt, my gowne, a brass kettle, and a woolen jacket for her husband. 
Alsoe, I give to my daughter Elizabeth, thirty shillings, alsoe a red whittle, 
a white apron, and a new white neck-cloth. Alsoe, I give to my three daugh- 
ters aforesaid, a quarter part to each of them, of the dyaper table-cloth and 
tenn shillings apeece. 

I give to my sister Migges, a red peticoat, a cloth jacket, a silke hud, a 
quoife, a cross-cloth, and a neck-cloth. 

I give to my cosen Calib Rawlyns ten shillinges. 

I give to my two cosens, Mary and Elizabeth ffry, each of them five 
shillings. 

I give to Mary Barnet a red stufif wascote. 

I give to my daughter, Elizabeth, my great chest. To my daughter, 
Mary, a ciffer and a white neck-cloth. To my sister, Hannah Rawlin, my 
best cross-cloth. To my brother, Rawlin, a lased band. To my two kins- 
women. Elizabeth Hubbard and Hilary Steevens, five shillinges apeece. 

I give to my brother, Migges, his three youngest children, two shillinges 
sixe pence apeece. 

I give to my sonne Thomas, ten shillinges, if he doe come home or be 
alive. 

I give to Rebekah Bruen, a pynt pott of pewter, a new petticoate, and 
wascote wch she is to spin herselfe; alsoe an old byble, and -a hatt wch was 
my sonn Thomas his hatt. 

I give to my sonne Gabriell, my house, land, cattle, and swine, with all 
other goodes reall and psonall in Pequet or any other place, and doe make 



I04 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

him my sole executor to this my will. Witness my hand. 

The mark X of Mary Harries. 
Witness hearunto: John Winthrop, Obadiah Bruen, Willm Nyccolls. 

An account of the estate left by John Winthrop, Jr., will show how wide 
were the interests of these early settlers : 

John Winthrop, Esq.. the patron and founder of New London, and gov- 
ernor of Connecticut for nearly eighteen years, died in Boston, April 5th, 1676. 
He had been called to Boston to attend the meeting of the commissioners, to 
which he was the delegate from Connecticut. His remains were deposited 
in the tomb of his father, in the cemetery of King's Chapel, where afterward 
his two sons were gathered to his side. His wife, who deceased not long 
before him, is supposed to have been buried in Hartford. 

Governor Winthrop's family consisted of the two sons so often men- 
tioned, Fitz-John and Wait-Still, and five daughters. The sons were residents 
in New London at the time of their father's decease. Wait-Still succeeded 
his brother as major of the county regiment, but at a period ten or twelve 
years later, removed to Boston. Lucy, the second daughter, the wife of 
Edward Palmes, belongs to New London ; but her death is not on record, 
neither is there any stone to her memory in the old burial-ground, by the side 
of her husband. It is therefore probable that she died abroad, and from 
other circumstances it is inferred that this event took place in Boston, after 
the death of her father, in 1676. She left a daughter Lucy, who was her only 
child, and this daughter, though twice married, left no issue. Her line is 
therefore extinct. 

The very extensive landed estate of Governor Winthrop, which fell to 
his two sons, was possessed by them conjointly, and undivided during their 
lives. Fitz-John, having no sons, it was understood between the brothers 
that the principal part of the land grants should be kept in the name, and 
to this end be reserved for John, the only son of Wait Winthrop. These 
possessions, briefly enumerated, were Winthrop's Neck, 200 acres ; Mill-pond 
farm, 300; land north of the town of Alewife Brook and in its vicinity, 1,500; 
land at Pequonuck (Groton), 6,000; Little-cove farm, half a mile square, on 
the east side of the river — these were within the bounds of New London. 
On Mystic river, five or six hundred acres ; at Lanthorn Hill and its vicinity, 
3,000; and on the coast, Fisher's Island and its Hommocks, and Goat Island. 
Governor Winthrop had also an undisputed title from court grants to large 
tracts in Voluntown, Plainfield, Canterbury, Woodstock and Saybrook, 
amounting to ten or twelve thousand acres. He also claimed the whole of 
what was called Black-lead-mine Hill in the province of Massachusetts Bay, 
computed to be ten miles in circumference. Magnificent as was this estate 
in point of extent, the value, in regard to present income, was moderate. By 
the provision of his will, his daughters were to have half as much estate as 
his sons, and he mentions that Lucy and Elizabeth had already been por- 
tioned with farms. The above sketch of his landed property comprises only 
that which remained inviolate as it passed through the hands of his sons, and 
his grandson John, the son of Wait, and was bequeathed by the latter to his 
son, John, John Still Winthrop, in 1747. 

Reference has already been made to the relations of Uncas and the early 
.settlers of the county. After the destruction of the Pequot power, the few 
survivors of the tribe, having been distributed amongst the Narragansetts 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 



105 



and the Mohegans, were settled, some in what is now Westerly, some in 
what is now Waterford and New London, under the name "Nameaugs." 
These remnants of a once powerful tribe sufifered under the severe treatment 
meted out to them by Uncas, who disliked Governor Winthrop for his pro- 
tection of the "Nameaugs," 

The jealousy of Uncas precipitated several conflicts with the settlers at 
New London. When the commissioners of the United Colonies (noteworthy 
as a step toward the Albany Congress and toward later confederation) were 
asked by Governor Winthrop to free the Pequots from the control of Uncas, 
they refused to do so, but reprimanded and fined Uncas for misdeeds. 

Until the settlement of Norwich, Uncas led an unsettled life, evading the 
attacks of his Indian foes and disputing with his white neighbors regarding 
his rights. The commissioners, after many attempts at settling Indian affairs, 
made certain awards of lands to the surviving Pequots, which awards were 
never carried out by the towns concerned. After the charter of 1662, whereby 
Stonington became a part of Connecticut, the settlement of Indian affairs 
became subject to the General Court of Connecticut. The records of the 
General Court show a long list of petitions and awards pertaining to the 
Indian affairs of New London county, extending over a period from 1662 
to Revolutionary times. The early history of Groton and Stonington shows 
that the Pequots were provided with reservations and treated as wards of 
the State. 

The Mohegans, for their fidelity at all times, were more generously 
treated by the State, admitted to full citizenship finally (1873), ^nd granted 
absolute ownership of certain lands, much of the rest of the tribal domain 
being sold from time to time to settlers of New London, Norwich, and adjoin- 
ing towns. 

Of the primitive life of the settlers we get many glimpses, by the votes 
of town meetings, wills, and diaries. We find in the town records the follow- 
ing entry : 

Memorandum : that upon the i6th day of January, 1709-10, being a very 
cold day, upon the report of a kennel of wolves, mortal enemies to our sheep 
and all our other creatures, was lodged and lay in ambuscade in the Cedar 
Swamp, waiting there for an opportunity to devour the harmless sheep; 
upon information whereof, about thirty of our valiant men, well disciplined 
in arms and special conduct, assembled themselves and with great courage 
beset and surrounded the enemies in the said swamp, and shot down three 
of the brutish enemies, and brought their heads through the town in great 
triumph. 

The same day a wolfe in sheepe's cloathing designed to throw an innocent 
man into the frozen water, where he might have perished, but was timely 
prevented, and the person at that time delivered frome that danger. 

As the subject of wolves is thus again introduced, we may observe that 
at this period and for thirty years afterward a wolf-hunt was a customary 
autumnal sport. From ten to forty persons usually engaged in it, who sur- 
rounded and beat up some swamp in the neighborhood. Mill-pond Swamp 



io6 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

and Cedar Swamp were frequently scoured for wolves in November or the 
latter part of October. George, son of John Richards, had a bounty of ill 
for wolves killed during the year 1717; these were probably insnared. The 
bounty had been raised to twenty shillings per head. The bounty for killing 
a wildcat was three shillings. 

The settlement at New London prospered, till at the outbreak of the 
Revolutionary War it numbered approximately 6,000. New London's part 
in that struggle has been fully set forth elsewhere. The Shaw Mansion, the 
Nathan Hale School, Fort Trumbull, the many anecdotes of local happenings, 
are rich in historic interest. Miss Caulkins remarks: 

So many of the inhabitants of New London had been trained as fisher- 
men, coasters, and mariners, that no one is surprised to find them, when the 
trying time came, bold, hardy, and daring in the cause of freedom. In all 
the southern towns of the county — Stonington, Groton, New London, Lyme — 
the common mass of the people were an adventurous class, and exploits of 
stratagem, strength, and valor, by land and sea, performed during the war 
of independence by persons nurtured on this coast, might still be recovered 
sufificient to form a volume of picturesque adventure and exciting interest. 
At the same time many individuals in this part of the country, and some, too, 
of high respectability, took a different view of the great political question and 
sided with the Parliament and the king. In various instances families were 
divided ; members of the same fireside adopted opposite opinions and became 
as strangers to each other ; nor was it an unknown misery for parents to 
have children ranged on different sides of the battle-field. At one time a 
gallant young officer of the army, on his return from the camp, where he 
had signalized himself by his bravery, was escorted to his home by a grateful 
populace that surrounded the house and filled the air with their applausive 
huzzas, while at the same time his half-brother, the son of the mother who 
clasped him to her bosom, stigmatized as a Tory, convicted of trade with the 
enemy, and threatened with the wooden horse, lay concealed amid the hay 
of the barn, where he was fed by stealth for many days. 

This anecdote is but an example of many that might be told of a similar 
character. 

The position of New London was such that it was easily blockaded, and 
constantly threatened with destruction. Many fleets of hostile ships sailed by. 
Many a privateer slipped out of the harbor in spite of the blockade. "So 
great, however, was the vigilance of the British squadron on the coast that 
not a single prize was brought into the harbor of New London from 1776 
to 1778." Of the famous attack of Arnold on the town, Miss Caulkins says: 

Although New London had been repeatedly threatened, no direct attack 
was made upon the town till near the close of the war in 1781. General 
Arnold, on his return from a predatory descent upon the coasts of Virginia, 
was ordered to conduct a similar expedition against his native State. A large 
quantity of West India goods and European merchandise brought in by 
various privateers was at this time collected in New London; the quantity 
of shipping in port was also very considerable, and among the prizes recently 
taken was the "Hannah" (Captain Watson), a rich merchant ship from Lon- 
don bound to New York, which had been captured a little south of Long 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 107 

Island by Capt. Dudley Saltonstall, of the "Minerva." privateer. The loss 
of this ship, whose cargo was said to be the most valuable brou}.?ht into 
America during the war. had exasperated the British, and more than any other 
single circumstance is thought to have led to the expedition. At no other 
period of the war could they have done so much mischief, at no other had 
the inhabitants so much to lose. 

The expedition was fitted out from New York, the headquarters of Sir 
Henry Clinton and the British army. The plan was well conceived. Arnold 
designed to enter the harbor secretly in the night, and to destroy the shipping, 
public ofifices, stores, merchandise, and the fortifications on both sides of 
the river, with such expedition as to be able to depart before any considerable 
force could be collected against him. Candor in judging forbids the supposi- 
tion that the burning of the town and the massacre at Groton fort entered 
into his original design, though at the time such cruelty of purpose was 
charged upon him and currently believed. As flowing from his measures and 
taking place under his command, they stand to his account, and this responsi- 
bility is heavy enough without adding to it the criminal forethought. 

The official report by Arnold reads as follows: 

Sound, off Plumb Island, 8th Sept., 1781. 

Sir, — I have the honor to inform }our Excellency that the transports 
with the detachment of troops under my orders anchored on the Long Island 
shore on the 5th instant, at two o'clock P. M., about ten leagues from New 
London, and having made some necessary arrangements, weighed anchor at 
seven o'clock P. M. and stood for New London with a fair wind. At one 
o'clock the next morning we arrived off the harbor, when the wind suddenly 
shifted to the northward, and it was nine o'clock before the transports could 
beat in. At ten o'clock the troops in two divisions, and in four debarkations, 
were landed, one on each side of the harbor, about three miles from New 
London, that on the Groton side, consisting of the Fortieth and Fifty-fourth 
Regiments and the Third Battery of New Jersey volunteers, with a detach- 
ment of yagers and artillery, were under the command of Lieut. -Col. Eyre. 
The division on the New London side consisted of the Thirty-eighth Regi- 
ment, the Loyal Americans, the American Legion, refugees, and a detach- 
ment of sixty yagers, who were immediately on their landing put in motion, 
and at eleven o'clock, being within half a mile of Fort Trumbull, which 
commands New London Harbor, I detached Capt. Millett, with four com- 
panies of the Thirty-eighth Regiment, to attack the fort, who was joined on 
his march by Capt. Frink with one company of the American Legion. At 
the same time I advanced with the remainder of the division west of Fort 
Trumbull, on the road to the town, to attack a redoubt which had kept up a 
brisk fire upon us for some time, but which the enemy evacuated on our 
approach. In this work we found six pieces of cannon mounted and two 
dismounted. Soon after I had the pleasure to see Capt. Millett march into 
Fort Trumbull, under a shower of grape-shot from a number of cannon which 
the enemy had turned upon him; and I have the pleasure to inform your 
Excellency that by the sudden attack and determined bravery of the troops 
the fort w'as carried with the loss of only four or five men killed and wounded. 
Capt. Millett had orders to leave one company in Fort Trumbull, to detach 
one to the redoubt we had taken, and join me with the other companies. 
No time was lost on my part in gaining the town of New London. We 
were opposed by a small body of the enemy, with one field-piece, who were 
so hard pressed that they were obliged to leave the piece, which, being iron, 
was spiked and left. 



io8 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

As soon as the enemy were alarmed in the morning we could perceive 
they were busily engaged in bending sails and endeavoring to get their pri- 
vateers and other ships up Norwich River out of our reach, but the wind 
being small and the tide against them they were obliged to anchor again. 
From information I received before and after my landing, I had reason to 
believe that Fort Griswold, on Groton side, was very incomplete, and I was 
assured by friends to government, after my landing, that there were only 
twenty or thirty men in the fort, the inhabitants in general being on board 
their ships and busy in saving their property. 

On taking possession of Fort Trumbull, I found the enemy's ships would 
escape unless we could possess ourselves of Fort Griswold. I therefore dis- 
patched an officer to Lieut. -Col. Eyre with the intelligence I had received, 
and requested him to make an attack upon the fort as soon as possible, at 
which time I expected the howitzer was up and would have been made use of. 
On my gaining a height of ground in the rear of New London, from which I 
had a good prospect of Fort Griswold, I found it much more formidable than 
I expected, or than I had formed an idea of, from the information I had before 
received. I observed at the same time that the men who had escaped from 
Fort Trumbull had crossed in boats and thrown themselves into Fort Gris- 
wold, and a favorable wind springing up about this time, the enemy's ships 
were escaping up the river, notwithstanding the fire from Fort Trumbull and 
a six-pounder which I had with me. I immediately dispatched a boat with 
an officer to Lieut. -Col. Eyre to countermand my first order to attack the fort, 
but the officer arrived a few minutes too late. Lieut. -Col. Eyre had sent Capt. 
Beckwith with a flag to demand a surrender of the fort, which was per- 
emptorily refused, and the attack had commenced. After a most obstinate 
defense of near fortv minutes, the fort was carried by the superior bravery 
and perseverance of the assailants. On this occasion I have to regret the loss 
of Maj. Montgomery, who was killed by a spear in entering the enemy's 
works ; also of Ensign Whitlock, of the Fortieth Regiment, who was killed 
in the attack. Three other officers of the same regiment were wounded. 
Lieut. -Col. Eyre, and three other officers of the Fifty-fourth Regiment, were 
also wounded, but I have the satisfaction to inform your Excellency that they 
are all in a fair w^ay to recover. 

Lieut.-Col. Eyre, who behaved with great gallantry, having received his 
wound near the works, and Maj. Montgomery being killed immediately after, 
the command devolved on Maj. Bromfield, whose behavior on this occasion 
does him great honor. Lieut.-Col. Buskirk, with the New Jersey volunteers 
and artillery, being the second debarkation, came up soon after the work was 
carried, having been retarded by the roughness of the country. I am much 
obliged to this gentleman for his exertions, although the artillery did not 
arrive in time. 

I have enclosed a return of the killed and wounded, by which your Ex- 
cellency will observe that our loss, though very considerable, is short of the 
enemy's, who lost most of their officers, among whom was their commander, 
Col. Ledyard. Eighty-five men were found dead in Fort Griswold and sixty 
wounded, most of them mortally; their loss on the opposite side must have 
been considerable, but cannot be ascertained. I believe we have about seventy 
prisoners, besides the wounded who were left paroled. 

Ten or twelve ships were burned, among them three or four armed vessels, 
and one loaded with naval stores; an immense quantity of European and 
West India poods were found in the stores, among the former cargo of the 
"Hannah," Capt. Watson, from London, lately captured by the enemy, the 




jirxnciPAL ni' 



CITY COlMtT HOl'SE (17S 



CITY OF NEW LOXDOX 109 

whole of which was burnt with the stores, which proved to contain a large 
quantity of powder unknown to us. The explosion of the powder and change 
of wind, soon after the stores were fired, communicated the flames to part 
of the town, which was, notwithstanding every efTort to prevent it, unfor- 
tunately destroyed. 

After the Revolution, New London developed its fisheries and commerce 
and became a famous whaling center. With its shipbuilding and coasting 
trade, New London became a center of trade for merchants further inland. 
Trade with the West Indies sprang up and flourished. One hundred and 
fifty sail of merchant vessels entered and cleared at the port of New London. 
The first collector of the port was Gen. Jedediah Huntington, of Revolu- 
tionary fame. The war of 181 2 greatly interfered with this commerce, but 
at the close of the war commerce again revived. In 1816 was made the first 
trip from New York to New London by steam. The time, tt^'enty-one hours, 
was considered remarkable. Two natives of New London, Capt. Moses 
Rogers and Capt. Stevens Rogers, were the first to navigate a steam vessel 
across the Atlantic. The "Savannah" made the trip to Liverpool in twenty- 
one days, starting May 26, 1819. 

To Miss Caulkins' History we are indebted for an outline of the whaling 
industry: 

In tracing the whale fishery, so far as it has been prosecuted by the 
people of Connecticut, back to its rise, we come to the following resolve of 
the General Court at Hartford, May 25th, 1647: "If Mr. Whiting with others 
shall make trial and prosecute a design for the taking of whale, within these 
liberties, and if upon trial within the term of two years, they shall like to go 
on, no others shall be suffered to interrupt them for the term of seven years." 

The granting of monopolies and exclusive privileges was the customary 
mode of encouraging trade and manufactures in that day. Of Mr. Whiting's 
project nothing further is known. Whales in the early years of the colony 
were often seen in the Sound ; and if one chanced to be stranded on the 
shore, or to get embayed in a creek, the news was soon spread, and the fisher- 
men and farmers from the nearest settlements would turn out, armed with 
such implements as they possessd, guns, pikes, pitchforks, or spears, and rush 
to the encounter. Such adventures, however, belong more particularly to 
the south side of Long Island than to the Connecticut shore. 

A whale boat is mentioned in an enumeration of goods before the end 
of the seventeenth century, and this implies that excursions were sometimes 
made in pursuit of whales, but probably they were not extended much beyond 
Montauk. Even at the present day a whale sometimes makes its appearance 
in the eastern part of the Sound. 

We have no statistics to show that the whale fishery was on except in 
this small way, from any part of the Connecticut coast, before the Revolu- 
tionary War. At Sag Harbor, on the opposite coast of the Sound, something 
more had been done. It is said that as far back as 1760, sloops from that place 
went to Disco Island in pursuit of whales ; but of these voyages no record has 
been preserved. The progress of whaling from the American coast appears 
to have been pursued in the following order : 

1st. Whales were killed on or near the coast, and in all instances cut up 
and dried upon land. Boats only used. 



no NEW LONDON COUNTY 

2nd. Small sloops were fitted out for a cruise of five or six weeks, and 
went as far as the Great Banks of Newfoundland. 

3rd. Longer voyages of a few months were made to the Western Islands, 
Cape Verde, West Indies and Gulf of Mexico. 

4th. After 1745. voyages were made to Davis' Straits, Baffin's Bay, and 
as far south as the coast of Guinea. 

5th. After 1770, voyages were made to the Brazil Banks, and before 1775 
vessels both from Nantucket and Newport had been to the Falkland Islands. 
Nantucket alone had at that time 150 vessels and 2,000 men employed in the 
whaling business. Some of the vessels were brigs of considerable burden. 

The war totally destroyed the whale fishery, and the depression of busi- 
ness after the war prevented it from being immediately resumed. In Nan- 
tucket it revived in 1785, under legislative encouragement. This brings tis 
to the period when the first whaling expedition into south latitude was fitted 
out from Long Island Sound. 

In the year 1784 we find the following notice in the "New London 
Gazette": "May 20. Sailed from this port, sloop 'Rising Sun,' Squire, on a 
whaling voyage." Of this voyage there is no further record ; it was probably 
of the short description. At Sag Harbor a more extended expedition was 
undertaken the same year. Nathaniel Gardiner and brother fitted out both 
a ship and a brig on a whaling adventure. They were both unsuccessful, but 
this is supposed to have been the first expedition after whales from Long 
Island Sound into south latitudes. In 1785, Messrs. Stephen Howell and 
Benjamin Hunting, of Sag Harbor, purchased the brig "Lucy," of Elijah 
Hubbard, of Middletown, Connecticut, and sent her out on a whaling voyage, 
George McKay, master. The same season the brig "America," Daniel 
Havens, master, was fitted out from the same place. Both went to the Brazil 
Banks. 

1785. — The "Lucy" returned May 15th, with 360 barrels. The "America" 
returned June 4th, with 300 barrels. These arrivals were announced in the 
"New London Gazette," in the marine list kept by Thomas Allen, who there- 
upon breaks forth: "Now, my horse jockeys, beat your horses and cattle into 
spears, lances, harpoons and whaling gear, and let us all strike out ; many 
spouts ahead ! Whales plenty, you have them for the catching." 

The first vessel sailing from New London on a whaling voyage to a 
southern latitude was the ship "Commerce," which was owned and fitted out 
at East Haddam, in Connecticut river, but cleared from New London Feb- 
ruary 6th, 1794. An attempt was made to form a whaling company in New 
London in 1795, and a meeting called at Miner's tavern for that purpose, 
but it led to no result. Norwich next came forward, and sent out on a whaling 
voyage a small new ship built in the Thames river, below Norwich, and 
called the "Miantinomoh." She sailed from New London September 5th, 1800 
(Captain Swain), and passing round Cape Horn, was reported at Massafuero 
August 9th, 1801. She spent another year on the South .American coast, but 
in April, 1802, was seized at Valparaiso by the Spanish authorities and con- 
demned, the ship "Tryal," Coffin, of Nantucket, sharing the same fate. 

In 1802, the ship "Despatch," Howard, was fitted out at New London, 
to cruise in the south seas after whales ; but the voyage was not repeated. 
The year 1805 mav therefore be considered as the period when the whaling 
business actually commenced in the place, and the ship "Dauphin" the pioneer 
in the trade. This vessel was built by Capt. John Barber, at Pawkatuck 
Bridge, with express reference to the whale fishery. Her burden was two 
hundred and forty tons, and when completed she was filled with wood and 
sent to New York for sale. Not meeting with a purchaser, she returned and 



CITY OF NEW LONDON in 

came into New London Harbor in the autumn of 1804. Here a company was 
formed, chieflv through the exertions of Dr. S. H. P. Lee, the first mover 
in the enterprise, who bought the ship and fitted her for whaling. 

The "Dauphin." Capt. Laban Williams, sailed for the Brazil Banks Sep- 
tember 6th, 1805. and arrived with her cargo June 14th, 1806. Dr. Lee then 
bought the ship "Leonidas," in New York, and fitted her also for whaling. 
Both ships sailed in August; Williams in the "Leonidas," and Alexander 
Douglas in the "Dauphin." The "Dauphin" arrived in April, 1807, full. The 
"Leonidas" arrived in June, 1807, 1,050 barrels. 

In 1807 the ship "Lydia" was bought in New York, and put into the 
business. The three ships went to the coast of Patagonia. The "Lydia" 
(Douglas) arrived June 9th, 1808, 1,000 barrels. The "Dauphin" (Savre) 
arrived June 13th, 1808, 900 barrels. The "Leonidas" (Wm. Barnes) arrived 
June 23d, 1808, 1,200 barrels. The "Leonidas" left six of her crew on the 
uninhabited island of Trinidad ; they had landed for refreshment, and the 
weather becoming very boisterous, the wind blowing ofif from the island 
and so continuing for many days, the vessel sailed without them. In July, 
the schooner "Experiment" (S. P. Fitch) was sent to bring them away. The 
"Leonidas" (Douglas) sailed again August 31st, 1808. 

The embargo, non-intercourse and war, following close upon each other 
from this period, entirely broke up this, as well as every other species of 
commerce. The West India trade, which in former times had been the 
source of so much wealth and prosperitj^ to the town, was never again ex- 
tensively revived. After the conclusion of peace, only a few vessels were 
engaged in that traffic, and everv year diminished the number. The whale 
fishery seemed to ofTcr itself to fill the void of this declining trade. 

In 1819 the whaling business was commenced anew by T. W. Williams 
and Daniel Deshon ; the first officers employed consisted principally of per- 
sons who had gained some experience in the former short period of the busi- 
ness between 1805 and 1808. The brig "Mary" (James Davis) was sent out 
by Williams; the brig "Mary Ann" (Inglis) and the ship "Carrier" (Alex- 
ander Douglas) by Deshon. The "Mary" came in the next season, June 7th, 
and brought the first results of the new enterprise. She was out ten months 
and twenty days, and brought in 744 barrels of whale-oil and 78 of sperm. 
The "Carrier" brought 028 barrels of whale ; the "IMary Ann" only 59. 

In 1820, the brig "Pizarro" (Elias L. Coit) was added to the fleet, and 
in 1821 the brig "Thames" (Bernard) and the ship "Commodore Perry" 
(Davis). The last-named vessel was built in 1815, at East Greenwich. Rhode 
Island, but coppered in New London, after she was engaged in the whaling 
business. It was the first time that this operation was performed in the 
place, and the "Commodore Perry" was the first copper-bottomed whaling 
vessel sent from the port. On her first voyage she was out eigKr months and 
four days, and brought in 1,544 barrels of whale oil and 81 of sperm. 

The "Carrier" (O. Swain), 340 tons burden, was the first vessel from the 
port that went out on the long voyage for sperm whale. She sailed for the 
Pacific Ocean February 20th. 1821. and arrived July 12th, 1823, with 2,074 
barrels. In November, 1821, sailed also for the Pacific the new ship "Ston- 
ineton" (Ray), built at Stonington. but sent from New London. In 1822 the 
ships "Connecticut." "Ann Maria" and "Jones" were added to the fleet, and 
in 1824 the "Neptune." The four brigs and the ship "Carrier," after making 
three and four voyages each, were withdrawn from the business; and as no 
other vessels were added till 1827, at the commencement of that year the 
whaling list of the port consisted of six ships only — three of them right whale 
and three sperm cruisers. Of these, five were fitted out by T. W^ Williams, 



112 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

and the "Commodore Perry" by N. and W. W. Billings, who were then just 
launching into the business, and who purchased the same year the "Superior" 
and the "Phenix." 

A fine ship that has for many years braved the storms of ocean cannot 
be regarded with indifference. She has a history which, if it could be written, 
would be full of interest. A few brief notes respecting the older ships belong- 
ing to the port may therefore be acceptable. 

The "Commodore Perry" made seventeen voyages, and the "Stonington" 
thirteen. They both gave out. and were broken up in 1848. The "Con- 
necticut" was condemned in a foreign port in 1848, was sold, and is still 
afloat in the Pacific Ocean. The "Ann Maria" was run down by a French 
whaler in the Indian Ocean in 1842. The "Jones" made sixteen voyages, and 
was condemned in 1842. The "Neptune" and "Superior," two ships that 
belonged to the whaling fleet of New London in 1852, were both built in 1808. 
The "Superior" was built in Philadelphia, and purchased by N. and W. W. 
Billings in 1827; the "Neptune" in New Bedford, and purchased by T. W. 
Williams in 1824, for $1650. She had just returned from an unsuccessful 
whaling voyage, fitted out from New York, and, being sixteen years old, the 
sum paid for her was considered fully equal to her value. She sailed on her 
first voyage from New London, June 7th, 1824, has made eighteen voyages, 
and is now absent (1852) on her nineteenth, having been forty-four years 
afloat. She has been more than once during that period rebuilt, but has not 
lost her identity; her keel, stern-post and some of her floor-timbers belong 
to the original frame. 

No other service admits of such rapid promotion as whaling. In 1821, 
Robert B. Smith went captain of the "Mary." His experience in the business 
had been gained in two voyages only, but he proved to be one of the most 
successful and enterprising masters in the trade. He was the first to reach 
the amount of 2,000 barrels in one voyage, which he did in the "Ann Maria" 
in 1823, the second time that he went out commander. He was absent eight 
months and twenty-two days, and brought in 1.919 barrels of whale and 145 
of sperm. In his sixth voyage he was unfortunately drowned in the Pacific 
Ocean, being drawn overboard by a whale, to which he had just made fast 
with his harpoon and line, December 28th, 1828. Captain Smith's four 
brothers pursued the same line of enterprise. 

Capt. James Smith made ten voyages as captain, and several of them 
were eminently successful. In three successive voyages in the "Columbia," 
made to the island of Desolation, from which he returned in 1840, 1842, and 
1844, he brought in each time more than 4,000 barrels of oil. 

Capt. Franklin Smith, another of the brothers, made the most successful 
series of voyages to be found in the whaling annals of the port and probably 
of the world I In seven voyages to the South Atlantic, in the employ of N. 
and W. W. Billings, and accomplished in seven successive years, from 1831 
to 1837, inclusive^ — one in the "Flora," one in the "Julius Cesar," and five in 
the "Tuscarora" — he brought home 16,154 barrels of whale, 1,147 o^ sperm. 
This may be regarded as a brilliant exhibiiton of combined good fortune and 
skill. Two subsequent voyages made by him in the "Chelsea" were also 
crowned with signal success. These nine voyages were accomplished between 
June. 1830. and August, 1841. 

Capt. John Rice was one of the crew of the brig "Mary" in 1819, and 
sailed commander of the "Pizarro," June 9th, 1822. He is still in the service 
(1852), in date of commission the oldest whaling captain of the port. 

The single voyage that perhaps before any other merits special notice 
is that of the "Clematis" (Capt. Benjamin), fitted out by Williams and Barnes, 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 113 

and arriving July 4th, 1841. She was out ten months and twenty-nine days; 
went round the world, and brought home 2,548 barrels of oil. This voyage, 
when the time, the distance sailed, and the quantity of oil brought home are 
considered in connection, merits to be ranked among remarkable achieve- 
ments. 

There is no associated line of business in which the profits are more 
equitably divided among those engaged in it than in the whale fishery. The 
owners, agents, officers and crew are all partners in the voyage, and each has 
his proportionate share of the results. Its operation, therefore, is to enlarge 
the means and multiply the comforts of the many, as well as to add to the 
wealth of the wealthy. The old West India trade, which preceded it, was 
destructive in a remarkable degree to human life and health, and engendered 
habits of dissipation, turbulence, and reckless extravagance. The whaling 
business is a great advance upon this, not only as it regards life, but also in 
its relation to order, happiness and morality. The mass of the people, the 
public, gained by the exchange. 

In 1845, the whaling business reached its maximum ; seven vessels were 
added that year to the fleet, which then consisted of seventy-one ships and 
barks, one brig, and five schooners. In January, 1846, the "McLellan," of 
336 tons, was purchased by Perkins and Smith, with thf design of making 
an experiment in the Greenland fishery. This made the seventy-eighth vessel 
sailing from New London in pursuit of whales, and ranked the place more 
than 1,000 tons before Nantucket in the trade. New Bedford was still far 
ahead, but no other port in the world stood between. 

The "McLellan" has made six voyages to Davis' Straits; but the seasons 
have been peculiarly unfavorable, and she has met with little success. She 
is now absent (1852) on her seventh voyage. 

Employed in the whale fishery from New London: 1820, one ship, three 
brigs, 950 tons. 1846, seventy-one ships and barks, one brig, six schooners, 
26,200 tons; capital embarked, nearly $2,000,000. In 1847, the tide began 
to ebb ; the trade had been extended beyond what it would bear, and was 
followed by a depression of the market and a scarcity of whale. The fleet 
was that year reduced to fifty-nine ships and barks, one brig and six schoon- 
•rs: total, sixty-six; tonnage, 22,625. I" 1850, about fifty vessels were em- 
ployed, or 17,000 tons, and the capital about $1,200,000. In 1849 and 1850, 
twenty-five whaling captains abandoned the business and went to California. 
Value' of imports from the whale fishery, as exhibited by the custom-house 
returns: 1850, $618,055; 1851, $1,109,410. 

The following table of imports of whale and sperm oil into the port of 
New London, from 1820 to 1851, inclusive, and most of the statistics of the 
whale fishery since 1820, are taken from the Whaling Record of Henry P. 
Haven, which exhibits the date, length, and results of every whaling voyage 
made from New London since that period : 





Ships and 




Schooners 


Barrels of 


Barrels of 


Year 


Barks 


Brigs 


and Sloops 


Whale Oil 


Sperm Oil 


1820 


I 


2 





1. 731 


78 


1821 





3 





2,323 


105 


T822 


I 


4 





4,528 


194 


1823 


4 


2 





6,712 


2.318 


1824 


3 


2 





4,996 


1.924 


1825 


4 








5483 


'•'2^ 


1826 


2 








2,804 


88 


1827 


5 








3.375 


6.166 


1828 


3 








5435 


168 


1829 


9 








11.325 


2,20s 



NEW LONDON COUNTY 



1S30 


u 


I83I 


14 


1832 


12 


1833 


17 


1834 


9 


183s 


13 


1836 


12 


1837 


17 


1838 


15 


1839 


IS 


1840 


17 


I84I 


IS 


1842 


16 


184a 


20 


1844 


18 


184s 


21 


1846 


13 


1847 


35 


1848 


20 


1849 


17 


1850 


17 


I85I 


26 



15,248 


9.792 


19,402 


5,487 


21,375 


703 


22,395 


8,503 


12,930 
14,041 


,ti§ 


18,663 


3,198 


26,774 


8,469 


25.523 


3,426 


26,278 


4,094 


32,038 


4,110 


26,893 


3.920 


28,165 


4,055 


34,677 


3,598 


39,816 


2,296 


52,576 


1,411 


27,441 


1,306 


76,287 


4,765 


54,115 


3,606 


38.030 


1,949 


36,545 


1,603 


67,508 


2,914 



Shortest voyage, ship "Manchester Packet," 1832; seven months and 
nineteen days (not including voyages of the "McLellan" to Davis' Straits). 
Longest voyage, ship "William C. Nye," arrived February loth, 1851 ; out 
fifty-seven months and eleven days. Largest quantity of oil in one voyage, 
ship "Robert Bowne," 1848, 4,850 barrels. Largest quantity of whale-oil in 
one voyage, ship "Atlantic, 1848, 4,720 barrels. Largest quantity of sperm- 
oil in one voyage, ship "Phoenix," 1833, 2,971 barrels. Largest quantity of 
oil imported in any one ship, ship "Neptune," 27,845 whale, 2,710 sperm. 

In 1847, the number of vessels employed from New London in freighting, 
coasting and home fisheries was 171, viz., nine ships and barks, three brigs, 
fifty-six schooners, 103 sloops and smacks ; whole burden, 12,300 tons.* The 
number of seamen employed in the whale fishery and domestic trade was 
about 3,000. 

The year 1849 was distinguished by the general rush for California; 
nineteen vessels sailed for that coast from New London, but of these one 
schooner was fitted in Norwich, and two or three others were in part made 
up from adjoining towns. The statistics of the business with California for 
two years have been estimated as follows ("New London Democrat") : Sent 
in 1849, four ships, three barks, twelve schooners; 3,745 tons. Passengers, 
152; seamen, 186. Value of goods: merchandise, $3,->28; domestic products, 
$70,418; domestic manufactures, $45,520. 

Sent in 1850, one ship, one brig, three schooners ; 803 tons. Passengers. 
15; seamen, 53. Value of merchandise, $1,905; domestic products, $19,598; 
domestic manufactures, $10,524. 

About fifty persons from New London went in steamers or vessels from 
other ports. (Nine or ten vessels sailed for California from Mystic.) The 
whole number that went from the place to California in those two years, as 



* From statistics furnished the Harbor and River Convention, at Chicago, 
1S47, by T. W. Williams. 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 115 

seamen and passengers, could not have been less than 450. 

Of the effect of the war of 1812 on New London, Miss Caulkins tells 
many interesting anecdotes. One instance must serve: 

Varied and numerous were the events of the town and neighborhood 
during these three successive years of constant rigorous blockade. The slooj) 
"Juno," Captain John Howard, continued to pi}- back and forth between New 
London and New York during the whole war with but a single serious acci- 
dent ; that was the loss of her mast b}' a shot of the enemy after being driven 
into Saybrook Harbor. Her enterprising commander was well acquainted 
with the Sound, made his trips during the darkest nights and in severest 
storms, guided often by the lantern lights of the enemy's ships as he repeat- 
edly ran through their blockading squadron. He was narrowly watched and 
several times pursued by their boats and barges, but always eluded capture. 
Sometimes when too closely pursued, a spirited fire from his cannon, four 
pieces of which he always carried on deck, only to be used in defense, would 
drive away his pursuers and secure his little craft from further molestation. 
The fact that the enemy were fully apprised of his times of departure and 
expected arrival, and in fact all his movements, through the newspapers, 
which they could easily obtain, renders it the more remarkable that she 
escaped their vigilance. 

It is remarkable that during the whole war not a man in Connecticut 
was killed, notwithstanding the long and vigorous blockade and the many 
encounters between detachments of the enemy and the inhabitants. One 
person only, a Mr. Dolph, lost his life on the waters of the coast, ofif Say- 
brook, while engaged with others in recovering two prizes taken by the 
enemy. Such a fact appears almost miraculous. 

Commodore Decatur entertained the hope that some opportunity would 
offer for his escape with his vessels during the winter, and watched for an 
opportunity favorable to his design. His vessel dropped down and remained 
at anchor opposite the town, and quietly remained waiting for some remiss- 
ness of vigilance on the part of the enemy. At length the favorable time 
seemed to have arrived. A dark night, a favorable wind, and fair tide, all 
gave every expectation of success. But just as the little fleet were about 
to start, "blue-lights" appeared on both sides of the river. Such an unusual 
occurrence gave strong suspicions that these were concerted signals to the 
enemy, and notwithstanding every preparation had been made with the most 
profound secrecy, the commodore considered himself betrayed, and relin- 
quished his intentions, making no further effort to run the blockade. Al- 
though he was firm in his belief that his intentions were thus signaled to 
the enemy, it was indignantly denied by the citizens that any traitorous 
designs existed, and that the lights were accidental, or that those who 
reported them to the commodore were mistaken. He, however, removed his 
two large vessels up the river, where they were dismantled and only a guard 
left on board. The "Hornet" remained at New London, and subsequently 
slipped out of the harbor, and, eluding capture, reached New York in safety. 
The restoration of peace in 1815 was an occasion of general rejoicing. 
Our enemies became friends, and receptions, balls, and public rejoicings sig- 



ii6 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

nalized the event, in which the officers of the British squadron cordially par- 
ticipated, and who were as cordially received by the citizens of the town. 
Such was the close of the war of 1812. 

We extract from Miss Caulkins' history the following accounts of early 
e»terprise : 

The first regular line of steamboats from New York to New London was 
established in 1816. On the 28th of September in that year, the "Connecticut" 
(Bunker) arrived from New York in twenty-one hours, which was regarded 
as a signal triumph of steam, the wind and a swell of the tide being against 
her. In October the regular line commenced, making two trips per week to 
New Haven. The "Fulton" (Captain Law) was running at the same time 
between New York and New Haven. The price of passage was five dollars 
to New Haven, and from thence to New York, four dollars. Steam pro- 
pellers, carrying principally freight, but some passengers, commenced navi- 
gating the Sound in 1844. The first was the "Quinebaug." 

In one respect New London stands in honorable connection with the 
history of steam navigation. Capt. Moses Rogers, the commander of the 
steamship "Savannah," the first steam vessel that ever crossed the Atlantic, 
and Capt. Stevens Rogers, sailing-master of the same and brother-in-law of 
the captain, were both natives of New London. The "Savannah" was built 
in New York, under the direction of Captain Rogers, for a company in 
Savannah, and was a full-rigged ship of about 350 tons burden, and fur- 
nished with an engine of eighty or ninety horse-power, by which she made 
about eight knots to the hour. She sailed for Savannah, May 26th, 1819, for 
the sole purpose of making the grand experiment of ocean steam navigation. 
Mr. Scarborough, of Savannah, one of the company that owned the steamer, 
asserted that they had no other object in view; that anticipating the use of 
steam-enginery in that line, and having a surplusage of profit on hand from 
some successful operations of the company, instead of dividing it, they built 
and fitted out the "Savannah," in order to give to America the honor of 
making the first attempt to navigate the Atlantic by steam. 

The passage to Liverpool was made in twenty-two days, fourteen by 
steam and eight by sails, the latter being used solely through the prudence 
of the captain to save the consumption of fuel, lest some emergency might 
occur and the supply be exhausted. From Liverpool the steamer proceeded 
to Copenhagen, and from thence to Stockholm and to St. Petersburg. At 
these ports she excited universal admiration and interest. Lying at anchor 
like a public vessel, with no business to accomplish, no port charges to defray, 
no cargo to take on board, her stay was a continued reception of visitors, and 
her whole passage through the Baltic might be likened to a triumphant pro- 
cession. Bernadotte, King of Sweden, and the Emperor of Russia, with their 
nobles and public officers, not only came on board to examine the wonderful 
American steamer, but tested her performance by short excursions in the 
neighboring waters. On the return home, the last place left in Europe was 
Arendel, in Norway, from whence the passage to Savannah was made in 
twenty-five days, nineteen by steam and six by sails. 

Capt. Moses Rogers gained his experience as a steam engineer on the 
Hudson river, where he had been engaged in some of the earliest experiments 
in propelling vessels by steam. After his return from the voyage in the 
"Savannah," he took command of a steamboat running on the Great Pedee 
river, and died suddenly at Cheraw, South Carolina, September 15th, 1822, 
at the age of forty-two years. 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 117 

Capt. Stevens Rogers is now an officer of the customs in New London, 
and from him the foregoing account of the first voyage by steam across the 
Atlantic is derived. He has in his possession a massive gold snuff-box pre- 
sented to him by Lord Lyndock, an English nobleman who took passage in 
the steamer from Stockholm to St. Petersburg, through an arrangement made 
for him by Mr. Hughes, the American Minister at the Swedish court. On the 
inside of the lid is the following inscription: "Presented by Sir Thomas 
Graham, Lord Lyndock, to Stevens Rogers, sailing-master of the steam-ship 
'Savannah,' at St. Petersburg, October loth, 1819." 

Capt. Moses Rogers, among other costly presents, received from the 
Emperor of Russia an elegant silver tea-urn. The log-book kept during this 
voyage is deposited in the National Institute at Washington. 

The development of New London county since the Civil War days has 
been mostly along the lines of manufacturing, though many of our smaller 
towns are still chiefly agricultural in their interests. Special articles have 
been prepared on many topics, but in general it may be said that our enter- 
prises are characterized by their variety. The main industries are cotton 
and woolen manufactures, with many others of great importance, among 
them the making of quilts, of leather goods, of paper, of bleaching and 
printing, of shipbuilding, the making of engines, of velvet, of machinery of 
many sorts, of cutlery, of guns, of hardware, of birch and witch hazel oils, 
of menhaden oil, of silk, of soap, of lace, and many other articles too numerous 
to mention. The inventive genius of the Connecticut Yankee has been re- 
vealed in our county as clearly as in the rest of the State. 

The account of early newspapers is likewise of interest. The first news- 
paper of the town bore the following title: "The New London Summary, or 
The Weekly Advertiser, With the Freshest Advices, Foreign and Domestic." 

At the close of the paper was the notification, "Printed by Timothy 
Green." It was a folio sheet ; the size of the page about twelve inches by 
eight, with two columns of print. The heading was adorned with an orna- 
mented cut of the colony seal, with the escutcheon of the town added by 
way of crest, viz., a ship in full sail. The first number was issued August 
8th, 1758. The editor died August 3d, 1763, and the paper was discontinued. 

2. "The New London Gazette," with a stamp of the king's arms, appeared 
in November, 1763. The size was considerably increased, the print arranged 
in three columns, and the price 6s. per annum, one-half to be paid on the 
delivery of the first number. This was in fact the same paper under another 
name, being a continuation by Timothy Green, nephew and assistant of the 
former publisher; but as the numerical series of the summary was not con- 
tinued, the numbers being commenced anew, it may be classed as another 
paper. It was soon enlarged in size, and the name changed in the course of 
a few years to "The Connecticut Gazette." This had been the title of the 
first newspaper in the colony, established in New Haven, 1755, by James 
Parker and Co., John Holt, editor, but discontinued in 1767, and there being 
then no paper in the colony bearing that title, it was adopted by the pro- 



ii8 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

prietor of the New London paper. In 1789 Mr. Green took his son Samuel 
into partnership with him, and the "Gazette" was issued by Timothy Green 
and Son to 1794, when Samuel Green assumed the whole business. In 1805 
he retired a while from the paper, and it was issued by Cady and Eells (Eben- 
ezer P. Cady and Nathaniel Eells). In May. 1808, it was resumed by Green, 
and continued to January, 1838, when it passed for two years into the hands 
of John J. Hyde, who was both editor and publisher. In 1840 it reverted to 
the former proprietor, or to his son, S. H. Green, and was conducted by the 
latter to July, 1841. The next editor was A. G. Seaman, by whom it was 
continued about three years, after which the existence of the "Gazette" en- 
tirely ceased. It had been issued regularly under the name of the "Gazette" 
for more than eighty years. 

We would here notice that the Spooner family, which is connected with 
the history of newspapers in this country, was linked both by marriage and 
occupation with the Greens. Judah P. Spooner and Alden Spooner, early 
printers in Vermont, were sons of Thomas Spooner (who came to New- 
London from Newport in 1753), and brothers-in-law of Timothy Green. 
Alden Spooner (2d), son of the first-named of the brothers, was a native of 
New London. He is known as the editor of the "Suffolk Gazette," published 
at Sag Harbor from 1804 to 181 1, and of the "Long Island Star," which he 
conducted from i8il to his death, a period of about thirty-five years. 

Charles Miner, long a noted printer in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 
obtained his knowledge of the business in the "Gazette" office at New London. 
He was for a number of years a member of Congress, and has left an endur- 
ing memorial of his talents and research in the "History of Wyoming," of 
which he is the author. 

Green's "Connecticut Register" was first published in 1785, and again 
in 1786; it was then intermitted for one year, but has regularly appeared every 
year since, making, inclusive of 1852, seventy-six volumes.* 

After the year 1750, the Greens annually printed an "Almanac or Astro- 
nomical Diary." The first numbers were prepared by James Davis, and 
calculated for the meridian of New London. Next to the series of Davis, 
they reprinted the "Boston Almanac" of Nathaniel Ames, until 1766, when 
Clark Elliott, a mathematician and instrument maker who had settled in 
New London, commenced an independent series of almanacs which were at 
first published with his own name but afterward with the assumed one of 
Edmund Freebetter. This change is said to have been caused by a mistake 
which Elliott made in one of his astronomical calculations, which so much 
disconcerted him that he refused ever after to affix his name to the almanac. 
He died in 1793, and Nathan Daboll, of Groton, began his series of almanacs 
with that year, which were continued by him during his life, and have been 



* Col. Samuel Green, for so many years editor and proprietor of the "Gazette," though 
no longer a resident in New London, is still living (1852), eighty-four, realizing that happy 
enjoyment of health, cheerfulness and prosperity which is designated as a green old age. 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 119 

prepared by successors of the same name and family to the present year, 1852. 
Nathan Daboll was a self-taught mathematician. He compiled an arith- 
metic which was extensively used in the schools of New England, and a 
system of practical navigation that was also highly esteemed. He opened a 
school in New London for the common and higher branches of mathematics, 
and the principles of navigation. He died in Groton, March 9th, 1918, aged 
sixty-eight. 

3. "The Weekly Oracle, printed and published by James Springer, oppo- 
site the Market," was the title of a newspaper commenced at New London in 
October, 1796, and continued four years. 

4. "The Bee, printed and published by Charles Holt." This paper was 
commenced June 14th, 1797, and discontinued June 30th, 1802. The editor 
immediately issued proposals for publishing a paper with the same title at 
Hudson, New York. "The Bee" may therefore be considered as transferred 
to that place. This paper was a prominent organ of the Democratic party, 
and under the administration of the elder Adams the editor was arrested for 
a libel, tried by the United States Court then sitting at New Haven, and 
under the provisions of the sedition law condemned to six months' imprison- 
me;it and to pay a fine of $200. Charles Holt was a native of New London ; 
he died in Jersey City, opposite New York, in August, 1852, aged seventy- 
eight. 

5. "The Republican Advocate," established in February, 1818, continued 
about ten years. It was first issued by Clapp and Francis (Joshua B. Clapp 
and Simeon Francis), but after four or five years the partnership dissolved. 
Francis removed to the west, and for a number of years published a news- 
paper in Springfield, Illinois. Clapp continued the "Advocate" alone until 
about the close of the year 1828, when he sold the establishment to John 
Eldridge. The latter changed the name to "The Connecticut Sentinel," but 
the publication was not long continued. 

6. "The People's Advocate, and New London County Republican." This 
paper was commenced August 26, 1840, with the immediate object in view 
of promoting the election of William Henry Harrison to the presidency. The 
proprietor was Benjamin P. Bissell. The editor for 1840, John Jay Hyde; 
for 1841, Thomas P. Trott. Bissell then took the whole charge of the paper 
till his death, September 3d, 1842. In 1843, J. G. Dolbeare and W. D. Man- 
ning appeared as associate editors and proprietors, but the next year Dol- 
beare assumed the sole editorship. In November, 1844, he commenced the 
first daily paper published in New London; it was a folio sheet, the page 
twelve inches by nine, and called "The Morning News." In April, 1848, the 
"Advocate" and the "News" were merged in the "Weekly and Daily Chron- 
icle," which, commencing a new series of numbers and bearing a different 
name, must be considered as altogether a new undertaking. 

7. "The New London Democrat" was commenced March 22d, 1845, by 
J. M. Scofield and S. D. Macdonald ; but the second editor retired with the 
publication of the forty-fourth number. January ist, 1848, Scofield, in con- 



I20 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

nection with the "Democrat," commenced a daily paper entitled "The Morn- 
ing Star." He has since emigrated to California, having assigned his whole 
printing establishment, January ist, 1849, to D. S. Ruddock, the present editor 
and proprietor of the "Star and Democrat." 

8. "The New London Weekly and Daily Chronicle" were first issued in 
May, 1848, by C. F. Daniels and F. H. Bacon, an association which continued 
for three years. Since August, 1851, C. F. Daniels has been sole editor and 
proprietor. 

The above are all the serial publications of the town that have been 
continued long enough to count their existence by years. Transient under- 
takings for a special purpose, and some occasional papers not issued at regular 
intervals have been omitted. 

The following passage is selected from an article by Miss Charlotte M. 
Holloway, written in 1897: 

New I,ondon fairly teems with well authenticated anecdotes of the Revo- 
lution, and it is hard to pass through the older part of the town without find- 
ing objects of interest ; but the Revolutionary part of local history has been 
so thoroughly covered that but passing mention can be made of the houses 
which stood in that period. 

On Main street are the Guy Richards, corner Main and Richards streets; 
the Red Fox Tavern, where Washington stopped in 1756; the Episcopal par- 
sonage, the home of Mather Byles; and the Burbeck house, all between Fed- 
eral and Masonic streets. The latter was the home of Maj.-Gen. Henry 
Burbeck, brevet brigadier-general of the United States army, the founder of 
the United States Military Academy, and second chief of artillery, and the 
man who did so much to bring that branch of service to its splendid rank. 
He served with distinction in the Revolution, was a personal friend of Wash- 
ington, served with great distinction as chief of artillery to General Wayne 
in the war with the Miamis, was thanked in general orders, and in 1800 was 
in military command of all the Atlantic seaboard and Eastern and Middle 
States, with his headquarters at Washington, and in 1801 began the Academy 
at West Point. After a faithful, continuous service in the most useful and 
arduous labor for the advancement of the army, he was retired, and devoted 
himself to his home in New London. On July 4, 1846, he was made president 
of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati. He died in October, 1848, 
and the Cincinnati erected the fine shaft to his memory in Cedar Grove. The 
town had a taste of his quality. It had decreed that the three elms which 
stand before the house should fall. The General determined they should not, 
and when he placed himself before them, gun in hand, and swore to shoot 
the first who touched them, he persuaded the selectmen that he was right. 
Within the old house now dwell his sons, William Henry, a member of the 
Cincinnati and the Sons of the American Revolution ; John ; and Charlotte, 
who is nearing one hundred years, an honorary member of the Lucretia Shaw 
Chapter, D. A. R., which has three daughters of Revolutionary soldiers on 
its list. 

The Hempstead house, built and fortified in 1678, is the third oldest in 
the State. It was the home of Sheriff Hempstead, famous for his skill and 
courage, and of the Joshua whose diary is such a mine of gossip and informa- 
tion. It is preserved faithfully, as it was known to generations of Hemp- 
stead, its quaint interior unmarred by modern touch by its owner, the well- 



CITY OF NEW LONDON 121 

known author, Mary Bolles Branch, a descendant of Hempsteads. The old 
stone house wreathed with ivy, its neighbor, was built by Huguenots, in 1697. 
On the plateau of Manwaring Hill, commanding a magnificent view of 
the Sound, a site of surpassing beauty, stands the old Manwaring manor. 
Since 1660 the land has been in possession of the family. No one has read 
Miss Caulkins' "History of New London" without being impressed with the 
limpid clearness of her style and the pleasant humor which made her digress 
occasionally from the dry-as-dust pathway of fact to pluck some of the fra- 
grant flowers of tradition. Frances Manwaring Caulkins was born in New 
London, April 26, 1795, and died here, February 3, 1869. Through her father 
she was a descendant of Hugh Caulkins, who came with Richard Blinman, 
the first minister of the colony. On her mother's side her ancestry was noted 
in early English history, Sir Ranulphus de Manwaring being justice of Ches- 
ter in 1189-99; another, Sir William, was killed in the streets of Chester, 
defending Charles L, October 9, 1644. For thirty generations the Manwarings 
held Over Peover, the family seat. Her father died before she was born, and 
her uncle, Christopher Manwaring, a gentleman noted for generosity, culture 
and literary tastes, was exceedingly fond of his talented niece, aiding her with 
his library, and for seven years she dwelt with him. When she desired tij 
teach, he set apart a room, still called her schoolroom. He married for his 
second wife Mary Wolcott, a noted beauty, and daughter of the famous Wol- 
cott family. The widow of his son. Dr. Robert Alexander Manwaring, Ellen 
Barber Manwaring (daughter of Noyes Barber, for eighteen years Congress- 
man from this district, the friend of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and William 
Henry Harrison, who was to have had him in his cabinet), occupies the 
mansion with her only son, Wolcott B. Manwaring. 

No landmark in New London is more interesting than its old mill. The 
following poem by M. G. Brainard, in the "New London Day," is rich in 
suggestion : 

THE OLD MILL AT NEW LONDON 

The same old mill that Winthrop built; 

Few were the men that saw it rise ; 
Today it passes on their life, 

Transmitted through the centuries. 

In quietude this lowly house 

Has stood beside the peaceful glen. 
And seen the busy years go by, 

Full of the toils of busy men. 

Has stood through revolution's blood 

Recorded Arnold's guilty raid, 
And looked on England's ships of war, 

From out its oft secluded shade; 

Has seen our churches and our schools 

With tower and spire rise one by one; 
Has heard the chimes of Sabbath bells 

Ring out their call from sire to son. 

Has heard the rising city's din. 

The railroad's shriek, the steamboat's call. 
Yet never through the tumult lost 

The dash of its own waterfall. 



NEW LONDON COUNTY 

And men have rome and men have gone, 
Houses been built and homes laid low; 

And now, the same old mill-stone turns 
E'en as two centuries ago. 

How many through this wild ravine 
Have wandered in their youthful day, 

And where the water rushed between, 

Have skipped from rock to rock their way. 

Then, from the miller's humbler door, 
With borrowed cup, have rushed in haste 

To where the ever-flowing trough 
Poured for each thirsty lip a taste. 

How many by the placid pond. 
The little wharf, the dainty bridge. 

Have watched the willows as they dipped 
Their fringes in the water's edge. 

Or, lingering near this quiet spot 
In the soft moonlight pale and still, 

Have listened to the water's gush 
And drank the peace of the old mill. 

Some changes — 'tis not all the same; 

The years could never leave us all ; 
Time's footsteps make their impress felt, 

However silent be their fall. 

Some little, low, deserted room, 
With lacy cobwebs hanging o'er 

Some widening rifts among the laths 
Show what was once that is no more. 

And still the water wends its way 
With rush and gush of happy sound, 

And throws its arch of sparkling spray. 
And pushes the big wheel around. 

Long may the ancient mill-stone grind ! 

Long may the ancient mill be seen ! 
Long wave the trees, long flow the pond ! 

Long rest the rocks in their ravine! 

Long, through the narrow, open door 
And little window o'er the wheel, 

May sunshine gleam upon the floor 
O'er golden heaps and bags of meal. 

Soft be the touch of rushing time, 
Swift as they need the prompt repairs ; 

Reverent the care shall pass thee on 
As thou hast been, to waitmg years. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE CITY OF NORWICH 

Its Founding — First Settlers— Development of th: Town— During the Revolution- 
Reminiscent Letters from Former Residents — Beginnings of Manufacturing— Early 
Newspapers — The Jubilee of 1859 — Abraham Lincoln Visits the City — Roll of Noted 
People — Description of the Town by Henry Ward Beecher. 

The following is from the pen of Edmund Clarence Stedman: 
THE INLAND CITY (1851) 

Guarded by circling streams and wooded mountains 

Like sentinels round a queen, 
Dotted with groves and musical with fountains, 

The city lies serene. 

Not far away the Atlantic tide diverges, 

And, up the southern shore 
Of gray New England, rolls in shortened surges, 

That murmur evermore. 

The fairy city ! not for frowning castle 

Do I extol her name; 
Not for the gardens and the domes palatial 

Of Oriental fame; 

Yet if there be one man who will not rally, 

One man, who sayeth not 
That of all cities in the Eastern valley 

Ours is the fairest spot; 

Then let him roam beneath those elms gigantic, 

Or idly wander where 
Shetucket flows meandering, where Yantic 

Leaps through the cloven air, 

Gleaming from rock to rock with sunlit motion, 

Then slumbering in the cove ; 
So sinks the soul from Passion's wild devotion, 

To the deep calm of love. . 

And journey with me to the village olden. 

Among whose devious ways 
Are mossy mansions, rich with legends golden 

Of early forest days; 

Elysian time ! when by the rippling water. 

Or in the woodland groves. 
The Indian warrior and the Sachem's daughter 

Whispered their artless loves; 



124 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Legends of fords, where Uncas made his transit. 

Fierce for the border war, 
And drove all day the alien Narragansett 

Back to his haunts afar; 

Tales of the after time, when scant and humble 

Grew the Mohegan band. 
And Tracy, Griswold, Huntington and Trumbull, 

Were judges in the land. 

So let the caviler feast on old tradition, 

And then at sunset climb 
Up yon green hill, where, on his broadened vision 
May burst the view sublime 1 

The city spires, with stately power impelling 

The sou] to look above. 
And peaceful homes, in many a rural dwelling. 

Lit up with flames of love;— 

And then confess, nor longer idly dally, 

While sinks the lingering sun. 
That of all cities in the Eastern valley 

Ours is the fairest one. 

The town of Norwich is bounded on the north by Sprague and Franklin, 
on the east by Lisbon and Preston, on the south by Preston and Montville, 
and on the west by Bozrah and Franklin. The original town of nine miles 
square has lost its area by the setting off of Bozrah, Franklin and Lisbon in 
1786, and by the loss of a portion of the present Preston in 1687. The deed 
of the town land was executed by Uncas, Owaneco, and Attawanhood June 
6, 1659, and reads as follows : 

Deed of Norwich. 
Know all men that Onkos, Owaneco, Attawanhood, Sachems of Mohegan 
have Bargined, sold, and passed over, and doe by these presents sell and pass 
over unto the Towne and Inhabitants of Norwich nine miles square of land 
lying and being at Moheagan and the parts thereunto adjoyneing, with all 
ponds, rivers, woods, quarries, mines, with all royalties, privileges, and appur- 
tenances thereunto belonging, to them the said inhabitants of Norwich, theire 
heirs and successors forever — the said lands are to be bounded as followeth. 
(viz.) to the southward on the west side of the Great River, ye line is to begin 
at the brooke falling into the head of Trading Cove, and soc to run west 
norwest seven miles — from thence the line to run nor north east nine miles, 
and on the East side the afores'd river to the southward the line is to joyne 
with New London bounds as it is now laid out and soe to run east two miles 
from the foresd river, nor norwest nine miles to meet with the western line. 

In consideration whereof the sd Onkos. Owaneco and Attawanhood doe 

acknowledge to have received of the parties aforesd the full and juste sum 
of seventy pounds and doe promise and engage ourselves, heirs and succes- 
sors, to warrant the sd bargain and sale to the aforesd parties, their heirs and 
successors, and them to defend from all claimes and molestations from any 



CITY OF NORWICH 125 

whatsoever. — In witness whereof we have hereunto set to our hands this 6th 
of June, Anno 1659. 

Unkos 

OWANECO 

Attawanhood 
Witness hereunto, John Mason, Thomas Tracy. 

This deed is recorded in the Country Booke, August 20th, 1663: as attests 
John Allyn, secretary. The bounds of this tract, as more particularly de- 
scribed in the first volume of the Proprietors' Records, were as follows: 

The line commenced at the mouth of Trading Cove, where the brook falls 
into the cove ; thence W. N. W. seven miles to a Great Pond (now in the 
corner of Bozrah and Colchester), the limit in this direction being denoted 
by a black oak marked N that stood near the outlet of "Great Brook that runs 
out of the pond to Norwich river," thence N. N. E. nine miles to a black oak 
standing on the south side of the river (Shetucket), "a little above Maw-mi- 
ag-waug"; thence S. S. E. nine miles, crossing the Shetucket and the Quine- 
baug, and passing through "a Seader Swamp called Catantaquck," to a white 
oak tree, marked N. thirteen rods beyond a brook called Quo-qui-qua-soug, 
the space from the Quinebaug to this tree being just one mile and fifty-eight 
rods; thence S. S. W. nine miles to a white oak marked N. near the dwelling- 
houses of Robert Allyn and Thomas Rose, where Norwich and New London 
bounds join ; thence west on the New London bounds, crossing the southern 
part of Mr. Brewster's land, two miles to Mohegan river, opposite the mouth 
of Trading Cove brook where the first bounds began. 

Such were the bounds, as reviewed and renewed in October, 1685, by an 
authorized committee, accompanied by the two sachems and some of the 
chief men of Mohegan. The former deed of 1659, with the boundaries thus 
described and explained, was then ratified and confirmed by "Owaneca, 
sachem of Mohegan, son and heire unto Vnchas deceased," and "Josiah, son 
and heire unto Owaneca," in a new deed, signed by them October 5th, 1685, 
witnessed by John Arnold and Stephen GifTord, and acknowledged before 
James Fitch, assistant. 

The southern boundary line, it will be observed, is nine miles in length, 
two east of the river, and seven west, without counting the breadth of the 
Thames, and the length of Trading Cove to the mouth of the brook, which 
would make this line nearly ten miles long. This is explained in the deed to 
be designed as a compensation for "the benefit and liberty of the waters and 
river for fishing and other occasions," reserved to the Indians. 

Of the original so-called "thirty-five proprietors," Miss Caulkins writes 
as follows : 

Who were the original proprietors of Norwich? The current statement 
that they were just thirty-five in number is based upon the authority of his- 
torians writing more than a century after the settlement. Dr. Trumbull in 
his "History of Connecticut" gives this number, relying, it is supposed, upon 
a list furnished in 1767 by the Rev. Dr. Lord, pastor of the First Church of 
Norwich. Dr. Lord's manuscript is extant. He says: "The town of Norwich 
was settled in the spring of 1660: the Purchase of sd Town was made in ye 
month of June, 1659, by 35 men." 



126 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

He then gives a list of the names, which includes several who were 
minors at that time, and one at least (John Elderkin) whose earliest grant 
at Norwich was in 1667. 

Laying aside, therefore, all subsequent statements and recurring to the 
oldest records remaining at Norwich from which these abstracts must have 
been derived, it is found that the original records were very deficient in giving 
dates to the early grants. Resolutions passed at different periods in the 
town meetings refer to this defect. 

In 1672 a new record of lands was made under direction of the town 
authorities, by James Fitch, Jr. It was commenced May ist of that year, 
and the book contains a registry of the town lands and grants, "so far as 
copies of said lands were brought in by the inhabitants." The number of 
land-owners recorded is seventy-eight, three or four of whom were non- 
residents. In 1681 the inhabitants declaring themselves sensible of a defi- 
ciency in their original records, appointed three of the first-comers, Thomas 
Leffingwell, Thomas Adgate, and John Post, to search for the original dates 
of former acts and grants, but nothing appears to have been done under this 
commission. 

May 3d, 1684, Christopher Huntington, recorder, at the request of John 
Olmstead, who, he says, "desireth to have the primitive date set to his record 
of land, which hath not been done heretofore for the want of an orderly dating 
by the first recorder, Mr. Birchard," ascertains the true date, and affixes it 
under his signature — "which date we find out of an antient wrighting which 
respects our purchase interest, and right, to be in the yeare of our Lord upon 
the 30th day of June 1659." Again, December i8th, 1694, the town, after 
adverting to their former negligence in the record of proprietary lands, 
nominated a committee of six men "to search out and do the best they can 
to find the names of first purchasers, and what estate each of them put in, 
and report to the town." 

The striking fact is here disclosed that in little more than thirty years 
after the settlement, the number of the first proprietors, the amount of each 
one's subscription, and the names of all the purchasers, were not generally 
known and could not be determined without some difficulty. 

No report of the last commission is recorded. Not long afterwards, 
Capt. James Fitch was employed in the same business. He began a new 
registry of lands, copying original records where he could find them, stating 
bounds as they then existed, and affixing dates as nearly accurate as could 
be ascertained. It is from this registry that the various lists of the thirty-five 
proprietors have been gathered. Home lots, that seem to have constituted 
original grants, not having been alienated or purchased, were m general dated 
November, 1659. But the whole number that appears to be included under 
this date, either expressly or by implication, is thirty-eight, and it is difficult 
to decide which of these should be rejected, so as to leave the number just 
thirty-five. 

The following list comprises those against whom not only nothing is 
found to militate against their being ranked as first proprietors, but, on the 
contrary, the records either prove conclusively, or favor the idea, that they 
belonged to that class: Rev. James Fitch, Major John Mason, Thomas Adgate, 
Robert Alhn, William Backus, William Backus, Jr., John Baldwin, John 
Birchard, Thomas Bliss. Morgan Bowers. Hugh Calkins^ John Calkins, Rich- 
ard Edgerton, Francis Griswold, Christopher Huntington, Simon Huntington, 
William Hyde, Samuel Hyde. Thomas Leffingwell, John Olmstead, John 
Pease, John Post. Thomas Post, John Reynolds, Jonathan Royce, Nehemiah 
Smith, Thomas Tracy, Robert Wade. 




A 



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if-j^'.rj 



\n OF THr C REDN NOP\MCH IM IS I 
W \S THE OLD COURT HOI SE AFTER\\ \ 
TH \r ON THF roRNEI A TAVI F N THE 

THi MFrriNc Housr of thp rocK 

IN THI SI TTLFMFNT 




CITY OF NORWICH 127 

Others having original home-lots and all the privileges of first pro- 
prietors were: Thomas IBingham, John Bradford, John Gager, Stephen Giflord, 
Richard Hendv. Thomas Howard, Thomas Waterman, John Tracy, Josiah 
Reed. Richard "Wallis. 

Of this second class, Bingham, GifTord, Howard, Reed, Tracy and Water- 
man, were probably minors when the plantation commenced. They were all 
married between 1666 and 1670. inclusive, and were all living, except Howard) 
in 1702, when a roll of the inhabitants was made in reference to a division of 
land which distinguished the surviving first proprietors from the list of ac- 
cepted inhabitants. Bingham, GifFord, Reed, Tracy and Waterman were 
enrolled with the latter, which would seem to settle the point that they were 
not original proprietors. 

Most of these names, however, are necessary in order to make up the 
charmed number thirty-five. From the position these young men took, and 
the prominence of their descendants in the history of the town, they seem to 
have a higher claim to be ranked as proprietors than some of the earlier class. 
Hendy and Wallis, for instance, of whom we know little more than their 
names, and, accepting the six minors, we are brought back to the time-honored 
prescriptive number, thirty-five. Stephen Backus, another minor, became a 
proprietor in the right of his father, William Backus, who died soon after 
the settlement. 

The Town-plot was laid out in a winding vale, which followed the course 
of the rapid, circuitous Yantic, and was sheltered for the greater part of the 
way, on either side, by abrupt and rocky but well-wooded hills. A broad 
street or highway was opened through this valley, on each side of which the 
home-lots were arranged. A pathway was likewise cleared from the center 
of the settlement to the Indian landing place below the Falls of the Yantic. 
near the head of the Cove, following the old Indian trail from Ox-hill to 
Yantic ford. This path, called by the settlers Mill-Lane, was the most eligible 
route by which the effects of the planters could be conveyed. In some places 
the forests had been thinned of their undergrowth by fires, to afford scope 
for the Indians in their passionate love of the chase, and the beaver had done 
his part towards clearing the lowlands and banks of the rivers. A few wig- 
wams were scattered here and there, the occasional abodes of wandering 
families of Indians at certain seasons of the year, who came hither for sup- 
plies of fish, fruit, or game; and the summits of some of the hills were 
crowned with disorderly heaps of stones, showing where some rude defense 
had been constructed in the course of their wars. But in every other respect 
the land was in its natural wild state. It was a laborious task to cut down 
trees, to burn the underbrush, to mark out roads and pathways, to throw 
temporary bridges over the runs of water, and to collect materials for 
building. 

The home-lots comprised each a block of several acres, and were in 
general river-lands, favorable for mowing, pasture and tillage. Here lay the 
prime advantage to be gained by a change of residence, the first proprietors 
being, with scarcely a single exception, agriculturists and farmers. 

Of the coming of the settlers from Saybrook, no better description has 



128 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

been given than that of Rev. Dr. Lewellyn Pratt, delivered at the two hundred 
and fiftieth anniversary of the founding. He says : 

I presume that I have been selected to speak this opening word in the 
public services of this 250th anniversary, as a native and representative of the 
old town of Saybrook. I am to remind you of "the rock whence ye were 
hewn and the hole of the pit whence ye were digged." 

As we all know, the band of pilgrims who came here in 1659-60 came for 
the most part from Saybrook. An independent colony had been established 
there under the leadership of Gov. John Winthrop the younger. It was a 
colony animated by great expectations. The importance of the location at 
the mouth of the great river, the prospect and the purpose of building there a 
large city, and the hope that many prominent men would soon follow, made 
it an attractive spot to enterprising souls. That settlement was begun in 
1635, the same year that Hooker brought his colony through the wilderness 
to Hartford. Lion Gardiner, an engineer who had seen service under the 
Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, was induced by Governor Winthrop 
to come to fortify the place, to lay out the ground for a city, and to "make 
preparation for the reception of men of quality" who were soon to follow 
from England. He remained four years and was succeeded by Col. George 
Fenwick, and he in turn by Maj. John Mason. During the first years, trouble- 
some years of defence aj^ainst the frequent assaults of the Indians, the settle- 
ment had for its center and principal feature the fort which Gardiner had 
built at the first. About this were clustered the houses, and in this, in the 
Great Hall, was the gathering place for defense, for transaction of business, 
and for worship. No church was formed at first, for it was principally a 
military post, and the chaplain of the post. Rev. John Higginson, was the 
spiritual guide of the colony. Col. George Fenwick, after the failure of "the 
men of quality" who were expected to join him in the enterprise, transferred 
his colony, in 1644, to Connecticut, and soon after, saddened by the death of 
his wife, Lady Alice, returned with his children to England, and Maj. John 
Mason was persuaded to receive the investment and to make Saybrook his 
home. There he remained as leader for twelve years. 

Under his administration the colony thrived, and a more extended settle- 
ment was made north, east and west. In 1646 a church was formed, and the 
Rev. James Fitch, who had studied with the Rev. Thomas Hooker and who 
was recommended by him, became pastor, and Thomas Adgate deacon. Mr. 
Fitch's ministry, whom Trumbull speaks of as a "famous young gentleman" 
(he was in his twenty-fourth year when he was settled), proved to be a very 
happy and successful one. Notwithstanding the hostility of the Dutch and 
the Indians, the plantation grew by the moving in of choice families, some 
of them from Windsor and Hartford, attracted in part by the popularity of 
the young preacher. We have meager records of that period, but it seems 
to have been one that promised well for the settlement, which was now 
assuming the consequence of a real plantation and becoming something more 
than a military post. 

After a lapse of fourteen or fifteen years, however, we find that a check 
is to be given to this progress, the intimation of which is clearly marked by 
this order of the General Court of Connecticut, dated May 20, 1659: "This 
court having considered the petition presented by the inhabitants of Seabrook, 
doe declare yt they approve and consent to what is desired by ye petitioners 
respecting Mohegin, provided yt within ye space of three years they doe effect 
a Plantation in ye place prpounded." 

We would like to know more of his petition and of the list of names 



CITY OF NORWICH 



129 



signed to it, but no copy has been preserved. The order speaks of the "in- 
habitants of Seabrook," which seems to imply that a majority proposed to 
remove ; and the fact that Mr. Fitch, their pastor, decided to come with them, 
also lends color to that view. It is doubtful, however, if the majority actually 
came. Mr. Fitch may have recognized the greater need of those who were 
to go into new conditions and who would require his experience and counsel 
in the organizations they must effect. Apparently, it was not regarded as 
the removal of the church, although its pastor and deacon came— Saybrook 
has always dated the organization of its church in 1646, and Norwich 1660 — 
but in all probability the younger and more enterprising of the colony came, 
and the loss to Saybrook was most seriously felt. For several years, till 1665, 
the colony and church that were left behind were in a disheartened state. 

Many reasons have been surmised for the removal, some of them too 
frivolous to be accepted, as that which has been so often repeated — that these 
Norwich pioneers, with Major Mason and James Fitch at their head, were 
"driven out by the crows and blackbirds that destroyed their corn." We 
may imagine many reasons ; among them, perhaps, was the disappointment 
that the men who had planned to settle at Saybrook and who would have 
given peculiar character and standing to that colony had failed to come ; and 
even their representative. Colonel Fenwick, had lost heart in the enterprise 
and abandoned it. Then, there were the inducements which the friendly 
Indians here held out and the offer of a large tract of land for settlement. 

The peculiar beauty of this section, with its wooded hills, its fertile plains 
and running brooks, attracted them. The pioneer spirit appealed to them, 
was in their blood, as in all the colonies at that time. They must go some- 
where. So Hooker had come to Hartford, Pynchon to Springfield, Roger 
Williams to Rhode Island, Jonathan Brewster to Windsor and Brewster's 
Neck. Probably this Norwich colony had as reasons for the removal some 
like those given by Hooker's companv in their petition for permission for 
removal to Flartford, which were: i. "Want of room where we are." 2. "The 
fruitfulness and commodiousness of Connecticut and the danger of having 
it possessed by others." 3. "The strong bent of our spirit to remove thither." 
Probably the "bent of their spirit" was the motive more potent than either 
of the others of them or both of them together. 

The act of the General Court of May. 1659, which I have quoted, made 
as its condition that the settlement must be made within the three years there- 
after. Apparently no time was lost ; and the advance guard came in the sum- 
mer of 1659, followed by the remainder of the company the next year. 

It was a valiant and goodly band of well-to-do folk of good ancestry, 
that had been trained by strong leaders, such as Winthrop, Fenwick, Gardiner, 
Mason, Higginson and Fitch, had been inured to service in a new country, 
had already attained to a well ordered life under a constitutional government, 
and were united under the restraining and refining power of the Christian 
faith. This colony did not begin in a random way, like so many of the early 
settlements or like so many of the later frontier ventures, by receiving acces- 
sions of restless adventurers from this quarter and that till it gradually grew 
into stable form and condition : it came upon the ground a town and a church. 
The people were not a miscellaneous company thrown together by chance, 
needing to be trained and assimilated, but an association carrying their laws 
as well as their liberties with them; not strangers, each seeking his own 
advantage, staking out his own claim and defending it by arms ; but a band 
of God-fearing men and women united into a brotherhood each bound to act 
for the common good. They were not mere fortune hunters or buccaneers 
coming to wrest their speedy gain and then retire, but founders of a civilized 



I30 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

and Christian state in which they could establish homes, and which they could 
bequeath to their children as a priceless inheritance. They were looking 
forward to permanence and a future, and they knew that steady habits, manly 
toil and fine fraternity of feeling must enter into that to make it stable. All 
the enactments and procedings of those early days reveal a community in 
which good order, decorum of manners, self-respect and high ideals prevailed. 
The Christian church was the unifying bond and the guide of their lives. 
They were cheered and strengthened by the constant charm of its promises, 
and the rigor of the wilderness and the privations of frontier life were soft- 
ened by its hopes. I do not know how much they thought of the names they 
were to transmit. I think some of them would have smiled at the coat-of- 
arms and the kind of heraldic glory with which they have been crowned, 
and would have been incredulous of the "genuine" heirlooms that have been 
handed down ; but they did aim to lead honest and honorable lives and to 
make a community in which it would be safe and wholesome for their children 
to grow. 

It was sifted seed that was brought by Winthrop to his first settlement ; 
and it was sifted again when Fitch and Mason brought it here. Who they 
were, how they fared, what hostages they have given to history in the lines 
of noble descent, we are to hear in the days that are to follow. It is a goodly 
story — the orderly life of those early days; then, the patriotic spirit of the 
time when the nation was born; then, the enterprise of this later time. Nor- 
wich, proud of her ancestry, of the achievements of her sons and daughters, 
of her well-earned name, and of her lines running out to the ends of the earth, 
comes to her quarter millennium with devout gratitude to Him who brought 
us here and who has sustained us. And it surely is not amiss, while, standing 
by their graves, we honor the memories of those heroic men and women and 
congratulate ourselves on our heritage, to remind ourselves that 

"They that on glorious ancestors enlarge 
Produce their debt instead of their discharge," 

and, that though these have witnesses borne to them through their faith, 
"God has provided some better thing for us, that apart from us they should 
not be made perfect." 

Of the life of Captain John Mason, Miss Caulkins gives a full outline so 
far as it is known : 

Every memoir of Mason is obliged to take him up at the prime of life, 
for of his birth, parentage, and early vears. no certain information has been 
obtained. When he first appears in history, he is in the English army under 
Sir Thomas Fairfax, fighting in the Netherlands in behalf of the Dutch 
patriots, against the bigotry and tyranny of Spain. 

He is supposed to have emigrated to this country in 1630, with Mr. 
Warham's company that sailed from Plymouth, England, March 20th, and 
arrived at Nantasket May 30th of that year. But this cannot be stated with 
absolute certainty, as he has not been actually traced on this side of the 
ocean before December, 1632, when he was engaged in a cruise with John 
Gallop, under a commission from the Governor and Magistrates of Massa- 
chusetts to search for a pirate called Dixy Bull, who had for some time 
annoyed the coast with petty depredation. He was then called Lieutenant 
Mason, but soon afterward attained the rank of captain. In 1634 he was one 
of a committee appointed to plan the fortifications of Boston Harbor, and was 
specially employed in raising a battery upon Castle Island. 



CITY OF NORWICH 131 

In March, 1635, he was the representative of Dorchester to the General 
Court, but in the latter part of the same year or early in the next, removed 
with the major part of Mr. Warham's people to the Connecticut Valley. Here 
the emigrants planted themselves on the western bank of Connecticut river, 
above Hartford, and founded the pleasant and honorable town of Windsor. 

With the residence of Captain Mason at Windsor, all the stirring scenes 
of the Pequot war are connected. This was the great event of the early his- 
tory of Connecticut, and the overshadowing exploit of Mason's life. He was 
instrumental in originating the expedition, formed the plan, followed out its 
details, fought its battles, clinched, as it were with iron screws, its results, 
and wrote its history. This war was begun and ended when Connecticut had 
only 250 inhabitants, comprised principally in the three towns of Hartford, 
Wethersfield and Windsor. Out of these Mason gathered a band of seventy 
men, and, passing down Connecticut river, landed in the Narragansett coun- 
try, and being joined by a band of friendly Indians, marched directly into the 
heart of the hostile territory, assailed the Pequots in their strongest fortress, 
destroyed it, laid waste their dwellings, and killed nearly half of the whole 
nation. This expedition occupied three weeks and two days. The skill, 
prudence, firmness and active courage displayed by Mason in this exploit 
were such as to gain him a high standing among military commanders. From 
this period he became renowned as an Indian fighter, and stood forth a buckler 
of defence to the exposed colonists, but a trembling and a terror to the wild 
people of the wilderness. 

In 1637 he was appointed by the General Court the chief military officer 
of the colony, his duty being "to train the military men" of the several plan- 
tations ten days in every year: salary, forty pounds per annum. At a later 
period (1654) he was authorized to assemble all the train-bands of the colony 
once in two years for a general review. The office was equivalent to that of 
major-general. He retained it through the remainder of his life, thirty-five 
years, and during that time appears to have been the only person in the colony 
with the rank and title of major. 

When the fort at Saybrook was transferred by Colonel Fenwick to the 
jurisdiction of the colony, Mason was appointed to receive the investment, 
and at the special request of the inhabitants he removed to that place and 
was made commander of the station. Here he had his home for the next 
twelve years. 

The people of New Haven were not entirely satisfied with their location, 
and formed a design of removing to a tract of land which they had purchased 
on the Delaware river. In 1651 they proposed this matter to Captain Mason. 
urgently requesting him to remove with them, and take the management of 
the companv. This invitation is a proof of the high opinion his contempo- 
raries had formed both of his civil and military talents. The offers they 
made him were liberal, and he was on the point of accepting, when the 
Legislature of Connecticut interfered, entreating him not to leave the colony, 
and declaring that they could by no means consent to his removal. Finding 
that his presence was considered essential to the safety of Connecticut, h€ 
declined the offers of New Haven. If he went, there was no one left who could 
make his place good ; neither had New Haven any person in reserve, who 
could fill the station designed for him. and therefore the projected settlement 
never took place. The active disposition of Mason, however, never lacked 
employment. There was scarcely a year in which he was not obliged to go 
on some expedition among the Indian tribes, to negotiate, or to fight, or to 
pacifv their mutual quarrels. At one time, his faithful friend Uncas was in 
danger from a powerful league of the other tribes, but the seasonable prepara- 



132 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

tions of Mason for his relief frightened the foe into peace and submission. 
At another time he was sent with arms and men to the assistance of the 
Long Island Indians, against Ninigrate, the powerful sachem of the Nahan- 
ticks, who threatened them with extirpation. This service he gallantly per- 
formed ; but only two years afterwards was compelled to appear again on that 
Island with a band of soldiers in order to chastise the very Indians, mischiev- 
ous and ungrateful, whom he had before relieved. 

We find him, at the same time, and for several years in succession, hold- 
ing various public offices, all arduous and important. He was Indian agent, 
Indian umpire, and the counselor of the government in all Indian concerns ; 
captain of the fort, justice of the peace, and empowered to hold courts as a 
judge ; a member likewise of two deliberative bodies, the Connacticut Legis- 
lature and the Board of Commissioners of the United Colonies ; major-general 
of the militia at home, and the acting commander in all expeditions abroad. 
In 1660 he was chosen deputy governor, to which office he was annually 
re-elected for eight years, five under the old form and three under the king's 
charter, which united Connecticut with New Haven. The same year he was 
actively emploj^ed, in conjunction with Mr. Fitch and others, in effecting the 
settlement of Norwich, and also in purchasing of the Mohegans a large tract 
of land, in behalf of the colony. At this time, also, for nearly two years, he 
performed all the duties of the chief magistrate of the colony — Winthrop, the 
governor, being absent in England, engaged in negotiations respecting the 
charter. 

Thus the life of Mason on this continent may be distributed into four 
portions. The first was given to Dorchester, and the remainder in nearly 
equal parts to the three towns in Connecticut that he assisted in planting — 
lieutenant and captain at Dorchester, five and a half years; conqueror of the 
Pequots, magistrate and major at Windsor, twelve years : captain of the fort, 
and commissioner of the United Colonies at .Saybrook, twelve; Deputy Gov- 
ernor and Assistant at Norwich, twelve. He was not chosen Deputy Governor 
after 1668, but continued in duty as an Assistant, and was jircscnt for the 
last time at the election in May, 1671. 

Of the original band of Norwich purchasers. Mason was one of the 
earliest laid in the grave. He died January 30, 1671-72. According to Trum- 
bull, he was in the seventy-third year of his age. His last hours were cheered 
by the prayers and counsels of his beloved pastor and son-in-law, Mr. Fitch. 
Two years before, he had requested his fellow-citizens to excuse him from all 
further public services on account of his age and infirmity ; so that the close 
of his life, though overshadowed by suffering from an acute disease, was 
unharrassed by care and responsibilitv. There is no coeval record that points 
out his burial-place, but uniform tradition and current belief in the neighbor- 
hood from generation to generation leave no reason to doubt that he was 
interred where other inhabitants of that generation were laid, that is, in the 
Post and Gager burial ground, or first cemetery of Norwich. 

From early times, Norwich commerce prospered, since it was the natural 
outlet for a considerable farming region and, at the same time, had an excel- 
lent position at the head of the Thames. Live stock, provisions, lumber, were 
exchanged at the West Indies for sugar, molasses and rum. 

.Shortly after the Revolution, Norwich citizens owned over forty vessels 
engaged in commerce. From the "Norwich Packet" (editor Jonathan Trum- 
bull), we get some idea of the business in the town. The merchants com- 
bined shrewdness with industry. The adventurous spirit of the early settlers 



CITY OF NORWICH 133 

was not lacking. New industries were startinj^ up. The original settlers harl 
laid out their plots "up town," two miles from the "landing." But with the 
development of commerce and industry came an increase in the activity of 
the people of "Chelsea" (the landing). Business interests came to be stronger 
than the farming interests. The city of Norwich, with its center near the 
landing, had been incorporated in 1784 as a first step in this growth, and by 
the middle of the nineteenth century "Norwichtown" had become one of its 
suburbs. 

During the Revolutionary War, Norwich, while not subject to imme- 
diate danger, as was New London, was nevertheless very active in assisting 
the Revolutionary troops and in furnishing its own quota. As an interesting 
extract we quote from Miss Caulkins: 

Detachments from the Continental army frequently passed through Nor- 
wich. In 1778 a body of French troops, on the route from Providence to the 
South, halted there for ten or fifteen days, on account of sickness among 
them. They had their tents spread upon the plain, while the sick were 
quartered in the court-house. About twenty died and were buried each 
side of the lane that led into the old burying-yard. No stones were set up, 
and the ground was soon smoothed over so as to leave no trace of the narrow 
tenements below. 

General Washington passed through Norwich in June, 1775, on his way 
to Cambridge. It is probable that he came up the river in a packet-boat with 
his horses and attendants. He spent the night at the Landing, and the next 
day pursued his journey eastward. In April, 1776, after the evacuation of 
Boston by the enemy, the American troops being ordered to New York, came 
on in detachments by land, and crossing the Shetucket at the old fording- 
place below Greenville, embarked at Norwich and New London to finish the 
route bv water. General Washington accompanied one of the parties to 
Norwich and met Governor Trumbull by appointment at Col. Jedediah Hunt- 
ington's, where they dined together, and the general that evening resumed 
his route to New York, going down to New London by land. 

The inhabitants also had an opportunity of seeing Lafayette, Steuben, 
Pulaski, and other distinguished foreigners in our service. There was some 
who long remembered the appearance of the noble Lafayette, as he passed 
through the place on his way to Newport. He had been there before, and 
needed no guide: his aides and a small body-guard were with him, and he 
rode up to the door of his friend. Col. Jedediah Huntington, in a quick gallop. 
He wore a blue military coat, but no vest and no stockings; his boots being 
short, his leg was consequently left bare for a considerable space below the 
knee. The speed with which he was traveling and the great heat of the 
weather were sufficient excuse? for this negligence. He took some refresh- 
ment and hastened forward. 

At another period he passed through with a detachment of two thousand 
men under his command, and encamped them for one night upon the plain. 
In the morning, before their departure, he invited Mr. Strong, the pastor of 
the place, to pray with them, which he did, the troops being arranged in three 
sides of a hollow square. 

Nearly fifty years afterwards, -August 2T, 1824, the venerable Lafayette 
again passed through Norwich. Some old people, who remembered him, 
embraced him and wept; the general wept also. 

At one time during the war the Duke de Lauzun's regiment of hussars 



134 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

was quartered in Lebanon, ten miles from Norwich. Col. Jedediah Hunting- 
ton invited the officers to visit him, and prepared a handsome entertainment 
for them. They made a superb appearance as they drove into town, being 
young, tall, vivacious men, with handsome faces and a noble air, mounted 
upon horses bravely caparisoned. The two Dillons, brothers, one a major 
and the other a captain in the regiment, were particularly distinguished for 
their fine forms and expressive features. One or both of these Dillons suffered 
death from the guillotine during the French Revolution. 

Lauzun was one of the most accomplished but unprincipled noblemen of 
his time. He was celebrated for his handsome person, his liberality, wit, 
bravery, but more than all for his profligacy. He was born in 1747, inherited 
great wealth and high titles, and spent all his early years in alternate scenes 
of dissipation and traveling. He engaged in no public enterprise till he came 
to America and took part in the Revolutionary contest. The motives which 
actuated this voluptuous nobleman to this undertaking are not understood, 
very probably the thirst for adventure and personal friendship for Lafayette. 
He had run the career of pleasure to such an extent that he was perhaps 
willing tG pause awhile and restore the energy of his satiated taste. Certain 
it is that he embarked in the cause of the Americans with ardor, bore priva- 
tions with good temper, and made himself very popular by his hilarity and 
generous expenditure. 

After Lauzun returned to Europe he became intimate with Talleyrand, 
and accompanied him on a mission to England in 1792, where one of his 
familiar associates was the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV. On the 
death of his uncle, the Duke de Biron, he succeeded to the title, quarreled with 
the court, and became a partisan of the Duke of Orleans. Afterwards he 
served against the Vendeans, but being accused of secretly favoring them, 
was condemned, and executed the last day of the year 1793. Such was the 
future stormy career of this celebrated nobleman, who as already mentioned, 
in the midst of friends and subordinates, enjoyed the banquet made for him 
by Colonel Huntington. After dinner the whole party went out into the yard 
in front of the house and made the air ring with huzzas for liberty. Numerous 
loungers had gathered around the fence to get a sight of these interesting 
foreigners, with whom they conversed in very good English, and exhorted 
to live free or die for liberty. 

As to the effects of the Revolution on Norwich, Miss Caulkins says: 
After recovering from the first stunning blow of the Revolution, the 
inhabitants of Norwich were not only alert in turning their attention to various 
industrial pursuits, but engaged also in the brilliant chance game of privateer- 
ing. The war, therefore, while it exhausted the strength and resources of 
neighboring towns that lay exposed upon the seacoast, acted like a spur to 
the enterprise of Norwich. New London, at the mouth of the river, was 
depressed in all her interests, kept in continual alarm, and finally, by the 
blazing torch of the enemy, almost swept from the face of the earth ; but 
Norwich, securely seated at the head of the river, defended by her hills and 
nourished by her valleys, planting and reaping without fear of invasion or 
loss, not only built new shops and dwelling-houses, and engaged with spirit 
and success in a variety of new manufactures, but entered into ship-building, 
and boldly sent out her vessels to bring in spoils from the ocean. 

In 1781 and 1782 the town was overflowing with merchandise, both trop- 
ical and European. New mercantile firms were established — Daniel Rodman, 
Samuel Woodbridge, Lynde McCurdy, and others— and lavish varieties of 
fancy texture, as well as the substantial products of almost every climate, were 



CITY OF NORWICH 135 

offered for sale. The shelves and counters of the fashionable class of shops 
displayed such articles as superfine broadcloths, men's silk hose, India silks, 
blonde lace, Damascus silks, taffetas, satins, Persians, and velvets, gauzes, 
and chintzes. These snoods were mostly obtained by successful privateering. 

Another class of merchandise, generally of a cheaper kind, and not dealt 
in by honorable traders, but covertly offered for sale in various places or 
distributed by pedlers, was obtained by secret and unlawful intercourse with 
the enemy. 

The coast of Connecticut being entirely girdled by Long Island and New 
York, and the British and Tories having these wholly under their control, 
it was very difficult to prevent the secret intercourse and traffic of the two 
parties through the Sound. In the latter years of the war especially, a corrupt, 
underhand, smuggling trade prevailed to a great extent, which was embold- 
ened by the indifference or connivance of the local authorities, and stimulated 
by the readiness of people to purchase cheap goods without asking from 
whence they came. Remittances for these goods must be made in coin, 
therefore they were sold only for cash, which, finding its way back to the 
enemy's lines, impoverished the country. Thus the traffic operated against 
agriculture and manufactures, against honest labor and lawful trade. More- 
over, it nullified the laws and brought them into contempt. 

Against this illicit traffic a strong association was formed at Norwich 
in July, 1782. The company bound themselves by solemn pledges of life, 
fortune and honor to support the civil authority ; to hold no intercourse, 
social or mercantile, with persons detected in evading the laws; to furnish 
men and boats for keeping watch in suspected places, and to search out and 
break up all deposits of smuggled goods; such goods to be seized, sold, and 
the avails devoted to charitable purposes. 

The vigorous manner in which this company began to carry out their 
principles caused great commotion in the ranks of the guilty parties. Sus- 
pected persons suddenly disappeared ; sales were postponed ; goods which 
before had been openly exposed withdrew into cellars and meal-chests, or 
were concealed in barns under the hay, and in hollow trees, thickets, and 
ravines. Several seizures were made during the season, but the treatv of 
peace soon put an end to this clandestine traffic, and the association had but 
a brief existence. Its object, however, was creditable to the patriotism and 
efficiency of the inhabitants, and a list of the signers gives us the names of 
sixty-eight prominent men who were on the stage of life at the close of the 
war, and all within the bounds of the present town. 

The following is a list of the members of the Association against Illicit 
Trade: Samuel Abbott, Elijah Backus, Ephriam Bill, Jonathan Boardman, 
John M. Breed, Shubael Breed, Samuel Capron, Eliphalet Carew, Joseph 
Carew. Simeon Carew, Thomas Coit, William Coit, John Crary, Jacob 
De Witt, Michael Dumont, Thomas Fanning, Jabez Fitch, Joseph Gale, 
Joseph Peck, Andrew Perkins, Jabez Perkins, Jabez Perkins, Jr., Joseph Per- 
kins, Joseph Perkins, Jr.. Erastus Perkins, Hezekiah Perkins, Levi Perkins. 
Daniel Rodman, Theophilus Rogers, Zabdiel Rogers, Ransford Rose. Joseph 
Rowland, Andrew Huntington. Eliphalet Huntington, Jonathan Huntington, 
Joshua Himtington, Levi Huntington, Simeon Huntington, William Hubbard, 
Russell Hubbard &• Son, Ebcnezer Jones, Joshua Lathrop, Rufus Lathrop, 
Christopher Leffingwell, Bcnajah Leffingwell, Jonathan Lester, Elihu Marven, 
John McCall, Lvnde McCurdy, Seth Miner, Thomas Mumford, Nathaniel 
Njles, Robert Niles, Timothy Parker. Asa Pcabody, Nathaniel P. Peabody, 
Andre Tracy, Jr.. Mundator Tracy, Samuel Tracy, Asa Waterman, Samuel 
Wheat, Joseph Whitmarsh, Benajah Williams, Joseph Williams, Jacob Witter, 



136 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

Dudley Woodbridge, Samuel Woodbridge, Alexander Youngs. 

In Januar}', 1781, the inhabitants were divided into forty classes to raise 
forty soldiers, which was their quota for the Continental army; and again 
into twenty classes for a State quota to serve at Horseneck and elsewhere. 
A list of persons in each class was made out, and each taxed in due proportion 
for the pay and fitting out of one recruit, whom they were to procure; two 
shirts, two pairs of woolen stockings, shoes, and mittens were requisite for 
every soldier ; arms and uniforms were furnished by the State or country. 
Each soldier's family was in charge of a committee to see that they were 
supplied with the necessaries of life, for which the soldier's wages to a certain 
amount were pledged. The whole number of classes this year to produce 
clothing was sixty-six. In 1782 only thirty-three classes were required. 

In 1783, instructions were given to the representatives to use their influ- 
ence with the Assembly to obtain a remonstrance against the five years' pay 
granted by Congress to the officers of the Continental army. The manifesto 
of the town on this subject was fiery, dictatorial, and extravagant. A few 
paragraphs will show in strong relief the characteristics of the people — 
jealous of their rights, quick to take alarm and sensitively watchful over their 
cherished liberties: 

Where is the free son of America that ever had it in idea when adopting 
the Articles of Confederation to have pensions bestowed on those characters 
(if any such there be) whose virtue could not hold them in service without 
such rewards over and above the contract which first engaged them? 

For a free people, just rising out of a threatening slavery into free 
shining prospects of a most glorious peace and independence, now to be 
taxed without their consent to support and maintain a large number of 
gentlemen as pensioners in a time of universal peace is, in our view, uncon- 
stitutional and directly in opposition to the sentiment of the States at large, 
and was one great spoke in the wheel which moved at first our late struggle 
with our imperious and tyrannical foes. 

Further instructions were given at the same time to the representatives 
to urge upon the Assembly the necessity of keeping a watchful eye upon the 
proceedings of Congress, to see that they did not exceed the powers vested 
in them, and to appoint a committee at every session to take into consider- 
ation the journals of Congress, and approve or disapprove, applaud or censure 
the conduct of the delegates. 

Norwich has the questionable distinction of being the birthplace of 
Benedict Arnold. We quote from Dr. Kurd's History: 

The painful task now devolves upon the writer to chronicle some of the 
leading events in the career of one whose baseness has been unequaled since 
the day that his prototype betrayed his master for thirty pieces of silver. 
The faithful historian will be just to all; hence no attempt will be made to 
remove the stain which has long tarnished the history of this fair section 
of country. Benedict Arnold descended from an honorable Rhode Island 
family, where one of his ancestors, bearing the same name, held the office of 
Governor for fifteen years. Two brothers of this family, Benedict and Obver, 



CITY OF NORWICH j.^7 

removed from Newport to Norwich in 1730. The elder Benedict, the fathei- 
tf the traitor, soon became engaged in business, and not long after his arrival 
in Norwich, married Mrs. Hannah King, whose maiden name was Lathrop. 
Benedict, the subject of this sketch, was born in Norwich, January 3, 1741. 
Early in life he was apprenticed to Dr. Lathrop, a druggist in Norwich, with 
whom he remained during his minority. He subsequently embarked in the 
same business in New Haven, and while there became the captain of a com- 
pany of militia. After the battle at Lexington he made a hasty march to 
Cambridge at the head of his company, and volunteered his services to the 
Massachusetts Committee of Safety. With the rank of colonel in the Con- 
tinental army, he joined Ethan Allen and assisted in the taking of Ticon- 
deroga in May, 1775. In the expedition against Quebec, in the autumn and 
winter of 1775, he took a leading part. Having been wounded at Quebec 
and at Saratoga, his disability was of a character to render him unfit for 
active field service, and he was consequently, by Washington, placed in 
command at Philadelphia after the place had been evacuated by Clinton 
in 1778. He was at this date a major-general in the Continental army. While 
in Philadelphia he lived in a style far above his means, and his haughty 
and overbearing manner involved him in a quarrel with the authorities of 
Pennsylvania, who accused him before Congress of abusing his official posi- 
tion and misusing the public funds. After a long delay he was tried by a 
court-martial and was sentenced to be reprimanded by the commander-in- 
chief. Washington performed this disagreeable task as delicately as possible, 
but did not lose his confidence in Arnold. While in Philadelphia, Arnold 
married the daughter of Judge Shippen. a Tory, which connection enabled 
him to communicate without discovery with the British officers. He opened 
a correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, signing himself "Gustavus." 

In the meantime, at his earnest solicitation, he was appointed by Wash- 
ington, in August. 1780, to the command of West Point, the strongest and 
most important fortress in America. He sought this command with the 
deliberate intention of betraying the post into the hands of the enemy. In 
compliance with a previous understanding, Arnold and Major Andre met at 
Haverstraw, on the west bank of the Hudson. September 22, 1780, and arrange- 
ments were fully completed for an easy conquest of the fortress by the 
English. 

On his return to the city of New York, Andre was arrested as a spy at 
Tarrytown, was tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be executed by hang- 
ing. 'He suffered the penalty of his crime October 2, 1780. When it became 
known to Arnold that Andre had been arrested, he fled from West Point in 
the utmost haste, and in his flight took passage to New York City in the 
"Vulture," a British sloop-of-war. He was immediately made a brigadier- 
general in the British service, which rank he preserved throughout the war 
as a stipulated rew-ard for his treachery. 

Norwich had one signer of the Declaration of Independence, and many 
men famous in Revolutionary times. General Jedediah Huntington was a 
leader in the country. 

He was born. August 4. 1743, in Norwich, where he was prepared for a 
collegiate course, and graduated at Harvard College with distinguished honor 
in the class of 1763. The high social rank of his family is indicated by the 
order of his name on the college catalogue, it being the second in the list of 
his class, above that of John Ouincy. The master's degree was also con- 
ferred on him by Yale College in 1770. After leaving college he became asso- 



138 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

ciated with his father in commercial pursuits, and was engaged in this busi- 
ness when the Revolutionary cloud began to lower, and he soon became 
noted as a Son of Liberty, and an active captain of the militia. The bursting 
of the storm found him ready, and just one week from the firing of the first 
shot at Lexington he reported at Cambridge with a regiment under his com- 
mand, and was detailed to occupy Dorchester Heights. After the evacuation 
of Boston by the British he marched with his army to New York, and enter- 
tained the commander-in-chief on the way at Norwich. 

During the year 1776 he was at New York, Kingsbridge, Northcastle. 
Sidmun's Bridge, and other posts. In April of that year he assisted in repuls- 
ing the British at Danbury, Connecticut, assailing the enemy's rear, and effect- 
ing a junction with his fellow-townsman, Benedict Arnold. 

In July he joined General Putnam at Peekskill with all the Continental 
troops which he could collect, and in the following September was ordered 
to join the main army near Philadelphia, where he remained at headquarters, 
at Worcester, Whippin, Whitemarsh, Gulph Hills, etc. In November, on 
receiving information of the enemy's movement upon Red Bank, he was de- 
tached with his brigade, among other troops, to its relief, but Cornwallis had 
anticipated them. Having shared the hardships of his companions in arms 
at Valley Forge through the winter of 1777-78, he, together with Colonel 
Wigglesworth, was in March appointed by the commander-in-chief "to aid 
General McDougal in inquiring into the loss of Forts Montgomery and Clin- 
ton, in the State of New York, and into the conduct of the principal officers 
commanding these posts." In May he was ordered with his brigade to the 
North river, and was stationed successively at Camp Reading, Highlands, 
Neilson's Point, etc. In July he was a member of the court-martial which 
tried Gen. Charles Lee for misconduct at the battle of Monmouth, and in 
September he sat upon the court of inquiry to whom was referred the case 
of Major Andre. In December, 1780, his was the only Connecticut brigade 
that remained in the service. On the loth of May, 1783, at a meeting of 
officers, he was appointed one of a committee of four to draft a plan of organ- 
ization, which resulted in their reporting on the 13th the constitution of the 
famous Society of the Cincinnati. On the 24th of June, Washington writes 
that the army was "reduced to a competent garrison for West Point ; Patter- 
son, Huntington and Greaton being the only brigadiers now left with it, be- 
sides the adjutant-general." General Huntington was also one of the founders 
of West Point Academy. 

On returning from the army he resumed business in his native town, and 
was successively chosen sheriff of the county, State treasurer, and delegate 
to the State Convention which adopted the Constitution of the United States. 
In 1789 he was appointed by President Washington collector of customs at 
New London, then the port of entry for Eastern Connecticut and Connecticut 
River, which office he retained under four administrations, and resigned 
shortly before his death. 

Following the Revolutionary War. Norwich developed the West India 



CITY OF NORWICH 139 

Trade, but after the War of 1812 came more and more to develop its water 
power and went into manufacturing. For the Civil War it furnished over 
1,400 men. 

The following letters, sent for the 200th anniversary of the settlement of 
Norwich, give a vivid picture of life in Norwich in the early part of the nine- 
teenth century. 

(From Rev. Erastus Wentworth, Missionary to China.) 

Foo-Chow, China, June 15th, 1859. 

Gentlemen :— After looking forward with pleasurable anticipations for 
many years to personal participation in the celebration of the bi-centennial 
birthday of Norwich, the place associated with my earliest and dearest recol- 
lections, I find myself, on the eve of that event, sixteen thousand miles 
away, and effectually debarred from the intellectual treats and social festivi- 
ties promised by that occasion. It will be some compensation for the disap- 
pointment, and no slight gratification, if I may be allowed to contribute by 
letter a trifle to the interest of the family gathering. It will not, at such a 
time, be deemed egotistical in me to state that I spent the first eighteen years 
of my life in Norwich ; that my father was born there seventy years, and my 
grandfather a hundred and seven years ago; and that my family name, by 
no means an obscure one, in either English or American history, has stood 
on the town records for one hundred and eighty, out of the two hundred 
years you are now assembled to commemorate. 

Old Norwich ! — Who that has been a denizen of the place, especially in 
early youth, can ever forget its winding valleys and rugged hills; its stony 
pastures and green meadows, enameled with violets, and buttercups, and 
daisies, and goldened with cowslips and dandelions ; its spreading elms and 
sycamores ; its clear streams, alternating with babbling shallows and cool 
depths, overhung with willows and alders, and the favorite haunts of roach, 
trout and pickerel ; its gray precipices and romantic falls ; its striking contrasts 
of village quiet and country seat retirement, with commercial activity and city 
bustle. All these can never be forgotten. With me, neither the pellucid St. 
Lawrence or noble Mississippi, nor those floating seas of alluvion, mightiest 
of the brotherhood of rivers in the northern hemisphere, the Missouri and 
Yang-tse-keang, have ever served to obliterate, or even to dim the images 
of the Yantic, Shetucket and Thames. The mammoth tree growths of the 
prairie bottoms of the west, or the giant banians that greet my vision as I 
write, have never overshadowed the memory of Norwich sycamores and elms. 
The billowy seas of granitic elevations which stand, a wall of azure, about 
the valley of the Min, and roll away in endless undulations over the entire 
surface of the Fo-ke-cn province, are not so charming to me as the hills of 
New England. Society changes, but these natural features remain, and im- 
press themeslves upon the minds of successive generations. My earliest 
recollections of Norwich antedate steamboats and railroads, canals and tele- 
graphs, temperance and anti-slavery. The Yantic, was Backus's iron works ; 
the Falls, Hubbard's paper mills; Greenville, pastures on the banks of the 
Shetucket, in which curious antiquarians sought for the pile of stones that 
marked the grave of Miantinomoh. The first and second Congregational 
were the only edifices really worth the name of churches ; and I remember a 
Christmas pilgrimage on foot from Bean Hill to the Landing to hear the 
little organ, the only one in town, in the little wooden Episcopal church, that 
preceded the present elegant structure. Elder Sterry, Baptist, had a little 
wooden chapel at the Landing, where, as one of his sons said to me in our 



I40 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

schoolboy days. "He preached for nothing and furnished his own meeting 
house." Elder Bentley had a little church on the wharf bridge, which took 
a fancy to go to sea in the great freshet of 1815. Court house and jail were 
up town, and the stocks and whipping post still maintained their position at 
the corner of the old court house. I have seen a woman in jail for debt and 
heard my grandmother tell of the last woman who was taken to the whipping 
post, and how the people laughed at the sheriff for merely going through the 
forms of the law, actually flogging the fair culprit "with a tow string." 

In my youth. Strong and Goddard were at the head of the bar, and gentle 
parson Paddock, earnest parson Mitchell, and the solemn parson Strong, 
occupied the sacred desk. Through life, I have counted it no small privilege 
to have received the first rudiments of education in Norwich. I mean those 
initial lessons which preceded colleges and schools, and the rudimental train- 
ing of pedagogues Smith. Bliss, and Lester, of cruel memory. A child i."; 
educated by all those with whom he comes in contact, and the personal 
excellences, defects and peculiarities of his earliest acquaintances become his 
models and measuring rods for all the rest of mankind. Bonaparte said, "The 
world is governed by nicknames": and the nicknames of a community are a 
surer index of the character of the wearers than cognomens of illustrious 
descent or appellations bestowed by godfathers and godmothers. While a 
few of the nicknames which still cling to the memory of men long since 
passed from the stage of action, recall eccentricities, peculiarities, and in some 
instances the meannesses with which our humanity is afflicted, the .great 
majority of them revive the memory of nobleness and excellences worthy 
of remembrance and worthy of imitation. It is more blessed to be surrounded 
by good men than great men, by examples of worth than displays of wealth. 
My memory retains a whole gallerv of daguerreotypes of those whom I loved 
or hated, reverenced or despized, in the days of my youth. I would like to 
pay a passing tribute of respect to those who for eminent virtues commanded 
my most unqualified regard. I can only mention Parsons Strong and Austin, 
Judges Spalding, Shipman and Hude, Erastus Huntington, James Stedman, 
and Deacon Charles Lathrop, all of whom have gone to the land from which 
there is no return. It would be easy to extend the list, but my limits will 
not allow. I cannot refrain from a passing tribute to the memory of two of 
my schoolmates, recently deceased — Reverend Z. H. Mansfield and Honor- 
able Thomas L. Harris. I would like also to extend the compliments of the 
occasion to my old Norwich schoolmates, John T. Wait, J. G. Lamb. Rev. 
William Havens, Hon. H. P. Haven, Huntingtons, Tracys, and others whom 
I mav not here enumerate. I was in Shanghai last year, and on a rude wooden 
slab at the head of a recent grave I read. "Charles Bailey. Norwich, Con- 
necticut," son of the old uptown jail keeper, and seaman on one of our ships 
of war. In what part of the world do not the bones of the sons and daughters 
of Norwich repose! Black-eyed "Tom Leffingwell" lies with his father at 
the bottom of the ocean, and curly-headed "Bob Lee." slain by Comanches 
on the plains of Texas, while Ceylon embalms, with the fragrance of Paradise, 
the remains and memories of Harriet Joanna and Charlotte H. Lathrop. How 
brief the space over which the life of any one individual extends in the history 
of our beloved town. Perhaps not a single soul survives that saw its last cen- 
tennial. Will any single soul live to connect this centennial with that of 
1959? This occasion should not pass away without providing enduring 
monuments of itself for the use of coming generations. If the idea has not 
alreadv occurred, as I presume it has. I would suggest the erection of a cen- 
tennial hall of Norwich granite, fire proof, if possible, to contain a museum 
of town and State relics, and mementos of the past, of our fathers, of the 



CITY OF NORWICH . 141 

Indian tribes, and the present generation. In this way, 1859 may shake hands 
with iQ5g. especially if sealed boxes and coders containing: the sayings and 
doing-s, speeches and sentiments of this day, are secured there to be opened 
only on the occasion of the next centennial. Books, records, portraits, &c., 
would find their appropriate place there, and it would become the favorite 
resort of all those who reverence the past and desire to deduce from it useful 
lessons for the future. 

With a sigh for the Norwich that was, a greeting to the Norwich that is, 
and a hail of welcome for the Norwich that is to be, I remain, gentlemen, 

EuASTtrs Wentworth. 
(From Hon. Charles Miner, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.) 

Wilkes-Barre, July 17, 1859. 

Gentlemen of the Committee : — Your invitation to be present at the com- 
memoration of the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Norwich 
was received by last evening's mail. You are pleased to add: "Should you, 
however, be unable to attend, will you favor us with a letter containing any 
facts of interest in your possession in relation to the town or its inhabitants?" 

I beg to return my most respectful acknowledgements. I can scarcely 
conceive anything left in life that would afford me so much pleasure. But 
the feebleness of near eighty years admonishes me that, not only is the 
visit hopeless, but that if I have anything to say, it should not be a moment 
delayed. 

Affection for Norwich is entwined with every fiber of my heart. Having 
emigrated to Pennsylvania while yet a boy, my time of observation is limited ; 
and my scene of observation, to little more than the old town or round the 
square, fitted, rather, to amuse the grandchildren, than impart instruction or 
pleasure to the present generation. 

Born February i, 1780; peace proclaimed 1784; consciousness of memory 
is first awakened to the shouts of triumph and the thundering of cannon, at 
the old Peck house (then, I think, doubtingly), kept by Mr. Trott (a fiery old 
patriot). I mention this as connecting me with the Revolutionary period, 
and to say, the drum, the fife, military display, was the pervading fashion. 
Almost all the older men had served in the French war. Ticonderoga was 
yet a familiar theme. Nearly the whole of the (then) present generation, 
moved by a common impulse, had been down to Boston. The talk was of 
Lexington and Bunker Hill. General Putnam is recorded as having stopped 
his plow in mid-furrow and started. So had it been in Norwich. An anecdote 
often told me shows the universal enthusiasm. My father, a house carpenter, 
and his journeyman, dropped their tools on the alarm. As the broad-axe 
rang, the journeyman said, "That is my death knell!" Breathing the common 
spirit, he hied away cheerfully, but returned no more. 

My father was on Dorchester heights, as orderly sergeant waiting on 
Mr. Huntington, afterwards general Jed. He used to relate that going the 
rounds, or reconnoitering, the British opened fire upon them from Boston. 
While ever and anon the balls would scatter the earth over them. General 
Huntington moved as unconcernedly as if at home in his own meadow. 

At the close of the war half the men on the square wore the title of cap- 
tain. .Starting on the south side of the green going down the road east, 
taking them in order, there were Captain Bela Peck, Captain Carew, Captain 
Nevins. Captain Simeon Huntington, all in sight and nearly adjoining. The 
British in possession of New York : the Sound and a hundred miles of the 
coast of Connecticut being subject to their invasion, Norwich may be said 



142 NEW LONDON COUNTY 

to have slept on their arms, liable every minute to be called out. Horse Neck, 
Rye, Seabrook, New London, were familiar to every man of them. To be 
sure, as I listened to their war stories, always with interest, sometimes with 
awe, occasionally with a smile, for they remembered the jokes of the camp, 
I do not recollect an imputation upon a single man present or absent as want- 
ing in courage or patriotism. It is a pleasure to record anew the assurance 
that Norwich did its whole duty. 

The plays of the boys were battles with the regulars. The charge — the 
ambuscade — the retreat — "The regulars are coming!" — "The regulars are com- 
ing !" Then the rally and renewed charge. Their songs : 

"Don't you hear your gen'ral say. 
Strike your tents and march away." 

But to the schools. The old brick school house at the bottom of the 
lane, below the spacious new jail, knew no recess. Among the earliest teach- 
ers within my recollection was Charles White, a young gentleman from 
Philadelphia, handsome and accomplished. Of his erudition I was too young 
to judge, but popular he certainly was among the ladies. Newcomb Kinney 
awakened a high degree of emulation, especially in writing. A sampler was 
pasted up before six or seven scholars, near the ceiling, qu fine paper, on a 
double arch sustained by Corinthian columns, the upper corners of each sheeti 
bearing a neatly painted quill, with the motto, "Vive la Plume." Within 
each half arch, near the upper part, in fine hand, a poetical quotation, as sug- 
gested by fancy, probably from Hannah Moore's "Search After Happiness," 
then highly popular. Beneath, in larger hand, successive lines in beautiful 
penmanship, filling the whole. The Piece painted in water colors — the pride 
of mothers — master and scholars. 

Mr. Hunt, a graduate of Yale, followed. Mr. Macdonald succeeded, and 
then Mr. Baldwin became the preceptor. The obedience fair — teachers capa- 
ble and attentive. Discipline preserved without undue severity. Plasant were 
our school hours. But school is let out. Boyish sports abound, 

"Some chase the rolling circle's speed. 
Or urge the flying ball." 

In winter the plain offered a capital opportunity for a trial of skill and 
courage. Sides were chosen. Each party built a semi-circular fort of vast 
snow balls, eight or ten rods apart. When the snow was soft and would 
adhere, all hands were summoned to the work. A line of balls as big as could 
be rolled was laid in a crescent ; outside that another as large. Then with 
skids a row on the top — then a third row large as could be raised on the 
submit to crown the work, making a formidable breastwork. Lockers were 
cut out in the inside to hold great quantities of balls made ready for action. 
When both sides were prepared, a proclamation was made, and then came the 
"tug of war." The sport was manly and exciting. 

Other plays were popular — most I have seen elsewhere — "Thornuary," 
nowhere else. Here the uptown and downtown boys were sometimes pitted 
against each other. There was among us an active fellow named Choate, 
"Jabe Choate" we called him. Not of Norwich, he was a down-easter. Froni 
Boston, I understood. In our little circle he was a Coriolanus, for "When 
he moved he moved like an engine" — and like our modern crinoline-clad 
ladies, swept all before him, yet a favorite, for he was brave and clever. I 
have wondered, if not the father, was he not, probably, the uncle of Rufus, 
the present idol of Boston? 

Mrs. Gildon kept a school a few rods below the plain for small children — 



CITY OF NORWICH 143 

she had a son Charles growing up to early manhood. I do not know theit 
fate. The name is rare. The good school mistress has often been brought 
to mind when reading Poe: 

"If hungry Gildon drew his venal quill, 
I wish the man a dinner and sit still." 

But Pope's shaft was no dishonor. So eminent an archer stooped to no 
ignoble game. 

Hark! The whole town is in commotion. A company of strolling play- 
ers have taken possession of the lower part of the court house, and it is con- 
verted into a commodious theater. Where slept our puritan thunder! The 
tragedy of George Barnwell drew many a tear, soon wiped away in smiles 
by the shrewd follies of Tony Lumpkin, in "The mistakes of a night." The 
grown-up beaux of Norwich, especially those who had visited New York 
and got their cue, were in high glee. I have a good mind to name seven or 
eight. The comic singer of the company displayed some tact — had a good 
voice, and sang, "Ye Bucks! have att — ye all." (Never having seen the song 
nor heard it since, I pretend to give only the sound.) 

Instead of the pit, the critic's place, the roaring boys had taken posses- 
sion of seats far back and high up in the amphitheater, and when he came 
with all the proper accompaniments of tone and gesture to 

"D n ye ! I know ye — 

Ye are of att ye all," 

It was a signal for a general cheer! And brought down the house with 
an "Encore." 

Several new songs were introduced by the company, and among them 
the many year popular "A rose tree in full bearing," which Miss Mary Nevins, 
the fairest rose that ever bloomed, used so sweetly to sing. Passingly — the 
songs of the period were mainly the hunting songs borrowed from England — 

"Bright Phoebus has mounted his chariot of day, 
With hounds and horns each jovial morn when Bucks a hunting go." 

But these were giving place to the more modern sailor songs of Dibdin. My 
intimate and ever dear friend, Gerard Carpenter, used to sing admirably — 

"To England when with fav'ring gale, 
Our gallant ship up channel steered." 

What noise is that, which makes the whole green ring again? Mr. 
Jones, the cooper, residing next to Captain Peck's on the south side of the 
plain, with his adz and double-driver, holding it in the middle and playing 
it rapidly on the empty barrel, as he drives the hoop, sounds a reveille to 
the whole neighborhood, regular as the strains of Memnon. 

A truce to these trifles. The Sabbath has come. Everybody went to 
meeting. It was the pleasantest day of the week. Manning is ringing the 
bell. Let us note the carriages as they come up. The chaise drawn by that 
bay. so sleek, he looks as if he had been varnished for the occasion, brings 
Captain Thomas Fanning and (pardon me, I was then a young man) his two 
charming daughters. I think he was the attendant of our uptown meeting 
who came from the nearest landing. That stout black in ? wider chaise brings 
T.ady Lathrop. attended by Mr. Huntley and his daughter, a pretty little girl 
of eight or nine, whoes poetic genius and sweet moral strains have shed a ray 
of glorv, not only on her native town (as Lydia ?Iuntley and Mrs. Sigourney), 
but over her whole country, and rendered her name a praise throughout the 



i^ NEW LONDON COUNTY 

republic of letters. Here drives up a double carriage, plain, yet neat. Those 
spanking- bavs are full of spirit, they move admirably. They bring the family 
of Mr. Thomas Lathrop, who occupies the very handsome white mansion on 
the southern hill bounding the square. 

(Note.— Manning has ceased ringing, and is tolling the bell. Mr. Strong 
will be here presently. He comes with his lady, drawn in a plain chaise by 
a stalwart brown horse, the favorite of many years.) 

Observe, as Mr. Strong ascends the steps numbers press round and hand 
him scraps of paper. They are received as matters of course— six— seven — 
or eight, as it may happen. We shall see directly what they are. _ While the 
psalm is being sung, which precedes the morning prayer, the minister's head 
is inclined forward as if reading. He rises and reads the slips of paper — one 
after another, running in this wise: "Z. D. being about to take a voyage to 
sea, asks the prayers of this congregation that he may be preserved anc' 
restored in safety to his family." 

Several desiring to return thanks for mercies received. I dare not allovv 
myself to state the variety of petitions, relating to ordinary circumstances in 
life. It would seem to have required long habit and a retentive memory to 
recall them, yet Mr. Strong would touch each,