PRESENTED liY
I^^A^IPEE-S
NEW HAVEN COLONY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOL. VITI
NEW HAVEN:
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY
1914
Gilt
he Socleiy
SEP '9 1814
T^8
'i^
THE ITTTLE, MOREHOISE A TAYLOll I'llESS
Contents
i>A(;e
Prefatory Note iv
List of Officers v
Committees vi
List of Members vii
Papers :
I. Connecticut in Pennsylvania; by Simeon E. Baldwin .... 1
II. An Almost-Forgotten New Haven Institution; by Chaeles
Kay Palmee 20
III. Eli Whitney Blake: Scientist and Inventor; by Henry T.
Blake 30
IV. Kev. William Hooke, 1601-1678; by Chaeles Ray Palmee 5G
V. The Seal of Connecticut; by Simeon E. Baldwin 82
VI. The Battle of Lake George (Sept. 8, 1755), and the Men
who Won it; by Heney T. Blake 109
VII. An Old New Haven Engraver and his Work: Amos Doolit-
tle; by William A. Beaedsley 132
VIIT. The Congregationalist Separates of the Eighteenth Century
in Connecticut; by Edwin P. Paekee 151
IX. Robert Treat: Founder, Farmer, Soldier and Statesman;
by George H. Foed 162
X. Early Silver of Connecticut and its Makers; by Geoege M.
Cl'etis 181
XI. "The Microscope" and James Gates Percival; by James
KiXGSLEY Blake 215
XII. The Fundamental Orders and the Charter; by Samuel
Hart 23S
XIII. British Prisoners-of-War in Hartford during the Revolu-
tion ; by Herbeet H. White 255
XIV. The Fenians of the Long-ago Sixties; by Laueence O'Brien 277
XV. Thomas Green ; by Albeet C. Bates 289
XVI. The Old New Haven Bank; by Theodoee S. Woolsey 310
XVII. The New Haven of Two Hundred Years Ago; by Feanklin
B. Dexter ' 329
Inscriptions on Tombstones in New Haven prior to 1800; edited
by Franklin B. Dextee 351
Index 357
lPrefator\> 1Rotc
The New Haven Colony Historical Society has published eight volumes
of its papers; Vol. I, in 18G5; Vol. II, in 1877; Vol. Ill, in 1882; Vol.
IV, in 1888; Vol. V, in 1894; Vol. VI, in 1900; Vol. \T:I, in 1908; and
Vol. VIII, in 1914.
The Society does not consider itself committed to the support of the
positions taken in any of the papers thus published. For the statements
or conclusions of each, the author is alone responsible.
WILLIAM A. BEARDSLEY, 1
HEIsTlY T. BLAICE, |
SIMEON" E. BALDWIN, !
WILLISTON WALKER,
THEODORE S. WOOLSEY, J
PuhUcation
Committee.
©mccrs of tbc mew Maveu (rolon\>
Mtstovical Societ\>
1913=1914
President :
WILLIAM A. BEARDSLEY.
First Vice President: Second Vice President:
ELI WHITNEY. BURTON MANSFIELD.
Secretary: Assistant Secretary:
HENRY T. BLAKE. THOMAS M. PRENTICE.
Treasurer :
GEORGE A. ROOT.
Advisory Committee
( Constituting with the above named a Board of Directors ) :
Arthuu T. Hadley, President of Yale University, ex-officio.
Frank J. Rice, Mayor of the City of New Haven, ex-officio.
Frederick E. Whittaker, Town Clerk of New Haven, ex-officio.
Honorary Directors in Permanency
(With power of voting in Board of Directors)
Arthur M. Wheeler, George B. Adams,
Henry F. English, Henry L. Hotchkiss,
WiLLisTON Walker.
Directors for One Year:
Theodore S. Woolsey, Rutherford Trowbridge,
Charles R. Palmer, Henry H. Townsend,
F. Wells Williams.
Directors for Two Years:
Edward E. Bradley, Benjamin R. English,
Edward A. Bowers, George D. Watrous,
Francis B. Trowbridge.
Directors for Three Years:
Simeon E. Baldwin, Williaji S. Pardee,
Livingston W. Cleaveland, Leonard M. Daggett,
Talcott H. Russell.
Lihrnrian and Cvralor:
Frederick Bostwick.
Colonial Hall, the building of the Society, is open to the public daily,
except holidays, from 9.30 A. M. to 12.30 P. M., and from 2 P. M. to 5 P. M.;
in the winter months closed at 4 P. M.
Telephone: 1700.
Stanbino Committees for 1913^1914
Executive Committee:
The President,
The Seceetaey,
Edward E. Bradley,
Henry F. English,
Burton Mansfield.
Finance Committee:
Benjamin K. English,
Rutherford Trowbridge,
Eli Whitney.
House Committee:
Edward A. Bowers,
Arthur M. Wheeler,
Simeon E. Baldwin,
Henry F. English,
Leonard M. Daggett.
Publication Committee:
The President,
The Secretary,
Simeon E. Baldwin,
WiLLisTON Walker,
Theodore S. Woolsey.
Committee on Papers to he Read.
The President,
The Secretary,
George D. Watrous,
Arthur M. Wheeler,
F. Wells Williams.
Committee on New Members:
Henry H. Townshend,
Thomas M. Prentice,
Wilson H. Lee.
Library Committee:
The President,
Frederick Bostwick,
Edward A. Bowers,
Francis B. Trowbridge,
William S. Pardee.
Committee on Placing Memorial
Tablets:
Henry T. Blake,
Simeon E. Baldwin,
Talcott H. Russell.
Committee on Relics:
Thomas M. Prentice,
George B. Adams,
Livingston W. Cleaveland,
Rutherford Trowbridge,
Francis B. Trowbridge.
Ladies' Auxiliary Committee :
JVIiss Geraldine Carmalt,
]\Irs. Arnon a. Alling,
Mrs. William A. Beardsley,
Miss Fannie A. Bowers,
Mrs. Frederick F. Brewster,
Miss Mary B. Bristol,
Mrs. Henry Champion,
Mrs. Henry F. English,
Mrs. Joseph M. Flint,
Mrs. H. Stuart Hotchkiss,
Mrs. George Harrison Gray,
IVIrs. Burton Mansfield,
Mrs. Talcott H. Russell,
]\Irs. J. B. Sargent,
Miss Mary E. Scranton,
Miss Edith Walker,
IVIrs. Arthur M. Wheeler,
Mrs. Eli Whitney.
flDcmbcre of the Society
Ibonorar^ /Iftembers
Epher Whitakeb, Southold, N. Y. Samuel Hakt, Middletown, Cann.
William C. Winslow, Boston, Mass. Edwin S. Lines, NeivarJc, N. J.
CorrcspouDinct /Iftembers
L. Vernon Beiggs, Hanover, Mass.
%itc /llbcmbers
Roger S. Baldwin,
Simeon E. Baldwin,
L. Wheeler Beecher,
Hiram Bingham,
Frederick Bostwiek,
Miss Fannie A. Bowers,
Edward E. Bradley,
Ericsson F. Bushnell, N. Y. City,
William H. Carmalt,
Franklin B. Dexter,
Henry F. English,
Mrs. Henry F. English,
Henry W. Farnam,
Frederick B. Farnsworth,
Franklin Farrel, Jr., Aitsonia,
George H. Ford,
Edwin S. Greeley,
Edward A. Harriman,
annual
Wilbur C. Abbott,
George B. Adams,
ISTelson Adams, Springfield, Elass.,
Frederick M. Adler,
Max Adler,
Mrs. W. F. Alcorn,
Arnon A. Ailing,
Arthur N. Ailing,
David R. Ailing,
John W. Ailing,
Joseph Anderson, Woodmont,
Charles M. Andrews,
Henry L. Hotchkiss,
Henry Stuart Hotchkiss,
:Miss Susan V. Hotchkiss,
Miss Mary S. Johnstone,
William S. Pardee,
Edwin Rowe,
Charles B. Rowland, Greenwich,
Mrs. Charles B. Rowland, Greenicich,
Mrs. Joseph B. Sargent,
Joel A. Sperry,
Mrs. Elizabeth Pratt Stevens,
Henry K. Townshend,
Rutherford Trowbridge,
, William R. H. Trowbridge,
Mrs. Robert B. Wade,
Eli Whitney,
Arthur W. Wright.
/IRembcrs
George L. Armstrong,
Henry B. Armstrong,
Ricardo F. Armstrong.
Frank G. Atwood,
Samuel R. Avis,
Harry L. Babcock,
Leonard W. Bacon,
Mrs. Henry Baldwin,
Amos F. Barnes,
Thomas R. Barnum,
George J. Bassett,
Mrs. Samuel A. Bassett,
Vlll
MEMBEES OF THE SOCIETY.
Venial W. Bates,
John K. Beach,
Miss Elisabeth M. Beardsley,
William A. Beardsley,
William Beebe,
William S. Beecher,
]\rrs. Philo S. Bennett,
Thomas G. Bennett,
]\Iiss Emily Betts,
Frank L. Bigelow,
Louis B. Bishop,
Mrs. Timothy H. Bishop,
Henry T. Blake,
Charles W. Blakeslee, Jr.,
Burton L. Blatchley,
Clarence B. Bolmer,
Edward A. Bowers,
Andrew B. Bradley,
Edward M. Bradley,
Frederick T. Bradley,
Mrs. Frederick T. Bradley,
Miss S. L. Bradley,
Frederick F. Brewster,
John W. Bristol,
jMiss Mary B. Bristol,
Samuel L. Bronsou,
Isaac W. Brooks, Torrington,
Mrs. Robert A. Brown,
Fred B. Bunnell,
George F. Burgess,
Charles E. Burton,
George R. Burton,
Winthrop G. Buslinell,
Timothy E. Byrnes, Boston, Mass.,
Eugene A. Callahan,
Walter Camp,
John H. Cannon,
LeGrand Cannon,
Lester Card, Ansonia,
JMrs. Henry Champion,
John N. Champion,
Edwin L. Chapman,
Horace F. Chase,
Minotte E. Chatlield,
F. Joseph Chatterton,
Herman D. Clark,
Livingston W. Cleaveland,
George R. Coan,
Ward Coe,
Miss Augusta J. Cooper,
Miss Harriett J. Cooper,
Frank Addison Corbin,
Louis C. Cowles,
John D. Coyle,
George M. Curtis, Meriden,
Mrs. T. W. T. Curtis,
Franklin A. Curtiss,
David Daggett,
Leonard M. Daggett,
Mrs. Leonard M. Daggett,
Edward S. Dana,
Clarence B. Dann,
Harry G. Day,
Miss Mary E. Day,
Osborne A. Day,
Charles S. DeForest,
Eugene DeForest,
Samuel C. Deming,
Robert C. Denison,
Fred W. Dietter,
John H. Dillon,
William H. Douglass,
Miss Eliza deForest Downer,
John I. H. Downes,
Timothy Dwight,
Mrs. Daniel C. Eaton,
Benjamin R. English,
James English,
Lewis H. English,
Miss Olivia H. English,
Alexander W. Evans,
Henry W. Farnam, Jr.,
Miss Katherine K. Farnam,
Miss Louise W. Farnam,
Thomas W. Farnam,
William W. Farnam,
Mrs. William W. Farnam,
Max Farrand,
Bruce Fenn,
Wallace B. Fenn,
Harry B. Ferris,
William T. Fields,
Irving Fisher,
Samuel H. Fisher,
MEMBEES OF TIIE SOCIETY.
IX
John B. Fitch,
Charles J. Foote,
Ellsworth I. Foote,
Pierrepont B. Foster,
John S. Fowler,
Henry Fresenius,
Nathaniel L. Garfield,
George W. F. Gillette,
Charles E. Graham,
*Mrs. George M. Grant,
Frederick D. Grave,
Arthur C. Graves,
Mrs. George Harrison Gray,
Mrs. Mary F. Woods Greist,
Mrs. Mary T. Gridley,
Frank W. Gnion,
George ^I. Gunn, Milford,
William H. Hackett,
Arthur T. Hadley,
Miss Elizabeth M. Hall,
Henry A. L. Hall,
Edwin Hallock, Derby,
James A. Hamilton,
Charles S. Hamilton,
Alfred E. Hammer,
Adoniram J. Harmount,
Mrs. Lynde Harrison,
William F. Hasselbach,
William T. Hayes,
James S. Hemingway,
Samuel Hemingway,
Nathan W. Hendryx,
John Henney,
James Hillhouse,
Mrs. James Hillhouse,
Carleton E. Hoadley,
Mrs. Horace P. Hoadlej^,
Clarence R. Hooker,
Thomas Hooker,
Hobart L. Hotchkiss,
Justus S. Hotchkiss,
Philip Hugo,
William H. Hull,
F. Thornton Hunt,
Samuel W. Hurlburt,
Mrs. Charles L. Ives,
Hobart B. Ives,
L. Erwin Jacobs,
Allen Johnson,
Joseph C. Johnson,
Moses Joy,
John B. Judson,
John C. Kebabian,
Andrew Iveogh,
Frederick J. Kingsbury,
Mrs. William L. Kingsley.
Cornelius L. Kitchel,
Isaac L. Kleiner,
H. M. Kochersperger,
George T. Ladd,
Lyman M. Law,
Wilson H. Lee,
George W. Lewis,
C. Purdy Lindsley,
H. Wales Lines, Mcriden,
Harry K. Lines,
Samuel Lloyd,
Edwin H. Lockwood,
Seymour C. Loomis,
W^alter E. Malley,
Burton Mansfield,
Mrs. Burton Mansfield,
Edward F. Mansfield,
Louis A. Mansfield,
Stanley Mansfield,
John T. Manson,
Mrs. John T. Manson,
Mrs. George A. Mathews,
A. McClellan Mathewson,
Charles B. Matthewman,
Cliarles M. Matthews,
Oscar E. Maurer,
John P. McCusker,
James E. McGann,
Virgil F. McNeil,
Thomas F. IMeagher,
Adolph Mendel,
Charles S. Mellen,
Eli Mix,
Phelps Montgomeiy,
James T. Moran,
Samuel C. Morehouse,
Elliott H. Morse,
James A. Munro,
■ Deceased.
MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY.
Charles H. Xettleton,
*Henry G. Newton,
Laurence O'Brien,
ISTorris G. Osborn,
Arthur D. Osborne,
Lewis Ostervveis,
Samuel K. Page,
George L. Paine,
A. Oswald Pallman,
Theodore D. Pallman,
Charles Ray Palmer,
Frank W. Pardee,
Henry F. Par melee,
George Leete Peck,
George W. Peck.
Henry H. Peck, Waterbury,
Milo L. Peck,
Cyrus Berry Peets,
William Lyon Phelps,
Andrew W. Phillips,
Miss Lina M. Phipps,
Edwin S. Pickett,
James P. Pigott,
Mrs. Amy B. Porter,
I. Napoleon Porter,
Miss Martha Day Porter,
Thomas M. Prentice,
Miss Lillian E. Prudden,
Horatio G. Redfield,
Mrs. Edward M. Reed,
Horatio M. Reynolds,
Edward D. Bobbins,
Charles L. Rockwell, Meriden,
Edward H. Rogers,
Henry Wade Rogers,
Edwin P. Root,
George A. Root,
Henry B. Rowe,
Henry C. Rowe,
F. Howard Russell,
Talcott H. Russell,
Thomas H. Russell,
Mrs. Edward Elbridge Salisbury,
Charles E. P. Sanford,
Mrs. Henry B. Sargent,
Zeigler Sargent,
Emmett A. Saunders, Mishawaka,In(l.
John C. Schwab,
Miss Ethel Lord Scofield,
Charles 0. Scoville,
Miss Mary E. Scranton,
Morris W. Seymour, Bridgeport,
Mrs. Sarah H. Seymour,
John 0. Shares,
Harrison T. Sheldon,
Simon B. Shoninger,
Mrs. F. W. J. Sizer,
Walter C. Skiff,
Clarence E. Skinner,
John T. Sloan,
Charles H. Smith,
Henry H. Smith,
James B. Smith,
E. Hershey Sneath,
Levi T. Snow,
H. Merriman Steele,
James E. Stetson,
Willis K. Stetson,
Ezekiel G. Stoddard,
William B. Stoddard, Milford,
Anson Phelps Stokes,
Mrs. Frederick B. Street,
S. Fred Strong,
Thomas H. Sullivan,
Edward Taylor,
John H. Taylor,
Ezra C. Terry,
Edwin S. Thomas,
Clarence E. Thompson,
Paul S. Thompson,
Mrs. Sherwood S. Thompson,
John Q. Tilson,
John A. Timm,
George H. Town send,
Joseph H. To-svnsend,
Raynham Townshend,
Charles F. Treadway,
Courtlandt H. Trowbridge,
Elford P. Trowbridge,
Francis B. Trowbridge,
Frederick L. Trowbridge,
Hayes Quincy Trowbridge,
Mrs. Thomas R. Trowbridge,
, Winston J. Trowbridge,
* Deceased.
MEMBEKS OF THE SOCIETY.
XI
Charles A. Tuttle,
George Henry Tuttle,
Roger W. Tuttle,
Julius Twiss,
Victor Morris Tyler,
Mrs. William E. Tyler,
Richard H. Tyner,
Isaac M. Ullman,
Louis M. Ullman,
Mrs. John Ulrich,
Addison VanName,
William F. Verdi,
Charles M. Walker,
Williston Walker,
Mrs. Williston Walker,
Thomas Wallace, Jr.,
Frederick S. Ward,
Mrs. Henry A, Warner,
William A. Warner,
Herbert C. Warren,
Greorge D. Watrous,
George D. Watrous, Jr.,
Mrs. George H. Watrous,
William A. Watts,
Mrs. Francis Wayland,
Smith G. Weed,
Jesse D. Welch,
Pierce N. Welcli,
Mrs. Pierce N. Welch,
William S. Wells,
Alfred N. Wheeler,
Arthur M. Wheeler,
Edwin S. Wheeler,
I John Davenport Wheeler,
Oliver S. White,
Roger S. White,
Mrs. Eli Whitney,
James M. Whittemore,
Charles W. Whittlesey,
Frederick Wells Williams,
J. Rice Winchell,
Arthur B. Woodford,
j Mrs. E. C. Woodruff,
Rollin S. Woodruff,
Theodore S. Woolsey,
Albert Zunder.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
By Simeon E. Baldwin, LL.D.
[Read September 23, 1907.]
Coimecticut lias bad controversies with each of the neighbor-
ing States in regard to the extent of her territorial limits.
Quite a sizable book has been written about them.'^ They
began almost with the birth of the colony. Two years before
the adoption of her first Constitution — the Fundamental Orders
of 1639 — she was wrangling with Massachusetts over the title
to what is now Springfield. But the only boundary dispute
which led to serious consequences, and whose history was
written in blood, was that with Pennsylvania, a century or
more later.
The original charter from the Earl of Warwick to the first
proprietors of Connecticut who could show a paper title,
bounded their gTant from Narragansett river for a breadth of
forty leagues "as the coast lieth towards Virginia'' . . "from
the Western ocean to the South sea." Among those who
obtained this patent were John Pym, the leader of the Long
Parliament, and John Hampden, whose resistance to the ship-
money exactions of the Crown did more, perhaps, than any
other one thing to bring Charles I to the block. Another who
came later into association with them, and thought seriously,
as they did, of settling in New England, was Oliver Cromwell.
Had he made the venture, under the Warwick Patent, it is safe
to say that he would not have overlooked the fact that the
Western boundary it named was the Pacific ocean.
The charter from Charles II, granted to Connecticut in
1662, after her purchase from Governor Eenwick of the title
* Clarence W. Bowen, Boundary Disputes of Connecticut.
1
■ii CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
Tinder the Warwick Patent, while less generous than was the
latter in describing her northern boundary, made no change
in the western. The charter phrase fixing this described the
limits of the grant as "in longitude as the lyne of the Massa-
chusetts Colony, runinge from East to West (that is to say)
from the said I^arrogancett Bay on the East to the South Sea
on the West parte, with the Islands therevnto adioyneinge."
Two years later the same King issued a patent to the Duke
of York, under which he claimed title to all lands between the
west side of the Connecticut River and a line running from its
head to the source of the Hudson River, thence to the head of
the Mohawk branch of the Hudson, and thence to the east side
of Delaware Bay.
It will be perceived that while this carved out a large piece
of the lands previously granted to Connecticut, it took away
from her nothing lying west of a line running southerly from
the head waters of the Mohawk. Under a royal commission
appointed to settle the bounds between this grant (under which
ISTew York was settled by the English) and Connecticut, a
judgment was rendered on l^ovember 30, 1664, with the
written consent of authorized representatives of Connecticut,
"that the creek or river, called Momoronock, which is reputed
to be about twelve miles to the East of West-Chester, and a
line drawn from the East point, or side, where the fresh water
falls into the salt, at high-water mark, jSTorth, ISTorthwest, to
the line of the Massachusetts, be the Western bounds of the
said colony of Connecticut, and the plantations lying West-
ward of that creek and line so drawn to be under his royal
highness's government, and all plantations lying East of that
creek and line to be under the government of Connecticut.""
In the official returns by the authorities of Connecticut to
the Lords of Trade and Plantations, during the first half of
the eighteenth century, the colony is described as bounding
westerly on I^ew York.f
* Trumbull, Hist, of Conn., I, 558.
t Hinman, Letters, 351, 362. In 1680 they referred, with more caution,
to their patent as giving the western boundary.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA. 3
At the beginning of the second half, however, a different
tone was assumed. It had by that time become generally
kno"vni that there was good farming land in the valley of the
Susquehanna, occupied only by Indians, which fell within the
limits of both the patents named. In 1753, a sort of syndicate,
mainly of Connecticut people, was formed to buy up the Indian
title to this territory and plant a new colony there. The next
summer the purchase was effected from the Five iN'ations for
£2,000.* The other colonies, Pennsylvania included, seem to
have viewed it with a friendly eye, as setting up a new barrier
against Indian attack; and at a congress of seven colonies,
including Connecticut and Pennsylvania, then sitting at
Albany, where the treaty of cession was negotiated,t a resolu-
tion was passed that Connecticut and Massachusetts each by
charter right extended to the South sea, although it was recom-
mended that their bounds should "be contracted and limited
by the Allegheny or Apalachian mountains." t
In 1755, the General Assembly of Connecticut, on the peti-
tion of the syndicate, then consisting of about 850 persons,
and styling themselves the Susquehanna Company, voted to
assent to their intended application to the Crown for a colony
charter. The French and Indian War of the next few years
made any movements of this sort inadvisable, but seven years
later, as it neared its close, a number of people left Connect-
icut for the Wyoming Valley, to effect a settlement under the
Connecticut charter. The Indians, who had, no doubt, by this
time spent the money which they received from the syndicate,
showed an unfriendly spirit. The Pennsylvania proprietaries,
whose charter of 1681 covered in terms this territory, exerted
their influence at court to check the immigration, and in Jan-
uary, 1763, orders to stop it were sent from England to the
colonial authorities of Connecticut. A delegation of Mohawks,
* Some of the Indians afterwards asserted that the tribes never consented
to the sale, the treaty being merely with a few individuals having no
authority from them. Documents relating to the Colonial History of
N. Y., VIII, 624.
t On July II, 1754. The Susquehannah Title, 44.
t Documents relating to the Colonial History of N. Y., VI, 885, 888.
4 CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
led, at their request,* by Guy Johnson of l^ew York, appeared
at Hartford to protest against any such attempt at colonization,
and were informed that these commands had been received. f
The attention of Connecticut and of the Susquehanna Com-
pany was now given to endeavoring to secure a change in the
policy of England. The company sent one of the leading men
in the colony, Col. Eliphalet Dyer, to London, to ask for a
charter ; but he found the opposition too serious to conquer.
By order of the King in Council, a line was settled in the
fall of 1768| between the English and the Indian lands in
the Wyoming Valley. The Pennsylvania proprietaries then
bought up the Indian title to part of the lands which the Eive
JSTations had ceded to the Susquehanna Company fourteen years
before. Early in 1769 a new immigration from Connecticut set
in, to find their grants from that company disputed by claim-
ants under the Pennsylvania authorities. The Connecticut
settlers were thickest on what was then called the East Branch
of the Susquehanna : the Pennsylvania settlers on the West
Branch. §
A petition, somewhat of the kind reproduced in the modern
"initiative," was now presented to the General Assembly of
Connecticut from more than four thousand freemen of the
colony, praying that its title to the lands in dispute should
be asserted and maintained. There were then but about ten
thousand freemen in all. jSTone of the signers were members
of the Susquehanna Company, and while no doubt many of
them were secured by its influence, it is evident that there
must have been a solid public opinion back of it.
The claim to the old boundaries of the colony patent was
one worth contending for. The swath across the continent
which they cut out for Connecticut comprehended, west of the
Hudson, the sites of what are now Wilkesbarre, Cleveland,
Chicago and Omaha, and east of the Hudson, ISTew York City
fell within it. ISTew York, Connecticut acknowledged that she
* Documents relating to the Colonial History of N. Y., VII, 522.
t Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, VI, 605.
t Boutell, Life of Roger Sherman, 71. § Ibid.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA. O
had lost. She could not contend against a royal duke. To
iNTorthern Pennsylvania her people were disposed to cling, and
before the petition had been presented, the General Assembly
had appointed a committee to make diligent search, both in
America and England, for all grants affecting the title of
Connecticut to her charter limits, and file authenticated copies
of such as they might find with the Secretary of the Colony."
Subsequently, after the coming in of the petition, this com-
mittee was directed to take the advice of counsel, and in 1771
they submitted the whole question of the merits of the Con-
necticut title to four of the ablest counsel in England, Thurlow,
then Attorney General, afterwards Lord Chancellor ; AVedder-
burn, then Solicitor General, afterwards Lord Chief Justice
and Lord Chancellor; Eichard Jackson, long the agent of
the colony, and Dunning, afterwards Lord Ashburton. They
agreed unanimously in a favorable opinion. f Commissioners
were then (1773) sent to Governor Penn, to endeavor to obtain
an amicable adjustment of differences, or else a reference to
the Crown for a settlement of the boundary line.i Nothing
was accomplished in either direction, and thereupon, in 1774,
came the law of Connecticut erecting Wyoming into a new
town by the name of Westmoreland, and annexing it to her
westernmost county (Litchfield).
It is no easy task to trace the bounds, at any particular
period, of the counties of Connecticut. They first were created
in 1666. § Hartford County was to include "the Towns on
the River" and ran from the north bounds of Windsor and
Earmington to the south end of "Thirty Miles Island" ; New
London County from "Paukatuck River with :Norridge" to
the west bounds of "Homonoscet Plantation"; IN'ew Haven
County from the east bounds of Guilford to the west bounds
of Milford; and Eairfield County from the east bounds of
Stratford to the west bounds of Rye.
* Colonial Records of Conn., XIII, 304, 366, 427, 518.
t Col. Rec. of Conn., XIV, 445-460.
tlUd., 16, 461-482.
§ Col. Rec, II, 34.
b CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
Under this arrangement, Hartford County included what
is now Tolland County, most of what is now Middlesex County,
and part of what is now Litchfield, "Windham, and l^ew Lon-
don counties. Windham County was incorporated sixty years
later, taking in part of ISTew London County. A quarter of
a century afterwards Litchfield County was incorporated,
largely out of !N^ew Haven County. In 1774 it received the
addition already mentioned of part of what is now Pennsyl-
vania, and in October, 1776, by one of our first acts of
independent statehood, this accession was made a county by
itself, under the name of Westmoreland County. Middlesex
County was erected in 1785, and Tolland, a year later, was
carved out of Hartford and Windham counties.
In the fall of 1773 the selectmen of each town in the colony
had been directed by the Assembly to take a census of its
inhabitants.* The returns were tabulated and printed in 1774,
and showed that of the ten towns then constituting Litchfield
County, Westmoreland ranked sixth in population. It num-
bered 1,922 inhabitants. Woodbury, then the largest town,
had 5,224, and Winchester, then the smallest, had but 327.
Westmoreland proved, from the first, strongly attractive to
the adventurous spirits, to whom the ''land of steady habits"
seemed too steady and unambitious. It was there that William
Judd, removing from Farmington, won his title of Major (in
the 24th Connecticut regiment) and began the active career
which closed with his impeachment in 1804 for having, while
a justice of the peace, declared that Connecticut was without
a Constitution, — a declaration which, as much as any other
one thing, led to her having a very unmistakable one, fourteen
years later.
The Pennsylvania proprietors also submitted their case
to English counsel. They selected Charles Pratt, afterwards
Lord Chancellor and Earl of Camden, and he gave an opinion
in their favor. The judgment rendered by the royal commis-
sioners, in 1664, in settling the boundary dispute between the
Duke of York and the Colony of Connecticut, after a full hear-
* Col. Eec. of Conn., XIV, 161, 263.
CO^'NECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA. i
ing, "which had been solemnly assented to by the Colony, in Mr.
Pratt's opinion deprived it of any claim of title west of the
west bounds thus established. The Connecticut claim, on the
contrary, supported by the opinions of the four counsel before
mentioned, was that the west bounds were fixed merely as
regards the patent of the Duke of York, and that it no more
cut the colony off from her charter territory south or west of
'New York, than it added to her limits the plantations on the
other side, in Rhode Island.
The response of the Connecticut General Assembly to the
petition of the four thousand freemen was far from eliciting
the universal approval of her people.
In March, 1YY4, a mass meeting of committees from twenty-
three towns at Middletown adopted a warm protest, embodied
in a petition to the legislature. The title to the lands, they
said, was contested. It might prove defective. The incorpora-
tion of Westmoreland might be pressed in England as a cause
for the forfeiture of the colony charter. Bloody tragedies
might ensue from the clashing of jurisdiction between those
claiming under Pennsylvania and those claiming under Con-
necticut. Emigration would be encouraged on the part of those
who, should the title of the colony finally be determined to be
invalid, would be reduced to poverty, and return to their
deserted homes only to waste the residue of their lives as a
burden on the community.
A war of pamphlets arose. There was a letter to J. H.
Esquire, of 47 pages, printed at Hartford, in 1773. Rev. Dr.
William Smith, Provost of the University (then College) of
Pennsylvania, with the aid of Jared Ingersoll, wrote a paper
in support of the title of the proprietaries under their charter
of 1681, which was extensively circulated in Connecticut. Rev.
Dr. Benjamin Trumbull, in 1776, published a voluminous
answer.
But by this time subjects still more important had arisen
to engage the public interest. The battle of Lexington had
been fought. There was but one cause for patriotic hearts, —
that of America. In the fall of 1776, two companies for the
8 CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
Connecticut line in the Continental army were raised in West-
moreland. Enough more were subsequently added to make up
a meagre regiment (the 24th Connecticut).
Connecticut had made preparations in 17Y4 for applying to
the King in Council for the appointment of Commissioners to
settle her dispute with Pennsylvania,* but in March, 1775,
Governor Trumbull wrote to the Colony Agent at London not
to press the matter "in a day of so much difficulty and
increasing distress as the present between the two countries."t
In the fall of the same year he wrote to the President of
Congress to express the hope that that body would intervene
in the interest of peace. "It is far from our design," he said,
"to take any advantage in the case from the present unhappy
division with Great Britain. Our desire is that no advan-
tage be taken on either side ; but at a proper time, and before
competent judges, to have the different claims to these lands
litigated, settled and determined : in the meantime to have
this lie dormant, until the other all-important controversy is
brought to a close. The wisdom of Congress, I trust, will
find means to put a stop to all altercations between this Colony
and Mr. Penn, and the settlers under each, until a calm and
peaceable day. The gun and bayonet are not the constitutional
instruments to adjust and settle real claims, neither will
insidious methods turn to account for such as make them their
pursuit."!
In December, 1775, the Congress devoted considerable time to
the consideration of the questions thus presented. The Pennsyl-
vania delegates insisted that their colony must have jurisdic-
tion over the disputed territory, and said they would not abide
the determination of the Congress, unless this were conceded.
At last, each colony having proposed a vote that it would be
content to accept, that of Connecticut was passed (December
20) by six colonies to four. This "recommended that the con-
tending parties immediately cease all hostilities, and avoid
* Col. Rec. of Conn., XIV, 217-219.
t Stuart, Life of Jonathan Trumbull, 175.
t lUd.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA. 9
every appearance of force, until the dispute can be legally
decided; that all the property taken and detained be restored
to the original owners ; that no interruption be given by either
party to the free passing and repassing of persons behaving
themselves peaceably through the disputed territory, as well
by land or water, without molestation of either persons or prop-
erty; that all persons seized and detained on account of said
dispute, on either side be dismissed and permitted to go to
their respective homes ; and that, things being put in the
same situation they were before the late unhappy contest, they
continue to behave themselves peaceably on their respective
possessions and improvements, until a legal decision can be
had on said dispute, or this Congress shall take further order
thereon; and nothing herein done shall be construed in
prejudice of the claim of either party."*
One of the ilSTew Jersey delegation who kept a journal of
the proceedings of the Congress observes that "the Delegates
of Penn"^ were very angry and discontented with this Deter-
mination of Congress. "t The next day they offered a resolu-
tion that no more Connecticut people should settle at Wyoming
until the title to the lands was adjudged. Meanwhile the
General Assembly of Connecticut, moved by reports that an
invasion of Westmoreland by five hundred armed men from
the West Branch of the Susquehanna was apprehended,
fomented by British influences,;!: resolved "that all the present
inhabitants in said disputed territory shall remain quiet in
their present possessions, without molestation from any person
or persons under the jurisdiction of this Colony ; provided they
behave themselves peaceably toward the inhabitants settled under
the claim of this Colony; and provided the persons belonging
to this Colony, who have been lately apprehended on said lands
by some of the people of Pennsylvania be released and all the
effects, as well as those who have been already released as those
now in custody, be restored to them. And all persons are
* Journals of Congress, I, 279.
tAm. Hist. Review, I, 297.
t Col. Rec. of Conn., XV, 179.
10 CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
hereby strictly forbid making any further settlements on said
lands without special license from this Assembly, or giving
any interruption or disturbance to any persons already settled
thereon. This temporary provision to remain in force during
the pleasure of this Assembly, and shall not affect or prejudice
the legal title of the Colony, or of any particular persons to
any of said lands in controversy."
A copy of this vote was hurried off to Philadelphia, and on
December 23, 1775, was read in Congress. John Jay of ISTew
York at once moved that it be recommended to Connecticut
"not to introduce any settlers on the said lands till the farther
order of this Congress, until the said dispute shall be settled."
Such a vote was passed by four colonies to three. The Connect-
icut delegates protested against declaring it to have been
adopted, on the ground that it was not carried by a majority
of the colonies present, but their objections were overruled.*
The conflicts of jurisdiction, and seizures of person and
property, recounted in the various papers from which quota-
tions have been read, had been attended by very grave dis-
turbances. From 1769, when after several years of inaction,
the Susquehanna Company, which now comprehended some
Pennsylvanians among its members, sent a new force of
colonists into this valley, and found ten men, headed by the
sheriff of Northampton County, established in a block house
to oppose them, to the close of 1771, there was a constant
succession of serious hostilities.
Under the Pennsylvania title the valley was laid off into two
"manors," the eastern side being called the Manor of Stoke,
and the western side the Manor of Sunbury.
The Connecticut settlers put up a rough frontier fort, Fort
Durkee, which was attacked by the Pennsylvanians with a
four-pound cannon. A capitulation followed on terms that
the Connecticut title to possession should be respected, till
the pleasure of His Majesty should be known. The garrison
marched out, and most of them returned to Connecticut; but
it was not long before news followed that their houses had been
* Journals of Congress, I, 283 ; Am. Hist. Rev., I, 288.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
11
plundered and their cattle driven away. The next year the
Susquehanna Company retook the fort, seized the four-pounder
and invested a block house in which fifty Pennsylvanians had
established themselves. After a short siege a capitulation fol-
lowed, stipulating that the property claims of the garrison
should be respected until the disputes were settled by the King.
This stipulation, in turn, the Connecticut settlers violated.
General Gage, then in command of the royal forces at J^ew
York, Avas called on by Governor Penn for aid, but refused to
interfere.
Captain Ogden recaptured Fort Durkee. Colonel Stewart,
one of the Pennsylvanians belonging to the Susquehanna Com-
pany, surprised and retook it by a night assault. Ogden built
a new and stronger fort, Fort Wyoming. The settlers under
the Connecticut title besieged and captured it.
Four years of almost undisturbed peace followed. The
Pennsylvania proprietaries made no serious attempt to expel
the settlers under the Connecticut title. Civil government was
set up, at first, with no authority from Connecticut ; afterwards
by virtue of the Act of Assembly of 1774 which has been
already mentioned.
In May, 1775, she constituted the town of Westmoreland a
Probate District,* and in October, 1776, made it a county by
the name of the County of Westmoreland, with a county court
of its own. The Superior Court was to go out and sit there
for the trial of capital cases, on the order of the Chief Judge,
when necessary. t
During this period the proprietary government of Pennsyl-
vania was coming to its close. In 1776 it gave way to a pro-
visional government of the people. One of its last efforts was
the unhappy invasion which again stained the valley with
blood, on December 21, 1775. In this about two hundred
were engaged on each side and several killed. President Stiles
of Yale College, in his Literary Diary,t declares that it was
a stratagem of the British ministry to excite confusion, pro-
*Col. Rec. of Conn., XV, 11.
t Records of the State of Conn., I, 7, 229. 1 1, 660.
12 CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
moted by Philadelphia tories. The records of the Governor's
Council in Connecticut, at a meeting held in the preceding
month, show that they regarded the expedition, which was
then being secretly organized, as really for the purpose of
expelling the Connecticut settlers, though under cover of a
broader design to prevent a union of the colonies against
Great Britain.*
Three years later came the great massacre which gave the
death blow to Connecticut in Pennsylvania. Tories and
Indians to the number of about a thousand invaded the valley
in July, 1778. The settlers had some warning of their coming
and in June had applied, though in vain, for aid from the
Continental army. Of the able-bodied men a large part were
in that army. Forty or fifty more, recently recruited, and not
yet schooled in the exercises of war, who were still in the
valley, manned the defences, with such assistance, as could be
rendered by a few militia, and a reserve of boys and old men.
The story of the battle that followed has been often told.
The settlers, in despair of reinforcements, determined to
attack the enemy, hoping to surprise them. They found them
ready and in line. A brisk action was followed by the total
defeat of the American forces. Among those who fell was one
of the two representatives of Westmoreland in the General
Assembly of Connecticut, who had just returned from a ses-
sion of that body. The whole number killed and missing was
about three hundred. f
Thomas Campbell, the English poet, made the massacre the
groundwork of his "Gertrude of Wyoming."
The seeds of civil war had, as we have seen, been planted
in Wyoming, long years before the outbreak of the Kevolu-
tion. It was to be a civil war arising from conflicting rights
of property and jurisdiction.
The Revolution itself in every colony meant civil war. That
was a civil war arising from conflicting claims of allegiance
and conflicting theories of political liberty.
* Col. Rec. of Conn., XV, 179.
t Stone, Poetry and History of Wyoming, 192.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
13
The civil war in Wyoming might have been avoided. l!Tot
so the American Revolution. It was a political necessity.
England had become — ^with the development of the principle
of a responsible ministry, — responsible to the House of Com-
mons, — in fact, though not in name, a republic. She had
slowly built up out of precedent and tradition an unrecorded
but all-compelling scheme of government which in fact, though
hardly yet in name, was constitutional. Yet England was deny-
ing to her sons across the sea the privileges which this scheme
of government guaranteed to her sons at home.
''If," wrote Froude in his life of Julius Csesar, "there be
one lesson which history clearly teaches, it is this: that free
nations cannot govern subject provinces. If they are unable
and unwilling to admit their dependencies to share their con-
stitution, the constitution itself will fall in pieces from mere
incompetence for its duties." Or, he might have added, the
subject provinces will throw off the yoke, and vindicate their
independence.
To one who looks with eager glance towards the political
future of the United States to-day, and anxiously asks himself
whether, if our Constitution was framed only for and applies
only to the people of the United States that make our Union,
and carries no certain assurance of personal security to the
millions in our Asiatic possessions, we can yet hold them indefi-
nitely as against the world, and as against themselves, subjects,
though not citizens, these solemn words of a great writer have
a new interest.
But, in principle, we do not stand to the Philippines as
England in 17Y6 stood to us. She was governing us avowedly
for her own benefit. We are not governing them avowedly
for our benefit. ISTor are these children of the Pacific of such a
stock as that of the self-reliant, sturdy, strong-handed American
colonists of the 18 th century.
Yet even to them, it was a hard thing to decide upon a war
for independence. There was everywhere a strong division
of opinion. It was the obvious policy and aim of the British
government to stimulate and strengthen the spirit of the loyal-
ists. In the city of l^ew Haven, in 1Y76, nearly half the
14 CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
people were British sjmpatliizers.* The same I think would
be true of Philadelphia.
John Butler, who led the invading forces at the battle of
Wyoming, was of Connecticut birth. So was Zebulon Butler,
who led in the defence, — a commissioned colonel of the 24:th
Eegiment of the Connecticut line.
There have been riots and risings against lawful authority
from time to time throughout American history. There have
been, aside from the Revolution, but two civil wars ; that which
year after year disturbed the valley of Wyoming, and that
between the l!Torth and the South.
The first came to an end in the way in which all controversies
between independent States should, by submission to an
impartial court. As soon as such a proceeding became prac-
ticable, by the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in
1781, t Congress, on the petition of Pennsylvania, appointed
Commissioners to decide the controversy between her and Con-
necticut ''relative to their respective rights, claims, and pos-
sessions" ... as to "sundry lands" described by Pennsylvania as
"lying within" her "JSTorthern boundary."! It is to the credit
of both States that they were able to agree on who should be
the Commissioners. They selected, and Congress confirmed for
the position. Judge William Whipple of ISTew Hampshire;
Welcome Arnold of Rhode Island, a prominent merchant in
Providence; William C. Houston, Professor of Mathematics
and iN'atural Philosophy at Princeton; Cyrus Grifiin of Vir-
ginia, President of the Court of Appeals in Maritime Causes ;
and David Brearley, Chief Justice of New Jersey.
There was an ample array of counsel. Prom Pennsylvania
came James Wilson, afterwards a Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States; William Bradford, afterwards
Attorney General of the United States ; Joseph Reed, who had
*See Stiles, Literary Diary, I, 540, III, 111; Boutell, Life of Roger
Sherman, 43.
t Pennsylvania in 1779 had proposed and Connecticut had declined to
anticipate that event, and proceed to a reference as if the Articles were
in force. Rec. of the State of Conn., II, 463.
t Journals of Congress, VII, 338, 339.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA. 15
recently been for three years President of the Supreme Execu-
tive Council of Pennsylvania ; and Jonathan D. Sergeant, who
had been Attorney-General of the State. Connecticut selected
William Samuel Johnson, who had, and well merited, the hon-
orary degree of doctor of civil law from Oxford University;
EKphalet Dyer, who had been the original promoter of the
Connecticut settlements in the valley of the Susquehanna, and
the representative throughout of the Susquehanna Company;
and Jesse Root, afterwards Chief Judge of the Superior Court
and the author of two volumes of the earliest of American law
reports.
Connecticut was overmatched, certainly as to the number
and, it is to be feared, as to the ability of her representatives.
The trial of such a controversy before such a tribunal demanded
much more than a knowledge of the governing facts and the
governing law. It called for all the powers that forensic ora-
tory can bring to the aid of reason. Johnson had them, but
Root, if we can judge him either by his private letters or
published works, had a diffuse and discursive, not to say
bombastic, manner of expression, and we have the word of
John Adams, no incompetent observer of men, who saw much
of Colonel Dyer in the Continental Congress, that he spoke
"often and long, but very heavily and clumsily." "Dyer," he
afterwards notes in his diary, "is long-winded and roundabout,
obscure and cloudy, very talkative and very tedious, yet an
honest, worthy man, means and judges well."*
In one incident of the hearing, Johnson's powers of oratory
served us well. One of the lawyers for Pennsylvania had
occasion to refer to an ancient document, recorded on a long
roll of parchment, upon which Connecticut placed some reli-
ance. It was interlarded with passages from the scriptures
and he jocosely alluded to it as a specimen of puritanical
fantasy. Johnson made the reply. Taking up the parchment,
he read in his silvery voice and in a tone of reverential
solemnity, the same phrases which had just been ridiculed, in
such a way as to impress all in the court room with a sense
* Life and Works, II, 396, 422.
16 CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
of awe. Then, suddenly letting it drop on the floor, as he lifted
up his hands and eyes to heaven, he exclaimed "Great God ! Is
all this fantasy?" One who was present, in telling this story
twenty years afterwards, said that at these words a chill went
over the assembly so perceptible, that as he spoke he felt the
same sensation creeping over him.*
The case for Pennsylvania, whatever may have been the
merits of the paper titles, had the support of grave, practical
considerations. Would it make for American peace and order
to have one sovereign State (and in 1782 all were fully
sovereign) possess and administer governmental rights in terri-
tory enclosed by the dominions of other sovereigns, geograph-
ically separated from her own by long distances and the
interposition of other States ? Would it not become for Penn-
sylvania such a sore spot as a British Gibraltar was to Spain,
or a Portuguese Macao to China? Did not the Connecticut
claim also prove too much? If it were just, would not she
have like dominion over all the vast territory between the
western bounds of 'New York and the Pacific Ocean? Had
this been conquered by the common efforts of all the United
States for her sole benefit?
These were questions not to be ignored. Answered in some
sort they must be by the judgment which the Commissioners
were to pronounce. The hearing was a long and fair one,t
the court sitting from ISTovember 12 to December 30, 1782.
The end was a brief and unanimous decision that Pennsylvania
had "the jurisdiction and pre-emption of" and Connecticut
no rights to the lands in controversy.! Many years afterwards
it came out that the members of the commission, before enter-
ing on the trial, privately agreed that the decision of the
* Beardsley, Life and Times of William Samuel Johnson, 48.
t Connecticut indeed claimed that there should have been a postponement
to enable her to produce important papers which were in England, but
there is no reason to doubt that the Commissioners had reasonable grounds
for ordering the hearing to proceed. It was subsequently claimed by those
interested in the Susquehannah Company, that Pennsylvania had and
concealed these papers. The Susquehannah Title, 21, 95.
t Journals of Congi-ess, VIII, 44-63.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
17
majority, whatever it was, should be concurred in by all, and
that no reasons for the judgment should be announced.
The feeling between the two States and the yet delicate con-
dition of the settlement probably made this course judicious.
At all events, the Connecticut claim of title was now finally
disposed of. There was never more to be a Connecticut in
Pennsylvania. ISTot only had she had no governmental powers
there, but all conveyances and grants under her authority were,
in effect, invalidated.*
The settlers in the Wyoming Valley now numbered five or
six thousand. Most of them held through the Susquehanna
Company. When the claimants under the Pennsylvania title
appeared to dispossess them, it was found no easy thing. Dis-
affection was general. Everybody was in the sheriff's way,
except when called upon to assist him. Pennsylvania sent
troops to assist him.y There was more fighting. As Burke
has said: You cannot indict a whole people. Some of them
applied to the legislature of Pennsylvania for relief and a
"Quieting Act" was passed, providing for the appointment
of Commissioners to inquire into the merits of their claims.
After a few years, however, it was repealed. Many lost all
their possessions.! Finally, in 1799, and 1801, came legis-
lation that stood because it was bottomed on the will of the
local majority. The holders of Pennsylvania titles were bought
off by the State. The holders of Connecticut titles had theirs
confirmed, on payment of about $1 an acre.§
The battle of Wyoming is better known to historical students
than is the territorial dispute of which it was the fruit. If
* Satterlee v. Matthewson, 16 Sergeant & Rawle's Pennsylvania Law
Reports, 172. This seems a logical consequence of the decision, though
it is doubtful if the Commissioners so supposed. See letter of December
31, 17S2, by four of them to the Executive of Pennsylvania, given in The
Susquehannah Title, 99.
t Her Council of Censors "held it up to censure" in September, 1784.
The Susquehannah Title, 107.
tSee Mass. Hist. Coll., 7th Series, VI, Part 2, 177; Boutell, Life of
Roger Sherman, 340, 341.
§ The course of legislation and of judicial decision in Pennsylvania,
consequent upon the judgment of the Commissioners, is fully detailed in
Jones on the Law of Land Office Titles in Pa., Chapter XXVI.
18 CONNECTICUT IN" PENNSYLVANIA.
I have not given it more than a passing notice, it is not because
I am insensible to its importance as one of the memorable
things in American history.
The time will never come when stories of battle no longer
interest mankind.
A man on a field of arms is in an abnormal position. How
will he act? How did he act? These are questions that have
the attractiveness always belonging to the unusual, — the
importance always attaching to what must always nearly con-
cern the public welfare.
Personal prowess is admired even when it is displayed for
merely private ends, — when it is shown by the sportsman, the
matador, the boxer or wrestler. Much more is it admired in
one who is fighting for a country, or a cause.
It is not a question of victory. ISTothing brings more of
glory than a glorious defeat. The hopeless struggle at the pass
of Thermopylae will never pass from human memory.
But to Americans the great fruit of the battle of Wyoming
was that it led to preventing war. In its ultimate results it
showed it to be possible for two States, each warmly engaged
in defending a claim having at least strong color of right, to
come before a court of the United States and let their con-
troversy' go to a final determination there, precisely as if it
were one between two private individuals. The Supreme Court
of the United States, with its jurisdiction over suits of State
against State, was erected on that basis, and no other single
cause contributed more towards the adoption of that feature of
our judicial system than the sad massacre of July 3, 1778.
The Wyoming controversy gave rise to numerous suits
between private individuals. Two of these deserve mention in
this connection.
One was entitled Van Home's Lessee against Dorrance, in
the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of
Pennsylvania, heard in 1795.* The plaintiff claimed title under
a grant from Pennsylvania ; the defendant, under a grant from
Connecticut, confirmed by the Quieting Act of the Pennsyl-
* 2 Dallas' Reports, 304.
CONNECTICUT IN PENNSYLVANIA. 19
vania Legislature in 1787. The trial occupied fifteen days,
before a jury; but at the close the court, Mr. Justice Patterson
presiding, directed a verdict for the claimant under the Penn-
sylvania title as a matter of law.
The statute, he said, assumed to give a title, when none,
that is, no valid one, existed before. It was an attempt to give
away, by law, the property of one man to another man. It
was therefore void under the Constitution of Pennsylvania,
and it was the duty of the jury to find a verdict for the plaintiff
and to take the law on this point from the court.
The cause was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United
States, but never pressed for a hearing there.
The second suit arose a generation later. Pennsylvania by
this time had passed another Quieting Act. Her courts had
held, in 1825, that if one claiming lands in the Wyoming Val-
ley under a Connecticut title executed a lease of them, his
tenant, contrary to the rule in other cases, could dispute his
title. The Pennsylvania Legislature thereupon, in 1826,
passed a statute that such a tenant could not dispute his land-
lord's title. A law suit arose on which this statute was relied
on by the plaintiff. The Pennsylvania courts supported it as
not contrary to the Pennsylvania Constitution, and the Supreme
Court of the United States supported it as not contrary to that
of the United States.*
* Satterlee v. Matthewson, 2 Pet., 380.
AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN
INSTITUTION.
By Rev. Chakles Ray Palmer, D.D.
[Read February 17, 1908.]
The institution of which I am to speak, and attempt to
revive the memory, was in its day widely known as "The
Yoimg Ladies' Institute." The home of it still stands, though
somewhat decayed, and now transformed into a block of tene-
ments. It is located near the middle of the east side of
Wooster Square, and within the recollection of many was occu-
pied by General William H. Russell's School for Boys.
I am indebted to Mr. Henry T. Blake, to Mr. Talcott H.
Russell, and to Mr. Oliver S. White, for aid in ascertaining
the record of this property, and to them I wish to make grateful
acknowledgments. As to the Institute itself, I have had access
to documents in the University Library, furnished me by the
thoughtful kindness of Professor Dexter; to a memorial dis-
course commemorative of the first Principal, furnished me by
his latest surviving daughter a few years since; to Camp's
History of New Britain; to the Letter-Books and autobio-
graphical recollections of the second Principal, in my posses-
sion ; and to some other and minor sources of information.
Of these I make free use in this paper.
I propose briefly to recite the origin and history of this
institution, and, incidentally, its claim to be remembered.
Beyond a question, the originator of it was a man very
noteworthy on other accounts — Prof. Ethan Allen Andrews,
LL.D., a distinguished scholar, and a lifelong promoter of edu-
cation in various ways. He was a native of what we now
know as New Britain, formerly a part of the town of Berlin.
AlSr ALMOST rOEGOTTEN NEW HAVEjST INSTITUTION. 21
He was the son of Levi and Cliloe (Wells) Andrews, and was
born April 1, 1787. His father was a prosperous farmer, of
excellent character, of high intelligence, and very much
respected by his fellow-townsmen. The conditions of his early
life were very fortunate for the future scholar, '^o pains
were spared in his education. His preparation for college was
commenced in Berlin; continued in Farmington, under the
instruction of Rev. Dr. ll^oah Porter, Senior, and Mr. Samuel
Cowles ; and completed in Litchfield, under the care of Rev.
Dr. Whiton. He entered college in 1806. He was not a
robust youth, having been from childhood of a delicate con-
stitution, and his college course was pursued under the limita-
tions of continuous ill-health, attended with much physical
suffering. But his high aspirations and indomitable will
triumphed over these disabilities, and he graduated in 1810
with the highest honors of his class. It was a class, moreover,
which contained some eminent men, including Profs. E. T.
Fitch, Chauncey Goodrich and Ebenezer Kellogg, Gov. W. W.
Ellsworth, and Samuel F. B. Morse. At first he gave him-
self to the study of the law, in the office of his former teacher,
Mr. Samuel Cowles of Farmington. In Farmington, also, he
found his future wife. Miss Lucy, daughter of Isaac Cowles.
He was admitted to the Hartford Bar in 1813, and his earliest
practice was in ISTew Britain. Later he was appointed an aid
to Governor Lusk, and in the last year of the war with Eng-
land, in 1812-15, he served in IsTew London. Returning to l^ew
Britain, he opened a school to fit young men for college. Very
soon after he was elected to the Legislature, and he was
repeatedly reelected. But he gradually withdrew from both
law and politics, and in 1822 accepted an election to the Chair
of Ancient Languages in the University of ISTorth Carolina,
at Chapel Hill, in that State. Here he found his true voca-
tion, and entered upon the course of study to which he owed
his highest distinction. In 1828 he removed his family to ISTew
Haven, and became connected with a school known as "The
ITew Haven Gymnasium." This was established in that year
by the brothers Sereno E. and Henry E. Dwight, sons of the
22 AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION.
first President Dwight, as a first-class boarding school for boys.
A colleague in this institution, Mr. Solomon Stoddard, became
associated with him in the preparation of a Latin Grammar,
which was long the main dependence of Latin students in this
country. It has been said that even before coming here he
had conceived the idea of establishing an institution for the
higher education of young women, but whether he came with
ulterior aims or not, he cordially cooperated with the Messrs.
Dwight in their work, and when he entered upon an independent
enterprise it was with their cordial approbation and backing.
This enterprise was the Young Ladies' Institute, and an appre-
hension of his own daughters' needs seems to have given him
the primary impulse to undertake it. So, at any rate, it has
been repeatedly asserted.
But if it was in its beginnings his individual enterprise,
he found in ISTew Haven willing and strong coadjutors. There
are indications that the ultimate shape of the project was the
result of careful and deliberate consideration in which many
bore a part. Thus, in Rev. Dr. Croswell's Diary, we find the
following entries:
Under date of March 17, 1829 — "Mr. Hawks spent nearly
the whole forenoon with me, and in the afternoon he came
with Prof. Andrews to talk about a Female High School in
ISTew Haven."
Under date of June 22, 1829 — "In the evening attended
a meeting of some literary gentlemen at Prof. Andrews' to
consult about a High School for Young Ladies."
Who these gentlemen were, we learn from another source.
The original prospectus of the Institute, bearing date Septem-
ber 1, 1829, is preserved in the University Library, and to it
is appended a card of endorsement to the following purport :
"The undersigned, having learned that Prof. Ethan A.
Andrews proposed opening, in this city, an Institution for the
education of Young Ladies, have the pleasure to state that
we consider him eminently qualified, both in character and
talents, for such an undertaking; and being acquainted with
his views of an improved system of Female Education, we
AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION. 23
think them highly judicious, and cheerfully recommend his
proposed Institution to the patronage of the public."
This was signed by President Day, Professors Benjamin
Silliman, James L. Kingsley, ITathaniel W. Taylor, Josiah W.
Gibbs, Chauncey A. Goodrich, Eleazar T. Fitch and Denison
Olmsted, Rev. Messrs. Samuel Merwin, Harry Croswell, Prancis
L. Hawks and Leonard Bacon, Messrs, Sereno E. Dwight,
Henry E. Dwight and Francis B. Winthrop. From the ^ew
Haven of that day it would have been difficult to select a more
influential list of names than that. Quite a number of these
gentlemen, moreover, not only gave these signatures, but
enrolled their own daughters among the earliest students of
the projected institution. The movement must have been in
contemplation for a considerable time previous, for the build-
ing was erected in preparation for it. So, at least, I have been
informed, and the prospectus speaks of it as ''a new and
elegant building." It was erected upon land belonging to
Mr. Abraham Bishop, and presumably by him. Five years
later he sold it, with the buildings thereon, and the conveyance
is duly recorded. He describes it as his "homestead, which
has been and is now occupied by the Young Ladies' Insti-
tute," and measurements show that the present front line is
unchanged, while the side-lines then extended to a depth of
312 feet, thus including an area now nearly covered with
various buildings. Why he calls it his "homestead" does not
appear, for he never lived there, but it was almost wholly
bounded by land of which he retained the ownership; indeed
a large portion of Wooster Square itself originally belonged to
him. The structure was of brick and consisted of a main
building of three or three and one-half stories with two wings
of two stories, the whole frontage being about one hundred
feet. The interior arrangements were on a liberal scale, and
well adapted to the purpose for which they were designed. At
that date there were no buildings contiguous, so that the Insti-
tute stood quite by itself. The prospectus speaks of it as — •
"one mile from Yale College, in an open and healthy situation,
commanding a fine view of the town and harbor, and the beau-
24 AN ALMOST FOEGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION.
tiful hills whicli surround them." The compact portion of the
town did not then extend much beyond Olive Street. The
prospectus next enlarges upon "the peculiar advantages afforded
by the town as the seat of literary institutions, its temperate
and salubrious climate, the beauty of its situation and scenery,
the high character of its long-established seminaries, the social,
literary and moral character of its inhabitants," and its acces-
sibility both by land and sea.
Here, then, in the autumn of 1829, the Institute was opened,
and its career commenced. In many respects Professor
Andrews was admirably adapted to the position he assumed.
He was then about forty-two years of age, in the prime of his
powers. He had had large experience of life, had won the
reputation of a successful teacher, and certainly was a man of
character, of learning, and of culture. His manners were
refined and agreeable. Professor Thacher once described him
"as a man whose whole life was an unchanging illustration of
urbanity." He always appeared to be self-contained and digni-
fied, yet always simple and unaffected. He was tall, erect,
and well-proportioned; he had an open and pleasing counte-
nance, a dark and at the same time lustrous eye. In a word
he was rather a striking, without being an imposing personality.
I saw him once, late in his life, and remember the impression
then made by his genial and benignant bearing upon one
regarding him with the veneration which his years and his
honors inspired.
The general scheme of the Institute was on a large scale,
so large as to seem to us from our present point of view some-
what ambitious. But that was a sanguine time, and to most
men that which seemed to be desirable was readily assumed to
be practicable. It was not merely a school for young ladies,
like many another which has had its day, in ISTew Haven and
elsewhere in iN'ew England, that was projected. It definitely
aimed at something far beyond that measure. This is made
very apparent from the prospectus already cited, and still more
by statements issued in connection with the catalogues which
appeared later on. Thus we read : "the design of the Young
AlSr ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION,
25
Ladies' Institute was to supply what seemed to the principals,
and to many of their literary and scientific friends, a desidera-
tum in Female Education." . . . "ISTo Institution exists in
this country with precisely the same objects, or with an organi-
zation in any considerable degree similar." ''The course of
instruction is intended to be so extensive, and the mode of
prosecuting the studies so thorough, as to afford to young women
the means of acquiring a systematic education, strictly adapted
to their sex, and at the same time not inferior in value to what
may be gained by the other sex in our High Schools and Col-
leges." Again we read : "the course of instruction to those
who shall wish to pursue it for many years will be as extensive
as that pursued at any of our Colleges," and, "the charge of
each of the literary and scientific departments is committed
to gentlemen of liberal education and of experience, not only
in giving instruction in their own department, but also in con-
ducting the other branches of Education."
An examination of the courses offered shows that these
announcements were no mere pretences, suggestive of methods
of modern advertising, but serious purposes, carefully planned,
and the list of instructors engaged seems to be designed to
fulfill the promises made. I find among them men known
not only as graduates of Yale, and as having occupied chairs
of instruction in connection with it, but men known favorably
as educators elsewhere. Moreover, arrangements were made
by which advanced students of the Institute, under proper
guardianship, attended the lectures given in Yale College by
Professor Silliman and Professor Olmsted, thus enjoying in
their departments equal facilities with the corresponding classes
in that institution.
There were two sessions of the Institute in each year, begin-
ning respectively on the first of May and the first of ISTovember,
and followed by vacations of four w^ks each. It will be
observed that the summer season was not then regarded as
unavailable for educational purposes, nor were forty-four weeks
too large a portion of the year to give to study. I notice, also,
that to students who wished to continue in residence during
26 AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION.
vacations, there was no extra charge. "Times change, and we
change with them."
I directed attention a few moments since to the claim of
the Institute to be unique — the only enterprise of its kind in
the country. Unless this claim can be disproved, its real dis-
tinction is therein disclosed. It was an actual endeavor, and
it was the first endeavor, in JSTew England or elsewhere in the
United States, to afford to young women equal facilities with
young men. It may have been over-ambitious. It may have
been premature. It may be impossible for us to discern whence
it could expect an adequate financial support. But that it was
generously conceived, and courageously undertaken, can hardly
be disputed. From our present point of view it would seem
manifestly to have demanded either an endowment, or a much
larger working capital than either of its Principals ever brought
to it. But if an institution is to be judged by the idea its
founder attempted to realize; by what it aspired to effect for
the public welfare, rather than by what it actually accomplished,
then it should be remembered with honor.
What, it may now be asked, ivas accomplished ? I have had
in my hands two catalogues of the Institute, containing a list
of the students from ISTovember, 1830, to April, 1833. In
these I have counted 137 names. ISTo catalogue was published
in 1834, but I have the statement of one of those longest con-
nected with the Institute as an instructor, that the whole number
connected with it as students was about 200. While many of
these belonged to families resident in ]S[ew Haven, the rest
were drawn from a wide area. Among the 137 names cata-
logued I find representatives of every ISTew England State
except Maine, of all the Middle States except Delaware, of
all the Seaboard and Gulf States from Maryland to Louisiana,
inclusive, except Florida, and in addition from the District
of Columbia ; i. e. from eighteen different States, and the seat
of the ISTational Government. Whence came the other sixty
or more, I cannot afiirm, but it may fairly be presumed that
if I could, the list of residences would not be essentially dif-
ferent. A wider constituency could hardly have been antici-
AW" ALMOST FOKGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION. 27
pated for an institution so recently established. If a reason
for this fact be sought, two or three things may be suggested.
Professor Andrews had made an excellent reputation as a
teacher in his position in ISTorth Carolina, and this may have
helped the Institute, at the start. Again, Yale College had a
wide repute in the country, and the fact that families had sons
in the College may have operated to bring their sisters to a
'New Haven institution so strongly endorsed by the College
Faculty. It certainly did in some instances. Still, again,
ISTew Haven was at that time a favorite summer resort for
Southern people. The old Pavilion Hotel by the water side,
and other places of public accommodation, brought hither a
large summer colony, and this may have contributed somewhat
to the growth of the Institute. At any rate, the number
attracted to it from so large an area is noteworthy, and the
high average of intelligence and of character was still more
so. They were in the main susceptible of the culture which the
institution aimed to effect. The examinations were always
attended by the College Faculty, and their testimony was
freely given that the results obtained compared favorably with
those obtained in the College class-rooms. I may cite an
instance illustrative of the work done. Miss Elizabeth Hoare,
daughter of Samuel, of Concord, Mass., of the well-known
family of that name, had mastered all the mathematics then
embraced in the Harvard College curriculum, and sighing for
more worlds to conquer, came to the Institute and found the
instruction she wanted. The text-book selected was Vince's
Fluxions, which was an optional on the Yale list, and usually
chosen only by from one to three of the most advanced stu-
dents in mathematics. It is recorded of her that in going
through this text-book she asked assistance only in respect of
a single equation. There was a wide interest at that period in
philosophical studies, in all higher institutions of learning. It
is recorded that the keen interest displayed, and the vigorous dis-
cussions carried on, in the class-room devoted to these studies
at the Institute, would have done credit to any college in the
land. It is further remembered that the instructors in some
28 AN" ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION.
other branches of study found the keeping well ahead of their
classes no holiday task. But that the instruction was really
creditable and inspiring there is no reason to question, and if
there were, the testimony of the students, given in their maturer
years in letters of grateful acknowledgment, might be cited to
establish the fact. Indeed, it might be inferred from the lists
of the instructors employed. Such names as Professor Andrews,
Prof. William Tully, Dr. Isaac G. Porter, Mr. Stiles French,
Prof. Charles U. Shepard, and others who might be mentioned,
are sufficient warrant that the work of instruction was in no
incompetent hands.
If more particular inquiry be made as to students whom
the Institute enrolled, who, and of what kind they were, there
is much to be learned from a study of the catalogue. I have
found it to reward very careful investigation. I have endeav-
ored, so far as it is practicable at this distance of time, to
ascertain the family connection of the young women who are
listed. In the case of those who came from remote States, very
naturally, I have had little success. But of the 137 that I
have mentioned I have identified more than half, and learned
more or less in regard to them. Evidently they were older
than the pupils of the average Young Ladies' School. j\Iany
of them had previously made use of the best private schools
within their reach. Many were mature in character and under-
standing. A goodly number of them subsequently filled con-
spicuous places in American society. One finds in the list
many of the Xew Haven names with which we are most
familiar, e. g., Blake, Beecher, Bradley, Day, D wight,
Edwards, Forbes, Goodrich, Hotchkiss, Hubbard, Merwin,
Phelps, Street, Taylor, Trowbridge, Whitney. Some have
made their own names distinguished. Conspicuous upon the
page stands the name of Miss Sarah Porter of Farmington,
herself, I need hardly say, a famous educator. Other names
represent young ladies better known by the names of the hus-
bands whose future distinction they shared. I identify the
wife of Gen. W. H. Russell. I identify in a number of
instances the wives of well-known clergymen, physicians, schol-
AlSr ALMOST FOEGOTTEN 2^EW HAVEN INSTITUTION. 29
ars, educators, public men. It seems to me to be notewortby
that we may recognize by name a grand-daughter of the first
President Dwight, the daughter of President Day, the wife
of President Woolsey, the wife of President Porter, first and
second cousins of the living President Dwight, and the mother
of President Hadley. Kone of us, I imagine, would be likely
to pass over the name of Caroline Street, the wife of Admiral
Foote. I may mention as one who only recently left us, the
late Mrs. James D. Dana. Until within three days I had
supposed Mrs. Maria (Heaton) Robertson, deceased a few
weeks since, was probably the very latest survivor. But I have
learned that there is one still living, and there may be more
than one. This one is the widow of Doctor Chauncey Brown,
who was born Julia Strong, and is now in her ninety-third
year. I cannot take time to recite the whole catalogue, but if
anyone is desirous to see the names I have an annotated list
of them here. I imagine I have said enough to indicate that
this body of students was from every point of view an unusual
one.
The second year of the Institute saw increased numbers in
attendance, and those who were interested in it were greatly
encouraged. In the beginning of the third year, i. e., in ISTovem-
ber, 1831, there were some changes in the teaching force, and,
among others, Mr. Ray Palmer, a native of Rhode Island, a
graduate of the Yale Class of 1830, was brought hither from
a Young Ladies' School in 'New York City, in which he had
been teaching, and from that date until the Institute came to
its end, I have the benefit of his papers in following the thread
of the narrative I am pursuing. That year seems to have
been a reasonably prosperous one in the Institute, and while the
pressure of the burden of the necessary expenditures began to
be felt, the dominant feeling was that of hopefulness. Before
the end of 1832, however, some accumulation of the difficulties
of the enterprise was appreciable, and it is evident that the
hopefulness of Professor Andrews was somewhat seriously
abated. Some trouble arose through complaints of the house-
keeping, and a falling away of some of the students who were
30 AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION.
members of the houseliold. I trust it is not the slightest want
of respect to the memory of Mrs. Andrews, to intimate that,
estimable and admirable lady as she was, she was not as emi-
nently qualified to administer and control a large household,
as was her husband for the work of instruction, and she found
her task very heavy. Then as Professor Andrews' burdens
increased, and his troubles thickened, an event befell which
precipitated a crisis. This was shortly after the beginning of
1833. Some years previous, Prof. Jacob Abbott (the father
of Dr. Lyman Abbott) had been called from a chair in Amherst
College, by some citizens of Boston, to establish in that city
a school for young ladies. It had been known as the Mt. Vernon
School, and had attained considerable repute. But Professor
Abbott had become desirous to relinquish it, and was in search
of some one to take his place. It appears from contemporary
letters that in some way — just how I have been unable to
detect — his attention had been directed to Mr. Palmer as a
suitable person, and he having been married in the autumn
previous, might be supposed to be ready for a promotion. Pro-
fessor Abbott came here to see Mr. Palmer, but making some
preliminary inquiries of Professor Andrews, discovered that
he was open to a proposition to take the place in Boston, all
the more that it was not a boarding-school. This discovery
opened an extremely satisfactory prospect to Professor Abbott,
and very naturally, and very properly, he gave the preference
to the elder, and the more widely-known man, and said nothing
to Mr. Palmer. In a short time it was announced in N^ew
Haven that Professor Andrews was to remove to Boston to
become the Principal of the Mt. Vernon School. This purpose
he carried out, and for some six years successfully maintained
the reputation of that school. Then he returned to his old
home in ISTew Britain, and there spent the remainder of his
years,* devoting himself to the laborious and expansive literary
projects he had formed. The long list of his works I need not
* At one time during this period Pi'ofessor Andrews was temporarily
engaged in teaching in New Haven, but this engagement did not Involve
the removal of his residence from New Britain.
AlSr ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION. 31
enumerate. In 1847 Yale gave him his honorary degree. He
coveted retirement, but his townsmen were unwilling to let him
remain in it. They elected him Judge of the Probate Court,
and this office he filled for two successive terms, and would
have been continued in it had he been willing to serve. The
town of ISTew Britain was erected in 1850, and he was unani-
mously chosen to be its first representative in the Legislature.
When that body met he was made Chairman of the Committee
on Education. He was the author of a report in favor of a
revision of the Common-School System of the State, and a bill
accompanying it, which became the basis of all subsequent legis-
lation. He was an active promoter of the first State ISTormal
School, and when its location at ISTew Britain had been secured,
was its steadfast friend and wise adviser to the end of his life.
That event came peacefully on March 24, 1858.
The removal of its Principal was a very decided blow to the
Young Ladies' Institute, and those interested in it feared the
effect would be fatal to the enterprise. Mr. Palmer's first
impulse was to relinquish his own position at the same time
with Professor Andrews. But vigorous remonstrances having
been made by the patrons of the Institute, whose daughters
were his pupils, he decided to take less expensive quarters, and
go on with the work of teaching upon a smaller scale. A house
was actually selected for this purpose. Ultimately, however,
he was persuaded to become himself the Principal of the Insti-
tute, and took possession of it about the first of April, 1833.
LTp to that date, while constantly engaged within the building,
he had lived outside ; now he established himself and his house-
hold in the south wing. I have alluded to his marriage in the
autumn previous. I am minded by way of episode, thinking
to enliven a little what may be a dull narrative, to tell you a
story of that event, as an experience of real life easily possible
seventy-five years ago, but hardly conceivable now. I have said
the summer term of the Institute closed four weeks before the
first of ]^ovember. It was natural, then, that for the wedding
of one of the instructors an early day in October should be
selected, that he might have the vacation for his honeymoon.
32
AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN" NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION.
The day chosen was the second, and the hour, noon. The last
days of a term are very busy ones, and a conscientious
instructor was likely to put off the leaving of his work to as
late an hour as possible. In fact he planned to take the night-
boat for ISTew York on the first, which would give him ample
time to reach his destination, which was ISTewark, IST. J. But
on the evening of the first, one of the sudden and sharp south-
easterly storms, with which we are familiar, came down relent-
lessly. The gale was violent, and the prudent Captain would
not leave the wharf. This was all well enough for him, but
rather hard on the would-be bridegroom. It left him ninety
miles away from his bride, with no means of reaching her, or of
communicating with her. I have heard that merry-hearted
girls, mindful of a familiar line of Gray's "Elegy," used to
call him "the Ray serene." I do not think that epithet fitted
him that evening! There was nothing for him, however, but
to wait and take the morning stage-coach for JSTew York, and
this he did. Other people had been disappointed of going by
the boat, and they did the same. It followed that the coach
was overloaded. Moreover, the roads were very heavy from
the rain. All day long it lumbered upon its slow way. To
one impatient passenger, its rate of progress was most dis-
heartening. It labored, it lingered, it languished. It paused,
it halted, it tarried. It did everything but go. When at last
it reached 'New York — ^because it could not help it — the hour
was so late that the last conveyance for !N^ewark had gone.
He could not even get across the Hudson River. After vain
attempts he betook himself to a hotel for shelter. He went
to bed, but not to sleep. He lay the long hours through, watch-
ing the flickering reflection of a street-lamp upon the ceiling,
in indescribable humiliation and dismay. Naturally, by the
earliest possible conveyance in the morning, he was off.
Meanwhile, what had happened at the other end of the
route? At noon of the second a large party of relatives and
friends had gathered at the home of the bride. Ifaturally, she
and her bridesmaids were looking their prettiest, and the
groomsmen and ushers their best. The house was decorated,
AN ALMOST FOEGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION.
33
the wedding-breakfast was laid, the parson was there in his
robes — all things were ready, except — that very indispensable
factor, the bridegroom. Where conld he be ? At first, there
was some little joking at his tardiness, but soon the affair
took a more serious aspect, — he did not come. After a long
wait an adjournment was taken until the evening, and again
all was ready to no purpose. After another wait, another
adjournment was made until the following noon; a waggish
brother of the bride giving notice that should the bridegroom
not then appear, the bride would marry the first groomsman.
As it was generally understood that this gentleman had been pre-
viously an unaccepted suitor, there was humor in this announce-
ment to everybody but him, and this somewhat relaxed the
strained feeling. The town of ISTewark was then not too large
for everybody to know what was going on, and there was much
excitement in it that evening. Hard thoughts and harsh words
were current concerning the recreant bridegroom. The bride,
while clinging to her faith in her lover, had a night of dis-
tress. But in the early forenoon he appeared, and all was
explained. The wedding went happily oft' at last. When at
length the pair drove up the street, the sidewalks were lined
with throngs of people — curious, as I suppose, to see the bride-
groom who had been twenty-four hours late for his wedding,
and the bride who forgave him. Railroads and telegraphs have
troubles of their own, and sometimes give other people trouble.
But we little appreciate, I imagine, from how much trouble
they save us.
To return to our narrative. To assume the principalship
of the Institute was a bold undertaking for so young a man,
with a wife much younger, younger in fact than many of the
students themselves, and contemporary letters show that some
of his friends were quite solicitous as to the experiment. But
his card of announcement, which came out in the catalogue
of 1833, following one signed by Professor Andrews setting
forth the fact of his retirement, showed a good courage, and
gave assurance that the Institute would continue on the lines
originally laid down, and the new regime began. It might
2
34 AN ALMOST FOKGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION.
be queried, how, if the work of housekeeping had proved too
hard for Mrs. Andrews, could so young a matron as Mrs.
Palmer hope to succeed in it; hut the fact was that she had
the counsel and efficient cooperation of her widowed mother,
a woman whose character combined strength and beauty, who
also, as all her friends were aware, was an experienced and
skilful housekeeper. At any rate, the house filled up, the
Institute took a fresh start, and a good year followed. I find
no evidence that there was further criticism of the administra-
tion of the household, or any criticism of the instruction given
in the class-rooms, but before the end of his first year as
Principal, i. e., by the spring of 1834, Mr. Palmer had con-
cluded, on his own part, that while he could make the Institute
pay its own expenses, he could do little more, and as his heart
had been set for many years upon ultimately entering the
Christian ministry, he gave his landlord notice that after
another session he should relinquish the enterprise. Accord-
ingly, in August of that year, Mr. Bishop sold the property
to Stiles and Truman French, and in the autumn, at the end
of the session, the Institute was finally closed. In the begin-
ning of the winter he removed his family to Boston, and in a
few months entered upon a pastorate. Mr. Stiles French
opened the building as a school for boys ; and about 1840 Gen.
W. H. Russell first leased and subsequently purchased it for
his famous Military School.
The abandonment of the Institute was very greatly and very
widely regretted, by its friends and patrons, and perhaps we
ourselves may deem it to be regrettable. But it was probably
inevitable. It was an institution welcomed by the few, and
these perhaps of the best, but not appealing to the many, nor
to such as could do anything adequate for its endowment. It
involved too heavy financial responsibility for an individual
to sustain. Had it passed into the hands of a corporation, and
become possessed of sufficient funds of its own, there is no
knowing whereunto it might ultimately have grown. But it
probably was in advance of its time, and its five years of his-
tory, however creditable and fruitful, only demonstrated that
AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN NEW HAVEN INSTITUTION. 35
fact. ITevertheless it appeals somewhat to the local pride of
a community like this that just such an institution, the first
of its kind, an honor to its founders, of repute throughout the
country, the spring of cultural influences which subsequently
flowed far and wide, should have originated here. It was the
pioneer of the many colleges for young women now so well
known, and so great a power. Or, at any rate, it was a
harbinger of the good things that were to come. It was in
this conviction, and I think from no other reason — although
it is not much against a man that he has some sentiment about
his birthplace — that I yielded to a request, and prepared the
paper, which I have had the honor to lay before you.
ELI WHITNEY BLAKE, SCIENTIST AND
INVENTOR.
By Henry T. Blake.
[Read December 21, 1908.]
Eli Whitney Blake was born at Westboro, Mass., January 27,
1795, His father was a country farmer of moderate means, and
his uncle, Eli Whitney, on account of the boy's name, assumed
the expense of his college education. He graduated at Yale in
1816 and soon afterwards entered the Law School at Litch-
field, then conducted by Judge Gould. During his second year
in that school he was called away by Mr. Whitney to aid him
in the work of enlarging his arms manufactory at Whitney-
ville and in the general conduct of his business ; Mr. Blake's
brother, Philos, being associated with him in the same work.
While in the employment of Mr. Whitney, Mr. Blake did
some outside engineering work. Among other things he made
one of the preliminary surveys for the Farmington canal, hav-
ing Mr. Henry Farnani as his assistant, and with this joint
labor commenced a friendship between the two young men,
which lasted through life. During this period also he was a
member of the Second Company, Governor's Foot Guard and
at the time of the Medical College riots in January, 1824, he
was sent as lieutenant in command of twenty men to protect
the Medical College building ; a duty which was accomplished,
and several of the rioters were captured by the military and
lodged in jail.
On July 5, 1822, Mr. Blake married Eliza Maria O'Brien
of 'New Haven, who, as a faithful and devoted wife and mother,
shared his joys and sorrows for nearly fifty-four years, and who
ELI WHITNEY BLAKE. 37
died April 15, 1876. The domestic history of the pair, how-
ever, does not come within the purpose of this paper.
Toward the year 1822, Mr. Whitney's health began to fail,
so that he gave less and less personal attention to the Whitney-
ville business. He died in 1825, leaving Mr. Blake and his
brother Philos in charge of the arms factory and its affairs,
which they continued to conduct until 1835. In that year
these two with another, John, under the firm name of "Blake
Brothers," started a factory of their own at Westville for
making door locks and latches and other articles of domestic
hardware. This firm was the first in this country and prob-
ably in the world to introduce the now universally used
"mortise" locks and latches which are inserted into the body
of the door; superseding the previous clumsy and disfiguring
"box" locks and latches of English manufacture which were
affixed to the surface of the door, and of which specimens may
still be occasionally seen in ancient houses. They were also
the first to manufacture numerous other household equipments
promoting convenience and economy in domestic life which
have since come into common use. This business was carried
on at Westville until about 1880, when, the other two members
of the firm having died, and the profits of the business dimin-
ished through excessive competition, it was brought to a close.
Meantime, for many years Mr. Blake's personal attention had
been fully occupied by the affairs connected with his most
important invention, the Blake Stone Breaker (of which more
hereafter), and he had now reached an age when repose was
the first consideration. He therefore retired from active work
and passed a quiet and happy old age in the bosom of his
family. He nevertheless retained an undiminished interest in
all the public and scientific questions of the day, until, in the
full possession of his unusual mental powers, he died at ISTew
Haven, August 18, 1886, in his 92d year. The residence, ]SI"o.
77 Elm Street, which was his home for the last fifty-six years
of his life, is now occupied by the Graduates' Club.
An incident illustrating Mr. Blake's practical ingenuity,
which created much interest at the time among the medical fra-
38 ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
ternity of l^ew Haven, may perhaps be related here. While he
was in charge of the factory at Whitneyville, a small boy of
the neighborhood stuffed a pebble into one of his ears as far
as he could push it and was unable to get it out. Being a
modest youth, he made no report of this achievement and in a
day or two the pebble was so imbedded in inflammation that only
a small part of its surface could be seen. The boy's suffering
was intense and the local doctors could devise no way to remove
the pebble except by cutting into the ear, an operation certainly
painful, and possibly serious. Mr. Blake then took the matter
in hand and removed the pebble in the following manner.
Having pushed a stiff cardboard tube into the ear so as to
press back the inflammation and expose more of the pebble's
surface, he separated the end of a strong string into its compo-
nent fibers, and inserting this end into the tube he spread the
fibers over the surface of the pebble and fixed them to it with
a strong cement. Then when the cement had been hardened
by blowing air upon it with a bellows, a steady pull on the
string brought out the pebble. In after years the late Dr.
Knight frequently mentioned this operation to his students as
a clever bit of surgery; and, within my own recollection, the
pebble with its string and tube attached was preserved as a
relic in the museum of the Medical College.
Throughout his long life Mr. Blake was keenly interested in
all scientific subjects and problems, particularly those connected
with the department of physics. He early became and always
continued to be an active member of the Connecticut Academy
of Science and Arts and served for a part of the time as its
President. Possessing a spirit of original investigation, united
with acute perceptions and mathematical abilities of a high
order, he was a frequent contributor to the American Journal
of Science, then conducted by the elder Professor Silliman,
and was held in high respect by that distinguished man, who
refers to him in "the Yale Book'' as "an able investigator of
mechanical and physical problems." Mr. Blake's first contri-
bution to the Journal was in 1824 (he being then 29 years old),
and was an elaborate treatise on the proper form for the teeth
ELI WHITTs^EY BLAKE.
39
of cog wheels. The paper, which occupies sixteen pages of the
Journal, with mathematical demonstrations and diagrams, com-
pletely covered a field which had been only partially worked by
previous writers, and was for many years thereafter referred to
in scientific publications as "Blake's Exhaustive Treatise" on
that branch of mechanics.
In 1827 he published a paper in the Journal entitled "The
Crank Problem, with Eemarks on the Transmission of Power
by Machinery," and, in 1835, another, entitled "On the
Resistance of Fluids, with Eemarks on the Received Theory
Relating to that Subject." These two papers, although nine
years apart, are here mentioned together because their origin
and main purpose was in both cases the same. In the first case,
a dispute had arisen between two previous contributors to the
Journal on the question whether there was a loss of power in
the crank motion. In the second, there was a similar dispute
between two other contributors with respect to the laws which
govern the resistance of fluids. In both cases, Mr. Blake joined
the discussion with a purpose to show that the dispute had been
caused by the indiscriminate use by both parties of the same
term "force" as applied to three different forms of its mani-
festation, viz. : Force as simple pressure ; force producing
motion for a certain distance, or a certain amount of work;
and force producing a certain amount of motion or work in
a certain time. These three forms of "force," he insisted, are
different in kind as mechanical elements, and should be dis-
tinguished from each other in all mechanical discussions. The
first form of force, he contended, consists of only one attribute,
like linear measure; the second, of two, like superficial meas-
ure ; and the third, of three, like solid measure ; and the same
word "force," he declared, can be no more properly used to
express these three different things, than the word "foot" can
be used indiscriminately to mean a linear foot, a square foot,
or a cubic foot. The inevitable effect of such a careless use
of language in mechanical discussions, he maintained, must be
misunderstanding and confusion, not only between the con-
'testants, but in the reasonings of each; and this result, he
40 ELI WHITXEY BLAKE.
claimed, was manifest in the papers imder consideration. He
then in each case took np the problem under discussion, point-
ing out the errors of the disputants both in their arguments and
their results, and giving in each case what he claimed to be
the correct solution.
In both these papers of Mr. Blake, written, as before stated,
nine years apart, he took occasion to criticize the existing
text-books and other treatises on Mechanics for not making clear
this distinction between the different forms of force and their
different values in physical discussions, declaring that so far
as his "observation extended, more errors had arisen from mis-
apprehension here than from all other sources." "It is this
error," he says, "pervading treatises on mechanics which has
rendered them worse than useless as guides to practical men
on subjects relating to the application and use of mechanical
power" ; and adds the remark, "Until this distinction is laid
down in limine as fundamental in reference to such application
and use, theory and practice will woo each other almost in vain."
The last of these papers, which related to the Resistance of
Fluids, was sharply replied to by one of the writers who had
been criticized by it. In this reply he denied that Mr. Blake's
solution of the problem in hand was correct, and he especially
criticized his distinctions respecting the use of the term "force,"
charging him with presumption in differing from ISTewton, who
made no such distinctions, and whose laws of force were uni-
versally accepted by physicists. To this attack, Mr. Blake
rejoined at some length in a third contribution to the Journal,
defending the correctness of his solution, and answering the
charge of presumption as follows : "I am not aware that in
the article referred to I impeached the demonstrations or con-
clusions of l^ewton. I imagine that the points which I called
in question were rather inferences illegitimately drawn from
ISTewton's reasonings. If, however, I have arrayed myself
against iN'ewton, I shall not retreat or seek refuge behind any
name, but take my stand on the immutable laws of iN'ature.
If these will not sustain me, let me be put down.''
As supplementary to the foregoing and perhaps somewhat
abstruse disquisition, it is proper to state that modern text-
ELI AVHITXEY BLAKE. 41
books on physics make the same distinctions as those indicated
by Mr. Blake in 1827 and 1836. "Force" itself, or simple
pressure, is measured by its unit, the dyne. "Energy," or force
in the form of work, is force multiplied by distance and is
measured by the erg, or foot-pound. "Power" is work divided
by time and its units are ergs per second, horse-power, kilowatt,
etc. The terms for these physical quantities are still sometimes
loosely applied, but the fact that their fundamental differences
were pointed out so clearly by Mr. Blake at those early dates,
indicates that he was in advance of his contemporaries in
appreciating the distinctions to be made between them.
In 1848, Mr. Blake made another contribution to the Journal
of Science in a paper entitled "A Theoretic Determination of
the Law of the Flow of Elastic Fluids through Orifices." This
paper was one of much practical importance and had some
interesting consequences. It had its origin in the following
manner: A new steam engine which had been purchased for
the factory at Westville disappointed him with respect to the
power it developed and he sought to discover the reason. After
careful study, he concluded that the ports or passages for the
steam entering or leaving the cylinder were not of the proper
size. On writing for information to the reputable firm which
had constructed the engine, he learned that the ports were in
exact conformity to the rule long established and accepted by
the best authorities. Mr. Blake thereupon looked up the
authorities and the principles on which the rule had been
arrived at and became convinced that the rule was incorrect.
He therefore took up the problem anew to discover by mathe-
matical investigation the law which governs the flow of elastic
fluids through narrow openings. The abstruse processes by
which he reached his final results are given in his paper and
the conclusion was that the passages in a steam engine for the
flow of steam from the cylinder should be twice as large as
the established rule prescribed.
After this paper appeared in the Journal it was vigorously
assailed by various experts in letters to the editor of the
Journal, though no formal refutation of it was offered. The
protests, however, were so numerous and respectable that Mr.
42 ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
Blake determined to test tlie correctness of his views experi-
mentally. Accordingly, during sucli time as lie could spare
from his pressing business, he constructed an apparatus for
the purpose. In 1851 he published in the Journal a descrip-
tion of the apparatus, with an account of the test, the result
of which established beyond dispute the soundness of his view
as it had been previously demonstrated theoretically. ISTothing
more was heard from the critics, but there was a sequel to the
incident twenty-four years later which remains to be told.
In the year 1866, Mr. Robert I^apier of Glasgow, Scotland,
the owner and manager of one of the most extensive establish-
ments in Great Britain for the construction of ships and marine
engines, published in the London Engineer an account of
experiments made by him on the flow of steam through an
engine, by which he had reached precisely the same results
which Mr. Blake had demonstrated in 1848 ; such demonstra-
tion, however, being unknown to Mr. Napier. In January,
1875, Mr. Blake, who was unaware of Mr. I^apier's experi-
ments, was surprised by the receipt of the following letter :
Hyde Park St., Glasgow, Jan. 2, 1875.
Eli W. Blake, Esq.,
Dear 8ir — In 1866, I published my views about the flow of steam,
with the results of experiments, and was not aware until several years
afterwards that you had published the self-same views more than eighteen
years before me. I have no doubt that you, with comparatively few
experiments to support you, would find if possible more difficulty than
I did to convince anyone of the truth of my views.
I think I may safely say that I should to this date hardly have convinced
anyone had not Professor Rankine come to my rescue by writing papers
in the Engineer in November and December, 1869, and through that, I
understand that our views are accepted generally in Germany and among
a number of mathematicians of the first class in Britain.
I thought you would like to see that you were not quite forgotten in
the thing. When writing my letter to the Engineer, now sent (December
25, 1874), I had nothing to refer to as to the date of your views being
published or I should have mentioned it.
Yours very truly,
EOBEET D. NaPIEB.
Accompanying this letter was a copy of the Engineer, con-
taining an acknowledgment by Mr. ISTapier of Mr. Blake as
the prior discoverer of the new rule for the flow of steam, and
ELI WHITNEY BLAKE. 43
of his demonstration of it by a process of reasoning "which/'
says Mr. ISTapier, "I have to admit that I cannot understand,
but I have met some to whom it was more convincing than my
own."
Surely such a voluntary and cordial acknowledgment of
priority from a British to an American discoverer is of itself
worthy of commemoration as a notable historical event. It may
be added that all steam engines are now built with ports con-
structed according to the rule first laid down by Mr. Blake.
In the course of his investigations into the properties of
elastic fluids, Mr. Blake became impressed with a new view
respecting the manner in which pulses or sound-waves are
propagated through the atmosphere, and in 1848 he published
a paper in the Journal of Science entitled "A Determination
of the General Laws of the Propagation of Pulses in Elastic
Media" ; in which he maintained that the velocity of sound is
not invariably the same under like conditions, as was then and
still is generally believed, but that it is affected by the sound's
intensity. This view he further supported by another paper
which appeared in the Journal in 1850, entitled "Influence of
the Known Laws of Motion on the Expansion of Elastic
Eluids." In both these papers he developed at considerable
length his theory as to the manner in which pulses of compres-
sion are propagated through elastic fluids like the atmosphere,
the argument being contained in a course of reasoning which
only those versed in the higher mathematics can follow. For
many years thereafter Mr. Blake's business activities prevented
him from pursuing his scientific investigations, but when in
18Y9 his Alma Mater, Yale, conferred on him the honorary
degree of LL.D., he felt impelled to revive the discussion of the
subject last referred to, as one in which, after thirty years'
reflection, he found his views confirmed, and upon which he
felt that there was something more to be said. He therefore
took up the subject with new zest, and in December, 1881 (he
then being nearly 87 years old), he submitted for publication
in the Journal of Science a paper entitled "The Eorm, Forma-
tion and Movements of Sonorous Waves." In this paper he
'44: ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
reviewed the views of previous writers on the velocity and
propagation of sound-waves through the atmosphere, and their
disagreements with each other, and pressed his owai theory as
the only one which conformed to dynamic laws. The then
editors of the Journal, however, were not prepared to accept
for publication ideas which did not accord with those generally
embraced by physicists, and declined the article. Whereupon
Mr. Blake decided to place his views on record in another form.
He therefore collected all the papers which he had written
relating to the laws and properties of elastic iluids and pub-
lished them in 1882, in a small volume for private distribu-
tion, under the title, "Original Solutions of Several Problems
in Aero-dynamics."
In the preface to this volume he says that he presents these
papers "as a contribution towards a more full development
of an interesting and important branch of physics" ; and after
its publication he often expressed his confidence that the time
would come when the truth of all the views set forth in the
volume would be universally recognized by physicists, as that
of some of them had already been acknowledged after a period
of skepticism. Whether this expectation will ever be realized
with regard to his theory respecting the varying velocities of
sound-waves and their mode of propagation, still remains to
be seen. While the general view continues to be that all sound'
waves move with the same velocity under like conditions, it is
admitted that such velocity, after many years of experiment,
is not accurately known, and that a margin of doubt still exists
sufficient to make the theory of varying velocities, at least
within that margin, a possible one. In fact, some of the recorded
experiments distinctly favor even a greater degree of varia-
tion than this. The question, therefore, seems remanded for
solution, if it can ever be solved at all, to the realm of mathe-
matics and dynamic laws. It was on the conviction that he had
so solved it that Mr. Blake's confidence in the ultimate accept-
ance of his views was based ; his attitude being that which was
expressed in his language already quoted, in the case of another
disputed position, "I take my stand on the immutable laws
of ITature. If these will not sustain me, let me be put down."
ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
45
We now come to that invention of Mr. Blake's which has
given him a world-wide reputation as a promoter of human
progress and prosperity. This invention, which is known all
over the world as "The Blake crusher" (or, as he preferred
to call it, "the Blake stone breaker"), received its United
States patent fifty years ago this year, or to be exact, on June
15, 1858; and as half a century has now elapsed since its
official birth, this seems to be an appropriate time to review
the influence it has exerted during that period as an economic
and social factor in this and other countries of our globe. As
this paper, however, is of a personal nature in its primary
purpose, it will be proper for me to begin with a brief account
of the origin and development of an invention which was so
important in its character and so far-reaching in its results.
Fortunately we have Mr. Blake's own story of its achievement
in a sworn statement submitted by him to the Commissioner of
Patents in 1872, on his application for an extension of his
patent; the law then requiring that on such application the
applicant should show among other things the labor which the
invention had cost him and its value to the public.
In this statement Mr. Blake begins by saying that his atten-
tion was first directed to the subject when, in 1851, he was
appointed by the town of ISTew Haven one of a committee to
construct about two miles of macadam road on one of the prin-
cipal avenues of the city. (This was Whalley Avenue from
Broadway to Westville bridge.) "iTo work of the kind," he
says, "had then been done in the neighborhood, and I believe
that at that time there were not a dozen miles of macadam road
in all the ]!Tew England states." He says that he devoted
himself at once to a careful and thorough study of all the books
he could find on the subject, and found that no way had been
devised to break stone into fragments except by hand hammers,
costing two days' labor to produce only a cubic yard of road
metal, "and this in coarser fragments than was desirable for
a good road-bed." He adds: "the importance of a machine
to do the work became immediately obvious and from that time
for a period of seven years, scarcely a day, or an hour, passed
in which my mind was not mainly occupied with the subject."
46 ELI WHITNEY BliAKE.
On careful reflection lie saw that the problem before him
was to contrive an apparatus which should act at the same time
on a considerable number of stones of different sizes and shapes,
and from which the fragments when reduced to the desired
size should be rapidly and automatically removed. Three years-
had passed before his mind had clearly conceived the solution
of this problem, viz., a pair of upright jaws converging down-
wards; the space between them at the top being sufficiently
large to receive the stones to be broken, and that at the bottom
small enough to permit the passage of such fragments as were
broken to the required size; and then imparting to one of the
jaws a short and powerful vibratory movement.
This simple device having been decided on, it still remained
to organize the machine in its practical form; to fix the mode
of imparting movement to the vibratory jaw in such manner
as to secure the most compact arrangement of parts with the
least amount of friction, and sufficient power to crush trap
rock by a pressure of 27,000 pounds to the square inch. The
method by which he met these conditions was often referred to
by the late Prof. William P. Trowbridge in his class and
public lectures as a notable achievement in mechanical com-
binations ; but simple as it was, the study and computations
involved occupied the remainder of the seven years that were
spent on the invention. The form and strength of every part
was worked out in detail on paper before a step was taken in
construction, and so carefully and correctly was this done that
the first machine set up proved to be as perfect in all its
working qualities as the last one that has been yet produced
after fifty years of experience.
Since Mr. Blake's patent has expired, and with it the exclu-
sive right to manufacture his invention, vast numbers of stone
crushers have been put on the market by other makers, many
of which contain some immaterial modification in shape or
arrangement of parts ; but all being alike in the essential fea-
tures which were original with Mr. Blake and were covered
by his patent, viz., the upright convergent jaws between which
the stones are crushed by a short vibration imparted to one
ELI WHITi^EY BLAKE. 4:Y
of the jaws. All of these machines, therefore, with whatever
names they are labeled, are generically "the Blake crusher,"
and are so recognized by engineers and experts all over the
world, with whom the terms "jaw crusher" and "Blake
crusher" are synonymous. Whenever, therefore, this paper
refers to "the Blake crushers" which are now in use, or have
been since 1858, it means all machines by whomsoever made
which contain the upright, convergent crushing jaws, con-
structed and operating as described in the Blake patent, includ-
ing those in which the movable jaw has a rotary as well as a
vibratory motion; just as all cotton gins that have been made
or used, whatever slight changes may have been introduced in
them by different makers, since they all possess the essential
features which mark the original invention, are spoken of
everywhere and by everybody as "the Whitney cotton gin."
The comparison just made was hardly needed as a reminder
in this connection of that other mechanical creation, half a
century before the genesis of the stone breaker; equally
original, simple and complete, and which has had a like impor-
tant influence on human conditions. The parallel features in
the two cases are in fact remarkable. As Mr. Blake had no
pre-existing machine or method of labor as a starting point
for his invention, so Mr. Whitney was obliged to devise a new
mode of separating the cotton fiber from the seed before he
could contrive the mechanism to do it. In both cases the
resulting machines were so simple and perfect for their pur-
pose that they have never been materially varied from ; and both
are the only devices that ever have been or probably ever will
be used for their special objects. Moreover, it is an interest-
ing circumstance that two such epoch-making inventions as the
cotton gin and the stone crusher should have been produced
by uncle and nephew, born in the same village, residents of
the same city, bearing the same name, and so intimately asso-
ciated in their lives. The coincidences extended to the business
history and results of the two inventions. In the case of Mr.
Whitney, the European wars which lasted through the whole
term of his patent cut off the exportation and practically the
48 ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
production of cotton during that period. And in the case of
Mr. Blake, the Civil war in this country and its after effects
almost entirely prevented for many years the public improve-
ments and new enterprises which would have created a demand
for his machine. To both of them also came the usual expe-
rience of inventors in the activity of infringers and the law's
delays, so that in the end neither of them reaped more than a
very meager pecuniary reward for his genius and labors.
I have called the cotton gin and the stone breaker epoch-
makins: inventions. Bv this I do not mean that either of them
is to be ranked with those superlative productions of the human
mind which have harnessed the forces of nature into the service
of man, like the steam engine, the telegraph, the telephone, and
photography. ISTeither are they to be classed as merely labor-
saving machines whose effect is confined to the cheapening of
production without ulterior social or economic results ; though
such was doubtless their standing until their wider influence
began to appear. "While the use of the cotton gin was confined
to a few planters, its value was measured by the profit it
brought to its users. But with the changes which it subse-
quently wrought in the commercial and political world, as well
as in the domestic conditions of mankind, it took position as
a conspicuous agency for national advancement in power and
wealth and for the general well-being of the human race.
So in 1872, when Mr. Blake applied for the extension of
his patent and was required to show the value of his inven-
tion, there being then only 509 of his machines in use in the
United States, the value of the invention could best be shown
by the saving of cost which up to that time it had effected
in the various industries in which these machines had been
employed. Accordingly, the proof was directed principally to
this point, and it was shown by the undisputed testimony of
numerous experts that the saving in money which had been
caused by ten years' use of these 500 machines could not pos-
sibly be less than $55,560,000, and was doubtless much more.
What such saving would now amount to, nearly forty years
later, several thousand machines having been in use for most
ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
49
of that period, it would of course be impossible to estimate.
Moreover, such an estimate, if possible, would be misleading,
for the reason that by far the greater part of the work that
the stone breaker has accomplished would not have been under-
taken at all if hand labor alone had been available. In fact,
the value of the invention has now ceased to be a question of
figures and must be measured by the kind and extent of its
influence on the social and economic conditions of mankind.
Applying this rule, therefore, it will be appropriate and pos-
sibly interesting to consider some of the methods in which the
Blake crusher has operated during the last fifty years to benefit
the human race.
We will consider as the first of these methods its advancement
of civilization by the improvement of roads. It is a trite
saying of obvious truth that "the civilization of a country may
be known by its roads," and the corollary of this proposition
is equally sound, that the civilization of any country is advanced
by the betterment of its highways. It will hardly be believed
by the present generation that fifty years ago a macadam road
was so rare in this country as to be a curiosity, but it is never-
theless true that there were then hardly fifty miles of good
macadam road in the whole United States. At that time the
best macadam roads that existed anywhere were constructed
of coarse hand-broken stone and their rough surface had to be
painfully worn down to smoothness by the travel over it. At
the present day such roads, being universally made with the
use of the crusher, are, as we all know, smooth and hard as
a floor at the outset. Doubtless it was this circumstance, as well
as the less cost of construction, that gave rise to the enthusiastic
movement for "good roads" which, beginning about sixteen
years ago, has since pervaded this country and Europe, and
brought about the International Congress on Road Improvement
which was held in Paris in October, 1908. As respects its
progress in our own country, I learn from our efficient state
highway commissioner, Mr. Macdonald, that twenty-two states
now give liberal aid to highway improvement. There are now
(in 1908), he tells me, 38,622 miles of macadam public roads
50 ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
already constructed in the United States and their mileage is
constantly increasing. The state of New York in 1905 estab-
lished a fund of fifty millions of dollars for the improvement
of its public roads; and our own State Legislature at its last
session appropriated $500,000 as state aid to the towns for
two years in similar work. That these highway improvements
are rapidly changing social and economic conditions, especially
in the country districts, is clearly evident. Better market
facilities with the means of increased neighborhood intercourse
and the consequent reoccupation of worn-out farms for culti-
vation, and villa sites ; the establishment of Rural Mail Delivery
with its results of a closer association of the rural population
with the outside world and its intellectual activities ; these and
other changes which are in progress are clearly connected
directly or indirectly with improved highways.
Another change from the same cause, both in city and coun-
try, which is obvious to every one with an eye, an ear, or a
nose, appears in the swarms of automobiles which practically
monopolize every avenue of travel or trafiic. Forty years ago
the late Frederick Law Olmsted, in enumerating the prospec-
tive beneficial effects of the Blake crusher through its general
improvement of roads, predicted that one result would be the
use of road locomotives for the transportation of freight. The
road locomotives have surely come! ISTot as Mr. Olmsted
anticipated, in the humble guise of a servant, but as haughty
sovereigns of the highway, realizing that other vision of a more
ancient prophet : "The chariots shall rage in the streets ; they
shall jostle against one another in the highways; they shall
seem like torches, they shall run like lightnings." And he might
have added, "With fiendish yells they shall tear up the road-
ways; before them shall be terror, and behind them death,
dust, stench and destruction." Doubtless these new conditions
indicate an advancing state of civilization, just as civilization
develops new diseases of mind and body; but the problem
how to separate the abnormal results from the normal; how
to suppress the prevailing abuse while preserving the reasonable
and beneficial use of these latest products of human ingenuity.
ELI WHITNEY BLAKE. 51
is one of the most pressing problems that now confront the
present generation.
Railroads in this age of the world are only another form
of highways, and we may therefore properly allude in this con-
nection to the now general use of broken stone for ballasting
railway tracks. The effects of this practice are to give greater
stability and durability to the track and thus promote the
safety and comfort of their daily millions of passengers. Those
of us who can remember the stifling dust which always fl.lled
the cars not fifty years ago, and made long linen wrappers
indispensable garments for every traveler, will appreciate the
modern absence of this nuisance with gratitude to the stone
crusher, through which it was abolished. The immense saving
effected by broken stone ballast in cost of maintenance, both
of permanent way and of rolling stock, will appeal with equal
force to the railroad companies.
The second point of view from which we will consider the
stone breaker is as a creator of wealth by its influence on the
art of mining.
In most mining operations the ore is taken from its bed in
masses of different sizes, the largest of which were formerly
reduced to smaller fragments by hand labor preparatory to
pulverization by stamps, rollers and other devices adapted to
that purpose. Some of these ores are very refractory and so
hard that under the old method of treatment they had to be
roasted before they could be broken up by hammers, and this
necessity, as well as the subsequent cost of hand-breaking, added
largely to the expense of the metal extraction. Moreover, in
the process of hand-breaking the ores of the precious metals,
it often happened that pieces of ore that were temptingly rich
found their way into the laborers' pockets, thus causing a
serious loss in the business, the amount of which, of course,
could never be known. With the advent of the Blake crusher,
however, not only the roasting was done away with, but the
hand-breaking and thievery also ; the result being, as was testi-
fied to by several experts before the Commissioner of Patents
in 1872, that many mines became profitable after its use which
52 ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
before had been worked at a loss. This will be easily believed
since it was also shown that the known and computable saving
in mining expenses which had been effected by 375 Blake
crushers in ten years was certainly not less than $28,375,000.
Since 1872, many times that number of jaw crushers have
been operating in the mining regions of this country, and dur-
ing the same period there has been an enormous increase in
the annual metal output of the United States : that of pig
iron having grown from 1,850,000 tons in 1870 to 25,442,000
tons in 1907 ; that of copper from 28,224,000 pounds in 1870
to 879,242,000 pounds in 1907 ; and that of silver from about
10,000,000 ounces in 1870 to 58,850,000 ounces in 1907. For-
tunately for the stability of our financial system, the annual
production of gold has only a little more than doubled during
the same period.
It would be perhaps too much to claim that this remark-
able growth in metal production is chiefly due to the use of
the Blake crusher in mining; nevertheless, in view of the
testimony above referred to, there can be no doubt that such
use has materially contributed to it. To that extent, therefore,
the invention may justly be regarded as an important creator
of wealth, both directly to the mine owners and indirectly to
the country at large, whose general prosperity is more or less
enhanced by the development of its metallic resources.
A third method in which the Blake crusher has operated
to promote human progress is by opening up new fields of
industrial art, especially in connection with the use of con-
crete. In 1872, at the hearing before the Commissioner of
Patents, it appeared that out of the 509 machines then in use
in the United States, only eight were employed in the pro-
duction of concrete, and these were in public works of such
importance that cost was a subordinate consideration. Il^ever-
theless, it was shown that the use of the machine in those works
had saved at least fifty per cent, over the cost of hand labor;
and it was also shown that by reason of the varying sizes of
the broken stone product, only two-thirds as much cement was
needed as for the stone broken by hand, while a better quality
ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
53
of concrete was obtained. These facts led one of the experts
who testified to them to express his belief that ''as one effect
of the Blake crusher, the use of concrete in this country would
be largely increased and that it had a very great future before
it." Confident as was the prediction, even its author could not
have anticipated that in less than forty years so extensive and
varied would the uses of concrete become, through the reduced
cost and unlimited supply of its broken stone material, that
the period would be already spoken of as "the Age of Concrete."
Then it was chiefly employed for submerged foundations on
an uneven rock bottom, and for the lining of reservoirs. J^ow
the entire superstructures of dams, lighthouses, fortifications,
sea walls and reservoirs are often composed of it. Whole
blocks of commercial and manufacturing buildings are built
of it for solidity, as well as security against fire and earth-
quakes; and it is hardly necessary to say that without the
reduced cost and unlimited supply of broken stone, already
referred to, the subaqueous and subterranean tunnels for travel
and trafiic, which are beginning to form such an important
feature of our civilization, would not exist. So also in order
to supply the five or six million cubic yards of concrete
required for the immense locks and dams and other construc-
tions of the Panama Canal the Blake invention has been
practically if not absolutely indispensable.
Still less could that prophet of 1872 have anticipated the
new and vast field for the use of concrete which has been
opened by the recent invention or rediscovery of reinforcing
it with imbedded steel rods. By the use of this device bridges
are now constructed of concrete with spans of 200 feet or
more; also steej)les, domes and sky-scraping towers, composed
of steel frames incased in concrete ; not to specify the numer-
ous applications of a humbler character with which we are
familiar and which are appearing almost daily, concrete boats
being among the latest to be announced. In fact, it would be
hard to say what advancements in the industrial arts, which
as yet are only abstract conceptions, may not in the future
become concrete realities.
54 ELI WHITNEY BLAKE.
Lest it be thought that this last suggestion is of a merely
humorous or fanciful character, I will refer to a new field
for the use of concrete which is now being successfully culti-
vated in our own city and which owes its origin directly to
the invention of the Blake crusher, since by that machine alone
can trap rock be reduced cheaply and in large quantities to
fragments small enough to pass through a half-inch screen.
With this fine material a concrete is now made which can be
moulded into the most delicate forms of architectural decora-
tion, which, when set, become as hard and durable as granite.
Thus it becomes possible to produce, at a moderate cost, archi-
tectural structures which in wealth and variety of ornament
may rival the most splendid cathedrals of Europe and whose
solidity and weather-resisting qualities will be even superior.
Doubtless some critics may object that moulded decorations
must necessarily be inartistic because cheap, but it is hard to
see why they should be more inartistic in concrete than in
plaster or bronze. Moreover, moulded forms in concrete, when
hardened, may be tooled over by hand, thus giving them the
reality as well as the effect of hand productions. !N"evertheless,
those who have seen the burlesque figures in concrete which
were made here in New Haven by Mr. Laurie for the new gov-
ernment buildings at West Point, will be slow to admit that
moulded concrete has no legitimate place in architectural deco-
ration. The canons of art have been modified before now by
new discoveries, like photography and color printing; and the
spirit of art is or ought to be sufiiciently progressive to welcome
into its province every new invention or new material by which
beautiful forms can be more widely diffused among the people.
Such diffusion means artistic education, and if the artistic
use of concrete shall grow to large proportions, as now seems
possible, this also with its refining influences may be classed
among the indirect benefits which the Blake Crusher has con-
ferred upon mankind.
In the foregoing review of Mr. Blake's services to the world
through his invention of the stone crusher, I have taken into
account only its beneficial effects in our own country, and dur-
ELI WHITNEY BLAKE. 55
ing the first half century of its existence. When we consider
that this machine is also largely used in all the civilized and
some of the uncivilized countries of the globe, there, as here,
promoting civilization, creating wealth, and advancing the
industrial arts, and that it will so continue to be used in an
increasing ratio for ages to come, we shall more fully appreciate
the extent of that service ; and will also recognize a reason why
his name, which has become historic throughout the world,
should not be without honor among his own people and in his
own town.
REV. WILLIAM HOOKE, 1601-1678.
Bj Rev. Chaelbs Ray Palmek, D.D.
[Read March 22, 1909.]
I am to speak to you this evening of one of tlie early ministers
of ISTew Haven, now perhaps too little remembered. I refer
to Rev. William Hooke, the colleague of Rev. John Davenport.
It appears from a transcript of his registration in his college
at Oxford that he was from Southampton, and was born in
1601. He is described as "the son of a gentleman," that
term being, of course, an indication of social rank. Careful
inquiry made more than fifty-five years ago, at the instance
of the Hon. Abbott Lawrence, then Minister to England,
elicited nothing more definite as to his family, however, than
that the name was not an uncommon one in that locality. But
in 1901 there was published (by Macmillans) a book entitled
"Scenes of Rural Life in Hampshire among the Manors of
Bramshott," by the Rev. W. W. Capes, who was the rector of
Bramshott,^ in which it was claimed that Mr. Hooke belonged
to a family known in the seventeenth century as "the Hookes
of Bramshott," a prominent family in Hampshire at that time,
and well known to have had Parliamentary sympathies in the
great civil war. A daughter of John Hooke of Bramshott,
Anna Hooke, was the wife of John Pym, the famous Parlia-
mentary leader, who has been called the founder of party
government in England. We have facsimiles of the autograph
and seal of William Hooke, f and the arms upon the seal are
identical with those borne by the lord of the Manor of Bram-
* See the volume cited in Boston Public Library, p. 167, et seq. The
publishers say the book is out of print.
t Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Series IV, Vol. 7, at end.
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
57
shott. The inference is easy that, as Mr. Capes affirms, he
was a near kinsman of that personage. JsTothing is known,
however, of his early years, or of his education, up to his enter-
ing college in 1616. Trinity College, Oxford, was the one
chosen by him, or for him. This was the earliest Post-Reforma-
tion foundation, having been founded by Henry VIII in 1554,
on the site of a suppressed Benedictine institution. ISTaturally
it has its own honorable traditions. It takes a just pride in
distinguished names upon its lists. Chillingworth, Selden, the
elder William Pitt (Earl of Chatham), Roundell Palmer (Lord
Selborne), Cardinal I^ewman (afterward Fellow of Oriel), Sir
Richard Burton, Dr. E. A. Freeman, among the dead ; and the
Rt. Hon. Sir James Bryce, the present Ambassador of Great
Britain in this country, among the living, are counted among
its illustrious sons. When Mr. Hooke joined it, however, it
was not much over sixty years old, and one of the youngest
of the august sisterhood we know as Oxford University. But
he did not altogether escape observation. Sir Anthony Wood,
in his "Fasti Oxonienses," — not too friendly an authority —
says of him that ''he was esteemed a close student, and a relig-
ious person." Having pursued his studies here, he received
his B.A. degi-ee on June 28, 1620, and proceeded M.A. on
May 26, 1623. He took orders in the Church of England. The
earliest note of him as a clerg^nnan is "that he was instituted
to the Vicarage of Clatford, in Hampshire, May -4, 1627. This
he left in 1632, and became the Vicar of Axmouth, Devon,
July 26, 1632. His pronounced Puritan tendencies subjected
him, like many others, to serious antagonisms and many embar-
rassments, and at length occasioned his emigration to l!^ew
England. The date of his coming is not known with exactness,
but it is believed to have been in 1636, — certainly it was not
far either way from that year.* He was cordially received in
Boston, by men to whom he was known. Rev. Richard Mather,
the minister of Dorchester, and the progenitor of all the New
^'' He should not be confounded^ as he sometimes has been, with another
William Hooke, originally from Yorkshire, and a Representative to the
■ General Court from Salisbury. Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Series IV, Vol. 7.
58 EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
England Mathers, altbougli four or five years older, had been
his contemporary in Oxford, and he together with his colleague,
the Rev. John Wilson (subsequently of Medfield, Mass.),
became Mr. Hooke's friends and counsellors. In the following
year, 163Y, his name appears in connection with the pur-chase
of Cohannet, now Taunton, from the Tettiquet (Titticut)
Indians. He interested himself in the settlement of this region.
A leading spirit in the movement was a woman of some note,*
Mrs. Elizabeth Poole, who was the actual purchaser of the lands,
and he became her spiritual adviser. He was one of the
original members of the First Church of Taunton, and became
its first pastor. Mr. Mather and Mr. Wilson took part in his
ordination to this charge. There was installed with him on
the same day the Rev. ISTicholas Street, to be his associate and
successor in the church in Taunton, and afterwards to follow
him to ISTew Haven, as is well knoMm, and be a minister of the
First Church there from 1659 to his death in 1674.
At Taunton Mr. Hooke became favorably known as an able
and efficient minister, and he retained his office for about seven
years. At least two sermons preached here by Mr. Hooke were
published, and are still extant. They were Fast-Day sermons,
and were published, one in 1640, the other in 1645. In 1839,
on occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of the First
Church in IS^ew Haven, the pastor, Rev. Leonard Bacon, D.D.,
preached a series of historical discourses, which subsequently
were published. f Any one who speaks of Mr. Hooke naturally
finds himself indebted to this volume. In one of these dis-
courses he makes copious extracts from the first of these ser-
mons of Mr. Hooke, intimating that but one copy of it was
known to be in existence, and that was in the library of Har-
vard College. That was the opinion of President Everett, as
late as the year 1850, but some half dozen copies or more were
subsequently brought to light, and the whole sermon, together
with others from Mr. Hooke's pen, was reprinted in Rev.
* Emery's Hist, of Taunton, Vol. 1.
Paper of James E. Seaver, Esq., in Collections of Old Col. Hist. Soc,
No. 7, pp. 106 to 134.
t Bacon's Historical Discourses, New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1839.
REV. WILLIAM HOOKE. 59
S. H. Emery's "Ministry of Taunton," Vol. I, and to this
volume I am happy to acknowledge myself deeply indebted.
Dr. Bacon's comment upon the style of the discourse is, that
"while it has some touches of antique phraseology^ it is far
more ornamental, polished, and rhetorical, than the style of
any other 'New England preacher of the day."* Similar expres-
sions of opinion have been made by others, who have spoken
appropriately of the scholarship displayed in the discourse,
as well as of its spirit and its rhetorical excellence.
The Eev. Dr. Ezra Stiles, the President of Yale College
from 1778 to 1795, was previously, from 1753 to 1776, the
minister of the Second Congregational Church in l^ewport,
R. I. Erom 1769 to his decease in 1795, he kept a careful and
voluminous diary, now preserved in Yale University Library,
and in 1901 it was transcribed, carefully edited, and published
by the authority of the Corporation. f Under date of March
4 to 7 in 1772, Dr. Stiles records a visit to him from the Rev.
Caleb Barnum, the seventh pastor of the Church in Taunton.
He was a native of Danbury, and became minister at Taun-
ton in 1769. In 1776 he was a Chaplain in the Continental
service, and died at Pittsfield, Mass., of a bilious disorder
contracted at Ticonderoga, in the retreat from Montreal. Inci-
dentally, in this record, under date of March 5, Dr. Stiles
records, on the authority of Mr. Barnum, the tradition that
Mr. Hooke "was chiefly supported in Taunton by one man,
a Mr. Williams, a Deacon of the Church." This tradition is
fairly entitled to be regarded as a Taunton tradition, and if
we accept it — and I know no reason why we should not — it
is perfectly easy to identify the Mr. Williams referred to.
He can have been none other than Mr. Richard Williams, who
was in an important sense the father of the Taunton Church,
and lived to the great age of ninety-three, t But why, we may
ask, this deep interest in Mr. Hooke ? Why did he make him-
self Mr. Hooke's chief supporter? He was a devoted friend
* Bacon's Discourses, p. 66.
t Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901. See Vol. 1, pp. 215, 216.
t Died in 1692.
60 KEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
of the Church. Yes, and that is one good reason. Is there
another ? Yes, if other Taunton traditions are reliable, he was
a cousin of Mrs. Hooke. Mr. Emery quotes a manuscript
authority,"^ originating not much later than twenty-five years
after the death of Deacon Williams, for the statement that he
was a descendant of a family of that name in Glamorganshire
in Wales, and found a wife in Gloucestershire, England. In
his "Historical Memoir of the Colony of IsTew Plymouth,"
Hon. Francis Baylies tells usf — "a tradition has always existed
among his (Mr. Williams') descendants that he was related
by blood to Oliver Cromwell." These two traditions point one
way. Oliver Cromwell, in the deed of jointure executed on
the occasion of his marriage, is described as "Oliver Crom-
well alias Williams." He was a great-grandson of Sir Richard
Williams, who was a confidential agent of Henry VIII, and
his family, it is well known, assumed the name of Cromwell,
on taking possession of an estate. It was this same Sir Richard
Williams of whom Deacon Richard Williams was reputed to
be a descendant, and this descent would certainly make him a
cousin of Mrs. Hooke, for her pedigree is beyond a question.
And now I wish to raise a query which has occurred to
my own mind. Why did Mr. Hooke leave Taunton for jSTew
Haven ? He had a home there, next door to his co-worker
and friend, Mrs. Poole; he was highly esteemed there, and
useful ; he was to all appearance well situated there, and ISTew
Haven was in the far west, and a newer community. What
led him away? I do not desire to affirm anything. I simply
ask you, is it not possible, nay, is it not very probable, as we
know he was a gentleman, that he felt that tvith his growing
family — three children had been born to him there — he 'was
becoming more burdensome to his wife's kinsman than he
was willing to be; that the ISTew Haven opening offered him
an independent support, and at the same time would render
more easy the support of Mr. Street by the Church in Taunton ?
At any rate, he went.
■=^Vol. 1, pp. 213-5.
t Part 1, p. 284.
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE. 61
The exact date of this removal is not known. But it was
in the year 1644, Some time in that year he was induced
to transfer his home and family to that then remote village,
and become the associate of Rev. John Davenport, and the
first ordained teacher of the First Church. It is related of
him that for his inaugural sermon he chose his text from
Judges vii:10, the words addressed to Gideon on the eve of
his attack upon the host of Midian — "Go thou with Phurah
thy servant down to the host." From this he drew the doctrine
that "in great services a little help is better than none," and
thus intimated that he was come to be "Phurah" to Mr.
Davenport's "Gideon." In fact, however, as Dr. Bacon is at
pains to point out, there was no official disparity between them.
The distinction of the two was more theoretical than practical ;
both giving themselves wholly to the service of the church,
and dividing between them the duties of the pulpit.
Mr. Hooke fulfilled in I^ew Haven an honorable and useful
ministry for about twelve years. His home was at the south-
west corner of College and Chapel Streets, where now stands the
Townsend Block. Two daughters were born to him there.
His wife was Jane, daughter of Richard and Frances (Crom-
well) Whalley, and a sister of Gen. Edward Whalley, so well
remembered in the local histoiy of the ISTew Haven Colony.
Mrs. Frances Whalley was a daughter of Sir Henry Cromwell,
and an aunt of Oliver Cromwell, and thus Mr. Hooke was the
latter's first cousin. I find it stated that there had been an
intimacy between Mr. Hooke and Cromwell before he came to
this country. At any rate, the relation between them was
such that when the Commonwealth had been established, and
Cromwell had risen to power almost imperial, it seemed the
most natural thing in the world that Mr. Hooke should return
to the country which he had left so reluctantly, and that with
every prospect that a wide opportunity of usefulness would be
open to him. Accordingly in 1654 he sent his family to Eng-
land, and in 1656 removed thither himself. The J^ew Haven
Town Records make the date of Mrs. Hooke's removal l^ovem-
ber 27, 1654.
62 EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
This was his final withdrawal from ISTew England. The
impression which he left behind him seems to have corresponded
to the favorable judgment expressed by Dr. Bacon as to his
preaching. Edward Johnson, in his "Wonder-Working Provi-
dence of Sion's Savior in ISTew England," enumerates him
among "the great supply of godly ministers" of which 'New
England had the benefit, and styles him "the reverend and faith-
ful servant of Christ, who was for some space of time at the
Church in Taunton, but now remains called to office in the
Church in 'New Haven, — a man who hath received of Christ
many gracious gifts fit for so high a calling, with very amiable
and gracious speech, laboring in the Lord." Cotton Mather
enumerates him among "the Eminent Divines" who were con-
siderable in ISTew England, and calls him "a learned, holy, and
humble man." Trumbull, in his "History of Connecticut,"
makes mention of him as "a man of great learning and piety,
and possessing excellent pulpit talents." It is manifest from
these and other notices that in his twenty years' residence upon
these shores, he had earned for himself an enviable reputation.
Dr. ISTewman Smyth, in his sermon on the two hundred and
fiftieth anniversary of the First Church in New Haven, had this
sentence: "The next face among the historical portraits which
may be restored from our records, is marked by the same strong
Puritan features, yet over it there seems to be cast a subtle
refinement of spirit, and a more pathetic gentleness of expres-
sion, than is naturally associated with the Puritan type of char-
acter." This is a portrayal which I imagine the facts will fully
justify.
So far as identified, Mr. Hooke's children were six in num-
ber, — three daughters and three sons. The two daughters born
in New Haven were Elizabeth, baptized December 14, 1645, and
Mary, baptized September 5, 1647. The other, the fact that
in 1658 she was already married proves to have been older.*
Later the two younger were married in England. His sons
were John, Walter, and Ebenezer. John was born in 1634,
apparently at Axmouth. He was a student at Harvard from
* See his letter to Wintlirop.
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE. 63
June 13, 1651, to August 10, 1652, but did not graduate."
It is very probable that he went to England in 1652, soon
after his leaving college, and that his object was to benefit by
the rise of Cromwell. ISrovember 3, 1653, his father wrote a
letter to Cromwell, preserved in Thurloe's State Papers, thank-
ing him for "the bounty and favor shown to my son," and
then discoursing upon the dangerous condition of ISTew Eng-
land. This son must have been John, so far as can be seen;
and the favor acknowledged seems to have been his presenta-
tion to the Vicarage of Kingsworthy, a little north of Win-
chester. From this he was ejected in 1662. He removed to
Basingstoke — eighteen miles away — where he gathered an
Independent Church, to which he ministered nearly forty
years. t He died in 1710, set. 76. He was buried in Basing-
stoke, and a monument commemorates him there. When he
left Harvard, his brother Walter took his place, to August 9,
1654, but he did not graduate. He went to England with his
mother and the other children, proved a man of great promise,
and died in 1671, to the great grief of his parents. Ebenezer
was sent back to Connecticut, t to Governor Winthrop, but later
became estranged from his family, ceased to write to them, and
disappeared. I find no trace of him afterward. When Mr.
Hooke left 'New Haven he gave his home to the First Church,
in trust for beneficent uses.
ISTot long after his arrival in England, on January 12, 1657,
he was appointed, together with Mr. Caryll and Mr. Sterry,
to assist in a Thanksgiving service for Cromwell's preservation
from evil designs recently discovered. A little later, April 13,
1657, he wrote to Governor Winthrop, with whom he was on
terms of friendship, as follows : § "As touching myself, I am not
* See Sibley's Harvard Graduates, Index.
t In 1663 he was appointed a chaplain in the Savoy Hospital, by Dr.
Killigrew, then Master of that institution. The organization was a Master
and four Chaplains. In 1702 the chaplains were deprived, and the Hospital
dissolved. See the Proceedings in Stow's Survey of London, Ed.
Seymour, Vol. Ill, p. 406.
t June 30, 1663, then about twenty years old.
§ Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Series III, Vol. 1, p. 182.
64 EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
as yet settled, the Protector having engaged me to him not long
after mj landing, who hitherto has well provided for me. His
desire is that a church may be gathered in his family, to which
purpose I have had speech of him several times ; but though the
thing be most desirable, yet I foresee great difficulties in sundry
respects." This particular project of a church in Whitehall was
not carried into execution, but an Independent Church was
organized in Westminster Abbey, in which the Protector became
a communicant. After the manner of royalty, however, he
appointed for himself a list of domestic chaplains, embracing
John Howe, Hugh Peters (who had been a minister of the
First Church in Salem, Mass. ) , our Mr. Hooke, Nicholas Lock-
yer, Peter Sterry and Jeremiah White. The first preferment
obtained by him seems to have been the Vicarage of Rousdon
St. Pancras,* in Devonshire, not far from Axmouth, the scene
of his former ministrations. Some months later he was made
Master of the Savoy Hospital, a preferment both dignified and
lucrative. This famous institution occupied a part of the site
of the Savoy Palace, a royal residence built in 1245, and given
by Henry III to the Count of Savoy, the uncle of Queen Elinor.
The name Savoy clings to the locality still, while there is noth-
ing left of the palace. There is Savoy Street, the Savoy The-
ater, the Savoy Hotel, and most noteworthy of all, the Savoy
Chapel, famous in ecclesiastical history for some significant
events. It was built in the reigns of Henry VII and VIII,
almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1864, but restored by Queen
Victoria. It formed an important part of the Savoy Hospital,
and in it Mr. Hooke ministered until after the restoration of
the monarchy. Thus placed he might reasonably have deemed
himself most favorably situated. But his elevation was for a
period far too short. In less than two years came the death of
Cromwell, and before another two years the Commonwealth was
at an end, and Charles II was king. The general course of
events is sufficiently well-known. Of the experiences of Mr.
Hooke in particular, the best information we have is derived
* Now joined to Up Lyme. (J. S. Atwood of Exeter, in Wmchester
Observer, May 17, 1884.)
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE. 65
from contemporary letters, his own and others. Fortunately
a number of these have been preserved, and some forty years
since were published in the Historical Collections of the Massa-
chusetts Historical Society. These include letters from Mr.
Hooke to Governor Winthrop, to General Goffe, to Rev. John
Davenport, and to Dr. Increase Mather. There are also letters
from Mrs. Hooke, and allusions to Mr, and Mrs. Hooke in
various other letters.
The outline of Mr. Hooke's experience is not difficult to
trace. In a letter to Governor Winthrop, bearing date March
30, 1659, he writes: "I have been settled at the Savoy for the
space of twelve months, yet holding my relation to Whitehall
the same as in the late Protector's time" — and then proceeds to
give an account of Cromwell's illness and death seven months
previous, and of the accession of his son. Later he speaks of
the political uncertainties consequent upon this change, and
adds — "I know not what will become of us. We are at our wit's
end." ISTor was he needlessly apprehensive. In less than two
months Richard Cromwell had succumbed, and disappeared
from the stage of action; and in the confusion of the next
twelve months Mr. Hooke could have seen nothing calculated
to relieve his perplexities or dissipate his fears. Wor did the
restoration of the monarchy have in it any hope for him. It
was not merely that his party was overthrown, and he shared
its fortunes. The very prominent positions which he had held,
and his relationship to Cromwell, made him specially obnoxious
to the ruling authorities in Church and State, and as time went
on, he became more and more a persecuted and a hunted man.
He was soon out of the Savoy, and was succeeded there by
Dr. Gilbert Sheldon, afterward Bishop of London, and Arch-
bishop of Canterbury; a man whose resolute purpose it was
violently to suppress nonconformity, and to exterminate non-
conformists. We learn from his letters to other Bishops and
to subordinate officials, that he not only deemed this result desir-
able, but entirely practicable, an affair of a few weeks, or
months, at the most, if the Bishops would only use the power
and the means at their disposal. Unfortunately for him not all
3
6(l KEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
his correspondents saw the facts as he did, and when he died,
in ISTovember, 1677, the accomplishment of his task was as far
off as ever.
Meanwhile, Mr, Hooke was cared for by his friends. Gov-
ernor Winthrop — in England on business of the Colony — wrote
to Mr. Davenport, October 16, 1661 :""^ ''Mr. Hooke did live
with Col. Sydenham, but that gentleman and his wife being
dead, he now lives in the house of one Mr. G., an honest man
and a justice of the peace." Later it appears that this was Mr.
Gold, and that he lived at Clapham. Mr. Hooke himself wrote
to Mr. Davenport, in the same month :f "I often lodge in Swan
Alley, but I live in the family of a rich merchant, an honest
man, to whom I and my wife are very welcome." Other let-
ters show that he had to seek a deeper obscurity. In June,
1663, he wrote to General Goffe: "You may know me here-
after by D :G : Letters are so often broke up that many are
loth to write their names." Some of his letters are signed
in that way. Moreover, they were usually sent with great
precautions by private hand, and this was not always enough
to secure safety. In this very letter to General Goffe, addressed
as to Walter Goldsmith, Goffe's assumed name, he alludes to
an experience of "a friend of his," whose letter had been
seized, with serious consequences, in spite of all precautions.
We now know this "friend of his" was no other than himself,
and we read between the lines that he meant Goffe should so
understand it. The contents of this letter have at this late day
come into our possession, and the story of it. It was a letter
addressed to Rev. John Davenport, written at different dates
in the winter of 1662-63, and despatched in March, 1663, the
last date on it being March 2. It made eight quarto pages very
closely written. Mr. Hooke dared not send it as a separate
missive, or by public conveyance. He concealed it in a bundle
of books directed to Mr. Davenport, and entrusted to Capt.
Samuel Wilson, whose ship was engaged in trade to ISTew Eng-
land, through whom correspondence had been safely transmitted
before. In due time Capt. Wilson's ship was safely cleared
from the port of London, and actually sailed. We may easily
*Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Series IV, Vol. 8, p. 179. -f Ibid., p. 177.
REV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
67
imagine Mr. Hooke felicitating himself that all was safe. But
contrary winds so delayed her that a month after she left Lon-
don she was still in the Downs, off Kent, inside the Goodwin
Sands. Meanwhile, some information had been lodged at
Whitehall, which led the authorities to send officers after the
vessel, while still waiting for fairer weather. They reached
her, they overhauled her cargo, they broke open the innocent-
looking bundle of books, they found the letter, and though it
was unsigned, they had little difficulty in assigning it to "one
Hooke, a minister." They found in it, moreover, enough sym-
pathy with the persecuted nonconformists, and of antagonism
to their persecutors, to declare it "seditious" and forthwith
detained the vessel, and arrested and imprisoned the Master,
whether at Deal, Dover or London, it does not certainly appear.
This was serious, not only for Capt. Wilson, but for the owners
of the ship and her cargo, to say nothing of the consignees on
this side, and he petitioned for release. The petition is pre-
served in the State Paper Office," endorsed "The Petition of
Samuel Wilson," and reads as follows :
"To the King's most excellent Majesty;
The humble petition of Samuel Wilson, Factor,"
"Sheweth—
That your Majesty's Petitioner, having ignorantly received a
seditious Letter from one Hooke, a minister, which person
(hearing your Majesty's Petitioner was upon the said Account
stopped in the Downes) immediately deserted his lodging.
Your poor petitioner knew not the contents of the letter in the
least, nor that he had any such letter, it being wrapped up in a
bundle of books, and your petitioner not at all privy to the same.
Wherefore your Majesty's j)oore petitioner most humbly
implores your Majesty's princely Grace and favor. That he
may be released to proceed upon his voyage, he having 1200
pounds cargo of other men's on Board, and the ship having
been gone a month onward the same voyage, there being another
ship to set sail within this two days bound to the same port.
And your petitioner (as in duty bound) shall ever pray, etc."
'■'S. P. Dom. Car. II: 72, 16.
68 REV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
His petition was not unfavorably regarded, but he was bound
in £1,000 for good, loyal conduct for twelve months, and, on
demand, to present William Hooke to the Secretary of State,
at any time within that period. He seems to have had substan-
tial friends to stand by him, for the sureties were found, the
bond was executed, he was released, and proceeded on his
voyage. The bond is on file, endorsed "the Bond of Samuel
Wilson of St. Catherine's parish, and four others, for his good
conduct and non-disturbance of government, and presenting
within a year to the Secretary of State, the person of one Hooke,
author of a letter lately written to New England."
The letter was detained, and of course never reached its des-
tination. It has remained in the State Paper Office these two
hundred and forty-five years. Its existence has been known.
Its contents have been calendared. Dr. John Stoughton made
some extracts from it in his "Ecclesiastical History of Eng-
land." The late Dr. Henry Martyn Dexter, as appears by a
memorandum in his own handwriting, had the opportunity to
read it and make some extracts from it. But I am credibly
informed that it has not been published. Another letter, written
to Mr. Davenport some time later, reached him and has been
published. In June of 1908 Prof. G. Lyon-Turner, the treas-
urer of a historical society in England of which I happen to be
an honorary member, wrote to me that he had read the long
detained letter, and transcribed part of it, and could easily
send me, if I wished it, a verbatim transcript of the whole.
After consulting with our Professor Dexter, I wrote and asked
for the transcript offered, together with any documents throw-
ing light upon a story of the original. In due time I received
what I had requested ; and I would like to say here that I can
hardly overstate my obligations to this English scholar for the
courteous and generous cooperation extended to me through
many months, in investigating the obscurer facts connected
with Mr. Hooke's history. I should have found my inquiries
much more difficult but for his zealous and efficient assistance.*
* Since this paper was written some of the sources which my corre-
spondent consulted for me have been published by him. This work is
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
69
I have given you the benefit of the information I obtained
as to the history of the letter, and have deposited the transcript
in the Library of Yale University. It is a valuable testimony
to the life of the period as that appeared to one who was
in the midst of it. It is much too long for me to read to
you the whole of it, but of some things in it I may venture
to speak. It will be natural to notice the glimpse which it
gives us of the writer's own circumstances. I have said the
letter was not signed, and throughout it he is careful not to
call names, or indicate in any way his location. His allusions
are most cryptic. "I am not, at present," he writes, "where
I was when you last wrote to me, yet in the same family ; but
in a place of some privilege, not in parochial precincts." He
knows, too, that the authorities are carefully scanning all letters
that are sent by post for traces of him. He expresses devout
thankfulness that thus far he has himself escaped arrest, and
that his correspondence has been untouched. He recognizes,
moreover, that there is need of greater caution than he has
yet exercised. He says, "my handwriting is too well-known."
He is aware, also, of the peril he is in from treacherous friends
and mean informers, who would not hesitate to betray former
associates. "Men have been trepanned," he writes, "into say-
ing things against the King, by informers pretending to be one
with them." He adds that recently four had been executed at
Tyburn, who had been betrayed in this way. Thus, and in other
particulars, it appears that he was in hiding, or in a seclusion
not easily to be distinguished from that. The petition of Wil-
son, already quoted, indicates that when his letter was seized,
he very promptly disappeared from the house where he had
lodged, and whither he had removed was concealed. The bond-
entitled "Original Records of Early Non-Conformity under Persecution
and Indulgence." It is in two volumes and makes accessible to the world
documents previously to be found only in the Public Record office in
London, or the Library at Lambeth Palace. Published by T. Fisher
Unwin, London, 1911. It may be found in the libraries of Harvard,
BroA\-n, or Yale Universities; in the Congressional Library at Washington,
the Congregational Library at Boston, the Pennsylvania Historical Society
Library in Philadelphia, and other leading libraries in the United States.
References ^\^ll be made to it later in this paper.
70 EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
iug of Wilson to produce liim on demand shows the disposition
of the authorities toward him. That he was not arrested indi-
cates, we may suppose, in what seclusion he kept himself, and
how many were interested to protect him. In this persistent
obscurity, and perpetual insecurity, he must have lived for a
number of years.
It has been said that the art of letter-writing consists in
giving to one's correspondents all the news of the day. Cer-
tainly, then, Mr. Hooke did his best to write a good letter to
Mr. Davenport. In calendaring the items of intelligence —
domestic, foreign, political, commercial, social, personal, which
he recounts — I am surprised by the number and variety of them.
!N^aturally he begins with the enforcement of the Act of Uni-
formity, which took effect on August 24, 1662, with severe and
sad consequences to many. Multitudes of ministers, he says,
were ejected from their churches, their habitations, their
employments. JTor was this the worst, they were absolutely
silenced. It was made an offence for them to be heard at all.
"There is not an ejected minister," he writes, "or any other
not conforming, that durst exercise in public, since August 24,
excepting, perhaps, some one or two or thereabout, for which
they have suffered." Moreover, it was easier to turn out of
office two or three thousand men, mainly the choice of their
congregations, than to appoint off-hand by authority worthy and
competent successors to fill the vacant places, and in many cases
ignorant, incompetent, unworthy men came to the front, even
men of scandalous lives. Sympathy with the ejected ministers,
and antipathy to the new incumbents, led to abstention by the
congregations, and of this several instances are given; e. g., in
one parish of 20,000 souls, only a score or two could be gotten
together. The same motives led worshippers to assemble
secretly, in places other than churches, but this had been for-
bidden by proclamation early in January, 1661, and to prevent
it soldiers, constables and officers were employed in making dili-
gent search, and often wholesale arrests. These proceedings
at that time had no warrant in law except in some statutes of
Elizabeth's time against heretics, but none the less they were
KEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
71
enforced with great vigor and ferocious cruelty. ISTaturally
the letter speaks of this fact. It states, "multitudes have been
surprised and forthwith carried to prisons." The various jails
were filled, and a British jail in those days was beyond descrip-
tion. Many perished from want of air and from unsanitary
conditions. It tells how these cruelties reacted, how civil and
military officials showed mercy, and juries refused to convict,
even under strong pressure from above. It tells further how the
different denominations stood the persecution, — the Presby-
terians being the least resolute to hold out against it, the Quakers
the most resolute, and next to them the Baptists ; how among
the Independents there were differences of judgment, as to how
far concessions might be made lawfully; and for aught I can
see Mr. Hooke himself was as resolute as a Quaker. He pro-
ceeds to speak of difficulties in Ireland, and in Scotland, and of
troops sent to the latter ; of the banishment of a famous preacher
there, who was gathering great crowds in the open air : of the
favor shown to Roman Catholics, although the Act of Uni-
formity in strictness bore upon them as much as upon others;
of the grievous urging of oaths of allegiance, and the imprison-
ment of such as in any point scrupled them, among others of
Mr. Richard Saltonstall. The writer gives some curious tales
illustrating the superstitions of the time, his own, and others ;
he descends to details so humble as recent fires, especially one
that had fatal results. Passing, then, to more public matters,
he tells of the talk there was of measures of toleration ; how
the Roman Catholics were disposed to promote them, and the
Anglican bishops by all means to prevent them ; how in view
of the approaching meeting of Parliament, and the known senti-
ments of the King and many others, inclining to some modifica-
tion of the Act of Uniformity, the bishops were bringing
pressure to bear upon the Members of Parliament in opposition,
and the country was greatly disquieted. He thinks it manifest
that the prelatical party had gained nothing by their severe
measures, but rather lost. But while a good many were hoping
for a favorable change, he shows that he himself had little
expectation of it ; that while the Presbyterians were willing to
72 KEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
make important concessions in hope of peace, in matter of
fact they were more obnoxious to the prelates than the other
types of nonconformists.
He then proceeds to speak of the complete prostration of
trade and industry from which the land was suffering, and to
define its causes. His statements of fact are perhaps more
interesting than his economic theories, and there is much less
reason to question them. Writing on a later day, he says,
"Parliament is now sitting again," and comments upon its
proceedings. It at once showed its intolerant temper, and he
comments upon illustrations of that. An attempt to call in
question the release from the common jail of the Ecv. Dr.
Edmund Calamy, who had been imprisoned for preaching in his
own church once when no other preacher had appeared, ran
against the fact that the King himself had ordered the release,
he having reasons of a personal nature to treat Dr. Calamy
with consideration ; and then of course came to nothing. The
gTeat expectation which had been entertained of relief from
this Parliament had little result, and there was no let up of
persecution. Prominent personages went abroad for safety,
but in some instances exiles for conscience sake were arrested
in France by order of the King, and returned.
The letter proceeds to give an account of a remarkable con-
junction of planets, or trigon, as he calls it, and the various
comments and expectations it excited; and then to give the
foreign intelligence of the day, Prench, Dutch, and what we
should call Prussian; also, of Turkish movements, strangely
mixed up with the writer's interpretations of the Apocalypse.
Then it returns to the condition of the ejected ministers, of
their poverty, and the sufferings of their families, and the straits
into which they had been brought. Then it adds : "As for the
churches in London, they meet privately, and by parcels, divided
into several companies; and during the winter quarter the
dark evenings were advantageous to them to steal together
into the corners." Then it speaks of the ill will which had
grown up against the bishops, that had found expression even
in the House of Lords. On the other hand, of the favor of the
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE. 73
King toward the nonconformist leaders, how he had sent for
them, held long interviews with them, and held out hopes to
them, so giving their opponents great uneasiness. Expecta-
tions arose of a Royal Indulgence based upon the King's pre-
rogative, but this rumor brought a fresh outbreak of intolerance,
petitions from Parliament against toleration, etc., and for the
time fresh disappointments.
The remainder of the letter is of a more personal character.
He speaks of his own health, and that of his family, of his own
solicitudes, depression, and fear ; for these, by the way, are all
subjective — showing anxiety lest he fail to do his duty, not
intimidation by outward troubles ; he congratulates ]\[r. Daven-
port on the marriage of his son ; sends messages to his friends,
tells of visits from representatives of the 'New Haven Colony,
who, with Governor Winthrop, had sought him out, somewhat
to his own uneasiness, to discuss the relations of the two
Colonies of J^ew Haven and Connecticut. He mentions Major
Thomson, Capt. Scott, and ISTathaniel Whitfield, and describes
their conference upon the future of the l^ew Haven Colony.
Then with salutations and good wishes, the letter ends.
A subsequent letter to Mr. Davenport which has been pub-
lished, and the letter to General Goffe already mentioned, add
to the intelligence I have thus summarized, but on these I need
not comment. TTor is it needful to speak of such public events
as the great plague of 1665, the fire which consumed so much
of London in 1666, or the alarms of the Dutch war in 1667, or
the bad harvest in these latter years ; except so far as they
manifestly increased the perils, the privations, the distresses of
the time, which Mr. Hooke as well as others had to meet.*
More germane to his experience was a different class of events
of which I may say a few words. On the 26th of December,
1662, word went forth from "Whitehall that in the next session
of Parliament the King would ask the House to concur with
* Since this paper was written, Prof. Lyon-Turner, in his indefatigable
search for traces of William Hooke, has found evidence that in 1665, or
early in 1666, he occupied a house in West Harding St. This gives us
reason to apprehend that he was burned out in the Great Fire, for all the
houses in West Harding St. were destroyed at that time.
74 EEV. AVILLIAM HOOKE.
himself in devising some means of freeing from the penalties
of the Act of Uniformity those who, living peaceably, desired to
worship in their own way. This is the talk of a general tolera-
tion to which Mr. Hooke alluded in his letter. But such a relief
was anything but what the bishops and the King's ministers
intended. The actual answer of the Parliament to this proposal
of the King was the passage of the Conventicle Act, to go into
effect on July 1, 1664, and continue for three years. This
made the first offence of being in a meeting of more than five
persons for any purpose not in conformity with the Church of
England, punishable with a fine of five pounds, or three months'
imprisonment; the second, of ten pounds, or six months'
imprisonment; the third by transportation for seven years,
unless the person convicted redeemed himself by paying one
hundred pounds. This Act effectually suppressed all noncon-
formist gatherings, or drove them into deeper secrecy than ever.
The Act of Uniformity had fallen mainly upon the ministers,
the Conventicle Act fell upon the people. Then having forbid-
den the ministers to be heard in the churches, and the people
to assemble anywhere else to hear them, the authorities endeav-
ored to devise an act to separate the pastor and his flock as far
as possible from each other. The result was the passage of
what was known as the Five Mile Act in October, 1665, to take
effect on the 24th of March following. This Act would natu-
rally bear heavily upon Mr. Hooke. It forbade nonconforming
ministers to come within five miles of any corporate town, or
any place where they had been in the habit of officiating, and
incapacitated them for exercising even the functions of a tutor.
This act crowned the series of hostile acts of which they were
the target, and rendered them liable to heavy fines, and to
imprisonment, with the alternatives of exile or starvation.
There was a refinement of cruelty, it seemed to them, in making-
it unlawful for them to teach, because this was the only occu-
pation open to them as educated men. The Puritan youth had
a passion for education. The universities were closed to him.
Very naturally, therefore, the ejected ministers who were uni-
versity men were in demand as instructors, and all over Eng-
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
land they taught what we Americans might call underground
academies, some of them migratory as well. In many a well-
to-do family, moreover, men of this sort found employment as
private tutors. It is more than possible that Mr. Hooke was
engaged in this way. If so, the Five Mile Act must have added
greatly to his embarrassments. The oppressive Conventicle
Act, it will be remembered, expired by limitation in 1667, and
for a time severities against the nonconformists were relaxed.
When Parliament again met it set itself to renew the Act, and
the House of Commons passed a bill to that intent, but before
the Lords got to it. Parliament adjourned at the King's request,
and the bill failed. It was seventeen months before Parliament
met again, and during that period the nonconformists enjoyed
more freedom than they had seen since 1662, and grew some-
what bold in it. In April, 1670, however, the Act was renewed,
and made more severe than ever, so severe indeed as to pro-
voke resistance, and in some degree to defeat itself. It is
difficult to imagine how Mr. Hooke and his family subsisted
during these terrible years, to the miseries of which many indi-
vidual histories bear ample testimony, and we know that in the
midst of them, in 1671, he lost by death a beloved son. We
can hardly fail to feel that his case appeals to our humane
sympathies very strongly.
Partial relief came at last, in 1672. On the 27th of March .
of that year the King issued his famous Proclamation of Indul-
gence, in which, after alluding to his care and endeavor for the
preservation of the Established Church, and the many ways of
coercion he had used for the reducing of all erring and dis-
senting persons ; and reciting that evidently the sad experience
of twelve years had shown very little fruit of all those forcible
courses, he felt obliged to avail himself of that supreme power
in ecclesiastical matters which was inherent in him; and
accordingly directed immediate suspension of all penal laws
against nonconformists and provided for the license of a suffi-
cient number of places of worship for them, and of the teachers
which the congregation gathered in these places should choose.
76 KEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
The nonconformists for the most part hailed this exercise of
the Kojal prerogative with joy and thanksgiving, and speedily
applications poured in. As many as 3,500* licenses were
granted within ten months. Among the best kno\\ai licensees
was John Bunyan, whose license was dated May 9, 1672. f
Before this date, however, several applications had been made
for the licensing of William Hooke. The first seems to have
been made orally by some one whose name does not appear, as
it is memorandumed with others in the handwriting of the head-
clerk. It reads, J
''William Hooke, ] of the Congregational
& John Langston his assistant, \ Persuasion,
desire to teach at the house of Richard Loton,
in the Spittle Yard. London."
The second § was presented in writing by Dr. j^icholas Butler,
and differs from the first in that as written originally it names
an alternative place of meeting, thus, "in the Spittle Yard at
present, and that it may be for the next year at his house in
Angel Alley, Whitechapel." But this alternative is crossed out
as impracticable. The third |1 is more formal than the others,
and is in the handwriting of Robert Mascall, and is dated April
22, 1672. Perhaps the crossed-out alternative gives us the resi-
dence at that time of Mr. Hooke. ^ All three applications are
marked, granted, but the actual entry of the licenses to William
Hooke, John Langston,** and house of Richard Loton in the
Spital yard, is dated the 20th of April, 1672, which shows that
* The discrepant numbers given by different authorities are easily
explained. Some authorities count the documents; others the number
of persons named in the documents. Now that the whole list has been
published in "Original Records of Non-Conformity, etc.," Vol. 1, pp.
193-623, each one of us can count for himself.
t Original Records of Non-Conformity, etc.. Vol. 1, p. 471.
t Ibid., p. 237.
§76td., p. 255.
II Ibid., p. 258, Vol. 2, p. 987.
H The pronoun "his" is perhaps ambiguous. Did Richard Loton pro-
pose to change his residence, and wish to transfer the license with his
goods? Or is it Mr. Hooke's house that is referred to? Prof. Lyon-
Turner thinks the latter conclusion correct.
** Original Records of Non-Conformity, etc.. Vol. 1, p. 440.
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE. 77
the third application was needless, the desired license having
been already signed and issued. August 2, 1672, Mr. Hooke
Avrote to General Goffe in view of this altered state of things* —
"As touching us, we have now freedom without the least molesta-
tion to attend upon the Gospel and the ordinances thereof, and
this liberty runs through city and country, — peradventure with
regret to many, but it is the fruit of the favor of him who is
in the highest place among us. And I think there is no
restraint upon any, of whatsoever persuasion — no — not the
Papists themselves, only they may not appear so publicly as
others do."
Thus had been wrought, to all appearance, a great deliverance,
and it is not strange that high hopes were excited. But they
were not to be realized. The Royal Proclamation was not
cordially received by the country as a whole, not even by all
nonconformists. It was opposed on constitutional grounds.
A dispensing with the laws of the land by royal prerogative was
hardly a process to be looked upon favorably by lovers of liberty,
especially when the King was a Stuart. If it were once to
begin, how far might it go ? The House of Commons resolved,
many nonconformist members concurring, that penal laws
could only be suspended by Act of Parliament. When a bill
was devised looking toward accomplishing by legislation such
relief as the proclamation had given, while it passed the Com-
mons it was held up in the House of Lords, and came to
nothing. The King was ultimately constrained to cancel his
proclamation, which he did on March 8, 1673. This left the
condition of the nonconformist theoretically worse than ever.
Practically, however, it was not, for a time. Although the laws
were unchanged, the enforcement of them was enfeebled. The
tide of intolerance had suffered a check, and some time elapsed
ere it was at the flood again. But within two years the licenses
were all revoked, and the relief was over. One of the first
victims of the renewal of persecution was Bunyan, he being
committed to Bedford jail. This was his second imprisonment,
to which we owe "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1675-6). f
* Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Series IV, Vol. 8, p. 144.
t Biogi-aphy of Bunvan, by Dr. John Brown, p. 258.
78 EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
In many cases the applications for license in 1672 were the
emergence into light of churches that in spite of all persecution
had maintained themselves in darkness and secrecy. There is
reason to believe this of the application in behalf of Mr. Hooke
and Mr. Langston, and that the church in Spitalfields, — a well-
known locality from one-half to three-quarters of a mile north-
east of the present Bank of England, a region now almost
wholly given up to industry — was one of the anvils that wear
out many hammers. Mr. Langston was an Oxford graduate,
a whole generation after Mr. Hooke, and lived until 1704.
For the last seventeen years of his life he was pastor of
the Independent Church in Ipswich, still existing. Of him
there are somewhat full biographical notices, — not always quite
consistent, and in respect to chronological indications not so
definite as might be desired. But a careful study of them, and
especially of the one supported by references to official docu-
ments," points to the conclusion that he was in London from
1663 to 1677, and that from 1667 to 1677 he was "Assistant
to Mr. Hooke." Moreover, when he became pastor in Ipswich,
he was received to the church by letter from a church in London,
which my correspondent says, was "no doubt the church in
Spitalfields." I ask you particularly to observe the significance
of these facts. They throw upon the situation we have been
studying a strong sidelight. Assistant to Mr. Hooke? Then
Mr. Hooke, from 1667 to 1677, and probably before, was in a
position to require an assistant; that is, he was a pastor. In
Spitalfields ? That is the locality in which he was licensed in
1672 ; then his pastorate was there. But what a new impres-
sion we receive of the indomitable spirit of this man, this
hunted and outlawed man, forbidden under heavy penalties to
be found within five miles of the Savoy, that through all these
troubled years he not only held on his way, but held on to the
pastorate of that hidden organization, and persisted in minis-
tering to it, that body "meeting by parcels" in obscure streets
and dark hours, emerging only during the King's Indulgence !
* Browne's History of Nonconformity in Norfolk and Suffolk, pp. 369,
et seq.
EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE. T9
But wlien Mr. Langston left London in 167Y, Mr. Hooke's
years were far spent. We have some glimpses of these latest
years. A discourse of his was published in October, 1673,
during the period of his license, which amounted to a volume.
A copy is preserved in the Prince Collection in Boston. An
analysis of it, with liberal extracts, is published in the Rev.
Mr. Emery's volume already cited. We have, also, a letter of
his to General Goffe, dated April 2, 1674, in which he speaks of
his own exercises of pain and grief, and of the distresses and
perils of the time, in such a way as to awaken some apprehen-
sions on the part of his correspondent. He rejoins on August
5, 1674, from Hadley, Mass., greatly deprecating such a loss
as that of Mr. Hooke would be. He says, "Methinks I hear
the churches crying to the Lord that they cannot spare you;
and hope He will for their sakes lengthen out your life, and
renew your strength, to do Him yet a little more service in your
generation before you go hence." This seems to show that
his usefulness was still recognized. We have finally a pathetic
letter* from him written to Dr. Increase Mather, dated August
7, 1677, and a few months later, on March 21, 1678, came the
end he anticipated. Still another discourse of his, however,
published posthumously three years afterwards, has come down
to us. A copy is preserved in the Library of the Antiquarian
Society at Worcester, Mass.
In his letter to Dr. Mather, he speaks of his increasing infir-
mities, and gives expression to his expectation of death. "This,
I think, is like to be my last letter to you," he writes. "God is
pleased to enable me to preach hitherto, but my spirits are
grown weak, and my breath is very short." His concluding
words are a benediction. "The Father of Mercies, and God of
all consolation, be with you, and bless your studies and labors
in His work ! In Him I rest." These last noteworthy words,
I imagine, give us the key to the inner man. They are
extremely characteristic of him. They recur repeatedly in his
letters. He was the embodiment of a calm, trustful courage;
of a gentle but heroic spirit. I have searched his letters through
*Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Series IV, Vol. 8, pp. 582-3.
80 EEV. WILLIAM HOOKE.
for indications of any moral weakening in the face of the diffi-
culties and hostilities which he encountered, but I have searched
in vain. He speaks sympathetically of the wrongs and injuries
of others, but never of his own. He reveals no particular con-
sciousness of his own. He seems to be a man who takes his
experience of life exactly as it comes, and tranquilly faces it
exactly as it is. So manifestly true is this, that I marvel at him.
The published discourse of 1673, Dr. Leonard Bacon says he
had never read. But the very title of it greatly impressed him.
It was this, "The privileges of the saints on earth beyond those
in Heaven." Had he read the discourse, he might have been
still more impressed. But he queries,* ''What sort of a man
must he have been, who in his old age, disappointed, afflicted,
persecuted, could write a book to show the privileges of the
saints on earth beyond those in Heaven — the privilege of labor-
ing for the Redeemer, and the privilege of bearing the cross,
and enduring reproach and sorrow for Him' ? We may leave
that question unanswered. But the preacher's argument is,
that the life of faith is nobler than that of vision ; the life of
hope, than the life of fruition ; the life of patience, than one in
which is no occasion for it; the life of loving sympathy with
the alienated, the wretched and the miserable, than one where
none of these can be ! This man was no ascetic, no other-world-
ling, no dreamer, no sybarite, no lover of himself. Assuredly
he fought a good fight; he kept his faith; let us hope he won
a crown.
He was buried in Bunhill Fields,"!" that sacred spot in the
heart of busy London, whither many pilgrim feet from ]^ew
England are eagerly turned from year to year ; where rest the
ashes of Bunyan and of many more, upon whom bigotry put
its brand in vain, for the more modern world does them honor,
in remembrance of their services to learning, to letters, and to
liberty.
I have endeavored to come as close as possible to the actual
course of Mr. Hooke's experience of life. To the favorable
* Bacon's Hist. Discourses, p. 72.
t See List of Interments, in Trans, of Cong. Hist. Soc. for Sept., 1910.
KEV. WILLIAM HOOKE. 81
circumstances of its early years, when he was a cadet of a family
of wealth and distinction; or those in which as a graduate
of Oxford, preferment in the Church of England awaited him ;
to the honorable record that he made upon these shores ; to the
very high position that he attained in England in the days of
the Commonwealth, — the last period of his life presents a pain-
ful contrast. But he seems to have borne himself bravely and
blamelessly from the beginning to the end. Eor his own sake
and his family's, for Connecticut's sake, for ISTew England's
sake, we may wish he had not returned to England ; if it were
desirable to illustrate what virtues stern adversities may evoke
from a generous human soul, we may think it well that he did
return. A mural tablet on the walls of the Center Church in
IN'ew Haven briefly commemorates him. I cannot but wish there
were some more conspicuous monument to keep his memory
green. At any rate Taunton and jSTew Haven should be the last
to suffer it to fade !
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
Bj Simeon E. Baldwin, LL.D.
[Read November 22, 1909.]
It is difficult for us to enter into the conception of the nature
of a seal, which was common to all Englishmen in the seven-
teenth century. To them, and to their forefathers for many
generations, it was the most solemn form of authenticating any
written expression of will, which was intended to alter legal
relations.
We may not unfairly say that the legal value of a seal in
any community is in inverse proportion to the education and
intelligence of its people. In ages when hardly any except
the priest or monk could write, and property was mainly
massed in the hands of a few, the seal afforded a simple and
generally effectual method of showing that a conveyance, a
charter, or any other legal document, came from the hand, or
with the approval, of those in whose names it might profess
to speak.
Every great land-owner in England, by a century or two
after the l^orman conquest, had his own coat of arms. His
seal was inscribed with this. 'No one, not of his name and
family, could lawfully use it. He took good care that no one
else should have an opportunity to do so, by keeping it in some
safe and secret place, or perhaps carrying it about upon his
person.
The Crown had its great and its privy seal. The ecclesias-
tical and municipal corporations had theirs.
In the time of Edward I, every freeman and some of the
villeins had a seal.* A deed of land, according to English law,
until long after the settlement of New England, was well exe-
* Blackstone's Commentaries, IT, 305.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT. 83
ciited if it bore the seal of him whose grant it was, though
not his signature. Without a seal, or a legal substitute for it,
a conveyance of land, though signed, is still in Connecticut no
deed, and ineffectual to pass full title.
So late as the latter half of the eighteenth century, Sir
William Blackstone declared, in his Commentaries on the Laws
of England,* that every corporation not only could, but must
have a common seal, for, he continued, it ''being an invisible
body, cannot manifest its intentions by any personal act or
oral discourse : it therefore acts and speaks only by its common
seal."
By the great seal of the State, the first and greatest of
corporations, all important public acts were attested, and with-
out its use, it hardly seemed to the popular mind, in early
English history, to be possible to administer and uphold the
government. When James II, driven from the throne of Eng-
land, made his first attempt to escape from the kingdom, his
last act, in crossing the Thames, was to throw the great seal
overboard, in the hope, no doubt, that proceedings to displace
him would thus be brought to a full stop.f
The great seal of a foreign power has always been recognized
as sufficiently authenticating its official acts. The seal is said
to prove itself. Every sovereign is supposed to be familiar
with the appearance of the great seal of every other sovereign ;
and the same familiarity is imputed to his courts of justice.
In 1663, when Governor Stuyvesant was at odds with the
Colony of Connecticut as to the Dutch title to some of the
Long Island towns, he urged the directors of the l^ew N'ether-
land company to procure from the States-General a patent or
letter defining the limits of the Dutch possessions in America,
and recommended that it be "sealed with their High Mighti-
nesses' Great seal, at which an Englishman commonly gapes as
at an idol." This, he wrote, would help matters complicated
by "the unrighteous, stubborn, impudent and pertinacious
proceedings of the English at Hartford."!
* I, 475.
t Macaulay's Hist, of England, III, 293, London Ed. of 1863.
t Documents relating to the Col. Hist, of N. Y., II, 488, 484.
84: THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
Connecticut was settled under authority of those who had
obtained grants from a public corporation under the name of
"the Council established at Plymouth in the County of Devon
for the planting, ruling, ordering and governing of ISTew Eng-
land in America," which was incorporated by the Crown on
i^ovember 3, 1620. The charter particularly provided that
the forty persons named as the original members and "their
Successors shall have and enjoy for ever a Common Scale, to
be engraven according to their Discretions ; and that it shall
be lawfull for them to appoint whatever Scale or Scales they
shall think most meete and necessary, either for their Uses,
as they are one united Body incorporate here, or for the publick
of their Governour and ministers of New England aforesaid,
whereby the Incorporation may or shall scale any Manner of
Instrument touching the same Corporation, and the Manors,
Lands, Tenements, Rents, Reversions, Annuities, Heredita-
ments, Goods, Chatties, Affaires, and any other Things belong-
ing unto, or in any wise appertaininge, touching, or concerning
the said Corporation and plantation in and by these our Letters-
Patents, as aforesaid, founded, erected, and established."^
In a subsequent clause the corporation was empowered to
constitute and discharge any "Governors, Officers, and Minis-
ters," as it should think fit, and to make laws of government
for the plantation, civil and criminal, as near as might be like
those of England. It published, in 1622, a "Brief Relation
of the Discovery and Plantation of ISTew England," addressed
to the Prince of Wales (afterwards Charles I), who while in
his teens, by approving the suggestion of Captain John Smith,
was the first to give the country that name, in any authoritative
way.f In this the President and Council stated their purpose
to be to set up a general government in !New England at some
* Poore, Charters and Constitutions, I, 923-5.
t The first printed work in wliich this name was used, instead of the
old term, "North Virginia," was Capt. John Smith's "Description of New
England," published in 1616. Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 4th Series, III, 96.
Smith was the undoubted originator of the name New England, "but,"
he says in his "Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New Eng-
land or anpvhere" (Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 3d Series, III, 1, 20) "Mali-
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT. 85
convenient place, and parcel out the territory into several grand
divisions or "counties." Each of these was to be under a chief
head, with a staff of officers, such as a steward, comptroller,
and treasurer ; and each subdivided into manors and lordships.
It had also, so the pamphlet proceeds, been "provided that all
cities in that territory, and other inferiour towns where trades-
men are in any numbers, shall be incorporate and made bodies
politic, to govern their affairs and people, as it shall be found
most behoveful for the publick good of the same."*
On March 19, 1628, the Council, by a deed under its com-
mon seal to Sir Henry Rosewell and five others, and their heirs
and associates forever, made a grant of lands for a settlement
on Massachusetts Bay. They, having first associated twenty
others with them, obtained the charter from the Crown, of
March 4, 1629 (N. S.) under which Winthrop and his company
set up the colony of Massachusetts.
Robert, Earl of Warwick, was the President of the Council
at least as early as January 13, 1630 (N. S.),t and we have
the high authority of Dr. Douglass and Dr. Trumbulli for
the assertion that in that year the Council conveyed to him,
by a grant soon afterwards confirmed by a royal patent, the
territory which on March 19, 1631, he transferred by a deed
under his own seal to Lord Say and Seal and ten others, and
their heirs and associates forever.
cious minds amongst Sailers and others drowned that name with the echo
of Nitscoiicits, Canaday, and Penaquid, till at my humble sute, our most
gracious King Charles, then Prince of Wales, was pleased to confirme it by
that title." In the petition to the King, of March 3, 1620 (N. S.) on which
the patent to the Council of Devon was issued, the petitioners ask first
of all, "that the territories where yo' peticoners makes their plantacon
may be caled (as by the Prince His Highnes it hath bin named) New
England." Documents relating to the Colonial History of N. Y., Ill, 2.
Smith had been permitted to present to the Prince, in 1614, a copy of
his journal during his voyage northwards in the spring of that year, and
of his map of the coast above Cape Cod. Palfrey's Hist, of IST. E., I, 94.
* Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 2d Series, IX, 22, 23.
t He then signed a patent in favor of the Plymouth settlers, in which
he is described as President.
t Trumbull, Hist., I, 547; Douglass' Summary, II, 160.
86 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
The Council had a regular clerk, but its records have not
been preserved (although copies of part of them are extant),*
and it is denied by some later historians that the Earl had any
title to convey, t
To me it seems more reasonable to accept Douglass' and
Trumbull's statement, justified as it is by repeated declara-
tions of our General Court during the seventeenth century, t
It is also supported by a letter from John Humfrey sent
from London to Isaac Johnson§ in Massachusetts, under date
of December 9, 1630, in which is found this passage : "My lord
of Warw. will take a Patent of that place you writ of for
himselfe, & so wee may bee bold to doe there as if it were our
owne."|l It is at least a fair surmise that Johnson had pre-
viously written to Humfrey that the region of the Connecticut
river was one adapted to an English settlement, and that in
consequence of this news the Earl of Warwick had determined
to obtain from the Council for ISTew England a patent embrac-
ing it, to himself, but really for the benefit of those of his
Puritan friends who were then contemplating a removal to
"New England,
Thomas Lechford, an attorney, who would not be apt to
use words loosely, in his "Plaine Dealing," written in 1641,
says of the Saybrook and Hartford settlements : "These planta-
tions have a Patent."^
Two years later. Parliament put the Earl of Warwick at
the head of a commission of six Lords and twelve commoners,
having jurisdiction over all plantations and islands occupied
under authority of the Crown. Early in 1647, the Earl, as
Governor in chief over foreign plantations, the Earl of Man-
chester and Viscount Say and Seal, speaking for this com-
* Massachusetts and its Early History, 162; Records of the Council for
N. E., Cambridge 1867, 8.
t Massachusetts and its Early History, 148; Johnston, Hist., of Conn.,
8, 109.
tHinman, Letters, &c., 40, 43, 59; Trumbull, Hist, of Conn., I, 380,
543.
§ Coll. Mass. Hist. See, 4th Series, VI, 4.
II Mr. Johnson had died more than two months before this was written.
II Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 3d Series, III, 97.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
87
mission, wrote to the colony of Connecticut recognizing its
"jurisdiction" to administer justice, and stating that the
committee did not purpose to "restrain the bounds of your
jurisdiction to a narrower compass than is held forth by your
letters-patents."^
This seems quite a plain recognition of its possession of
what the two principal parties to the grant of March 19, 1631,
the grantor and the ranking grantee, considered a proper title
for the purposes of civil government. It claimed one by virtue
of its purchase from Colonel Fenwick of the Saybrook proper-
ties, and from no other source.
The evidence that the Earl executed the deed to Lord Say
and Seal and his associates is all that can fairly he required;
and in that he professes to be the owner of the lands, and to
convey them with "all jurisdictions, rights, and royalties, lib-
erties, freedoms, immunities, powers, privileges, franchises,
preeminences, and commodities whatsoever, which the said
Eobert, Earl of Warwick, now hath or had, or might use, exer-
cise and enjoy, in or within any part or parcel thereof."! It
is certain also that those who received the grant, thus pur-
porting to pass jura regalia, thought that they could appoint
a Governor of the territory which it embraced; for in July,
1635, five of them "in their own names and in the name
of . . the rest of the company," signed a commission con-
stituting John Winthrop, Jr., "Governor of the river Connect-
icut with the places adjoining thereunto." This document they
signed individually, affixing their o^\ti particular seals, all
impressed on the same piece of wax.t
The Warwick deed or patent of 1631 was, in a measure, a
family transaction. The Earl's family name was Robert Rich.
One of the grantees, "the right honorable Lord Rich," was
his eldest son, and another, "Sir ISTathaniel Rich, Knt," a near
relation. § "Lord Brook" was Baron Brooke of Warwick castle.
It would be natural for the Earl to hand the deed, as soon as
* Hubbard, Hist, of New England, Chap. LV.
t Trumbull, Hist of Conn., I, 525.
t Ibid., 527.
§ See his will in Waters' Genealogical Gleanings, II, 872.
88 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
it was executed, to his son and heir. Sucli papers were then
not recorded in any public registry of lands. The Council
for ISTew England surrendered its charter to the Crown in 1635 ;
the civil war soon broke out, with all its work of wreck ; and
the family of the Earl became extinct in the next century.
Under such circumstances it is not surprising that a copy of a
copy of this Warwick deed is all that our State archives have to
show to support our claim of a paper title prior to the charter
of 1662.
It is important to observe that the Earl of Warwick had the
common seal of the Council for Wew England in his posses-
sion for a considerable period, and at least as late as 1633,
this being apparently against the will of a number of its mem-
bers.* He could thus have executed, at any time, a deed in its
name to some third party, simply by affixing the seal; and
then taken a reconveyance from the latter to himself. The
Council being a corporation and not a directing body within
a corporation, the law made those who attended any meeting
regularly appointed (though only one or two might thus be
present), a quorum to transact business. At the meeting of
IlTovember 4, 1631, held at Warwick House in London, at which
but two were present, the Earl of Warwick and Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, several important grants of lands were ordered. It
is by no means improbable that at some of the regularly called
meetings, which at this time were commonly held at Warwick
House, the Earl may have been the only member present.
His deed to Lord Say and Seal and his associates was wit-
nessed by two persons, one of whom was Walter Williams. A
man named Williams was in his employment in 1632, and
apparently had charge for the Earl of the corporate seal of the
Council. t Probably he was the attesting witness, and if, as
conjectured, there was an intermediate deed from the Earl, as
President of the Council, under the corporate seal, to a dummy,
who was to and did reconvey to the Earl personally, no one
* Massachusetts and its Early History, 147 ; Proceedings of the Anti-
quarian Society, 1867, Vol. IV, 110-113; Winsor, Narrative, &c., Hist., Ill,
309.
t Winsor, Narr. Hist., Ill, 370.
THE SEAL OF CO:^NECTICUT.
89
could have been more likely than this Mr. Williams to be
selected for this office nor, when the two preliminary deeds
had been made, to attest the third, by which the estate thus
transmitted through him was made over to the real purchasers.*
The grantees under the deed from the Earl had a regular
clerk, as appears from a letter of Lord Say and Seal to Gov-
ernor Winthrop, dated December 11, 1661. In this he enclosed
a letter to the Earl of Manchester, then Lord Chamberlain,
requesting him to tell the Governor where he could speak with
Mr. Jesup, "who," he adds, "when we had the patent, was
our clerk and he, I believe, is able to inform you best about
it, and I have desired my lord to wish him so to do. I do
think he is now in London."!
In 1636 William Jesup is given a legacy in the will of Sir
ISTathaniel Rich of a kind indicating that he was in close per-
sonal relations with the testator.
In April, 1656, Bulstrode Whitelock records an official con-
ference with the Swedish ambassador, attended also by "Mr.
Jessop, one of the clerks of the Council," — that is, of the Coun-
cil of State under the Protector.t On April 10, 1660, "Wil-
liam Jessop, Esq." was chosen clerk of the House of Commons
of the Convention Parliament. § It is probable that he was the
former clerk of the Council and also the same man who had
been clerk of the Warwick patentees. The Earl of Manchester,
who was the presiding officer of the Convention House of Peers,
was a son-in-law of the Earl of AVarwick; closely associated
with him during the civil war;l| and one of the commission
under his presidency for the government of foreign plantations.
One must not forget, in studying the documents of that
century, that the law of moneyed corporations was still in its
infancy. Such bodies did not always act, in making grants,
by their officers, appointed for that purpose, under their com-
*A "Mr. Walter Williams" at about this time owned houses in Bristol.
Waters, Genealogical Gleanings, I, 565.
t Trumbull, Hist., I, 547.
t Memorials, Oxford Ed., IV, 243. William Jessop filled the same posi-
tion in 1653 and 1654. Whitelock, Journal of the Swedish Embassy, II,
59, 456.
§ Parliamentary Hist, of England, XXII, 233.
II Whitelock, Memorials, Oxford Ed., II, 262.
90 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
mon seal, as now. The first patent, for instance, under wliicli
the Plymouth settlement obtained any paper title, was a deed
from the Council (of June 1, 1621) signed by six of the com-
pany only, individually, under their separate, private seals.*
A later confirmatory patent (January 13, 1629, O. S.) on the
other hand, though signed by the Earl of Warwick alone, pur-
ported to be executed by him in the name of the Council, and
bears its common seal.f
The removal from Massachusetts, in 1636, to the banks of
"the great river," and the foundation of the three river towns
under Haynes and Hooker, was accomplished with the express
assent of the Bay Colony, and a tacit understanding with the
holders of the Saybrook Patent. There was at first no asser-
tion that they were setting up an independent government.
iJsTot claiming to be a separate corporation, they had, of course,
no common seal.
The Saybrook patentees, on the contrary, not only built forts,
appointed Governors and employed troops, but procured and
adopted a common seal.
The fact that they took this step is, of itself, strong evidence
that they had a right to take it. It is unlikely that earls and
viscounts, standing well at court, would undertake in such open
fashion to infringe on the royal prerogative. Only if they
were a corporation, or a branch of a corporation, could the
grantees under the Warwick deed lawfully use a common seal.
If Charles I did not grant a charter of incorporation to them
directly, he may have granted a patent confirming their land
titles, and they may have been justified in adopting a common
seal by a delegated authority. I refer, in this, to the clause
in the charter of the Council of Plymouth giving it power not
only to adopt a corporate seal as an English corporation estab-
lished at Plymouth (''one united Body incorporate here"),
but also any other seal or seals for public use by their Governor
or other "Ministers of ^N'ew England." The Council may not
* Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 4th Series, II, 156; History of Plymouth Planta-
tion, Mass. Hist. Soc. Ed., I, 246; Winsor, Narrative, &c.. Hist., Ill, 301.
tWinsor, Narrative Hist., Ill, 369; Thorpe, American Charters, &c.,
Ill, 1846.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT. 91
improbably have adopted a local seal for tbe Connecticut set-
tlements, by some vote, no copy of which was preserved. Acts
speak louder than words, and after any long lapse of years
great weight must be attributed to the fact that a colonial seal
was in fact adopted for the Saybrook plantation. It is a legal
maxim that ex diuturnitate temporis omnia presumuntur rite
et soUenniter esse acta.
The seal of the Saybrook patentees was nearly circular in
form, of about the size of a silver dollar, and bore for its desigTi
fifteen vines, arranged in three rows, the first of six, the second
of five, and the lowest of four. Above them a hand, seemingly
thrown forward from the clouds, held a pennant bearing the
legend, Svstinet Qvi Teanstvlit. There was a narrow but
rather an ornate rim.
This muniment of jurisdiction and title was turned over
by Governor Fenwick to the settlers in the upper towns, on
and near the great river, after he had undertaken to convey
to that "jurisdiction" all the lands covered by the Warwick
patent, "if it come into his power." His first agreement to
that effect was made December 5, 1644, and modified in 1646
by a commutation of certain customs duties, which it secured
to him for a term of years, to an annual payment of £180.*
In 1645 Fenwick returned to England, to become a member
of the Long Parliament and colonel in the Parliamentary army.
In 1649 he was appointed one of the Judges of Charles I, but
did not sit, as such, at the trial.
Roger Wolcott, in his Memoir for the History of Connecticut,
makes this statement in regard to the incident of the seal :
"The people of Connecticut for some time paid a rent or
tribute to George Fenwick, Esq'^, captain of Saybrook fort.
At length they bought the land and the fort of him and he
promised to give them a deed but failed, but he gave them the
Colony Seall. This I was told by Daniel Clark, Esq^", who was
the Secretary and a magistrate in the Jurisdiction at the time
of the Charter." t
* Collections of the Conn. Hist. Soc, III, 328; Col. Rec. of Conn., I,
271.
t Collections of the Conn. Hist. Soc, III, 328.
92 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
The seal thus obtained from Colonel Fenwick was adopted
as the seal of the Colony of Connecticut without anr formal
vote of the General Court, so far as appears on record. Prob-
ably they feared to have it known that they had taken such a
step, lest it should savor too unmistakably of a claim of politi-
cal independence. Charles I was still on the throne, and the
event of the civil war was uncertain.
The seal tlius procured was used as a common seal for the
consolidated colony at least as early as October, 1647, when it
was set by Governor Hopkins to a commission issued to John
Winthrop as magistrate at ISTew London."^
I have dwelt so long on these points in our early history
because the title of colonial Connecticut to its soil has so inti-
mate a connection with the title of colonial Connecticut to
its seal.
Let me recapitulate shortly the positions which have been
taken, and the salient facts mentioned.
Every corporation, whether it be a public or private one,
has the right to select and use a common seal.
'No other association of persons has such a right.
The Council of Plymouth for the planting, ruling, ordering
and governing of New England, was incorporated in 1620 by
a royal charter, giving them in express terms not only this right,
but that of dividing l^ew England into a number of local
governments, each with a seal of its own and a Governor of
its own.
This, in effect, authorized this Council to create other local
public corporations within New England,
In or before 1622, the Council of Plymouth accordingly
provided for the separate incorporation of all places where
there should be any considerable number of persons engaged
in trade, as self-governing communities.
In 1635, the Council was dissolved.
* This commission is in the State Library, in the Winthrop collections.
See also Col. Rec. of Conn., I, 329, 578. Among other impressions of this
original seal, now extant, is one in the Winthrop Collection of MSS., in the
State Library, Vol. Ill, pp. 310, upon a commission to Daniel Witherall,
as Judge of the County Court.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
93
During the intervening thirteen years, the Earl of Warwick,
its President and the keeper of its corporate seal, in 1631,
executed a deed of the territory now included in Connecticut
to an association of persons headed by Lord Say and Seal.
Four years later, in 1635, we find this association appoint-
ing a Governor of part of these Connecticut lands, at the mouth
of the Connecticut river.
In 1636, he promotes the settlement of another part of them,
higher up on the river, by what became the Colony of Connect-
icut. ISTot later than 1644, and probably much earlier, this
Say and Seal association did what only a corporation could
lawfully do, by adopting a common seal. In that year, the
then Governor of the Saybrook settlement and commandant of
the Saybrook fort is found to be in possession, as such, of this
common seal, and transfers, in behalf of those whom he repre-
sented, the fort, and with it the seal, to the Colony of Con-
necticut, with the promise to convey to it thereafter all the rest
of the lands covered by the deed to the association, should it
come into his power to do so.
In 1647, we find the person first commissioned Governor of
the Saybrook settlement, accepting from the Colony of Con-
necticut a commission as a local magistrate, authenticated under
this same seal, as the seal of that colony.
Is it not a probable, if not a necessary conclusion from these
facts, that the Earl of Warwick either had proper grants of
the territory of Connecticut and authority to govern it, before
his deed to the Saybrook company, or else that this deed was
intended and regarded by all parties in interest as in legal
effect the deed of the Council, of which he was the President
and of whose common seal he was then the keeper ?
As soon as Connecticut received her charter (October, 1662)
the General Court declared that Westchester lay within the
territorial limits which it prescribed,* and sent a copy of the
vote to its inhabitants, certified under this same Saybrook seal.f
* Col. Rec, I, 387.
tHoadly, The Public Seal of Connecticut, Conn. State Register for
1889, 438.
94 THE SEAL or CONNECTICUT.
The device of the seal challenges curiosity. Why were rows
of vines selected as the prominent feature? Why were these
arranged in three rows, each containing a different number,
and all together numbering fifteen ?
The number of patentees under the Warwick deed was eleven.
It might be suggested that the top row was to represent six
of them, and the second the others. But none of the patentees
had removed to ISTew England. The motto indicates that those
who are represented as receiving divine support had already
been transplanted.
With more probability it may be surmised that it refers to
the three principal plantations already made under patents
from the Council for New England; that of Plymouth, that
on the coast of Maine under Sir Eerdinando Gorges, and that
of Massachusetts Bay.
It may well be, also, that there was no special significance
in the arrangement of the vines in three rows, but that it was
merely intended to depict a vineyard. An arangement of a
vineyard in three rows would be natural, in view of the form
of the seal, and the practice of heraldry, under which a "charge"
on a coat of arms, if repeated at all, is generally repeated thrice.
The top row bisects the circle. The vines in each row were
equi-distant from each other. More therefore could be put in
the top row than in the others, and more in the second than in
the third.
The wild grapes of this country made a strong impression
upon the early voyagers who came here from the IlTorth of
Europe. They gave it its name for the first discoverers — Vin-
land — and in the tract by Rev. Erancis Higginson called
"^ew England's Plantation," written in 1630, he says that
"Excellent vines are here up and doune in the woods. Our
Governour hath already planted a vineyard with great hope
of increase."* TJiis would sufficiently account for the selection
of vines, rather than any other form of vegetation.
The design of each vine is so formal that it bears little or no
resemblance to that of the wild grape of our woods. One who
* Life of Francis Higginson, 94.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
95
saw an impression of the original seal in 1662, wrote that he
supposed it to represent "the arborated craggy wilderness."*
The origin of the terse and striking motto I have been unable
to discover. It was not framed by the Komans.f
Dr. Hoadly, in his article in the Connecticut Kegister, refers
as a not improbable source to the eightieth Psalm. Here we
find these verses :
"8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the
heathen, and planted it.
9. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root,
and it filled the land."
But then follows a lamentation over the bitter ruin that
has since befallen it, and a prayer that God will return to its
aid, and visit again this vineyard of His planting, and save
His people. Here is nothing of the hopeful spirit in which
spoke the faith of the founders of l^ew England in the protec-
tion of God. That dictated the motto of Connecticut, and we
see it reappearing at the beginning of the next century in
verses written to greet its advent, by Judge Samuel Sewall of
Massachusetts. They were sung by bell-men on the streets of
Boston, just before daybreak on January 2, 1701, and the first
two read thus :
"Once more, our God, vouchsafe to shine:
Tame Thou the rigor of our clime;
Make haste with Thy impartial light
And terminate this long, dark night.
Let the transplanted English vine
Spread further still: still call it Thine;
Prune it with skill: for yield it can
More fruit to Thee, the husbandman."
When the patent from Charles II, creating Connecticut a
full public corporation, was obtained, the General Court imme-
diately and formally declared the seal acquired from Colonel
Fenwick to be the seal of the colony. On October 9, 1662, the
* Hoadly, The Public Seal of Connecticut, Conn. Register, 1889, 438.
t Professor E. P. Morris of Yale informs me that it has been searched
for in vain by Latin scholars, in the classical authors.
96 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
charter was produced and publicly read before the freemen, and
it was voted "that the Scale that formerly was vsed by the
Generall Court shall still remaine and be vsed as y® Scale of
this Colony, vntill y^ Court see cause to y® contrary, and the
Secretary is to keep ye Scale, and to vse it on necessary occasions
for y^ Colony."*
The Colony of ISTew Haven, a few years after the establish-
ment of the Commonwealth, ventured of its o\vn authority to
adopt a common seal.
ISTo impression or description of this now exists, so far as
I can ascertain.
The vote to procure one was passed by the General Court
on May 30, 1655, in connection with the approval of the com-
pilation of the general statutes made by Governor Eaton. It
read thus :
"Ordered that a publique seale shall be provided at ye charge of yo
jurisdiction, wch is to be ye seale of this colony, the bigness of it, and
ye impression to be vpon it they leaue to ye governour, and such other as
he shall thinke fit to advise w^h aboute it, to consider and order."t
One was thereupon cut, by Eaton's order, in England, and
sent over on the same ship which brought the new statute-
book. In May, 1656, he notified the General Court of the
arrival of the seal and desired them to accept it as a token of
his love.J
On the seizure of the government of Connecticut by Sir
Edmund Andros, in 1687, although the charter had disap-
peared, John Allen, the Secretary of the Colony, handed over
to him the corporate seal.§ Gershom Bulkeley, in his Will
and Doom, written not long after the resumption of authority
by the freemen and General Court, in consequence of the acces-
sion of William and Mary, argued strongly from this circum-
stance that all charter rights to existence as a separate colony
had been destroyed.
* Col. Eec. of Conn., I, 386.
t N. H. Col. Eec, I, 147.
tlUd., 186.
§ Conn. Hist. Soc. Collections^ III, 141.
THE SEAL OF COXKECTICUT. 97
"And now," he. says, ''both their common seal is gone and
their officers are all gone by their own act. Is not this a cesser
of the charter government? The seal disappears and the gov-
ernors withdraw themselves, snffering their offices to expire
without continuance, and is not this government now voluntarily
laid down, deserted, and extinct ?"*
When New York passed into the possession of Andros in
September, 1688, the report made of the proceedings to the
Lords of Trade and Plantations states that as soon as he arrived
there "His Excellence sent for and received from Coll. Dongan
the seal of the late Gov* which was defaced and broaken in
Councill."t Probably the same fate befell the seal of- Con-
necticut.
On the resumption here of charter government a new seal
was procured of the same general design. A representation
of it appears on the title page of Vol. IV of our Colonial
Records. J; The motto is cut in larger letters than those on
that received from the Saybrook colony and the mode of dis-
playing it is less symmetrical. To atone," perhaps, for the
bolder lettering, TRANSTULIT is shortened to TRASTULIT.
We had come to the dark age of colonial history, when the first
generation of English settlers, led by graduates of Oxford and
Cambridge, had passed away, and but a feeble beginning had
been made towards founding classical learning in i*^ew England.
This seal was seemingly incapable of making a clear impres-
sion. On a commission dated in 1G90, which has been pre-
served in the State library, are two wax seals, each apparently
bearing the same stamp. One is almost undecipherable and the
other not much better. The Secretary has put a note against
the latter, explaining that it was affixed because the former
was so bad.
The original seal received from Colonel Fenwick was one
only adapted to printing on wax.
* Conn. Hist. Soc. Collections, III, 143.
t Doe. relating to the Col. Hist, of K Y., Ill, 567.
t Cf. Preface to the same, v. Impressions on wax are preserved in the
State library; Winthrop Coll. of MSS., II, 198 (June 30, 1690) and
III, 312.
i
98 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
The fragility of sealing wax came to be generally recognized
by the beginning of the eighteenth century as making some
substitute desirable in the case of large seals on public docu-
ments of a permanent character. Letters had often been closed
with paste. The thin sort of paste used for this purpose w^as
called "wafer."* It was found that by allowing it to harden
in the shape of little cakes, these could be quickly moistened
and softened Avhen wanted to close a letter. Such forms of paste
were now called wafers, — a word previously used for any
small, flat, edible cake. Tor a public seal, after being affixed
to the documents, an evenly cut piece of paper of correspond-
ing size called a "scarf," was pressed down upon them, on
which the device on the die was printed by the use of a lever
or screw press.
It was apparently in order to get the benefit of this modern
mode of sealing public instruments that in lYll, it was ordered
by the Governor and Council "that a new stamp shall be made
and cut of the seal of this Colony, suitable for the sealing upon
wafers, and that a press be provided with the necessary appur-
tenances for that purpose, as soon as may be, at the cost and
charge of this Colony, to be kept in the Secretary's office."!
The authority thus given was liberally construed by the
official, whoever he was, from whom the engraver took his orders.
N^ot only Avas the new seal adapted for use with wafers, as well
as with wax, but the size, shape and device were essentially
altered.
Governor Wolcott's memoir, written in 1759, from which a
quotation has been already made, refers to it thus : "In Gover-
nour Saltonstal's time the seal was new made and enlarged,
but the impression and the motto is the same."t
He must refer in these words to what was done under the vote
of 1711, but his memory evidently betrayed him. That very
careful historical scholar, the late Charles J. Hoadly, LL.D.,
State Librarian, in VoL VI of the Colonial Records, gives a
fac simile of the seal as recut in 1711, which represents it as
* Bailey's Diet., 1733, in verb.
t Col. Rec. of Conn., V, 1706-1716, 290.
t Conn. Hist. Soc. Collections, III, 328.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
99
an oval, with a double border, containing the words SIGILLVM
COLOKI^E COISTNECTICENSIS, and enclosing three vines
only, with the motto QVI TEAKSTVLIT SVSTINET.* The
hand which in the original seal emerged from the clouds to
sustain a pennant bearing this motto is in this reproduction
aimlessly stretched out above the pennant ; and the whole design
is stiff and unpleasing. The Saybrook patentees, no doubt,
had their die cut in London. The American engraver was not
yet equal to the British.
The blunder in Latinizing the name of the colony was
obvious. When Lord Eldon, who was somewhat inclined to
petty economies, died, the funereal hatchment set up over the
door of his house bore the legend Mors janua vita. A passer-by
noticed the slip of using the nominative, vita, for the genitive
case. "'No slip at all," said his companion: "his Lordship
undoubtedly left particular directions to have it so, in order
to avoid the expense of the additional letter which a diphthong
would require."
ISTo such parsimony can be imputed to Connecticut for
(though after deliberating over it for some forty years), in
October, 174:7, the General Assembly voted ''that the publick
Seal of this Colony be altered and changed from the form of
an oval to that of a circle, and that the same shall have cut and
engraved upon it the same inscription, motto, and device that
are on the present seal, with a correction of such mistakes as
happened in the spelling and letters in the inscription and motto
of the present seal, and the Secretary of this Colony is directed
to procure such alteration at the cost of this Colony as soon as
conveniently may be." ISTothing was done by the Secretary,
however, and the seal remained unchanged until the Colony
became a sovereign State. f
It has been suggested that the reason which led the Governor
and Council in 1711 to reduce the number of vines from fifteen
* An excellent impression on wax has been preserved in tlie seal set to
the charter of Yale College in 1745. It is enclosed in a silver box;
attached to ribbons dependent from the parchment; and is in perfect
condition in all respects.
tCol. Rec. of Conn., VI, iii; IX, 333.
100 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
to three was thus to s^'mbolize the three plantations of Hartford,
Windsor and Wethersfield, whose people combined in adopting
the rundamental Orders of 1639.*
It seems to me much more probable, as surmised bj Dr.
Leonard Bacon,t that they desired to commemorate in this way
the union of the three early colonies, which had been set up here
in the preceding century.
The Connecticut of 1711 had risen out of the consolidation
of three separate political communities : — the jurisdiction of
Connecticut River having its seat at Hartford; the jurisdiction
of the Warwick patentees having its seat at Saybrook ; and the
jurisdiction of 'New Haven having its seat at New Haven.
With the first of these the second was virtually united in 1614,
and the third in 1662. The triune character o£ the resulting
Colony of Connecticut it was natural and appropriate to com-
memorate in this way.
An important step in that direction had been taken two years
before. In June, 1709, the General Court directed an issue
of colony bills of credit to "be indented and stamped with such
stamps as the Governor and Council shall direct.' 't The Gov-
ernor and Council thereupon ordered "that the said bills of
credit shall be all stamped with the arms of the Colony or
such a figure as this." A figure followed, circular in fonn,
with the three vines in the center. One of the same description,
except that it is oval instead of circular, and set upon an orna-
mental shield, appeared on the bills when issued. §
The seal made under the vote of 1711 was used more or
less until 1784. As it purported on its face to be that of a
colony, it was ill adapted, after Connecticut proclaimed her
independence, for the service of a sovereign State. In a com-
mission issued August 17, 1776, to Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin of
Danbury, as chaplain of the fourth and sixteenth regiments of
our militia in the Continental army, by "Jonathan Trumbull,
Esquire, Governor and Commander in Chief of the State of
* Johnston, Connecticut, 73.
t Historical Discourses, 16, note.
4: Col. Rec, 1706-1716, 111.
§ Ibid., XV, 562.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
101
Connecticut in New England in America" the subscription
clause is, "Given under my Hand and Seal at Arms in the
State aforesaid at Lebanon the ITth day of August, Anno
Domini, 1776," and the seal affixed was impressed with the
Turnbull arms, which the Connecticut Trumbulls had the right
to bear.* On this three bulls' heads appear where one would
look for the three vines.
The subscription clause of a commission issued by Governor
Trumbull, at Lebanon, July 21, 1777, to Roger Sherman, Sam-
uel Huntington, and Titus Hosmer, as delegates to the Spring-
field Convention of that year is of the same tenor. On the
other hand, a commission preserved in the State Library, to
Lieutenant John Hamlin, issued through the Secretary's office
at ]^ew Haven, in 1776, has the old colonial seal used with this
subscription clause : ''Given under my Hand and the Seal of
this State in ISTew Haven the first day of J^ovember, A. D.
1776."
These papers indicate a natural resort to temporary make-
shifts between the date of the Declaration of Independence and
the adoption of a proper seal for the new-born State.
Li 1777, an issue was made of colony bills of credit, which
bear a device containing but a single vine. Of course it does
not profess to represent the seal of the State.
It must always be remembered that what is commonly spoken
of as the arms of the State or Colony is something quite dif-
ferent from the seal.
The Colony never had any coat of arms, properly so called.
It could not have assumed one without royal permission ; and
this it never had. The State has not desired to perpetuate a
system of Herald's Colleges and armorial bearings for a
favored few, although finall}', in 1897, it stated what its own
arms were. Prior to that time, however, what were the arms
of the State, in popular acceptation, had been described in tech-
nical terms, by Dr. Charles J. Hoadly, thus : "Argent, three
* Stuart, in his Life of Jonathan Trumbull, gives a cut of the arms,
enclosed within a circle, probably taken from tlio Cxovornor's seal, as the
size and shape are the same.
102 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
vines supported and fructed proper,"" In other words, it was
three fruit-bearing grape vines, emblazoned in their natural
colors, on a white field.
While we have no statute in this State describing with accu-
racy the seal of the State, there is one, passed in the year last
mentioned (1897) on the application of the Daughters of the
Revolution, describing the flag, and, by reference, the arms.
This is contained in Section 4889 of the General Statutes, and
provides as follows:
"The dimensions of the flag shall be five feet and six inches in length;
four feet four inches in width. The flag shall be of azure blue silk,
charged with a shield of rococo design of argent white silk, having embroid-
ered in the center three grape vines, supported and bearing fruit in
natural colors. The bordure to the shield shall be embroidered in two
colors, gold and silver. Below the shield shall be a white streamer, cleft
at each end, bordered by gold and browns in fine lines, and upon the
streamer shall be embroidered in dark blue letters the motto 'Qui Trans-
tulit Sustinet'; the whole design being the arms of the State."
In 1673, the General Court, in providing for a Revision of
the Colonial Statutes which was soon afterwards published at
Cambridge, ordered "that the impression of the Coloney Scale
shall be aflfixed in the beginning of every law-booke,"t and
it was done accordingly. Massachusetts in like manner had
the year before put a wood-cut impression of her seal on the
Revision of her Statutes, t
Except in this instance, throughout the colonial era it was
usual to put the royal arms on the title page of each Revision
of the Laws of Connecticut, and at the head of each issue of
Session Laws. It was omitted first in the Session Laws of
the May Session, 1776, and Connecticut is styled, not, as
before, "His Majesty's English Colony of Connecticut in N'ew
England in America," but the "English Colony of Connect-
icut in 'New England in America." In the Session Laws of
the October Session, 1776, it is first described as the "State
of Connecticut."
* Conn. Reg. for 1889, 440.
t Col. Rec, 16G5-1677, 201.
i Green, John Foster, 11.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
103
In May, 1784, the General Assembly adopted this resoln-
tion :*
"Whereas, the circumscription of the seal of this State is
improper and inapplicable to our present constitution,
''Resolved, by this Assembly, that the Secretary be and he is
hereby empowered and directed to get the same altered from
the words as they now stand to the following inscription, namely,
SiGiLL. Reip. Connecticutensis/''
The Secretary did not follow these instructions with exact-
ness. The words descriptive of the seal itself were spelled out
in full, thus : Sigillum Reipublicae CoNNECTicuTEisrsis.
He also re-arranged them so as to give a more symmetrical
appearance to the whole device, and omitted the hand which
for nearly two centuries had upheld the pennant or scroll
bearing the motto.
At the October Session of the same year, the new design
was approved by the Assembly and the seal made thenceforth
the seal of the State. The fee to the Secretary for affixing
it to any document was made one shilling, f
Apparently a sketch had been made of the seal as originally
ordered, for a wood-cut of the State arms in such a form is
prefixed to the published Session Laws of October, 1784. This
coat of arms with the accompanying legends varies somewhat
in detail from that of the Colony. There are the three vines
arranged in an oval, upon an escutcheon ; but the outer inscrip-
tion around the rim is now C onnecticutensis Sigill. Reip., and
the legend within the oval is shortened to Qui Tra. 8iis.
The same design appears upon the title page of the Revision
of that year, and heads each issue of the Session Laws down
to that for the October Session, 1796, in which the device is
considerably altered. The oval now stands alone, instead of
being displayed on an escutcheon. The QUI TRA. SUS.
which it formerly contained is omitted, but QUI TRAITS-
TULIT SUSTINET appears upon a narrow scroll beneath,
* Stat. Rev. of 1784, 64, 218.
t Stat. Rev. of 1784, 64, 218. Impressions are preserved in the State
Library. Pearne Collection, 1759-1800, 34, 35.
104 THE SEAL OF COXXECTICUT.
each end of which curls over a sprig with leaves. The top
of the oval is crowned by a garland of leaves, supported partly
by the oval and partly by rosettes on each side of it, which
falls low enough to touch the sprays rising from the bottom.
The Session Laws for the October Session, 1792, are headed
by a device much like the former one, used prior to 1791 :
but that on the Laws of the May Session, 1793, is identical
with that on those of 1791.
In the Compilation of the Statutes of 1796, the seal on the
title page is in shape a shield, and the inner legend is Qui
Trans. Sust. In that of 1808, Qui trans, sust. appears on a
scroll under the shield, and on each side of the shield is a
leafy branch. The title page of ''Book II" of the Laws, com-
mencing with those of the October Session of that year, but
published in 1819, represents the arms with the motto inside
the shield again, and abbreviated to QUI TKAIT. SUST.
So far as the different changes in the words or place of the
motto are concerned, it is to be remembered that mottoes form
regularly no part of an English coat of arms. They are not
mentioned in patents granting arms and form no part of the
''estate" granted. Whoever has a grant of arms can adopt
any motto that he pleases, and the officers of arms will then
record it.
Until the eighteenth century, few coats of arms of English
families had any appurtenant motto at all.*
The variations from time to time in the design of the State
arms would seem to indicate that the Secretary, in printing the
Session Laws or General Revisions, left a considerable latitude
to the engraver of the wood-cut, or to the discretion of the
printer in choosing which of several wood-cuts should be used.
The seal of the State itself, which was in the Secretary's
keeping, remained identically the same from 1781: to 1812.
The frequent changes in the wood-cuts of the State arms
seem to have attracted public attention by the time when the
people became ready to frame their C-onstitution of govern-
ment, and in that of 1818 we find these provisions on that
subject:
* Fox-Davies, Complete Guide to Heraldry, 448, 449.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
105
"Art. 4, Sec. 11. All commissions . . . Shall be sealed with the
State seal, signed by the Governor and attested by the Secretary."
"Sec. 18. A Secretary shall be chosen. ... He shall be the keeper
of the seal of the State which shall not be altered."
In the next Revision (that of 1821), no design in the nature
of a seal appears on the title page. Kor do we find one again in
the Session Laws until 1827, when a cut is printed in the same
form as that in the Revision of 1808.
In 1840 the General Assembly took the following action:
"Resolved, That the Secretary of State be instructed to ascertain the
proper seal and bearings of this State, and report to the next session
of the General Assembly; and also whether any legislative enactment
is required for a proper description of said seal."*
It was probably unfortunate that we then had as Secretary
that enthusiastic antiquarian. Royal R. Hinman. He knew
so well the difficulty of the task thus imposed upon him, and
was so unwilling to do anything imperfectly, that he never
made any report whatever.
Apparently by this time the die for the seal approved in
1784 had become worn out, for in 1842 the General Assembly
passed this resolution:
"Resolved, That the Secretary be and he is hereby authorized to procure
a new state seal, similar to the one now in use."t
The seal procured under this authority was in use for about
forty years.
The die was in fact a little broader than that of its prede-
cessor, and each vine is made to bear three clusters of grapes,
although in that the two upper ones had each four clusters
and the lower one five. The press was a screw press, with arms
some three feet long.
Originally, and for many years, the seal of 1842 was used
with wax.t Later it was commonly used with a wafer and a
* Resolves and Private Acts, 1840, 67.
t Resolves and Private Acts, Special October Session, 1842, 17.
t Hon. N. D. Sperry, then the oldest living ex-Secretary of the State,
informed the writer, in 1910, that this was the case when he was in office,
which was in 1855 and 1856.
106 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
notclied paper "scarf."* About 1880, the Secretary (the late
Chief Justice Torrance) had a new die cut, as nearly like
the old one as possible, under the directions of the chief clerk
(Mr. Eobinson S. Hinman), suitable for stamping directly
on the document to be sealed, without the intervention of any
wafer or scarf. A press of modern style, worked with a lever,
was also procured.
The only special authority for this action was a Resolution
of the General Assembly, passed in 1864, empowering the Sec-
retary to procure "a, new State seal, similar to the one now
in use."t I^i'- Hoadly, who was quite a stickler for forms,
once said that the old die which, though still capable of use,
had been laid aside, was the real thing, and the other was only
"Hinman's seal."
During the period of the interregnum from 1901 to 1903,
the old seal was carefully hidden away by Mr. Hinman in the
vault of the Executive offices in the capitol, lest those who
claimed that Luzon B. Morris was the real Governor should
by chance get hold of it, and undertake to issue commissions
or perform other acts of State.
The die of the seal of 1784 was engraved on a silver plate,
which was soldered upon a brass shoe, still preserved in the
State Library. The silver plate was given by Hon. Charles
W. Bradley, in 1846, when he was Secretary of the State, to
Yale College, and is in the University Library.
The die for the seal of 1842 was engraved on brass.
In 1889 a Secret Ballot Act was passed, requiring the Secre-
tary to furnish official ballots and envelopes for the use of all the
electors. The envelopes were to be "stamped with the seal
of the State."$
It is one of the traditions of the capitol that this was con-
strued by the Secretary as requiring the great seal itself to be
stamped on every envelope, and that in using the seal of 1882
for that purpose it was effectually used up.
* This was the practice in 1870, as the writer was informed by E. S.
Hinman, Esq., the chief clerk in tlie Secretary's office for many years,
t Special Acts for 1864, 151; Hoadly, Conn. Reg. for 1889, 441.
t Public Acts of 1889, 155, Sec. 3.
THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
107
The growth of the State has necessarily called for a more
frequent use of the seal in many ways, and during the past
thirty years three new ones in all have been cut.* Conforma-
bly to the provisions of the Constitution, the character of the
device in all respects, however, has remained unaltered. One
of these, engraved on copper, which was accidentally mutilated
by being struck upon a pin, was recently deposited in the
corner stone of the new State Library and Supreme Court
building.
There have then, in the history of Connecticut, been three
and only three great seals : that received from the original
Saybrook patentees about 1644, and awkwardly reproduced
after the overthrow of the Andros government, about 1690;
that cut in 1711 ; and that now in use, the first die for which
was cut in 1784.
The original motto has remained throughout unchanged,
except that the words have been re-arranged; SUSTIKET
QUI TEAIs^STULIT being replaced in 1711, in the interest
of better Latinity, by QUI TRAiTSTULIT SUSTIFET. A
human hand was represented near the motto in the two first
seals, but disappeared in that of 1784.
The symbol of the vine or the vineyard has been uniformly
retained, though with a change in number, which was first
made in 1711.
The original seal contained no statement of what it was ;
nor did that which temporarily replaced it. In the second
such a statement in Latin was added, and this was followed in
substance in the third, when the colony had become a sovereign
State.
But one thing, then, has stood absolutely the same upon her
seal, during the whole life of Connecticut. It is the three words
that expressed the faith of the fathers in the goodness of God.
Those whom He had transplanted, they said. He is sustaining.
Belief in God, and an attitude towards Him of reverence and
* So I am informed by Hon. Richard J. Dwyer, Deputy Secretary of
the State, who has been connected with the Secretary's office during all
that period.
108 THE SEAL OF CONNECTICUT.
thankfulness have ever been a characteristic of our people ; and
each succeeding generation for now nearly three centuries has
thought it fit that they should thus be commemorated upon our
seal of State.
THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE (SEPT. 8, 1755)
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT.
By Henry T. Blake.
[Read December 20, 1909.]
At the southern end of Lake George there stands a monu-
ment which was erected in 1903 by the New York Society
of Colonial Wars to commemorate one of the most desperate
battles and important victories in our colonial history. The
monument consists of a massive granite pedestal surmounted
by two life-size figures in bronze which represent a colojiial
military officer in conference with an Indian chief, and the
principal inscription on the pedestal reads as follows :
1903
The Society of Colonial Wars erected this monument to commemo-
rate THE victory of THE COLONIAL FORCES UNDER GENERAL WiLLIAM
Johnson and their Mohawk allies under CSief Hendrick over the
French Regulars commanded by Baron Dieskau with their Canadl4.n
and Indian allies.
The impression which this inscription suggests to the ordinary
reader is that both Johnson and Hendrick were in command
during the battle and that the victory was gained under their
leadership. Neither of these inferences is correct. Chief
Hendrick had been killed several hours before the battle was
fought and several miles distant from its locality. Johnson
had been wounded at the very commencement of the action
and retired to his tent, leaving his second in command to man-
age the battle and he alone conducted it to its successful result.
These are the undisputed facts of history. Moreover, it is
universally agreed that Johnson's gross military neglect in
making no preparations for the attack almost caused a defeat,
110 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEOKGE
and that his equally censurable refusal to permit a pursuit of the
routed enemy rendered the victory incomplete and valueless.
All authorities concur in these points, and they also agree that
the real heroes of the day were: First, Lieutenant Colonel
Whiting of 'New Haven, Conn., who in the preliminary morning
fight after the death of Colonel Williams and Chief Hendrick
took command of their panic-stricken followers and not only
saved them from destruction but incidentally the rest of John-
son's army also ; and. Second, Gen. Phineas Lyman of Suffield,
Conn., to whom, as already stated, Johnson turned over the
command almost at the outset of the battle and who per-
sonally directed it for more than five hours thereafter till it
ended in victory.
My subject, therefore, possesses a local interest for us, not
only as sons of Connecticut but also as citizens of !N'ew Haven.
Thousands of visitors from our State and hundreds from our
near vicinity annually visit the beautiful and historic region
where the monument referred to is situated, and others will
do so down to the end of time, to most of whom the battle
it commemorates is either entirely unknown or is dim and
vague as a prehistoric legend. ISTot only on this, but on general
grounds it devolves upon this, as on all other Historic Associa-
tions, to protest against misleading public records or inscrip-
tions which tend to perpetuate injustice toward heroes of the
past, whose names are already almost forgotten. For these
reasons I have devoted the paper of this evening to an account
of 'The Battle of Lake George and the Men who Won it."
The three personages with whom our story will principally
deal are Gen. (afterwards Sir) William Johnson, Gen. Phineas
Lyman and Lieut. Col. ISTathan Whiting ; and it will be proper
to begin it with some account of the previous history of these
three individuals.
Sir William Johnson (to give him prematurely the title by
which he is generally knowm) was born in Ireland and came
to this country in 1735 at the age of twenty, to manage the
large landed estates of his uncle, Admiral Johnson, in the
Mohawk Valley. For this purpose and also for the purpose
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT. Ill
of trading on his own account he established himself on the
edge of the vast Indian territory which then extended indefi-
nitely toward the north, south, and west of the continent. Being-
shrewd and ambitious and possessing the genial adaptability
of his race to all conditions of life, and to all sorts of men,
he neglected no method of ingratiating himself with his savage
neighbors and of gaining their respect and confidence. Accord-
ingly he observed strict honesty and firmness in his dealings
with them, kept open house for them at all times, and often
lived with them in their wigwams, where he wore their garb,
greased and painted his face after their fashion, and in whoop-
ing, yelling, dancing and devouring roast dog became a recog-
nized champion. By these and other accomplishments he so
won their hearts that he was formally adopted into the Mohawk
tribe and accompanied them as a member, greased, painted
and befeathered, to an important conference with the whites
at Albany. Owing to his influence with the Indians he was
appointed, in 1750, by the Colonial government of Ifew York,
a member of the Governor's Council, which involved a residence
for a considerable part of the year in the City of iSTew York.
There he mingled with the best social circles, which doubt-
less conduced to amenity and polish in his manners ; there
also he became intimately identified with ]^ew York politics,
which were as bitter and strenuous then as now, and which did
not then any more than now conduce to the purity or mag-
nanimity of a politician's personal character.
In 1755, when war was declared between England and
France, a colonial movement was planned to capture Crown
Point on Lake Champlain, then in possession of the French.
In this expedition the Colonies of ISTew York, Massachusetts
and Connecticut agreed to unite, and Johnson was commissioned
by each of them a Major General to be in command of their
combined forces. This appointment was made, not on account
of his military reputation, for up to that time he had had no
experience as a soldier ; but partly on account of the influence
it was likely to have in holding the 'New York Indians to the
English side, and partly to the supposition that no one else
112 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE
could be put iu the general command without exciting local
jealousy. For both these reasons the appointment was judicious
and attended with good results. Through Johnson's efforts
the Mohawks agreed to fight on the English side, and most
of them afterwards did so, though others, and all the tribes
near Canada, allied themselves with the French.
In connection with this appointment of Johnson as Com-
mander-in-Chief of the Provincial forces for the proposed
expedition, the three Colonies also united in appointing Phineas
Lyman of Connecticut to be second in command. Like John-
son, Lyman had had no previous military experience except
as captain of a militia company in Suffield, and his selection
was doubtless due not only to his prominence as a citizen
but to a recognition of those abilities and soldierly qualities
which were afterwards displayed in a distinguished military
career. He was born in Durham, Conn., in 1716. He grad-
uated at Yale College in 1738 and married into a prominent
Massachusetts family, his wife being an aunt of Timothy
Dwight, who was afterwards President of Yale College. After
graduation he became a lawyer and settled in Suffield, which,
at that time, through an error in the laying out of the Colony's
boundary line, was included in Massachusetts, but was after-
wards, through his efforts, conceded to Connecticut where
it belonged. He was for several years a member of the Con-
necticut General Assembly ; at first in the low^er house and
afterwards in the upper branch, and his law practice is said
to have been the largest in Connecticut. This practice General
Lyman relinquished immediately after his military appoint-
ment, and proceeded to Albany, which had been selected as
the rendezvous for all the troops and supplies for the proposed
expedition.
The third one of the persons with whom we are now prin-
cipally concerned was Col. i^^athan Whiting, who was born in
Windham, Conn., but had resided from boyhood in JSTew Haven,
being connected with the family of President Clap of Yale
College. He gTaduated from Yale College in 1743, and in
1745 he took part in the expedition to Louisburg, where he
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT.
113
SO distinguished himself that he was promoted to a lieutenancy
in the British army. After his return he engaged in business
in 'New Haven, but when war broke out in 1755 his martial
ardor revived and he accepted a Colonial commission as Lieu-
tenant Colonel with the command of the Second Connecticut
Regiment, which was raised for the movement on Crown Point.
The regiment, which was made up partly of volunteers and
partly of drafted militiamen, was assembled at l^ew Haven,
and on May 25, 1755, being about to depart for Crown Point,
it marched, with Colonel Whiting at its head, into Rev. Mr.
IvToyes' meeting house on the Green to hear a discourse by the
Rev. Isaac Stiles on ''The Character and Duty of Souldiers."
Some copies of the sermon still survive and show that the
eloquent Divine did full justice to his subject and the occasion.
He adjured his hearers to "file off the rust of their firelocks,
that exquisitely contrived and tremendous instrument of death,"
also '"to attend to the several beats of that great warlike instru-
ment the drum, and to the language of that shrill high-sound-
ing trumpet, that noble, reviving and animating sound" ; he
depicted their foes as "lying slain on the battle field with
battered arms, bleeding sculls and cloven trunks," "^while the
good souldiers of Jesus Christ were all the while shining with
all the beauty and luster that inward sanctity and outward
charms lend to the hero's look." Fired with enthusiasm by
these encouraging prospects, the youthful warriors departed for
the seat of war and in due time arrived at 'Albany, where,
by the middle of July, about 3,000 provincials were encamped.
A large part of the Mohawk tribe had also arrived, warriors,
squaws and children, among whom Major General Johnson,
with painted face, danced the war dance, howled the war
whoop, and with his sword cut off the first slice of the ox that
had been roasted for their entertainment.
After various delays, a part of the motley army, under com-
mand of General Lyman, moved about twenty-five miles up the
Hudson River to "The Great Carrying Place," from which
there was a trail to Wood Creek, a feeder of Lake Champlain,
on which Crown Point is situated. Here Lyman proceeded to
114 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE
build a fortified storeliouse, which the soldiers called "Fort
Lyman," but which Johnson, with a politician's instinct, after-
wards called "Fort Edward," as a compliment to the then
Duke of York, and this name still clings to the important
village which has since grown up at that place.
On the 12th of August, Johnson arrived with the rest of the
militia and about 250 Mohawks out of the multitude who had
been feasting and dancing at Colonial expense for a month at
Albany. These were led by their principal sachem, Hendrick,
commonly called King Hendrick, an aged chief of great
renown both as warrior and orator, who had been to England
twice, and wore a gorgeous uniform which had been presented
to him by King George in person.
After consultation, it was decided not to approach Crown
Point by way of Wood Creek but through Lake George; and
to reach Lake George, fourteen miles distant, it was necessary
to cut a road through the forest for the transportation of
artillery, boats and stores. This task was accomplished in
about a fortnight and on August 28, Johnson with 3,400 men,
including Indians, arrived and encamped at the southern end
of the lake. Six days later, September 3, Lyman joined him
with 1,500 militiamen, 500 having been left to occupy Fort
Lyman. Some of the cannon, bateaux and other war material
had also reached the lake and the rest was slowly following in
wagons along the newly-cut road. ISTot expecting any enemy,
all these equipments and supplies as they arrived at Lake
George were deposited along the shore of the lake in prepara-
tion for embarking them when everything needed should have
come up. H^o action was taken to fortify the camp, though
the erection of a permanent fort (afterwards called Fort Wil-
liam Henry) was begun with a view to establishing a future
military post at that point.
Meantime, the enemy in Canada had been neither asleep
nor idle. While Johnson's army had been slowly cutting their
forest road to Lake George, Baron Dieskau, the commander-in-
chief of all the French armies in America, a soldier of great
distinction and activity, whose motto was "Audacity Wins,"
had advanced from Crown Point to Ticonderoga with a force
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT.
115
of 1,500 men consisting of 1,200 Canadians and Indians and
300 French Eegulars. On the 2d of September he had left
Ticonderoga by way of Lake Champlain and Wood Creek, and
was now (September 4th) on the other side of the ridge which
separates Lake George from Wood Creek pushing his way
southward up that stream, his objective point being Fort
Lyman. This post he expected to surprise and carry by
assault, thus getting in the rear of Johnson, capturing the
greater part of his stores and munitions and cutting him off
from all future supplies and reinforcements. This he could
easily have done, as Fort Lyman was held by only 500 raw
militiamen and his approach was entirely unsuspected by the
garrison as well as by Johnson himself. On the evening of
September 7, Johnson first learned from a scout that a large
body of men had been discovered about four miles above Fort
Lyman and marching toward it. He immediately despatched
a messenger with a letter warning the garrison of its danger
and called a council of war to consider the situation. His own
suggestion was to send 500 men the next morning to reinforce
Fort Lyman, and 500 more across the country toward Wood
Creek in order to seize Dieskau's boats and cut him off from
a retreat. Old King Hendrick, however, repelled this proposal
with an Indian's mode of argument by taking two sticks and
showing that they could be more easily broken when separated
than when combined. Relinquishing this plan, therefore,
Johnson decided to send 1,200 men the next morning in a
single body to Fort Lyman to cooperate with the garrison in
its defence. The old chief still demurred, declaring that if
they were sent to be killed there would be too many, but if
to fight there would be too few. !N"evertheless, this plan was
adhered to and an order was issued that 1,000 men from the
Massachusetts and Connecticut regiments, under command of
Col. Ephraim Williams and Lieut. Col. E'athan Whiting, and
200 Indians commanded by Hendrick, should march to the aid
of Fort Lyman early next morning.
While these discussions were going on in Johnson's camp,
his messenger to Fort Lyman had been killed by Dieskau's
scouts and the letter of warning found in his pocket. At
116 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEOEGE
about the same time, two of Johnson's wagoners had been cap-
tured on their way to Lake George, and from them it was
learned that Fort Lyman was defended by cannon, while John-
son's camp was unprotected even by breastworks, and that his
artillery was lying unmounted on the shore of the lake. ISTo
sooner were these facts known to the Canadians and Indians
than they protested with one voice against Dieskau's plan of
assaulting Fort Lyman the next morning and insisted on
making the camp at Lake George the object of attack. The
ground of this preference was the invincible repugnance of
militiamen and Indians to face artillery, and they could neither
be cajoled nor reasoned out of such an excusable prejudice.
In vain did Dieskau argue, threaten and implore ; it was Lake
George or nothing, and in the end he consented, with infinite
disgust, to march against Johnson's camp in the morning.
Soon after eight o'clock, therefore, on the morning of Sep-
tember 8, two hostile armies were marching towards each other,
one south, the other north, along Johnson's road. As the Cana-
dian force was the first to start, we will follow their movement
first. Moving from a point near Glens Falls, three or four
miles north of Fort Lyman, they had advanced about five
miles when they reached a narrow ravine between two steep,
wood-covered heights, at the bottom of which ran the road and
alongside of it a little trickling brook. The general appear-
ance of the locality is almost unchanged to-day, though a
railroad now runs through the bottom of the ravine and a high-
way and trolley track skirt its western side. At this point
the Indian scouts announced that a large force was approach-
ing from the direction of Johnson's camp and Dieskau imme-
diately prepared an ambuscade to receive it. The Indians
and Canadians were distributed for half a mile among the
woods on the two sides of the ravine and the Regulars were
posted across it at the lower end ; thus forming a cul-de-sac
of savages and militiamen, who then in complete concealment
and perfect silence awaited the approach of their unsuspecting
enemy. Strict orders had been given not to fire a gun until
the English should become completelj^ enveloped in the trap.
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT. 117
The party from the camp had started a little after eight
o'clock, the Mohawks being in front, headed by Old Hendrick,
who was so heavy and infirm that he chose to ride a horse
which had been lent to him by Johnson. Then followed Colonel
Williams with the Massachusetts men; and Colonel Whiting
with the Connecticut Militia brought up the rear. The whole
column, however, was somewhat promiscuously intermingled
and proceeded with surprising recklessness in a helter-skelter
fashion without the usual precaution of sending scouts at
least a mile in advance. Thus proceeding, the head of the
column reached the ravine and had advanced some distance
into it when Old Hendrick's olfactories recognized a familiar
odor and he called out "I smell Indians" ! Just then came the
crack of a gun from among the bushes and in an instant the air
was alive with horrible yells, as if ten thousand devils had
broken loose mingled with the din of musketry, which flashed
and smoked and rained deadly bullets on the bewildered,
staggering and falling provincials. As Dieskau described it
later in his official report, "the head of the column was doubled
up like a pack of cards." At the first fire Old Hendrick fell
dead from his horse, and the Mohawks fled howling to the
rear, spreading confusion and panic through the whole body.
Colonel Williams sprang to the top of a large boulder to rally
his men and was immediately shot through the head. And
now the French regulars advanced, pouring murderous volleys
into the huddled mass of militiamen, who crowded on each
other in frantic efforts to escape the withering fire. To most
of the Yankee boys it was their first experience of war, and
if they thought of Parson Stiles' sermon, with its allusions to
"battered arms, cloven sculls and severed bodies" the applica-
tion to the case in hand was less promotive of "the hero's
look" than a longing for home and mother.
The situation is thus described by Parkman: "There was a
panic ; some fled outright and the whole column recoiled. The
van now became the rear and all the force of the enemy rushed
upon it, shouting and screeching. There was a moment of total
confusion, but a part of Williams' regiment rallied under
118 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE
command of Whiting and covered the retreat, fighting behind
trees like Indians and firing and falling back by turns, bravely
aided by some Indians and by a detachment which Johnson
sent to their aid." As this detachment was not sent out until
after the firing had been for some time heard at the camp to
be approaching, thus giving notice of a defeat, and then had
two or three miles to cover before it reached the scene of
action, it is evident that Whiting must have had the matter
well in hand before it came up. A ISTew York historian says :
"After the death of Colonel Williams the command devolved
on Lieutenant Colonel Whiting of Connecticut, who, with
signal ability, conducted a most successful retreat. On account
of the spirited resistance made by Colonel Whiting the enemy
were an hour and a half driving the fugitives before them.*
Governor Livingston of iN'ew York, in a letter written shortly
afterwards, says: "The retreat was very judiciously conducted,
after the death of Colonel Williams, by Lieutenant Colonel
Whiting of Connecticut, an officer who gained much applause
at the reduction of Louisburg." Johnson, in his official report,
says (without mentioning Whiting's name) : "The whole party
that escaped came in, in large bodies," (a practical acknowl-
edgment that the retreat had been well conducted,) and he also
concedes that the delay which had been effected was of vital
importance by giving time to put the camp in a posture of
defence. Baron Dieskau, after his capture, expressed his
admiration of Whiting's achievement, declaring that a retreat
was never better managed; and Vaudreuil, the French Gov-
ernor General of Canada, in a communication to his own
government, admits that Whiting baffled an essential part of
Dieskau's plan. This was to drive the routed provincials in
confusion back upon an unprotected camp, and to rush in with
them, spreading the panic, in which case he felt sure that his
disciplined regulars, supporting the wild onslaught of his
Canadian and Indian allies, would make victory certain.
That this plan, but for Whiting's leadership, would have
been realized and would have succeeded, there can be little
* N. Y. state Hist. Assoc. Proceedings, Vol. 2, p. 18.
AND THE MEN" WHO WON IT. H^
doubt. It was not until the firing was heard to be approach-
ing the camp, thus evincing that "the bloody morning scout"
(as it was long afterwards called) had been defeated, that any
vigorous preparation was made for protection by any kind of
barricade. The time was short, indeed, less than an hour and
a half, for getting ready, but life and death were at stake, and
in those few minutes the men worked in a frenzy. Trees
were felled and laid end to end, bateaux, wagons, and other
materials brought up from the lake and piled in heaps, and
three or four heavy cannon dragged behind the barrier, where
they were hurriedly mounted and placed in position. The
fugitives were already swarming in. The more orderly bodies
followed quickly after, and were rapidly assigTied places among
those who had been previously disposed at different points for
the defence. Then and before the arrangements were fully
completed, the savage pursuers came whooping and yelling
through the forest, brandishing their weapons and making
straight for the slight barricade, already exulting in an assured
victory and massacre. They were checked for a moment by a
volley of musketry, and immediately after the unexpected roar
of artillery and the crashing of cannon balls and grapeshot
through the trees around them sent them scattering in con-
sternation through the forest, where behind such shelter as
they could get they pushed as near to the barricade as they
dared and shot at the defenders as they could get opportunity.
And now the French regulars were quickly seen advancing in
solid columns down the road, their white uniforms and glitter-
ing bayonets showing through the trees in what seemed to be
an interminable array. The inexperienced militia behind the
barricade grew uneasy, but the officers, sword in hand, threat-
ened to cut down any man who should desert his post.
Dieskau felt sure that if he could hold his forces together
for a combined assault he could carry the breastwork; but the
Canadians and Indians were scattered through the woods, each
man fighting on his own account and could not be collected or
controlled. With his regulars, therefore, and such few others
as he could gather, he made charge after charge against tho
120 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEOEGE
defences, now upon this side and now npon that but only to
be repulsed at every point. The fighting spirit had begun to
be developed in the defenders and the battle became one of
promiscuous musketry for the most part, though the artillery
was also vigorously served, now scattering a band of Indians
who had collected in an exposed position, and now pouring
balls and grapeshot at random through the forest, the crashing
of which among the trees effectually encouraged the savages
to keep at a respectful distance.
In the very beginning of the fight Johnson had been hit
by a musket ball in the fleshy part of his thigh, but was able
to walk to his tent, where he remained throughout the day,
taking no further part in the action. General Lyman being
thus left in command directed practically the entire course of
the battle, and in the words of Dr. Holden of the !N'ew York
Historical Society "conducted what is considered by all experts
to be one of the most important Indian fights in history to a
successful termination," To quote again from Parkman:
"General Lyman took command, and it is a marvel that he
escaped alive, for he was for four hours in the heat of the fire,
directing and animating his men." "It was the most awful
day my eyes ever beheld," wrote Surgeon Williams to liis wife ;
"there seemed to be nothing Init thunder and lightning and
pillars of smoke."
Governor Livingston in the letter already quoted says :
"I^umbers of eye witnesses declare that they saw Lyman fight-
ing like a lion in the hottest of the battle — not to mention a
gentleman of undoubted veracity to whom General Johnson
two days after the action acknowledged that to Lyman was
chiefly to be ascribed the honor of the victory." Whether
such an admission was correctly attributed to Johnson or not
there is but one voice among historians on the subject and
that is that Lyman, and Lyman alone, fought the battle as
the officer in command, and that to him alone as the directing
spirit is due the credit for its result.
Towards five o'clock in the afternoon the fight began to
slacken. The Canadians and Indians had lost their interest,
AXD THE MEX WHO WO:S" IT.
121
as well as most of their ammunition, and were generalh' acting
on an informal vote to adjourn. The regulars had been half
annihilated ; their ammunition also was exhausted and further
efforts were hopeless. The provincials quickly perceived the
situation and jumping over the breastwork with shouts pur-
sued the retreating enemy. Dieskau was found on the ground
partly resting against a tree, having been three times shot
through the legs and body and left on the field by his own
positive order, declaring that that was as good a place to die
as anywhere. He was carried to Johnson's tent, where he
was courteously received and his wounds attended to by the
surgeons. It was with some difficulty that he was prevented
from being murdered by the Mohawks, who were enraged at
the losses they had suffered in the morning's scout, and espe-
cially by the death of Hendrick. As soon as his wounds would
permit he was sent to Albany, and thence to ^ew York, and
afterwards to England, where he remained on parole to the
end of the war. He then returned to France and died there
in 1767.
The enemy having been routed it only remained to complete
the victory by a vigorous pursuit in force, in order to cut
them off from their boats and thus prevent their escape back
to Canada. This course was, however, forbidden by Johnson,
though urged by Lyman with unusual warmth, and for his
refusal he was censured by his contemporaries as well as since
by all later critics. But what he disallowed to Lyman was
partially accomplished without his knowledge on the same day
by a party from the garrison at Fort Lyman. These having
heard the firing in the direction of the lake had sallied out to
discover the cause of it, and proceeding cautiously through the
forest late in the afternoon had come upon some 300 Canadians
and Indians, skulkers and fugitives from Dieskau's army, near
a small pond by the side of the road and just beyond the scene
of the morning's ambush. These they suddenly attacked,
though themselves much inferior in number, and defeated them
with great loss after a stubborn resistance. The bodies of the
slain were afterwards thrown into the pond and it bears the
122 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEOKGE
appellation of "Bloody Pond" to this day. The scattered
fugitives from this and the preceding conflicts of the day
made their way as best they could to the boats which they had
left at Wood Creek and returned through Lake Champlain,
a worn-out and half-starved remnant, to Crown Point.
Johnson excused his refusal to permit a pursuit on the ground
that he expected another attack, Dieskau having cunningly
informed him that there was a large French force in reserve;
his object no doubt being to give his routed followers a chance
to escape. It seems incredible that Johnson should have given
any credence to so flimsy a deception in face of the fact that
Dieskau had allowed his troops to be defeated and half extermi-
nated, and himself to be captured, without calling up his pre-
tended reserves, and this excuse must be dismissed as insincere.
Johnson also declared that his men were fatigued and disor-
ganized by the events of the day and were not in a condition
to pursue ; but as he had been confined to his tent throughout
the battle he could have known very little on this point in com-
parison with Lyman, who thought differently.
In view of these considerations and his subsequent conduct
all writers agree that Johnson was actuated by jealousy of
Lyman who had already been the chief figure of the engage-
ment, and by the idea that if any more glory were achieved
that day it would be difficult to monopolize it for himself. As
Shakespeare puts it —
"Who in the wars does more than his captain can
Becomes his captain's captain; and ambition
The soldier's virtue, rather maizes choice of loss
Than gain which darkens him."
[Ant. and Cleo., Act III, Sc. 1.]
However this may be it is certain that he promptly determined
to secure for himself all the glory of the victory and also all
its substantial reward, for his official reports not only omit all
mention of Lyman but clearly imply that the whole battle had
been fought under his own personal supervision and direction.
In them he says not a word about his early retirement from the
fight but circumstantially recounts all the details of its progress
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT.
123
in the manner of an eye-witness, commending by name the
English officer Captain Eyre, "who," he says, "served the
artillery through the whole engagement in a manner very advan-
tageous to his character and those concerned in the management
of it." After giving other particulars, he adds: "About four
o'clock our men and Indians jumped over the breastwork, pur-
sued the enemy, slaughtered numbers, and took several prison-
ers, including General Dieskau, who was brought into my tent
just as a wound I had received was dressed."
As Johnson's wound had been dressed at least six hours
before Dieskau was brought into his tent, it is impossible to
acquit him of the deliberate intent to convey a false impression
when he thus connects the time of receiving it with the very
end of the battle. Nor is this conviction weakened when we
read a semi-official despatch written the next day by his military
secretary, Wraxall, to Governor Delancey, in which no mention
whatever is made of either Lyman or Whiting, and he says
in a postscript, "Our general's wound pains him; he begs
his salutations; he behaved in all respects worthy his station
and is the Idoll of the Army."
A side light is shed on the animus of these despatches by a
fact which is mentioned by Governor Livingston and President
Dwight. This is that there existed among some of Johnson's
officers a cabal against Lyman, which was spreading dis-
paraging reports of his conduct during the battle ; reports so
obviously false and malicious and so completely refuted by
overwhelming testimony that they seem to have fallen flat at
the time, and to have been never heard of afterwards.
On September 16, or more than a week after the battle,
Johnson made an official report of the events of September 8
to the Colonial governors, in which again Lyman's name and
services are completely ignored. In connection with the morn-
ing's conflict he mentions Lieutenant Colonel Whiting as
"commanding one division of the scouting party," but makes
no allusion to his management of the retreat. The following
passage, however, is significant: "The enemy," he says, "did
not pursue vigorously or our slaughter would have been greater
124
THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE
and perhaps onv panic fatal. This gave lis time to recover
and make dispositions to receive the approaching enemy."'
The statement that the pursuit was not vigorous would have
been repelled by Dieskau, whose motto was always "Audacity
Wins," and who had certainly pursued as vigorously as the
resistance led by Whiting would permit; but notwithstanding
this misrepresentation to Whiting's disparagement the acknowl-
edgment clearly appears that the checking of the pursuit saved
both the camp and the army from destruction. Considering
that the report was being made to those Colonial authorities
who were especially interested in Lyman and Whiting, the
studious neglect to give either of them credit for the slightest
service throughout the day bespeaks a spirit in its author which
was anything but just, generous or honorable.
The magnitude, as well as the importance of the victory at
Lake George was greatly overestimated, not only by the public
at large but also by the British Government, both on account
of the depression that had been caused by Braddock's defeat
only two months previously, and also by the fact that it was
the only gleam of success that enlivened the English cause in
the Colonies that year. Johnson's reports, therefore, aroused
great enthusiasm in England, and he was hailed as a conquer-
ing hero worthy of distinguished honors from a grateful coun-
try. Accordingly, soon after its receipt in London, he was
created a Baronet by the Crown, and Parliament voted him a
reward of £5,000. Captain Eyre, the only officer named in the
report, was promoted to be Major, and Wraxall, whose only
apparent military achievements were to accompany Johnson
when he walked to his tent soon after the battle commenced, and
to call him "The Idoll of the Army" when it was over, was
given a Captain's commission. layman and Whiting received
nothing excej)t the applause of their own countrymen, who
speedily learned the facts and placed the credit for the victory
where it belonged. Their example has been followed by all
historians. The l^ew York Society of Colonial Wars alone has
sanctioned Johnson's injustice by erecting a monument which
ascribes to him alone the conduct and success of the battle,
and consigns Lyman and Whiting to permanent oblivion.
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT. 125
Johnson took no step forward after the victory, though
strongly nrged by Lyman to seize and fortify Ticonderoga,
then unoccupied, but continued to talk about advancing on
Crown Point, and called for reinforcements and additional
supplies for that purpose. These were sent him through the
months of September and October and into iSTovember, but
during all that period his army of more than 4,000 men lay
inactive except for the work they did in erecting Fort William
Henry. Meantime the weather was growing colder and the
preliminary storms of winter became more frequent and
severe. The soldiers, insufficiently sheltered and clothed, badly
fed, and decimated by sickness, were all the time on the verge
of mutiny and were deserting in large numbers. Finally, on
IsTovember 27, it was resolved to break up the camp, and there-
upon, a few men being left to garrison the half-finished fort,
the rest of the army were dismissed to their homes.
"The expedition," says Parkman, "'had been a failure, dis-
guised under an incidental success." Vaudreuil, the Governor
of Canada, presents the same view to the French Government
in a despatch dated October 3. "M. Dieskau's campaign,"
he says, "though not so successful as expected, has nevertheless
intimidated the English who were advancing in considerable
force to attack Fort Frederick (Crown Point) which could not
resist them." If this statement was well founded, it supplies
a strong comment on Johnson's inactivity after Dieskau's
defeat, for it indicates that had his army, flushed with victory,
been pushed rapidly forward to Crown Point they might easily
have captured the post and ended the English campaign with
complete success. The actual outcome of it was that the close
of the year found the French established at Ticonderoga in a
better and stronger position than they had had at Crown Point,
and fifteen miles nearer to the English settlements.
As this paper relates not merely to the Battle of Lake George,
but also to the men who won it, it will properly conclude with
a brief sketch of the subsequent lives of General Lyman and
Colonel Whiting. But before dismissing Sir William John-
son from consideration it is only just to say that his career
126 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE
after the Battle of Lake George developed nothing which
reflects discredit on his military capacity, or his personal honor.
During the continuance of the French War his influence with
the Indian tribes was invaluable to the Colonies, and his efforts
unceasing to maintain friendly relations between the two
parties on a basis of justice and humanity. He was engaged in
no other important military operations till 1759, when he went
with a band of 900 Indians, as the second in command, under
General Prideaux, on an expedition against Fort Niagara, and
after the accidental death of Prideaux he succeeded to the chief
command. In this capacity he conducted the siege of the fort
with vigor, skill and courage. He fought a successful battle
against a French relieving force, and after the capture of the
fort firmly protected the garrison from his savage allies. He
also, with his Indians, accompanied Amherst in the following
year to Montreal and assisted in the investment and capture
of that last stronghold of the French in Canada. This was
his last important military service, but his influence with the
Indian tribes of JSTew York and Ohio continued to be bene-
ficially exerted till the close of his life, which occurred in 17Y4.
As an important factor in the making of American history he
will always occupy a prominent and, on the whole, an honorable
place.
As already stated, notwithstanding Johnson's studious con-
cealment of General Lyman's part in the Battle of Lake George,
which was successful so far as the British government was con-
cerned, the true story was well known throughout the Colonies,
and this was evinced in the following year by the renewal of
his commission as Major General, which rank he continued
to hold throughout the war. He was also repeatedly entrusted
with important commands and took part in various campaigns
against the French in Canada. In 1758 he commanded 5,000
Connecticut troops in the disastrous attack by General Aber-
crombie on Fort Ticonderoga, where he was among the fore-
most assailants and was with Lord Howe when he fell. Again
in 1759, at the head of 4,000 men, he accompanied Lord
Amherst in his successful expedition against Ticonderoga and
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT.
127
Crown Point, and in 1760 assisted with 5,000 Connecticnt
troops in the capture of Montreal. In 1761 he was again in
Canada in command of 2,300 Connecticut soldiers, helping
to complete the English conquest of that Province. After
hostilities had ceased in Canada the seat of war was removed
to the West Indies, and an expedition having been fitted out
to capture Havana, Lyman was by the joint action of all the
Colonies placed in command of the whole Provincial force
of 10,000 men which accompanied it. The expedition sailed
from ]STew York in iN'ovember, 1761, and in cooperation with
another fleet and army sent out from England, struck the fin-
ishing blow of the war, Havana being taken and several French
Islands conquered and occupied by the English during the year
1762. This- was the last of Lyman's military experiences, as
the war was ended by the Treaty of Paris in February, 1763.
Throughout his active career in the army he had held the con-
fidence not only of the public but of his brother ofiicers, as
a man of superior ability, integrity and wisdom, as well as
of military skill, but unhappily, this confidence was the indi-
rect cause of the disappointments and misfortunes which ruined
his future life.
After the conclusion of peace, a considerable number of the
officers and soldiers who had served in the Colonial armies,
formed an association which they called ''The Company of
Military Adventurers," whose purpose was to secure from the
British government a grant of lands in the new western terri-
tory which had just been wrested from France largely through
their own personal efforts and often (as in Ljonan's case) at
the sacrifice of their private fortunes. General Lyman was
selected by this organization as their agent to proceed to Lon-
don, and there prosecute the claims and objects of the company.
In pursuance of this appointment, Lyman relinquished the
idea of resuming his legal practice and went to England in
1763, where for eleven long years he pursued a weary and
discouraging struggle with the officials in power to obtain their
consent to the reasonable request which he brought to their
notice. As Dr. Dwight remarks, ''It would be difficult for
128 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE
a man of common sense to invent a reason why a tract of land
in a remote wilderness, scarcely worth a cent an acre, could
be grudged to any body of men who were willing to settle
upon it," and especially so when the petitioners were a body
of veterans who had gained the v:^ctories by which the land
was obtained, and whose occupation of it would be important
for its future protection. ^Nevertheless, during all this time
Lyman's appeals were met with indifference and treated with
neglect. Appointments were made only to be forgotten, and
promises, which were never fulfilled. - Ashamed to return home
without success, he lingered on, hoping against hope and striv-
ing against continuous discouragement, until, as Dr. Dwight
expresses it, "he experienced to its full extent that imbecility
of mind which a crowd of irremediable misfortunes, a state of
long-continued anxious suspense, and strong feelings of degra-
dation invariably produce. His mind lost its elasticity and
became incapable of anything beyond a seeming effort." And
under such conditions the best eleven years of his life were
frittered away.
At length, about 1774, the petition in some form or other
was granted. Still General Lyman, apparently unable to form
new resolutions, failed to return home. His wife, distressed
at his long absence, and by the privations which his family
suffered in consequence, then sent his second son to England
to bring him back. The appeal was successful and Lyman
returned in 1774, bringing the grant of land to the petitioners,
and for himself the promise of an annuity of £200 sterling.
As for the grant of land, many of the beneficiaries were dead
and others too old to avail themselves of it. The storm cloud
of the Revolution also was now gathering fast and the younger
part of his generation had other things to think of than that
of settling a western wilderness. For these reasons the land
grant proved practically valueless for its intended purpose ;
and as for his personal annuity, the speedy outbreak of Colonial
rebellion, if no other reason, prevented its ever being paid.
The tract of land in question was situated on the Mississippi
River, and was part of the territory then known as West
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT.
129
Florida. It included the present site of JSTatchez, where a
French fort had been built and afterwards abandoned. To
this malarious and fever-stricken region in 1775, General
Lyman, then a broken-down man of fifty-nine, betook himself
by a thousand-miles' journey over roadless mountains and
bridgeless rivers, accompanied by a few companions, among
whom was his eldest son, who was feeble both in body and mind.
The son died soon after their arrival and shortly afterward the
worn-out father followed him to the grave. 'Tew persons,"
says Dr. D wight, "began life with a fairer promise of pros-
perity than General Lyman. Few are born and educated to
brighter hopes than those cherished by his children. ISTone
within the limits of my information have seen those hopes,
prematurely declining, set in deeper darkness. For a con-
siderable time no American possessed a higher or more exten-
sive reputation ; no American who reads this subsequent history
will regard him with envy."
This allusion to the happy prospects of General Lyman's
family in early life, suggests that a few words be given to
their pathetic fate. The story is related somewhat circum-
stantially by Dr. Dwight.
General Lyman's second son, who brought his father home
from England, accepted, while there, a lieutenant's commis-
sion in the British army. In 1775, while in Suffield, he was
ordered to join his regiment in Boston, which he did and served
on the British side till 1782. It was probably the painful
relations with their neighbors which this situation brought to
the family in Suffield which caused Mrs. Lyman, in 1776, to
remove, with the rest of her children, consisting of three sons
and two daughters, to West Florida. Her elder brother accom-
panied them on the sad and toilsome journey. Within a few
months Mrs. Lyman and her brother both died. The children
remained in the country till 1782, when the settlement was
attacked by the Spaniards. The little colony took refuge in
the old fort and resisted the invaders until compelled to sur-
render on terms ; but the terms were at once outrageously
violated. In desperation the victims rose upon their con-
130 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEOEGE
querors and drove them from the settlement, but learning soon
afterward that a larger force was coming up the river to punish
them, and fearing the worst of cruelties, the whole colony
fled to the wilderness, aiming to reach Savannah, which was
then in possession of the British. On their way they endured
innumerable hardships and perils, suffering continually from
hunger, thirst, fatigue and sickness. Once they were cap-
tured by a hostile band of savages, who were about to torture
and scalp them, when they were miraculously rescued by
the intervention and address of a friendly negro; but those
who survived the terrible journey reached Savannah after
wandering a distance of over 1,300 miles, through a period of
150 days. As a result of these experiences the two daughters
died at Savannah. The three sons remained there until the
war was over and then accompanied the departing British
troops. One of them was afterwards in Suffield for a short
time but soon disappeared, and what finally became of him
and his two brothers. Dr. Dwight, although they were his
cousins, was never able to learn.
As to the second son, he continued in the British service
till 1782. At that time nearly torpid with grief and disap-
pointment he sold his commission, but collected only a part
of the purchase money, and that he speedily lost. He returned
to Suffield penniless and almost an imbecile. Friends there
endeavored to revive his courage and restore his mental bal-
ance, but in spite of all efforts he sank into listlessness and
unkempt pauperism and in this condition he died. Truly, the
comment of Dr. Dwight was well applied when he called his
narrative "The History of an Unhappy Family."
The record of Colonel Whiting will be shorter and more
cheerful. As we have seen, he held, during the campaign of
1755, the rank of lieutenant colonel only, but the next year the
General Assembly voted him a colonel's commission, with its
thanks, for the skill, courage and ability which "he had dis-
played at the Battle of Lake George and on other occasions."
He took part in all the subsequent campaigns of the war, highly
commended by both British and Americans as an officer of
AND THE MEN WHO WON IT.
131
uncommon merit, and when peace returned resumed his mer-
cantile business at N'ew Haven. In 1769 he represented New
Haven in the Lower House of the General Assembly, and in
1771 was nominated for the Upper House, to which he would
undoubtedly have been elected but for his death, which occurred
in that year at the early age of 47.
Dr. Dwight described Colonel Whiting as ^'an exemplary
professor of the Christian religion, and for refined and dignified
manners and nobleness of mind rarely excelled." And Pro-
fessor Kingsley in his Centennial Discourse of 1838 speaks
of him as one of those citizens for whom 'New Haven had
especial reason to be proud.
He was buried in the ancient burial ground on New Haven
Green, but where, no living man can tell. In the Grove Street
Cemetery can be found the mutilated fragment of a time-worn
slab, leaning against the tombstone of President Clap, in whose
family Whiting's boyhood was passed. The name has been
broken off, but the inscription which remains records that the
deceased died in "Kew Haven, full of Gospel Hope, April 9th
An Dom 1771. Aet 47," and the stone is thus identified as
having once marked the resting place of Col. Nathan Whiting.
And thus it happens that Lyman and Whiting, the men who
won the Battle of Lake George together, and who suffered the
same injustice in connection with that achievement, and who
have been alike ignored in the only structure which com-
memorates the victory they won, are alike sharers in this fate
also, that they both rest in unknown graves.
AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS
WORK : AMOS DOOLITTLE.
By Rev. William A. Beakdsley, M.A.
[Read December 19, 1910.]
We are so accustomed to study the lives of men of large
deeds, of men who have helped to mould and develop public
affairs in one way or another, that we are apt to forget the
man of humble calling, who lived and worked humbly, but
who nevertheless deserves to be remembered for the success he
achieved in his particular sphere of work.
Now any man, who in the past made anything which is
highly prized to-day and will grow more precious as the years
increase, deserves to be remembered. The irreverent and
unsympathetic entertain a kindly pity for those who have a
real veneration for old things. It is difficult for them to real-
ize how anyone can derive pleasure from some musty volume
or quaint print, save as its mustiness or quaintness is turned
into cash. And yet there are those who prize old things not
alone for what they are worth in dollars and cents, but for
what they are in themselves ; prize them for their associations,
for their antiquity, and for their intrinsic merit. To such,
collecting is a real joy, and the pleasure of a discovery, an
experience to be remembered.
Among the old things which are highly prized to-day, engrav-
ings hold a foremost place. They are of great historic value,
because our forefathers were largely dependent upon the art
of the engraver for their illustrative work. It was the man
with the burin and not the man with the camera who made
their pictures, and the products of his art were as nothing,
in point of numbers, to the products of the numerous photo-
AiSr OLD NEW HAVEN EXGKAVER AND HIS WORK. 133
graphic processes of to-day. A book was rich in illustration
then if it had its one engraved frontispiece. To-day we string
a wealth of pictures on a slender (sometimes very slender)
thread of text. We are largely indebted to the engraver for
the representation of historic scenes, and places, and person-
ages. True he may have used his imagination a little, and
added a detail here and there, or idealized a face a bit, but
we are grateful for these representations nevertheless, and, if
they are all that we have, we prize them for their historical
significance.
]Srow ]^ew Haven was the home of one of these old engravers.
His name was Amos Doolittle. But l^ew Haven cannot claim
him as one of her native sons, for he was born in Cheshire,
Conn., May 18, 1754.* He belonged to the fifth generation of
Doolittles in this countrj-. Abraham Doolittle was the founder
of the family in America, and from him came all who have
borne that name, for his brother John, who settled near Chel-
sea, Mass., died without issue. Abraham was here in I^ew
Haven about 1640, and owned a house. Among the first
settlers of Cheshire was his descendant, and representatives
of the Doolittle family have ever been numbered among the
inhabitants of that town, and have played their part in shaping
its history.
Amos Doolittle was the son of Ambrose and Martha Munson
Doolittle, and was next to the eldest in a family of thirteen.
It is related as a striking coincidence that his twin brothers,
Samuel and Silas, one living in Cheshire, the other in Vermont,
and both insane, died on the same day and at the same hour.
Amos turned his attention to the silversmith's trade, learn-
ing it of Eliakim Hitchcock of Cheshire. He early came to
New Haven, and here he made his home until his death in
1832. The house in which he lived stood on College Street
just above Elm, and its site is now covered by the north end
of East Divinity Hall. His shop was on the present College
* The old Ambrose Doolittle house in Cheshire is still standing, and is
occupied. It is the first house south of the Power House on the line of the
trolley, about a mile north of the center and is an old-fashioned leanto.
134 AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGKAVER AND HIS WORK.
square, fronting the Green; about where Farnam Hall is, I
imagine.
We find Doolittle's name among that goodly number of sub-
scribers who, "desirous to encourage the military art in the town
of 'New Haven," memorialized the General Assembly "to con-
struct them a district military company by the name of the
Governor's Second Company of Guards." Thus Doolittle was
an original member of that illustrious and historic organiza-
tion. It came into existence at a time when membership in
it was a serious matter, for in less than two months after its
incorporation the battle of Lexington was fought, and no
sooner had the news arrived than Capt. Benedict Arnold got
together his company, and proposed that they should go to the
front. The larger part agreed to do so, and Doolittle was
among that number. As a company they remained only about
three weeks at Cambridge, when they returned to New Haven.
But soldiering was only a side issue with Doolittle, to be
practiced when duty called. He was not, exactly an "embattled
farmer," but still he belonged to that class of soldiery, and
it was a mighty good class too. He had now evidently turned
his attention to engraving on copper, and this expedition to
Cambridge, patriotic in its intent, was made to serve a prac-
tical purpose as well. That expedition was undertaken in the
latter part of April, 17Y5.
In December of that year there appeared an advertisement
in the Connecticut Journal to this effect — "This day published,
and to be sold at the store of Mr. James Lockwood, near the
College, in !N^ew Haven, Four different views of the Battle of
Lexington, Concord, etc., on the 19th April, 1775.
Plate I. The Battle at Lexington.
Plate 11. A view of the town of Concord, with the Minis-
terial troops destroying the stores,
Plate III. The Battle at the I^orth Bridge, in Concord.
Plate IV. The south part of Lexington, where the first
detachment were joined by Lord Percy.
The above four plates are neatly engraven on Copper, from
original paintings taken on the spot.
AlSr OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK. 135
Price, six shillings per set for the plain ones, or eight shil-
lings, colored."
We are told that Doolittle was entirely self-taught as an
engraver. That is charitable, for there is no use in incrim-
inating anyone else. These Plates are exceedingly crude in
every way, and if they had to depend upon their artistic merit
and skillful workmanship for their value, they would come
perilously near to being worthless. But their very crudity is
perhaps their most valuable feature to the collector, or to any-
one, for that matter. Aside from all that, however, an interest
attaches to them as the earliest work of a man who was
struggling with an art, of which as yet he knew practically
nothing, and in which he never did rise to any high degree of
excellence. And further, they have an historical interest. They
cannot be regarded as accurate representations of the scenes
depicted, of course, but still they were made by men who were
portraying some things, at least, which they had seen with
their own eyes.
And this brings me now to speak of the way in which they
were made. We are indebted to Barber for our knowledge
here. There was among those who volunteered and went to
Cambridge, a young portrait painter, Ralph Earle. But Barber
was evidently in error in stating that he was a member of the
Foot Guards, for his name does not appear on the roster. Pre-
sumably he went along as a volunteer without being actually a
member of the organization. They did not go as the Governor's
Foot Guards, but as the 'New Haven Cadets.
Well, it was this Ralph Earle who made the drawings from
which the Plates were engraved. Earle later went to England,
studied under Benjamin West, and became a member of the
Royal Academy, He did some work which brought him fame,
particularly his painting of Niagara Falls, which has an inter-
est for us in this connection, for this picture was exhibited
throughout the country, and in course of time came to iSTew
Haven. Here his old friend and collaborator of a quarter of
a century back was still his friend, as the following advertise-
ment in the Connecticut Journal for June 25, 1800, shows:
136 AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK.
"Perspective View of the Falls of ]^iagara. One of the great-
est !N^atural Curiosities in the known world painted on the
spot bj the celebrated Ralph Earle will be exhibited to view
This Day between the hours of 8 in the morning and 6 in the
evening at the house of Amos Doolittle, College St. This paint-
ing is 27 ft. long and 14 ft. wide, and will afford the spectator
as just an idea of the stupendous Cataract as can be represented
on canvas. Price of admittance, 9d." It is quite possible that
it was Earle who painted the portrait of Doolittle which is
in the possession of the Society.
But we must return to the Lexington and Concord Plates.
Like Doolittle, Earle was a beginner. As Barber says, "Both
their performances were probably their first attempts in these
arts, and consequently were quite rude specimens." Barber
also tells us, on the authority of Doolittle himself, that "he
acted as a kind of model for Mr. Earle to make his drawings,
so that when he wished to represent one of the Provincials as
loading his gun, crouching behind a stone wall when firing
on the enemy, he would require Mr. D. to put himself in such a
position." Earle made his drawing for the Battle of Lexing-
ton on the spot shortly after, and so far as the buildings are
concerned we probably have a representation which approxi-
mates the truth, but as for the battle, which was in no sense
of the word a battle, why that of course is largely imaginary.
But the really interesting thing about this is that here is an
attempt, rude though it may be, to depict the first shedding of
blood in the cause of American Independence. It is not at all
surprising that these Plates when published "made quite a
sensation."
Doolittle was a practical man and had an eye to business no
doubt in making his Plates, but, with his patriotic fervor, we
may believe that he hoped they would help to inflame the people,
and inspire them to action in the great contest which was
already under way. And they would most certainly do that.
Our first inclination as we look at these Plates is to laugh at
their grotesqueness, but not so the men and women who first
saw them. It w^as not the crude effort of a young and ambitious
AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGKAVER AND HIS WORK.
137
man with the graver which would impress them so much as the
fact that they portrayed actual scenes, and scenes in which their
fellow-countrymen had lost their lives at the hands of the red-
coats. One may hazard the guess that Doolittle's primitive work
served another and larger purpose than merely to put him in
funds, and that he hoped it would.
Xow I have been speaking solely of the first Plate in the
series, "The Battle of Lexington." The others are just as
quaint and interesting, and the temptation to linger over them
is strong, not only for their historical interest, but because they
are the first crude attempts of a struggling, untutored genius
to express itself on copper. We instinctively feel that the
youthful engraver put his whole soul into them. As we look
at them we can almost see the painful labor which begot them.
These Plates probably constitute the first series of Historical
Engravings executed in America, series mind you, for of
course Paul Revere's separate Plates of the "Boston Massacre"
and "Ships Landing Troops" were engraved prior to Doolittle's
work.
The mistake has frequently been made of claiming Doolittle
as the earliest Connecticut engraver on copper. There was an
engraver here in New Haven who antedates him, Abel Buel.
It is quite likely that he engraved the first book-plate for the
Linonian Meeting of Yale College which was organized in
1753, that quaint old plate with the Chapel and I^orth Middle
in a small loop at the top, both looking as though they had
suffered from some seismic disturbance, and were in danger
of speedy collapse. And then there was Deacon Martin Bull
of Farmington, almost ten years Doolittle's senior, who did
some engraving. But, after all, the output of these men in
point of quantity and pretentiousness was insignificant as com-
pared with Doolittle's. Outside of Connecticut there were such
engTavers as Paul Revere, Elisha Gallaudet, James Turner, and
Nathaniel Hurd, who were earlier, the latter being perhaps
the best of our early engravers here in America.
But to return to the story of Mr. Doolittle. What occupied
his attention next after his famous Historical Series it is not
138 AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK.
possible to saj with certainty, but in the Boston Gazette for
Monday, May 19, 17YY, this advertisement of his may be
found —
"Proposals for Printing.
A new map of the state of Connecticut with some of the
adjacent parts of the States of Wew York, l^ew Jersey, and
Rhode Island, collected from the best and latest Surveys.
Conditions.
1. The Plate will be 24 inches, by 16 in size.
2. The price to Subscribers to be One Dollar plain or Ten
Shillings properly coloured.
3. It will not be delivered to l^on-Subscribers under Eight
Shillings plain or Twelve colour'd.
4. It will be published in about four weeks from this Date.
5. Those who subscribe for six Sets shall have one gratis.
InT. B. If this work meets due Encouragement, the Author
intends publishing other useful Maps. Subscriptions are taken
in by the Printer hereof. New Haven, April 21, 1777."
That is only a proposal. Perhaps it did not meet with a suf-
ficient response to warrant him in carrying it out, for while
it would not be safe to say that no copy is in existence, yet
nothing is known of such a map where one might reasonably
expect to get some knowledge of it.
His next production, or what we may assume to be his next,
has an interest all its own, for it shows the ambitious, if some-
what daring, nature of this young self-taught engraver. In
the Connecticut Journal for September 24, 1777, we find him
advertising a plate, in the presentation of which, doubtless, he
was moved by a patriotic impulse, as one likes to think he was,
in a measure at least, in the presentation of his Historical
Series. Those were momentous and intense times in the his-
tory of the nation. All eyes were on the Continental Congress,
and we may well believe that its distinguished President, about
whom the report was going around that he had written his
name large on the Declaration of Independence that no one
AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGEAVER AND HIS WORK.
139
miglit fail to see it, yes, written his name, as it was said of
him later, "where all nations should behold it, and where all
time should not efface it," would be a personage of rare inter-
est to the people in general, and would fire the young engraver's
ambition to portray his features on copper.
And so his advertisement reads, "Just published and to be
sold by Amos Doolittle, a metzotinto Print of the Hon. John
Hancock, Esq. Price 4 shillings plain, $1.00 neatly coloured."
:N"ow the interesting thing about this is that it shows Doolittle's
ambition in respect to his art, or if that be too strong, let us
say in respect to his craft. He is experimenting with the
mezzotint. That, speaking in the most general way, is the
opposite of line engraving. It is the process of working from
dark to light. The surface of the plate is roughened, and then
by scraping, that degree of light is produced which the artist
desires, according as he scrapes much or little. The great
thing in the process is the preparation of the plate in the first
place.
Whatever may have been the motive which prompted Doo-
little to try the mezzotint process, apparently he did not feel
warranted in making further use of it, for I know of no other
attempt of his in that direction. And as for this John Han-
cock plate, it is doubtful if a copy of it is in existence.
We pass on now to the memorable year of 17Y9, memorable
certainly in the annals of ITew Haven, for that was the year
when her citizens had the chance to show the metal of which
they were made. And it proved to be good metal too. It
had the right ring. When the British sailed up the harbor
and landed on the East shore and then on the West shore, they
met with a welcome to be sure, but then it was hardly the kind
of welcome which men court. They encountered those who
were emphatically disposed to question their progress, who, as
a matter of fact, did emphatically question it. Those men
were fighting for their liberty, and they needed no other
incentive of course, but, could it be possible that neighbor Doo-
little's pictures were in any small way responsible for the
patriotic fervor of that citizen soldiery which so valiantly con-
140 AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK.
tested the progress of the British invaders ? Did they remember
those brave Provincials whose life-blood they had seen, by the
aid of Doolittle's graver, mingling itself with the dnst, yes,
actually seen, for Doolittle was nothing if not realistic, as will
be evident from a careful study of the Plates? Well, be that
as it may, their defence was heroic, and the invaders soon found
they were dealing with a very determined foe.
Among those who took part in the defence of the city on the
west side was Mr. Doolittle. We know how stubbornly and
valiantly those defenders resisted the progress of the enemy,
but they could not hold them back. They were compelled to
retreat into the town, the enemy following.
Of the various stories told of citizens respecting this inva-
sion, and the disagreeable scenes which followed, one concerns
Mr. Doolittle. It has been preserved by Barber, but I venture
to give it here because it rightly has a place in my story, and
as Doolittle was Barber's informant we have no reason to doubt
its truth, in the essential facts at least. When Doolittle and
the other defenders were forced to retreat into the town he at
once went to his home, where his wife was lying sick, and throw-
ing his gun under the bed, anxiously awaited the coming of
the invaders, his anxiety being greater for his wife probably
than for himself. In due time the enemy were before his
house, and at once an English lady who resided with him
stepped to the door and requested of the officer a guard for
the house. He insolently asked her who she was, and being
informed that she was an Englishwoman and had a son in His
Majesty's service, he placed the house in the charge of a High-
lander, with orders that no harm should be done to any of its
inmates. But during the parleying, it would appear that some
of the soldiers had entered the back door, and were searching
for themselves, and looking under the bed found Mr. Doolittle's
gun. Well, this complicated matters, and for a moment it
looked serious for Mr. Doolittle, but again the Englishwoman
came to the front, and explained that the law required every
man to have a gun in the house, and the owner of that gun
was as great a friend to King George as they were themselves.
AN" OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK. 14:1
They would have had some difficulty in believing that if they
could have seen Mr. Doolittle that morning out there on the
Derby road at Hotchkisstown popping away at some of His
Majesty's subjects. But the good lady won and no harm came
to Mr. Doolittle nor to his wife.
From this time on Mr. Doolittle's life, so far as we know,
was devoted to the quiet pursuit of his occupation. War
entered into it no more, save as he pictured some phase of it
on copper. Other work than engraving was evidently done at
his shop on College Street, though that occupied his attention
for the most part, for an advertisement announces in a very
dignified way, that specimens of Varnishing, Enameling, etc.,
might be seen at Mr. Amos Doolittle's painting-rooms, and
one of his own prints carries the information that he had a
rolling-press, which shows that he not only made his plates,
but that he made the prints from them, and apparently did
other printing also. At one time he evidently had Ebenezer
Porter associated with him in the business. And in 1798 one
Marcus Merriman advertises silver and metal Eagles, as made
and sold by x\mos Doolittle and himself. But, of course,
engraving was his chief occupation, though it is not surprising
that he should have made some use of his knowledge and expe-
rience gained as a silversmith's apprentice.
In 1782 there was published here in ISfew Haven, "The
Chorister's Companion, or Church Music Revised, containing
besides the necessary rules of Psalmody a variety of Plain and
Fuging Psalm Tunes, together with a Collection of approved
Hymns and Anthems, many of which never before printed,"
to quote the title page quaintly engraved by Doolittle. It
was printed for and sold by Simeon Jocelin and Amos Doolittle.
He seems to have done a good deal along this line, for in 1786-7
he published in connection with Daniel Read, Vol. I of The
American Musical Magazine. There were twelve numbers
covering forty-nine pages, presumably all engraved by Doolittle,
for Read was simply a merchant and kept a general store up
on Broadway where you could buy anything from hardware
to snuff and from hair powder to Gospel Sonnets. Apparently
142 AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGEAVEE AND HIS WORK.
the Magazine was not successful for it lived only a year. It
was not a magazine in our sense of the word, for it had nothing
in it but music. It had a high ideal, namely, "to contain a
great variety of approved music carefully selected from the
works of the best American and foreign masters." With that
ideal it ought to have lived.
Well, the young Republic was started on its wonderful career,
and George Washington, in peace as in war, was the man of
the hour. It was not to be expected that this industrious and
ambitious craftsman would fail to find a subject in him.
Indeed I fancy that every American engraver felt that he was
false to the highest ideals of his art until with his graving
tool he had made the likeness of Washington. Those of you
who have seen Mr. Charles Henry Hart's sumptuous volume,
published by the Grolier Club, entitled, "Catalogue of the
Engraved Portraits of Washington," will appreciate the signifi-
cance of that statement. He describes eight hundred and eighty
distinct plates, and six hundred and thirty-four different states
of them, and it is hardly likely that his catalogue is complete.
And mind you, these are only the portraits on copper and steel.
ISTor are there included any of those numerous scenes in which
Washington is the central figure.
Ah, well, it was only natural that he should have been a
favorite subject of the engraver. Of Doolittle's chief effort
Mr. Hart has this to say, "I consider this one of the most
interesting in the catalogue, not only as being one of the largest,
if not the largest plate executed in this country at the time of
its issue, but also on account of its extreme rarity." There
are at least five variations of this plate. The one we possess
in our Collection is, apparently, the third state of it. It bears
the date October 1, 1791.
But what is the plate ? Well, here is its title, ornate alike
in its wording and its engraving: "A Display of the United
States of America. To the Patrons of Arts and Sciences in
all parts of the World this Plate is most respectfully Dedicated
by their most obedient humble servants, Amos Doolittle and
Ebn'. Porter." ITow one thing is clear from that, and it is
that Mr. Doolittle is not catering to any restricted public.
AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK. 143
He is out to conquer the world. And he is appealing to those
who are interested in the promotion of the Arts and Sciences.
As Doolittle's worthiest contribution to Washingtoniana it
deserves a few words of description. In the center is the large
circle enclosing the bust of Washington, and on the band of
the circle is the inscription, "George Washington, President
of the United States of America. The Protector of his coun-
try, and the supporter of the rights of mankind." Around
this large circle and forming a frame for it is a chain of
fourteen smaller circles. The circle at the top encloses the
Arms of the United States, and on the band is the total number
of inhabitants. For each of the thirteen original States there
is a circle, enclosing the arms of the State, and in the band
of each is the name of the State, its number of inhabitants,
and its number of Senators and Eepresentatives. Taking it
all in all this is an exceedingly interesting plate, not alone
because of its extreme rarity, but because of the originality
of its conception, and the marked improvement in workman-
ship. Mr. Doolittle signs it both as its designer and engraver.
It is evident that, during the thirteen years since his first
pretentious effort, practice with the graver was not without
its results, though he was not yet, nor was he destined to become,
a great engraver.
We find him making maps for Jedediah ^iorse's American
Geography, and folding plates of military tactics for Baron de
Steuben's book, and in the American edition of Ma^Tiard's
Josephus published in 1792, fourteen of the sixty plates are
signed by Doolittle. We find him also making a portrait of
Jonathan Edwards for his History of Eedemption, and a
portrait of Ezra Stiles and numerous plans for his History
of the Judges of King Charles I. For Trumbull's History
of Connecticut, he contributes plates of John Davenport, John
Winthrop, and Gurdon Saltonstall, and a fine map of Con-
necticut. These are only some of his works along this line
during the years just before 1800.
In 1799 he issued a 'New Display of the United States with
the portrait of John Adams in the center, and with the coats
of arms of sixteen States, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee
144 AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGKAVEK AND HIS WORK.
having come into the Union. It bears the famons saying,
"Millions for our defence, not a cent for tribute." There is
nothing laudatory in the inscription. It is simply, '"John
Adams President of the United States."
In 1803 he put out another 'New Display of the United
States. This time, of course, the portrait is that of Jefferson.
But the plate is much smaller and simpler than his former
"Displays," perhaps in deference to "Jeffersonian simplicity,"
for, according to his obituary notice in the Columbian Register
for February 4, 1832, "Mr. Doolittle was an old Jeffersonian
Democrat, adhering to first principles through evil and through
good report."
In this new "Display" he has abandoned the circle for the
square, except that Jefferson's bust, like Washington's, is
enclosed in a circle. Around this is the inscription, "Thomas
Jefferson, President of the United States, Supporter of Liberty,
True Eepublican and Friend of the Eights of Man." Enclos-
ing this circle is a square of little squares, each representing
a State.
I have spoken of his "Display" as his chief contribution
to Washingtoniana. But it was not his only contribution. He
engraved for Trumbull's Funeral Discourse on Washington,
published in ISTew Haven in 1800, a portrait after the Joseph
Wright profile. And in the Connecticut Magazine, or Gen-
tleman's and Lady's Monthly Museum for January, 1801, there
appears an engraved bust of Washington after Gilbert Stuart.
This same plate reworked and relettered was afterwards pub-
lished by Shelton and Kensett, the latter being Thomas Kensett,
who was connected through his marriage to Elizabeth Daggett,
with Doolittle. Kensett himself was an engraver. It was he
who made the old Wads worth map of ISTew Haven. In 1812,
or about that time, he removed from Kew Haven to Cheshire,
where he had a little engraving shop. It is worth noting in
passing that he was a pioneer in the great canning industry,
for he was a member of the firm of Daggett & Kensett, which
experimented with the process of preserving extract of beef in
hermetically sealed cans, which was supplied to the United
AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGKAVER AND HIS WORK. 145
States Government. Their store was on the west side of York
Street, just north of Chapel. He was the father of the dis-
tinguished painter, John Frederick Kensett. This Cheshire
firm of Shelton & Kensett published a number of Doolittle's
plates, among them being Alexander I of Russia, Bonaparte
in Trouble, Dartmoor Prison, and his Prodigal Son series.
The mention of Doolittle's connection with Kensett through
the latter's marriage to Elizabeth Daggett reminds me that
nothing has been said of his own matrimonial relations. That
he was twice married I can safely affirm, though of his first
wife I have been able to find nothing, save that her name was
Sally, and that she died of a lingering consumption, January
29, 1797, in her thirty-eighth year. A lengthy poem accom-
panies her death notice, but obituary poetry is of little value
when one is in quest of facts.
By this wife he had at least one child, a son, for in a letter
dated June 4, 1798, written in reply to an inquiry about his
doing some work, and in which he says he is unable to do
it, Mr. Doolittle adds, ^'however I have a little son that has
just begun the business, he has done some engraving in the
copper plate way very well." Of this son I have not been able
to learn anything, not even his name.
But this chance reference to him is not without its interest.
The view of Yale College, a copy of which is in the University
Library, is sig-ned, '"A View of the Buildings of Yale College
at New Haven. Drawn and EngTaved by A. B. Doolittle.
Published April 6th 1807 by A. Doolittle & Son, College Street,
New Haven." So far as I am aware, this is the only plate
which is signed in this way.
Now whose plate is this? Undoubtedly it is A. B. Doo-
little's, and that perhaps is the son's name. Ifc was signed by
him as the designer and engraver, and published under the firm
name, so to speak, of A. Doolittle & Son. That is only a con-
jecture, but when we find that son's name, I shall be surprised
if it is not A. B. Doolittle. There was an A. B. Doolittle who
had a shop on Church Street, ''nearly opposite the Church,"
and whose advertisement begins to appear in the paper early
146
AN" OLD NEW PIAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK.
in 1806. Besides the usual things found in a jewelry store,
he advertises ''Miniatures painted, and set in a handsome
style. Profiles accurately taken, and all kinds of Devices
painted and set." Could he be the same man as the one who
signed that Yale print ?
Mr. Doolittle's second wife was Phebe, daughter of Ebenezer
and Eunice Moss Tuttle of Cheshire. They were married in
ISTew Haven, ITovember 8, 1797. Thus through his second wife
he became connected with the influential family of Tuttles.
She died March 4, 1825, and with him is buried in the Grove
Street Cemetery. It was her sister's daughter who married
Kensett.
But from this digression we must return again to the con-
sideration of his work. We find him now doing a good deal
in the way of making illustrations for books, such as allegorical
frontispieces for "The Guide to Domestic Happiness" and
"The Refuge," also engravings of mechanical appliances and
diagrams, and maps for a Bible Atlas, and, with others, plates
for "The Self Interpreting Bible." In 1812 he published his
map of I^ew Haven, which was revised in 1817 and 1824.
It could hardly be expected that our little affair with England
in 1812 should pass unnoticed by this patriotic craftsman.
His "John Bull in Distress" undoubtedly expresses his feelings
at the time. It is a little vindictive perhaps, but then there
were extenuating circumstances. A half-bull, half-peacock is
pierced through the neck by a hornet. The hornet is repre-
sented as saying, "Free Trade and Sailor's Rights you old
rascal," while from its victim comes, "Boo-o-o-o-hoo ! ! !"
This was published early in 1813, and has reference to the
engagement between the "Peacock" and the "Hornet," when
the latter, under the command of the intrepid Lawrence, won
a signal victory. And, by the way, that victory inspired
another Doolittle, this time to song. Eliakim Doolittle, a
younger brother of Amos, composed a song, "The Hornet Stung
the Peacock," which, for the time being, was immensely popu-
lar. Here is the way it begins,
AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK. 147
"Ye Demo's attend and ye Federalists too,
I'll sing you a song that you all know is new,
Concerning a Hornet, true stuff, I'll be bailed.
That tickled the Peacock and lowered bis tail,"
and so on tlirougk six more stanzas, witli a chorus equally
long for eacli stanza. And thus in their respective ways the
Doolittle brothers gave evidence of their patriotic fervor. I
think, however, that in this case the graver is mightier than
the pen.
But we must not go on with this enumeration of his works.
I have tried to mention those which will give us an idea of
the wide field he covered, of the variety of subjects with which
he dealt.
There is, however, a branch of his work about which I would
say a few words before bringing this paper to a close, and that
is his book-plate work. I believe there are nine book-plates
which bear his signature, and several others are confidently
attributed to him. It was the fashion at the end of the
eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries for
individuals and libraries to have engraved book-plates or labels ;
sometimes they were very simple, sometimes they were very
elaborate — a fashion which has again come into vogue. Often-
times of course, in the case of individuals, the family coat of
arms served as the book-plate, but in the absence of this symbol
of aristocracy, and always in the case of the library, the engraver
could use his imagination, and thus produce something awfully
democratic perhaps, but at the same time quaint and interest-
ing and individualistic, something which would rise above the
monotonous level of heraldic designs. It was in the case of
libraries, perhaps, that the engraver gave his ingenuity the
freest play.
Of the known book-plates engraved by Doolittle, his four
local library plates are by far the most interesting, as they
are the most pretentious. Two are College plates, one for the
Brothers in Unity and the other for the Linonian Library.
The former was designed by Wm. Taylor, the latter presumably
was designed as well as engraved by Doolittle. They are quaint
148 AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK.
and crude botli in design and workmanship. The plate for the
Linonian Library is dated 1802. It is rich in allegory, and
full of detail. The other two local library plates were the
plates of the Mechanic Library and the Social Library Com-
pany. The former was organized in 1793, the first meeting
of the organizers being held in the State House, February 5th
of that year. This is probably the earliest public or semi-
public library in the city. There seems to have been some
connection between it and the Mechanic Society of which Mr.
Doolittle was a member, or at all events his funeral was
attended by the Mechanic Society, which would indicate his
membership in it. The library never reached large propor-
tions. A catalogue published sometime after 1801 shows nine
hundred volumes. This library had two book-plates. The
smaller, and as I suppose earlier, plate is not signed by Doo-
little, but that he engraved it there can be little doubt in my
judgment.
As an indication of some connection between this library
and the Society of Mechanics it may be stated that this plate,
only slightly altered, appears as a wood-cut in the advertise-
ment in the paper of the meetings of the Society. For mechan-
ics as for readers of books the motto was, "Improve the
Moment." That was back in 1800. The larger and more
elaborate plate carries his name as designer and engraver.
In 1807 another library was organized, though not incor-
porated until 1810. This was known as the Social Library Com-
pany, and for this Doolittle designed and engraved a book-plate.
I might add that in 1815 the Mechanic Library was merged
with the Social Library Company, and the two were known
as the Social Library, which existed under this name until
1840. This Social Library Company book-plate is in some
respects the best of Doolittle's book-plates. It has its defects,
but on the whole it presents a very neat and attractive appear-
ance. Across the top is a ribbon bearing the name, and under-
neath is a black cloud in which are two well-fed, sweet-faced
cherubs, holding in their hands a huge scroll on which are the
words. Theology, History, Biography, Voyages and Travels,
AN OLD :srEW HAVEN ENGRAVER AND HIS WORK. 149
Classical, indicating the character of the books in the library.
You will notice the absence of Fiction. This library frowned
upon that branch of literature. In the distance is a large house
on a knoll among the trees, while nearer is a body of water,
and on the grass in the immediate foreground are books and
scrolls, and a compass, and a globe. Underneath all is the
perfectly proper sentiment, and eminently sage advice,
'Tis Books a lasting pleasure can supply,
Charm while we live and teach us how to die,
Seek here ye Young the anchor of your mind,
Here suffering Age a blest provision find.
Another branch of his work is indicated by the following
receipt given to the Treasurer of Yale College —
"Rec'd Newhaven September 12, 1817 of Elizur Goodrich, Esq. Sixty one
Dollars for that number of Diplomas for the Bachelor of Arts graduated in
Yale College this week — by me
Amos Doolittle"
But I must bring to an end the story of "An Old ISew
Haven Engraver and his Work." If I have seemed to make
much of insignificant things, you must remember that if from
the story of a life like this the insignificant things are elim-
inated, there will be no story left. For we have not been
considering a man of great deeds, but just one of those plain,
industrious citizens who form the strength of every community.
That he was a valuable man in this community there can
be no doubt. So far as I know he did not serve his fellowmen
in high public office — in 1797 he was tax lister (assessor) —
but he served them in that humbler way of quietly doing his
duty as a citizen, and industriously working at his trade.
We have not even been considering a man great in his
chosen occupation, for Amos Doolittle is not remembered for
the rare quality of his work. It is enough for us that he was
an old ISTew Haven citizen who with head and hand fashioned
those things which men everywhere, with a veneration for the
quaint and the ancient, most highly prize.
Mr. Doolittle died January 30, 1832, after working at his
occupation for almost sixty years. It is interesting to note
150 AN OLD NEW HAVEN ENGEAVEK AND HIS WORK.
that about three weeks before his death he was engaged in
helping to make a small plate of his Battle of Lexington, and
it was his last work. It was most fitting that it should be.
We may judge of the esteem in which he was held from the
funeral notices in the local press. "He was a worthy and
highly respected citizen. His funeral was attended by a large
concourse of friends and relatives, together with the Mechanic
Society, and his brethren of the Masonic Fraternity." "He
was a gentleman of an amiable and obliging disposition — a
Christian in all the relations of life." Fortunate indeed is he
of whom that much may be said.
THE CONGREGATIONALIST SEPARATES OF
THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY IN
CONNECTICUT.
By Rev. Edwin P. Parkek, D.D., LL.D.
[Read February 20, 1911.]
At the beginning, in the I^ew England Colonies, all persons
were required to support the Congregational order of religion.
This order or way soon fell into disrepute; serious divisions
about matters of church government and discipline arose, and
various restrictions of religious liberty and the rigorous enforce-
ment of them created dissatisfactions and dissensions. For the
composition of these troubles many efforts were made by church
synods and the civil courts, which cannot here be reviewed.
In 1705, "proposals" were made and urged in Massachu-
setts to give to ministerial associations large powers and
authority, even to making them standing councils. These pro-
posals failed of adoption there, but were warmly approved
by the conservative ministers in Connecticut. The Trustees
of Yale College desired that the General Court should estab-
lish some stronger ecclesiastical government in this colony.
Governor Saltonstall, ex-minister of 'New London, whose
influence over the clergy was predominant, and of whom Hol-
lister says, "he was more inclined unto synods and formularies
than any other minister of that day," was quite prepared to
take up this task, and the General Court, under his leadership,
saw fit to take action "from which would arise a permanent
establishment among ourselves." Accordingly, in May, 1708,
the Legislature passed an ordinance requiring the ministers of
the churches to meet together at their respective county towns,
with such messengers as the churches to which they belong
152 THE COI^GREGATIONALIST SEPARATES OF THE
shall see cause to send with them, in June next, to consider
and agree upon methods and rules for the management of
church discipline; and, at the same meeting, to appoint two
or more of their number to be their delegates who should meet
at Saybrook, at the next Commencement to be held there, to
compare results, and draw up a form of ecclesiastical discipline,
and offer the same to the General Court at their sessions at J^ew
Haven, in October. That clause of this remarkable and manda-
tory ordinance, which includes "such messengers as the
churches shall see cause to send," is an interlineation of the
original resolution.
In compliance with this mandate, the ministers met and
chose their delegates, who convened at Saybrook on September
9 (20, ^. S.), and constituted what is known as the Saybrook
Synod. Of the sixteen members of that Synod, twelve were
ministers and eight of these were Trustees of Yale College.
Two of the four laymen were from Saybrook, so that outside
that town, the churches of the Colony were represented by only
two laymen. 'No one appeared from New Haven County as
representing any church. The business expected of the Synod
was promptly done, and the Saybrook Platform was offered
to the Legislature at New Haven, in October, whereupon the
following ordinance was passed : —
"The Reverend ministers, delegates from the Elders, and messengers of
the Churches in this government, met at Saybrook, Sept. 9th, 1708, having
presented to this Assemblj^ a Confession of Faith, Heads of Agreement,
and Regulations in the administration of Church Discipline, as unani-
mously agreed and consented to by the Elders and messengers of all the
Churches in this government, this Assembly do declare their great approba-
tion of such an agreement, and do ordain that all the Churches within this
government that are or shall be thus united in doctrine, worship, and
discipline, be, and for the future shall be OAvned and acknowledged, estab-
lished by law; provided altcays, that nothing herein shall be intended or
construed to hinder or prevent any society or church that is or shall be
allowed by the laws of this government, who soberly differ or dissent from
the united churches hereby established, from exercising worship and disci-
pline in their own way, according to there own consciences."
That clause of this act which reads, "as unanimously agreed
and consented to by the elders and messengers of all the
churches in this government," was a very ingenious accommo-
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY IN CONNECTICUT. 153
dation of the facts in the case to the exigency of the hour.
So far from agreeing or consenting to the Saybrook Platform,
the churches had not even the opportunity of considering it
before it became, by act of Legislature, the established eccle-
siastical constitution of the Colony. It did not emanate from
them, it was not referred to them, it was not accepted by them,
but was imposed upon them by a Legislature at whose mandate
it had been framed and presented.
As for the proviso, it should be noticed that any toleration of
dissenting parties granted by it, was carefully limited to such
societies or churches that ivere or should he allowed by the laws
of the government. Subsequent legislation shows that it was
neither intended nor construed to apply to dissatisfied Congre-
gationalists, but only to persons desiring to worship as Baptists
or Episcopalians or some other denomination. In view of the
great English precedent of 1689, granting toleration to dis-
senters, it would not be politic for the General Court of Con-
necticut to frame an establishment without some such proviso.
The Episcopalians and Baptists here then were few and weak,
but they were active in making the government realize that in
case their rights were denied, the Colony would have to reckon
with the home government. This Saybrook System grouped
the ministers in District Associations, and the churches in
District Consociations in which the ministers were prominent
and dominant, and which were or became ecclesiastical courts
with large jurisdiction and powers. Indeed, the words '"Con-
gregational" and "Presbyterian" became interchangeable in
Connecticut. As late as 1805 the General Association referred
to the Saybrook Platform as "the constitution of the Presby-
terian churches of Connecticut."
I have stated these things at some length, because only
a knowledge of them enables one to understand the attitude
and action of those who subsequently attempted to withdraw
from a system which they regarded as radically uncongrega-
tional, and which, as controlled and operated by the conservative
ministers supported by the civil government, had become
exceedingly obnoxious to them.
154 THE COISTGREGATIONALIST SEPARATES OF THE
In 1717 a law was passed putting tlie choice of a minister
in the hands of a majority of the townsmen who were voters.
This act operated, in repeated instances, to saddling churches
with ministers highly obnoxious to them, and in producing
withdrawals and separations.
The proviso of the act of 1708, by which sober dissenters
might be permitted to withdraw and worship by themselves,
did not exempt them from taxation for the support of the
established order. In 1727 Episcopalians, and in 1729 Baptists
and Quakers, were granted exemption from this tax, or, more
correctly, were allowed to draw from the public treasury for
the support of their own worship a sum equal to that which
they had paid in taxes for religious purposes.
In 1740, amid the excitements of what is known as the
"Great Awakening," when conservative "Old Lights" and
progressive "I^ew Lights" were engaged in stout contentions,
the General Court was somehow induced to pass an act for
the suppression of "enthusiasm," which went far to nullify
the toleration proviso of 1708, and to make it almost impossible
for dissatisfied Congregationalists to obtain permission from
the Legislature to worship apart. When their applications for
such permission were denied, and they pleaded their rights
under the proviso of 1708, they were told that persons commonly
named Congregationalists or Presbyterians could not take the
benefit of that act.
In 1742 a law was passed forbidding any ordained or
licensed minister to preach or exhort within the limits of any
parish without the consent of the minister and a majority of
said parish. The penalty of so doing for one not an inhabitant
of the Colony was arrest and deportation, and for an inhab-
itant of the Colony, deprivation of his salary. The civil
government ordained that no one should have the benefit of
laws as to the settlement and support of ministers unless he
was a graduate of Yale or Harvard or some other Protestant
university. The aim and object of these legalized restrictions
of both personal and religious freedom were, first, to check and
suppress the new "enthusiasm" in religion; and, secondly,
to hinder and stay the strong-rising tendencies to dissent and
EIGHTEENTH CENTUEY IN CONNECTICUT. 155
separation on the part of those Congregationalists who had
become disgusted with the Saybrook System and the ultra-
conservative operation of its machinery.
The connection between these two things was a subtle and
intimate one. While many of the so-called "New Lights"
were not "Separates," but fought out their contentions in the
established churches, all the "Separates" were "J^ew Lights,"
if not theologically, yet as in fullest sympathy with the "New
Light" methods and motions. Just here, we must recall the
"Great Awakening," which began about 1735 with the power-
ful preaching of Jonathan Edwards, and continued with some
intermissions, for several years thereafter, mightily augmented
by the preaching of George Whitefield. A tidal wave of evan-
gelical revivalism swept over the land, nowhere more pro-
nounced in its good and bad effects than in Connecticut. That
mighty movement shook the churches of this Colony to their
foundations. It was simply impossible for them to go on
as they had hitherto gone, and, I may add, it was high time
that they should be summoned, however rudely, to awake from
their slumbrous condition.
Like all such great revivals, that one was attended with
intense excitements and many disorders. It divided the house-
holds of faith, and brought their members face to face in
strenuous contention, for or against its new methods, its
demands for a larger liberty and for a more vital, fervid, active
religious life and church.
There are few now who question the great preponderance
of its beneficial results. Had the church-leaders in Connecticut
been wise enough to regard this whole movement with some-
thing of Jonathan Edwards' blended conservatism and sym-
pathy, and to guide and moderate it, it would have been well
for all. But, good men as they were, they were simply shocked
and disgusted with what seemed to them extravagance and
fanaticism as well as disorder, and did their utmost, the Legis-
lature supporting them by such acts as have been noted, to
sweep back that tidal wave with their ecclesiastical brooms,
and with the usual result of such endeavors.
156 THE CONGREGATIONALIST SEPARATES OF THE
Oliver Goldsmith, then living in England, describes, in one
of his essays, the prevalent preaching of his time, as "dry,
nnaffecting, and insipid," and contrasts it with that of the
enthusiasts, whose earnestness and unction gather multitudes
and make converts. 'Tolly may sometimes set an example
for wisdom to practice," he says, and "our regular divines
may learn from even Methodists, and Whitefield may be a
model to them."
What he says was profoundly true here in Connecticut. As
a result of the Great Awakening there was a powerful pre-
Methodist movement in the churches here. There were fervors
often amounting to feverishness and occasional delirium. On
the other hand there were imperturbable decencies and uncon-
querable frigidities. Here, in short, was a great revolt against
a traditional and conventional sort of religion; against a
church at ease in Zion, cold and torpid, and far from any
blessedness by reason of its intimate relations with the State;
a tremendous call for something better in the name of religion,
and for a larger liberty.
The motions and endeavors of the reformers to secure what
was requisite within the old churches met with utmost resist-
ance, and soon, here and there, these people began to withdraw
to associate in churches after their own convictions. But in
so doing they encountered opposition. Legal permission was
denied them, they were treated as law-breakers by the courts,
cast out by the Consociations, and compelled to pay taxes for
the support of the churches they had abandoned.
At this point we find them naturally and inevitably in revolt
against the established ecclesiastical system. Men who cared
little or nothing for any sort of religion could obtain permis-
sion to worship elsewhere than in Congregational churches,
and be exempt from taxation in support of these churches, but
those Congregationalists who would associate together in what
they believed to be "the strict Congregational way," could
obtain no such permission, no such relief, and forty years must
pass before they could receive the same legal measure of tolera-
tion accorded to Episcopalians, Baptists and Quakers.
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY IN CONNECTICUT. 157
Perhaps the Saybrook System had no more earnest supporter
than the historian Trumbull, but the second volume of his
history clearly enough shows what frictions, follies, and injus-
tices attended its operations. The church in Guilford, in which
a controversy raged for five years, renounced the Saybrook
Platform, to no purpose. The church in Canterbury vainly
pleaded that it had never accepted that Platform. Then it
refused to accept a minister chosen by a majority of the
townsmen and ordained over them by a Consociation. With-
drawing and placing itself upon ancient Congregational
grounds, it was declared illegal and schismatic.
In Mansfield the Separates chose a man to be their pastor,
and on the day before that appointed for his ordination he
was arrested and imprisoned. Baptisms administered by these
ministers were solemnly declared to be invalid.
In Milford the Separates took refuge under the Presbytery
of New Brunswick, for a season. The minister at Derby was
expelled from his Association for preaching to a Baptist con-
gregation in another parish. Yale College expelled two stu-
dents from the town of Canterbury whose only offense was that,
while at home, they had attended, with their parents, the
Separate church in that town, and had thus "broken the laws
of God, of this colony, and of this college."
In 1745 eight leading ministers published a declaration con-
cerning George Whitefield, who was then in this country, that
if he should come into Connecticut "it would not be advisable
for any of our ministers to admit him into their pulpits, or
for any of our people to attend upon his preaching."
Grant all that has been or may be said concerning White-
field's indiscretions, for which there were provocations, and yet
that sort of declaration concerning one of the greatest preachers
of all times, and one whose labours in this land were fruitful
in unmeasured abundance, is one, I think, which we all deeply
wish had never been made public ; one which makes a big and
black blot on our church history.
Dr. Dutton has told the story of what is now "The United
Church" in ISTew Haven. Sober and devout men withdrew
158 THE CONGKEGATIONALIST SEPARATES OF THE
from the First Church in 1742 and strove in vain for years
to obtain legal permission to worship by themselves in their
own way, taxed all the while to support the church they had
left. For presuming to preach to that congregation on one
occasion, Rev. Samuel Finley, subsequently President of
Princeton College, was arrested and sent out of the Colony as
a vagrant.
Elisha Paine, once a lawyer of repute in the Colony, and,
afterward, the leading preacher among the "Separates," was
imprisoned several times, his property was attached and por-
tions of it confiscated, for preaching within the bounds of
other ministers, and for non-payment of taxes to the regular
ministry.
There was a deacon in the First Church of New Haven whose
son was a deacon in the "N"ew Light" or "Separate" Church.
The child of this latter one died, and that former Old Light
and Saybrook Platform deacon, in a written note, declined to
attend the funeral of his grandson, because his son belonged
to the "Separate" Church.
After the frame of the Kew Light meeting-house was pre-
pared to be raised, all the long pieces of timber were cut
asunder in the night. The intense hostility displayed against
these so-called "Separates," and the persecutions they endured
for protesting against and repudiating a system imposed upon
them, might be illustrated at great length, but the laws enacted
and enforced against them are sufficient. In the revision of
the laws in 1750 some of the harsh enactments of 1742 dis-
appeared, but not only had some valuable lessons been learned
meanwhile, but serious warnings had come from England of
a possible violation of the rights and liberties of Connecticut
citizens under the common law.
The "Separates" have been described as a set of ignorant
and fanatical folk, intemperate and disorderly. That they
were, for the most part, from the humbler and less educated
classes, is doubtless true. So were the followers of Jesus and
his Apostles. That among them were some perfervid and
indiscrete people — layfolk and preachers — is also true. As to
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY IN CONNECTICUT.
159
their intemperate and censorious speech, I fancy they had no
monopoly of that, and were quite as much sinned against as
sinning in that respect. Having scanned a great many of the
manuscript and printed documents emanating from them, I
am convinced that it would be very unjust to include them
all under any such general, unfavorable description. As for
education, for instance, when they undertook to establish a
school of learning in which to train preachers, the General
Assembly passed an act prohibiting the establishment of any
college, seminary or other public school without their permis-
sion. These Separate, or Strict Congregational, churches held
a general meeting for confederation, at Lyme, in 1Y84, and
among their articles, all admirably drawn up, was this one :
"Any brother of any Church that may have gifts for public edification,
ought to improve them in subordination to the voice of the Church: and
when the Church is convinced that any brother has gifts and grace to
preach the word to edification and honor of the Gospel, they ought to give
him their approbation and recommendation to preach in the vicinity. But
if he be disposed to travel, preaching far abroad, he ought to apply unto
some ministers or Christian brethren who are publicly known for their
good judgment and piety, or to the general meeting of the Churches; and
he ought not to travel to preach without: and those who are disposed to
be preachers of the Gospel ought to employ their utmost endeavors to
furnish themselves with all branches of useful learning and knowledge,
whereby they may become useful ministers, that the ministry be not
blamed by their deficiency."
The fact most needing emphasis is that, at that time, there
was the most urgent need, here in Connecticut, for the revival
of religion, for some of that very "enthusiasm" which seemed
so dreadful to the conservative clergy, and which they strove to
exclude from their sadly secularised and torpid churches. The
"Separates" felt this need, strove to supply it, and because
they were every way hindered and thwarted, withdrew.
They were the Methodists of their day, in respect of fervor,
enthusiasm and all that. They tried to do what, subsequently,
the advent of Methodism did with far greater success, and
our fathers of the "standing order" looked upon the Metho-
dists when they came in, and upon their fervors and enthu-
siasms, with the same disfavor as formerly upon those Separate
160 THE CONGKEGATIONALIST SEPARATES OF THE
Congregationalists, only, fortunately, they had no longer any
power to persecute them. As late as 1800, the Hartford iforth
Association of ministers voted unanimously that it was "not
consistent to dismiss and recommend members of our churches
to the Methodists."
Earnestly as these men desired and strove for a more spirit-
ual ministry and a more fervid and fruitful religious life, they
no less earnestly desired and strove for an enlargement of their
liberties. They called themselves "Strict Congregationalists,"
just as, in 1670, men in Hartford withdrew from the First
Church in order that they might ^practice "the Congregational
way of church order ... as formerly settled, professed, and
practised under the first leaders of the church in Hartford."
Higginson and Skelton of Salem, Wilson at Charlestown,
John Cotton at Boston, Hooker at l^ewtown, all were ordained
by the church. According to all the great authorities, Synods,
Consociations, and Councils had only advisory power ; and the
right to ordain as to choose a minister is resident in the church.
But — here was a Standing Court claiming judicial powers,
and both asserting and exercising its powers to ordain, dismiss
and discipline ministers ; to organize and discipline churches,
and to revise the decisions of its constituent churches. These
Separates rebelled against this degenerate but dominating Con-
gregationalism. They objected to the ordination of men over
them by Consociations, believing, as their fathers believed, and
as we now believe, that the right of ordination is resident in
the church. They protested against a support of the ministry
by taxation, authorized and regulated by civil law. They
abhorred the criminal meddling of the civil government in
parish matters, the civil enactments which so restricted liberty
of worship, and the whole Saybrook system, as subversive of
true Congregationalism. They stood for rights and liberties
which we now regard as very precious.
Their justification is found, not so much in their able memo-
rials to the Legislature, in their carefully drawn confessions
and covenants, and in such books as those of Frothingham, as
in the nullification and abrogation of the enactments against
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY IN CONNECTICUT. 161
which they protested, and in the allowance of the liberties for
which they contended.
It seems to me unquestionable that it was in large measure
due to them that the revision of the laws in 1750 omitted
much previous harsh legislation, and that in 1784 the legal
establishment of the Saybrook Polity was abrogated, and all
citizens were thenceforth free to worship in whatever associa-
tions they might prefer, though all were still taxed to support
some church. When the new Constitution was adopted, this
last relic of the old order was abandoned and religion was left
to the voluntary support of its various votaries. This was the
logical sequence of the act of 1784, and for both of those acts
great credit is due, I think, to those humble, resolute, much-
harassed people here in Connecticut, who were capable of some
enthusiasm in religion, and who for fifty years, bravely, though
often blunderingly, fought the good fight here for spiritual and
ecclesiastical freedom, against tremendous odds.
It often happens that in the victory of a movement, the
sect or party which has propagated it disappears. It was so
with these Separates, and it redounds to their credit that when
the cause for which they contended and suffered was won, and
their distinctive work was accomplished, they cared not much
to continue longer as ''Separates," but were content to dis-
appear as district Societies. That is why the history of their
several churches, some thirty in number, is veiled in obscurity,
and why they have been overlooked, and the great service
they rendered to the cause of vital religion and of religious
liberty in Connecticut has been so little regarded. Some of
them died out, some rejoined the old churches, some became
Baptists and Methodists. The names of some of their ministers
deserve to shine in the annals of our church history.
Dr. George Leon Walker long ago wrote that this chapter
in our ecclesiastical history "awaits its proper treatment at
the hands of some sympathetic historian." Should it ever
receive such a treatment, I doubt not that the result will fully
confirm what has been advanced in behalf of those Congrega-
tionalist Separates in this humble and imperfect study of them.
ROBERT TREAT : FOUNDER, FARMER,
SOLDIER, STATESMAN, GOVERNOR.
By George Hake Ford.
[Read April 17, 1911.]
John Fiske, in bis history of the "Beginnings of 'New Eng-
land," says, "The native of Connecticut or Massachusetts who
wanders about rural England to-day, finds no part of it so
homelike as the cosy villages and smiling fields and quaint
market towns. Countless little features remind him of home.
In many instances the homestead which his forefathers left,
when they followed Wintbrop or Hooker to America, is still
to be found, well-kept and comfortable; the ancient manor-
house, much like the I^ew England farmhouse, with its long
sloping roof, and its narrow casements from which one might
have looked out upon the anxious march of Edward IV, from
Havenspur to the field of victory, in days when America was
unknown.
"In the little parish church which has stood for perhaps a
thousand years, plain enough to suit the taste of the sternest
Puritan, one may read upon the cold pavement one's own name
and the names of one's friends and neighbors ; and yonder on
the village green, one comes with bated breath upon the simple
inscription which tells of some humble hero who on that spot,
in the evil reign of Mary, suffered death by fire.
The colonial history of New England is so associated with
that of the rulers of the mother country that, to comprehend
the existing conditions, it becomes necessary in a measure to
consider the characteristics of the men and the methods that
controlled Old as well as jSTew England during this period.
ROBERT TREAT.
163
In the latter part of the reign of James I, bands of Puritans
were found studying the subject of immigration to America.
Considering the climate South too hot and l^orth too cold, they
decided to found their American colony on Delaware Bay.
The May-flower sailed on its tempestuous voyage, and, driven
by adverse winds, landed on the ISTew England "stern and rock-
bound coast," instead of Delaware Bay, making Plymouth
Rock famous and Massachusetts the accidental foundation of
New England.
The founders of Massachusetts and Connecticut were men
conspicuous for their high character and marked ability. Liver-
more says of the ]*^ew Haven colony: "The company was
remarkable. Davenport and Eaton surpassed all other com-
rades in dig-nity and influence and in the colony were many
wealthy Londoners."
Other distinguished men were Hopkins, the founder of three
grammar schools; five able ministers, four school teachers;
one became the first master of Harvard College, and the other
the first jSTew Englander to j)ublish an educational work. Pre-
ceded by Winthrop, Saltonstall, Wareham, Hooker and others,
important companies had arrived and settled in Massachusetts
and the upper part of Connecticut.
Among the first-comers at Wethersfield appears Mr. Richard
Trott, the name "Trott" being the original English family
name of the American "Treat." The family history of this
settler of Wethersfield is readily traced back to John Trott
of Staple Grove, Taunton, England, as far back as 1458.
Taunton, a place of English antiquity, was originally a Roman
settlement and the family of Trott were evidently of Roman
origin, as an entry made in the records of 1571 refers to
Richard as "Rici" and Robert as "Robtus." This occurs
in a deed from father to son which, translated from the original,
provided that the conveyance was made on condition that the
said Robtus was not to sell or surrender the premises to any
person or persons except by the family name of Trotte.
This Taunton Manor, County of Somerset, by a coincidence,
is the same parish from which came Thomas Trowbridge, one of
164 EOBEET TREAT.
the original settlers of 'New Haven, from whom the distin-
guished family of that name have descended. The parish rec-
ords of Taunton, I am told by Mr. Francis B. Trowbridge,
carry that family name back to 1570.
With the authorities at command, we must assume that the
name of Treat is absolutely of American coinage, as it does
not exist in England. As far as known every person in the
United States by the name of Treat is descended from Robert
Treat. In the early records it was spelled "Treate" ; even the
name of the wife of Governor Treat is so engraved upon her
tombstone at Milford.
The high social rank of Richard Trott or Treat, of Wethers-
field, is demonstrated by the various offices of honor and trust
that he held. Titles then amounted to something. Mr. was
a mark of importance. "Esq." attached to a name indicated,
as in Old England, a land-owner, and these titles were as highly
esteemed as Hon. is now, not more than five per cent, of the
community being then entitled to their use.
Richard Trott or Treat was frequently referred to in the
records as ''Mr," and "Esq." Some of the early writers
assume that he arrived in the Saltonstall Colony in 1630 ; others
that he was a deputy from Wethersfield as early as 1637 ; both
theories are errors, as the records in England show that
Katharine, the youngest of his nine children, was baptized there
in February, 1637. The Connecticut colonial records show that
he was chosen deputy in 1614 and annually thereafter for
fourteen years ; then being chosen magistrate eight times in
succession until 1665.
With the names of John Winthrop, Mason, Gold, and Wol-
cott, his name appears as one of the patentees of the charter
secured for the colony in 1660 from Charles II, by Governor
Winthrop. He is said to have been a person of wealth and
owned large tracts of land in what is now the town of Glaston-
bury. Frequent mention is made of him in the records as
laying out lands. It is probable that Robert acquired some
knowledge of surveying from his father.
Robert Treat was the second son and fifth child of Richard
Treat, the first-comer. He was baptized in England, February,
KOBEKT TREAT.
165
1(321, and was one of the original company that settled in
]\lilford in 1639. Then a very yonng man, his name with nine
others is recorded separately immediately after the forty-four
church members. (These ten not being conceded the privileges
of citizenship.)
Lambert says that at the first meeting of the planters, Robert,
then under sixteen, being skilled in surveying, was one of the
nine appointed to lay out the home lots. Stiles refers to him
as being then seventeen years old. Some writers assume that
he was studying theology under Peter Prudden, and thus came
from Wethersfield to Milford with the Prudden family. While
he did not have the advantages of a college training, he was
certainly well educated, as is shown in after years, when he
frequently made use of Latin and other languages.
He immediately became a conspicuous character in the town
and the colony. Lambert gives him the credit of being the first
town clerk of Milford, from 1640 to 1648. This must, to a
certain extent, be tradition as the frag-ments of the records
of the town of that period that are preserved do not confirm
this. The N"ew Haven Colonial Records first mention his
name in 1644 and not again until 1653. This is accounted
for by the fact of the loss of the records of that period, except
so far as they refer to magistrates. Prom the year 1653, records
preserved show that he was chosen deputy to the General
Court from Milford and each year following until the court
of May, 1659, when he was advanced to magistrate. He con-
tinued in that office until 1664, when, although again chosen, he
declined to accept. Magistrates then not only constituted what
is now the upper house of the General Assembly, but the
Supreme Court of the State.
The confederation of ISTew Haven colony effected in 1642
consisted of Milforde, Guilforde, Stamforde and Yennicock
(Southold). The Government for the whole jurisdiction was
fully organized this year and for the first time are distinctly
recorded the names of governor, deputy governor, magistrates
and deputies.
Mr. Eaton was annually chosen Governor while he lived and
generally Mr. Goodyear, Deputy Governor. They had no salary
166 ROBERT TREAT.
but served solely for the honor and the public good. Francis
I^ewman succeeded Mr. Eaton as Governor. In 1661 William
Leete of Guilford was elected Governor, continuing in that
office until the union with the Connecticut Colony was effected.
At the General Court at ]^ew Haven, 1654, the court was
informed that "Milford have chosen Robert Treate leiutenant
for their towne and desire he may be confirmed by this court."
In 1647 he married Jane, the daughter of Edmund Tapp,
who was one of the original founders and one of the seven
pillars of the church.
A pretty story, told by Lambert and frequently repeated,
is as follows: — "At a spinning bee or frolic on a Christmas
night, Robert, being somewhat older, took Jane upon his knee
and began to trot her. 'Robert,' said she, 'be still, I would
rather be treated than trotted.' " She soon became the bride
of Robert Treat. The story is conceded to be a clever reference
to the name of Trott or Treat. The result of this marriage was
eight children, four boys and four girls, although Savage, in
his genealogy, gave the number as twenty-one; evidently the
children of his son Robert were counted in this estimate.
William Fowler, the first magistrate in the town and an
ancestor of Mr. Henry Fowler English, the donor of this build-
ing to the 'New Haven Colony Historical Society, was commis-
sioned to erect the first mill in the colony. He was assisted
in the enterprise by Robert Treat, who evidently retained a
share in the mill, as it is mentioned in his will.
Charles I, ''the star chamber ruler," was claimed to be a
good man but a bad king. He had a cultured mind, was a
devoted husband and fond father; but an unscrupulous ruler.
He ruled, not because England chose him or considered that
he ruled for the good of England or not. He assumed that he
was placed upon the throne by the Lord of Hosts and he there-
fore governed according to his o^vn ideas. A victim of his
own mismanagement, his defeat at Marston Moor was followed
by his death on the scaffold, to which he was condemned by his
own judges, his death-warrant being signed by fifty-nine, includ-
ing the regicides Goffe, Whalley and Dixwell, whose history
is so closely interwoven with that of iSTew Haven Colony.
KOBEET TKEAT.
167
During the two years' stay of tlie regicides Goffe and Whalley
in Milford, tradition says that Kobert Treat was among their
selected acquaintances and friends and that when the letter was
received from Charles II, commanding their arrest, Treat
immediately signed a warrant and commanded the inhabitants
of Milford to make a diligent search, well aware that no search,
however diligent, would be successful in finding them within
the town limits.
A period of ten years followed without interference on the
part of the mother country, until 1660, when we find Charles
II upon the throne.
Massachusetts and Plymouth had charter rights, Connecticut
and ISTew Haven only a voluntarj^ form of government. The
General Court of Connecticut immediately made formal
acknowledgment of allegiance to the crown and applied for
a charter. jSTew Haven Colony hesitated and finally omitted
to take such action.
Governor Winthrop of Connecticut in the early part of the
year sailed for England. A number of his friends held high
positions at Court. Possessing an extraordinary ring given
his grandfather by Charles I, he found favor by presenting it
to the King, and returned with that most remarkable and
liberal charter, so broad and comprehensive, which settled the
whole boundary line of Connecticut soil, including all that
portion occupied by the I^ew Haven Colony.
Great discontent prevailed in the colony. Treat and many
others favored a union with Connecticut, yet were opposed to
many of the conditions. The controversy was intense for some
years. Davenport differed with Governor Leete on the subject.
Many declined to pay their taxes and ignored the ISTew Haven
laws. The debt of the colony was increasing. Milford broke
off" from 'New Haven and declined to send deputies or magis-
trates to the General Court.
Under these conditions a Special Court was held at New
Haven, at which the members of the court and the elders of the
colony consulted upon the subject of a proposed union. After
much discussion Eobert Treat, Esq., and Richard Baldwin of
168 ROBEET TREAT.
Milford were appointed a committee to accomplish the business
with Connecticut.
The selection of Robert Treat was especially fitting, not
only from his ability, but from his birth and connections. His
father, Richard, as well as his brothers and brothers-in-law.
were patentees iii the charter grant and occupied important
positions in Connecticut. By marriage Treat was connected
with the influential settlers Tapp and William Fowler, magis-
trates and pillars of the church.
As the result of the negotiations on May 1, 1665, both
colonies, consisting of nineteen towns, amicably united and John
Winthrop, Esq., was chosen Governor. (Branford w^as the
only town that declined to accept the conditions of the union
that were in many respects unsatisfactory to Robert Treat.)
About this time Davenport, disheartened with the trend of
events, removed to Boston.
Twice during the controversy between the two colonies, with
Benjamin Fenn and Deacon Gunn, Robert Treat was sent by
a company of distinguished settlers and dissenters to negotiate
with the Dutch Governor for a settlement in jSTew Jersey. It
is said that the Governor took them in his private barge to
examine I^ewark Bay and in the spring of 1666, Robert Treat
sailed into the Passaic River with forty heads of families
in the company, chiefly from ^ew Haven, Milford and Bran-
ford, with Rev. Abraham Pierson, afterward one of the
founders and the first rector or first president of Yale College,
as their spiritual leader.
Adopting such articles as were cited in the fundamental agree-
ment of twenty-seven years previous at ITew Haven, the town
settled by them was called "Milford" until 166Y, when the
name "j^ewark" was adopted out of honor to the English
home of Rev. Mr. Pierson. Every male member of the com-
pany signed the agreement and the signatures might well indi-
cate to some that Davenport and Eaton were located on the
banks of the Passaic instead of on the banks of the Quimiipiack.
In the agreement Robert Treat's name heads the list.
Honoring Treat as their leader and pioneer, in laying out
the lots, he was given first choice and chose the lot in Is'ewark
KOBEKT TREAT.
169
now bounded by Market Street, Mulberry Street and Broad
Street. He was ISTewark's first town clerk and recorder. At
the first General Assembly in Kew Jersey in 1668, Captain
Treat is referred to as one of the Deputies and later on as one
of the Governor's Commissioners.
Barber and Howe in their Historical Collections of jSTew
Jersey speak of j^ewark's being indebted to him for its wide
main streets and the beauty and extent of the public square,
while Stearns in his history speaks of Mr. Treat as follows:
"iSText comes Eobert Treat, the flower and pride of the whole
company. To his wise energy, j^ewark owes much of its early
order and good management."
In 1672 Treat returned to Connecticut and his first-love,
Milford, never having sold his property there. He, however,
left two of his children on the soil of I^ew Jersey, and a mem-
ory in l^ewark that is cherished to the present day, and by all
historical writers on the subject and at all historical local
celebrations, Robert Treat is referred to as, and conceded to be,
the father and the founder of the city of Newark.
We now approach the military career of Robert Treat. As
before mentioned, as early as 1654, he was chosen lieutenant
of the Train Band at Milford and by the General Court com-
missioned to take charge of the military affairs of the town.
In 1661 he was elected captain. The year following his return
from ISTew Jersey he was commissioned as major and appointed
second Commander-in-Chief of the forces to be raised in the
Colony and sent against the Dutch. The existing conflict with
the Dutch kept the colony in constant anxiety. Treat formed
what was known as a "Committee of Safety.''
The year 1675 was a serious year for the ISTew England Colony.
The Indians, who, after the conquest of the Pequots in 1637, for
a long period seemed to be fairly peaceful, now became restless,
^ew outbreaks occurred in the Plymouth Colony, in Massa-
chusetts and Rhode Island. While Connecticut did not suffer
as did the other colonies, her alliance with the I^ew England
Colonies made the situation serious. In this year, with a burst
of uncommon fury, came the organized efforts of the various
tribes in combined hostilities, resulting in the famous King
170 EOBEET TKEAT.
Philip's War, the most disastrous of the Indian wars in Xew
England history.
One thousand men were ordered for active service bv the
United Colonies, the quota of Connecticut being three hundred
and fifty.
John Mason, for years the most important and distinguished
military commander of the State, was far advanced in years
and infirm, and thus retired from further service. Robert
Treat, looked upon as his most able military successor, was
chosen "Commander-in-Chief of the Connecticut forces and
commissioned to take charge of all the military forces with
such arms, ammunition, provisions and appurtenances, all
officers and all soldiers, marshaled, maintained and disposed of."
About the time Treat assumed command, Captain Lathrop
of Massachusetts with a band of ninety picked men, known as
the "Flower of Essex," and the best drilled company in the
colony, had been led into ambush, overwhelmed, and only eight
of their number escaped. The Indians in large numbers were
making attacks with arrows tipped with burning rags shot
on the roofs of the houses, destroying towns, ruining the crops
of the farmers and driving the inhabitants from place to place.
Treat quickly moved his forces to Massachusetts in defense and
began his brilliant campaign at Deerfield, !N"orthfield, Hadley,
Bloody Brook and Springfield, and by his swift movements,
arriving as he always did at a critical moment, turned defeat
into victory. During this campaign, which lasted until fall, he
had frequently been called back with his command to defend
Connecticut and the promptness and skill of his manoeuvers
was remarkable and gave him great prestige as a commander.
At the close of the campaign, however. Treat resigned his
commission. His resignation was not accepted. Instead, the
General Assembly passed a vote of thanks for his good services
and requested that he continue, giving him increased powers
to raise and command all the troops necessary. Authorities
say he was rapidly becoming second to none in the colony
except perhaps the Governor.
Winter was approaching. The Indians had gone into winter
quarters at their I^arragansett fort near Kingston, E,. I., to wait
ROBERT TREAT. 171
until spring, when the shelter of the leaves would afford them
greater advantages for warfare. The Colonies, however, deemed
it wise to make an attack upon them while massed together, and
the 10th of December, 1675, w^as the day appointed on which
the attack was to be made. Every Englishman capable of bear-
ing arms was commanded by proclamation of the Governor
to hold himself in readiness to march at a moment's notice.
Major General Josiah Winslow was to command the expedi-
tion, with Major Samuel Appleton of Massachusetts, Major
Robert Treat of Connecticut and Major William Bradford of
Plymouth commanding their respective forces ; Treat being
selected as second in command to General Winslow. The entire
force consisted of 1,127 men; 450 from Connecticut, with
200 Mohicans under Oneco.
It was a cold December day when Major Treat, with his
command, left I^ew London and began his march to join the
forces near Wickford, camping in the open air in the midst
of heavy snow.
The ISTarragansett fort stood on a hill in the center of
a vast swamp, which was an island of about five or six acres
surrounded by high palisades and in which were 3,500 Indian
warriors. The only entrance was over a fallen tree protected
by a block house, which, Hubbard says, "sorely gauled the
men who first attempted to enter."
The beginning was most disastrous. Connecticut troops were
driven back with heavy losses. Four Connecticut captains were
killed at the head of their command and a fifth received a
mortal wound. A bullet passed through the hat of Major Treat.
The situation was critical when Oneco offered to scale the
wall and force a real entrance. This was accomplished, and
the Connecticut men under Major Treat entering the fort, saved
the day.
This battle, known as the great swamp fight, was of great
importance to the English. It was the most remarkable in
ISTew England and in the annals of the early colonies, and was
won at the expense of many lives, including brave and valued
officers. The ITarragansetts never again offered any organized
resistance.
172 ROBERT TREAT.
Treat with the remainder of his army returned home imme-
diately. Sometime afterward he was commissioned as Colonel
of the militia in l^ew Haven County. This being the first
official reference on the records to a Colonel for ISTew Haven
County, we must assume that November, 1687, was the birth
of what is now the Second Regiment, Connecticut iN^ational
Guard; that such a regiment has been continuously in
existence since that period ; and that Robert Treat was its
first Colonel.
Complications arose in reference to boundary lines between
the Dutch and the ISTew England Colonies, the Dutch claiming
all the land in Connecticut south of the Connecticut River.
The commissioners agreed upon to settle the dispute were
Robert Treat, ^Nathan Gold, John Allen and William Pitkin.
The conference resulted in the foraiation of Connecticut's
western border line known as the "Ridgefield Angle," and the
surrender to I^ew York of the towns on Long Island previously
belonging to Connecticut, and secured for Connecticut the
jDresent towns of Greenwich, Stamford, l^ew Canaan, Darien
and a part of IsTorwalk.
In the midst of these boundary disputes occurred the death
of Winthrop after eighteen years of distinguished service. He
was succeeded by William Leete who had been Governor of the
ISTew Haven Colony before the union of the colonies and Deputy
of the Connecticut Colony under Winthrop after their union.
Robert Treat was now chosen Deputy Governor and was annu-
ally reelected until the death of Governor Leete in 1683, when
he was elected the eighth Governor of Connecticut and the
third under the new charter. By reelection he held this office
fifteen years, then declining to become Governor again was
elected Deputy Governor for the following ten years.
We may with profit pause here for a moment and contemplate
the high character of the early Colonial Governors. John
Haynes, the first Governor of Connecticut, was said to have
been an ideal representative of the civil life, as Hooker was
the apostle of the religious. Coleridge, in referring to him,
calls him "a religious and moral aristocracy."
ROBERT TREAT.
173
The second Governor, Edwin Hopkins, was also a distin-
guished man. He was son-in-law of Eaton, first Governor of
the 'New Haven Colony, who was a wealthy London mer-
chant. He engaged extensively in trade and commerce ; he
established trading posts and country stores from New England
to Delaware and left property in his will to establish the
grammar schools bearing his name, that are in existence to-day.
Upon the death of Governor Hopkins in England, George
Wyllys was elected the third Governor for one year. Wyllys
was then seventy-two years of age, and is said to have been
a gentleman of leisure, of high character and standing. He
owned the square in the center of the City of Hartford on
which the charter oak stood.
Thomas Welles, the fourth Governor, held the office for two
terms. He was the first Treasurer of the colony and came
to America in the interests of Lord Say in settling Saybrook.
John Webster, the fifth Governor, founder of the Webster
family in America, an ancestor of Noah Webster, was said
to be the most scholarly of the early Governors of the colony.
John Winthrop, Jr., the sixth Governor, youngest son of
the famous Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts, was one of
the foremost men in ITew England and his worth is expressed
in a single sentence quoted from Mather, "God gave him favor
in the eyes of all with whom he had to do."
Governor William Leete, seventh Governor, was a descendant
of a distinguished family, which, as early records show, were
land owners as early as the 13th century. He was noted for
his integrity, was a popular official, and enjoyed the distinction
of being Governor of both ^ew Haven and the Connecticut
Colonies.
Our little commonwealth, the Constitution State, denominated
by historians as the "Birthplace of political freedom," as well
as "The land of steady habits," has a history replete with
dramatic incidents and full of events that excite interest and
veneration.
The three periods which command the most intense interest
occurred under the administration of Governors Robert Treat,
174 ROBERT TREAT.
Jonathan Trumbull and William A. Buckingham. These three
men may justly be referred to as the three war Governors of
Connecticut. Soon after the election of Governor Treat, com-
plications arose in England. James II proposed to revoke the
Colonial charters and withdraw the privileges granted by
Charles II in both Old and ]^ew England. This was undoubt-
edly the most critical period in the history of ISTew England.
The charters of all the !N'ew England Colonies were called for.
It was proposed to annex Connecticut either to Massachusetts
or to the ^Netherlands, or else to cut it in two at the Connecticut
Kiver and divide it between the two. The situation was peril-
ous and the prospect of Connecticut being wiped from off the
map as a State was for a time imminent.
Sir Edmund Andros, referred to as the "Tyrant of iSTew
England," was appointed Governor of all the 'New England
Colonies. He arrived in Boston in December, 1686, authorized
to take the government of all the settlements in ISTew England
into his own hands. Plymouth, Massachusetts and Rhode
Island surrendered at once. He then notified Governor Treat
that he proposed visiting Connecticut to take command of its
affairs and possession of its charter. Treat opened negotia-
tions and consumed months in writing, attempting to pacify
him, and under one pretense and another succeeded in causing
a delay of nearly a year or until the October following, when
Andros became impatient and sent a messenger to notify Treat
of his intention of coming to Connecticut at once.
The General Assembly immediately convened. Sir Edmund
arrived, attended by a retinue and a bodyguard of troops, and
was received with great ceremony and hospitality. Governor
Treat escorted him to the Assembly, showing him marked atten-
tion. He was introduced, and the ceremonies and discussion
of that famous afternoon and evening were begun.
Treat's plan and instructions were: First, prevent, if pos-
sible, the loss of the charter; second, failing in this, plead
that the colony be allowed to remain undivided and unattached
to any other.
It is said that the arguments on the part of Treat were made
with great diplomacy. At all times he referred to Andros with
EGBERT TEEAT. 175
respect and friendliness. With his cool temperament, great
wisdom and winning manner, he made a long address, stating
the attachment the people had for their charter, the privations
they had endured in procuring it and pleading that they might
be permitted to retain it; that their territory should not be
divided and that they would prefer to serve under Governor
Andros. The afternoon wore away, Treat still arguing and
pleading with marked skill and diplomacy, battling for the
rights of the people.
Lights had to be brought in to enable the members to trans-
act the business. The charter had been laid on the table before
them during the discussion. Suddenly the lights were extin-
guished. Confusion followed and before the lights and order
were restored someone had removed the charter. Discussion
occurs as to whether the original or duplicate charter was before
the body, or both, but this is immaterial. The original charter
was written on three skins and is in the Capitol at Hartford,
and the duplicate on two skins is in possession of the Connect-
icut Historical Society. It was the custom to execute all impor-
tant documents in duplicate, so that if one was lost in trans-
mission across the ocean, the other might be preserved.
President Stiles writes as follows: "N'athan Stanley, father
of the late Colonel Stanley, took one of the charters, and Mr.
Talcott, father of the late Governor Talcott, took the other."
Other very reliable authorities, however, say that Captain
Wadsworth and Captain ^IvTichols of Hartford cooperated to
save the charter. There must have been many assistants in
the plot, however, as the lights were all extinguished simul-
taneously. Wadsworth grabbed the charter and hid it in the
trunk of that venerable oak that thus became the most famous
tree in the world. Later, Captain Wadsworth is supposed to
have secreted the charter in his house, where it remained until
the reestablishment of the colonial government.
The day's proceedings were evidently planned and the indi-
cations are that Governor Treat was associated with the prin-
cipal actors in the drama. Andros returned to Boston without
the charter. Evidently he was much impressed with the quali-
ties of Governor Treat, for the month following this episode,
176 KOBEKT TKEAT.
he made him a member of his council and judge in this
territory.
Governor Andros's administration was highly tyrannical.
All the colonies from Maine to the Delaware were brought
under his arbitrary rule, and this was a severe blow to their
prosperity. He was responsible to no one but the King for
whatever he might choose to do. While his headquarters were in
Boston, one of the principal meeting houses there was seized.
Taxes were imposed. ^Nothing was allowed to be printed with-
out permission. All the records of ISTew England were ordered
to be brought to Boston. Deeds and wills were required to
be registered in Boston and excessive fees were charged for this
work. The titles of land were ordered revised, and those who
wished the title confirmed had to pay a heavy tax. General
Courts were abolished. Dudley, first assistant to Sir Edmund,
openly declared the people had no further privileges except
not to be sold for slaves.
When the news of the landing of the Prince of Orange in
England was received in Boston in April, 1689, drums beat
to arms and signal fires were lighted on Beacon Hill. The
militia poured in from the country towns. The people rose
in revolt and demanded Andros to surrender his position.
Attempting to escape the authorities, disguised in woman's
clothes, he was caught and imprisoned on board a ship and sent
back to England.
Bradstreet, in his eighty-seventh year, was reinstated Gov-
ernor of Massachusetts and Eobert Treat in Connecticut.
Treat, in resuming his ofiice, stated that the "'people had put
him in and that he had ventured all he had above his shoulders."
Immediately proclaiming the allegiance of the Colony to Wil-
liam and Mary, Treat by wise statesmanship secured a decision
confirming the validity of the charter. At the age of seventy-
six he declined reelection to the office of Governor and was
succeeded by Fitz-John Winthrop. The Colony being unwilling
to excuse him from public service. Treat was elected Deputy
Governor for a second time and was continuously elected as
such for the following ten years until at the age of eighty-six,
ROBERT TREAT.
177
at his own request, lie was excused from official duties, and
retired from public life. He was Deputy Governor, 1676-1683,
seven years; Governor, 1683-1698, fifteen years; Lieutenant
Governor, 1698-1708, ten years.
Treat was a Deputy from Milford for at least six years and
from N^ewark five more, and Magistrate in the l^ew Haven
General Court and assistant for eight years, serving nearly
twenty years in the halls of legislation. He was seventeen
years in the chair of Deputy Governor and fifteen years in that
of Governor, including the two years under Andros, making in
all a period of thirty-two years as Governor and Deputy Gov-
ernor, or a total of fifty-two years of public service, a record
unequalled in the history of this State or of any other so far
as history quotes where the offices were elective.
During this period, in addition to the official duties required
from him in the various offices mentioned, he was frequently
appointed to hold court, to settle disputes of every kind and
character that arose in the colony. He also adjusted differ-
ences between ministers and the people, and established
boundary lines between the State and the different towns in the
State. So well balanced was his judgment that he never made
a legal mistake. The Historian Sheldon says, ''He had the
faculty for always being in the right place at the right time."
Robert Treat was a practical farmer. It is said he was often
found with his hands upon the plow and called to the stone
wall by the roadside to sign important papers, or to leave a
half-turned furrow and muster his troops to quell some Indian
disturbance or resist some Indian invasion.
He was an important land-holder, not only in his own town
but in various towns throughout the State, many of which he
had assisted in founding or surveying. Three hundred acres
of his are mentioned between ISTew Haven, Farmington and
Wallingford ; three hundred more in Killingly, now of Wind-
ham County; while his holdings in J^ewark were among the
largest in that colony. He left a large fortune for a man of his
time. (Among the items of his personal property, the inventory
shows "two slaves" appraised at eighty-five pounds.)
178 EOBEKT TKEAT.
It is said tliat no estate of consequence in Milford was
settled between 1670 and 1700 without his assistance.
It is to be regretted that no portrait of Governor Treat exists.
The chair that Governor Treat used officially is in good state
of preservation and in possession of Mrs. Henry Champion,
a descendant of the Governor.
The house in which he lived is illustrated in "Lambert's
History of the Colony of ISTew Haven," p. 138. Lambert
states that it stood upon the original plot of Edmund Tapp,
number 35, as shown in the map drawn in 1646. This would
indicate that the house stood on the east side of what is now
ITorth Street, a few rods above the Plymouth Church and at
the comer of Governor's Avenue. Atwater, in his history of
the colony, also refers to it, but gives Lambert as authority.
A buttonball tree, which stood for a number of years in his
dooryard, is said to have originated as follows : Using a green
sapling to drive his oxen, Governor Treat was called upon for
some public service. He stuck the sapling into the ground
temporarily where he could readily pick it up as he came out
of the house. It was forgotten, rooted and became a handsome
shade tree.
In the early part of the last century a house was built upon
the original cellar and foundation of the Treat house by Mr.
Lewis F. Baldwin and his daughter. Mrs. John W. Bucking-
ham now occupies the house.
Treat lived to see a distinguished family grow up around
him. His children and descendants rose to positions of honor
in this and other colonies. His oldest son, Kev. Samuel Treat,
located in Massachusetts. Eunice, daughter of Samuel, mar-
ried Rev. Thomas Paine, father of Pobert Treat Paine, Hevo-
lutionary patriot, member of the First Congress, signer of the
Declaration of Independence, Attorney General and Justice
of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. His son,* bearing the
same name, born in 1775, was a distinguished poet in his day.
* This Robert Treat Paine was originally named Thomas. Not wish-
ing to bear the name of Thomas Paine, the Atheist, by act of Legislation
in 1801 his name Avas changed to Robert Treat Paine.
ROBERT TREAT. 179
Thomas Treat Paine, born in 1803, was a noted astronomer
and left a large property to Harvard College. His relative
was the late Robert Treat Paine, known in our generation as
a philanthropist, and for years President of the International
Peace Congress, whose son the Rev. George Lyman Paine is
now Rector of St. Paul's Church, this city. The church and
our community are to be congratulated, and they welcome back
to the colony so prominent a descendant of Governor Treat.
One son remained in ISTewark, where the family became prom-
inent. Two remained in Milford, and many of Milford's old
and honored men for the past two centuries have borne the
name. One daughter married Rev. Samuel Mather of Windsor.
The other, Abigail, married the Rev. Samuel Andrew, one of
the founders of Yale.
Many of his descendants, bearing the name of Treat and
other prominent names, are men distinguished either as states-
men, leaders, ministers or military commanders.
Governor Treat's death occurred on July 10, 1710. He was
buried in the old cemetery at Milford. The stone, unique in
its character and in good state of preservation, reads as follows :
HERE LYETII INTERRED THE
BODY OF COLL. ROBERT
TREAT ESQ. WHO FAITHFULLY
SERVED THIS COLONY IN THE
POST OF GOVERNOR AND
DEPUTY GOVERNOR NEAR
YE SPACE OF THIRTY YEARS
AND AT YE AGE OF FOUR
SCORE AND EIGHT YEARS
EXCHANGED THIS LIFE
FOR A BETTER, JULY 12tH
ANNO DOM : 1710 ,
His last will is full of expressions of tenderness, such as this :
"Being aged in years and not knowing how suddenly the Lord
may by death call me home from out of this life, but being
180 EOBEET TREAT.
at present of sound understanding and memory, etc." Then
the will proceeds ''as a pledge of mj fatherly love and farewell
kindness to my dear and loving children."
On the Memorial Bridge erected at Milford in 1889, in com-
memoration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of
the settlement of the town, was placed on the Tower the largest
slab in honor of Governor Treat.
Trumbull, 1797, says, "Yew men have sustained a fairer
character or rendered the public a more important service."
"Connecticut as a Colony and a State, 1904," says of Treat,
"He was a beau-ideal of a gentleman."
Perhaps we cannot better close our references to the life and
services of Robert Treat than to quote the tribute paid to
him by Hollister in his "History of Connecticut, 1855" as it
seems to round up briefly and concisely his many characteristics.
It reads as follows : —
"Governor Treat was not only a man of high courage, but he was one
of the most cautious military leaders and possessed a quick sagacity united
with a breadth of understanding that enabled him to see at a glance the
most complex relations that surrounded the field of battle.
Nor did he excel only as a hero; his moral courage and inherent force
of character shone with the brightest lustre in the Executive Chair or
Legislative Chamber, when stimulated by the opposition and malevolence
of such men as Andros.
In private life he was no less esteemed. He was a planter of that
hospitable order that adorned New England in an age when hospitality
was accounted a virtue and when the term 'Gentleman' was something
more than an empty title.
His house was always open to the poor and friendless and whenever
he gave his hand he gave his heart.
Hence, whether marching to the relief of Springfield or extending his
charities to Whalley or Goffe, while he drowned a tear of sympathy in the
lively sparkle of fun and anecdote, he was always welcome, always beloved.
His quick sensibilities, his playful humor, his political wisdom, his
firmness in the midst of dangers, and his deep piety have still a tradi-
tionary fame in the neighborhood where he spent the brief portion of his
time that he was allowed to devote to the culture of the domestic and
social virtues."
EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND
ITS MAKERS.
By George Munson Curtis.
[Read January 15, 1912.]
To those who are lovers of old plate, and have become familiar
with the various shapes and designs characteristic of Colonial
days, it is interesting to note the slow evolution and gradual
change in church and domestic silver from the simple and yet
beautiful vessels of the seventeenth century to the more elab-
orate forms and greater variety of articles of the eighteenth
century, which the growing luxury and more complex life of
the later period demanded.
Judging by the examples that have survived, silver utensils
of the seventeenth century were limited to spoons, the caudle-
cup, the beaker, the chalice, or standing cup, the tankard, the
flagon, and what are called to-day wine-tasters. The orna-
mentation on the earliest of these pieces suggests the conven-
tional flower designs found on oak furniture of the same period.
The old inventories and wills, however, give us a list of
articles once in common use which are doubtless no longer in
existence.
Dr. Gershom Bulkeley died in 1713 in Glastonbury. He
was a man of considerable distinction and wealth. By the terms
of his will he bequeathed to a son a silver retort and to a
daughter a silver cucurbit, a species of retort, shaped like a
gourd, used, perhaps, to distil perfumes and essences, once the
duty of an accomplished housewife.
In various inventories frequent mention is made of silver
dram-cups, always lower in value than spoons. They were
miniature bowls with an ear-shaped handle on each side, and
182 EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
called dram-cups because they comfortably held a dram, or
spoonful, and were used for taking medicine. Sometimes they
were of pewter. Modern collectors have called them wine-
tasters, which is clearly a misnomer. Our ancestors were not
wine-tasters : they drank from beakers, caudle-cups, and
tankards.
Other articles mentioned are silver platters and punch-bowls,
whistles, hair-pegs, seals, bodkins, thimbles, clasps with glass
centres, chains or chatelaines with scissors and other articles
attached, shoe and knee buckles, and last, but not least, silver
hat-bands,* worn only by those who affected the highest type
of fashionable attire. Articles of gold were toothpicks, cuff-
links, stay-pins, rings, brooches, buttons, and beads ad libitum.
Doubtless a search through other inventories would reveal many
other articles of silver and gold.
In the eighteenth century the colonist had greater wealth,
and life had become more formal, and luxury more common.
As a result, the silversmith had increased the variety of his
manufactures, and used more elaborate designs, although he
still clung to a simplicity of line and form that was character-
istic of all early industrial art in America.
Although the earliest known silversmiths in ]^ew England
had either learned their craft in England or been taught the
trade by English workmen, there was no attempt to adopt the
elaborate baronial designs of the mother country. Simpler
forms were more in keeping with the simple life of this
country.
As early as 1715, the man who had amassed a fortune
could purchase coffee and chocolate pots, braziers (the fore-
runners of the modern chafing-dish), elaborate urn-shaped
loving-cups, porringers, — in a form which seems to have been
peculiar to this country,- — patch-boxes and snuff-boxes, toddy-
strainers, and many trinkets dear to the feminine heart.
* Captain Giles Hamlin of Middletown (died in 1689 ae. 67) was a
prominent figure in the early days of the Colony; he was the owner of a
silver hat-band which he bequeathed to his daughter. The portrait of
Pocahontas dated 1616 depicts her crowned with a mannish headgear^
encircled bv a golden hat-band.
EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS. 183
By 1736, when tea had so far dropped in price that it had
become a necessity, beautifully chased tea-pots had come into
vogue, in delicate and pure designs, in forms now known as
bell and pear.
The silversmiths were also making graceful sauce and gravy
boats, quaint steeple-topped pepper-casters, beakers with single
and double handles, cans with double scroll handles, three-
legged cream-pitchers, candle-sticks and salvers shaped like
patens, and in other forms.
Later in the century beautiful tea-sets and punch-bowls
became popular, as gi'aceful in shape and line as the Heppel-
white, Adam, and Sheraton furniture of that period. One
of the most frequent of motives was the classical urn, which
became as common in silver as in architecture. Meantime the
tankard had increased in height, the flat lid had been replaced
by a domed cover with a finial, and a band had been moulded
around the middle of the body. It should be remembered that
no tankard was made with a spout. It was a drinking-vessel
pure and simple. The spout now so frequently found on these
old pieces is quite a modern addition, — an attempt to make a
pitcher.
Spoons in the seventeenth century were invariably rat-
tailed. From the handle down the back of the bowl to about
the middle ran a ridge, shaped like a rat-tail. This is some-
times thought to have been an attempt to strengthen the spoon,
but its use must have been purely ornamental, for it adds little
strength to these strongly made spoons. Sometimes the rat-tail
was shaped like a long "V," and grooved, while on each side
were elaborate scrolls. The bowl was perfectly oval in shape,
while the end of the handle was notched, or trifid.
This style of spoon was continued, with modifications,
through the first third of the eighteenth century. Then the
bowl became ovoid, or egg-shaped, and the end of the handle
was rounded, without the notch.
The rat-tail was gradually replaced by what is known as the
drop, or double drop, frequently terminating in a conventional-
ized flower or shell, or anthemion, while do"\vn the front of
the handle ran a rib.
184 EAKLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
Later the bowl became more pointed, the drop was replaced
by a tongue, and the handle about 1760, instead of slightly
curving to the front at the end, reversed the position. A little
later the handle became pointed, and was engraved with bright
cut ornaments and a cartouche at the end, in which were
engraved the initials of the owner.
During the first ten years of the nineteenth century a popu-
lar style was the so-called coffin-shaped handle, succeeded prob-
ably about 1810 by a handle with a shoulder just above the
junction with the bowl, while the end became fiddle-shaped,
or of a style now known as tipped, — shapes produced to this
day.
Up to about 1770 spoons were of three sizes, — the teaspoon,
as small as an after-dinner coffee-spoon ; the porringer-spoon,
a little smaller than our present dessert size; and the table-
spoon, with a handle somewhat shorter than that of to-day.
So few forks have been found in collections of old silver
that it forces the belief that they were generally made of
steel, with bone handles. There seems no reason why, if in
general use, silver forks should not now be as common as spoons.
In the great silver exhibition recently held in the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston, of more than one thousand pieces, there
were only two forks to be found, and they were of course
two-tined.
In the manufacture of silverware, as in every other form
of industry, modern methods have worked a revolution, ^ow
powerful lathes and presses accomplish in seconds the work
of days under old conditions.
xsTevertheless, w^e can produce no better silverware than could
the old craftsman working with his primitive tools. The silver-
smith of Colonial days knew thoroughly every branch of his
trade. He w^as desigiier, die-sinker, forger, solderer, burnisher,
chaser, and engraver. He was a many-sided man, and he did
thorough work. Let no one fancy him as other than a man of
might, for muscle and sinew were as needful in fashioning
plate as in the trade of blacksmithing.
With his hammers, anvils, beak irons, testers, swages,
punches, planishing hammers, and stakes and drawing benches,
EARLY SILVER OF CO]!«^NECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS. 185
he skilfully shaped the beautiful white metal, putting a feel-
ing into his work that is generally missing in modern silver.
He used a lathe, probably worked by foot-power, not for
spinning, but for shaping and truing a porringer, a beaker,
or a bowl after the hammers and anvils had done their work.
This is plainly shown by the mark left by the lathe in the
centre of these vessels.
The metal was hammered while cold, and many times during
the operation was annealed; that is, heated in a charcoal fire,
to prevent brittleness and to make it tough.
With the planishing hammers and anvils, rotten stone and
burnishers, a uniform and beautiful surface was produced that
can never be attained by a modern workman using a buffing
wheel.
Ornaments on the back of spoon bowls and handles were
impressed by dies forced together by drop presses or under
screw pressure. This is absolutely proven by the exact dupli-
cation of the pattern on sets of spoons. Accurate measure-
ments show that these ornaments were not hand-work, for there
is not the slightest deviation in dimensions.
The silversmith carried little manufacturing stock. It was
the general practice to take to the smith the coin which it was
desired to have fashioned into plate. These coins were melted
in a crucible and poured into a skillet to form an ingot, which
was then hammered into sheets of the correct gauge.
This explains the usual practice at that time of valuing a
porringer or a tankard, or other plate, by saying that it con-
tained so many Spanish dollars or English coins.
Probably most of the early plate was fashioned from Spanish
dollars, once so generally in circulation in this country. They
were not up to sterling standard, being only .900 parts fine,
while sterling is .925 fine. ^Nevertheless, early plate seems
to be whiter in color than that manufactured to-day.
Perhaps this is the explanation : hand-hammered or forged
silver must be annealed very frequently, and in the old days
this was done with the aid of a bellows in the open air, instead
of in a furnace, as is done to-day. As a result, a film of oxide
of copper was formed, which was removed by plunging the
186 EAKLY SILVER OF COXXECTICUT AIS'D ITS IMAKERS.
article into what is called the pickling bath, — a hot diluted
solution of sulphuric acid. This operation continued often
enough would tend to make the surface almost fine silver;
hence the white color.
Most smiths impressed the plate they fashioned with their
trade-mark. The earliest marks were initials in a shaped
shield or in a heart, with some emblem above or below. Later
marks were initials or the name in a plain or shaped or
engrailed rectangle or oval. In the early part of the last
century the word ''Coin"'^ was added, and about 1865 the word
"Sterling" was employed to denote the correct standard.
Undoubtedly, the shops of the gold and silversmiths were
small affairs, with no cellars or substantial foundations, being
similar in that respect to those of blacksmiths. They were
frequently built on leased or rented ground, and could with
little difficulty be moved to other sites.
When Captain Robert Fairchild, of Stratford, sold his home-
stead in 1768, he reserved the right to remove from the premises
a goldsmith shop. Such reservations were not unusual.
They were easily broken into by burglars, and "stop thief"
advertisements in the local press were quite common. The
shops of Joseph and Stephen Hopkins, of Waterbury, were
entered in this way some eight or ten times in the decade from
1Y65 to 1775.
The writer well remembers a visit in 1875 to the smithy of
one of these artisans in East Hartford. There, busily engaged,
was an old man forging spoons for a Hartford jeweler. The
building could not have been more than fifteen by thirty feet,
and yet there was ample room for every emergency. The smith
had learned the trade, just as his predecessors of earlier days
had done, and perhaps was the last of the fraternity.
The knowledge that America had silversmiths during the
Colonial period came as a complete surprise and revelation to
* When the United States INIint was established in 1792, the standard
of silver coinage was fixed at .892^*^ fine. In 1837 the standard was raised
to .900 fine. Therefore, "Coin" stamped on plate does not indicate .925,
or "Sterling" fine.
EAKLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS. 187
most of those who were so fortunate as to see the splendid
examples of their work exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston in 1906.
That these craftsmen were equal in skill to their English
rivals cannot perhaps be claimed in every respect on account
of the lack of demand for highly florid ornamentation, but it
may be safely stated that American silversmiths produced
wares that for beauty of shape, sense of proportion, and purity
of line were not surpassed in England; and, if occasion
demanded, elaborate ornamentation in most attractive designs
was fully within the grasp of American workmen.
Working in silver was a most respectable craft, and many
of the men who followed the trade were of excellent social
standing, particularly in Boston. One can say without fear of
contradiction that the best silver-work in this country was done
in that town.
The earliest American silversmiths of whom record has been
found were Captain John Hull, coiner of the Pine Tree Shil-
ling, mint-master of Massachusetts, and merchant prince, and
his partner, Robert Sanderson, both of Boston, and working
in the middle of the seventeenth century.
They were succeeded by men who were also past masters
of the craft, such as David Jesse, who is thought to have been
born in Hartford ; Jeremiah Dummer ; John Coney ; John
Dixwell, son of the regicide of that name who resided in l^ew
Haven for so many years ; the Edwardses ; Edward Winslow ;
William Cowell; the three Burts; the Hurds ; and last, but
not least of this very incomplete list, Paul Revere, father and
son, the last the hero of Longfellow's famous poem.
These men were craftsmen of the greatest skill, and the
many examples of their work still extant show that they upheld
the standards and traditions of their trade in a manner worthy
of the highest praise.
The work of a number is to be found in Connecticut to-day,
particularly in the churches. In fact, a considerable part of
the early communion silver in this State was made by Boston
silversmiths.
188 EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
Jeremiali Dummer (1645-1718) is represented by thirteen
silver vessels in our churches, one more than John Dixwell
has to his credit, although the latter was born in iSfew Haven,
and must have known many men in the Colony.
But Dummer is of interest to us in another wa}'. When
the government of Connecticut decided in 1709 to issue paper
currency, or Bills of Exchange, the agents of the Colony appar-
ently selected him to do the mechanical part of the work; that
is, the engraving of the plates and the printing of the bills.
Journals of the Council for 1710 show transactions with
Dummer relating to this currency, and in 1712 Governor
Saltonstall laid before the Council Board the bill of Jeremiah
Dummer for printing 6,550 sheets of this paper currency.
The inference seems clear that Dummer not only printed,
but engraved, the first paper currency of Connecticut. His
one-time apprentice, John Coney, had the distinction of engrav-
ing the plates for the first paper money issued by Massachusetts
some years previously, the first issued on this continent.
Part of the trade of a silversmith was to engrave on the metal
coats-of-arms, ornamentations, or the initials of the owners,
and, of course, the transition to engraving on copper was easy
and natural. Several of the early engravers did their first work
on silver, Paul Revere, and our own Amos Doolittle among
the number.
The early church silver is of very great interest not only
on account of its beauty and quaintness, but also because of
its association and history, ]*^othing else brings us into such
intimate touch with the life of our forefathers. Generation
after generation of the sturdy Connecticut stock have hallowed
it by the most religious act of their lives.
The beakers, caudle-cups, and tankards were frequently in
domestic use before they were presented to the churches, the
oifering of devout Christian men and women. This plate is
nearly all in precisely the same condition as when first dedicated
to God's service.
Too many of our churches have banished these sacred memo-
rials to safety deposit vaults in our cities and to boxes and
EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS. 189
baskets stored in attics in our country districts. The substitu-
tion of the individual cups is, of course, the cause of this change.
Would it not be most fitting if these discarded memorials
were deposited in some central place where the protection
would be ample, and yet where their historical and religious
significance would not be hidden and their beauty and work-
manship could be studied and admired?
While not so likely, when silver is stored in a safety deposit
vault in the name of a church, there is always, when placed
in the custody of an individual, the danger not only of fire
and burglary, but that it may be utterly forgotten, and thus,
through carelessness or dishonesty, finally drift into alien hands
and be lost to the church forever. The silver of more than
one Connecticut church has been destroyed by fire, and in one
case the writer's visit resulted in the locating of church silver
that had been completely forgotten. Fifty-seven Connecticut
churches still preserve their ancient silver. Much of it is of
great historical interest, and some of it of very great beauty.
The oldest piece of communion plate in this State belongs
to the Congregational Church in Guilford. It is a quaint old
beaker with flaring lip, and is marked in pounced engraving
'^H. K." on the side. It was the gift of Henry Kingsnorth,
one of the first settlers of that town and a man of substance
and worth. He died at the age of fifty in 1668 during the great
sickness, as it was called, and his will reads :
'"T give and bequeath unto y'' church here fifteen pounds to
buy any such utensills for the sacrament withall as they shall
see cause." The beaker was made by William Eouse, of Boston,
a contemporary of Captain John Hull, the mint-master.
One of the beakers belonging to the Congregational Church
in Groton bears the engraved inscription, "The Gift of S"
John Davie to the Chh. of Christ at Groton." It was made by
Samuel Vernon, a silversmith of IsTewport, K. I. The story
of the beaker is this : John, who was a son of Humphrey Davie,
of Hartford, and a cousin of Sir William Davie, of Creedy in
Devon, England, graduated at Harvard in 1681, and became
one of the first settlers of Groton and its first town clerk. In
190
EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
1707 his cousin, Sir William, died without male issue, and
John of Groton succeeded to the baronetcy. Barefooted and
in his shirtsleeves, he was hoeing corn on his farm when the
messenger arrived to tell him of his good fortune and to salute
him as Sir John Davie. He soon left for England, and the
beaker was his parting gift.
Belonging to the ancient Congregational Society of jSTorwich-
town is a two-handled cup made by John Dixwell, and bearing
the inscription in quaintly engraved letters, "The Gift of Sarah
Knight to the Chh. of Christ in I^orwich, April 20, 1722."
She was Madam Knight, who wrote a diary of her trip from
Boston to ISTew York in 1704. For a number of years she
was a resident of IN'orwich, and lies buried in the old graveyard
in ISTew London.
There are sixteen silver beakers owned by the First Congre-
gational Church, JSTew London, and two of them bear the
inscription, "The Gift of the Owners of the Ship Adventure
of London, 1699." They were made by two Boston silver-
smiths working in partnership, John Edwards and John Allen.
A ship named "Adventure" and built in London was owned
at that time by Adam Pickett and Christopher Christophers,
of l^ew London. It does not seem a wild flight of the imagina-
tion to conjecture that these beakers were presented to the
church as a thank-oifering either for a profitable mercantile
\'enture or for a fortunate escape from some harrowing expe-
rience at sea.
In 1725 Governor Gurdon Saltonstall gave by will a silver
tankard to this church, and in 1726 his widow made a like gift.
In 1793 the church by vote had these two vessels made into
three beakers by J. P. Trott, a Kew London silversmith, but
care was used to preserve the old inscriptions.
The Congregational Church at ^orth Haven owns a large
baptismal basin on which is inscribed, "The Gift of the Rev.
Ezra Stiles, D.D., LL.D., President Yale College, to the Con-
gregational Church in JSTorth Haven, 1794." He was one of
the most distinguished men of his time, and a native of ISTorth
Haven.
EARLY SILVER OF CONJfECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS. 191
There was a time when the First Congregational Church,
Hartford, could boast of an array of plate made by these early
silversmiths. This fact is revealed by the ancient Court of
Probate records. In the early part of the last century a pinch
of poverty was felt, or else it was thought that the style of
these vessels was too old-fashioned. AVhatever the cause, the
plate was sold.
In the collection was a fine old mug made by William Cowell,
of Boston, and presented by Mrs. Abigail, the wife of Rev.
Timothy Woodbridge, pastor of the church from 1683 to 1732.
On the mug is the inscription, "Ex dono A. W. to the First
Church of Christ in Hartford, 1727."
In 1883 William R. Cone, of Hartford, found the mug in
the possession of J. K. Bradford, of Peru, 111., whose grand-
father, Dr. Jeremiah Bradford, had bought it of the church
in 1803 for $15. Mr. Cone was able to buy it for $75, and
re-presented it to the church.
In 1840 the Second Congregational Church, Hartford, pro-
cured a new communion service, made from its ancient silver,
melted down. The old inscriptions were faithfully copied,
and tell of the following gifts : a tankard, given by John
Ellery in 1746 ; two cups, engraved "The Dying Gift of Mr.
Richard Lord to the Second Church of Christ in Hartford'' ;
two cups, engraved "The Gift of J. R. to the South Church
in Hartford" ; and two cups, engraved "S. C." The church
now owns only one j)iece of ancient silver, a beautiful tankard
given by William Stanley in 1787.
Hartford is not the only town which has lost its ancient
church silver. The Congregational Church in Saybrook sold
its plate in 1815 (but fortunately it is still in existence), and
the CongTegational Church in Wallingford remodeled its ancient
plate in 1849, in a style popular at that period, while the Con-
gregational Churches in Wethersfield and Cheshire lost their
communion silver by fire a number of years ago. The East
Hartford Church plate nearly met a like fate only a few months
ago.
192 EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
The Congregational Church in South Windsor owns two
beautiful beakers made by John Potwine, a silversmith of that
vicinity, and presented by Governor Roger Wolcott in 1756.
The Congregational Church in Fairfield has a beautiful
collection of plate: two handsome tankards, dated 1753 and
1757; two fine chalices presented by Captain John Silliman
in 1752 ; three beakers and a cup with a handle. On Satur-
day evening, May 1, 1779, this silver was in the home of a
deacon, General Silliman, and for convenience it had been
placed in a corner of his bedroom. That night a company of
British soldiers landed on the shore of Fairfield, and stealthily
made their way to the good deacon's home, and made him a
prisoner. The noise of the entering soldiers awakened Mrs.
Silliman, who hastily threw some bed-clothes over the silver and,
although the house was ransacked, the communion plate was
not discovered.
The First Congregational Church, Bridgeport, has a large
collection of ancient silver ; but its most noteworthy piece is
a tankard made about 1738 by Peter Van Dyke, of ISTew York.
It is a small one, only six inches high, and has been disfigured
by the addition of a spout in modern times ; but the ornamenta-
tion on the handle in most elaborate arabesque scrolls and
masks, and around the base in acanthus foliage, is the most
beautiful ornamentation that has been found on any ancient
silver in America.
One of the most interesting collections of communion silver
in the State belongs to the Center Congregational Church, jSTew
Haven. It consists of thirteen beautiful caudle-cups and a
large baptismal basin.
The latter was made by Kneeland, of Boston, and was pre-
sented to the church by the will of Jeremiah Atwater in 1735.
Its history is quite interesting.
Early in the eighteenth century Mr. Atwater, a wealthy mer-
chant, made a purchase in Boston of a cargo of nails. In one
of the kegs, beneath a layer of nails, he found a quantity of
silver money. He wrote to the Boston merchant, and told him
of the money found in the keg, and asked how it could be
EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
193
returned to its rightful owner. The reply stated that the keg
was bought for nails and sold for nails, and had passed through
many hands, and it would be impossible to trace the original
owner, and that Mr. Atwater must dispose of the money as
he saw fit. He finally concluded that he would give the money
to the church, and had it wrought into a baptismal basin. This
was the traditional story as told to Dr. Leonard Bacon by
the two eldest children of a Jeremiah Atwater, who was a
nephew of the original Jeremiah. On the following facts we
can absolutely rely. Mr. Atwater made his will in 1732, and
died the same year. The will says, "I give and bequeath unto
the First Church of Christ in ISTew Haven the sum of fifty
l^ounds to be improved for plate or otherwise, as the pastor
and deacons shall direct." This story in full was told by Dr.
Bacon in the Journal and Courier, July 15, 1853.
During the British invasion of N^ew Haven in 1Y79, all the
communion silver was hidden in a chimney in the house of
Deacon Stephen Ball at the corner of Chapel and High Streets,
where Yale Art School now stands.
In the Congregational Church, Columbia, is a beaker pre-
sented by Captain Samuel Buckingham in 1756. When the
centenary of the founding of Dartmouth College was observed
a few years ago, this beaker was taken to Hanover for the
occasion because of its intimate association with Dr. Eleazar
Wheelock.
When Canterbuiy w^as settled about 1690, a number of the
pioneers were from Barnstable. The interest of the older town
apparently did not wane, for by the church records we find
that in 1716 the church in Barnstable presented to its daugh-
ter more than two pounds sterling, which was invested in a
silver beaker still in use in the Canterbury Church, and
inscribed, "The Gift of Barnstable Church, 1716."
Belonging to the Congregational Church, Windham, are
three ancient silver beakers, inscribed, "John Cates legacy
to the Church in Windham."
Cates was a mysterious individual, and probably the earliest
settler in Windham. Barber, in his Historical Collections, says
194 EARLY SILVER OF CO:XNECTICUT AXD ITS INFAIvERS.
he served in the wars in England, holding a commission nnder
Cromwell. On the restoration of Charles II to the throne,
Cates fled to this country for safety, and, in order to avoid
his pursuers, finally settled in the wilderness of what is now
Windham. He died there in 1(507.
Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, possesses two ancient
and interesting pieces of communion silver: a beautiful cup
or chalice, made by John Gardiner, a silversmith of IsTew
London, and a paten.
The tradition is that they were originally owned by Rt. Rev.
Samuel Seabury, first bishop of Connecticut, and presented by
him respectively to St. James's Church, ]Srew London, and
Calvary Church, Stonington. Around the chalice runs the
inscription, "Given by Dr. Yeldall towards making this chalice
4 oz. 7 dwts. 1773." Who Dr. Yeldall was, is not known, but
in an advertisement in a I^ew London newspaper in 1775 it
is stated, "Dr. Yeldall's medicines may be had of Joseph
Knight, Post Rider." Presumably, therefore, he was well
known in that vicinity.
Some fifty years ago, at Bishop Williams's request, these
memorials of Bishop Seabury were presented to the Divinity
School.
This brief account of the ancient silver belonging to the
churches of Connecticut by no means exhausts the subject,
either historically or from other points of view.
One might continue describing in detail the display of ten
beakers and massive baptismal basin belonging to the First
Church ill Middletown, the fine array belonging to the Con-
gregational Church in Stratford, and the seven very ancient
and beautiful caudle-cups owned by the old church in Farming-
ton. Kot less worthy of mention is the silver of the First
Church in Milford (two of the pieces having been made by a
Connecticut silversmith), and the fine silver of quaint design
belonging to the Congregational Church in Guilford.
The United Church and Trinity Church, ]^ew Haven; St.
John's Church, Stamford ; the Congregational Church, Dur-
ham ; Center Church, Meriden ; First Congregational Church,
EARLY SILVER OF CONN^ECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
195
Derby; Congregational Clmrcli, E'ortli Haven; and many
others, — have beautiful collections of silver of great interest,
most of it made by the silversmiths of Connecticut.
In private hands, among the old families of the State, a
considerable quantity of old plate remains, but the great bulk
of it has disappeared forever, — most of it consigned to the
melting-pot, to issue thence in modern forms of nondescript
styles or no style at all. The temperance movement in the
early part of the last century is responsible for the disappear-
ance of quantities of old plate. Many of the old porringers,
tankards, beakers, mugs, and cans, were transferred into spoons
and forks by our local craftsmen, of whom Hartford and E"ew
Haven had so many.
What stories of this iconoclasm could have been told by
Beach, Ward, Sargeant, Pitkin, and Eogers, of Hartford, and
Merriman, Chittenden, and Bradley, of Kew Haven!
Indeed, one begins to believe that every town of any impor-
tance in this State had its local spoon-maker, whose trade was
nearly as familiar to the inhabitants as that of the village
blacksmith.
But, of all causes for the disappearance of old plate, none
was equal to the feeling that the good old silver utensils of the
forefathers were old-fashioned. It is the same subtle influence
which banished to garrets and outhouses the beautiful furniture
of the same period, and gave us in exchange the Empire styles
and the mid-century products of the so-called furniture butchers.
It is surprising to find what quantities of plate were owned
by some of the rich men of the Colony. To give a few illustra-
tions : Rev. Samuel Whittlesey, of Wallingford, who died in
1752, had silver to the amount of 108 ounces, consisting of
tankards, porringers, beakers, salt-cellars, spoons, etc.
Captain Joseph Trowbridge, of 'New Haven, who died in
1765, owned 23-1 ounces of plate.
In March, 1774, the home of Hon. Thaddeus Burr, of Fair-
field, was entered by burglars, and plate was taken which must
have amounted to several hundred ounces. In a list published
in a newspaper at the time are such articles as chafing-dishes,
196 EAKLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
tea-pots, porringers, tankards, silver-liiited sword, beakers, cans,
siigar-disli, and spoons ad libitum.
Governor Theopliilus Eaton, who died in 1G57, left plate
valued at 107 pounds sterling.
The gTeater part of the early domestic silver found in Con-
necticut was made by the silversmiths of Boston, ISJ'ew York,
and J'Tewport. This w^as but natural, for Connecticut had no
large commercial ports where merchants grew rich through
foreign trade and accumulated wealth in sufficient quantities
to invest very large sums in the productions of the silversmith's
art.
In one respect the conditions in Connecticut one hundred and
fifty years ago were much like those of to-day. If a man of
wealth desired to purchase an article of exceptional quality
and worth, he was quite likely to patronize the merchants and
craftsmen of those far-away cities, Boston and jSTew York,
where styles were sure to be of the latest fashion and work-
manship of unusual merit, while a man of slender resources
naturally depended on near-by shopkeepers and artisans.
However, Connecticut had many silversmiths, and a number
of them did most creditable work when their services were
demanded, although, owing to the influence just stated, their
products seem to have been distributed almost wholly in their
own localities, — one might indeed say among their fellow-
townsmen.
One never finds in Hartford the work of a I^ew Haven smith,
or in JSTew Haven the product of a man who w^as working in
l^Gw London, except when recent migration has carried the
ware from home.
As a result, these silversmiths, in order to eke out a living
in communities that were not lavish in accumulating their work,
were obliged to turn their attention to various other trades.
Some were clock and cabinet makers ; others were blacksmiths
and innkeepers ; and others, to use a homely phrase, were jacks-
of-all-trades.
Many of them advertised extensively in the weekly press,
and these appeals for custom vividly illuminate the social and
EAKLV SILVEE OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
19'
domestic demands and requirements of their patrons, and
present striking pictures of the times.
The earliest silversmith of Connecticut of whom record has
been found was Job Prince, of Milford. Very little relating
to him has been discovered. Apparently, he was born in Hull,
Mass., in 1680. He died evidently in 1703, for the inventory
of his estate is on file in the Probate Court, ISTew Haven, dated
January 24, 1703-04. It includes a set of silversmith's tools,
a pair of small bellows, a pair of silver buckles, tobacco-box,
tankard, porringer, and six spoons. The Princes were evidently
a seafaring family, and even Job owned a Gunter's scale and
a book on practical navigation.
The next silversmith in Connecticut was Eene Grignon, a
Huguenot, who had lived in various parts of ^ew England
and finally settled in :Jvrorwich about 1708, for in that year he
presented a bell to the First Church there. He attained con-
siderable importance during his brief residence, and, judging
by the two pieces of silver still extant, which it is safe to
ascribe to him, was an expert craftsman. He stamped his work
with the letters "U. G.," crowned, a stag ( ?) passant below,
in a shaped shield.
He died in 1715, and his inventory contained the usual
stock in trade of a gold and silversmith. His tools he left to
his apprentice, Daniel Deshon, wdio was afterwards a silver-
smith in Xew London and ancestor of the family of that name
once quite prominent in that town.
Grignon did a considerable business, for debts w^ere due
his estate from persons in Windham, Colchester, Lebanon, 'New
London, and Derby.
Next in chronological order was Cornelius Kierstead, a
Dutchman by descent, baptized in ISTew York in ■1675. He
followed his trade in that city until about 1722, when he
appeared in ]N"ew Haven with two other New York men and
leased land in Mount Carmel and in Wallingford for the pur-
pose of mining copper. They were not the first men to search
for the red metal in that region, for Governor Jonathan Belcher
and other Boston men had sunk thousands of pounds in copper
198 EARLY SILVEK OF COXXECTICUT AA^D ITS :^tAKEF.S.
mines in Wallingford, and the net results or profits, so far as
can be learned, were the holes in the ground.
It is perhaps needless to sav that Kierstead's venture Avas
not successful, but the incident apparently settled him as a
permanent resident of ISTew Haven. On the map of I^ew
Haven, dated 1724, his home is indicated as on the west side
of Church Street, a short distance below Wall Street, and just
north of the home of Moses Mansfield, the school-teacher, whose
father-in-law he was. He was still living in Xew Haven in
1753, for in that year the selectmen placed him in charge of
a conservator, giving as a reason that, ''on account of his
advanced age and infirmities, he is become impotent and
unable to take care of himself."
In a few Connecticut churches we find examples of his work :
a caudle-cup in the Congregational Church, Xortli Haven ; a
baptismal basin and a two-handled beaker in the First Congre-
gational Church, Milford ; and a tankard belonging to Trinity
Church, i*^ew Haven. There are also two other pieces extant
made by Kierstead, — a fine punch-bowl and a large candlestick.
He was certainly a most skilful craftsman.
The next to record is John Potwine, who was born in Boston
in 1698, and followed his trade there until about 1737, when
he moved to Hartford. For a time he seems to have continued
as a silversmith, for three beakers made by him are owned by
the Congregational Church, Durham, and two by the church in
South Windsor. A fine silver-hilted sword is owned in Hart-
ford, which was doubtless made by him, and probably once
belonged to Governor Wolcott. In the recent silver exhibition
lield in Boston were several examples of his work, which prove
that he was a silversmith of very high order.
He was apparently for a while in partnership in Hartford
with a man named Whiting, and later was a merchant in
Coventry and East Windsor, dying in the latter place in 1792.
Shortly after Potwine's advent appeared another silversmith,
not of Connecticut lineage, — Pierre, or Peter, Quintard, who
was of Huguenot extraction and was born in 1700. He was
registered as a silversmith in Xew York in 1731. but in 1737
EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS. 199
moved to what is now South Norwalk and there passed the
rest of his life, dying- in 1702. There is a candle-cup made by
him belonging to the Congregational Church, Stamford ; and
in the Metropolitan Museum, I^^ew York, are two fine beakers
bearing his mark. His inventory shows that he also made
gold and silver jewelry, rings, beads, and knee and shoe buckles.
ISTew Haven, the richest town in the Colou}^, was evidently
quite a centre of silversmithing. The map of 1748 shows that
Timothy Bontecou, also of Huguenot descent, was located on
the west side of Fleet Street, which ran from State Street to
the wharf. He was born in ISTew York in 1G03, but learned
his trade in France, and was certainly living in I^ew Haven
as early as 1735. He was the victim of an outrage by a mob
of British soldiers at the time of the invasion of 1779, and
died in 1784.
From 1770 to 1800 the junction of Church and Chapel
Streets was a favorite stand for silversmiths. On the south-
west corner were located the following men in the order named :
Captain Robert Fairchild, Abel Buel, and Ebenezer Chittenden.
Captain Fairchild was born in Stratford in 1703. Shortly
afterwards the family moved to Durham, and there the young
man first followed his trade. He became prominent, represent-
ing the town in the General Assembly from 1739 to 1745 ; was
an auditor of the Colony in 1740 and received the title of
captain in 1745. He removed to Stratford about 1747, and in
1772 to ]Srew Haven, and, when a very old man, to I^ew York.
It is probable that, while in Stratford, John Benjamin was his
apprentice. He was certainly a silversmith, but only one or
two pieces of his silver-work are known to be in existence. It
is said that he made the brass weathercock still capping the
spire of the Episcopal Church, which was used as a target by
a battalion of British soldiers quartered in Stratford during
the winter of 1757-58.
Captain Fairchild was an excellent silversmith, and a num-
ber of pieces of his work are still in existence, including two
tankards, several beakers, an alms-basin, two braziers, and
many spoons. While located at the corner of Church and
200 EAELY SILVEK OF COXXECTICUT AXD ITS ilAKEES.
Chapel Streets, ISTew Haven, on land leased of Trinity Churcli,
lie must have been quite active in his trade. We find him
advertising in April, 1774, that "he carries on the goldsmith's
and jeweler's business at his shop adjoining his house near
the south-east corner of the green, where he will do all sorts
of large work, such as making of tankards, cans, porringers,
tea-pots, coffee-pots, and other kinds of work. Those who please
to favor him with their custom may depend on having their
work w^ell done and on reasonable terms."
In 1779, to vary the monotony of trade, he advertises a few
hogsheads of choice West India rum for cash, and in 1784
he tells us that he has opened a house of entertainment, and
has provided a new and convenient stable. The same news-
paper announces, under date of ISTovember 26, 1794, that Cap-
tain Robert Fairchild, late of this city, has just died in ITew
York.
His next-door neighbor on the west, and separated from him
by a narrow lane now known as Gregson Street, was Abel Buel.
He was a man of singular versatility and inventive genius.
He was born in 1742 in that part of Killingworth now known
as Clinton. He learned the silversmith's trade of Ebenezer
"Chittenden in East Guilford, now Madison.
Before he had attained his majority, he was convicted of
counterfeiting, and confined in New London jail. On account
of his youth he was soon released, but to the day of his death
ho bore the scars of cropped ear and branded forehead.
Like other Connecticut silversmiths, his activities were not
confined to his trade. He must have moved to N^ew Haven about
1770, and he was soon appealing for custom in the local press.
He had already invented a machine for grinding and polishing
precious stones, which had attracted considerable attention, and
in recognition of this service his civil disabilities were removed
by the General Assembly. In his shop, the old Sandemanian
meeting-house, he had established a type foundry, for which
he received a grant from the General Assembly.
In 1775 he was in some trouble with the Rivingtons, printers
of ISTew York, and had apparently absconded : but he soon
returned and again made his appeals to the public. In 1778
EAKLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
201
he established a public vendue. In 1Y84 he advertised his map
of the United States, which, he said, "is the first engraved by
one man in America." His advertisement of 1796, perhaps
better than any other, gives an idea of his activities :
"Mariners' and surveyors' compasses and other instruments
cleaned and rectified, engraving, seal and die sinking, seal
presses, enameled hair worked mourning rings and lockets,
fashionable gold rings, earrings and beads, silver, silver plated,
gilt and polished steel buttons, button and other casting moulds,
plating mills, printers blacks, coach and sign painting, gild-
ing and varnishing, patterns and models of any sort of cast
work; mills and working models for grinding paints as used
in Europe ; working models of canal locks, drawings on
parchment, paper, silk, etc., by Abel Buel, College Street, jSTew
Haven, where there is a decent furnished front chamber to let
by the week."
The same year he advertised that "he has on exhibition
the wonderful negro who is turning white," the authenticity
of which phenomenon was vouched for by no less a person
than Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College. In 1798
he advertised a useful machine for planting onions and corn
which he had invented. In 1795 he established a cotton manu-
factory, which President Ezra Stiles, of Yale, stated in his
diary would prove a success.
He was the coiner of the first authorized Connecticut cop-
pers, produced in a machine of his own invention. His roving
disposition carried him to various parts of the w^orld, and, like
other rolling-stones, he gathered no moss, but died in great
poverty about 1825.
There are still extant various pieces of silver made by Buel,
notably four two-handled cups belonging to the Congregational
Church, Xortli Haven.
The following story, gathered from the Colonial Kecords of
Connecticut, shows that he did important work and was con-
sidered a skilled silversmith :
In 1771 the General Assembly, desiring to show its grate-
ful sense of the many important services rendered by Eichard
Jackson, Esq., of London, who for some time had acted as
2(>!2 EAELY SILVER OF COA'lSrECTICUT AND ITS :MAKEES.
the Agent of the Colony at the Court of Great Britain, mani-
fested its appreciation by adopting a vote of thanks, and
appropriating a sum not to exceed £250 to secure some proper
and elegant piece or pieces of plate to be presented to him.
It was to be engraved with the arms of the Colony, and inscribed
with some proper motto expressive of respect.
The commission for this work was given to Abel Buel, and
he forthwith began to fashion the plate ; but some months
later, because of the certainty that there would be large duties
to pay when the plate entered England and the fear that Buel
would not be able to complete the work in time, the commission
was withdrawn from him and given to a silversmith in England.
Just west of Buel's stand were the house and shop of
Ebenezer Chittenden. He was born in Madison in 1726, and
for a number of years worked at his trade in that place, remov-
ing to N^ew Haven about 17Y0, possibly in company with his
son-in-law and apprentice, Abel Buel.
Thirteen beakers and a flagon 171/4 inches high, made by
him, have been located in Connecticut churches. He was a
man of excellent connections. His mother was a sister of
iiev. Dr. Samuel Johnson, of Stratford, father of Episcopacy
in Connecticut, as he is called, and first president of King's
XJoUege, now Columbia University, ]^ew York, and his brother
Thomas was the first governor of Vermont. He was quite
intimately associated as a skilled mechanic and friend with
Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton-gin, and for many years
he was either warden or vestryman of Trinity Church, ^ew
]Iaven. He died in 1812.
On the other side of Church Street from Robert Fairchild
was located the silversmith shop of Richard Cutler, while on
Court Street were the home and shop of Captain Phineas
Bradley, who was a skilled workman and saw service in the
Revolution. His brother, Colonel Aner Bradley, was also a
silversmith. He was born in l^ew Haven in 1753, learned
his trade there, and served in the Revolutionary War at Crown
Point and Ticonderoga, and was wounded in the Danbury raid,
1777. He retired as colonel of militia. After the war he
EAELY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS jVIAIvEES. 2(>;^>
settled in Watcrtown and followed his trade until liis death
in 1824.
Marcns Merriman, who was horn in Cheshire in 17G2, came
to jSTew Haven when a boy. He saw naval and military service
in the Eevolution, part of the time in the company of Captain
Bradle,y.
His first advertisement appeared in 17S7, and thereafter
he was constantly asking for custom. He apparently did a
large business for the times in his shop on State Street.
Thirteen of his beakers and a caudle-cup have been found in
Connecticut churches, and his spoons are not uncommon in
'New Haven County. It is probable that he produced more
silver than any other early Connecticut silversmith. He died
in 1850.
Amos Doolittle, born in Cheshire in 1754, certainly began
his business career as a silversmith, having learned his trade
of Eliakim Hitchcock, of that place. He advertised several
times that he worked in silver, but the gTeater number of his
announcements had relation to engraving, and are of interest.
He successively advised the public that he has published a
mezzotint of the Hon. John Hancock in colors ; Mr. Law's
Collection of ]\Iusic ; that he does printing on calico ; that he
engraves ciphers, coats-of-arms, and devices for books, or book-
plates, and maps, plans and charts; that he has published the
Chorister's Companion, and that he does painting and gilding ;
and in 1700 that he is publishing an elegant print of Federal
Hall, the seat of Congress, with a view of the Chancellor of
State administered the oath of office to the President. He died
in 1832.
Other silversmiths of the period in l^ew Haven might be
mentioned, such as John and Miles Gorham, Charles Hequem-
burg, and Samuel ]\rerriman, who all did creditable work.
In Hartford, after Potwine's day, perhaps the most skilled
craftsman was Colonel Miles Beach, who was born in Goshen
in 1742, and followed his trade in Litchfield until 1785, when
he moved to Hartford and opened a shop about ten rods south
of the bridge on Main Street. His first partner was Isaac
204: EAELY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKEES.
Sanford, and later he was in business with his former appren-
tice, James Ward. Spoons bearing his mark are found in
Hartford and vicinity, and there are four interesting chalices,
made by him in 1794, belonging to the Congregational Church
in Kensington, Berlin. He saw active service in the Eevolu-
tion, and he was chief engineer of the Hartford Fire Depart-
ment from its organization in 1789 to 1805. He died in 1828.
James Ward, just mentioned, was one of a family of silver-
smiths. His father, brother, and probably grandfather, all
followed the trade in Guilford. He was born in Guilford in
17GS and, as already stated, was apprenticed to Colonel Beach.
After the firm of Beach & Ward was dissolved in 1798, Ward
for a time continued alone at a shop about ten rods north of
the bridge at the "SigTi of the Golden Kettle." A number of
silver pieces made by him have been found in Connecticut
churches, as well as spoons in private hands. He was a good
craftsman and, like other Connecticut smiths, did not strictly
confine himself to his trade, for we later find him making and
dealing in pewter worms for stills, dyer's, hatter's, and kitchen
coppers, and various sorts of brass and copper goods, and casting
church bells. He became quite prominent and influential in
Hartford, and died in 1856.
'No early Hartford silversmith ever used the advertising
columns of the local press to a greater extent than did James
Tiley, born in 1740. His first announcement was in 1765,
which states that "he still does gold and silversmith's work at
his shop on King Street, Hartford." This was the old name
for State Street. Another notice says that his shop was a little
east of the Court-house on the street leading to the ferry. When
the brick school-house which stood on the site of the present
American Hotel in State Street was blown up by a gunpowder
explosion in May, 1766, Tiley was among the number of those
seriously injured. For many years he pursued his calling until
financial difficulties overtook him in 1785. Later he advertised
that he had opened a house of entertainment in Front Street
at the sign of the "Free Mason's Arms." He was a charter
member of St. John's Lodge of Free Masons in 1763, and he
EAKLY SILVER OF COA^NECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS. 205
was also a cliarter member of the Governor's Guard, now First
Company of the Governor's Foot Guard, at its organization in
lYYl. He died in the South in 1792.
JSText door to Tilery in 1774 was Thomas Hilldrup, watch-
maker, jeweler, and silversmith, from London, whose motive
it was to "settle in Hartford if health permits and the business
answers." He therefore requested the candid public to make
a trial of his abilities, assuring them he was regularly bred to
the finishing branch in London. He later returns his unfeigned
thanks to those who favored him with their custom or interest
since his commencing business here, their favors having
exceeded his most sanguine expectations. Somewhat later his
shop was situated south of the Court-house at the sign of the
"Taylor's Shears."
In 1777 he was appointed postmaster and began a series of
migrations to various locations. While occupying this position,
it is related that Sheriff Williams drove up to the office one
day and was informed that it had been removed. He replied,
"Hilldrup moves so often he will have moved again before I
get there."
Hilldruj) was evidently blessed with a vein of humor. In
one of his announcements he states "he has silver watches
which will perform to a punctilio, and others that will go if
carried, and he has a few watches on hand upwards of one
year which he is willing to exchange with the owners for what
the repairs amount to."
He died about 1794, and, judging by the amount of his
inventory, he did not find later that the favors of a discriminat-
ing public exceeded his most sanguine expectations.
Other silversmiths of the period in Hartford were Ebenezer
Austin, whose shop was on the west side of Main Street, a few
doors south of Pearl Street; and Caleb Bull and IsTorman
Morrison, the latter a grandson of Dr. IsTorman ]\rorrison.
Bull and Morrison worked in partnership, although one sus-
pects Morrison was the silversmith of the firm. He was reared
in the famih' of Captain Tiley. He was lost at sea in 1783,
and shortly after Caleb Bull, who had married his widow,
206 EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
advertised the silversniitli's tools for sale, and says they are
the most complete in the State. Captain Bull was a member
of Hartford's first City Council, and was one of the first board
of directors of the Hartford Bank.
At a somewhat later date Jacob Sargeant was working in
a shop next door to the United States Hotel. His spoons are
still found in Hartford County.
Middletown's earliest silversmith was apparently Timothy
Ward, the son of Captain James, and born there in 1742.
Little is known concerning him, and that little indicates that
he was lost at sea in 1767 or 176S. In November, 1766, he
made a will in which he says he is ''bound on a long sea voyage,
and may never see land again.
The Boston commissioners' records on July 10, 1767,
announce the arrival of the sloop ''Patty" from Connecticut,
Peter Boyd, master, with Timothy Ward on board, a goldsmith
from Middletown. Less than a year later, on May 2, 1768,
his will was proved in court, and his inventory was filed,
containing a list of silversmith's tools, which tell us that he
was a craftsman of merit.
Apparently the most skillful of Middletown's silversmiths was
Major Jonathan Otis. He was born in Sandwich, Mass., in
1723, and began business in ISTewport, K. I., where he con-
tinued until 1778. As he was an ardent patriot, and the town
was in the hands of the British at that time, he moved to Mid-
dletown, and died there in 1791. Eleven of his beakers and
cups have been found in Connecticut churches, — six in Mid-
dletown, four in Suffield, and one in Durham.
Antipas Woodward, born in Waterbury in 1763, began busi-
ness in Middletown in May, 1791, taking the shop under the
printing-office vacated by Timothy Peck, another smith, who
was moving to Litchfield. Moses, the brother of Antipas Wood-
ward, was running this printing-office overhead at that time ;
but the building was soon destroyed by fire, and Antipas then
moved to the shop formerly occupied by Major Otis. He must
have been an excellent silversmith, judging from a fine por-
ringer made by him which is owned in Boston.
EAKLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKErvS.
20 T
Other smiths of the period were: Samuel Canfield (1780-
1801), who was also sheriff, and whose shop in 1Y92 was ten
rods south of the town-house, and in 1796 a few rods north
of the printing-office ; his one time apprentice, William Johon-
not, whose shop was south of the corner of Court and Main
Streets (perhaps the site now occupied by the Farmers and
Mechanics Savings Bank), opposite Mrs. Bigelow's tavern, and
who about 1792 moved to Vermont; Joseph King, whose shop
in 1776 was at the northwest corner of Main Street and Hen-
shaw Lane, now known as College Street. Apparently, his bus-
iness was not a profitable one, for it devolved on Samuel
Canfield, in his official position as sheriff, to make a number
of calls on his brother craftsman during a period of years which
must have been unhappy ones for Joseph.
In :N'ovember, 1785, David Aird, with true British pride,
announced in the local press that he was a watchmaker from
London, and that he carried on the business in all its branches
two doors north of the printing-office ; whereupon Daniel Wal-
worth, with due and becoming humility, informed the public
that, while he was not from London, he was a goldsmith and
brass-founder, and that he performed all kinds of gold, silver,
copper, and brass work in a shop nearly opposite the printing-
office.
About 1800, Judah Hart and Charles Brewer were working
at the silversmith's business in a shop which stood at the north-
east corner of Main and Court Streets. Two or three years
later Hart moved to N"orwich, and Brewer took as a partner
Alexander Mann. In a year or two Mann left him, and began
to manufacture guns. Brewer continued to do business at the
same old stand, in later years as a jeweler only, and died in
1860. Spoons bearing his mark are common in Middlesex and
N'ew Haven Counties, and in the Congregational Church in
Durham are three beakers made by him and presented in 1821.
It has been stated that some of the Connecticut workmen
turned their attention to various pursuits; in fact, were jacks-
of-all-trades. Abel Buel has been cited in illustration of this
statement, and the activities of Joel Allen, who was born in
208 EAKLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKEES.
Soiithington in 1755, deserve equal prominence. He was a
spoon-maker, engraver, brass-worker, carpenter, general store-
keeper, and tinker, and yet he did excellent work. Opportunity
has been given to examine his day book, running from 1Y87
to 1792.
In his shop he sold everything from pinchbeck* jewelry to
castor hats, including spelling-books, Bibles, dry goods,
groceries, drugs, meats, and hardware. In 1790 he moved to
Middletown, and began to engrave for the silversmiths, work-
ing principally for Samuel Canfield. In 1790 he rendered a
bill to the Congregational Church in Middletown for taking
down the organ, adjusting and mending the pipes, putting in
new ones, mending the bellows, and charged £9 for all this work.
He engraved the map of Connecticut published by William
Blodgett in 1792, — an excellent piece of work. He made book-
plates, engraved seals and coats-of-arms ; he painted and gilded
chairs and mirrors; and, when Major Jonathan Otis, silver-
smith, died in 1791, he lettered his coffin. During this busy
career he found time to make silver spoons and jewelry. He
died in 1825.
Guilford was the home of two excellent silversmiths, Billions
Ward and Captain Samuel Parmele.
Ward, the son of William Ward, who was probably a silver-
smith, was bom in 1729. Two patens, five beakers, and a
number of spoons have been found in Connecticut marked
"B. W.," and doubtless made by him. He died in Wallingford
in 1777 of small-pox, whither he had gone to visit his intimate
friend, Rev. Samuel Andrews, rector of the Episcopal Church,
who at that time was in dire disgrace, owing to his sympathies
with the British side of the Revolutionary quarrel, and was
confined to his own premises.
Captain Samuel Parmele, who received his title in 1775 and
saw active service in the Revolution, was born in 1737. He
was prominent in Guilford, and was an excellent workman.
* Chr. Pinclibeck, London watchmaker, eighteenth century, invented an
alloy of three or four parts of copper with one of zinc, much used in cheap
jewelry.
EAELY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKEES.
209
In the Congregational Church in that town are a baptismal
basin and a beaker made by him, and spoons marked "S. P."
and ^'S. Parmele" are not uncommon among the older families
of that vicinity.
iSTorwich, which, as everyone knows, was at an early date one
of the most important and wealthy towns in the Colony, had a
number of skilled smiths. Perhaps the most important w^as
Thomas Harland, who was born in England in 1735 and came
to E'orwich in 17Y3, where he died in 1809.
In addition to the trade of silversmithing he was an expert
watch and clock maker. In 1790 he had twelve workmen in
his employ, his annual output being two hundred watches and
forty clocks. He also produced quantities of jewelry, which
is described in his advertisements as "Brilliant, garnet and
plain gold rings, broaches, hair sprigs, ear jewels, and gold and
silver buttons.'' His assortment of plate consisted of '"'Tea pots,
sugar baskets, creamieures, tea tongs and spoons."
Among his apprentices afterwards in business in iJ^orwich
were David Greenleaf, ISTathaniel Shipman, and William Cleve-
land, grandfather of President Grover Cleveland. Eli Terry,
inventor of the Connecticut shelf clock, also learned his trade
of Harland, as did Daniel Burnap, the expert clock-maker and
silversmith of East Windsor.
Joseph Carpenter, born in 1747, was another enterprising-
silversmith whose shop still stands fronting on the old town
green. In it was lately found an engraved copper plate from
which his business cards were printed.
His name is surrounded by a graceful grouping of silver
tea-set, cake-basket, mug, spoons, tongs, buckles, watches, rings,
a clock, and a knife-box, illustrating the articles in which he
dealt. At the top appear the words "Arts and Sciences" on
a ribbon scroll, while cherubs tloating in clouds hover over these
treasures.
Other silversmiths working in I^orw^ich were William Adgate,
Samuel jSToyes, Gurdon Tracy, Charles Whiting, Philip and
Eoswell Hunting-ton in the eighteenth century, and Judah Hart
and Alvan Willcox of the firm Hart &: Willcox, Thomas C.
210 EARLY SILVER OF COXXECTICUT AST) ITS MAKERS.
Coit and Elisha H. Mansfield of the firm Coit & Mansfield, and
William Gurley, in the early part of the nineteenth century.
ISTew London, another enterprising and wealthy tc)wn, had its
quota of silversmiths. Mention has already been made of
Daniel Deshon (1697-1781).
John Gray (1692-1720) and Samuel Gray (1684-1713), both
born in Boston, followed their trade in New London at an early
date. Two interesting pieces made by the latter, a can and a
snuff-box, were in the recent silver exhibition in the Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston.
Captain Pygan Adams was the son of Rev. Eliphalet Adams,
pastor of the Congregational Church, i^ew London, succeeding
the Hon. Gurdon Saltonstall when the latter became governor
of Connecticut.
Captain Pygan (1712-1776) was a prominent man, and
represented the town in the General Assembly at most of the
sessions from 1753 to 1765. He was appointed by the
Assembly to many responsible positions, as auditor, overseer
of the Mohegan Indians, and one of the builders of the light-
house at Kew London in 1760. He was also deacon of his
father's church. He is called a merchant in the History of
K"ew London; but his father, in a deed of gift to Pygan in
1736, calls him a goldsmith, and Joshua Hempstead in his
diary has three entries which show that, when he needed any-
thing in the goldsmith's line, he patronized Captain Pygan.
In 1735 he bought of him a pair of gold sleeve-bu.ttons, in
1738 some plated buttons, and in 1744 Pygan replaced the
broken mainspring of his watch.
Additional evidence puts him in the class of the best silver-
smiths Connecticut has produced. In 1910 a fine porringer
bearing the mark 'T. A." was sold in Guilford. A rat-tailed
spoon and tankard owned in Lyme, and several fine spoons
owned on the eastern end of Long Island, are also so marked.
ISTo other known silversmith had these initials.
John Champlin (1745-1800) also worked in I^^ew London,
and evidently did a good business. In 1779 his shop was
entered by burglars, and the list of stolen articles gives one an
EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS. 211
excellent idea of the contents of a gold and silversmith's shop
of that period: "12 strings of gold beads; 40 pairs of silver
shoe buckles and a parcel of silver knee buckles ; 3 or 4 silver
plated and pinchbeck knee buckles ; 6 silver table spoons ; 3
dozen tea spoons ; 10 silver watches ; a large quantity of
watch chains, keys, main springs, stock buckles, stone rings,
jewels, broaches, etc." On jSTovember 30, 1T81, he notified his
old customers and others that, since the destruction of his shop
by the enemy,"' "he has erected a new one by his dwelling in
Main Street."
John Hallam (1752-1800) was another enterprising silver-
smith. In 1773 he advertised, "At his shop near the signpost,
makes and sells all kinds of goldsmiths and jewellers work as
cheap as can be had in this Colony." He engraved the plates,
for the bills of credit issued by the Colony in 1775.
His inventory on file in the Probate Court contained the
following plate : two tankards, a can, a cup, two porringers,
milk-pot, pepper-box, sugar-bowl, punch-ladle, and many spoons.
John Gardiner (1734-177()), one of the family associated
with Gardiner's Island, who fashioned the beautiful chalice
belonging to Berkeley Divinity School, must have been a smith
of exceptional skill.
Jonathan Trott, a Boston silversmith, was a skilful crafts-
man, and in that town are still preserved a number of pieces
of plate made by him. He went to Xorwich in 1772, and there
kept the Peck Tavern for a short time. He moved thence to
New London, where he died in 1815. His two sons, Jonathan,
Jr., and John Proctor, were also silversmiths, and there is in
Lyme a tea-set of the style popular about 1810 marked "I. T.,"
and probably made by Jonathan, Jr. John Proctor did a large
])usiness for the times, and much plate, both hollow and flat,
bears his trade-mark.
Belonging to the Congregational Church in Middlebury are
two old cups, or beakers, presented by Isaac Bronson and Josiah
Bronson in the year 1800. They do not bear the marks of the
maker.
* The burning of New London by a British force nniler command of
Benedict Arnold.
212 EARLY SILVER OF COXXECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
These interesting vessels were probably made by some near-by
silversmith, and the onlj man of that vicinity whose record
makes it safe to assume that he was the craftsman in question
is Israel Holmes, who was born in Greenwich in 1768, and
came to Waterbury in 1793.
His house stood on the site of the present St. John's rectory.
In 1802 he was engaged to go to South America by a silver
mining company, and died on the voyage. His inventory, filed
in August that year in the local Probate Court, contains a list
of silversmith's tools, which shows that he was a smith of
considerable practice and experience.
There ought to be many sj)oons in that vicinity made by
Holmes. Joseph, Jesse, and Stephen Hopkins, and Edmund
Tompkins at an earlier date than Holmes, were goldsmiths in
Waterbury; but it is probable that their work was confined to
the making of jewelry.
Joseph Hopkins's peculiar claim to distinction was in the
number of times his shop was visited by burglars. Five times
between 1766 and 1772 was he the victim of these outrages,
either because his stock was of more than ordinary value or
because of the enmity of some neighbor, and in 1780 his shop
was destroyed by an incendiary fire, — a record of misfortune
unique among Connecticut silversmiths.
Although there is no evidence that many of Connecticut's
silversmiths fashioned articles more pretentious than spoons,
it was probably due not to lack of ability, but to absence of
demand.
Captain Elias Pelletreau, of Southampton, L. I., was a
smith of excellent reputation, who fashioned many pieces of
plate. His day book shows that he was called on to produce
tankards, porringers, tea-pots, silver-hilted swords; in fact,
everything that a full purse could demand.
At the outbreak of the Eevolution he removed to Simsbury,
Conn., where he resided for a few years. An examination of
his day book shows that not once was he called upon during
that period to fashion hollow-ware plate. His work was con-
fined to spoons and the jewelry and trinkets in demand in that
region.
EARLY SILVER OF CONNECTICUT AND ITS MAKERS.
213
This list of early Connecticut silversmiths is by no means
complete. There were many others who did excellent and
creditable work, and were successful and capable men; but
a sufficient number have been mentioned to show that Connect-
icut has reason to be proud of the record, especially considering
the limited field in which these men were obliged to work and
the strong competition from larger and wealthier towns than
were to be found in this Colony.
The question of high prices, about Avhich we hear so much
nowadays, was evidently as troublesome one hundred and fifty
years ago. In the issue of the Connecticut Courant for August
17, 17 07, a two-column article appeared, discussing exports,
imports, and home manufactures, urging lower prices on all
articles made in this Colony by artificers and mechanics, and
complaining that they are eager to raise prices when prices
rise, but are very slow to reduce them when prices fall.
Two enterprising gold- and silversmiths, Joseph Hopkins, of
Waterbury (whose shop had so many times been broken into
by thieves), and Martin Bull, of Farmington, considered that
this complaint gave an excellent opportunity to gain a little
patriotic publicity and at the same time to advertise their wares.
In the issue of August 24, 1767, the following letter was
printed :
"We, the subscribers, goldsmiths of Waterbury and Farming-
ton, being convinced of the truth of the sentiments expressed
in this paper ^o. 138, and sensible of the obligation that lies
upon every person in this popular Colony to conduct so as
will have a natural tendency to advance the good of the whole ;
hereby inform the public that (notwithstanding we have the
vanity to believe that our demands have ever been short of
any goldsmith in this Colony) we are determined to serve all
our customers for the future, demanding only seven-eighths of
our usual acquirements for labour ; excepting in making silver
spoons and silver buttons, which has ever been lower than the
wages of most other tradesmen.
Joseph Hopkins.
Martin Bull."
214: EARLY SILVER OF COXXECTICUT AXD ITS IVIAKERS.
It lias long been a current tradition that many of the silver-
smiths were also blacksmiths, and the following reply to the
letter by Hopkins and Bull shows that the tradition is based
on fact, althongh it is certain both these gentlemen were skilled
artisans and of good standing in their respective communities.
In the issue of August ol, 1707, we read the following letter:
''Mr. GEEEisr : In your last, two persons calling themselves
Goldsmiths 'Inform the Public that they have the vanity to
believe their demands have ever been short of any Goldsmith's
in this Colony.' Vanity indeed, with great propriety ! When in
the article of Gold Xecklaces (in which they have been so
celebrated) they have had a price equal to any one, reckoning
the Labour and the advance on the Gold ; — and it is surprising
those gentlemen did not see into what a dilennna their expressive
vanity leads them ; for they 'Are determined to serve all their
Customers for the future' at a rate short of the former — viz :
'Demanding only seven-eighths of their usual acquirements for
Labour,' Why this alteration? Is it because they are deter-
mined to engross the business by representing to the Public
that they sell cheaper than anybody else — Vanity ! — Or is it not
rather because they are conscious to themselves of having
injured their customers by over-rating Labour done by Black-
smiths and Tinkers, and mean to make restitution that way;
for they seriously express a sense of the obligation that lies
upon 'Every person in this popular Colony to conduct so as
will have a natural tendency to advance the good of the Whole.'
''But for men to set up themselves for Standards for others,
that have acquired their skill by hire of journeymen — it is
to be wished the Legislative Body would pass an act that no
man should set himself up at any trade without having served
a regular Apprenticeship of seven years, and have a Certificate
from his master. Then we should not see every Blacksmith and
Tinker turn Goldsmith."
"THE MICROSCOPE" AND JAMES GATES
PERCIVAL.
By Ja:mes Kixgsley Blake.
[Read March 18, 1912.]
On Tuesday, March 21, in the year of Grace 1820, there
appeared on sale in the then elm-shaded town of ]S^ew Haven,
a modest little sheet of four pages, denominated The Microscope.
The name of the printer which appeared on the title page was
that of A. H. Maltby & Co., No. 4 Glebe Building, but the
only clue which was given by which the editors might be
identified, was the somewhat mysterious announcement, on the
same page, that it was "edited by a fraternity of gentlemen."
The price is moderate enough to be sure, only three cents a
copy, especially when it is considered that it is promised that
the paper shall be published twice each week, on Tuesday and
Friday mornings, and that "each number is to consist of at
least four octavo pages."
The first number contained a statement by the members of
the fraternity, outlining the policy to be pursued by it, which
was in brief to be as follows : The paper was to contain essays
on topics of every variety, but in order "to prevent the
monotony of sober prose," it was agreed that there should be
interspersed from time to time, "the lighter and more welcome
eftusions of the muse."
Its readers were further especially assured that the little
magazine was not intended "to subserve, either directly or
indirectly, the interests of any political party or religious sect,"
for its editors had "no solicitude to increase the number of
Presbyterians or Episcopalians," nor did they "desire to fill
the ranks of the friends or the opponents of the administration" ;
216 "the microscope" and james gates percival.
in short, they proposed not only to live up to the classic motto
which adorned their title page, "Tros, Tyriusque mihi nullo
discrimine agetur," but also to do their best to stay the progress
of the overwhelming flood of partisan publications which were
"daily starting up like hydras from every corner ... to poison
the fountain of social and even of domestic enjoyment."
Though this was the plan which they proposed, they nevertheless
cordially invited their subscribers to suggest an}' improvements
and agreed, as far as it was possible, to comply with such sug-
gestions, with "this one reservation, that whatever may be the
consequences, nothing irreligious, immoral or indelicate shall
be suffered to stain our pages."
We could easily imagine, if the editors in the second number
had not themselves told us, the trepidation of the fraternity
when they had placed their little Microscope on the tables of
the gentry of this college town, to be peered through by the
critical eyes of that literary circle. They confess they hoped
for success, like every other author, who "if suns revolve with-
out aifording any nourishment to his vanity, still flatters him-
self that when fable shall have thrown an obscurity around the
present century, the future antiquarian will in some auspicious
hour, light upon his volumes and present them to the admiration
of a wondering world."
Let us hope that they were allowed to enjoy the j)raise their
efforts deserved in the day of the appearance of their paper,
even as I, in the guise of "the future antiquarian," am now
presenting their volumes for your "admiration."
I wish for their sakes and for yours, that they had some
better sponsor, and yet I am glad to be able to do this simple
act for this fraternity of gentlemen which was actuated by no
hope of flnancial gain for themselves in undertaking the burden
of this publication, but solely by a high desire to improve the
literary taste of their community and distract its attention
from the party sheets above referred to as well as incidentally
to add "to its stock of innocent and rational amusement."
I say I am glad to do this slight thing for them at this late
date, for just six months later, when the last number of The
^THE microscope" AND JAMES GATES PEECIVAL.
21Y
Microscope appeared, the editors admit that they are disap-
pointed ill being obliged to suspend so soon, not so much because
the paper had resulted in a financial loss to themselves "since
the hope of emolument was not the motive that led to the under-
taking," but because they had learned that a paper of the
character they had tried to produce did not appeal to the public
at large. I am sorry they were thus disappointed, for they must
have worked hard ; and their noble ideals to publish a purely
literary paper, without a comic supplement, is deserving of the
highest commendation, and might be followed with advantage
by some of our modern journalists.
As I have said, they write in their second number of the
trepidation with which they awaited the reception of their off-
spring, and tliey tell of the places in town which they visited
to catch any gossip that might be dropped about the paper, or
its editors.
They first went to the market at the corner of State and
Chapel Streets, but the only topic of conversation there was
"the fall of the price of coffee occasioned by the introduction
of rye into the economy of the country," which sounds as if
Postum had even then begun its attacks upon the comforts
of the domestic breakfast table. From this they went to the
Postoffice, then situated on Church Street, but here "mail rob-
bers, slavery and steamboats" were the only affairs deemed
worthy of discussion. Thence they wandered to the reading
room (possibly of the Social Library, a forerunner of the
Young Men's Institute), where "Ivanhoe engrossed the con-
versation of the morning," although they record that they
overheard a dispute in progress between two dandies as to
who deserved the credit of having invented the kaleidoscope,
which only shows how metropolitan I^ew Haven was, even in
the modest days of 1820, for from an article on the London
fashions of the period, elsewhere published, we learn that
"Kaleidoscopes were invented in 1818 and instantly became the
rage, everyone carried one about and thousands were sold."
We often hear it said that in those good old days of early
simplicity, the subject of dress did not occupy the thoughts
218 ''THE microscope" and JAMES GATES PEKCIVAL.
of men and women as it does in these Inxurioiis times — and yet,
if we may judge from some of the essay's in The Microscope
which the editors say \yas so named, not because it would enable
its readers to see things "apparently larger than they really
are" but "to examine them nearer than could be done with
distinctness of vision by the naked eye" — we must believe that
the dress of the sterner sex at least was a matter occasioning
then much more solicitude than at present.
Two of the articles treat respectively of "Dandies" and
"The Dandy Club of Xew Haven," the last purporting to be
written by one of its members, in which "corsets for the waist,"
"stays for the coat," "bracers'' for the arms, "hippers, bishops
and plumpers," not to speak of "whale bone cravat stiifeners"
and other bygone beautifiers are discussed with mock solemnity.
Corsets for men seem to have especially roused the ire of the
editors and a petition appears in a later number addressed by
the Eibs to "His Excellency, the Head and rightly acknowledged
Governor of the Human System," detailing the sufferings they
and the internal organs of the body were made to endure "by
a certain formidable machine designated and well knowai by the
title of Corsets," wdiich the hands had made and fastened
around the petitioners.
The over-fondness of the students of that day for display in
dress is thus touched on in some verses contributed under the
nom de plume of "Smoaker."
"Let's hasten, (sorrow is a passion transient)
To College; here I am afraid we'll find
It's pupils now what they were not in ancient
Times. The reason you enquire — as if ever '
It's officers or laws were better — never
The answer; truth compels me to declare
That learning now and science both must yield to
Fashion, whose blandishments the mind ensnare
And which in abject servitude they've kneeled to.
Were a professorship of taste erected,
Tlie lectures would be those the least neglected.
■■•■ "■■ * ■'■" Shall Yale renew the fire
Poetic, witli resplendent lustre Ijeaming
From Humphreys, Barlow, Dwight? Shall it expire
When Trumbull's setting sun shall cease its gleaming?"
^*'tHE microscope" A2\D JAMES GATES PEECIVAL. 219
If the writer of these verses felt thus discouraged about the
undergraduates, another author felt no less so over the lack
of interest shown by the eonnuunity in the affairs of the Col-
lege, and the failure of the General Assembl}^ and the public
at large to help in easing its financial burdens ; especially when
he compared it with the "noble generosity which has been
manifested towards the I^niyersitj of Cambridge not only by
the legislature of Massachusetts but also by individuals." In
that institution, he says, "new professorships have been estab-
lished on firm foundations, their library and apparatus have
been greatly increased . . . and instances of private munifi-
cence have been exhibited, which have not been paralleled in
any other State in the Union, but, unfortunately for Yale, it
is located in a State limited in extent and population. The
views of the inhabitants of a small independent district are
usually circumscribed, and in no country is the truth of the
observation more strikingly exhibited than in this State. Every
donation made by the legislature to the support of this institu-
tion has been felt by the inhabitants for years and produced
a groan which nothing could have elicited unless a direct attack
on their purses."
But in the end the author sees a brighter day approaching
when emigration to the west shall decrease and the wealth of
the country increase, and there shall be men, especially east of
the Alleghenies, who shall have the time and means to devote
their own lives to the acquisition of learning, or will give money
to enable others to do so, or as the writer prophetically says, at
that time, "it will become more fashionable for men of fortune
to part with some of their superfluous riches, in order to acquire
that reputation which those who evince this liberality, so justly
merit."
This article may not have been in vain, for perhaps it may
have been this very appeal, published in 1820, that brought
those gifts of Sheldon Clark of Oxford, Conn., to Yale, begin-
ning with one of $5,000 in 1823, and followed by others which
amounted in all to <$.'K),000 ; Clark's entire estate being
eventually bequeathed to the College by his will, dated only
three years after tliis number of The Microscope appeared, and
220
THE MICEOSCOPE AND JAIMES GATES PERCIVAL.
this seems all the more probable when we remember that one
of his donations was for the promotion of Graduate Study,
an object for which the writer especially j)leads in this essay,
and one which Mr. Clark, on his farm in Oxford, would prob-
ably not have thought of without some such suggestion.
Articles on the desira1)i]ity of giving to Yale perhaps have
so familiar a sound to our ears, that you may w^onder that I
have quoted one of them as part of my paper, but I must con-
fess that this is not the only topic discussed in The Microscope,
that is still before us. One from the pen of 'SSerena," on the
comparative mental abilities of men and women, treats of a
subject that is still debated with vigor in all well-regulated
families, though the masculine claim of the intellectual infe-
riority of women is not always met as Serena meets it. She
says, if it is true that women do not have the proper intellectual
culture, it is the fault of the men themselves, for '"it is in
the power of gentlemen to make their female associates what
they would wish them to be" . . . therefore "Let respectable
gentlemen show that they duly appreciate a refined taste and
a cultivated understanding and they will find them greatly
increased" among the fair sex.
Poor Serena is greatly depressed at the state of society as it
existed in 1820 and she thus exclaims in justification of her
attitude : "Why is it that the indiscreet, volatile and unin-
formed Gloriana is the favorite toast of the day ? . . . Gloriana
is a beauty. But why is it that with all Gloriana's personal
attractions, she is less a reigiiing belle than the coarse and
ill-bred Victoria ? . . . Victoria is an heiress. Since then
intelligence and moral worth are no longer necessary to gain
distinction in society, it is not surprising the}'' are not more
cultivated !"
I must confess, however, that I was not so much surprised
at seeing gifts to colleges and woman's sphere discussed in these
pages as I was in reading some verses published on July 7th,
in which the then prevailing method of celebrating our nation's
birthday was called in question.
I had supposed that the attempt to bring in a "safe and sane
Fourth" was a modern innovation and yet lo, this movement
"the MICKOSCOPe" and JAMES GATES PEKCIVAL. ^221
seems, so far as ISTew Haven is concerned at least, to have
started more than ninet}^ years ago. Let me quote a verse
or two from ''Cleon's" lines :
"Eeclined on my pillow I courted repose,
Yet thought' of the pleasure which morn should disclose.
How Phoebus his circuit should rapidly fly
And usher upon us the Fourth of Julj'.
But when nature exhausted had sunk into sleep,
And fancy had ceased her long vigil to keep,
Just then the loud cannon seemed rending the sky
To welcome the dawn of the Fourth of July !
As the sun in its progress the morning revealed
The bells from the steeples incessantly pealed
And seemed with the roaring of cannon to vie
In rendering vocal the Fourth of July.
But my country I blush — shall the day of thy birth
Be distinguished by freemen, by revelling mirth.
Shall the sober and honest with vice oft ally
And in toasting and shouting spend Fourth of July?
Oh when shall religion difl'use its mild ray
And mingle its light with the light of this day!
\Yhen the bosom of virtue shall not heave a sigh
But with pleasure shall welcome the Fourth of July!"
In the same wa}' the so-called modern movement for Town
Improvement also received the support of the little Microscope
in its day, and a continuation of the poem by "Smoaker"
already quoted, details some of the things that needed reforming
here in IS 20. He first describes the methods of reaching ISTew
Haven and the landing on the Long Wharf, as follows :
"If you dislike the Steam boat's fare or racket
And choose a smaller evil, — take the packet
Which lands you on a wharf a mile in length.
Of mud and stone and wood — these all uniting
To render it a monument of strength
Where pleasant walks and prospects all inviting,
On Sunday after Church in pleasant weather
Men, boys and negroes all walk down together.
There is a better promenade, the Green,
And why do they not choose the best of places?
Can't be that Sunday they would not be seen
222 "the microscope" ak'd james gates percival.
Thus walking. "Tis not being seen disgraces!
If on both sides the. Wharf, stores were erected
Its looks Avould be improved — but "twas expected
That wo should want the water t'other side,
For once much faster was oiir commerce growing
Than harbour mud: and vessels here could ride
Borne on the buoyant wave then full o'erflowing
The dark blue flats at times when tides were highest.
O treacherous sea! that aid thou now deniest.
And now my heart begins to sAvell with pride,
That ])ride which every citizen possesses —
And they who seem to have it not, but hide
Their feelings, 'tis hypocrisy suppresses
That fond delight, which natvire's bent pursuing
Is always seen when we're to strangers shewing
Our Churches: when I wish to quench that pride.
Attentive gazing at the State House does it.
The Church's not half so gothic at its side
As he must own, who for a moment views it
(Mine may be easier quenched than that of others)
The burying yard and State House are twin brothers.
The burying yard — which since 'tis past its prime
To slow decay we without shame abandon.
For not a fence, the sacred spot encloses,
Beneath whose turf, our fathers' dust reposes."
Such an attack could not fail of results.
I have pointed out how Mr. Clark's gift to the College fol-
lowed the article on Connecticut's parsimony. Can there be
any doubt that these verses, published in May, 1820, helped
to rouse the sentiment that in October of the same year caused
the Common Council to appoint a committee "to inquire and
report whether the ancient burying ground should be enclosed, or
some other course be adopted to evince respect for the dead and
the feelings of the survivors" ; which committee duly reported
later that the conditions were a disgrace to the City, and in
accordance with their recommendation, the old monuments
were removed in June, 1821, to the Grove Street Cemetery,
the ground was levelled, and the marble memorial tablet placed
(»n the rear wall of Center Church, all at the expense of the
municipality.
"the microscope" and ja^ies gates percivae, 223
Thus you see our little Microscope can lay claim not only to
the credit of having discussed many topics of interest in the
short six months of its being, but also of having accomplished
something as well for the benefit of the community in which
it lived and died.
You need not think from the quotations which I have thus
far made that The Microscope contains nothing but what is
praiseworthy, or that it would satisfy the magazine reader of
the present day for a steady diet. As we wander through its
pages we are certainly impressed by the fact that the literary
style and taste of that day has become as obsolete as the fashion
of its garments and that all the decorations of its prose and
verse, that then no doubt appeared so elegant, seem to us now
as artificial as the "hippers, corsets and whalebone cravat
stiffeners" of their authors.
The tomb occupies a much more prominent place in then-
poetical and romantic landscapes than in ours, and if we were
to judge the authors from their works, we should suppose that
they were one and all incipient Lord Byrons in the last stages
of physical decline, who spent most of their time draped over
the monuments of their departed friends, who were invariably
cut off in the bloom of early youth, instead of being, as they
really were, as healthy a lot of :N'ew Englanders as ever enjoyed
a solid breakfast of codfish balls and buckwheat cakes on a
winter's morning*.
Just listen to the following cheerful eft'usion, written by
"Emma," only a few verses of which I have space to quote, and
which is entitled:
"LINES, WRITTEN ON A PARTICULAR OCCASION."
"Clad in the tomb's cold drapery
Tliy semblance glides before me now,
I saw thee on thy silent bed
Ere the first day of death was fled.
Thy cheek was beautiful in deatli
As when the rainbow vanishetli
It leaves a soft, a tender hue
Athwart the circlin"- arch of blue.
224 "the miceoscope" axd james gates percivae.
Closed was thine eye, no spirit there
Beamed forth to chase the Soul's despair.
Thou too whose limbs unshrouded lie
In dark Columbia's ocean Avave,
I hear the sea birds nightly cry
Careering round thy lonely grave!
And when the night is soft and still
I see the mellow moonlight play
On thy sad grave as murmuring there,
The reckless waters roll away.
This form (i. e. the author's) shall rest within the tomb
That robe upon this breast shall lie
Uplifted by the fitful breeze
That howls above my cemet'ry."
Hear also these verses of doleful prophecy addressed b}' honest
Tutor Wickham to Miss whom he compares to a rose,
as follows:
"This may tliiiie emblem prove
Thou too may'st soon decay
For not our fondest love
The approach of death can stay.
His harbinger Disease
Before thee soon may stand
And all thy glories seize
With pale and ruthless hand.
Thy form the funeral pall
May hide in deepest gloom
And tears of sorrow fall
Upon thine early tomb!"
But let us turn from these gloomy themes that seem to have
had such an attraction for our ancestors, at this period of
our literary development, to some articles of a lighter vein,
for by careful peering through the lenses of this Microscope
a few cheerful spots can be found among the dark specimens
like those I have just quoted. Here is a song appearing in the
sketch of a village vagabond called Gabriel Gap, which has
the real flavor of the old time Yankee Sea Ballad and which,
in the story, is sung by a recruiting sergeant of marines, clad
in his uniform with his pigtail hanging down behind as he
sits in the tavern tap room. It is called
"the microscope" and JAMES GATES PERCIVAL. 225
"THE TOP OF THE WAVE."
"Tho' now we are sluggish and lazy on shore,
Yet soon shall we be where the wild tempests roar
Where the winds thro' the hoarse sounding cordage shall rave
And fling the white foam from the top of the wave.
Yet soon o'er the waters the Essex shall sweep.
As she bears all the thunders of war o'er the deep
While the hands that are hard and the hearts that are brave
Shall give the bold frigate the top of the wave.
And tho' some among us may never return,
V His comrades shall sorrow, his messmates shall mourn;
Tho' his body may lie in a watery grave,
His spirit shall rise to the top of the wave.
Then a health to John Adams and long may he reign
O'er the mountain, the valley, the shore and the main
INIay he have the same breeze, that to Washington gave
In "his cruise o'er the waters, the top of tlie wave."
But perhaps I have quoted enough from The Microscope to
give you an idea of its general character. There are many
other articles that I might read from, to advantage, and other
poems that would entertain you, but you remember that the
title of my paper was two-fold and I must pass to the second
half without further delay. But before I leave The Microscope
to discourse of Percival I must pay a brief tribute to some
other members of the fraternity, who labored so hard to uplift
their fellow townsmen. As I have stated, the names of the
editors were not given on the title page of the magazine as it
appeared, but as I have not said, all the contributions are signed
with fictitious names, which according to the fashion are either
classical or romantic in their sound ; for example : Alcander,
Menelaus, Admonitor, Ephebus, Philoclericus, on the one hand,
and Montague, Ludovico, Edgar, Theodore and Albert, on the
other.
But history records the real names of some of these authors,
and among the more prominent are the following: Judge
Whiting, Tutor (Horace?) Hooker, Tutor Jos. D. Wickham,
Cornelius Tuthill, D. L. Ogden, J. G. C. Brainard, :N'athaniel
Chauncey, J. S. Townsend, Henry E. Dwight, Dr. J. G. Hard-
year, A. M. Eisher, and last but not least, he whose name
s
220 "the microscope" and ja:mes gates percival.
formed part of my title, James Gates Percival, or as he was
proudly spoken of by later Yalensians, "our own Percival."
I am afraid many of my bearers never beard of "our own
Percival," and bow it would burt bis sensitive vanity if be
did but know it, and yet in 1821, wben bis first volume of
poems appeared, Edward Everett wrote in tbe North American:
"Tbis little volume contains tbe marks of an inspiration more
lofty and genuine tban any similar collection of fugitive pieces
from a native bard. . . . He sbares witb few tbe gifts wbicb
make bim a classical American poet," and Wbittier wrote of
bim in 1830, "God pity tbe man wbo does not love tbe poetry
of Percival. He is a genius of IN'ature's making, tbat singular
bigb minded poet! He bas written mucb tbat will live wbile
tbe pure and beautiful and glorious in poetry and romance
are cberisbed among us."
Wbile tbese eulogies now seem bardly justified, Percival was
undoubtedly a man of varied mental gifts. He was a linguist
of unusual attainments. He is said to bave bad command of
every language on tbe European continent except Turkisb,
besides Sanskrit, Gaelic, Latin, Greek and many of tbe dialects
of India. He was also a geologist and botanist of ability and
be believed be was also a great poet.
Some of bis contemporaries, as we see, sbared tbis opinion
also, but bis verses never appealed to tbe public, largely I
think because they lacked genuineness and spontaneity and
were essentially artificial. Lowell, who attacks him most
savagely, says that wbile be might have made a good professor
of poetry (for he is always telling us what poetry should be),
he never could be a writer of good poetry, because be was not
by nature a poet, and because he also lacked a musical ear,
and in tbis Lowell is right. As we know, poets are bom, and
cannot be made even from men who are good linguists or
geologists, even though they may have in addition, as did
Percival, a gift of rbjTning words, and can copy some of the
examples of others, wbo really had tbe divine spark.
Professor Beers, wbo has written a sketch on "our Percival,"
was obliged to invent a word to describe PercivaFs poetry,
and it is a very apt one. He says bis verses are of tbe sort
"the MICEOSCOPe" and JAMES GATES PEKCIVAL. 227
that used to appear in those little gilded booklets, adorned
with a steel engraving of ''Emma at the Tomb" as a frontis-
piece and called "The Souvenir/' or "The Gem," which
always used to lie on our marble-topped center tables. For
this reason, and for want of a better one, he applies to these
verses the adjective of "gemmy" ; and "gemmy" they most
certainly sound to modern ears, and yet, as the most distin-
guished of The Microscope's contributors, and as one of I^ew
Haven's characters of bygone times, I cannot close my paper
without a short account of "our own Percival" ; as odd a
stick as ever wandered beneath 'New Haven elms and wrote
" 'gemmy" poems !
Percival was born in Berlin, Conn., September 15, 1795,
and went to school with his uncle, the Rev. Mr. Woodward of
Wolcott, against whom he acquired a violent prejudice, which,
like most of the many prejudices which he had during his life,
seems to have been unwarranted. Whether this is so or not,
I am sure the reverend gentleman could not have deserved the
following anathema, which Percival hurled at him in a poem
called "The Suicide," which first appeared in The Microscope,
taking up two whole numbers of the innocent little sheet, with
its gory lines.
"Ye who abused, neglected, rent and stained
That heart, when pure and tender, come and dwell
On these dark ruins and by Heaven arraigned
Feel, as you look, the scorpion stings of HeU.
Yes, you will say poor weak, and childish boy,
Infirm of purpose, shook by every sigh,
A thing of air, a light fantastic toy —
What reck we if such shadows live or die?
» * * *
Where minds like this are ruined, guilt must be.
And where guilt is, remorse shall gnaw the soul.
And every moment teem with agony.
And sleepless thoughts in burning torrents roll.
And thou arch moral murderer hear my curse.
Go gorge and wallow in thy priestly sty;
Than what thou art I cannot wish thee worse —
There with thy kindred reptiles
Crawl and die!"
228 ''THE MICKOSCOPe" and JAMES GATES PERCIVAL.
Percival entered Yale in 1810, and there his muse seems
to have been actively employed. Ever athirst for praise, he
used to post his productions up on one of the buildings, or on
one of the Campus elms, and then listen with eager ears to
the comments with which they were received. He roomed,
while in College, in the northwest corner room on the fourth
floor of South Middle, and was considered a good scholar as
well as a budding poet of promise. A Moorish tragedy which
he wrote, called ""Zamor," was accepted by the faculty and
produced to an awe-struck audience at the time of his gradua-
tion. After receiving his degree he was invited to settle in
Hartford, by a classmate, and believing that it was a literary
center where his genius would be appreciated, he moved there
and made it his abode for a short period.
Hartford did not, however, show that degree of appreciation
at his decision that he anticipated, for though he was cordially
received, his tendency to talk at great length on single topics
not of general interest, in so low a voice as to be almost inaudible,
militated to some extent against his social success, and he there-
fore promptly shook the dust of that city from his feet, and let
loose the blasting breath of his curse on the snug little town
at the head of sloop navigation, which he denominates ''Ismir"
in his poem, from which I only quote six of the sixteen verses :
"Ismir, fare thee well forever,
From thy walls with joy I go,
Every tie I freely sever
Flying from thy den of woe.
May the knell of ruin tolling
Wake thee from thy feverish dream
While the awful bolt is rolling
And the hags of vengeance scream.
When thy walls and turrets riven
By that bolt to earth are hurled,
Ruins share in fury driven.
Blot thy memory from the world.
* * «
Wrapped in gory sheets of lightning,
While cursed night-hags ring thy knell.
May the arm of vengeance brightning
O'er thee wave the sword of Hell.
"the :microscope" and james gates pekcival, 229
When the flood in fury swelling
Heaves thy corpses on the shore,
May fell hj'aenas madly yelling
Tear their limbs and drink their gore.
Ismir! land of cursed deceivers.
Where the sons of darkness dwell,
Hope, the cherub's base bereavers,
Hateful City! fare thee well."
Having expressed liis opinion of Hartford in this unmistak-
able style, be no doubt felt tbat be would promptly meet with a
correspondingly bearty welcome in ISTew Haven, and be tbere-
fore returned bere to take up tbe study of botany and medicine
under Dr. Eli Ives. But, as usual, he found some disappoint-
ment awaiting him, for it is said that while engaged in these
studies he was crossed in love, and in bis despair endeavored
to end bis own life by tbe novel, if somewhat uncertain and
laborious, process of bitting himself on tbe head with a stone.
It is perhaps unnecessary to state tbat he was unsuccessful
in this attempt, and when The Microscope began to appear in
1820, his head had apparently so nearly recovered from any
damage he may have inflicted on it, tbat he was able to con-
tribute some of tbe verses for which he had, up to tbat time,
found no outlet.
To be sure it required some urging to get him to submit his
first contribution, for it is recorded that when the Rev. W. C.
Forbes, then Rector of tbe Hopkins Grammar School, sug-
gested to him that he send some of his poems to tbe new pub-
lication, "though be confessed to some curiosity to see himself
in print ... he was as modest and as coy as a young maiden,"
but after his first poem, "'Napoleon," appeared, his fear
abated, and he became a frequent contributor. His poems
at once attracted attention and emboldened by their success
he published a volume of them in 1821, which was received with
applause by many of the American reviewers, to his intense
delight. It must have been quite a feather in the cap of the
editors of Tlie Microscope to reflect that they had introduced
the rising American poet to public notice and Percival ought
to have appreciated the opportunity they gave him, but when
28(» "the mickoscope" and james gates percival.
a year later (in June, 1822), Percival had fallen out with his
old friend Cornelius Tuthill, he spoke somewhat scornfully of
the paper and its editor, in a letter to a correspondent. "I
write," he says, "very small, because I intend to put as much
on my paper as I can. If you cannot read it in any other way
you must get a microscope, not the 'New Haven Microscope ;
for although the editor of that eiorious affair calls himself mv
foster father in the Muses and, amid the many insults which
his well-meaning stupidity hangs upon me, declares that, had
it not been for his clearing the way by inserting a few articles
of mine in his great miscellany, I never should have dared to
face the public, I say notwithstanding this, I hope my immor-
tality is not tacked to such perishable stuff. I am really
ashamed to say anything of myself since my return here. I
have been left entirely alone. There seems to be in the better
circles of New Haven — if there are such — a marked neglect,
a studied determination not to know me. But though they
cannot value me, they cannot destroy my reputation abroad . . .
T begin to think there is a difference between P. the poet and
P. the man and that they can never be associated, without
inj ury to the former. I suppose the keen-scented New Haveners
]iave caught something about me, which makes them think I
am not worth notice."
Indeed he had become so disgusted, that he went down to
Charleston, S. C, and spent the winter there, where he was
quite a literary lion, publishing his verses and returning to
jSTew Haven in 1823 in better spirits.
At this time he lived on Chapel Street, where Munro the
Florist now is, which was then the house of a Mr. Johnson,
and when the great Fitz-Greene Halleck, "fresh from foreign
travel, fashionably dressed and of fascinating address and
graceful conversation," came to N^ew Haven, he called to see
his brother-poet who never blacked his shoes, or indulged in
any self-adornment of any kind, and after Percival's shyness
had passed away, they enjoyed each other's company. Alas!
would they have talked thus cheerfully had they kno\\ai how
soon the poems of both would be relegated to the same limbo
of departed spirits.
THE MICROSCOPE AND JAMES GATES PERCIVAL.
281
I will not attempt to follow Percival in all his wanderings
and disappointments ; suffice it to say that he left !N"ew Haven
again, writing in one of his letters, ''I abandon ISTew Haven. I
have not a solitary friend here, not one congenial mind, not
one whom I associate with" ; that among other positions that
he tried and gave up was that of an instructor at West Point,
which he obtained through the good offices of John C. Calhoun,
who said with a sad shake of his leonine head, when he was
told that Percival had resigned in a huff, "Ah well, he's a poet,
he's a poet!"
Several volumes of his works had appeared by this time, and
being known as one of the great American poets, he was
requested by an enterprising publisher to select from his writ-
ings a few of the poems which he considered his best, to be
included in a gift book to be published under the alluring title
of "Elegant Extracts," a name more suggestive to modern
ears of a proprietary medicine than a book of poetry. He chose
the following: "Setting Sail," "Address to the Sun," "A
Picture," "Liberty to Athens," "Consumption," "The Coral
Grove," "The P>roken Heart," "How Beautiful is ITight,"
"The Wandering Spirit" and "A Tale." How many of them
have we ever even heard of! Possibly one, "The Coral Grove."
In 1827, he returned to ISTew Haven again, to assist Mr.
^SToah Webster in editing his dictionary, and though his knowl-
edge of languages was of some assistance to the lexicographer,
their labors together seem to have been accompanied by that
friction that usually appeared when Percival lent a helping
hand.
From this time till 1853, he was almost a constant resident
of our town, and his slender, narrow-chested, stooping figure,
dressed in the shabbiest of patched gray clothes, with a colored
cambric necktie and an old camlet cloak wrapped about him,
became a familiar object on the streets. Shy and sensitive, he
slipped along, his dark brown head covered with an old glazed
cap, which in winter was adorned with a pair of sheepskin ear
tops worn with the woolly side in. Percival's distaste for society
seems to have increased to such an extent that he li^^ed prac-
tically as a hermit. Ladies he studiously avoided, and he
232 "the microscope" and james gates pekcival.
admitted only a very few chosen men to his lonely apartment.
His particular cronies were Dr. Erasmus D. ISTorth, professor
of elocution at Yale, David Hinman, the engraver, Hezokiah
i\.ugur the sculptor and Edward C. Herrick the college libra-
rian, and often, it is said, they sat and talked together till the
early sunrise lighted the quiet streets of the sleeping town.
His favorite haunts in town were the college library and the
Young Men's Institute, where he w^ould pore over a book in
some secluded corner, reading rapidly, and if he found the
leaves uncut he would peer in between the folded pages and
continue his perusal apparently without difficulty.
Up to 1843, he roomed on Chapel Street, next to the Lyon
Building, over Sydney Babcock's store, and he took his meals
at Bishop's Hotel, where the Postoffice now stands. I do not
know the nature of the dishes he ordered, nor do I intend to
cast any discredit on the character of the cooking in Landlord
Bishop's hostelry, but as a veracious historian I am bound to
record the fact that it appears that at this time the poor poet
was gTeatly troubled with frightful attacks of dyspepsia.
The market for poems by "our Percival" I also regret
to say was dull, and though his income from this source was
eked out by editing various books, he had no ability to hold any
position with a salary attached to it for any length of time,
and so he was soon reduced to great poverty. In 1832, he
writes to Prof. George Ticknor that his income is about $65.00
a year! In 1835, this desperate situation was somewhat
relieved by his appointment to make a geological survey of the
State of Connecticut, but w^hen he had rendered his report in
1843 he was again cut off from this source of income, which
was small enough even while it lasted. "$600 a year," Percival
writes, "out of which I defrayed all expenses, travelling
expenses included!"
I have said that the poet was very shy, and yet he seems
to have mingled in ]^ew Haven society to some extent, and
though it was often difficult to get him to talk, when he had
once overcome his bashfulness, his flow of conversation would
go on for hours at a time, in a low uniform tone of voice, that
'THE MICEOSCOPE AIST) JAMES GATES PEKCIVAL.
233
was peculiarly monotonous and trying to his audience. On
one occasion the savants of the Connecticut Academy were kept
for hours listening to a talk by Percival on the geological
formation of East Kock, until at last Professor Silliman with
great presence of mind, as the speaker stopped for an instance
for breath, leaped to his feet and adjourned the meeting sine
die, an affront that Percival never forgave.
It is also related that on another occasion he kept James A.
Hillhouse and a party of friends out of their beds until 2
o'clock in the morning, while he (doubtless remembering his
experience with the Academy) discoursed without pause, for
the entire period, on the advantages and peculiarities of hickory
trees.
As I have said, his knowledge of foreign languages was
extensive, and of some profit to him, and yet his study of
German led him into one vagary which was hardly to be
expected, namely a desire to produce the German songs he
delighted in, on some musical instrument. The choice of the
proper vehicle to express this longing was limited by his purse,
as well as by his lack of musical education, so on the advice of
the Hon. Benjamin ^oyes (himself a performer), he decided
on the unpretentious accordion. This was in 1836, when this
instrument, now somewhat derided, I understand, by the best
artists, had just appeared before the musical world, which was
then still somewhat uncertain as to the possibilities which might
be latent in its bellows-like interior, and yet Percival, we are
assured by his biographers, mastered all its intricacies in a
single night. '^Z^ever," writes one of his enthusiastic friends,
who fails to elucidate his remark further, '^ISTever have I,
before, or since, heard such music from an accordion!"
I have referred to Percival's weak voice, which was at times
almost inaudible, and it is probably fortunate that this same
lack of noise-producing power appeared in his performances
on his chosen instrument. ''The ear," writes Mr. I^oyes, in
speaking of the notes the poet produced, ''had to be exceed-
ingly attentive, even when alone, to detect them." This same
propensity for inaudible music was not confined to his selec-
234 "the microscope" and james gates percival.
tions on the accordion, for he often entertained his audiences
with singing of the same variety. At one time, at a party,
he sat in a retired corner of the room, his gaunt form and
melancholy face bent over his accordion, ''his eyes full of the
wild fire of genius and looking," writes this correspondent,
"like a minstrel come down from another age." The expectant
spectators supposing he had not yet begun, continued talking,
but the concert was really in progress, and continued in the
same purely psychical manner for some time longer, for, as
the narrative continues, the poet's "soul had floated off upon
his melody, and he had that sufficient reward that many a bard
has — the silent rapture of song !"
Do not think I consider this little peculiarity a fault in the
character of our strange ISTew Haven poet ; on the contrary,
I regard Percival's attempt to educate his audiences to appre-
ciate the delights of inaudible music one of his most praise-
worthy endeavors, and I only wish the fashion could be
perpetuated and adopted by all beginners in the art.
His delight in music had one good result, however, for it
served to draw him out from his seclusion, and in the Harrison
Campaign of 1840, he was one of the organizers and active
members of "The ^ew Haven Sing-Song Club," which ren-
dered Whig songs at the political rallies in honor of "Tippe-
canoe and Tyler too." The verses which he wrote for the
Club's use are far from "gemmy," and they ring true with
the spirit of the genuine enthusiasm of an actual crisis, instead
of being adorned, like his poetry, with the bogus sentiment that
went with "bowers" and "dells" and "silent tombs" and
other Byronic trappings that were then regarded as necessary
for real poetic utterance and which it would have taken a
greater genius than Percival's to have discarded.
Let me quote a part of one of these war songs which was
sung to the tune of "The Campbells are Coming."
"Bold Tippecanoe has come out of the West
To deliver the land from a horrible pest;
A plague such as Freedom before never knew
Has fled at the touch of Old Tippecanoe!
"the MICEOSCOPe" and JAMES GATES PERCIVAL. ^3o
The foul spot that darkened the roll of our Fame,
The black lines recording our Annals of Shame,
A proud hearted nation no longer shall rue,
They've all been expunged by old Tippecanoe.
A hard work he'll have the foul palace to clean.
But soon it all garnished and swept shall be seen
And decently simple and plain to the view.
Shall the House be that shelters Old Tippecanoe!
No carpets from Brussels, no Vanity Fair —
Nor gold spoons, or bouquets or ormolu there!
Good stufif from our workmen shall furnisli it through
The Mansion of patriot Tippecanoe.
No parties exclusive, no Minuet Balls,
No Levees a la Royale shall flout in his Halls,
The string of his door shall be never drawn through.
Always Welcome's, the Avord with Old Tippecanoe.
No Banquets he'll give a la mode de Paris,
No wines of great price on his board shall you see,
But Sirloin and Bacon and Hard Cider too.
Shall be the plain fare of Old Tippecanoe.
Then let us all stand by the Honest old Man,
Who has rescued the country and beat little Van.
The Spirit of Evil has gotten its due,
It's laid by the strong arm of Tippecanoe!
In the Front Rank our Nation shall now take its stand.
Peace, Order, Prosperity, brighten the land!
Then loud swell the voice of each good man and true-
Success to the Gallant Old Tippecanoe!"
After siicli a stirring ballad there could have been no other
result than the complete rout of little Van and a sweeping
victory for the advocates of Tippecanoe and Hard Cider. But
alas, for the uncertainty of human success ! Just a month after
his 'inauguration Harrison died, and at the Commemorative
services in Center Church, the hymns of mourning sung were
from the pen of Percival, which had before inscribed such songs
of victory.
In 1843 he left his quarters on Chapel Street, and moved
out to the Hospital, where he rented three rooms in the top
of that building, which he occupied till about 1851, when he
left them at the urgent request of the Hospital authorities.
Here he lived the life of a recluse, splitting his own wood
23^5 ''THE MICEOSCOPe" and JAMES GATES rEKCIVAL.
behind the buikling, and taking his meals of crackers, herring
and dried beef, in his own quarters. The furnishings of these
were of the scantiest; a cot, mattress and blankets, but no
sheets or pillow. The rooms were never swept and he kept the
door tied up in some way with a rope; just how I can't quite
understand from his biographer's account. Only a few chosen
visitors were admitted; if any one else called, he talked to
them in the entry, though it is said that when Longfellow
visited him to pay his respects, Percival received him in the
reception room of the Hospital.
His poverty was extreme, and though his shyness and eccen-
tricities prevented him from making many friends, ISTew
Haveners felt proud to claim him as a fellow citizen, and
excused his idiosyncrasies, as did Calhoun, with a shake of the
head and the half pitying words, '"Oh well, he's a poet, he's a
poet !" And yet, in spite of this charitable attitude which many
took towards him, I have no doubt he had many snubs, especially
from strangers, which wounded his sensitive vanity sorely.
When Ole Bull came to ISTew Haven in 1844, for example,
Percival composed an ode to him in Danish, an achievement
w^hich the local newspaper. The Daily Herald, proudly
announced to its readers with the comment "we have poets
who can make the Muse talk in their own vernacular, but to
endow her with the gift of tongues is a power confined to our
fellow citizen," and 3^et, unfortunately for Percival, the violin-
ist understood Danish better than the editor, and when Percival
presented a copy of the ode to him after the concert, he only
glanced carelessly over it and patronizingly remarking that
there were only a few mistakes in it, he laid it aside without
further comment.
In 1853, Percival left ISTew Haven to make a geological survey
for the State of Wisconsin. Either in his absence or shortly
after he left the Hospital, some of his admirers built a little
house for him to occupy on his return, situated on the east side
of Park Street near George, but he never occupied it long, if
at all, for he died in Wisconsin, May 22, 1856, and the house
was subsequently removed.
"the microscope" and JAMES GATES PEECIVAL. 237
Such, in brief, is the career of the strange man who was first
introduced to the reading public of America through the pages
of The Microscope. Like the paper itself, he failed to make the
lasting success in literature for which he strove, but, like it,
he never lowered his ideal, and like it, "nothing irreligious,
immoral or indelicate was suffered to stain his pages."
It was a period when our national literary style was affected,
sentimental and often crude, and Percival's poems and the pro-
ductions of the editors of The Microscope reflect the times,
but they were a gallant fraternity of gentlemen after all, men
we all might emulate, "voices crying in the wilderness," who
strove with all the light that was within them to improve the
culture of their times, and to offer some literary refreshment
to the thirsty souls of their fellows.
Let us therefore, wish a happy repose to their gentle shades,
and return The Microscope and the poems of "our Percival"
to the library shelves, where they will again undoubtedly accu-
mulate the shroud of dust which our perusal of them this
evening has removed for the first and last time in many years.
THE FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS AND
THE CHARTER.
By Rev. Samuel Hart, D.D.
[Bead October 21, 1912.]
The government of Connecticut began with the appointment
of a constable for that new plantation on the 3d day of Sep-
teinber in the year 1635. Three companies had come, or begun
to come, from the Dorchester and ISTewtown and Watertown
of Massachusetts Bay to found places of the same name just
below the head of navigation on the further side of the great
river to the west ; and those who rather grudgingly gave them
leave to depart still took care that they should not be quite
without the form of civil administration. Presently the authori-
ties in the Bay issued a commission to eight men, two from
each of the settlements just named and two from Agawam
further up the river, at the desire (we are told) of those who
were removing and who judged it "inconvenient" (that is,
unseemly) to go away without any frame of government. It
was dated the 3d day of March, 1636 — before Mr. Hooker
and his immediate company had arrived — and it was to
hold but for a year. The commissioners were authorized to
try civil causes, to punish offenders, and to make orders for
the peaceable and quiet conduct of the new plantations. How
far the Massachusetts General Court held that it was granting
Note. — The chief authorities and sources for this paper are the "Colonial
Records of Connecticut"; Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's "Historical Notes
on the Constitutions of Connecticut" (Hartford, 1873) ; Governor Bald-
Avin's "The Three Constitutions of Connecticut" (in Vol. V of New Haven
Colony Historical Society papers; page 182 line 8, read 1645, new style) ;
Judge William Hamersley's "Connecticut, the Origin of her Courts and
Laws," in Vol. I of "The New England States" (Boston, 1897).
THE FUNDAMENTAL OKDEKS AND THE CHAKTEK. 239
a power to be exercised under itself, and how far tlie Connect-
icut adventurers were ready to acknowledge responsibility to
the Court which issued the commission, we cannot tell. Prob-
ably all knew that the three river settlements, as they were
called, were below the Massachusetts line as defined by charter,
and Mr. Pynchon had hopes that he also was outside of the
Bay jurisdiction; probably the Connecticut "Court" — for so
it was named from the first — would have declared that it repre-
sented those who had withdrawn by permission from under the
authority of the Massachusetts Court. At any rate, we have no
reason to believe that any one here would have thought of
carrying an appeal there, or that any one there claimed, through
the commissioners or otherwise, any authority here.
The first "Court holden att ISTewton" (that is, Hartford), of
which we have any record, was on the 26th of April, 1636.
But the abrupt way in which its record begins makes it almost
certain that there had been one or two meetings before that
date. The business of the day was varied: it had to do with
the swearing-in of three constables, trading with the Indians,
the ordering of strange swine, and the organization of a church
in Watertown. Six more meetings were held before the year
of the appointment of the commissioners had expired, at the
last of which the three plantations were given their present
names. All sorts of business was transacted at these meetings,
as by one sovereign government, including the defining of "the
bounds of Dorchester towards the Falls and of Watertown
towards the mouth of the River." ISTear the end of March there
was another meeting, the commissioners apparently assuming
that they could "hold over."
But on the first day of May, 1637, the records begin with
a new heading, "Generall Corte att Harteford" ; and after the
names of six of the former commissioners as present, we find,
with the heading "Comittees," the names of three men from
each of the river plantations. "We, do not know how they were
elected or who gave order for their election; but there had
certainly been the introduction of a new democratic element into
the government, as soon as the jurisdiction was free from all
240 THE FUNDAME:^'TAL OEDEES AND THE CHARTER.
semblance of conuectioii with the aristocratic colony of the
Bay; and quite probably the feeling that a declaration of
"offensive war against the Peqnoitt" Avas impending, and that
it would be necessary to make requisition upon the people of
the several towns for its maintenance, suggested this provision
for representation. (In April of the next year, by the way,
Agawam was represented at the General Court by both magis-
trates and committee-men.) Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull
quotes from a letter of Rev. Thomas Hooker, written in the
autumn of 163S, which enables us to see how the Court was
constituted. He says : "At the time of our election"— prob-
ably in March — "the committee for the town of Agawam came
in with other towns, and chose their magistrates, installed them
into their government, took oath of them for the execution of
justice according to God, and engaged themselves to submit
to their government and the execution of justice by their means
and dispensed by the authority which they put upon them by
choice." This falls in with the doctrine of Hooker's sermon
so often quoted, and points the divergence of the principles
of the Connecticut jurisdiction from that of Massachusetts;
for in the latter, as Winthrop confesses, though "the people
had long desired a body of laws, great reasons there were which
caused most of the magistrates and some of the elders not to
be very forward in the matter." On the 9th of February,
1638, the record closes with these words: "It is ordered that
the General Court now in being shall be dissolved, and there
is no more attendance of the members thereof to be expected
except they be newly chosen in the next General Court."
There must have been an election, then, holden on or before
the 8th of March, which is the date of the next record, at
which eight magistrates were present and eleven committee-
men ;• the twelfth "committee," a Wethersfield man, was fined
for his absence "Is. to be forthwith paid."
This court transacted all sorts of business : it took up the
case of an Indian's imprisonment at Agawam, and decided
"to pass over Mr. Plummer's failings in the matter"' ; it made
a contract with Mr. Pynchon about the price at which he
THE rUNDAMEXTAL OKDEKS AXD THE CHARTER. 241
would furnisli corn; it gave orders as to the treatment and
discipline of the Indians ; it ordered 50 "costlets" to be
provided for military use ; it appointed Captain Mason a pub-
lic officer, with power to train the military men in each planta-
tion ten days in every year, ''so it be not in June or July,"
and ordered that all persons above the age of sixteen years
should bear arms, not tendering a sufficient excuse or being or
having been commissioners or church officers, and provided
also for magazines of powder and shot ; and it made a rule
that ^'whosoever doth disorderly speak privately during the
sittings of court with his neighbor or two or three together
shall presently pay Is. if the courte so think meet." There
was, then, evidently an organized government by a legislature
and judicial court, consisting of two bodies of representatives,
one chosen by the whole body of citizens within the jurisdic-
tion, the other made up of four committees of three chosen
by the citizens of the four plantations respectively; they
evidently sat together, but we are not told how the vote of the
court was taken.
j^ow all this was done, and a form of civil government was
adopted — even if its permanence was not guaranteed — before
the famous sermon or lecture of Rev. Thomas Hooker was
preached on Thursday, the last day of May, 1638. The lecture
may well have been, as Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull said,
"designed to lead the way to the general recognition of the
great truths which were soon to be incorporated in the Funda-
mental Laws" or Orders ; but it is quite too much to say that
it was the original inspiration of those "Orders." Mr.
Hooker's "doctrine" in the discourse, as Henry Wolcott's
cipher was deciphered by Dr. Trumbull, was three-fold:
"1. That the choice of public magistrates belongs unto the
people by God's allowance ; 2. The privilege of election which
belongs unto the people, therefore, must not be exercised accord-
ing to their humors, but according to the blessed will and law
of God; 3. They who have power to appoint officers and
magistrates, it is in their power also to set the bounds of the
power and place unto which they call them." The second
242 THE FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS AND THE CHARTER.
point of this '"doctrine" has to do with personal duty and its
motives ; it is matter of exhortation ; and it cannot be brought
to an external test. But the first and third, that the people
may elect their own magistrates and that the same people may
also set the bounds of the magistrates' power, had been acted
on already; and there is not the slightest reason to think that
the congregation who listened to the lecture, including the
members of the General Court, needed persuasion on these
points, though they probably were pleased to have an apologia
for what had been done and for what it was in their minds
to do. And while there can be no doubt of Mr. Hooker's influ-
ence or of the direction in which it was applied, it certainly
was not needed to move the people of the jurisdiction to act
on principles of government which they had already accepted.
Dr. Bacon's remark that the sermon is "the earliest known
suggestion of a fundamental law, enacted not by royal charter,
nor by concession from any previously existing government, but
the people themselves," attributes to the preacher what the
people had already accepted as a principle, having learned it
perhaps from the minister of Hartford, but also quite certainly
from the influential lawyer of Windsor.
We may be quite sure that the Fundamental Orders of the
fourteenth day of January, 1639, did little more than put
definitely into writing a rather complicated form of administra-
tion already in use, and also — no little thing, indeed — provide
for a head of the government in the person of a governor ; and
this latter may have been thought by some to be rather a
weakening than a strengthening of the pure democracy which
had been founded. At any rate, on the day just named, "the
inhabitants and residents of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethers-
field, cohabiting and dwelling in and upon the Eiver of Con-
necticut and the lands thereunto adjoining" — or at least so many
of them as were thought fit to form a compact with one another,
for their democracy did not imply universal suffrage — meeting
together as one body did associate and conjoin themselves to
be as one Public State and Commonwealth. Such indeed they
had been ; and yet it was no little thing which they did when.
THE FUNDAMENTAL OKDERS AND THE CHARTER. 243
with the help of a skillful mind and pen, they put their articles
of agreement into writing. For, as has been so often pointed
out, it was the first time in the history of the world that a body
of men, recognizing no allegiance to any human authority,
though they had been and might have held themselves to be
subjects of a government which had an organized colony not
far from them, constituted for themselves, in a formal way
and with the impressiveness of a written document, an abso-
lutely new and independent commonwealth. The common-
wealth and the general court, indeed, date from a few years
further back ; but the "orderly and decent government estab-
lished according to God," with duties and powers and restric-
tions put into writing and published, dates for Connecticut
and for the civilized world from this 14th of January, 1639.
This Constitution, for such it really was, contained eleven
Fimdamental Orders; and in them we see so much either
stated or implied in the records of General Courts held before
this time, that we are warranted in believing that in other
matters not evidently new we have the continuation of prin-
ciples already recognized and acted upon. They were the
principles of a true self-regulating democracy, assuming sover-
eignty and providing for its own perpetuation. The more
important, for our purpose, may be thus stated. Once a year
the whole body of citizens were to choose a governor and at
least six other magistrates from a list put in nomination at
a court held not less than six months in advance; a very
ingenious plan, as it continued for many years, for securing
reelection of a large part if not all of the magistrates who
did not make themselves specially obnoxious ; for each person
nominated was voted for or against severally in the order of
nomination. Also, twice a year, before each regular meeting
of a General Court, the admitted inhabitants of each of the
three towns — Agawam being dropped out, as belonging to
Massachusetts — and of each of such other towns as might l^e
admitted, were to meet and choose three or four deputies to
be members of the court; and here at any rate there was
great room for freedom of choice and the possibility of fre-
244 THE FUNDAMENTAL OEDEES AND THE CHAETEE.
quent change. Thus a general court of governor, magistrates,
and deputies was constituted, having the supreme power of
the Commonwealth, In case the governor and magistrates
should neglect or refuse to call the court, the freemen might
order their own constables to summon them and thus might
meet together, apparently in a mass meeting, and have all the
powers of the court; thus provision was made against any-
wilful or accidental stoppage of the wheels of government.
Also — and this is an anticipation of a bicameral legislative body
in a democracy, which has hardly received the attention it
deserves — the deputies might meet by themselves before they
went into the court with the governor and magistrates, to
inquire into their own elections and to "consult of all such
things as may concern the good of the public" ; in fact, they
might prepare business for the court and bring it in with the
strong sanction of their agreement. But the sovereignty
remained where it had always been, in the whole body politic
of the jurisdiction. There was no recognition of any higher
sovereignty; the governor — the only person, by the way, who
was required to be a church member — was sworn to maintain
all lawful privileges of this commonwealth, and also all whole-
some laws made by lawful authority here established, and to
further the execution of justice according to God's word; and
the magistrates' oath was in the same tenor and almost exactly
in the same words. In everything there was the calm assertion
of independence, as well from Massachusetts as from England.
Thus was the practice of a few years, somewhat modified,
put into writing to serve as fundamental orders or constitution
for the jurisdiction of Connecticut; and under this form of
government Connecticut continued for twenty-three years,
undisturbed by changes which took place in the government of
the Bay Colony or of England, a government by itself and for
itself. Yet there were changes made in the methods of that
government. ISTothing had been said in the Orders, adopted
(it must be remembered) by the vote of the whole coimnunity,
as to any possible amendment of them; it might be assumed,
one would say, that the same authority M-ould be needed for the
THE FUNDAMENTAL, ORDERS AND THE CHAETEK. 245
amending as for the first establishing of so important a docu-
ment. And one change was thus made in 1G60, allowing the
reelection of the governor, which had been forbidden by the
first of the orders. The court of April propounded the amend-
ment to the consideration of the freemen, and desired that
proxies on the question should be sent to the May court. The
proxies, in the form of written or blank votes received in the
several towns and sent to Hartford at the time of the election,
approved the change ; and John Winthrop the younger, who
had up to this time been governor in alternate years, was
thenceforth elected each year continually until his death in
1676. But in another important matter a fundamental order,
or as we should say a section of the Constitution, was amended
by a vote of the General Court without any reference to the
people. It had been required that the governor or other mod-
erator and four others of the magistrates at least should be
present, with the major part of the deputies, to make a quorum
of any court. In 1665, it was "ordered and adjudged" that
three magistrates besides the moderator should be the number
required for a lawful court. And at the same time it was
required that to make a vote of the court there should be the
concurrence of the major part of the magistrates and the major
part of the deputies there present, either magistrates or deputies
being allowed — it is expressly said — a negative vote. Thus the
court became an assembly of two bodies, debating together
but voting separately, and a great change of a democratic
nature was made, and that without reference to the parties who
were most concerned, the whole body of freemen.
Perhaps it has not been sufiiciently noticed — though Judge
Hamersley called attention to it when writing on the origin
of the Courts and Laws of Connecticut — that the court of those
early days exercised judicial as well as legislative functions.
It sat as a "general court" for the exercise of all powers and
as a "particular court" for the trial of a special case. There
were particular courts as early as 1639, in which the magistrates
sat with the governor and the deputy governor, but without
the deputies from the towns; and we find mention of a jury
246 THE FU:XDAMEXTAL ORDERS A]VD THE CHARTER.
both before and after the date of the fundamental orders. The
orders themselves say nothing as to the particular courts or
the juries; it is evident that they were looked upon as a part
of the former administration which had not been modified
by the written law. In October, 1639, less than nine months
after the orders were adopted, provision was made for the
establishment of a court in each town, consisting of three, iive,
or seven of the chief inhabitants to be chosen annually, and
to meet once in two months, with jurisdiction over parties living
in the town in civil causes not exceeding 40 shillings ; the right
of appeal to a higher court was guarded. The office of these
men was not the same as that of the townsmen or selectmen,
though doubtless the same persons might be chosen to both
offices; and there is no reason to think that they had juries
in their courts. (At the same session, by the way, a beginning
was ordered to be made for the preservation of a record "of
those passages of God's providence which have been remarkable
since our first undertaking these plantations," under the direc-
tion of the General Court ; this was just 200 years before the
renewal of the charter of the Connecticut Historical Society
and the beginning of its active existence.) We have thus a true
judicial system, the administration of justice, "according to the
laws here established, and for want thereof according to the rule
of the word of God," acknowledged to be, rather than placed, in
the hands of those called magistrates, who sometimes shared
this power with the deputies but as a rule administered it by
themselves, lesser cases however being disposed of (when pos-
sible) in town or neighborhood courts. It may be that facility
of pleading was found to be an encouragement of litigiousness,
which indeed some have called a Connecticut failing from the
beginning; for we find in the records as early as 1642 an entry
declaring that "it is the apprehension of the General Court that
the particular courte should not be enjoined to be kept above
once in a quarter of a year." Five years later an addition, in
form of an interpretation, was made to the tenth of the funda-
mental orders, declaring that for a particular court it was not
necessary to have the presence of the governor or deputy gover-
THE FUNDAMENTAL OEDEKS AND THE CHARTER. 247
nor and four (that is, a majority) of the magistrates, which was
required when they made a part of the General Court; but
that two of the magistrates with the governor or the deputy
governor, or three magistrates when neither of the higher
officials could attend, might hold a particular court. The ses-
sions of this court, which dealt with both civil and criminal
cases, became pretty frequent; in 1646 there were six and in
1647 seven, at all of which except one a jury was empanelled.
The whole matter of juries was regulated by the general court
in 1644-5. After a while assistants and commissioners were
appointed for newly admitted towns which had no resident
magistrate ; and from them came by development, Judge
Hamersley tells us, the "Justices of the Peace.'' A grand jury
of twelve persons, called as a rule year by year, was first
ordered in 1643, to make presentment of any misdemeanors
they knew of in the jurisdiction; and in 1660, grand jurjTnen
were appointed for the several towns, the number of which
had increased to ten. Probate matters, with allowance of wills
either written or nuncupative, were regulated from 1639 ;
intestate estates were to be taken charge of by the "orderers
of the affairs of the towns" and the goods divided "to wife
(if any be), children, or kindred, as in equity shall be seen
meet." In all this time the population of the whole juris-
diction was less than 1,000, and the number of freemen prob-
ably did not exceed 150.
Thus, under the fundamental orders and their expansion,
matters went on, until the application for a charter and its
grant by the Crown of England made Connecticut in law
what it had already been sometimes called, a Colony of Eng-
land. In the time of the Commonwealth no change had been
necessary here; but the end of the Commonwealth and the
restoration of the Stuarts made it a matter of prudence and of
safety that this thriving jurisdiction, situated between the
stronger and wealthier jurisdictions of Massachusetts Bay and
JTew York, and exposed to the attacks of enemies, should have
the protection of the government of the mother country. And
the changes which had taken place and were impending beyond
248 THE FU^'DAMEXTAL ORDERS AND THE CHARTER.
the sea made it also a matter of prudence and of safety that
this independent commnnitv should preserve its independence
and continue to exercise the rights of self-government which
it had so carefully and ingeniously secured and held. It is
interesting to note that, as the practices of the years before
1639 were carried over, with some amendments for the better,
into the fundamental orders, so the rules of these orders and
the practices under them were carried over, likewise with some
amendments, into the charter.
There is not time to speak at length of the petition for the
charter, the draft of such a document which Governor Winthrop
carried to England, the iniluence which he brought to bear
upon Charles II and his ministers, and the way in which it
extended the jurisdiction of Connecticut so that it included
that of the ISTew Haven confederacy. The suppliants prayed
for a continuance of their former liberties, rights, authorities,
and privileges ; and these were all confirmed by that most
remarkable document of 250 years ago, signed on St. George's
day, exhibited to the commissioners of the United Colonies in
Boston in September, and read in the audience of the freemen
in Hartford on the 9th day of October, as to which one won-
ders how it ever passed the Privy Council or obtained royal
approval. The people of Connecticut looked upon it as granted
at their petition and accepted by themselves quite as really
as their former constitution; they found in it a confirmation
of their own free government, and they interpreted what they
deemed '^minuter parts" in the new documents in accordance
with the former principles which were not contravened. It
is easy to see how all this could be held and made the basis
of action. The charter enacted the freemen of the Company and
Society of the Colony of Connecticut into a '"Body Corporate
and Politick" ; it ordered that there should be a governor, a
deputy governor, and twelve assistants, to be chosen once a year
by the freemen ; and that the assistants, with the freemen or
deputies of the freemen not exceeding two from each town or
city, should have twice a year a general meeting or assembly ;
that the officers should take oath for the performance of their
THE FUNDAMENTAL OEDEES AND THE CHAKTEK.
249
duty, nothing being said as to the form of what is called ''the
said oath" or of a promise or declaration of allegiance to
any external authority; that the governor and assistants
assembled in courts might "make ordain and establish all
manner of wholesome and reasonable laws statutes ordinances
directions and instructions not contrary to the laws of this
realm of England," nothing here being said as to the necessity
of any royal or other approval or as to any way of determining
the fact of a conflict with the laws of the realm; Connecticut
interpreted the words to mean that any law of its own could
hold within its borders, with the possible exception of cases in
which England had made a difterent law expressly for this
very colony. It will be seen that the General Court, which
soon began to be called the General Assembly, was continued,
that judicial authority emanated from that Court, and that the
authority of the governor was somewhat increased.
The charter seems to have expected that all the freemen would
meet in person before the assembling of the General Court, "then
and there to advise in and about the business of the company"
or corporation ; and certainly it required that the governor,
the deputy governor, and the assistants — these corresponding
to the former magistrates and now twelve in number — -should
be chosen at the annual meeting of the company by the major
part of the members of the company then and there present.
It has seemed to some careful students, as to our present gov-
ernor, that the charter intended to pass the real management
of the Colony to the governor and assistants, oftener called the
governor and council; and he notes that the letters from the
Crown ofiicials in England were generally addressed to the
governor and council. Yet the charter did provide for the elec-
tion of deputies, not exceeding two persons from each place
town or city, elected by the major part of the freemen of the
respective towns cities and places ; and, as Governor Baldwin
himself says, "Whatever the intention of its authors may have
been, Winthrop's charter, when it reached Connecticut, was
read as if it made the deputies of the freemen as full a part
of the legislature as they had always been." And perhaps the
250 THE FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS AND THE CHARTER.
Crown lawyers meant no more by the clauses which imply
that in some cases the governor and assistants might act without
the deputies from the towns, than the people here were accus-
tomed to see in the frequent sessions of the particular court.
In point of fact this part of the assembly was presently, by vote
of the general assembly itself, constituted a council, "to act
in emergent occasions" ; and though the vote was repealed two
years later, it was re-enacted in 1675.
The assembly on the 9th of October, 1662, having read the
charter to the freemen and declared it to belong to them and
their successors, went about its business as usual. But first
it put the document into the custody of three chosen men,
directed the constables to collect corn from their towns "to dis-
charge the country's engagement for the charter," ordered
that the seal of the general court be retained as the seal of the
Colony, accepted the submission of certain plantations and
inhabitants formerly of the ^ew Haven confederation, and
declared "all the laws and orders of this Colony to stand in
full force and virtue, unless any be cross to the tenor of our
charter." In fact, Connecticut maintained from the first that
the charter made no real diiference in her form of government,
and that this document was in reality in the nature of a con-
tract, the Crown benefiting by an increase of territory, acquired
by the labor and at the cost of the colonists, and also by the
allegiance of a well-placed body of subjects, and the Colony
gaining an assurance of protection and of interest in the affairs
of the mother country. Thus indeed the preamble reads ; and
thus the rights derived from the charter were declared to be
"sacred and indefeasible," and the charter itself was declared
"to stand upon the same basis with the grand charters and
fountains of English liberty." "This construction of the
charter" — I use Judge Hamersley's words — "as a confirming
grant by the Crown of the form of self-government already
established by the people, was maintained with unvarying
persistency, marked by shrewd caution as well as stubborn
courage."
And the General Assembly had no more hesitation in amend-
ing the charter than the General Court had had in amending
THE FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS AND THE CHARTER. 251
the fundamental orders. The charter, (as has been already
noted,) provided that once in the year for ever, the governor,
deputy governor, and assistants of the company should be newly
chosen for the year ensuing by the greater part of the said
company (of freemen) being then and there present; and in
this it followed what was evidently the original custom or rule,
giving occasion for an ambiguity in the use of the term
General Assembly, which sometimes means the personal
assembling of the freemen and sometimes their assembling
by their deputies or representatives with the governor and
magistrates. This would serve as long as the freemen all lived
within a few miles of the place of assembling ; but at the date
of the charter there were freemen of the Colony in towns as
remote as Saybrook, I^ew Loudon, and I^orwalk, and the num-
ber was then increased by the incorporation of the l!^ew Haven
jurisdiction. Before this time the freemen of the remote plan-
tations, as we know from the wording of a record in 1660, had
been used to send their proxies, that is to say to transmit their
ballots, duly cast in freemen's meetings and sealed up, to
Hartford, that they might be counted with the votes of those
who were assembled there. In all probability this rule or custom
was continued, and the more readily because it had been a pro-
vision of the fundamental agreement at iN'ew Haven; at any
rate, it was confirmed or reestablished in 1670, and that in the
very teeth of the charter, that all the freemen should or might,
on the second Thursday of May yearly, attend at Hartford'
either in person or in proxy, and consummate the election of
the general officers of the Colony. The method of proxy voting,
which was held in the towns on the last Tuesday of April, was
that the freeman voted first for governor, then successively for
deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary, and the ballots in
each case were sealed up. Then the twenty nominations made
for assistants were read in order, the names taken first being
those of the men already in office who were renominated or
willing to accept reelection ; each freeman voted in each case,
putting in a marked ballot if he wished to vote for the person
named or a blank ballot if he preferred to vote against him;
the ballots in the case of each candidate were sealed up; and
252 THE fuxdamejS'tal ordees and the chartee.
when all were counted at Hartford, the twelve candidates who
had the largest number of marked ballots were declared elected
assistants for the year.'^'" The provision as to voting by marked
or blank ballots is as old as the fundamental orders, and prob-
ably can be traced further back in England. The '"stand-up
law" was not passed until 1801.
Another amendment of the provisions of the charter, without
authority from the Crown or even from the body of the freemen,
was made in 1698. After the granting of the charter, the
assistants or Council and the deputies had continued to
sit together in one house, probably voting separately as of old ;
but now the General Assembly divided itself into two houses.
The governor and deputy governor with the Council met as
the "upper house," the governor or his deputy presiding ; and
the representatives of the towns met as the "lower house,"
choosing their own speaker. This act, though in the line of
governmental development and (we may think) encouraged by
the changes of the revolution in England which gave rise to
modern parliamentary government, was in its nature revolu-
tionary. It attached the governor to one branch of the assem-
bly, that in which most of the judicial power was vested, and
it removed him from immediate contact with the other branch,
in which most of the legislation would be apt to originate.
About the same time it was ordered that justices of the peace
should no longer be chosen annually, but should hold office
during the pleasure of the General Assembly. Both these acts,
said Samuel Welles writing to Governor Fitz-John Winthrop,
were expected to "strengthen the government, when they are
not at the dispose of the arbitrary humors of the people, and
yet subject to be called to account by the General Court." To
us, the former change at least might seem in reality to strengthen
the power of the democratic element. Certainly it seems to
have been believed that the omnipotence of Parliament was
* This use of the word "proxy" is noted in the new Oxford Dictionary
as peculiar to Connecticut and Rhode Island, and is marked as obsolete.
Proxies, in the sense of documents authorizing one person to vote for
another, have never been known in English elections or legislatures except
in the House of Lords; thev were discontinued there in 1868.
THE FUNDAMENTAL, OEDEKS AND THE CHAETER.
258
communicated to the General Assembly of Connecticut under
its charter; and it would have taken much persuasion to con-
vince the people of Connecticut that their legislature, or General
Assembly, had not sovereign powers.
And Connecticut, rather warily to be sure, but very plainly,
did under the charter and before independence of the British
Crown was secured exercise sovereign powers. Its legislature
granted a University charter to the Collegiate school of 1701 ;
it issued bills of credit ; it divided intestate estates in violation
of the law of England though in accord with the law of Deuter-
onomy; it framed or assumed a common law divergent from
that of England. Thus it claimed and exercised the powers
of a sovereigii, and to those powers it set none but moral limits.
John Read, the great colonial lawyer, argued from a Connect-
icut standpoint in 1743, when he said: "God and nature have
given unto mankind, or human society, a power of assent and
dissent to the laws by which they are to be governed (those only
excepted which proceed from absolute sovereignty) ; and this
is the known privilege of Englishmen, to be governed by laws
to which they have, in one form or another, given their consent."
At the time of the Revolution, which issued in the recogni-
tion by Great Britain of the independence of Connecticut and
twelve other States, this State did not need to frame a Consti-
tution. In October, 1776, the General Assembly, declaring
that the King of Great Britain had abdicated the government
of this State, approved the Declaration of Independence,
absolved the inhabitants from allegiance to the British Crown,
and enacted "that the form of Civil Government in this State
shall continue to be as established by charter from Charles the
Second, King of England, so far as an adherence to the same
will be consistent with an absolute independence of this State
on the Crown of Great Britain."
In 1784, a revision and codification of the laws being made,
it was solemnly declared that "The people of this State, being
by the Providence of God free and independent, have the sole
and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free sovereign
and independent state ; and having from their ancestors derived
254 THE FUNDAMENTAL OKDEES AND THE CHARTER.
a free and excellent constitution of government, whereby the
legislature depends on the free and annual election of the
people, they have the best security for the preservation of
their civil and religious rights and liberties.''
This action and this declaration were not submitted to the
people, but they were accepted by them; and it was not till
1S18 that the principles of the Charter of 1GG3, received from
the Fundamental Orders of 1639, and reaching back to the
very foundation of the Colony, were embodied in a formal
Constitution.
BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN HxVRTFORD
DURING THE REVOLUTION.
By Herbert H. White.
[Read January 20, 1913.]
The inland location of Hartford, rendering it comparatively
safe from attack, either by sea or by land, and the fact that
it was an important strategic point, were not the only reasons
for its comparative security throughout the War for Inde-
pendence. In character its people, from the earliest settlement,
have been courageous yet discreet, determined yet diplomatic.
These are traits that make for peace and prosperity, and
although in its history it has faced local crises or shared in
widespread events of war, disaster or political revolution, it
has remained unmolested, peaceful, and prosperous. During
the period of the American Revolution, it was never entered
by the enemy other than as prisoner, spy, or ambassador. More-
over, its loyalty to the cause, the ardor of its patriots, its gen-
erous aid in men and money, and the presence of such influential
men as Governor Trumbull, Colonel Wadsworth, Silas Deane,
and others, brought it into prominence early in the war.
These considerations undoubtedly account, in a measure at
least, for its selection as one of the important places for the
consigTiment and safe keeping of captured prisoners and sus-
pected or known loyalists. Other Colonies bore their share
of responsibility and burden, but I think Connecticut held a
position of great importance in this work. The Continental
Congress at Philadelphia regulated the disposal of prisoners,
and as the General Assembly was often in session here with
Governor Trumbull in attendance, the gi'eater portion of those
consigned to Connecticut were brought first to Hartford. Some
256 BEITISII PEISO:S^EES OF WAR IX HARTFOKD
were later placed in other towns, but all were more or less
directly under the care of the local Committee of Safety. The
surprise and capture of Fort Ticonderoga, only three weeks
after the battle of Lexington, was planned here in Hartford
and financed mostly by Hartford County men.
AVe learn through Trumbull's History of Hartford County
that "they borrowed money from the Colonial Treasury to
defray the expense, giving their individual obligations with
security. Their proceedings were carried on ostensibly with-
out the knowledge of the Assembly, then in session, and a com-
mittee was appointed to complete the arrangements for this
daring project. This committee selected sixteen men from
Connecticut, who went to Pittsfield, where Colonel James
Easton of that town, a native of Hartford, joined them with
forty men from Berkshire County. At Bennington they were
reinforced b.y one hundred men, and Colonel Ethan Allen, born
and raised in Connecticut, took command of the expedition.
The result of the attack is well known, but the initiative taken
by Connecticut has not always been recognized. At the same
time that Ticonderoga was taken, was captured also Major
Skene of Skenesborough, a prominent loyalist, with several
members of his family. They were sent to Hartford with
Captain Delaplace, the commander at Ticonderoga, and other
officers. The remaining prisoners, forty-seven in number, came
later, under the escort of Mr. Epaphras Bull."
Captures from the enemy soon began to be frequent and
numerous. The Connecticut Courant of August 5, 1775,
reports "three Tory prisoners brought last Saturday from ISTew
Canaan and committed to jail." August 26, "A number of
gentlemen were brought to this town from l!^ew York, where
they were lately taken up on suspicion of entertaining senti-
ments unfriendly to the American States." The fate of the
Ticonderoga prisoners may have furnished General Washington
a suggestion regarding the disposal of some of the more prom-
inent persons captured, whom he thought should be kept safely
and treated humanely, because, at this time, by his orders,
came also Major Christopher Erench (to whom I shall refer
DURING THE KEVOLTJTIO^T. 257
later) and four others of his party, arrested at Gloucester, Mass.,
shortly before.
The following is a copy of the minutes of the Connecticut
Committee of Safety, September 14, 1775.
"At a meeting of the Governors &c present — The Gov. laid before us a
request and desire of the Hon. General Assembly of the Massachusetts
Bay, communicated by the Hon. James Otis, President of the Council
representing that their jails are generally crowded with prisoners,
etc. and moving for liberty to send some of their prisoners into this
Colony. And in consideration of the circumstances in this case, it is
agreed and resolved, that altho we have many prisoners from the North-
ward, and much burdened in many ways, and are very greatly in advance,
yet, from our great affection for the common cause, this Board do
not refuse to receive some of the prisoners referred to, but depend that
said Assembly will also apply to R. I. and N. H. Assemblies or Conven-
tions for the same purpose and send as sparingly as may be; and those
who may l>e sent in pursuance of this license shall be received in the
Counties of Hartford and Windham for the present and until this Council
shall determine otherwise."
In I^ovember, Governor Trumbull informed the Continental
Congress that ''Major Gen. Schuyler hath lately sent prisoners
taken at La Prairie or thereabout and by his letter of Oct.
27th ult., informs me that he intendeth to order the officers
and soldiers, with women and children, in all nearly 200, taken
at Chambly, into this Colony under my direction." From the
Courant, August 12, 1776, we read of the arrival of a new
batch of Tories, "between twenty and thirty," and it adds
with apparent glee, "They are a motley mess."
In 1777 prisoners taken at Princeton and on Long Island
were brought here, among them several Hessian officers, and
later a number of Burgoyne's soldiers. Colonel Spade, a
Hessian, being one. Others were Captain Williams and Lieu-
tenants McFarlan and Smith of the Eoyal Artillery, officers
Gregory and Stanhope of the King's i*5^avy. Governor William
Franklin of ^ew Jersey (a son of Benjamin) quartered just
over the line in South Windsor, Governor Montfort Brown of
Providence, one of the Bahama Islands, Mr. Sistare, born at
Barcelona, Mayor Cuyler and party from Albany, consisting
of Mr. Monier, Postmaster, Lieutenants McDonnell and Dun-
9
258 BRITISH PEISOK^ERS OF WAK IN HARTFOKD
can, Mr. Delancy, Mr. Hilton, attorney, and Mr. Herring,
Mayor Mathews of ISTew York, transferred later to Litchfield,
Captain McKay, captured at St. Johns, Peter Herron, a Tory,
and Captain Jacob Smith, taken at Long Island. All these
are disclosed from only a partial search of the records.
Undoubtedly many more were received here during the war who,
with those already mentioned, made quite a formidable com-
pany injected into the life of the little community. Their care
and custody, occupation and comfort, laid a full burden of
responsibility on its citizens, for we must bear in mind that in
1775 there were only 5,000 people in the town, which then
included within its territorial limits West and East Hartford
and Manchester.
The prisoners arrived in more or less destitute condition,
physically and financially, but all were made as comfortable as
circumstances would permit, and the townspeople could afford.
Some of those on parole were housed in private families, others
lived at the taverns. They were allowed to go about within
prescribed limits and they entered somewhat into the social life
of the community. Some of the common soldiers were lodged
in jail, but more were sent to jSTewgate Prison in Simsbury.
In 1777 the prisoners from jSTewgate Prison were taken to the
Hartford Jail and probably the Prison was not used again
until 1780. At one time the prisoners were confined in the
Court House, but on October 11, 1776, the General Assembly
ordered these prisoners to be removed to other quarters in charge
of Ezekiel Williams, Commissary of Prisoners (Sheriff).
To the townspeople the coming of the first captives must
have been a great event. They had seen the companies of
Patriots, some of their own kinsmen, march forth to war, and
had learned from letters and the occasional newspaper reports
of far distant skirmishes and battles. But here was a sight
of the enemy face to face, comparatively harmless to be sure,
in his present condition, but the real thing, nevertheless. They
must have met hostile eyes as they walked about, and sometimes
have heard uncomplimentary, perhaps insulting remarks about
themselves or their king. They in turn looked down on the
DURING TPIE EEVOLUTIOX.
259
populace as country bumpkins, rude and coarse, base traitors
to the government of His Glorious Majesty, George tlie Third.
But there were gentle people among both victors and vanquished
and many evidences of warm-hearted courtesy were shown on
both sides. In contrast with the busy, bustling life of our town
to-day, that comprises, within the ancient boundaries, more
than 125,000 people, it is interesting to look back to the simple
village life a century and a third ago, its quietness disturbed
by the excitement and alarm incident to the great struggle then
in progress. Human nature was much the same as it is to-day ;
violent passion and hatred, exultant, boisterous nagging and
teasing by the boys, suspicion and watchfulness, obstinacy and
misunderstanding on the part of the elders, gentleness and warm
sympathy at times by all.
The citizens who lodged and boarded these unfortunates could
not be expected to bear the expense personallj^, nor were the
prisoners on parole at all backward in asking for pocket money
and other essentials. For instance, Major French demanded a
daily allowance of I7s. Gd for himself and the gentleman with
him.
The whole question was brought before the General Assembly
at its May session, at which a committee was appointed to take
the matter in charge, but it is evident from the following Act
of the same body, passed in October, 1775, that if anything
had already been done, it was insufficient to the needs of the
occasion.
"Whereas this Assembly at their session in ]May last appointed Col.
Wolcott, Capt. Samuel Wadsworth, Capt. Ezek. Williams, Mr. Epaphras
Bull, Henry Allyn Esq., Col. Fisher Gay, Col. Matthew Talcott, Col. Jas.
Wadsworth, Capt. Jona Wells, Ebenezer White, Esq., and Col. Jonathan
Humphrey, a Com. with instructions at the expense of this Colony to take
care of and provide for a number of officers and soldiers with their families
etc., who were then prisoners of war in the town of Hartford, and this
assembly being informed that such jjrisoners are now in this Colony and
no provision is made for their confinement and support, therefore resolved
that the Com. aforesaid be empowered and they are hereby fully author-
ized to take care of and provide for all such prisoners as are or shall
be ordered and directed to this Colony by authority in the same manner
as in said Act they are directed."
260
BRITISH PEISONEKS OF WAR IN HARTFORD
The townspeople and others who had made advances in caring
for the prisoners were afterwards reimbursed, as we learn in
the account of the General Expenses of Connecticut for taking
Ticonderoga, etc., rendered by the Committee in Xovember,
1775. In this account are found the payments to
Ely Warner, jailor £22-13-6
Jennet Collier, tavern 12
31- 0-5
John Haynes Lord 10-15-0
17- 9-0
E. Williams, Sheriff & Com. 51-14-0
65- 0-0
Patrick Thomas 1- 5-0 211-16-11
For boarding and providing for the prisoners.
Doctor Tidmarsh 5- 6-0
Dan'l Butler ■ 4- 9-S
E. Fish 1-12-0
Cheeney 10- 0-0
Asa Yale 10-3 22- 6-11
For doctoring, medicines and dieting sick prisoners.
Stephen Turner 4-16-0
Providing for and tending sick prisoners.
Uriah Burkett 0- 6-6
Digging grave for a prisoner (John McKnell, who died June 17, 1776).
In 1776 Epaphras Bull was appointed Commissary of the
prisoners of war in this State, to observe all the orders of the
General Assembly and the Continental Congress, and to make
monthly returns of the conditions of said prisoners to the
Board of War appointed by Congress. This action probably
settled the matter satisfactorily, as no complaints of any conse-
quence were afterwards made.
We may readily imagine that the prisoners, especially the
officers, who chafed under their paroles, were continually seek-
ing to enlarge their liberties and kept the Committee of Safety
and other officials busy in passing on their various requests
and complaints. In October, Major French preferred a request
to Governor Trumbull for j)ermission to be removed to Middle-
town, "together with the gentlemen with him, who are of the
same persuasion," in order that they might "worship according
to the Church of England in which he was educated." The
DUKI^'G THE REVOLUTION'.
261
request was refused because, in Middletown, was greater oppor-
tunity for escape, but they were told they could worship at
Simsbury, where there was an Episcopal Seminary. The cbange
to Simsbury was unwise, as we shall see later. They were, how-
ever, allowed sometimes to walk to Middletown to Church on
condition of returning the same day.
Social life between citizens and prisoners did not always
run smoothly. Sometimes the prisoners were suspected of
hostile designs or violations of parole, which they hotly denied.
They often treated the citizens with superior disdain, and it
is not surprising that minor broils and outbreaks occurred.
When the Colonial Arms suffered reverses, and their fortunes
of war were at a low ebb, as surely they were at times, the pris-
oners became jubilant and insolent. Their boundaries would
then be curtailed and they would be put into jail for safe keep-
ing. In fact some escaped, by the aid of disloyal Americans ;
were recaptured, escaped again, and gave no end of trouble.
Perhaps short sketches of a few of the more prominent may
shed a little light on the times and manners of this stirring-
period.
As already noted, among the captured at Ticonderoga was
Major Andrew P. Skene (son of Governor Skene), his aunt,
two sisters, and Mr. Brook, who was looked upon as a bigger
enemy to his country than Major Skene. The Major imme-
diately petitioned the General Assembly for permission for
himself and family to return to Skenesborough or to have some-
one care for his property there. The ladies were soon released
and sent to Quebec under escort of Capt. John Bigelow. His
expenses for this trip, 150 pounds, were repaid by the General
Assembly. Major Skene was held longer, but was afterwards
exchanged for Jemmy Lovell, a classmate of Governor Trum-
bull, and later delegate to the Continental Congress. The elder
Skene figured quite prominently here for a time. I find a
short sketch of him in Jones's ^'History of ISTew York in the
Revolution" :
"Col. Philip Skene, or Gov. Skene, as lie Avas called after his appoint-
ment as 'Lt. Gov. of Ticonderoga and Crown Point and Surveyor of His
262 BEITISH PKISOKERS OF WAR IN HARTFORD
Majesty's woods and forests bordering on Lake Champlain/ was a Scotch-
man whose wife was a descendant of the famous William Wallace. He
was born about 1720, entered the British army at age 19, came to
America in 1756 in the French War, was at the repulse of Ticonderoga
under Lord Howe, and in 1759, was in command of Crown Point. In 1763
he went to England, got an order from the King for a grant of land,
returned in 1765, obtained from New York a patent for a tract of 25,000
acres embracing a settlement, which he named Skenesborough. In 1788
that name was changed to Whitehall, its present appellation. While he
was absent in England in 1775, Ticonderoga was captured and his family
brought here as prisoners."
He returned to Philadelphia in June, 1YT5, and was imme-
diately arrested by order of the Continental Congress as a
"dangerous partisan of administration," was consigned on
parole to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut and so remained
until his exchange in 1776,
He joined Burgoyne's expedition in 1777 and surrendered
with it at Saratoga, October 7, 1777. He was Burgoyne's
adviser and was said to be the person who advised him to pro-
ceed direct to Fort Edward in preference to the route by
Ticonderoga and Lake George. This insured the construction
of a good road through his domains and united the waters of
Lake Champlain with those of the Hudson. King George
Third, in remarking on the plan of campaign, advised the Lake
George route, saying, "If possible, possession must be taken
of Lake George and nothing but an absolute impossibility of
succeeding in this can be the excuse for proceeding by South
Bay and Skenesborough."
Thus the canny Scot, though openly loyal to His Gracious
Majesty, sought to enrich himself without personal expense by
the opportune use of the King's soldiers. The arduous work
delayed and weakened Burgoyne's Army so greatly as to become
no small factor in its later disaster.
During his sojourn in Hartford, Governor Skene was not
popular, as the Coinmnt, October 16, 1775, would indicate by
this item of news :
"It is reported that General Washington a few days ago sent in a Flag
of Truce to Boston, proposing the exchange of prisoners. Maj. French
for Col. Parker, Lt. Knight of the Navy for Capt. Scott, and His Excel-
DTTKING THE EEVOLUTIOIf. ^"^
lencv Gov. Skene for Corporal Guile of Capt. Doude's Co. of riflemen. The
two 'former were accepted with readiness, but the last exchange, Genera
Gac^e rejected with scorn as an insult to his understanding, so that m all
pro'babiiity we shall have the honor of^^ His Excellency, Gov. Skene's
residence among us — God knows how long."
It is, however, from the diary of Major French, left behind
when he escaped in December, 1776, that we are able to cull
information concerning the life and feeling among the towns-
people and their treatment of prisoners. The Coura7it from
time to time, however, gives us another side of the picture.
Major French appears to have been a middle-aged, senti-
mental Irish gentleman, small in stature, of considerable
refinement and culture, ardent in his loyalty to his King, some-
what hot-headed at times, assuming military and paternal
command over other ofiicers imprisoned here, insistent on his
rights, obstinate to an unnecessary degree, a genial companion
among his equals and warm-hearted and sympathetic to those
in trouble. His diary begins January 1, 1776, about eight
months after his capture and four months after his arrival here.
He and four others. Ensign Kotton, Terence McDermott,
volunteer, and Goldthorp and Allen, privates, arrived at Glou-
cester, having sailed from Cork early in 1775. They brought
a quantity of clothing intended for General Gage's Army in
Boston. They were arrested as they landed and sent to the
Committee of Safety at Philadelphia, who, having obtained
their paroles, ordered them transferred to General Washing-
ton at Cambridge. They set out under escort of Captain Webb,
aid-de-camp to General Putnam. The Committee of Safety
probably had in mind the possibility of an exchange for one or
more of the JPatriots imprisoned in Boston. General Gage, how-
ever rejected all proposals and French was then consigTied to
Hartford. His parole read as follows :
"Christopher French, Major of his Majesty's 22d Regiment of Foot, a
prisoner in the power of the Com. of Safety for the Province of Pa., and
being kindly treated and protected by them and enlarged on parole, do
hereby solemnly promise and engage, on the honor of a soldier and a gen-
tleman, that I will not bear arms against the American United Colonies
in any' manner whatever for the space of twelve months, or until I may
264 BRITISH PEISONERS OF WAR IN HARTFORD
be exchanged; nor will I during that time, take any measures to give
intelligence to General Gage or the British Ministry or to any person
or persons whatever, relative to American affairs, but will proceed with
all convenient expedition to General Washington and submit myself to
his further directions; and tliat I Avill not directly or indirectly attempt
to procure any person or persons whatever to rescue me, and that I will
not go on board any British ship of war during the continuance of my
engagement not to bear arms."
His excliange, apparently acceptable in October, 1775, as
above noted, was not made, and he therefore remained here,
an unwilling prisoner for seventeen months. French soon
got into trouble with the authorities on the question of wear-
ing his sword and on some other matters. The dispute became
so heated as to call forth letters to General Washington from
both the Committee of Safety and the haughty Major. Wash-
ington's answer shows that nobility of character so justly
attributed to him. It reads as follows :
"Gentlemen: — Your favor of the 18th instant and one from JNIaj. French
on the same subject have come safely to our hand. From the general
character of this gentleman and the acknowledged politeness and attention
of the Com. of Hartford to the gentlemen entrusted to their care, I flatter
myself there would have been a mutual emulation of civility, which would
have resulted in the ease and convenience of both. I am extremely sorry
to find it otherwise. Upon reperusal of former letters respecting this
gentleman, I cannot think there is anything particular in their situation
which can challenge a distinction. If the circumstances of Avearing their
swords had created no dissatisfaction I should not have interfered, con-
sidering it in itself a matter of indifference. But as it has given offence,
partly perhaps by the inadvertent expressions which have been dropped
on this occasion, I persuade myself that Maj. French, for the sake of
his own convenience and ease and to save me farther trouble, will concede
to what is not essential either to his comfort or happiness farther than
mere opinion makes it so. On the other hand, allow me to recommend
a gentleness even to forbearance with persons so entirely in our power.
We know not what the chance of war may be, but let it be what it will,
the duties of humanity and kindness will demand from us such a treat-
ment as we should expect from others, the case being reversed. I am,
gentlemen, your very obedient and most humble servant,
George Washington'."
About the time French begins his diary, he spent an evening
with Gen. Charles Lee, a soldier of unpleasant memory, who
spent several days in Hartford in January, 1776. Washing-
DURING THE EEVOLUTIO:^. 265
ton had ordered Lee to proceed from Cambridge to Comiecticut
to recruit fresh troops and to march to the vicinity of Xew
York to watch and intercept General Clinton, should he try
to disembark his army. French persuaded Lee to write a
letter to General Washington to grant him liberty to go to
Ireland on his parole, but Washington, February 10, 1776,
declined to grant the request, rebuked French for making it,
and suggested that he ''compare his situation with gentlemen
of ours, who by the fortunes of war, had fallen into the hands
of their enemies. What has been their treatment? Thrown
into loathsome prison and afterwards sent in irons to Eng-
land — and then say whether he has cause to repine his fate."
Washington probably was referring to Ethan Allen's fate.
In French's diary. May 10, we find the following letter to
General Lee, which, though somewhat involved in one or two
sentences, exhibits a delicious sense of flattery and sarcasm :
"Sir: — ^>^o doubt you remember that when you passed through this
place in Jan. last, you made a bet of ten guineas with me that Quebec
would be taken by the Provincials in the course of the current winter.
That event has not happened (nor is there now the least prospect that it
ever Avill, as there are accounts, not only of its having been reinforced
by a part of His Majesty's fleet and a large body of his troops, but that
his Excellency, General Carlton has drove them entirely from before it)
and indeed your own papers, unaccustomed as they are to communicate
to the public anything which argues against their successes, have lately
inserted some very desponding letters from that quarter; they also regret
that you was not sent to command them, and though, as you are become
our enemv, I cannot be so gross as to wish you had with success, yet
I am not so much yours as to envy you the honor you might have acquired
by a well-concerted retreat, which though you might not have affected,
yet I know you would have attempted, a circumstance which, from your
being at the\ead of raw and undisciplined forces, could only have added
to the brilliancy of your measures. You will please direct Mr. Lawrence,
Treasurer here to pay me, which will much oblige, Sir, Yours most etc.
C. F."
Peculiar interest attaches to this letter in the exhibit of the
craven spirit of Lee under the keen insight of ]\Iajor French.
If we lay the letter alongside the record of Lee's behavior at
Monmouth more than two years later, the characterization
appears almost prophetic. Lee, in charge of the advance
266 BRITISH PEISONERS OF WAR IX HARTFORD
column, under specific orders from Washington to attack,
reached a position from which it could be made with every
promise of brilliant success. Suddenly, without apparent
reason, he ordered (attempted) ''a well concerted retreat''
which ''he did not effect" wholly because the quickwitted
Lafayette, realizing the significance of the movement, informed
Washington, who immediately hurried to the front, deposed
the cowardly Lee from his command, restored order and spirit
to the soldiers, and saved the day. Washington's anger was
probably never stronger nor more thoroughly justified than
on this occasion. It is to be regretted that the patriots did
not discern General Lee's character as readily as did Major
French.
The defeat of General ]\Iontgomery at Quebec in December
became known in Hartford about the middle of January, 1776.
It stirred the populace to wild excitement and they looked for
any excuse for expressing their rage and resentment. Major
French describes in his diary a lively and somewhat thrilling
experience with a small band of patriots.
"Tuesday, 16 January, '76. An account came of the defeat of Gen'l Mont-
gomery at Quebec on the 31st of December, between the hours of four
and six in the morning, in whicli he was killed and his Second in Com-
mand (Arnold) wounded, etc. This day we all, viz. Capt. McKay, Messrs.
Rotton and McDermott, and I went, according to a prior agreement, to
dine with Gov. Skene, who is a prisoner of war in the West Division, five
miles from us, in a sled. Capt. McKay drove us, and as is customary,
hallooed a good deal to the horses, which we did not conceive could give
umbrage or have any bad consequences.
"In the evening whilst we were playing at whist for our amusement,
we were informed that upwards of 20 men were assembled at a house
immediately opposite to us, who were determined to attack us because they
said we were come there to make merry and rejoice at their misfortune
at Quebec. We retired to an upper room, in number five, (viz. Gov.
Skene, Capt. McKay, and his servant. Ensign Rotton, and I. McDermott
had returned to town upon some business or amusement of his own)
determined to defend ourselves to the last and to die rather than be
insulted. We sent a negro man* to the house to find out what was doing,
who soon returned and told us the Capt. of the Militia (one Sedgwick)
was endeavoring to persuade them to desist, and that he believed he
would succeed. In a short time the woman of the house (who was greatly
frightened) went out and at her return told us they had dispersed."
* Presumably Gov. Skene's slave.
DURING THE KEVOLUTION.
267
Thns ended this affair happily without bloodshed, but it
seems the infection spread, for on
"Wednesday 17th January, four of the Committee came to us and told
us that thirty or forty of the populace at Hartford had assembled with a
resolution to come out and insult us and had gone so far as to say that
if they, the Committee, did not do their duty, they would. They pro-
posed that we should return to Hartford to quiet the minds of the people,
to which we readily consented, telling them we should be sorry to be
the occasion of any commotion. Three people came on horseback to meet
us and turned back as if to escort us in triumph. Last night a paper was
fixed up at the meeting house door and another at the State House, the
words of which were taken from the 4th verse of the 58th Chapter of
Isaiah, viz. 'Behold ye fast for strife and debate and to smite with the
fist of wickedness. Ye shall not fast as ye do this day to make your
voice to be heard on high."' This was imputed to us, and they said McDer-
mott, who, as has been observed came in that night, was sent in to put
the papers up. I should have observed that Capt. McKay's calling to the
horses was interpreted into shouts of triumph for their defeat."
We have all heard of the custom of the iSTegroes of Connect-
icut in Colonial days of electing one of their own race as
Governor over them. This occurrence was so unusual to a
stranger like French that he makes note of it, referring also
to that annual event of former Connecticut life that, even as
late as my own boyhood time, was called ''Election Day." In
his diary, May 9th, we read,
"The election of a governor etc. came on when the old one (Trumbull)
was reelected, he marched in great state, escorted by his guardsf in scarlet
turned up with black, to the State House and from thence to the meeting
house. The next day the negroes, according to their custom elected a
governor for themselves, when John Anderson, Gov. Skene's black man was
chosen. At night he gave a supper and ball$ to a number of his electors,
who were very merry and danced till about three o'clock in the morning."
The election of Governor Skene's ^N'egro naturally created
a strong suspicion of a plot on the part of the British officers
here. Governor Skene was closely questioned and his lodgings
searched for any evidence, but none was found and he hotly
* This was a Fast Day by order of the Provincial Assembly.
t These were our own dear Foot Guard, then only five years old.
t This supper and ball were given at Knox's tavern, where French lived.
268 BRITISH PEISOA^ERS OF WAR IN HARTFORD
denied the existence of any hostile move. The Xegro also con-
fessed ignorance of any disloyal purpose, and declared that
another ISTegro suggested his appointment and he entered into
the suggestion as a piece of diversion. It had eust him $25.
As no plot was discovered^ the fears of the people were
dispelled.
The stir over the supposed loyalist ISTegro i3lot had no more
than quieted when, on the 20th of May, French writes :
"The meeting and schoolhouse bells were rung before 5 o'clock tliis morn-
ing by one Watson, Printer* and one Tucker in order to raise a mob to
send us all to jail; they assembled accordingly and forming a committee
of their own, sent them to the Town Committee, then sitting for that
purpose, but were pacified by these last."
The Committee in these stirring times certainly did not find
life one continuous round of joy and pleasure.
The grievance of Watson and Tucker may have been due
to the fact that French had tried to shield a prisoner, who was
charged with speaking disrespectfully of the Continental Con-
gress. He also had a spirited conversation with General Lee
(when he was here), replying to the charge that Parliament
was composed of a set of rascals, said that not an individual
in Parliament was so great a rascal as the Continental Con-
gress, individually and collectively. The Committee (of
patriots) were also charged by him with the intention of
obliging the soldiers (prisoners) to work at building powder
mills, making powder, saltpetre, arms of any sort, and casting
of cannon and shot.
This the Committee, however, publicly denied and expressed
the opinion that it would be unsafe to employ the prisoners
in any work of this nature.
May ISth Captain McKay broke jail and escaped, but was
soon caught. We find two accounts of the event. Major French
said,
"22d May Capt. McKay, who left ISth May was caught at Lanesboro,
four miles from Pittsfield, Mass., brought back. He was beaten and
bruised by his captors."
* Of the Connecticut Courant.
DURING THE EEVOLUTION.
269
ISTow from the Courant:
"The infamous Capt. McKay, who is so lost to every principle of honor
as to violate his parole and endeavor to make his escape, as mentioned
in our last, v^as last ]Monday apprehended and taken by a number of
gentlemen at Lanesborough in Berkshire County, and on Wednesday fol-
lowing, was safely brought to this town and lodged in the common gaol.
His servant, McFarland, together with a certain John Graves of Pitts-
field, were likewise taken with him and both were committed to prison.
Graves is an inhabitant of Pittsfield, in the province of Mass. Bay, where
he has considerable property; but, being instigated by the devil and his
own wicked heart, he had undertaken to pilot Capt. McKay to Albany,
and had promised fresh horses at proper stages on the road, to expedite
his flight. Query: What does the last mentioned villain deserve?"
Also from the same issue of the Courant:
"Last Thursday Gov. Skene, who has been some time past in this town,
was committed to gaol by order of the Committee for the Prisoners, for
refvising to sign his parole."
The narrative of events for the next few months fcan perhaps
best be told in French's own words, with what additional
information is supplied bj the Courani. Continuing his diary,
we read :
"On 1st July — "The Com. passed a resolve that the prisoners should not
go out after dark on pain of imprisonment. Next day some of them
went to the Com. to represent to them that their resolve prevented meeting
to supper at the reasonable hour of nine o'clock and to request that they
would name 10 or 11 o'clock for the hour of parting, and that they might
imprison anyone found out after that time, but they were told they must
conform to their customs and abide by their resolve."
"11th July — I saw a proclamation of the 4th inst. by which the Con-
tinental Congress declared the Colonies Free States and independent of
Great Britain. Sentries were now kept constantly near our quarters at
night because (I was told) they apprehended we received and sent
intelligence.
"Col. Humphreys, Mr. Epaphras Bull, Brazier, and Mr. Nichols, attor-
ney, had come from the Com. to search our quarters for firearms and
ammunition, apprehending as 'twas said that I intended to head a party
of Tories and cut all their throats. 'The wicked man shall tremble at
his own shadow and shall be afraid when there is none to hurt him.' "
The conduct of the prisoners was now becoming so suspicious
that the following proclamation was published :
270 BRITISH PKISONERS OF WAR IN HARTFORD
"July 15th, 1776 — Com. at the several towns of Springfield, Westfield,
Hartford, Etc.
"1. Resolved, whereas dangerous weapons have been found on some
of the prisoners; the several committees be desired to make special search
in each of their packs, pockets, etc. for the discovery of any such weapons
or inimical letters therein contained.
"2. That the said prisoners be not suffered to go out of any town
or parish where they reside, upon any occasion or pretense, without a
special permit from the Committee of such town or parish, nor allowed
to be absent from their employers at any time without their leave; and
that no leave of absence ought to be given them later than i^ hour after
sunset, and that they have no leave to be absent on Sundays, except to
attend public worship.
"3. That the venders of spirituous liquors ought not to suffer any of
the said prisoners to be drinking in tlieir respective houses, either at their
OAvn expense or others; but if either of the committees of the respective
towns and parishes, shall judge it expedient and needful that they have
strong drink, they shall appoint some suitable person to supply them;
but in a very sparing and moderate manner.
"4. That whoever shall employ any of the above said prisoners, shall,
within the space of three weeks from the time of their receiving them,
transmit to the Committee from whom they received them, a copy of
their agreement.
"5. That no person may purcliase any clothing or wearing apparel
whatever, belonging to the said prisoners.
Elisha Parks, Chair.
John Pyxchox, Clerk."
Following this proclamation, Major French discovered that
he had lost his pistols (or thought they had been stolen) and
that he could not conveniently complj' with the above named
order ; this we infer from the following advertisement in the
Courant, August 19, 1776 :
"Whereas the Com. of Safety at Hartford have insisted that Maj.
French should deliver to tliem a case of pistols which were in his posses-
sion and were some time since stolen, or at least, taken away without
his privit}^; he hereby offers a reward of one guinea to any person who
will deliver them to the printer hereof or to Mr. Knox, tavern keeper near
the Ferry House, Hartford, nor shall questions be asked R.
They are locking pistols with the cock in the center and have silver
thumbplates."
July 13, he notes in his diary:
"Wrote to General Washington, reminding him of the termination of
my parole 12 August next, and my desire to be exchanged."
DURING THE KEVOLUTIO^'.
271
He was not released at the expiration of his parole, prob-
ably because he had made himself obnoxious to the Committee
by assuming authority over the actions of other prisoners (sub-
ordinate officers) in matters relating to church-going and their
loyalty to King George. He had also been obstinate and
discourteous when rebuked for this misconduct.
In these days of the up-to-date reporter, we can hardly find
more vivid imagery in expression and exuberance of rhetoric
than the Courant exhibits in its account of the following
occurrence :
"Hartford, July 29 —
"Last Thursday one James Mahar, an Irishman, and of a savage and
bloodthirsty disposition, was committed to gaol for an act of outrage to
Lieut. McDermott, a regular officer, and a prisoner in this place, in giving
him a dangerous wound with a cooper's knife. Mahar is a ruffian who
properly belongs to a man-of-war in the service of the British King, and
it is greatly to be regretted that he found means of escaping from them,
as such fellows ought never to be on the land unless closely confined.
Mahar it seems, being at the house of Mr. Ivnox, (who by the way was
not at home) became so impertinent and troublesome that Mrs. Knox
grew uneasy and gave intimation that her comfort was intimately con-
nected Avith his leaving the house. These hints, instead of producing
the desired effect, brought on a paroxism of rage, and drew forth a
shower of infernal rhetoric from the magazines of his wrath. A number
of the regular officers in the chamber, perceiving the disagreeable situa-
tion of Mrs. Knox, one of them, viz. Capt. Hill, looking out of the window,
desired her, if she could get a kettle of hot water, to scald the fellow out
of the house. It must be noted that these officers conceived they had
sundry times met with personal abuse from Mahar, and on that account,
as well as Mrs. Knox's, perhaps, interfered in the quarrel with less
reluctance. The thoughts of being scalded, however, gave new sensibility
to the feelings of this nervous rascal, and furnished him with a fresh
supply of A^engeance for the inventors of such an inflammatory expedient
to clear the house. Mahar in the first place, as an item of his feelings,
consigns Capt. Hill over to damnation, and then gives him to understand
that if he Avould venture down, he might receive a further conviction of
his folly in being officious in the quarrel, upon which Capt. Hill descended
and Mahar was soon stretched in a horizontal posture and levelled with
the dust. By this time it is easy to see that nothing short of blood
could appease the wrath of the incensed Mahar — He arose from the earth
and went deliberately to a house a fcAV rods distance and having armed
himself Avith a cooper's knife (handle and blade perhaps 2 feet in length),
returned, doubtless Avith intent to take the life of his antagonist, but Capt.
Hill defended himself Avith a billet of Avood, till at length he sprang
272 BEITISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN HARTFORD
behind liim and clinched liold of his arms, whilst Maj. French and Mr.
McDermott were endeavoring to wrest the knife from his hand. In this
struggle Mahar gave the wound, which probably would have been fatal
if the use of his arms, like a man pinioned, had not been greatly restrained
by Capt. Hill. The above is a true representation of the facts, as they
appeared from the evidence on examination before a magistrate."
Mahar publicly apologizes in the Courant, August 12. James
llahar issues notice saving, "I will take back my wife," whom
he had previously advertised for having left him, and that he
is sorry for the affray at Mr. Knox's. We quote his words :
"Mr. McDermott's misfortune yields me the most cutting reflections,
though as far as the operations of intoxicating spirits can extenuate the
criminalities of such rash and unguarded actions; I hope my fellow men
will view me in as favorable a point of light as possible, and afford me
all the indulgence which the nature of the case will admit."
Matters were comparatively quiet for three weeks, until on
August 19, a quarrel occurred in the Knox house over the
kicking over of a chair by Ensign Moland, who said, '"Damn
the chair." Mr. Knox reproved him and he threw the chair
over again and said, ''Damn the chair, and you too." Knox
retorted, "You rascal, do you damn me in my own house ?"
upon which Moland knocked him down and Mrs. Knox got a
black eye for trying to part them. E'ext day they were all
reproved before Mr. Payne and Mr. Wadsworth.
In the early part of August, considerable correspondence
passed between Major French and Captain Delaplace because
the latter went to church at which the Continental Congress
and the success of the American armies were prayed for.
Delaplace justified his act in spirited terms, but finally desisted.
French, on August 28th, was, however, brought before a com-
mittee, Jesse Eoot, chairman, Mr. Payne and Samuel Wads-
worth, accused of the "heinous" crime (as he called it) of
issuing orders and directions which were termed in libel of the
State of Connecticut. Pie Avas told to withdraw his order and
to sign a new parole. He refused and went to jail. In jail
he continues his diary, and writes :
"Sept. 3d. A young lad who was working at some picketing which
was putting round the gaol for fear we should escape, said in the course
of talking of the defeat of the Provincials on Long Island, that he did
DURING THE REVOLUTION. 273
not know but the Regulars miglit soon be in possession of Hartford, but
he Avas pretty sure we shoiild not live to see it. Upon asking him why
he tho't so, as we were all in good liealth, he answered that he was
'sartin sure' the people would put us all to death, as he had heard some
of them declare they would.
"4 Sept. This night one of the sentries over us was Mr. Root, the
Chairman of the Committee's son, so scarce of men 'are they.'
"5 Sept. I am informed my son was wounded at the attack on Long
Island — Thanks to the Gods — -my boy has done his duty.
"10 Sept. Capt. McKay and Mr. Graves made their escape this night
in a manner which surprised all without as much as us of their fellow
prisoners, since there was no appearance of any breach and two strong
prison doors were bolted and the outside one locked."
The Courant for September 23, 1776, advertises their escape
as follows :
"70 DOLLARS REWARD—
"Escaped from Hartford gaol in the State of Connecticut, in the night
following the 10th inst., one Samuel McKay, a Lieut, in the British service,
taken at St. Johns and confined by the Conunission for having before
broke his parole by running away, and one John Graves of Pittsfield, who
was imprisoned for being a vile Tory and assisting said McKay in getting
away as beforesaid. Said McKay has a wife in Canada, is of light com-
plection, light colored hair and eyes, considerably pitted with small-pox,
has a long nose, is tall in stature, has a droll, fawning way in speech
and behavior, uncertain what clothes he wore away; had with him a
blue coat with white cuflfs and lapels, a gray niix't colored coat, and a
red coat, white waistcoat, a brown camblet cloak lined with green baize,
and a pair of brown corduroy breeches. Graves is short in stature, has
long black hair, brown compiection, dark eyes, one leg shorter than t'other,
appears rather simple in talk and behavior, had a snuff color'd surtout
and coat, green waistcoat and white flannel ditto, leather breeches and
white trousers. Whoever shall take up and return to the gaol in Hartford
the aforesaid McKay and Graves shall be entitled 50 dollars reward for
said McKay and 20 dollars for said Graves by
EzEKiEL Williams, Sheriff.
Hartford Sept. 11, 1776."
Returning' again to the diary :
"11 Sept. We were confined more rigidly on account of their escaping.
I sent two pair leather breeches to be cleaned, which were not allowed
to pass till narrowly examined. Our sentries were doubled. The next
day we Avere even more closely confined to the lockup behind two doors,
and allowed to speak to my servant only through bars and in the presence
of the sentries."
274
BEITISH PEISOIS'EKS OF WAR IX IIARTFOED
"13 Sept. We made a paper night-cap (the emblem of the Committee)
and put it on a little iron figure of a man smoking and which had been
the front of an and-iron in our gaol room and broke oflf; we also made
him a paper petticoat on which we wrote the following lines with a small
alteration from Hudibras —
'I like a maggot in the sore
Do that which gave me life devour.'
This we put in our iron window for the inspection of passengers."
Here tlie journal of Major French ends. We may reason-
ably infer that the escape of the other prisoners made him feel
quite lonesome and think it was time for him to "get busy"
and to make his break for liberty. He did so on ISTovember
15th, together with Ensign Moland and three others, but they
were caught at Branford and brought back. The following
advertisement in the Courant of ISTovember 18th may have
stimulated their pursuers :
"Whereas Major Christopher French, Ensign Joseph Moland, and John
Bickle, belonging to the British Army, Peter Herron, a Tory, and Capt.
Jacob Smith, who was taken lately on Long Island in Arms, all escaped
from gaol last night to join the British Army; said French is little in
stature, said Moland and Herron are tall and thin, said Bickle is middling
fixed and of ruddy countenance. All persons and especially all officers, civil
and military, are requested to assist in pursuing and taking said prisoners.
W^hoever shall take up and return either of said prisoners to Hartford
gaol shall be entitled to a premium of ten dollars and all necessary
charges paid by
EzEKiEL Williams, Sheriff.
Hartford Nov. 16, 1776."
On December 27th, he, Moland, and one other, made a
second attempt to obtain liberty, this time with success, thanks
to the aid of Rev. Roger Viets, the Simsbury clergyman, who
secreted them. Viets was arrested, tried in January, 1777,
sentenced to pay a fine of twenty pounds and to suifer a whole
year's imprisonment.
John Viets was the first keeper of K'ewgate Prison, which
was opened in December, 1773. Query: Was Rev. Roger
Viets, who aided Major French's escape, a relative, and was
this a reason for suspecting Warden Viets of disloyalty? If
so, it may have a bearing on the removal of the prisoners to
Hartford in 1777.
DUKING THE REVOLUTION. 275
The Selectmen of Hartford petitioned the General Assembly,
January S, 1778, that the prisoners be removed to some other
place ; complaining "^'that the continuing of the prisoners in this
town was attended with innumerable ill effects ; that the public
stores and magazines were greatly exposed and in some instances
lost; that intelligence was communicated to the enemies of
the country; that the prices of the necessities of life — wood,
meat, and clothing — were much increased by the British officers
and their servants who do not stick at any sum to obtain
the same, and that there was danger of their forming com-
binations with the blacks to injure the lives and property of
the people."
Although we have not found records of the escape or release
of other prisoners, it is probable that there were such from
time to time. Some were no doubt exchanged, others may have
died. Toward the close of the war. Congress entered into nego-
tiations with the State of Connecticut for the use of iSTewgate
Mines as a prison for the reception of British prisoners of war,
but peace was declared before arrangements were completed.
We are able to locate some of the places of interest men-
tioned herein. We must remember that even as late as 1850,
much of the principal business and some of the best residential
section of the town lay east of Main Street.
In the days of the Revolution, the Committee of Safety
all lived on Main Street. Jesse (afterwards Judge) Root, cor-
ner Main and Kingsley Streets; Benj. Payne, lawyer, next
house south of Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth, the present site of
our Public Library ; Capt. Samuel Wadsworth, near Main and
Asylum. Knox's tavern was near the Ferry House, possibly
on the present Kilbourn or on tliat part of Commerce Street
now included in the Connecticut Boulevard. Widow Collier's
tavern occupied the site of the old United States Hotel on the
north side of City Hall Square, and Hill and Wright's leather
shop, where Major French sent his breeches to be mended, was
next door. Epaphras Bull was a brazier (or worker in brass)
whose shop was opposite the South Meeting House (the present
South Congregational Church). The Courant office (Watson
the Printer) was on ]\fain Street by the great bridge (corner
276 BRITISH peisojStees of wae in haktfoed.
Main and Wells). Governor Skene and family were made
comfortable at the then Hooker house, still standing at the
top of Elimvood Hill (opposite the present red schoolhouse).
The jail stood on the site of the present Case, Lockwood &
Brainard Building, corner Pearl and Trumbull streets, and
was then so far out of town that at one time the prisoners for
debt in confinement there, petitioned the General Assembly
(then sitting at the State House, the site of our present City
Hall) that the jail limits be enlarged so far East as the Court
House, "representing that they labor under many inconven-
iences, hardships and disadvantages, — By reason that the Gaol
is in so retired and back part of the town so seldom frequented
by any of the inhabitants of the Town." The grim humor
of this petition is evident when we reflect that, if granted, it
would have technically put the whole General Assembly into
jail by its own act whenever it should be in session.
THE FENIANS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
By Laurence O'Brien.
[Kead March 17, 1913.]
Senator John P. Hale of New Hampshire said that all over
this country, throughout Canada, and in Ireland, there are hun-
dreds and thousands and hundreds of thousands of true-hearted
Irishmen, who have long prayed for an opportunity to retaliate
upon England for the wrong which for centuries that govern-
ment has inflicted upon their fatherland.
The senator knew well what he was talking about ; his
maternal ancestor was the daughter of Jeremiah O'Brien of
Machias, Maine, who with his six sons fought the first naval
battle of the Revolution, and captured two English war ships
off the harbor of Machias.
The Fenian soldiers in the British army were ready to take
the field when called upon. The Civil War in this country
was over; President Andrew Jackson called upon England to
pay for the damage done to American shipping by the Alabama,
the Sumter, the Florida, the Shenandoah and all the fleet of
blockade runners. The British Premier refused to pay and
gave little attention to the President's call. Secretary of State
William H. Seward took hold and quietly notified the officers
on the Canadian border not to interfere with the Fenians if
they wanted to take Canada, which they were getting ready to
do. Seward let it be publicly known that England refused to
acknowledge the Alabama claims. It was the Irishmen who
raised the cry, "We will collect the claims for the United
States." Gen. Benjamin F. Butler told Seward he could raise
eight regiments in Massachusetts without expense to this coun-
try. The Fenians were marching to the border of Canada and
278 THE FENIANS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
Gen. John O'iSTeil took his advance guard over and fought the
battle of Ridgeway, where he defeated General Booker, who met
with a complete disaster. The British Premier saw the way
to acknowledge the claims and paid up, but the United States
shipping has not been restored since that time.
The Fenians were stopped in their invasion of Canada by
order of Seward and then we gave our attention to fighting
in Ireland. When news of the battle of Ridgeway was tele-
graphed over the country United States soldiers left their posts
to help the Fenians. ISTinety per cent of General Sheridan's
command at ]!^ew Orleans went up the river. General Shafter
was ready with the first regulars. He sent Gen. Thomas
Sweeney with word that when the fight was on he would fol-
low with all the regiment. But Seward ordered the fighting
stopped, and the soldiers had nothing to do but go back to
their commands. The railroads gave them their passage free
and the steamboats on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers carried
them without charge. They had left without leave of absence,
and they assembled/ at Carrollton, above New Orleans, and
sent one of their number to report at the barracks in Xew
Orleans. When the ofiicer of the guard saw the messenger he
called out in a loud tone: ''Here, get on duty and no other
questions asked." Word was sent back to the men in Carroll-
ton, who reported for duty in like manner. Gen. Phil. Sheridan
knew where they had been.
England arrested some of the Fenian leaders in her army
and sentenced eight of them to death, a punishment which was
commuted to life imprisonment for high treason. Among them
was John Boyle O'Reilly, who after a couple of years' captivity
in Australia took a small boat and went to sea, and after some
days adrift was picked up by the 'New Bedford whaleship
Gazelle. After many narrow escapes he arrived in ISTew York,
bringing news of his comrades whom he left in Western Aus-
tralia. The British Premier Gladstone released all the civil
prisoners, but would not hear any appeal for releasing the
soldiers. Finally the Fenians in this country sought secretly
for financial aid to rescue them, and more than a hundred thoU'
THE FENIANS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
279
sand responded with their mite. They knew what they wcro
doing it for, and in less than a year a sufficient sum was received.
At a convention held in Baltimore in 1874, a committee, of
which Capt. P. O'Connor was a member, recommended that
the work of rescue be entrusted to James Reynolds of ISTew
Haven, John W. Goff and John Devoy of N'ew York City.
This committee went to Boston and consulted with John Boyle
O'Reilly, also with Captain Hathaway, mate of the whaleship
Gazelle, who befriended O'Reilly in his escape. They planned,
and bought the bark Catalpa, and engaged J. B. Richardson
to fit her as for a whaling voyage. Richardson made his son-
in-law captain and entrusted him with the knowledge of the
mission for which the vessel was intended. A trusted man,
Dennis Dugan, was brought to be one of the crew. Before the
ship reached Fayal the captain had forty barrels of oil which
he shipped home to JSTew Bedford. After a good passage, they
arrived off Bunbury, Western Australia. One of the passen-
gers, Capt. George S. Anthony, found it necessary to confide
the object of the voyage to his mate. Smith, who said he would
stand by him to the death.
After the Catalpa left JSTew Bedford one of our gTeatest men,
John Breslin, was sent overland by way of San Francisco,
where he was joined by another true man, Thomas Desmond.
Both went to Western Australia and made arrangements to
rescue the prisoners, communicated with them and had every-
thing in readiness when the Catalpa should put into Bunbury
for supplies. When Anthony got in touch with John Breslin,
a place was agreed upon where he would come ashore on the
coast nearest the point where Breslin would arrive with the
prisoners. When they came thither by means of horses and
traps they got into the boat and were soon out on the sea
looking for the ship. Several hours passed before she espied the
boat and headed for them. In the meantime when the escape
of the prisoners was discovered at the prison in Fremantle, a
gunboat, the Georgette, was sent out to look for them and was
now in sight. A stiff breeze was in favor of the Catalpa. The
captain of the Georgette saw the prisoners get on board the ship
280 THE FEA'IANS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
and lie came up within hailing distance of the Catalpa and
demanded surrender of the prisoners, or he would blow the
masts oif the Catalpa.
Captain Anthony ran up the Star Spangled Banner and said :
"There are no convicts on this ship ; every man on board this
ship is a free man. We are on the high sea; this is an
American ship, there is the American flag, fire on it if you
dare." At that time the ship was sailing fast and Captain
Anthony wanted to get where he could make a good tack. The
captain of the Georgette thoug^it that he would be run down.
He turned and kept at a distance ; and Captain Anthony put
his ship before a fair wind and sailed for Isew York, where
he landed his men all safe and in good health in July, 1876.
The Irishman who could forget what the Stars and Stripes
have done for his countrymen deserves that in time of need that
flag" shall forget him.
Capt. Henry C. Hathaway, chief of police of Xew Bedford ;
John C. Richardson the agent, Capt. George S. Anthony who
made the expedition a complete success, and Mate Smith, wore
all true blue Puritan Yankees,
In the year 1865, I was '"State Center" of the Fenian
Brotherhood in Connecticut. In the month of August, John
O'Mahony wrote me a letter stating that the fight for freedom
would begin in Ireland as soon as the harvest was gathered, and
we should see that none of it was allowed to go out of the
country. He also informed me that all officers of military skill
and ability, who expected to help in the fight, should arrive in
Ireland before the rising, as the blockade would then be on and
it would be difficult to get in afterwards.
I notified the sympathetic officers who lived in my district,
and we reported at headquarters in Xew York and received
our instructions. When I was going aboard the steamer to
sail I was met by Secretary James W. O'Brien, who told me
the council wanted me to remain in !N"ew York until further
orders. I^ews had just arrived of the seizure of the ;news-
paper, The Irish People. After one week's delay in IsTew York
I was instructed as to my mission by John O'Mahony, who gave
THE FENIANS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
281
me a bag of one thousand sovereigns, in gold, a second bill of
exchange for £1,500, which was the money regarding which
the Belmonts informed the British, and later, ,John O'Mahony
had a lawsuit about — the money was never recovered.
O'Mahony also gave me a sealed dispatch, not to read until I
was one day at sea. I was to commit it to memory and to
destroy the dispatch before I arrived in Ireland. I carried out
my instructions correctly, by giving to Col. Thomas Kelly the
money, which was much needed at the time, and wrote the dis-
patch for him. I was then to hold myself in readiness to
take the field at short notice.
I went to Tipperary and found all the young men willing and
ready to do their part. After one week spent in my native
town, Caher, I returned to Dublin. Daniel Donovan of Lowell,
Mass., told me I was wanted at 'No. 19 Grantham Street; I
reported and was sent to Paris in December to meet John
Mitchell, who informed me what his business was. I returned
to Dublin and wrote out the information conveyed to me by
Mitchell, and after it was read the paper was burned in my
presence. After a couple of weeks, I was notified to report for
a journey and bring my valise. I was sent to locate in Paris
until further orders, and there received all money coming from
America, and receipted to John Mitchell for the same. During
my stay in Paris, December, 1865, January, February and
March, 186G, John Mitchell turned over to me one hundred
and thirteen thousand dollars ($113,000.00), all of which I
sent to Ireland by messengers, and not one cent of which was
lost or fell into the hands of the enemy. The messengers to
whom I gave the money were, William O'Donovan, ISTicholas
Welch, Garret O'Shaughnessy, and the Misses Ellen and ]\fary
O'Leary. Think of the true grandeur their faithfulness por-
trayed. The habeas corpus act was suspended in Ireland. The
division of our people in this country left us in a bad fix.
They had expected war with Great Britain over the Alabama
claims. That prospect had now suddenly vanished and with
it much of our hopes. In Ireland we were preparing to strike
and spent the money in getting ready, when all at once our
282 THE FENIAXS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
supply was cut off. Had we beeu notified we could have
governed ourselves accordingly. I left Paris to go to Dublin,
but when I arrived in Liverpool in March word was sent from
headquarters for me to remain there, and to ask the chief men
in Liverpool to find quarters for the officers who had escaped
arrest in Ireland, and nobly the organization responded. As
the men arrived I had places to send each. Among the lot was
the notorious Corydon, who, in company with Capt. John Ryan,
was located with Austin Gibbons at Richmond Rowe. Also
Michael O'Brien, the Manchester martyr, who gave his life
for the cause, whose last words on earth were : ''God save
Ireland."
The council in Dublin sent word that we would be called
upon to go to Ireland, and that they would notify us when
they were ready. We agreed that we would remain there as
long as there was a chance for a fight.
In January, 1867, I went to Ireland by way of Holyhead
and Kingstown, and in Dublin I met ]*Ted Duffy — the noble
fellow was then sick, but he said that when we were fighting
it would revive him. Gen. Thomas Francis Burke, Major John
Delehanty (who had served under Sherman), and I, were
to meet in Clonmel, and be prepared to join with the Waterford
forces when they would come up the valley of the Suir, but,
while waiting in Clonmel, word came to us that we were to
rally at or near the junction at Tipperary. But some one with-
out authority sent word to Col. John O'Connor in Kerry, "that
all was read.y," and he called upon his men and they com-
menced in Killarney to strike terror to our foes. When
the news reached us that they were up in Kerry, we came to
the conclusion that the best thing to do was to prevent the Brit-
ish troops from Curragh Camp getting to the south. Major
Delehanty contracted a cold during his stay the previous month
in London, and was so sick that General Burke and myself were
obliged to send him to Fethard, where he died a couple of days
after reaching there. General Burke started for the place of
rendezvous and finally reached it. My route was by way of
Cashel, where I was trying to hire a car to take me to Golden,
THE FENIANS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
283
when I was arrested and brought before one of the most cold-
blooded scoundrels I ever saw, and, of course I was committed
to jail for being a stranger. There was a special jury con-
vened in my case. As I had traveled through the country for
nearly a year and on the Market and Fair days mixed freely
among the people, I passed all right; but not having any
references I was detained in Cashel for the next two weeks.
During my detention in Cashel I was four times brought before
the grand jurj^, and all kinds of questions were asked me.
When for the fourth time I was brought before a packed jury,
and they gave me to understand that they had no business to
detain me if I could get some one or two friends who would
come and vouch for me, I told them that I did not have a
friend. A man, whose name I afterwards learned was Martin
J. French, came with a lot of armed police, and read to them
a warrant to convey me to Clonmel jail, by order of the Lord
Lieutenant. When arrested I gave the name of Osborn, but in
the Lord Lieutenant's warrant it was "Osborn, or O'Brien."
They had learned who I was, but not from me. I was escorted
in irons, by armed police to Clonmel jail, and after three weeks
there were fifteen Fenian prisoners confined in the jail. I sent
word to my friends outside that no one must come near me,
or intimate that they knew I was there. After about five months
my confinement was getting monotonous ; we were all called
together in the yard, formed in line, and in came four police-
men followed by a man whom I never saw before, and after
him French, who pointed to me and said "that is Osborn, that's
him.'' jSTot one of my companions ever saw the man before,
nor did I. After they were gone I was called into the office
and there was old French with others I did not know. The
man who came into the yard commenced to read a paper which
he had in his hat. When he would hesitate old French would
tell him what to say from a paper he had before him on the desk.
The contents of the papers were that the witness swore he had
known me for three years, and that he was present where I
had addressed meetings, urged and conspired to overthrow Her
Majesty's government in Ireland, and that I was a dangerous
284 THE FENIANS OF THE LONG-xVGO SIXTIES.
and suspicious person. This witness was the notorious Talbot
who met his just deserts sometime later. A month had passed,
when we were again lined up in the yard, and who should come
out guarded h}' policemen but the notorious Johnny Corydon.
A part of his testimony was a copy of what Talbot had sworn
in my presence a month previous, and I was then charged Avith
high treason against Her Most Gracious Majesty, and a
separate charge of treason felony was laid against me. I then
saw that I was an object of attack, and that it was about time
to be doing something in my own behalf, for it seemed clear to
me that they were bound to kill me. I then looked at my prison
surroundings and formed two plans of escape. The first was
to make a break in daylight by getting over the walls while
some workmen were repairing the roof, to have a horse and
saddle in waiting, and escape to the country, and if I did not
succeed end my life in fighting. But when I went to my cell
that evening I examined the cell window bars and formed my
second plan to cut the bars and escape through the window,
which I succeeded in doing. While in prison, my comrades
and I were confined in cells from three o'clock afternoon until
six o'clock next morning ; during the day we were in one of the
yards. There were about two hundred prisoners who came in
with General Burke when he was arrested at Ballyhurst. One
of them was a young boy, wlio became an object of persecution
by the officials, who first tried on him torture and close con-
finement and threats of jail for life, if ho did not tell them
all he knew about General Burke and the other leaders. When
torture and threats failed, they changed to offers of reward
and bribes of money, and showed him the money, but he was
proof against all temptations and proved true to his colors.
His answer first and last was that he was a journeyman tailor,
and was away from home looking for work, and his kit of tools
was found on his person — a needle in a piece of cloth with
some thread in his vest pocket. When his trial came he was
discharged for want of evidence. This was Jerome Byrne, who
was a messenger to Gen. Tom Burke and an aide to him at
Ballvhurst, one of manv, 2'ood and true.
THE FE:\"IATSrS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES. 285
Take our countrymen throughout Ireland and England and
whether wearing the red coat of the soldier, the green stripe of the
peeler, or the blue of prison warden, they have a warm spot for
the old land and those who would fight for her, and among the
wardens of Clonmel jail I found two good friends who granted
any request I asked of them. Through one of them I was
able to keep up communication with friends outside. This was
Mat Meehan, who died before I escaped. The other, Patrick
McCarthj', who is now my close neighbor in H^ew Haven,
brought me the files and tools with which I cut the bars, and
gave me the points about the jail rules and time of guards
that helped me in my plans, and also furnished me with some
strong twine. While I was working nights it was necessary to
keep off suspicion, and the way I did it was, I quarreled w^ith
the wardens, and I choked one of them one day, and he hollered
murder ! The others came at me with muskets and I was
inarched into the office. The governor ordered me confined in
the condemned cell. I was kept there for two days on low
diet. I was then put back in my old cell with the reprimand
to behave myself or 'twould be worse for me. In consultation
with three of my comrades I formed the idea that if I succeeded
it would be a good plan to place suspicion on the governor and
the deput}' governor. We caught some young birds and I gave
them to the deputy's son, and my comrades saw me do it. I
used to go to the office window and ask favors and thank them
in a loud voice as though it was all right. I would make signs
and motions with my hands and talk to the family of the deputy
governor, and all this was seen by my comrades.
In the meantime the strong twine that Patrick McCarthy
brought to me I gave to three of my comrades, who were in
one large cell, and they made a rope of three thicknesses, and
when after a month's labor, all was ready I notified friends
outside that I would come out between twelve and one o'clock
on the night of the ISth of September, which I did not succeed
in doing until between four and five in the morning of the
lOtli. The friends who were waiting for me went away in
despair at three o'clock, but wdien I came to my senses after
286 THE FENIANS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
being stunned in falling from the outside wall, just before day-
break, I started for the country and met friends four miles
away, with whom I remained for two days in rest.
In the fall off the wall I broke my right collar bone, and my
face was badly disfigured, but after four days I traveled nights
by way of Mullinahone into the county of Kilkenny, along
the Booley mountains, crossed the river Suir at Granny Castle
by taking one of Lord Bessborough's pleasure boats, and when
on the Waterford side shoved the boat adrift.
While in Ireland, after I escaped from jail, all my travels
were done in the darkness of night; the leaders of each town
always sent for me in the person of a true and faithful guide.
As a rule I traveled on the road, for the police were terror-
stricken and never were out of their fortified barracks after
dark. Once after I left Killmaganny before I got to Fiddown,
my guide and I made a cut through some fields and when we
came out on the road it was in front of a police barracks. There
were two police there and when they saw us they got inside
the barracks in haste and didn't even bid us good night. I was
well armed, and I looked towards my guide, who reached for
his revolver and whispered to me saying: ''I'll stand by you
to the death." With a comrade like that the force of any one
police barracks would not discommode us.
We were not interfered with and when I told Mr. O'Donnell,
who was a miller at Fiddown, of the courage and pluck shown
by my guide he assured me that all his men were of the same
stuff, brave and true. O'Donnell was the heaviest taxpayer in
that part of the country. He knew all the people of his district
and would not allow a doubtful or suspicious man to be admitted
into his ranks. I remained in O'Donnell's charge while he
went to the city of Waterford, and William Hearn sent a good
man to guide me to the city. O'Donnell came with us to within
one mile of Granny.
The men in Waterford sent a boat up from the city to meet
me, but when my guide gave the signal, boats appeared in all
directions. The river was full of poachers and my friends
thought it was a trap for them and did not come to the signal,
and that is why we had to take a boat of our own. After many
THE FENIANS OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
287
trying ordeals I got into the city and relieved the anxiety of
friends, who were well pleased at my safe arrival. I remained
in Waterford seven weeks, when a merchant prepared one of
his schooners and told the captain that I was his brother-in-law
and had had a fight with the police and he must take good
care of me, which he did. After being three days wind-bound,
on the fifth day I arrived in Cardiff, Wales, where I procured
black clothes and got to London and stopped with a friend
until midnight, and left London for Paris by way of N'ewhaven
and Dieppe, and when I got to Dieppe I immediately sent a let-
ter to my father for money. The next day I arrived in Paris and
the first man I met at the bankers, Bowles, Drevet & Co., was
Captain Bowles, head of the firm. We had been comrades in
New Orleans during the Civil War and served together on Gen.
James Bowen's staif. W^hen he saw me in the club room he
hugged me with joy, but he was more than pleased when he
found that I was the O'Brien of whom he had read so much
in the papers, and rejoiced at my escape. He took my arm
and introduced me to his head clerk and ordered him to honor
any call for money that I should make, and told me to do all
my banking business with the firm. I drew 150 francs which I
assure you was welcome, and it lasted me until my own money
arrived from JSTew Haven. That night I met William O'Dono-
van, Mcholas Walsh, and Alfred O'Hea, who did not have a
hundred dollars to spare, and after I stood the supper for three
I told them I engaged them to have a series of dinners as guests
with some American officers, who were then sojourning in
Paris. For two weeks we enjoyed the company at the dinners
of our American friends, who were delighted at the opportunity
to show their good will to us and the cause in which we were
engaged.
Before I left Paris for home I learned all about the effect
my escape had had on the authorities in Clonmel. When I was
missed at six o'clock in the morning by one of the wardens
he was bewildered, and shouted "Osborn is gone," and gave
the alarm. The others came to know the cause, and one of
them ran to the governor, who hurried half-dressed and ran up
the stairs in his excitement, not looking ahead ; when near the
288 THE FENIAIS^S OF THE LONG-AGO SIXTIES.
top of the fourth flight he jumped into John Forgarty, who was
carrying his bucket from the cell to be cleaned in the yard;
the governor got the contents of the bucket on the head.
The governor did not stop at this accident, and when he
reached my cell he kept running around. He was bewildered
and confused; over half an hour passed before they alarmed
for the police, and then called for the military, both foot and
horses, who scoured the country in every direction and searched
all suspected places in town. In the afternoon my friends
learned I was safe out of town, and they then helped the police
to try to find me in the town, and had some fun in placing
suspicion among some of the enemy.
The board of prison guardians held a court of inquiry, and
my comrades were brought before it and all had the same story
to tell; that I had no friends outside or in the country that
they knew of, the only friendship they saw was shown by the
governor's family ; they told what they saw me do and heard me
say, and how I gave the pet birds to the governor's young son
and heard me express thanks for favors in the office, all of which
was true.
The court suspended the governor and deputy governor and
removed their families from inside the prison pending the inves-
tigation by the Lord Lieutenant the w^eek following, when
the same routine followed, and my friends had the same story
to tell. The two priests who visited me the day before I
escaped were summoned and put under oath, which they did
not like, Father Lonergan of Ballylooby, who christened me,
fretting for fear I would be caught. Father Power did not like
it for fear it would prevent his promotion, but he was loyal
to the Crown and he became bishop of Waterford. While talk-
ing to them in the jail office it came to my mind that if I
succeeded they would have to prove their innocence of knowl-
edge about my escape, but they were exonerated, — the court
found the same verdict as the previous one. Old Grubb, the
governor, took it to heart, that after thirty-three years' service
he should be suspected, and he died in five weeks. He was a
cold-hearted man, and we had our re venae.
THOMAS GREP:N.
By Albert C. Bates.
[Read April 21, 1913.]
It seems necessary in giving any sketch of Thomas Green,
an early Connecticut printer, to begin back almost at the first
settlement of 'New England by the English. Among those
who came to Massachusetts in 1630 with the Winthrop party
was Bartholomew Green and his family, including his son
Samuel, then sixteen years of age. In 1649 this Samuel under-
took the management of the printing press at Cambridge, which
had been conducted for ten years by Stephen Day under the
j^atronage of Harvard College and at the expense and under
the general supervision of Rev. Joseph Glover. From this
time until the close of his business career Samuel continued in
the work of printing in Cambridge. He died in 1702 at the
age of 87 years, having been the father of sixteen"^^ children.
At least three of his six known sons and the brother of the
wife of one of them became printers.
One of these three sons, Timothy Green, removed from Bos-
ton to ISTew London in 1714 and became the second printer in
Connecticut — Thomas Short, the brother of his sister-in-law
having been the first — and continued in the work there until
his death in 1757. Five of his six sons who lived to maturity
followed the printer's trade.
Among these sons was Samuel, sometimes called "Samuel,
junior," or "Samuel, printer," who was born in Boston in
1706. He came with his parents to New London in 1714,
and thereafter made that place his home. Although a printer
Samuel had no ofiice of his own, but was doubtless employed
* Thomas says nineteen.
10
290 THOMAS GREEN.
by liis father, Timothy. He married in 1733 Abigail, daugh-
ter of Rev. Samuel Clark, late minister at Chelmsford, Mass.
He died in 1752, leaving a widow and ten children, among
whom were three sons who became printers. It is the oldest
of these three sons, Thomas, born at ISTew London August
25, 1735, baptized September 7, about whom our interest now
centers. He was a little over sixteen years of age at the time
of his father's death.
Isaiah Thomas, in his "History of Printing," says that
Thomas Green was instructed in printing by his uncle. This
may be true; but as his uncle I^Tathaniel (probably) had no
printing office of his own, his uncle Timothy was printing in
Boston until 1752, and his uncle John had no printing office •
of his own until a few months before his death in 1757, it is
likely that the instruction was received in the office of his
grandfather, Timothy. And the actual instructor may have been
his grandfather, his father, or any of his three uncles.
It seems probable that the changes in the ownership and
management of the printing office which followed as a con-
sequence of the death in 1757 of his grandfather caused Thomas
to leave ISTew London and take up his trade of printing in ISTew
Haven. Here he entered the employ of James Parker & Com-
pany. Parker himself remaining in ISTew York; the firm was
represented in 'New Haven by his partner, John Holt, who was
postmaster as well as printer. In 1760 it became necessary
for Holt to remove to New York to aid Parker in the work
there, and the press and postoffice at ISTew Haven were left
in charge of Thomas Green — the printing continuing to be
done in the name of Parker & Company "at the postoffice."
In the issue of June 21, 1760, of the Connecticut Gazette,
is the following notice :
"The printer of this paper being about to remove to New York, desires
all persons whose accounts have been unpaid above the usual and limited
time of credit, immediately to discharge them ; else he shall be obliged
to leave them in other hands to collect; and he hopes they will not be
against allowing interest. The business will be carried on as usual by
Mr. Thomas Green in New Haven."
THOMAS GEEEN. ^"^^
It is unlikely that Green, then a yonng man of twenty-five,
would have been placed in this responsible position if he had
not already had experience in Parker's office, both as printer,
newspaper editor, and postmaster; and it seems reasonable to
suppose that he had been in Parker's employ for the two or
three years since his uncle Timothy took over the printing
office in N'ew London. This supposition, however, is apparently
negatived by Thomas' description of himself in a deed^' dated
September 11, 1759, as "of ]N^ew London."
Thomas continued in the printing business in IS^ew Haven,
representing the firm of Parker & Company, from 1760 until
1764. Besides the weekly issue of the Connecticut Gazette,
Parker's newspaper, and the first established in Connecticut,
there are some forty books and pamphlets and fifteen broad-
sides known to have been printed in Kew Haven during these
years. Most of them bear Parker's imprint; but all were
actually the work of Green. Mecom's work is of course not
included in this summary.
In 17G4 Parker & Company discontiniied the printing
business in 'Ne^Y Haven. Isaiah Thomas says "they resigned
the business to Benjamin Mecom." The previous year Mecom
had been printing in i^ew York City. He was a nephew of
Benjamin Franklin, and was by him appointed postmaster at
JSTew Haven. Mecom's imprints at 'New Haven bear dates
1764 to 1767.
Both Parker and Mecom seem to have been particular to
place their imprint on all publications issued by them. No
New Haven publication during the years 1755 to 1767 inclu^
sive has come to my notice that does not bear the name of one
or the other of these printers, luith a single exception, j This
exception is the "Brief Narrative of the Proceedings . . .
against Mr. White, Pastor of the first Church in Danbury,"
which has the imprint, "New-Haven: Printed in the Year
1764." Who printed this and why is the printer's name
omitted? The question cannot be answered from the type,
* New London Land Records, vol. 16, p. 248.
t Also one printed in 1761 "for Sarah Diodate."
292 THOMAS GREEN.
for both Parker and Mecom used similar type to wliat is used
in this '*]Srarrative." J^or do the ornaments used settle the
query; for of the three used, two identical ones were used
by Parker and two by Mecom. The style of printing is dis-
tinctly not that of Mecom, and the size of type used is not
that commonly employed by him. The proceedings related
in the "IsTarrative" end March 31, 1764, so that it could not
have been printed earlier than Aj)ril of that year. The Con-
necticut Gazette, which Thomas Green had printed in !New
Haven in the name of and for Parker & Company, was dis-
continued because of lack of encouragement* with the issue of
April 17, 1764 (No. 471), and it is reasonable to presume
that the work of Parker's press ceased at that time. In that case
there would not have been time to prepare the copy and print
the "!N^arrative" during the two and one-half weeks between
the close of the proceedings there related and the shutting down
of the work of the press. It is my belief, although I confess
it incapable of proof, that this "ISTarrative" was printed by
Thomas Green with the type and other materials of the Parker
printing office, and that it is the first printing work done by
him for himself, that is when not in the employ of another.
The style of the printing of the "Narrative" closely follows
that of Green's work while printing in Hartford; the type
is the same as was used by him the following year; one of
the three ornaments is identical with one used by him and the
other two with two that appear upon a Green & Watson imprint
of 1770. What more likely than that Green, contemplating set-
ting up a printing office of his own, should have bought a part
at least of the outfit of the Parker office, and before his removal
of the materials to Hartford should have printed this "ISTarra-
tive" in New Haven. A "Vindication" of the proceedings
set forth in the "]*^arrative" was issued the same year and
bore Mecom's imprint. If, as is stated by Isaiah Thomas, and
as seems probable, Parker & Company "resigned the business"
* "As the encouragement for the continuation of this paper is so very
small, the printers are determined to discontinue it after this week. They
request all those Avho are indebted to make speedy payment."
THOMAS GEEEN.
293
of printing in ]^ew Haven to Mecom, who was located there
as early as June, 1764,"'^ Green, who had been in Parker's
employ, may not have wished to appear as a rival printer at
the very time when Mecom was setting up his press there.
This would seem to he sufficient reason for his omitting his
name from the imprint of any publication issued by him in
]^ew Haven at that time.
When Parker & Company, by whom he was employed, dis-
posed of their printing business — "passed it over" as Thomas
expresses it — to Benjamin Mecom, Green evidently deter-
mined to establish a business of his own and looked about for
a fresh field in which to practice his craft. At the age of
thirty-two, a printer since his boyhood and one of a family of
printers, a married man with two children, no doubt he was
ambitious to see his own name appear in the imprint placed
upon his work, Hartford, although not the largest, was, by
reason of its being one of the two capitals and a county seat,
the most important town in the colony in which there was no
printing office or which was not quickly and easily accessible
to the offices in 'New London, New Haven or over the border
in New York City. Here he determined to settle, and here
he probably took up his abode with his family in the late
summer of 1764.
In the autumn of 1764 we find Thomas Green located in
Hartford and established in the printing business for himself
and in his own name "at the Heart and Crown near the l^orth-
Meeting-House." Through the statement made by George
Goodwin to John W. Barber in 1836, and the researches made
in the town records by Albert L. Washburn, it is a pleasure
to be able to make a definite and positive statement as to the
location of this first printing office. It was on the west side
of Main, then Queen Street, on the north corner of the ceme-
tery, about where the south corner of the Waverly Building
now stands ; and it was situated up-stairs over the barber shop
* In its first issue by him, July 5, ITOo, Mecom says: "A year is
passed since the printer of this paper published proposals for reviving the
Conneciiciit dazcllc. It is needless to mention the reasons why it did not
appear sooner."
21M THOiSrAS GEEEN.
of James Mookler. Possibly its proximity to the barber shoji
was looked upon as advantageous for the gathering of local
news.
The passer-by of that day would have no difficulty in find-
ing the office, from the sign of the ''Heart and Crown" which
doubtless hung near its door. Green's idea of a name and sign
to distinguish and identify his place of business was not a
new or unusual one at that period. It was common for inns
to have a pictorial sign, and to be called by the name which
the sign expressed — as ''The Bunch of Grapes'' in Hartford.
William Jepson sold drugs at the sign of the "Unicorn and
Mortar." Various other tradesmen, including printers also,
had their distinctive signs. In London we find the signs oi
the Bible, the Angel, the Ked Lyon, the Sun and Bible, the
Looking Glass, and the Hand and Pen used by printers. In
Boston we find the Bible and Heart on Cornhill; and what
is more to the point, the Fleets, also located on Cornhill, for
many years, dating both before and after this time, did their
printing at the Heart and Crown, and used a cut containing
these symbols on some of their printed works. Prom this sign,
which he may have seen. Green no doubt obtained both the idea
and the name for his own sign. Many of the early numbers
of the newspaper which he established contain in the headline
a cut showing a device which in all probability was copied from
his sign.
This device is in the general form and style of a coat of
arms. The shield, if it may be so called, is surrounded by
rather elaborate scroll work, out of which spring small sprays
of flowers and conventionalized leaf designs. On the shield is
a heart surmounted by a crown; below the whole is a ribbon,
and at the top in place of a crest stands a bird with wings
extended bearing a folded letter in its beak.
Only the Courant and the two almanacs for 1765 bear the
imprint of "near the ISTorth-Meeting-House," and it is doubt-
ful if any others of his known publications were issued from
that place.
In the Courant for May 13, 1765, ISTo. 25, is an announce-
ment by which : "The Publick are informed, that the Printing-
TIIOIMAS GREET^T.
295
Office is removed, to tlie Store of Mr. James Church, opposite
the Court-House, and next Door to Mr. Bull's Tavern."
This location was also up-stairs, on the west side of Main
Street, opposite the present City Hall, and where the building
of the State Bank now stands. Here the office continued until
the second week in December, 1Y68, when it was removed to
a building fitted up for the purpose "near the Great-Bridge,"
as the bridge on Main Street over the present Park river was
then called. Here the office remained for nearly or quite half
a century.
Undoubtedly Green's most notable work in Hartford was
the establishing and editing of The Connecticut Courant, a
newspaper whicli to-day is proud of its distinction as the oldest
paper in America published continuously under the same name
in the same town.
Its first issue, ^'Xumber 00," bears the date of Monday,
October 29, 1764, and states that it "will, on due Encourage-
ment be continued every Monday, beginning on Monday,
the 19th of November next." It opens with the following-
prospectus :
"Of all the Arts which have been introduc'd amongst Mankind, for the
civilizing Human-Nature, and rendering Life agreeable and happy, none
appear of greater Advantage than that of Printing: for hereby the great-
est Genius's of all Ages, and Nations, live and speak for the Benefit of
future Generations —
"Was it not for the Press, we should be left almost intirely ignorant of
all those noble Sentiments which the Antients were endow'd with.
"By this Art, Men are brought acquainted with each other, though never
so remote, as to Age or Situation; it lays open to View, the Manners,
Genius and Policy of all Nations and Countries and faithfully transmits
them to Posterity. — But not to insist upon the Usefulness of this Art
in general, which must be obvious to every One, whose Thoughts are the
least extesive [extensive?].
"The Benefit of a Weekly Paper, must in particular have its Advantages,
as it is the Channel Miiich conveys the History of the present Times to
every Part of the World.
"The Articles of Nevrs from the different Papers (wliich we shall receive
every Saturday, from the neighboring Provinces) that shall appear to us,
to be most authentic and interesting shall always be carefully inserted;
and great Care will be taken to collect from Time to Time all domestic
Occurrences, that are worthy the Notice of the Publick; for which, we
shall always be obliged to any of our Correspondents, within whose Knowl-
edge they may happen.
29f) THOMAS GREEN.
"The Connecticut Courant, (a Specimen (if which, tlie Publick are
now presented with), will, on due Encouragement be continued every
Monday, beginning on Monday, the 19th of November, next: Which En-
couragement we hope to deserve, by a constant Endeavour to render this
Paper useful, and entertaining, not only as a Channel for News, but
assisting to all Those who may have Occasion to make use of it as an
Advertiser.
A®° "Subscriptions for this Paper, will be taken in at the Printing-Office,
near the North-Meeting-House, in Hartford.''
This prospectus is said on the authority of the hite Charles
J. Hoadly to have been written by Abraham Beach, at that
time a resident of Hartford. Beach, who was born in 1740
and was graduated from Yale College in 1757 with a reputa-
tion for remarkable scholarship, was the son by a former
husband of the wife of Dr. Jonathan Bull of Plartford. At
the time this prospectus was written Beach had a store in
Hartford, and the following year was collector of taxes there.
Late in 1767 he left for England, where he was ordained a
priest of the Episcopal communion, and returning to this
country was active in the church in JSTew Jersey and jSTew York.
This first issue of the Courant, October 29, 1764, was of
four pages in w^hat was known as pot folio size. The greater
part of its contents is made np of foreign news, some of it
bearing date as early as July 10, and the latest September 5.
There is also American news dated from Kew York and from
Boston, October 25, and on earlier dates from Charleston,
S. C, and Williamsburg, Va. The last column contains four
paragraphs of Connecticut news, including one death in Hart-
ford. I^ext comes an advertisement of Ellsworth's Almanack
''to be sold by the Printer hereof," with the announcement :
''Of whom also may be had, Blanks, Primers, Spelling-Books,
Bibles, Watts' Psalms, Catechisms, Writing Paper, &c." And
following this at the foot of the column is Abraham Beach's
announcement that he ''exchanges choice Saltertudas & Anguilla
Salt for Flax-Seed, on the best Terms." If, as is believed.
Beach wrote the prospectus contained in this issue, this
announcement is no doubt the first example in Hartfoi'd of
"dead head" newspaper advertising.
THOMAS GREEN. *^97
The Coumnt, under Green's editorship, compared very
favorably with other newspapers of the period. As seems to
have been expected at that time, a hu-ge portion of the paper
was taken up with foreign news; and a smaller portion with
the happenings in various parts of this country. There was
also a goodly array of communications from those who were
convinced that they had something to say upon a great variety
of subjects; and there were numerous political contributions,
some of which are of no little historical interest to-day. Con-
siderable space was given to matters relating to the Stamp
Act, w^hich was the foremost topic of the day. And last, but
far from least in interest, are the numerous advertisements.
The size of the paper varied from time to time; and occa-
sionally the paper consisted of but one sheet, instead of the
usual two. The subscription price of the Courant is given
(May 2, 1768) as six shillings lawful money per year. And
(on the same date) advertisements "of a moderate length"
were "taken in and inserted at 3 sh. for 3 weeks, 6 d. for
each week after and longer ones in proportion." The best
file now existing for these early years ^ is the one for which
Judge Jedediah Strong of Litchfield was the subscriber, and
which is now in the possession of the Connecticut Historical
Society.
At this time "the Posts" bringing letters and papers from
the outer world reached Hartford once a week, on Saturday;
the two posts, one from IN'ew York and one from Boston, meet-
ing there. That all might know of their arrival they were
instructed to "wind their Horns" upon arrival at the post-
office, and to do the same one-half hour before their departure.
The postmaster was instructed to deliver on the following
morning to persons living in the town "all Letters and Pacquets"
not called for on the day they were received at the postoffice.
These posts were frequently delayed, presumably by storms
or bad roads, much to the embarrassment of the printer who
depended on the newspapers he received for a considerable
part of the "news" in his paper — both that from foreign coun-
tries and from other colonial, cities. Thus, the Courant of
298
THO:\rAS GREEKS'.
Monday, December 24, 1764, notes, "The l\e\v York Post,
not arrived, at the Publication of This Paper." And the issue
next following, Monday, December 31, states, "As neither of
the Posts are arrived, the Publication of this Paper will he
deferred till To-Morrow" ; and in the next column is a "Post-
script," dated Tuesday, "VII o'clock Afternoon, the Posts
not arrived."
In January, 1768, there aj)pears to have been a re-routing
of the posts. Under the new arrangement the post left Hartford
on Tuesday, arriving at ISTew London the following day; and
set out from there on Thursday, bringing the E'ew York and
Boston mails, reaching Hartford on Friday. But after a
two-months' trial of this, the old arrangement was reestablished.
In addition to the government "post" there was a local
"Post Rider" who delivered letters and newspapers in the
near-by towns. In 1765 this service was performed by Joseph
Bunce of Hartford, who advertises in May for his "dark bay
mare," which has strayed away. She "trots and paces well,"
and if the old rhyme is to be believed was a worthy beast, for
she had one white foot. 'No doubt the editor of the Courant
was almost as anxious as the owner that she should be found,
in order that his papers might be promptly delivered to out-
of-to^\Ti subscribers.
In addition to being a printer Green was also editor,
publisher, bookseller and stationer "at the Heart and Crown" ;
likewise a kind of general bureau of information.
It is interesting to note that almost without exception, while
in Hartford, Green made a distinction in the imprint placed
on the works published by him and those which he merely
printed for another. In the case of the Courant it was unneces-
sary to indicate that he was the publisher. Eleven of his
issues state in the imprint that they are "printed and sold,"
that is published, by him. These are all advertised in the
Courant.^' There also appear the advertisements of two respect-
*A11 issues of the Courant between Oct. 14 and Dec. 30^ 1765, where
separate advertisements of Ames' and Ellsworth's Almanacks for the fol-
lowino' year would probably be found, are missing; but the issue of Jan. 13,
170G, says: "To be sold at the Heart and Crown, Hartford: Ames,
Hutchins, and Ellsworth's Almanacks, for the Year 1766."
TIIO:\rAS GREEN.
299
ing whose imprints no data is at hand; of two (one of them
his earliest work) Avhich were only ''printed" by him; and of
one which was to be ''Sold at the Printing office in Hartford,"
although probably printed for him in ]!^ew London. ^STo
advertisements appear in the Courant of any of the other works,
more than one-half the total number, printed by him in Hart-
ford. Most of them bear the imprint "printed by Thomas
Green," or "printed at the Heart and Crown."
In the Courant of September 16, 1765, Green has the fol
lowing long advertisement which gives a good idea of the stock
in his shop :
"To be sold, at the Heart and CroAvn, Opposite the State-House, in
Hartford: Plain and gilt Bibles — Common Prayer Books, plain & gilt —
Testaments — Dilhvorth's Spelling Books — Psalters — Death of Abel, neatly
bound and gilt, Ditto, stitch'd — Tryal of Abraham — Watts's Psalms — Tate
and Brady's Ditto — Penetential Cries — Royal Primmer — Beading, no
Preaching — War, an Heroic Poem — ^jNIayhew's Thanksgiving Sermons,
Ditto, on Popish Idolitry — ^Winthrop's Voyage from Boston, to Newfound-
land, to observe the Transit of Venus, June 1, 1761. — The Rights of the
British Colonies — Mather's Dissertations, concerning the venerable Name
of Jehovah — New-England's Prospect: Being a true, lively, and experi-
mental Discription, of that Part of America, called New-England, by
William Wood. — Small Histories, Plays, &c. — 2, 3, 4, and 5 Quire Account-
Books, Copy Books, Dutch Quills, and Pens — Slates — Wafers in Boxes —
Red and black Sealing-Wax — Memorandum Books — Pewter and Led Ink-
Stands — ^Leather Ink-Pots — Temple and common Spectacles, in Cases — •
Painted Ink-Chests — Holman's genuine Ink-Powder — Horn-Books — Writing-
Paper, &c."
In addition to advertisements of books printed by him and
to one or two long advertisements of a general stock of books
which he oifers for sale Green advertises the following books,
printed elsewhere than in Hartford, as they were from time
to time published :
Clap, Tliomas. Essay on moral virtue. [New Haven.]
The Stamp act. [New London.]
Necessity of repealing the stamp-act. [Boston.]
Rights of the colonies to privileges of British subjects. [New York.]
Devotion, Ebenezer. Examiner examined. [New London.]
Leaming, Jeremiah. Defence of the Episcopal government of the church.
[New York.]
Walter, Thomas. Grounds and rules of music.
The ceconomy of human life, 7th ed.
Ingersol, Jared. Letters relating to the stamp act. [New Haven.]
300 THOMAS GEEEN.
The printer and his office formed a local intelligence burean,
as witness the following (quoted from advertisements in his
newspaper) information regarding each and all of which could
be obtained by "enquiring of the Printer hereof :
Found, a small bundle.
To be sold, a likely, healthy, good natured negro boy, about fifteen years
old.
Wanted, an apprentice in a shop.
To be sold, a neat sley and harness.
Wanted, an apprentice to a l)hick-sinith.
Farm to let.
To be sold, a few pair of genteel London made stays.
Lost, a half Johannes wrapp'd up in a piece of clean paper — one dollar
reward.
Tobacconist partner wanted.
Steers or heifers wanted to keep until next spring.
Green also offered for sale tickets in Faneuil-Hall lottery
]^o. 5 and in Amenia lottery. In the issues for July 14, 1766,
and in numerous later issues is the advertisement :
"Cash given for Rags, at the Printing-Office in Hartford, for the Use of
the Norwich Paper Manufactory. —
"[The Inhabitants of this Colony are requested to consider the public
Utility of this Undertaking, and collect and save as many clean Linnen
Rags as possible.]"
As illustrating the time in which Green lived, perhaps one
month's items from the account of "House Expenses" of a
prosperous Hartford merchant may not be without interest.
It is for August, 1762 :
£ s d
3 Loaves Bread @ 8d 2
Washing Womens hire for two Days & four Hours 3 2
2 Quarters Mutton 3/ 1 Cask bisket 9/
2 Loaves Bread
1 Load Wood
2 lb Butter @ lOd
2 lb Chocolate @ 2/6 P/o lb butter @ lOd
iy2 lb Candles @ lOd
li/o Butter @ 10 d 15 lb Beef [@] 4d
2 Loaves bread @ 8 d
1 Load Wood
14 Bushel pears
Squashes & Cucumbers
12
1
4
8
1
8
6
3
1
3
C
3
1
4
G
1
2
6
£ s
8 15
d
3
9
11
1
8
1
3
1
6
9
2
10^
3
1
4
1
8
9
THOMAS GREEN. 301
% Cask wine drank from May to this day [Aug. 21st]
131^ lb Beef @ 2y2 [d]
17 lb Tallow @ 7d
2 lb Candles @ lOd
1% lb Butter @ lOd
flower Ground at Mill
20% lb Tallow @ 5d
11 lb Beef @ 2y2d
2 doz biskett @ 8d
2 lb Butter @ lOd
1 doz pigeons
The whole amounting to 13 11%
You will note that almost two-thirds of this amount is for
the one item of wine drank during four months. Drinking was
universal in these days ; and no doubt both Thomas Green and
his spouse took a little something for the stomach's sake. This
same merchant built a "shop" in Hartford in 1765 — we
would to-day call it a store — and kept an itemized account of
its cost. The total cost of building it, including stone, lime,
sand, timber, boards, clapboards, shingles, cartage, nails, glass,
hinges, locks, joiners' work and board of joiner amounted to
£58-10-91/^ ; and of this £3-2-2% or more than four per cent
was for rum — and rum then cost but four shillings per gallon.
Tea at this time was selling at from 8 shillings to 10 shillings
per pound.
Some writer, I cannot now recall who it was, has given a very
striking description of the streets of Hartford about the middle
of the eighteenth century. He states that they were totally
unpaved and after heavy rains they were a veritable slough
of despond. The mud became so deep that crossing them on
foot at such times was almost impossible, except at certain
I^laces where large stones had been placed, on which one might
pick his way from one side to the other. jSTo wonder that
pattens (shoes on stilts they might be called) were worn by
the ladies of that period. But an effort, let us hope a success-
ful one, was made to change this not long before Green came
to Hartford. The General Assembly in May, 1Y60, granted
a lottery, upon petition of a number of inhabitants, which
302 THOMAS GREEN.
should net £270 for the purpose of repairing (Ellery says
"to pave") the main streets of Hartford on the west side of
the river. The most prominent men of the town were inter-
ested in and guaranteed the scheme. William Ellerv bought
thirty tickets at 12 shillings each, amounting to £18, On
these he was so fortunate as to draw one prize, which after
the usual ten per cent deduction netted him £22-10s.
There were very few public amusements in Hartford at this
time. We may feel reasonably certain that Mr. Green attended
the games of ''bowl" or "cricket" — probably what was later
called wicket- — the following challenges for which were pub-
lished in his paper. The first is in the issue of Monday, May
5, 1766:
"A Challenge is hci'eby given by the Subscribers, to Ashbel Steel, and
John Barnard, with 18 young Gentlemen, South of the Great Bridge, in
this Town, to play a Game at Bowl for a Dinner and Trimmings, with
an equal Number, Xorth of said Bridge on Friday next.
"William Pratt,
"Daniel Olcott.
N. B. If they accept the Challenge, tliey are desired to meet us at the
Court-House, by 9 o'clock in the Morning."
A return game was indulged in a year later, again on the
day after the annual election, as witness the following from the
issue of May 11, 1767:
"Fifteen Young Men, on the South-Side the Great-Bridge, hereby
challenge an equal Number on the North Side said Bridge, to play a
Game of Ciiicket, the Day after the Election,* to meet about ix o'clock.
Forenoon, in Cooper-Lane, then and there to agree on Terms & appoint
proper Judges to see Fair-Play."
The result of this second game is shown by the following
challenge which appears in the issue of June first:
"Whereas a Challenge was given by Fifteen Men South of the Great
Bridge in Hartford, to an equal Number North of said Bridge, to play a
Game at Cricket the Day after the last Election— the Public are hereby
inform'd, that the Challenged beat the Challengers by a great Majority.
And said North side hereby acquaint the South Side, that they are not
*May 15.
THOMAS GKEEN.
afraid to meet tliem witli any Number they shall chusc and give them
not only the Liberty of picking their Men among themselves but also the
best Players both i^n the West-Division and Weathersfield. Witness our
Hands (in the Name of tlie whole Company)
"William Pratt,
"NiELL McLean, jtjn."
In 1766 George Goodwin of Hartford, then a boy of nine
years, entered Green's employ. The story is told that on his
applying for work Green told him he was too small, but added
-if you can bring a pail of water upstairs you may come.
This he proved his ability to do and was taken into the oftce.
He remained with the Courant during practically the whole
of his long life. He, with his two sons, became its owners m
1815; and when they sold it in 1836 it was stipulated that
he should thereafter have the right to work in the office when
he pleased, a privilege of which he often availed himself.
Ebenezer AVatson, born in Bethlehem, Conn., m 1^44, was
in the employ of Green in Hartford. It is stated by Isaiah
Thomas that Green taught him the printer's trade. If this
be true he probably worked with Green in New Haven before
a press was set up in Hartford. He may be said to have
established himself in Hartford by his marriage on Octoloer
1 1767 to Elizabeth, daughter of Kichard Seymour. Ihis
was just at the time that Thomas Green and his brother Samuel
were entering into partnership in the printing business m ^ew
Haven And so, as Green contemplated removing to ^ew
Haven, he entered into a partnership in Hartford with Watson,
under the firm name of Green & Watson. The terms of this
partnership are not now known. It began about the middle
of December, 1767, and is supposed to have continued imtil
the middle of March, 1771, at which time Watson became the
sole proprietor of the Courant During the period of the part-
nership Watson is supposed to have had the entire management
of the press; Green's interest being only a financial one,
although his (Green's) name alone appeared on the Courant
as its publisher up to (and including the issue of) April 18,
1768.
804 THOMAS GREEN. #
111 176 G we first find Samuel Green, the younger brother
of Thomas, printing in New Haven. Two imprints of his of
that year are known (one of them actually printed at l^Tew
London), and two of the following year, 17GT, one of them
printed by him "for Roger Sherman." His printing office
(during the latter year at least) was '^at the Old State-House,"
which stood on the Green, and which had been no longer used for
its original purpose since the building of a new State House
in 1763. Very likely he also kept a small store for the sale
of a few books, blanks, stationery, etc.
It seems to me very probable that Samuel's presence in Xew
Haven as a jjrinter was due to the enterprise and foresight
of his brother Thomas, who may even have given a financial
backing to the undertaking. For certainly Samuel could not
have supported himself from the limited output of his press.
Thomas knew l^ew Haven and understood the possibilities of
the place from a printer's point of view. He probably also
knew Mecom (whom he left printing there), by reputation at
least, as a good jDrinter but a man of little business ability.
Foreseeing that Mecom would probably be unsuccessful, what
more likely than that he should have established his brother
Samuel in a printing office in jSTew Haven, in order that no
opportunity should be given for any other printer to enter
the field there in the event of Mecom's removal or failure.
And that was exactly the way it worked out, except that the
Greens did not w^ait until the discontinuance of the Connecticut
Gazette, Mecom's newspaper, with the issue of February 19,
1768, which probably marked the close of his career there
as a printer. Yet the rival printers appear to have parted on
the most friendly terms, for in the final issue of his paper,
Mecom says :
"The printer of tliis paper now informs the public that he is preparing
to remove from this place with his family; and that he chiefly depends
on his debtors for something to pay the expense. Since he now dis-
continues this Gazette, it may not be improper to say that all persons
may be supplied with a newspaper by Messrs. Thomas and Samuel Green,
at the Old State House, where other printing work is done and books
bound."
TIIO^ilAS GREEN.
305
In October, 1707, Kelson says on the 23d, Thomas and
Samuel Green, working in partnership, issned in IS'ew Haven
the first number of a new newspaper established by them, The
Connecticut Journal and New Haven Post-Boy. Its imprint
was ''Printed by Thomas & Samuel Green, at the Printing-
office in the Old State-House,'' which imprint was soon
changed to "near the College," although the location remained
the same.
Apparently believing that the prospects for success in ISTew
Haven were brighter than in Hartford, Thomas soon began to
arrange his Hartford business so that he could remove per-
manently to iSTew Haven. He doubtless spent the most of his
time there after the middle of October, 1767. His home in
Hartford, perhaps during the entire period of his residence
there, was on the corner of the present Central Row and Pros-
pect Street, one of the most desirable locations in the town
for residence, it would seem. Here he rented from Samuel
Gilbert of Hebron the house and garden, bought by him (Gil-
bert) in July, 1765, for £400, which had been the residence
of the late Dr. Ehoderick Morrison. This house, "lately occu-
pied by Mr. Thomas Green," was advertised "to be sold, or
let," February 8, 1768. He evidently removed with his family
to ISTew Haven during the winter of 1767-1768, probably about
the beginning of February, 1768. Let us hope that they were
not en route on the fourth during "that terrible storm of wind
and snow, . . . the snow being very deep," which occurred then.
We can bo sure that Mrs. Green was not here to witness from
her front windows the prisoner "brought to this town pinion'd"
on February 12 and tried and found guilty the same day,
probably in the State House just in front of her home. He was
sentenced to "ten stripes on the naked body — which he very
patiently received the day following." And it is not probable
that she was here on the second when Thomas Baldwin of
Meriden, found guilty of blasphemy, stood one hour in the
pillory and received ten stripes on his naked body.
The following, which appeared in the Courant, is not without
interest :
306 THOMAS GREEN.
"New-Haven, April 16, 1768,
"The Situation of my Business at Hartford, having made my Return to
this Place necessary, I earnestly request of all my Customers there,
indebted for News-Papers, and on every other Account, to make imme-
diate Payment, either in Cash, or Covmtry Produce, to Mr. Ebenezer
Watson, at the Printing-Office in Hartford, whose Receipt shall be a
Discharge, for any payments made to him, on mj' Account. — And as my
Connections in the Printing Business there, in some Measure, still subsists,
I hope for the Continuation of the Public Favors.
"I take this Opportunity of returning my unfeigned Thanks, for the
Ivindnesses conferred on me, and my Family, by the Neighbourhood, in
whicli we were so happy as to reside, while we liv'd in Hartford.
"Thomas Green."
Mention has already been made of the advertisement appear-
ing in July, 1Y66, and in numerous later issues of the Courant
offering cash for clean linen rags for the use of the paper mill
in l!^orwich, and in one issue a long article appeared urging
all families to save their rags for that purpose. The ISTorwich
mill was established in 1T66 by Christopher Leffingwell, and
was the first paj)er mill in the Colony. The second paper mill
was that belonging to Watson & Goodwin, publishers of the
Courant, and was located in the present town of Manchester.
It dates from just before the breaking out of the Revolution.
A third paper mill was established the following year, ITTG,
by our enterprising ISTew Haven printers, Thomas and Samuel
Green, on West river just outside of the town. For this pur-
pose Joseph Munson and Lemuel Hotchkiss in April, 1776,
sell to the two Greens and to Isaac Beers, Joel Gilbert and
Samuel Austin, all of ^ew Haven, one and a half acres of land
on the river below the grist mill of Joseph Munson, and give
them the right to erect a paper mill thereon and to turn the
river out of its natural course. Three months later the mill
was in process of construction, and paper was expected from
it "after a few weeks."
At the time of his residence in Hartford, Thomas appears to
have been devoted to the cause of colonial liberty as represented
by opposition to the Stamp Act. But later, as was true of many
other Episcopalians, his sympathies were not with the American
THOMAS GREEjNT. ''^**<
cause, and he was spoken of as a Tory. This may be one reason
why the nnmber of issues from his press decreased noticeably
during the years of the Revohition. Ezra Stiles, president of
Yale College, makes the following entry under date of August
2,1781:
"Sir Chang [Henry Channing, a graduate of that year] returned fr.
Hartford, the Printer there has engaged to [print] the Commencemt
Theses, Catalogues, & Qusestiones INIagistrales. The Press in New Haven
(Tho. Green) is a Tory press & unobliging to College. This the Reason
of sending abroad."
The town of N'ew Haven in December, 1Y73, finding that
its two oldest books of town records had become so worn that
it was needful they be rebound, voted that the selectmen and
town clerk employ Mr. Green to bind the same and see what
new alphabets are needful to be made to the "antient" book
and cause the same to be made. I have seen but one other
direct reference to either Thomas or Samuel as a binder ; but
it was true of practically every printer of those days that he
was a bookbinder as well, and no doubt Thomas practiced both
crafts as occasion required.
And here in l^ew Haven the two brothers Thomas and
Samuel continued in the business of printing, issuing books,
pamphlets, almanacs, session laws, college publications, and
a newspaper, until the death of Samuel in February, 1Y99.
Thomas, the younger, was then taken into partnership with
his father, and the business continued in the name of Thomas
Green & Son until January, 1809, at which time the elder
Thomas, then seventy-four years of age, appears to have retired.
A little more than three years after his retirement from busi-
ness, in the latter part of May [before the 26th], 1812, he
died in l^ew Haven at the age of 77. The notice of his death,
published at the time, says of him: ^^He was a gentleman of
peculiar suavity of manner, great benevolence, and universally
esteemed; every house in 'New Haven was to him as a home.''
It is interesting to attempt an estimate of the publications
issued by Green, even though the total may be presumed to be
more or less inaccurate.
308 THOMAS GREEN.
While he was managing the press in ISfew Haven and print-
ing for and in the name of Parker & Co., 1761 to 17G4, there
are fifty-four publications known. While printing in his own
name in Hartford, 1761 to 1767, he may be credited with forty
publications, although it must be confessed that his printing
of two or three of these is somewhat of an assumption. In
iN'ew Haven, from 1767 to 1799, the firm of Thomas and
Samuel Green issued at least 271 publications ; of these twenty-
nine are broadsides and twenty-six laws. After the death of
Samuel, Thomas Green & Son issued seven publications in
1799 and 1800, and an unknown number in the years follow-
ing, until the retirement of Thomas. The total number here
noted is 372 ; and so, allowing for the omission of some in
making up the list and the entire loss of others, it is safe
to estimate that the total number of publications in which
Thomas Green had a part was nearly or quite 400.
Probably his best and most Avorthy work was the editing
in succession of three newspapers. First, the Connecticut
Gazette in ISTew Haven, which he edited and printed for Parker
d: Co. Second, the Connecticut Courant, which he established,
edited and printed in Hartford. Third, the Connecticut Jour-
nal, which he and his brother Samuel established, edited and
printed in JSTew Haven.
It is also worthy of note that from the time of his taking
charge of the press for Parker & Co. in ISTew Haven, until
his retirement from business, not a year passed that he (or
his firm) did not publish at least one almanack.
At the age of twenty-six Thomas married in New Haven
on September 30, 1761, Desire Sanford, who was doubtless a
resident of !N^ew Haven, the marriage being found on the records
of the Congregational Church there. Her burial appears on
the Episcopal Church records, October 13, 1775. Their first
child, Anna, sometimes called ISTancy, was born September 21,
1762. She married Amaziah Lucas, May 4, 1794. The second
child, Lucy, was born March 24, 1764; "the amicable and
ingenious Miss Lucy Green," President Stiles calls her. At
the age of twenty-one she took the small-pox by inoculation
THOMAS GREEN".
309
at the hospital a mile and a half from her home and died of
the dread disease Jmie 13, 1785. She was buried at ten o'clock
in the evening of the following day in the usual burying place
in the city. There was ''a numerous funeral" of such as
had had the small-pox. A broadside commemorating her was
printed. It is entitled, "Elegiac Reflections on the Death of
Miss Lucy Green." It consists of 134 lines of poetry, printed
in two columns, followed by an extract of twenty lines from the
New Haven Gazette.
Their third child, Thomas, born at Hartford it is to be pre-
sumed, in 1765, was baptized August 17, 1766, in the (Epis-
copal) Church of the Holy Trinity at Middletown. He died
April 22, 1825, aged 60. Mention is made of his wife Desire.
A fourth child, probably an infant, was buried in the yard
of the Center Church, Hartford, iJ^ovember 3, 1767.
Thomas married a second wife, Abigail, of whom no record
has been found beyond her death on the Congregational Church
records, September 20, 1781, at the age of thirty-seven; and
the baptism on the Episcopal Church records, August 11, 1779,
of their infant daughter. Desire, followed by her burial three
days later.
For his third wife Thomas chose Abigail Miles and their
marriage appears on the Episcopal Church records, March 21,
1782. On the same records the baptism of two children appear :
Alfred, March 30, 1783, and William Samuel, December 16,
1786. Mrs. Green died February 24, 1814. In her will, dated
February 21, "in the evening," and signed with her mark,
she gives all her estate to her two daughters Sophia and Lucy
and makes her brother George Miles executor. While Thomas
in his will, dated 1810, mentions only his wife Abigail and his
children Thomas and Anna.
TIJK OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
By TlIEODOBE S. WOOLSEY, LL.D.
rUeail May 19, 1913.]
This is the land of steady habits. Si monumentum requiris,
circwnspice. As we look about in the daily routine of our lives,
our eyes and our thoughts tell us of an enduring past. We
were schooled perhaps upon a foundation of 1660. Our col-
lege nurture dates from 1700. The churches in which we
worship, the streets we tread, the very waning of the giant
elms which shade them, are mysteriously alive with memories
of things gone by. We think of the AVest as progressive and
the West glories in the term. It concentrates upon the present
because it has no past. As it says of itself, it has no back-
ground. But does it not miss something? The stability of
habit, the continuity of right and simple living, the conser-
vatism of thought which tests and studies the new b(^fore
swallowing it whole. We too, recall our judges, but only to
honor their memories.
It is to an institution which can almost be called ancient
that I ask your attention this evening, the !N^ew Haven Bank,
our oldest bank, and so steady in its habit of paying dividends
that since early in 1797 it has never missed a year.
The year 1792 is the date of its incorporation, by the Gen-
eral Assembly, at its October session, under the ''stile" Presi-
dent, Directors and Company of the IvTew Haven Bank, on
petition of David Austin, Isaac Beers and Elias Shipman.
It was not imtil 1795, however, that the bank opened for busi-
ness, owing partly to a delay in placing the stock, partly
perhaps to the epidemics of scarlet and yellow fever whioh
raised the deaths in ISTew Haven from fiftv-one in 1792 to LSO
THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
311
in 1794 and 155 in 1795. This delay enabled two other
state banks to get under way, in Hartford and in ISTew London,
which were chartered no earlier. 1792 was a prolific year
in bank establishment in the United States, no less than ten
having been thus founded, and nine being already in existence,
according to the London Times of January 12, 1805.
What was the N"ew Haven of 1792 like, and what commercial
needs had it which a bank could satisfy ? It had a population in
1787, according to the Connecticut Journal, of 3,820 : in 1798,
white males 1,529 ; females 1,827 ; blacks 225 ; a little less than
ten years before. The elms were just planting. An average
of seventy vessels in foreign trade entered and cleared annually.
It had registered shipping of 7,250 tons. It had three ship-
yards, which built many vessels. In 1794, its Chamber of
Commerce was established, and a little later a Marine Insur-
ance Company with $50,000 capital. Two-thirds of its foreign
trade was with the West Indies. The coastwise trade was also
important, o. g. in 1791 a sailing packet plied twice a week to
jSTew York. To serve local distribution and foreign commerce
alike, this bank was founded, and its first president was also
Collector of Customs for this district. By the Act of Incor-
poration The ISTew Haven Bank was given a capital stock of
$100,000 or 500 shares of $200 each, with the proviso that
no jDerson, copartnership, or body politick should own more
than sixty shares. The voting privileges of the shares were
curiously curtailed as follows : the holder of one or two shares
had one vote ; if he owned ten shares he had a vote for every
two of them; if thirty shares, a vote for every four; if, how-
ever one person's holding was in excess of thirty shares he
had but one vote for every six. This limitation led to the
anomaly that the owner of twenty-eight shares had seven votes,
while the owner of thirty-six shares had but six.
A statement of debts and of surplus was to be made to the
stockholders every two years. The bank was forbidden to trade
in anything except bills of exchange, gold and silver bullion,
goods pledged for money lent which was not redeemed in due
time, lastly in lands, taken for debts previously contracted.
312 THE OLD I^EW HAVEN BANK.
Interest upon loans was limited to 6 per cent. The directors
were to be nine in number.
As lias been intimated, there was difficulty in placing the
$100,000 of capital stock and by a supplementary Act of
October, 1795, this was changed to not less than $50,000 with
privilege of increase as deemed expedient up to $400,000. The
new capitalization also gave each share a vote, ''any law to
the contrary notwithstanding." Upon this more generous, one-
share-one-vote basis of representation, a stock subscription was
opened December 9, 1795, at the house of Ebenezer Parmelee
and 400 shares were taken. Thus the bank started with a
capital of $80,000. Here are a few of the first stockholders,
including the larger ones, names not unfamiliar to our ears.
David Austin 30
William Harrinian 30
Eli Whitney 20
John Nicoll 20
Samuel Wm. Johnson 10
Elizur Goodrich 8
Pierpont Edwards ,4
Simeon BaldAvin 3
David Daggett 2
Isaac & Kneeland Townsend 2
William Lyon 2
Dyer White 1
Five per cent of the subscription was to be paid at once,
twenty per cent in sixty days; twenty-five per cent in six
months ; the balance six months later.
The first stockholders' meeting was held at Parmelee's house,
December 22, 1795, and the following were elected directors:
"David Austin, Isaac Beers, Elias Shipman, Elizur Goodrich,
Joseph Drake, Timothy Phelps, John ISTicoll, Thaddeus Beecher,
Stephen Ailing."
At the first meeting of the directors, on the same day, by a
vote of eight out of nine (you notice his modesty) David Austin
was chosen president, and William Lyon, cashier, at a salary
of $500.
From a ]\IS. sketch of David Austin by Mrs. Edward C.
Beecher, in possession of the bank, I extract a few details.
THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
313
He was born in 1732, thus being sixty-three when chosen presi-
dent. He had neither business nor profession, but was a man
of property, leaving an estate of over $30,000. He was a
deacon in the ^STorth Church for forty-three years, an alder-
man imder ]\Iayor Roger Sherman, member of various important
committees, and Collector of Customs from 1793 until his death
in 1801. He lived on the southeast corner of Church and
Crown Streets. His daughter Rebecca married John, eldest
son of Hon. Roger Sherman.
William Lyon, our first cashier, born 1748, ancestor of the
Bennetts and of Prof. William Lyon Phelps, was town-born
if any one ever was, being descended from Governor Eaton
through his "son and daughter Jones." He was fitted for
college but prevented from entering by his father's failure. A
member of the Governor's Foot Guards, he marched to Cam-
bridge on the Lexington alarm. Later he became captain of
the 2d Company and was appointed colonel of a regiment in
1795 by the General Assembly. He was a widely read man,
an antiquarian and historian of repute, exact in his performance
of duty, and abhorred extravagance, e. g. he helped build the
Methodist Church on the northwest corner of the Green because
it was so plain. His portrait hangs in our directors' room.
With the officers determined upon, the next step was to pre-
pare for operation. This was done through committees. One
was directed "to obtain information and prepare a draft of
the necessary rules and regulations for the management of the
business and affairs of the bank." Another was charged "to
procure the mould and box and water letters and paper for
the making of all bills; also the necessary plates and such
stationery, account books and money scales as the business of
the bank will require." A third committee was to select a site
and report upon the best mode of constructing a vault or vaults.
These preparations were not so elaborate as they seem. The
banking rooms were leased from the cashier's own house on
the north side of Chapel Street between Orange and State
Streets, at twelve pounds a year. The cost of fitting up the
rooms was eleven pounds, nine shillings and eleven pence, but
314 THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
the fittings were to be bank property. The vault was to be a
chest, of wrought iron if possible, otherwise of cast iron, three
feet in length. Plates were ordered for bills of the denomina-
tions of one, two, five, ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, one hundred
dollars. Sixty thousand dollars in bills was printed off those
plates by Amos Doolittle, under supervision, and the cashier
prepared deposit books, and six quires of cheques. One won-
ders if these original cheques and the bank bills bore the
familiar '"beehive" symbol. The earliest example of the
"beehive" I have found is dated 1811. Late in February,
1Y96, discounting of notes and other business began under the
following rules and regulations :
"The Bank shall be open every day in the year except Sun-
days, Christmas Day, Good Friday, the Fourth day of July,
Commencement in Yale College, public fasts and Thanksgiv-
ings, and Saturdays in the afternoon." The hours of business
were ten to one and three to five, but changed a few months
later to nine to twelve and two to four. I^Totes desiring dis-
count had to be submitted to the cashier by letter, and executed
in the city of I^ew Haven ; moreover drawer or endorser must
be resident in ]^ew Haven.
The discounting of notes was permitted only on Tuesdays
and Fridays, for no longer than thirty days, plus three days
grace. There was no collection charge, or charge on cheques.
February 22d, the cashier's bond of $20,000 was accepted, he
was authorized to enter on the duties of his ofiice, and the
bank began its career. There is little to record of its first
year. After a few months the cashier's salary was increased to
$750, which shows prosperity, but on the other hand, payments
on the stock were slow and the General Assembly was appealed
to for leave to postpone the instalment due early the next year.
This, however, did not prevent dividends, eight per cent being
declared for the year ending February 24, 1797. xU the
annual stockholders' meeting in July, 1797, the statement
showed a dividend earned, $100 to be applied to initial expenses
and no bad debts or counterfeit mone}^ Austin was again
chosen president. In February, 179S, after (loelariug another
THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
ai5
four per cent on the stock, at the request of the cashier, a com-
mittee of audit was appointed to inspect books, money and
securities, and this was regularly done thereafter. The directors
met twice a week on what were called discount evenings. In
July, 1799, a new president, Isaac Beers, came in. The cashier
was also allowed an extra $250 for clerk hire, from which
we may infer that business was increasing.
Isaac Beers, our second president, holding office for four-
teen eventful years in our country's history, was the proprietor
of what even then bore the name of Apothecaries Hall.
The old records give less information than one could wish
as to the business methods of those days. Only here and there
does an entry or a note depart from the usual routine and then
its motive is not always clear. Take, for instance, a vote of
January 16, 1800, '^that the cashier return Deacon Austin the
]N"ational and ISTew York Bills offered by him this day as a
deposit and that he take no bill of any bank as a deposit, ]^ew
Haven excepted, but in payments he may receive them." Were
ISTew York bills refused from distrust of their soundness or
from dislike of their distance from a redemption point? And
if the latter, why should they be accepted for payments and
not for deposits, or why should not a transportation charge be
added? Cases of mutilated or false bills were occasional and
were equitably dealt with. Thus, in May, 1800, it was voted
to pay two dollars to one of the Atwaters who produced "a
bill with nearly one half wanting which he declared was burnt
by accident." Enos Tuttle of Hamden was voted five dollars,
•'he having declared that a bill of that value was nearly con-
sumed by fire accidentally and j)roduced the remainder to the
satisfaction of the Board." A few years later Gen. David
Smith came before the Board and "produced affidavits respect-
ing a counterfeit eagle." He got good money back and an extra
dollar for expenses. Later still equity became liberality, for
it was voted "to pay Dr. ^Eneas Monson, Jr., 12.^^ on account
of a counterfeit fifty dollar bill in the hand of David Thompson
which said Thompson supposes he received from the bank four
or five vears affo."
316 THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
And as another example of easy-going ways, notice tlie vote
of January 15, 1801, "that the cashier pay the drafts of Mrs.
Salter during the absence of her husband for any or all the
money he has deposited in bank." One wonders whether Mr.
Salter was pleased when he came back, but doubtless the
directors knew what was fitting. They could even afford to be
generous. Regular dividends of four per cent, or $8 per
share, were paid each six months ; $1,000 surplus was reported
in June, 1800; the next January came an extra of two per
cent; by July the surplus was still larger and four and a half
per cent was declared in December, "being nine dollars on each
share for the profits of six months." I may remark here that
it was not the policy of the bank until 1865, so far as I can
discover, to accumulate a surplus fund against an occasional
loss, without which to-day banking would be thought unsound
indeed. Every other year or so, the profits accumulated were
merged in the dividend fund and distributed. If now a loss
was made it was charged on the debit side under the head of
profit and loss, to be gradually extinguished by application of
profits.
The valuation and redemption of state bank bills, a hundred
years ago, tried the soul of a cashier. They were promises to
pay by a maker of doubtful repute and payable at a distance.
Transportation was slow and costly. Here is a vote of Decem-
ber, 1800, in illustration: "That $15,000 in western bills be
delivered by the cashier to Colonel Joseph Drake to be by him
sent to Mr. John Nicoll in New York and to be exchanged
for specie at the Banks and remitted to this Bank by the
Packets in sums not exceeding $5,000 at a time — to be at the
risque of the Bank." The narrow sphere of a country bank
made necessary by transportation difficulties and intensified
by the incoherence of the state banking systems is a feature
of the financial history of the country, and our bank's records
from time to time reveal this. Its 'New York collecting agent
in 1802 was the branch of the United States Bank, and ISTew
York funds were favorably regarded. Thus the new stock
issued in 1805 might be paid for in "I^ew Haven bank bills,
THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK. 317
in gold or silver, in United States bills except the Charleston
branch, in 'New York bills and such as are current in that city." '
In 1809, on the other hand, it was determined "not to receive
bills of Norwich and ISTew London banks after January 1st
next." But in 1814, having become the depository of "the
United States Customs, internal revenue and direct tax" our
bank announced that it would receive such "in specie, bills of
any of the banks of the city of New York or of this State, and
exchequer bills."
There was also a disinclination, even more marked, to collect
notes for any but certain favored neighbors. Thus it was voted
in 1808, taking into consideration the inconveniences resulting
from the collection of notes for the Bridgeport Bank, not to
receive any such thereafter.
And again the next year, in more general terms, "that the
Custom House bonds, notes of the Insurance Company and
notes from the banks of this State that are East of this bank
be received for collection as heretofore and that all other notes
be refused."
Another bank note difficulty, which appeared as early as 1802,
lay in the prevalence of counterfeiting, which in the simple
design, printing and paper stock of the bills of those days was
presumably easy. For David Ruggles of Massachusetts was
voted a gratuity of $50 "on account of his expense and trouble
in detecting and bringing to justice a number of villains con-
cerned in counterfeiting the Bills of this and other Banks."
Evidently the banks now springing up united in protecting
their interests as is shown in this vote of four years later:
"Whereas Elisha Wood and Jno Hotchkiss who were active in
bringing to justice the company of counterfeiters of bank notes
in this town have received the reward granted by the State in
such cases and also the sum of $500 from the Manhattan Bank.
And inasmuch as there is a third person whose name for suf-
ficient reasons must be concealed, who has acted under the
orders of this board in discovering the aforesaid villainy and
giving information, who has yet received no recompense ; voted,
that tlio donation of $100 received from the Cheshire Bank at
318 THE OLD KEW HAVEN BANK.
Keene which was to be disposed of at the discretion of this
board be paid to the said Third person and also that $50, a
donation from this bank be given to the same man."
More than forty years later came another epidemic of coun-
terfeiting, shown by the following votes : ''Spurious $10 notes
of the bank having appeared, received through the Phoenix
Bank of Hartford and the Suffolk Bank of Boston, voted to
charge same to these banks and inform them of the fact : also
to destroy the old plates and obtain new." And 1849, voted
"to expend $500 if necessary in prosecution of W. E. Brockway
and others for counterfeiting the notes of this Institution."
But we must turn back to early days again. On January
25, 1802, the following regulations were adopted to make the
labors of the cashier less burdensome :
1. No business shall be done out of bank hours except with a Director,
the Collector of Customs or liis deputy, admittance at the Bank door
being refused to all others.
2. No "accommodation notes shall be offered for persons who neglect
to apply for them."
3. "No apology shall be made for Notes returned not accepted."
4. The "Cashier shall neither write notes nor furnisli stamps for any
persons doing business at the Bank."
5. "It is not the duty of the Cashier personally to call upon those who
do not pay their Notes when due."
7, "Checks shall be put in some convenient place and a half quire
given gratis to customers."
S. Inkstands pens and ink shall be provided.
10. The Cashier shall furnish brass or copper weights "sufficient to
weigh at one Draught" 4000 dollars in gold.
14. The "Cashier shall be less particular in the inspection of dollars,
even at the expense of losing a few dollars in the course of a year."
15. Bank books shall be* made of good paper and be covered with
leather.
IG. "The specie allotted eacli day for checks and bank bills shall be
paid without comment and all unnecessary conversation and argument be
avoided."
17. "Fifty dollars additional shall be paid for clerk help."
What a vista of primitive usage these regulations open up.
Xevertheless things were going swimmingly. In 1802 nine
per cent was paid in dividends and an extra of two per cent
cleaned up the accumulated profits of the last two years. More-
THE OLD NEW IIAVEX BANK.
aii>
over, the State became a stockholder in a small way, using the
proceeds of bonds repaid it by the general government.
Yet further funds were needed, so at the end of 1803 the
stockholders voted to increase the capital by $40,000, owing
to "the increase of trade in the city and vicinity of ISTew
Haven," holders to have the right to subscribe for fifty per
cent of their holdings. And again in 1805, the capital stock
was doubled '^by adding six hundred shares of $200 each at
a premium of $5, which premium was paid back together with
an extra of $5.*^^ per share the very next year." The paid in
capital was now $240,000.
The salary of the cashier was raised to $800, anid again to
$1,000; his son William Lyon, Jr., was made clerk at $500,
and an additional clerk. Fitch, was employed at $400.
Isaac Beers was still president, and the other directors elected
on a general ticket, July, 1806, were : Joseph Drake, Abraham
Bishop, Frederick Hunt, John iNTicoll, Abraham Bradley, Elias
Shipman, Ebenezer Huggins, ^neas Monson, Jr. ; only four
having been on the original board.
In Januar}', 1807, there was another extra of one dollar,
and in July the cashier informed the stockholders' meeting
that "all the profits that had been made up to this time were
divided" and that only one note remained unpaid in the bank
of those that were run out, yet in 1808 undivided profits of
nearly $1,000 appear.
Under the stimulus of such prosperity it is not surprising
that the bank was not content with a rented house. It seems
to have changed its location once to the house next door, although
the records do not show it, but in May, 1809, a special stock-
holders' meeting voted "that it is expedient to build a new
banking house," and that the directors be "requested to receive
proposals from such persons as have lotts for sale." To ofl^ev
full facilities and to prevent undue competition is sound bank-
ing policy and that same month a committee went to the General
Assembly to oppose a petition for a bank in Derby.
After various votes on the site of the banking house, the
matter came to a head at the annual meeting in 1800, when the
320 THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
committee reported "that we prefer the two following proposals :
first of Thaddeus Beecher for a lot eastward of the house of
John Miles, fronting 30 ft. on Chapel St. and extending north-
westerly into the square, 60 feet, at $1500 :
"Second : of Abraham Bradley 3rd for a lot at the corner
of Chapel and Orange Streets (25 ft. on Chapel St. and 60 ft.
on Orange St. at $1900 : with a covenant on the part of said
Bradley that if a building shall be erected in his lifetime
adjoining northwest of the bank it shall be fireproof, and we
respectfully submit to the choice of the stockholders the above
proposals."
The stockholders chose the second of the two lots and ordered
a banking house erected, the purchase money to be "charged
to the capital stock of the bank," and August 7, 1809, the
directors voted "that the new banking house is to be 44 ft.
long, built with brick with stone caps and stools for the win-
dows." On this site the bank has stood ever since. Two years
later came the final stock increase to $500,000, to be paid by
instalments of $100,000 annually under direction of the Gen-
eral Assembly and on terms to subscribers similar to those of
the Hartford Bank. This has been taken slowly, for 101 years
later a small part of the increase remains unissued.
In 1812, having carried through the new banking house and
new stock issue, Isaac Beers declined reelection after fourteen
years of service and ^neas Monson reigned in his stead. Wil-
liam Lyon still held office, though on a new and curious salary
arrangement, of four per cent of the dividends paid if said
dividends were not less than six per cent, which was a possible
$1,600 if eight per cent was declared on the full authorized
capitalization. He was then getting a thousand. It was an
ingenious profit-sharing scheme.
This is a convenient moment, at the outbreak of war with
England, and at the change of presidents, to ask the cause of
the great prosperity of these fifteen years. It was due, I think,
to our neutral attitude in the great continental wars. France
tried in vain to entangle the United States in the struggle. Eng-
land, by Jay's Treaty, in 1794, laid the foundation for our com-
THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
321
mercial advance. Both states by their decrees and orders in
council, their spoliation and impressment, their exaggeration
of blockade, their varied and countless attacks upon our trade
did their best to kill it. But there were no other constant
neutrals: in spite of all the restrictions the logic of the posi-
tion was in our favor and our carrying trade increased by leaps
and bounds. Profits, as well as risks, were great. The maritime
ports must have profited. And though after 1815 our internal
development continued, our ocean commerce declined. Even
in 1830 its tonnage was not equal to that of this golden period.
I quote a few statistics from Atwater's History in this con-
nection, to illustrate both the risk and the growth of our foreign
trade during the wars. In 1794, eleven ISTew Haven ships were
on trial for violation of edicts in British, and eight in French
colonial ports. In 1800 N^ew Haven shipping registered over
11,000 tons.
Ten jSTew Haven ships caught seals on the Galapagos, traded
them for produce at Canton, and brought back tea, silks and
spices. One ship paid $35,000 in duty. Another in 1803 had
a cargo of pepper worth $100,000. In 1809, one hundred
foreign bound vessels sailed from this port, and there were
thirty-two houses in the foreign trade.
Dr. ^neas Monson proved perhaps the ablest of our presi-
dents, though he fell upon trying times. He had graduated
at Yale in ITSO ; had practiced as a physician, had traded
and speculated ; had insured cargoes, engaged in whaling
ventures, dealt in real estate ; yet throughout this varied finan-
cial career, says Dr. Bronson, "for financial ability, sound
discretion and shrewd practical sense no man in ISTew Haven
had a better reputation." He lived at the northeast corner of
Elm and York Streets. He headed our bank for nineteen years.
What were the customary bank investments of these early
days ? A few hints appear in the minutes. Our bank bought
$50,000 worth of stock of the City Bank of E'ew York in 1815 ;
it took $10,000 of the 'New York City seven per cent loan;
and the same amount of United States seven per cent stock ; it
petitioned the Legislature for liberty to subscribe to United
11
322 THE OLD NEW HAVEN" BANK.
States Bank stock; it lent money on real estate; in 1819 it
lent money on Bank of America stock at 85; it lent 15,436
Spanisli dollars (now in City Bank, 'New York) to Benjamin
Huntington at eight per cent, this being a special deposit; it
owned manufacturing stock; it lent money to the Episcopal
Church; and finally, alas, it lent money to the Farmington
Canal, hut of this later.
When William Lyon's account as cashier was closed and
turned over to Henry R. Pynchon in 1814 (of whom we have
an oil portrait), we have a statement of assets showing the
nature of its cash balance which is interesting:
Gold of America, England, Spain & Portugal $15,240.25
Silver in dollars and parts of dollars 29,759.75
Dollars in Hartford bank 8,000.00
Specie in use 891.27
Total $53,891.27
Of the liabilities I mention
Bank Bills in Vault $118,000.00
Bank Bills in Use 1,595.75
Post Notes 301,353.00
The banking house was valued in 1815 at $10,988.
It is noteworthy that the only apparent effect of the war
of 1812 upon the bank was to increase its dividends, which
rose to five per cent for the half year ending in June, 1814,
So, likewise, the only noticeable effect of the Civil War, save
for the suspension of specie pajnnents, seems to have been an
increase in dividends, 41/2, 41/2 + 1 (1862), 41/0 + 11/2, for
three half years, free of Government tax. But the investments
of so patriotic an institution in 1862 were entirely in Govern-
ment, State and Town war loans.
A feature of our early banking usage not yet touched upon,
but constantly recurring in the records, was the destruction of
bank bills by a committee of directors. The paper was flimsy
and the printing poor, very little use was enough to deface
them and they were held as they came in and burned by the
tens of thousands. There may have been a change of engraved
THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
323
form to account for the burning of $278,235 on January 5,
1816.
One other matter needs explanation and then we must turn
to graver things.
At a meeting of the directors, held on the evening of Feb-
ruary 19, 1821, it was "resolved that a piece published in the
Register of the I7th intitled 'Old Federal Bank and Public
Opinion — A Dialogue,' is in the opinion of this Board a very
indecent and improper publication, replete with misrepresenta-
tions and unfounded insinuations, calculated to deceive the
public and injurious to the interests of this Institution." Let
us gratify a natural curiosity by consulting the files of that
date.
The communication is marked "continued" but I do not
find part one. It is too long for reproduction. The gist of it
was a charge couched in homely and jocose dialogue, that our
bank had loaned a third of its funds to a Wall Street broker
at less than six per cent and without security, thus depriving
an earlier borrower at six per cent who gave security. The
plain implication was that the directors divided with the
favored broker: "went snacks with him" being the language
used.
It was said also that the bank speculated in the stocks of
other banks contrary to its charter, and was in fear lest the
Assembly should in consequence take its charter away. And
finally came the charge that the bank discriminated vs. Bepub-
licans in the matter of accommodation; altogether a nasty
article, half political in its bias as the sneer at the Old Federal
Bank in the caption shows. ISTo wonder the directors passed
resolutions. To me, I confess, the name Old Federal Bank
used ninety years ago as a term of reproach gives our institution
an added savour.
And now we come to certain crises in our bank's history,
local or national, the Eagle Bank failure, the episode of the
Farmington Canal, and the Panic of 1837.
The Eagle Bank had been founded in 1811; it had an
apparently prosperous existence of fourteen years. A stone
324 THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
banking lioiise on the corner of Chapel and Church Streets was
in process of erection for it, when out of a clear sky came the
smash. As it turned out, the officers of the bank had loaned
on bad or at least on unrealizable security, largely to one firm,
the Hinsdales of Middletown, its entire capital, its deposits
and its circulation.
There were features which made this Eagle Bank failure a
serious catastrophe. Its president, George Hoadly, was also
Mayor of the city; the State owned $30,000 of its stock; after
some delay one of the Hinsdales was put in jail on a criminal
charge; the bank in Derby also suspended and discredit was
brought upon the other financial institutions of the State, so
that the J^ew York banks voted to receive no State bank bills
except our own and those of the Bridgeport Bank.
A committee. Judge Baldwin, Roger Sherman and Henry
Dennison, was asked to aid the Eagle Directors in an examina-
tion and statement of their condition.
The liabilities were $2,140,000; capital stock, $623,000;
notes for circulation, $430,000; post notes, $730,000. The
assets included doubtful or bad loans, $1,650,000 ; cash on
hand, $39,000. And a report the following year only empha-
sized the completeness of the disaster.
Our bank records do not show any action, but the Columbian
Register of six weeks or so after the failure (ISTovember 12,
1825) has this bit of news: "We understand the vault of the
Eagle Bank was attached on the part of the Kew Haven Bank
a few days ago. The contents, however, had been principally
removed and the amount obtained was not much."
By this time Eagle bills, at first taken by tradespeople on a
basis of mere temporary difficulty, had sunk to 30-40 cents
on the dollar. A million and a half of the working capital
of the city was wiped out and depression followed, which all
local interests must have felt. Our bank's direct loss by the
Eagle failure was only $13,586, however, and was made up by
August, 182T. The high and low of deposits for 1825, the
year of the failure, was $114,000 and $50,000.
Before the railway era, the interior towns of the State — like
the little hill cities of Italy in the Cinque Cento — had an
THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK. '325
importance as distributing trade centers wliich was relatively
large. Thus the plan to connect Farmington and ISTew Haven
by canal was regarded much as railway connection between
Worcester and Boston is to-day. And when the Mechanics
Bank was founded and its stock offered, specifically to help
the Canal along, with a subscription of $200,000, the process
was aided by such statements as this of March 29, 1825, in
the Register: "The Canal promises incalculable advantages
to the cities of jSTew Haven and ISTew York, as well as to the
section of the country through which it is to pass." The
Farmington Canal vision, however, was larger and more
glorious than this. It foresaw an extension to the Connecticut
valley, which was realized; it carried the waterway up the
Connecticut to our northern boundary ; it dreamed of a Cana-
dian canal from the St. Lawrence southward to meet it, thus
making the Great Lakes its feeder. ~Eo wonder then that a
writer in the Register of May 14, 1825, assured his public that
"with this magnificent adjunct gratuitously annexed to the
Farmington Canal, not even conjecture itself can rationally
assign limits to its business or to the profits of the Co."
This is not the time for a history of the Farmington Canal.
But it is necessary to my narrative to emphasize the fact that
local pride and local interest united in the completion and the
maintenance of the enterprise.
In 1829, the city subscribed for $100,000 of stock. In 1832,
the City Bank was incorporated in aid of the canal and sub-
scribed $100,000. It was opened to Farmington in 1828 ; to
Westfield in 1829, and to Northampton in 1835, Henry Farnam
being chief engineer.
But the Connecticut River Company, with legislative influ-
ence, was hostile; the trade never rose above sixteen or seven-
teen boats a day; the cost of maintenance was high with
freshets frequent, and then the railway era set in. So that
the canal was always a losing venture; it never earned its
upkeep, let alone interest and dividends, even after the reor-
ganization and merger of the two concerns, the canal to Farm-
ington and its extension to Northampton in 1836.
■^>26 THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
Again, in 1839, N'ew Haven offered $100,000 aid, but gave
less, $20,000, and thereafter $3,000 a year for use of the
canal water and power, for there was a city mill run by it.
In 1846 the backers of the canal gave in and substituted for
it the plan and charter of the railway which was to follow its
course, on a towpath so far as might be.
In this long and losing venture our bank aided and suffered.
I may add that it squirmed a little also. Its loans to the Canal
Company by or in 1833 were $40,000, and it offered to take
sixty-five cents on the dollar for them. At the reorganization
of 1836, the ISTew Haven Bank refused to turn its claim into
the new stock but offered a release for $10,000, being twenty-
five cents on the dollar. This offer, so far as appears, was in
vain, and I fear the $40,000 was a total loss. So that we, too,
bled but died not, for six per cent dividends in 1835 were
maintained.
Then came not merely a local but a national disaster, the
Panic of 1837. The causes of this panic given in President
Van Buren's message were "over action in all departments
of business." In point of fact there were wild speculation in
western lands, over-trading, unwarranted extension of credits,
unproductive improvements like our Parmington Canal and
other similar causes. Mercantile failures became numerous,
prices fell (e. g. of cotton from 17 to 10 ; of slaves from 1200
to 300), foreign loans were called, banks suspended specie
pa,yments universally, and great distress resulted. Our bank
was evidently hard hit with the rest. Following many assign-
ments of its borrowers, it was forced to give time — eighteen
months to two years — and its July dividend was passed,
though the last and the coming January was paid, so that no
year of our life has been barren.
The ISTew York banlvs suspended specie payments May 10,
1837, !N"ew Haven, Hartford, Providence, Philadelphia, and
Baltimore next day, Boston the day after. And this lasted a
little more than six months. Por on ISTovember 16, 1837, our
records read, "At the meeting of the Board this evening, a
communication having; been received from a committee of
THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK. 327
banks in l^ew York, notifying a convention in that City on the
27th instant, to take into consideration the resumption of
specie payments, it was voted that the President be requested
to attend said Convention as a Delegate from this Institution
and that if called upon to state the condition of this Bank —
or if a convenient opportunity offer — that he state to the Con-
vention that we are prepared to resume whenever a general
resumption shall be agreed upon." And, accordingly, January
15, 1838, specie resumption was ordered.
A faint echo of that troubled year is heard in another vote
of our board, July 15, 1839, "that the rent of the room occu-
pied by the 'New Haven Savings Bank be remitted for one year
and that the rent for the second year be $75."
Almost twenty-three years later, at the breaking out of Civil
War, came another suspension of specie payments, rather more
lasting, but that is later than the limit proposed for this
narrative of The Old ISTew Haven Bank.
It is worthy of mention that so far as the deposits, the
dividends or the records of the bank show, its earning capacity
was scarcely affected by disasters and panics either local or
national. After the war the average of deposits dropped.
Even the Panic of 1873 had no marked effect.
There remain a few details of a more personal sort as our
story closes.
In 1831, in the midst of the canal trouble. Dr. JEneas Monson
resigned the presidency.
"Thirty-one years this present month completes the routine
of my services in the ISTew Haven Bank during which time I
have been an active agent in its concerns. I feel an interest in
the success and prosperity of the Institution but have arrived
to that period of life which seeks repose and invites retire-
ment. I hereby signify to you my resig-nation and decline all
future service in the New Haven Bank. I bid you an affec-
tionate and lasting farewell."
In view of this touching farewell to business cares, it is
worthy of notice that Dr. Monson became president of the
Mechanics Bank the next year, and of the City Bank in 1837.
328 THE OLD NEW HAVEN BANK.
The reply of tlie directors emphasizes Monson's ^'prudence,
skill, integrity and industry."
The next year William Lyon resigned, also, after more than
thirty years' service as teller. And we recall gratefully, also,
Amos ToA\Tisend, Jr., who came into the bank in October, 1825,
and served it fifty-four years, and Ezra Stiles Hubbard, who
died in 1861 after keeping its books for thirty-four years. Our
late president, Wilbur F. Day, had forty-nine years of service,
thirty-seven as president. Mr. Couch was in the bank thirty-
seven years, and Mr. Mix, our present cashier, has been with
us thirty-nine years, and is a young man still.
Is it not proper to say, then, as my final word that the keynote
of this ancient bank has been that of honorable service to the
community, and that the spirit of noblesse oblige has animated
its employees from president to youngest clerk for these event-
ful hundred and seventeen years, during which our dear land
has climbed from its cradle to the seats of the mighty.
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED
YEARS AGO.
By FKANKLiisr B. Dexter, Litt.D.
[Read December 15, 1913.]
Among the' most substantial and worthy citizens of this
town two hundred years ago, then known to everybody, but
now as universally forgotten, was Capt. Erancis Browne, a
namesake of his grandfather, who was one of the seven original
settlers at Quinnipiac in 1637, and who took up his permanent
abode on East Water Street, facing the harbor. There Captain
Browne was born in 16Y9, and died in 1741. Though an only
surviving son (of Samuel and Mercy Tuttle Browne), he had
a large family connection, which was expanded by his marriage
into another still wider circle — his wife being a daughter of
Judge John Ailing. Erancis Browne united with the ^sTew
Haven church, probably in 1715, as his wife had done before
her marriage. His piety was shown by his gift to the church
of a silver tankard, which is still used in a modified form.
His oldest son was graduated at the college in 1728, and
left numerous descendants; but the line of representatives of
Francis and Hannah Browne, with which we are more familiar,
trace their descent from the only daughter of the household,
Mabel, who married Daniel Trowbridge, also a Yale graduate,
and is the ancestress of the Trowbridge families who have been
and are so prominent in this community.
Francis Browne, a skilled seaman, was commander and part
owner of a sloop called the Speedwell, and for many years did
a prosperous business by plying between l^ew Haven and Bos-
ton, carrying from this port consignments of grain, pork, beef,
tow cloth, and other products of the farm and of the loom, and
330 THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDKED YEARS AGO.
bringing back their value in mercliandise bought for his
customers in Boston shops.
The day-book in which he kept the record of twenty-five
such voyages, between 1707 and 1716, has been lately given
to the University Library, and has suggested the present paper.
His patrons included about two hundred men and women of
prominence in I^ew Haven and its suburbs (the present East
Haven, West Haven, Woodbridge, l^orth Haven and Hamden) ,
with perhaps twenty of the leading inhabitants of Derby, and
smaller numbers in Wallingford, Stamford, Stratford, Middle-
town, Woodbury and Killingworth. Occasionally the vessel
had to be piloted up "Darby River," as the Housatonic was
then also called, to take in freight, and quite regularly stops were
made in N^ew London and elsewhere on the route ; once at
least a detour was made to ISTew York City. I note that the
skipper always describes his course as down to Boston and up
to ISTew Haven.
I have mentioned the general nature of the articles exported
from ]^ew Haven. Wheat and flour, Indian corn and rye were
the usual crops, with a few oats; there were large amounts
of pork and bacon, beef in much smaller quantities, and a good
deal of spring butter; also occasional lots of peas and beans,
but no other vegetables (the potato was still unknown here) ;
honey, beeswax, and bayberry wax or tallow; hazel nuts, but-
ternuts, and chestnuts; once or twice a basket of eggs, and
equally rarely a bag of mustard seed and a bushel of oysters.
The last, by the way, sold for a shilling, but we must remember
that the prices of that date need to be nearly doubled to corre-
spond to money values of our day. We do not know the sloop's
tonnage, but the cargo on any voyage did not usually exceed
more than 1,600 bushels of grain. I may add that in the later
years the exports increased in variety, the first shipments being
almost entirely of wheat and butter.
Flax and wool were also furnished to a large extent, both
in bulk and manufactured, with the coarser linen and worsted
cloths, especially tow cloth, sail cloth, and shoe thread.
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
?,81
Barrel and hogshead staves and lumber (in boards) were
also occasional exports; but these were, after 1Y14, by order
of the Colony government, subject to a special prohibitory duty.
Another large item which iN'ew Haven contributed consisted
of furs, specified in detail as wolf, bear, fox, raccoon, mink,
otter, marten, beaver, and cat, that is wild-cat, skins.
A study of the names of Captain Browne's consignors is a
good introduction to the figures prominent in 'New Haven life
two hundred years ago.
I have spoken of the captain and his large circle of kindred.
Among these the most important was his father-in-law, John
Ailing, who had conspicuously served the public for many years
as deputy in the General Assembly, one of the governor's coun-
cil, and judge of the probate and county courts, and held for
fifteen years the ofiice of treasurer of the Collegiate School in
Saybrook.
He was originally a blacksmith, and lived, I think, on Church
Street, near the site of the Bijou Theater. As recorder of the
town for over twenty years, his bold, regular handwriting is
a joy to all who consult the records for that period.
Captain Browne's list of "Father Alling's" commissions
includes many items significant of the simple scale of living
demanded here at that date for an elderly official personage,
of solid financial standing.
He buys, for instance, in 1707, a silver spoon, costing 13/3,
the next year a pair of silver shoe buckles, and later pays for
mending a silver chain — doubtless for his wife; other single
purchases are a silk handkerchief, a quire of paper, a small
Bible, an ivory comb, and in 1713, in striking contrast to all
his other purchases, one real luxury, a brass kettle, costing
£3.13.9.
The various sons and daughters of his family were also
frequent patrons of the Speedwell. I need not exemplify
further than how "Sister Whitehead" orders a black gauze
fan on one voyage, and on another a small pair of shears and
a jack knife, or a silk gauze handkerchief, or a pound of whale-
bone (unusual extreme of fashion), or 500 pins; how
332 THE NEW HAVEN" OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
"Sister Susanna," an ancestress of the present White brothers,
invests in a pair of shoe buckles or a pair of gloves ; and
"Sister Sarah Ailing," afterwards Mrs. Mansfield, when a
young woman of twenty-two, sends on four pounds and a half
of beeswax and a couple of bushels of hazelnuts, from which she
gets a pound in silver for pocket money, a fragment of which
is invested six months later in one wine glass.
To the captain's credit be it said that in the case of his
numerous relations and relations-in-law, as well as in the case
of other specially favored or respected friends, like his pastor,
his custom of charging freight on the goods sent from here and
a commission on purchases was generally intermitted. In
ordinary cases his commission varied, but was usually, I think,
about five per cent.
It was the natural result of the Ailing connection that Captain
Browne was sometimes employed to purchase supplies for the
Collegiate School, which later became Yale College, and of
which, as has been said. Judge Ailing was the treasurer, while
the ISTew Haven minister was the most influential member of
its board of trustees; and so these records help us to a few
hints of the requirements of that feeble community on Say-
brook Point, numbering perhaps from a dozen to twenty mem-
bers, and devoted to plain living, if not also to high thinking.
It may be significant of popular usage that Captain Browne's
entries sometimes call the institution "the college," instead
of by its strict title, "the Collegiate School."
On the first voyage of the Speedwell of which we have record,
in the spring of 1707, just after Rector Pierson's death, the
sloop took on at E'ew Haven, on account of the Collegiate
School, fifty bushels of wheat and about half as much rye, the
value of which was mainly returned to Treasurer Ailing in
cash, the sole item of merchandise being a couple of casks of
green, that is, not fully matured wine, costing about four
pounds. In the fall another quarter-cask of green wine was
needed, and at the same time twenty yards of material for a
set of curtains (bed curtains, I suppose), with a set of brass
drops or rings, a pewter basin, a pound of alum, a pound of
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAES AGO.
333
nutmegs, and seventeen yards of silk crape. The last item,
which might to the uninitiated imply a new dress for the house-
keeper, was doubtless meant for gowns for the two resident
tutors.
In the following spring the amount remitted went {horresco
referens) for a hogshead of rum, costing £12.16.6. On the
next voyage the proceeds of 180 bushels of corn and fifteen
bushels of rye were mainly paid in cash to Mr. John Dixwell
of Boston, doubtless in settlement of accounts which he had con-
tracted for the school; other trifling purchases for use in the
modest establishment at Saybrook were two and one-quarter
yards of blue calico, — the first recorded instance of the tradi-
tional Yale color, — a hair sieve, a brass skillet, a steel candle-
stick, and an ounce of lace thread. Business for the school on
later voyages consisted mainly in providing by the sale of grain
for payments to other agents in Boston besides Dixwell.
But Captain Browne had higher patronage still; the colony
government itself appears on one occasion in his accounts. This
was in September, 1711, just after Governor Saltonstall and
his council, of whom John Ailing was one, in session in ISTew
Haven, had taken part in equipping a futile expedition under
Admiral Walker against Quebec; and a couple of barrels of
poor beef, presumably the refuse of the outfit, were entrusted to
the skipper of the Speedwell for the Boston market; the pro-
ceeds, £2.14, were invested on the colony account in "hats," if
I read aright the blurred entry.
The first citizen of ]^ew Haven in this decade was the Eev.
James Pierpont, an ancestor of our friend and secretary, Mr.
Blake, and our vice president, Mr. Whitney, of Presidents
Woolsey and Dwight, of Aaron Burr and Pierpont Morgan, and
countless other notable persons, the pastor of the only church
in town (imtil that in East Haven was gathered in 1711),
whose life closed in 1714 in the parsonage on the public library
lot on Elm Street. His refined and gentle countenance is
familiar to us in the only portrait which is preserved of any
Connecticut minister of that generation. He was a liberal
patron of Captain Browne's facilities for trade, and it may be
334 THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
of interest to note some of the household supplies which he was
prompted to import. In 1707, at a cost of £1.3.10, he acquired
two pounds of white sugar, two of raisins, two wine glasses,
a pound of allspice, a piece of tape, an ounce of treacle (doubt-
less for medicinal use), one of mithridate (a panacea for all
ailments), a little saffron, half an ounce of mace, a yard and a
half of ribbon, and 1,000 pins.
In 1708 the good minister laid in a barrel of green wine, a
tobacco box, and a dozen pipes, which last supply was so nearly
exhausted seven months later, that another dozen had to be
ordered. In 1711, a horn book was purchased, for thrip-pence,
from which no doubt his youngest daughter, then fifteen months
old, who became the wife of Jonathan Edwards, was destined
to learn her letters. In 1712 four gallons of rum were added
to the parson's storeroom. In 1713 two looking glasses were
among his acquisitions; also three boys' hats of felt, for his
three eldest sons, aged from 14 to 9 ; also "12 Sarmons,"
copies I suppose of that sermon which he had preached in Bos-
ton during a notable sojourn there in 1711, when his portrait
was painted, and which had been printed under Cotton Mather's
direction.
The most expensive items among his purchases (besides the
wine) were materials for clothes ; twice, it would appear, within
six brief years, he had new broadcloth suits, and twice a new
preacher's gown of silk crape; while Mrs. Pierpont and her
children were equally amply provided for.
The families of Mr. Pierpont's predecessors are also repre-
sented in these lists, by the venerable widow of John Davenport's
only son (a sister of Rector Pierson), and her children; and
by Samuel and Nicholas Street, grandsons of the second New
Haven pastor. The elder of these brothers, both active busi-
ness men in Wallingford, was the progenitor of many well-
known New Haven citizens, among them Abraham Bishop,
Augustus R. Street, and of the living Mr. Justus Street
Hotchkiss.
Of Governor Eaton, the civil leader of the colony, the one
descendant whose name I am sure of in this record is his
granddaughter, the widow Sarah Morrison, wlio in 1707
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 335
invested the proceeds of three pounds of old pewter in a couple
of wine-glasses, a beaker (or goblet), and a pint of wine.
Of the Yale family, who were a part of the Eaton household,
and who otherwise deserve special notice, the only representative
on these pages is ISTathaniel Yale of ISTorth Haven, a first cousin
of Elihu Yale, and a Deputy to the General Assembly.
There are also grandchildren of Deputy Governor Goodyear
and of Deputy Governor Gilbert.
A step below the chief magistracy and the ministry in dignity
were the deacons of the church; and Abraham Bradley and
John Punderson, then in office, are of this company. There
is nothing special about their commissions, except that Deacon
Punderson, living on the south side of Chapel Street, on York,
seems to have been more than usually inclined to lay in a good
stock of wine; Deacon Bradley was also prominent in civil
life as for years one of the deputies to the General Court.
It is fair, perhaps, to name with these, four others who sub-
sequently attained the rank of deacon, — Isaac Dickerman, John
Punderson, Junior, John Munson, and Jonathan Mansfield.
Two of these, Deacons Punderson and Mansfield, married sis-
ters of Mrs. Browne, and availed themselves pretty constantly
of Captain Browne's services.
"Brother Punderson," by trade a cooper, occasionally barters
hogshead staves for articles of merchandise; he was also a
small store-keeper, importing jackknives and inkhorns and
ivory combs and alchemy spoons by the dozen, and molasses by
the hundred gallons. Alchemy spoons, it may be noted, were
the customary inexpensive substitutes for silver spoons, of baser
metallic composition, imitating gold in color.
"Brother Mansfield," who lived on the site of the new
county court house, was an ancestor of the most of the bearers
of that name among us, and it may emphasize for us his
environment to find on his record of purchases in 1708 an
account book and a sermon book, that is, a volume of sermons,
and to trace at the same date some employment of his, under
his father-in-law, Treasurer Ailing, in the conduct of the money
matters of the Collegiate School.
336 THE NEW HAVEN" OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
The next minister ordained within the ancient limits of the
town after Mr. Pierpont, was Jacob Hemingway, whose nearly
seven years of informal pastoral employment in his native vil-
lage at the iron works, or East Haven, were followed by his
ordination there in October, 1711. His need for Captain
Browne's agency first appears in 1Y09, when he equips him-
self with material for a black broadcloth coat and with an
expensive castor hat, presumably made of rabbit's fur, and
costing one pound; besides other scattered purchases, in 1711
he orders a thousand eight-penny nails, implying perhaps that
he was engaged in enlarging or repairing the parsonage,
preparatory to his marriage.
The other learned professions were more slowly recruited.
In 1708 for the first time regulations were framed by the
General Assembly for the admission of attorneys to the bar,
and the first person thus admitted, for this county, in the fol-
lowing October, was Jeremiah Osborne, already for years a
deputy to the General Court, and a justice of the peace and
quorum. As his wife was an aunt of Mrs. Browne, he naturally
made use of Browne's agency. Among his errands were the
purchase of a pair of silver buckles and clasps in 1707, and
of eight metal (probably brass) buttons and a tankard in 1708.
I regret to say that our only lawyer died insolvent in 1713,
and that he had no successor during the period of our survey.
So far as we know there was in these years no regular
practitioner of medicine in I^ew Haven except Warham
Mather, who would in any case deserve mention here as a lead-
ing citizen. A Harvard graduate, and first cousin of Cotton
Mather, he had served for some twenty years as a preacher
in various localities, before settling in ISTew Haven about 1705.
Here he held honorable rank as a justice of the peace and
quorum, and eventually succeeded John Ailing as judge of
the probate court. Like many of the bright intellects of that
day, he had added the study of medicine to his clerical train-
ing, for on the rude map of ISTew Haven in 1724 his name,
"W. Mather, Physician" is afiixed to the old Davenport
house, on the site of the Presbyterian church on Elm Street,
which he occupied as the inheritance of his wife, a daughter
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDEED YEAES AGO.
;]8:
of John Davenport, Jr. He sends by Captain Browne con-
tinually for pliysic, and for drugs from the apothecary's, to
large amounts. Moreover, in 1711 he is credited, besides his
wheat and rye and money, with three shillings, eight pence,
for "physic at home," which means clearly that Captain
Browne had employed him, to some extent at least, as his
family physician and was thus paying a debt. The remaining
incident of note in Mr. Mather's accounts in Captain Browne's
day-book is that in 1710 he indulged in ordering a knife and
fork. jSTow knives were a necessity, but forks came into use
in New England very slowly, after 1700, and there is but one
other mention of them in these records. Judge Mather's name
is memorable also on account of the inventory of his estate
in our probate records, with a list of his theological library,
mainly inherited from distinguished relatives, and of unparal-
leled length and minuteness.
I may add that I suppose it is not a mere coincidence that the
physician next preceding Mather in ISTew Haven, ISTathaniel
Wade, a native of Massachusetts, was the husband of another
of John Davenport's granddaughters, a sister of Mrs. Mather
and of a former wife of Mr. Pierpont. Mrs. Mather, I pre-
sume, after Wade had left, about 1700, took her sister's place
in the care of the aged Madam Davenport, and Mather, perhaps
as a makeshift, succeeded to the abandoned medical practice of
Dr. Wade.
^ext to these professional men should be counted the rector
of the Hopkins Grammar School, who was for all this period
Samuel Cooke, a college graduate, who married a ]^ew Haven
girl, Anne Trowbridge, in 170S, and was ordained over the
Stratfield, now Bridgeport, church in 1716. His youthful
promise gained for him for several of these years election as
a deputy to the General Assembly. His purchases through
Captain Browne seem to have been mainly for his wife's ward-
robe, and were probably j)aid for with her money, not from
the meager stipend of the rector.
One of his classmates whose name is also here is the Eev.
Samuel Whittelsey, pastor in Wallingford and father of a
future pastor of 'New Haven. He was ordained in 1710, and
338 THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAES AGO.
in 1711 sent to Boston for the items needed for a country-
parsonage — among them camlet for a suit of clothes and a pair
of worsted stockings for himself; Scotch cloth (a thin dress
stuff) and a mourning veil for his mother, he being still a
bachelor; a pair of money scales; and (a unique order) six
wash-balls, equivalent, I take it, to our cakes of soap.
With these graduates may be mentioned also the Rev. Joseph
IVIoss, jr., a Harvard bachelor and Yale master of arts, a native
of ISTew Haven and first cousin of Mrs. Browne, who became
the minister of Derby in 1707. We trace his progress in these
pages by his purchase of 6,000 eight-penny nails in June,
1707, probably for house repairs or enlargement; and marvel
at his temperance in ordering a single pint of wine therewith
for refreshment. A year later he is able to afford the customary
broadcloth coat and crape gown of his vocation. In 1710 he
buys a large Bible, and an expensive record book, a barrel
of gunpowder, 200 pounds of shot, and half a grindstone — the
other half being credited to a parishioner. In 1711 we detect
his growing prosperity by his indulgence in a brass kettle cost-
ing £5.3 and twenty-four glass bottles, at six pence each, a
glass inkhorn (an unusual luxury), and a trunk with drawers;
and by 1712 he rises to the extravagance of six gallons of
madeira. Twice during these years he buys a book, his selec-
tions being Henry Care's "English Liberties," a digest of
documents with ample commentary, and a small book called
"The Clerk's Guide," both volumes useful in his capacity as
town clerk and general public counsellor.
A few other prominent citizens, besides those already speci-
fied, had served, or were serving during these years, as deputies
to the General Assembly. Of these one of the oldest was
Capt. John Bassett, among whose significant purchases are
a rapier in 1710, two gold rings in 1711, two more in 1712,
and a valuable pair of silver shoe buckles in 1713. Another
long-time deputy was Col. Joseph Whiting, of Hartford birth,
whose name still lives in Whiting Street, which marks at its
entrance into State the site of his former dwelling. It must
have been a house abounding in hospitality, as the owner's first
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAKS AGO. 339
recorded payment to Captain Browne was for six dozen wine
glasses, at six shillings apiece. Jared Ingersoll, the stamp
agent, married one of his daughters, and the Rev. Chauncey
Whittelsey of the First church a second. Another of these
ancient office-bearers was the Joseph Moss whose wife was
an aunt of Mrs. Browne.
Perhaps also I should mention in this connection two of
the East Haven patrons of Captain Browne, Thomas Goodsell
and John Russell, who had been sent by their neighbors to the
General Assembly after East Haven was granted village and
church privileges, but who had no right to the representative
function, and on the remonstrance of the mother town were
debarred from further service, as East Haven was not then
legally a separate body politic.
Among other leading citizens of somewhat ample means, and
of the leisured though not the professional class, was John
Hodson, or Hudson, who died in 1711, in his forty-fifth year.
Young though he was, he appears in Captain Browne's record
as acquiring a periwig, which cost him fifteen shillings, the
year before his death. His house, I think, was on the west side
of State Street, between Chapel and Crown.
Another leading citizen who had dealings with Captain
Browne, though partly retired by age, was John Prout, a sea
captain, of English birth, who lived on State Street, opposite
Water Street, where his name is preserved in the narrow,
crooked alley called Prout Street. His only son was a graduate
of the Collegiate School in 1708.
Still another of the wealthier magnates of that generation
was Mr. Thomas Trowbridge, third of that name, with his
domicile on Meadow Street to the north of the armory. The
house is still standing, in the rear of other buildings, greatly
changed, and with a mistaken legend on its front, implying
that it dates from 1642 (instead of 1684). With this exception
no house of 200 years ago is now or has been for many years,
extant.
Another marked group with claims to distinction may be
found among the "honorable women . . . not a few," who
made more or less regular purchases through Captain Browne.
340 THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDKED YEARS AGO.
There were, for instance, Mrs. Dixwell, tlie venerable relict
of the regicide, on the garden of whose home lot this building
stands, and who lies buried in the city Green ; the widow,
Elizabeth Gaskell, a great-aunt of Roger Sherman ; Mrs. Eliza-
beth Maltby, by a later marriage mother of Judge Abraham
Davenport, the hero of the "Dark Day" ; and Mrs. Lydia
Rosewell, the wealthy widow of John Alling's predecessor as
treasurer of the Collegiate School, whose mansion occupied the
northwest corner of Meadow and Water Streets, and one of
whose daughters became in later years Captain Browne's sec-
ond wife. Among Mrs. Rosewell's descendants was a former
active member of this society, Hon. Lynde Harrison.
On the earliest extant map of JSTew Haven, that of 1724,
while the occupations of many householders are given, only
one person is described as a "merchant" ; and probably at the
time of which I am speaking there were very few general stores
in the town, though I realize that Captain Browne's recorded
transactions give us only a partial view of the situation. As
far as his pages show, the largest dealer was Jonathan Atwater,
an ancestor of the late Wilbur F. Day and the late E. Hayes
Trowbridge, who lived on the west side of College Street, north
of Crown, and whose transactions with Boston as here shown
were of far larger volume than those of any other citizen. He
seems, also, to have been part owner of the sloop; and I sur-
mise that this relation may have led both Browne and Atwater
to some extent into general trading as a profitable pursuit.
At any rate we find Jonathan Atwater debited with numerous
entries such as these, which could hardly have been meant on
the scale of living of that day for the consumption of his own
household: in 1708, three dozen jackknives, two dozen thorn-
hafted knives, three dozen combs, and 600 gallons of rum; in
1711, 60,000 nails, 15 scythes, two dozen large scissors, 300
flints, six pounds of pepper, and a dozen primers; and in 1713,
three dozen more primers, at threepence apiece, and 1,000
pounds of sugar. As an example of his mode of pa^onent, he
is credited on the voyage of these last purchases with bulky
items like 42 barrels of pork, which sold for £157, and over
400 pounds of bread, bringing about £5.
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDEED YEAKS AGO. 341
There is also evidence in their accounts that Jonathan
Atwater's nephew, Joshua Atwater, an ancestor of many of
the Hotchkiss and Townsend families of the present day, and
Samuel Smith of West Haven were part owners of the 8peed-
ivellj the former seems also to have been one of the ship's crew
on some voyages.
Besides Jonathan Atwater and Captain Browne himself these
pages intimate that Richard Hall also, who lived (I think) on
State Street, opposite George, did some business as a general
trader. How else can be explained such wholesale exports from
Boston as a dozen jackknives at a time, repeatedly, half a dozen
hour-glasses, half a dozen catechisms, half a dozen pounds of
alum, and half a dozen bottles of elixir ?
There were also one or two merchants in Derby who were
frequent customers. John Weed, for example, imported all
kinds of needles and pins by the hundred and the thousand,
basins and porringers by the dozen, and other goods in like
proportion.
One index of the standing of our colonists is seen in the
friendships which these entries reveal with Boston people. In
a large number of accounts, for instance, there is evidence of
the most intimate friendly and business connections with John
Dixwell, jr., the only son of the I^ew Haven regicide, and a
leading gold and silversmith. Again we find repeated proofs
of familiar relations with Mrs. Sarah Knight, the lively school
mistress, to whose pen we owe a well-known record of travel
from her home in Boston to 'New York in 1704. In 1713
Captain Browne delivered to her, free of charge, a barrel of
pork and two bushels of wheat, as a present from Mrs. Gaskell,
a Massachusetts woman by birth, who sent also on the same
occasion similar gifts to other friends, in one case including a
basket of eggs.
And similarly Madam Hannah Trowbridge, the widow of
Thomas the second, sends the same Madam Knight in 1707 a
bag of shoe thread and a couple of bushels of wheat.
A long list might be made of Boston merchants of old
familiar names, headed by the Huguenot, ''Andrew Funnell,"
342 THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HTJNDRED YEAKS AGO.
uncle of the munificent donor of Faneuil market, witli whom
the JSTew Haven planters were in constant intercourse.
One special class of commercial correspondents of Captain
Browne should be noticed, though I am not entirely able to
explain their standing. I refer to Boston merchants, who were
certainly never resident here, but who appear to have had con-
siderable dealings by this channel with the New Haven market.
Thus, Andrew Belcher, a wealthy provincial councilor of Massa-
chusetts, father of a future royal governor, was one of Browne's
chief customers, exporting from here very large quantities of
the regular staples, for which he received part pay in money
and part in such common necessities or luxuries as green wine,
rum, molasses, salt, and powder and shot, which he sent back
to New Haven. Among these ventures of his for sale here
there is but one of a unique sort, that of 2,000 shingles, or
shindels, as the name was then. Details are, however, wanting
as to the agency through which these staples were gathered for
him and others like him for transmission to Boston, and through
which the realized proceeds were distributed here.
Mention has been incidentally made of many importations
which New Haven households owed to Captain Browne's enter-
prise, but it may be of interest thus to trace something of the
progress of comfort and comparative luxury in such a
community.
The ordinary table supplies which were not the products
of the native fields and gardens and stockyards formed a major
part of each cargo, being chiefly sugar, molasses, salt, and
various kinds of spices and liquors ; the wines were sometimes
direct imports from Fayal, on which Captain Browne paid the
freight and the duties. Of what might be called luxuries of
diet I recall only salad oil, salt mackerel, figs, raisins, and
currants. (Tea and coffee, it should be remembered, were not
then known here.) Tobacco was indulged in to a moderate
extent, as repeated items of tobacco pipes, boxes, and tongs
testify; an occasional entry such as ''fifty canes" refers, I
suppose, to this usage, the weed being supplied in slender sticks
or canes.
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAES AGO.
348
Utensils and requirements for the household, the farm, and
the sailing vessel formed another bulky item. Among the
things most frequently necessary, which craftsmen of the neigh-
borhood could not furnish, were iron and steel bars, powder
and shot, oakum, tar, nails, knives of all sorts, scissors, razors,
sheep-shears, scythes, grindstones and rubstones (the equivalent
of whetstones), fishhooks, pots and kettles, pans and basins,
platters and dishes of pewter and earthenware, and implements
for weaving and for navigation. Glass and lead, evidently for
windows, are mentioned but once.
Every householder with pretensions to comfortable living
had to supply himself from outside with warming pans for his
beds, and with pewter platters and mugs and one or two wine
glasses for his table; pewter instead of wooden plates and
tankards were almost equally necessary, and alchemy spoons
of unhealthy brass or copper alloy, while one or two glass
tumblers and one or two silver spoons marked a slightly higher
style of living. Once or twice a silver cup is ordered through
Captain Browne, but the richer citizens preferred probably to
deal directly with Mr. Dixwell and others of his trade, rather
than trust another's selection. The most expensive single house-
hold utensil was the big brass kettle, the height apparently of
universal ambition.
Ordinary benches, stools, beds and tables were put together
by the village joiners, but occasionally half a dozen chairs
would be imported; also the more elaborate needs in heating
and cooking apparatus, as tongs, shovels, bellows, and chafing
dishes.
Eugs are scantily mentioned, and carpets unknown. I note,
however, in the town records for 1715 that the term "carpet"
is affixed as a marginal reading to the entry of the generosity
of Jonathan At water in "freely offering to the town a cloth
to be serviceable at funerals," presumably as a pall, though
called a carpet. Clocks and watches do not appear, but hour-
glass and half-hour glasses are in frequent demand. Looking
glasses are also regular articles of commerce. Lanterns and
candlesticks had constantly to be got, and occasionally a tin
344 THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAKS AGO.
lamp ; the former were mainly equipped with candles of home
manufacture, though 'Svhite amber," that is spermaceti, and
whale oil and blubber were also imported, the latter not so much
for lamplight as for use iii curing leather, one of the infant
industries of the town.
These pages instruct us also in the dress of the clients for
whom Captain Browne bargained. ISTew Haven, to be sure,
had its tailors and dressmakers, but they carried no stock of
materials, and a large vocabulary of fabrics then in vogue might
be compiled from these entries. Sailcloth, bed-ticking and
bunting had, of course, other uses, and linsey-woolsey, though
also for clothing, appears mainly in demand for bed-curtains.
For coarse, heav^y clothes there were stuff, frieze, fustian,
buckram, drugget, cantaloon, twist, serge, sagathy and kersey;
and finer gcades in broadcloth, camlet, calamanco, russel, and
tammy. The most coveted manufactures of fine linen were
cambric, garlits, holland, and kenting, and of the coarser linens,
dowlas and osnaburgs. Besides these were calicos and muslins,
Scotch cloth (a cheap sort of lawn), and shalloon for linings.
Of silks there were the heavier and coarser grograms and pop-
lins, ordinary black silk for gowns, the glossy lutestring, the
thin light alamode (the favorite summer wear), crape for
mourning and for the clergy, and damask and plush for persons
of extra style. The luxuriance allowed in men's dress appears
in the item of buttons, which were regularly ordered with the
material for coats and waistcoats at the rate of three or four
dozen for each garment.
Hats for men and boys, of felt, beaver and castor were called
for in great numbers. What were brought for women's head-
gear I do not so clearly make out, except ''silk caps," which
were doubtless hoods. In one case only, a hairbrush was
ordered.
Gloves of all sorts, sometimes of wash-leather, were frequent
articles of commerce, occasionally also "half-handed gloves"
or mitts, and mittens. The "worsted stockings" which often
appear as purchased in Boston were not I suppose knitted, for
those could be had at home, but sewn together of cloth.
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAKS AGO. 345
Handkerchiefs were among the commonest articles of mer-
chandise, especially of silk, and of the inferior silk or cotton
material known as romal. In one case Captain Browne charges
himself with three neckcloths. Shoes were commonly well
enough made by local cobblers, but a few of better style were
imported, and one constant item was women's wooden heels.
It was the decree of fashion that high heels be worn, and the
wooden constructions in the Boston market were so cheap as
to be attractive, but wore out so fast that they had to be ordered
by the dozen, or even by the half-dozen dozen.
A pair of spectacles was quite often needed, and Captain
Browne could be trusted to suit the eyes of each customer;
occasionally a cane, or a sword and belt, or a periwig was
also left to his judgment.
Of personal ornaments and embellishments of apparel but
few appear. Gold rings are two or three times purchased ;
silver shoe-buckles and clasps with considerable frequency, and
more rarely silver chains, shirt buttons, lockets (or lockers),
and even whistles are mentioned. Strings of beads often
appear; and coral is in some way, I do not quite understand
why, a very popular acquisition. Silver thimbles are occasion-
ally mentioned, but cheaper thimbles, not especially described,
were probably of brass. Fans, often specified as of gauze, ivory,
cane, or leather, were favorite demands of Captain Browne's
female patrons.
A good deal of his time must have been spent in waiting on
the apothecary, for a remarkable assortment of drugs and
physic appears in his ledger. Among the commonest remedies
the following, at least, should be included — saffron, spirit of
hartshorn, aniseed, licorice, rhubarb, linseed oil, blistering
salve, treacle, mithridate, alum, brimstone, jalap, salammoniac,
senna, diapalm (a favorite plaster), cochee pills, and spirits of
turpentine. The formidable enumeration might be much
lengthened, but this is enough to provoke a reminiscence of
the atrocious couplet in Hudibras decrying those
"Stored with deletery med'cines
Which whosoever tooI<: is dead since."
•>-lrO THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAKS AGO.
Any light on the attitude of JSTew Haven people towards
books and learning two hundred years ago is of interest; but
very little is to be gathered from this source. Browne himself,
though he sent one son to college, was not a devotee of litera-
ture. In the list of purchases for his own use are several Bibles
and for the use of his children hornbooks and primers ; and
finally in 1716, when his oldest child was in his eleventh year,
he buys "A Accidence," which perhaps marks the first steps
of this boy in his college training.
The Speedwell in these voyages brought to this port some
forty copies of the Bible to as many private families — several
copies containing also the metrical version of the Psalms by
Sternhold and Hopkins with music, besides copies of this ver-
sion separately. More than half a dozen times too, there is
record of Bibles sent back by Captain Browne to Boston for
rebinding. Bibles of all sizes are described, from one great
Bible, probably designed for pulpit use; and Captain Browne
once imports for his own use a "painted Bible," which may
mean one with colored plates.
Hornbooks and primers are ordered many times ; an arith-
metic more than once ; and once what is summarily described
as a "military book."
Other literary ventures for ISTew Haven and vicinity include
a copy of that staunch Presbyterian, John Plavel's "Husbandry
Spiritualized," bought in 1711 for Jacob Johnson of Walling-
ford, an ancestor of the late Hon. Frederick J. Kingsbury;
"The Mariner's Compass," a manual of navigation, ordered
by Moses Mansfield, himself a veteran sailor, in 1713 ; a
curious, not very high-toned miscellany, called "Wit's Cabinet,
a Companion for Gentlemen and Ladies," affording instruc-
tion in the interpretation of dreams, in palmistry, and the con-
coction of cosmetics, together with a collection of songs — -
consigned in 1708 to John Beach of Wallingford. In the same
year Stephen Munson, a learned blacksmith for his day, who
lived on the northwest corner of Grove and State Streets, and
is said to have been an ancestor of Thurlow Weed, became the
owner of an edition of the "Pilgrim's Progress" and of a
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAES AGO.
341
compilation called "The Experienced Secretary," besides a
"Psalm Book."
His older brother, Theophilus Mimson, a gunsmith and lock-
smith of College Street, near the south end of Woolsey Hall,
in 1711 with astonishing foresight bought a Latin dictionary
for seventeen shillings— though his son Daniel, who was grad-
uated at Yale in 1726, was then only two years old and can
scarcely have been expected to begin his classical training at
that age or through that vehicle. But however this may have
been, when Samuel Mix, who lived on the Battell Chapel site,
is credited in the same year with "3 Latin books," we may
feel sure that they were destined for the use of his oldest son,
a boy of eleven, who was graduated nine years later.
I said just now that our captain was not a devotee of litera-
ture ; and a fortunate result of this is that he used in his
accounts a system of phonetic spelling, so complete that we
can almost universally tell just how he pronounced the names
of every person and thing that he dealt with. In general his
practice leans toward economy, as for instance in reducing
Goodyear to five letters, Gudyr, and Cooke to three, Cuk, and
checkered (describing a lining) to six, chekrd.
Of course in most cases the result is altogether natural. We
find thus that Derby was to Captain Browne Darby, just as
the cis- Atlantic namesake of the English Hertford had already
become Hartford; and just as he wrote sarmons for sermons,
and sarge for serge, so to him Sherman was usually Sharman.
But the unexpected thing is that he persists in this particular
vowel-change in unaccented syllables in his common vocabulary
to a remarkable extent ; I content myself with only an example
or two of what is a constant practice ; thus Mather is written
Mathar, primer, primar, and even father, brother and sister,
fathar, brothar and sistar.
Similar changes with other vowels are sho^vn in Thorp
always becoming Tharp, and the Christian name Dorcas becom-
ing Darkis. The converse of this change is traceable in the
name of a family, of the nieces and nephew of Mr. Pierpont,
who came hither from Boston early in the 18th century, the
348 THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEAES AGO.
Haywards, as we should call them, but always known then as
Ha (r) wards, and later, after the y had been discarded in the
spelling, Howards.
Other vagaries in the pronunciation of family names are
such as Balding for Baldwin, Hodson for Hudson, Person for
Pierson (as Perse in our own day for Pierce), Belshar for
Belcher, Punshard for Punchard, Stodder for Stoddard, and
Orsbui'n for Osborn. .
Other common words which appear in Captain Browne's
manuscript with the mispronunciations which we now think
vulgar, such as hankercher or handkechif, ornery, leftenant,
jiner for joiner, and Giney for Jenny, need not detain us; nor
need reasons for raisins, which was still considered proper, I
believe, within living memory. On the other hand, in the only
reference on these pages to the institution of domestic slavery,
a record of money paid to the negro of the Rev. Joseph Moss,
the spelling is faithful to the correct sound.
This incidental mention of slavery calls up the sole reference
in these pages to another of the ordinary social conditions of
life, in the expenditure of upward of £16 on securing and
bringing from Boston in 1713, a "Jarsey boy" to be appren-
ticed to Samuel Riggs, a wealthy merchant of Derby.
In a desultory way I have thus attempted to make a prosaic
account book tell something of our predecessors of 200 years
ago, and their way of living, but I have left myself little space,
even if I had the power, to construct a satisfactory picture of
the plantation as a whole. We must remember primarily that
the settled part of the town extended only from York and Grove
Streets to the water ; and that the whole region between York
and Church was comparatively sparsely peopled, since the
business center was on the waterside and its tributary streets,
especially State Street. The plantation had still so much the
character of a village that the streets had no distinctive names,
but each one is likely to be described in deeds and wills of the
period as "the town street."
The central green was the common rendezvous, where the
townsmen drilled for military service, where the entire com-
THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
349
miinity gathered in one house for worship, and where in the
same house the General Assembly of the Colony and the County
Court held their regular sessions, as we may all learn fully
from Mr. Blake's delightful book.
The inhabitants formed a simple, homogeneous society, with
few distinctions and few pleasures. Captain Browne observes
carefully in his record the usual early gradations of dignity.
Military officers are punctiliously mentioned by title, and the
designation of "Mr.," which was at an earlier period so
sparingly used, is apparently still limited to persons of special
civil and family desert. The corresponding term "Mistress"
is reserved for married women — an inferior social standing
being indicated in only two cases by the term "Goody" ; single
women are mentioned without title.
The population of the compact portion of the town I find
it hard to estimate ; but I doubt if it was much over TOO. In
1707, when these accounts begin, just seventy years had passed
since the advance guard of the first settlers had arrived here ;
and their generation had already disappeared, the last male
survivor, as I suppose, being Deacon William Peck, who died
in 1694; but his widow lived on until 1717, and the widow of
Matthew Gilbert, one of the original seven pillars of the church,
lived until 1706.
In 1715, just before the termination of Captain Browne's
record, Joseph JSToyes of Stonington was called to succeed Mr.
Pierpont as the minister of the town; and this decided the
removal of the college to 'Sew Haven. Rival towns were con-
tending for it, and when young i^oyes accepted the call here,
this threw the weight of the influence of his father and uncle,
two of the most influential trustees, into the scale in favor of
jSTew Haven.
The definite settlement of the college here in October, 1716,
created a new local center of activity, with immediate and
permanent changes in the vicinity of the college buildings, all
of which resulted in the development of a different life in
the town, with intellectual interests and aspirations before
unknown.
350 THE NEW HAVEN OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
In the N^ew Haven of our story, before it was spoiled or
improved, whichever you choose to consider it, by the intro-
duction of the college, intercourse with the outside world was
maintained by post as well as by water. A post-boy rode regu-
larly between J^ew York and Boston, and vessels like the
Speedwell were not permitted to carry letters except for delivery
in port directly to the postmaster. Some half dozen times in
Captain Browne's day-book we find charges to customers for
postal dues which he has paid, usually for a single letter, vary-
ing from six pence to a shilling, and in one case, that of the
Rev. Mr. Moss of Derby, he settles an account amounting
to £1.4.6.
By water there was important commerce with the West Indies,
besides doubtless other common carriers than our friend. Cap-
tain Browaie ; but it may be that no record as complete as
his is still extant ; and until one is made public, and annotated
by some future and more skilful investigator, I venture to hope
that these scattered notes may serve to illustrate our early
domestic commerce, as well as to revive the memory of one of
its worthiest promoters.
INSCRIPTIONS
ON
TOMBSTONES IN NEW HAVEN,
ERECTED PRIOE TO 1800,
A copy of these inscriptions, so far as legible, was printed (with annota-
tions) in Volume III of the Papers of this Society, in 1882, Eecently a
transcript of a portion of these inscriptions, made in 1851, has been found;
and as this includes some copies of stones which had disappeared before
1882, it has been thought desirable to publish these, with some corrections
for the previous list and for the annotations.
These corrections are numbered to correspond to the former list; the
new inscriptions are numbered in continuation.
Franklin B. Dextee.
March, 1914.
352 INSCRIPTIONS ON TOMBSTONES IN NEW HAVEN.
CORRECTIONS.
23. Roger Ailing died Apr., 1759.
28. Should be in heavy type, as from the Crypt.
82. Elisha, son of David Austin, died Aug. 6, 1771, aged 17 months;
Ebenezer Elisha died Apr. 5, 1773, aged 14 months.
86. Son of Elias and Eunice, of Durham, baptized Feb., 1751/2.
142. Daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Beach) Nichols, of Stratford,
b. May 26, 1716. He next married, Jan. 20, 1765, Abigail.
149. Samuel Bishop, Sr., was deacon 1st Church, 1717-48; Samuel, Jr.,
deacon ist Church, 1756-71.
154. Daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Todd) Heaton, b. June 14, 1712.
161. The father d. 1779.
163. The stone commemorated a first wife. A second wife, also Mary,
b. Dec. 15, 1704, was dau. of D. Goodrich, etc.
172. He died Oct. 12, 1718; deacon from about 1685.
182. In her 8th, not 38th year.
190. Died 1739.
194. Amelia d. Dec. 31; dau. of Phebe, dau. of Dr. Zophar Piatt, of
Huntington, L. I.
199. Dau. of John Ailing (No. 16).
206. Olive Brown was sister, not daughter, of 197.
231. Married in Boston, Dec. 14, 1714, wid. of David Cutler.
257. Son of David.
258. Dau. of Dugald and Sarah Mackenzie, of Fairfield.
281. He d. 1676.
294. Should be in plain type. Son of William and Elizabeth (Brent).
342. Dau. of Richard and Hannah (Easton) Miles (No. 568) ; b.
March 19, 1707; wid. of 907.
362. Add to stone :
Lamented. She died of the small pox at Cheshire, February y"^ igth
A. D. 1782 & in the 36th year of her Age.
370. Dau. of 744 and 745 ; b. Dec. 26, 1695.
373. Grandson of Nos. 72, 73; d. 1774.
383. Died Oct. 21, 1796. The mother was daughter of Joseph and
Patience (Sperry) Mix.
398. Mary L. Hillhouse d. 1822.
412, Died 1689.
427. Son of No. 425.
437. Died Dec. 29.
438. Son of John and Experience, who was a sister of Rev. James Pier-
pont (No. 691).
456. Dau. of Samuel and Meletiah (Bradford).
457. Dau. of Abraham and Elizabeth (Glover) Dickerman, and widow
of Michael Todd. His 3d wf. was widow of Wm. Stevens, of Marble-
head, Mass.
465. Died 1794.
INSCRIPTION'S ON" TOMBSTONES IN NEW HAVEN.
353
477. Dau. of Janna and Dorothy (Griswold) Hand, of East Guilford;
b. Sept. 5, 1725.
478. Dau. of Orchard and Mary (Foote) Guy, of Branford; b. Dec. 5,
1738; m. Samuel Huggins, July 3, 1760.
494. Aged 74 years.
498. Died 1780.
516. Son of Augustus and Bathsheba (Eliot), of Newport, R. I.
535. The will quoted is the will of Ebenezer, Jr.
540. Aged 63.
568. Dau. of Joseph Easton, of E. Hartford.
571. Son of Lieut. Richard and Hannah (Easton), (No. 568) ; b. Aug.
4, 1 701.
572. Dau. of Rev. John and Sarah (Rosewell) Woodward (No. 940).
578. Died March 8.
600. Dau. of John and Hannah (Tuttle) Pantry, of Hartford; d.
March, 1724.
601. Son of 599 and 600.
623. Benj. Munson living 1796; son of Nos. 636 and 637.
632. Born Hollingsworth, of Milford.
635. Died 1759-
637. Dau. of Nos. 586 and 587.
641. For MAQr read MAG^".
707. Died July 25, 1740.
709. For Barrott read Barrett.
741. Son of Isaac and Jemima (Sage), of Wethersfield : b. Dec. 10,
1748. His wid. m. Maj. Jonathan Heart, of Berlin, May 7, 1778. He d.
Nov. 4, 1790, and she m., Aug., 1797, Rev. Dr. Cyprian Strong, of Chat-
ham, who d. Nov. 17, 181 1. She d. in North Haven, Feb. 15, 1815.
750. Dau. of Col. Nicholas and Mercy (Tillinghast) Power.
764. Dau. of Samuel and Rebecca (Bunnell) Burwell; b. May 13, 1692.
778. Died 1794.
781. Died 1773.
791. First married Hezekiah Howe, who d. Apr., 1776.
803. Merit Tappen d. 1794, aged 3 years.
805. Dau. of Samuel and Rebecca (Browne) Clark; b. March , 1710.
828. Son of Samuel and Mary (Bradley) ; b. March 14, 1686/7.
864. Thankful Trowbridge b. 1755-
887. Married Catharine, dau. of Capt. Isaac and Catharine (Baldwin")
Miles, b. I7SS, d. May 26, 1837.
889. James G., not C, Wallace.
006. Dau. of Nos. 16 and 17; b. Sept. 14, 1680; d. March, 1759.
910. Born Sept. 22, 1722.
926. A more probable conjecture is that these initials stand for Eliza-
beth Wakeman, wf. of John, and dau. of William Hopkins, of Bewdley,
England.
12
354
INSCEIPTIONS ON TOMBSTONES IN NEW HAVEN.
ADDITIONS.
962 Here lies y^ Body
956
Mary Carpent"^
of Mrs Dinah
Daughter of M''
Attwater y^ Wife
Anthony &
of M"" James Attw-
M^s Abigail
ater Who Died
Carpenter
Dec'' ye 29, 1739
who died N[o\^]
in y*' 38 Year
12th A. D. 1 7 [60]
Her
953 Susana
Daughter of M'
Ebenezer & M^^
Susana Basset
died Oct^"^ 29th
A. D. 1763 in her
JQth year
957
In Memory of Elijah
Crane Son of Elijah &
Mary Crane who de
parted this Life August
29*^^ 1795 in the g^"^ Year
of his age
954 Jesse y^
-
Son of Ml-
Abner & M"
958
Abigail Brad-
ley died
August ye G-"^
1739 aged 2
Years
wife of
Samuel Fames
who Died March
4 170? Aged 58
955 Hannah y^
Daughter of
959
Nathanael Son of
M'^ Timothy
Mr. Nathanael & Mrs.
& MI'S Hannah
Mary Fitch born Feb - -
Browne died
nth 1771 & died 22^ of y^ same
decem"^ ye 13^11
William Son of y^ above
1747 Aged
Parents Born April 28
4 Months
1772 & died Octoi"' 8, 177 - -
""^ Dau. of No. 761 ; wf. of No. 45.
*"' Ebenezer Bassett m. Susanna, daughter of John and Susanna White
(Nos. 894, 895) ; dau. b. Apr. 3, 1754.
*"Son of Nos. 167 and 168.
"" Dau. of No. 210.
"^^ Dau. of Nos. 232 and 233.
^'-^ Sons of No. 324 and of Mary, dau. of Nos. 808 and 809.
I
INSCRIPTIONS ON TOMBSTONES IN NEW HAVEN.
355
960 In Memory of
964
In Memory of
M'"s Mary Hine
Lieutenant
wido^ of M'
Daniel Sperry
AUexander Hine
who died April 24'^'*
at Woodbridge who
1750 in His 86*^1
died October 23^^
Year
1790 in the 90*^^
Year of her age.
965
961 In Memory of
Deborah
Lieu*
Wife of Daniel
Richard Miles
Sperry who
who died July
Died Dec"^ 16: 171 1
y*^ 5th A. D. 1756
Aged 39 Years
in the 86*^ year
of His Age.
All living must,
Return to Dust.
966
Rachel
Daughter of
962 Here lies y^ Bod^
M"^ Joshua
of Rebeckah Osb
& Mrs Amy
orn Daughter to M""
Sperry
Jeremiah & M^s
died Novi^r gth
Elisabeth Osborn
1748 in Her 3^
who Died Aug^t
- -
ye 27tii 1738 in ye
963
Mary y^
Thomas y®
967
In Memory of
Daughter
Son of M-"
Mrs. Elizabeth
of M"" John
lohn & Es-
Tallmadge
& Esther
ther Potter
Daut' of Mr.
Potter di-
died March
Robert & Mrs.
ed Feb'^y
13*'! 1740
Abigail Tallm
28tii 1740
Aged 7
adge who died
Aged 3
Years
Dgtiier I J J758 In her
Years
S2d Year
«'" He d. in Milford, 1767.
°"Son of John and Elizabeth (Harriman) ; b. March 21, 1671/2.
""= Dau. of No. 656.
'"'Thomas, s. of John and Esther (Lines), b. June 15, 1733; Mary, b.
March 2, 1737.
""Son of Richard and Dennis; m. Deborah (No. 965); and next
Sarah, dau. of William and Sarah (Thomas) Wilmot (No. 927), and
wid. of Thomas Hotchkiss, b. March 8, 1663, d. July , 1732.
^''^Dau. of Joseph and Sarah (Ailing) Peck, b. July 31, 1672; wife of
964.
'•""Born Apr. 11, 1746.
'"Born Nov. 4, 1717.
356
INSCRIPTIONS ON TOMBSTONES IN NEW HAVEN.
968
[William]
Son of M'
Daniel
[Thomas
Son of M"^
Dani] el
Tallmadge
died June
y« 30*^^ 1740
Aged 10
Days
who died August
27*^ 1795 aged 3 Years
and 4 Months
Tallmadge
died April
21 1741
Aged 10
Days
971 Elizabeth
Wife of Mr.
John Winston
Died Feb' 21 171 [i]
Aged 56 Years
969 M'
Benjamin
Thomas
972 John
ye Son of M'
John & M's
970 In Memory of Sarah
Chamberlaip Ward
Daughter of Ambrose
& Rebecca Ward
Desire Woo
din died
Sepbr ye 21
1742 Aged 6
Years
*"Sons of Daniel and Mary (Thompson).
*"Dau. of Stephen and Anna (Gregson) Daniel; b. Oct. i, 1755; wf.'
of No. 931.
*"Son of John and Desire (Cooper), b. March 14 1736.
INDEX TO VOLUME VIII.
Abbott, Jacob, 30.
Adams, Rev. Eliphalet, 210.
Adams, John, 15, 143, 144.
Adams, Pygan, 210.
Adgate, William, 209.
Aird, David, 207.
Allen, Ethan, 256, 265.
Allen, Joel, 207.
Allen, John, 96, 172.
Allen, John (silversmith), 190.
Ailing, John, 329, 331-333, 335, 336,
340.
Ailing, Stephen, 312.
Allyn, Henry, 259.
Almost Forgotten New Haven Insti-
tution, 20.
Anderson, John, 267.
Andrew, Rev. Samuel, 179.
Andrews, Ethan Allen, 20, 22, 24, 27-
80, 33.
Andrews, Mrs. E. A., 30, 34.
AndreAvs, Rev. Samuel, 208.
Andres, Edmund, 96, 97, 174, 176, 177.
Anthony, George S., 279, 280.
Appleton, Samuel, 171.
Arnold, Benedict, 134, 266.
Arnold, Welcome, 14.
Ashburton, Lord, 5.
Atwater, Jeremiah, 192, 193.
Atwater, Jonathan, 340, 341, 343.
Atwater, Joshua, 341.
Augur, Hezekiah, 232.
Austin, David, 310, 312-315.
Austin, Ebenezer, 205.
Austin, Rebecca, 313.
Austin, Samuel, 306.
Babcock, Sidney, 232.
Bacon, Leonard, 23, 58, 59, 62, 80,
100, 193, 242.
Baldwin, Rev. Ebenezer, 100.
Baldwin, Lewis F., 178.
Baldwin, Richard, 167.
Baldwin, Simeon E., 1, 82, 249.
Ball, Stephen, 193.
Barber, John W., 135, 136, 140, 293.
Barnum, Rev. Caleb, 59.
Bassett, John, 338.
Bates, Albert C, 289.
Battle of Lake George, 109.
Baylies, Francis, 60.
Beach, Abraham, 296.
Beach, Miles, 203.
Beardsley, Rev. Wm. A., 132.
Beecher, Mrs. Edward C, 312.
Beecher, Thaddeus, 312, 320.
Beers, Henry A., 226.
Beers, Isaac, 306, 310, 315, 319, 320.
Belcher, Andrew, 342.
Belcher, Jonathan, 197.
Benjamin, John, 199.
Bickle, John, 274.
Bigelow, John, 261.
Bishop, Abraham, 23, 34, 319, 334.
Blackstone, William, 83.
Blake, Eli Whitney, birth and edu-
cation, 36 ; beginning business, 37 ;
contribution to American Journal
of Science, 38-44; degree from Yale,
43; invention of "The Blake
Crusher," 45; its value in the
construction of roads, 49, 50; its
use in mining, 51, 52; its relation
to concrete, 53, 54; death, 57.
Blake, Henry T., 20, 36, 109, 333.
Blake, James Kingsley, 215.
Blake, John, 37.
Blake, Philos, 36, 37.
Blodgett, William, 208.
Bontecou, Timothy, 190.
Boyd, Peter, 206.
Bradford, Jeremiah, 191.
Bradford, William, 14, 171.
358
INDEX.
Bradley, Abraham, 319, 320, 335.
Bradley, Aner, 202.
Bradley, Charles W., 106.
Bradley, Phiiieas, 202.
Bradstreet, Governor Simon, 176.
Brainard, J. G. C, 225.
Brearley, David, 14.
Breslin, John, 279.
Brewer, Charles, 207.
British Prisoners of War in Hartford
during the Revolution, 255.
Bronson, Henry, 321.
Bronson, Isaac, 211.
Bronson, Josiah, 211.
Brown, Mrs. Chauncey, 29.
Brown, Governor Montfort, 257.
Browne, Francis, 329, 331.
Browne, Mrs. Francis, 338, 339.
Browne, Hannah, 329.
Browne, Mabel, 329.
Browne, Samuel, 329.
Buckingham, Mrs. Jolni W., 178.
Buckingham, Samuel, 193.
Buckingham, William A., 174.
Buel, Abel, 137, 199-202, 207.
Bulkeley, Gershom, 96, 181.
Bull, Caleb, 205.
Bull Epaphras, 256, 250. 260, 269, 275.
Bull, Jonathan, 296.
Bull, Martin, 137, 213, 214.
Bull, Ole, 236.
Bunyan, John, 76, 77, 80.
Burke, Edmund, 17, 282.
Burke, Thomas Francis, 282, 284.
Burnap, Daniel, 209.
Burr, Aaron, 333.
Burr, Thaddeus, 195.
Butler, Benjamin F., 277.
Butler, John, 14.
Butler, Nicholas, 76.
Butler, Zebulon, 14.
Byrne, Jerome, 284.
Calamy, Edmund, 72.
Camden, Earl of, 6.
Campbell's, Thomas, "Gertrude of
Wyoming," 12.
Canfield, Samuel, 207, 208.
Capes, Rev. W. W., 56, 57.
Carpenter, Joseph, 209.
Gates, John, 193, 194.
Champion, Mrs. Henry, 178.
Champlin, John, 210.
Channing, Henry, 307.
Charles I, 1, 84, 90-92, 143, 166, 167.
Charles II, 1, 64, 95, 164, 167, 174,
194, 248, 253.
Chauncey, Nathaniel, 225.
Chittenden, Ebenezer, 199, 200, 202.
Chittenden, Thomas, 202.
Christophers, Christopher, 190.
Clap, President Thomas, 112, 131,299.
Clark, Abigail, 290.
Clark, Daniel, 91.
Clark, Samuel, 290.
Clark, Sheldon, 219, 222.
Cleveland, Grover, 209.
Cleveland, William, 209.
Coit, Thomas C, 210.
Collier, Jennet, 260, 275.
Cone, William R., 191.
Coney, John, 187, 188.
Congregationalist Separates of the
XVIIIth Century in Connecticut, 151.
Connecticut in Pennsylvania, 1.
Connecticut Journal and New Haven
Post-Boy, first number of, 305.
Cooke, Samuel, 337.
Corydon, Johnny, 282, 284.
Cotton, John, 160.
Couch, Robert I, 328.
Cowell, William, 187, 191.
Cowles, Isaac, 21.
Cowles, Lucy, 21.
Cowles, Samuel, 21.
Cromwell, Henry, 61.
Cromwell, Oliver, 1, 60, 61, 64, 65, 194.
Cromwell, Richard, 65.
Croswell, Rev. Harry, 22, 23.
Curtis, George Munson, 181.
Cutler, Richard, 202.
Daggett, Elizabeth, 144, 145.
Dana, Mrs. James D., 29.
Davenport, Abraham, 340.
Davenport, John, 56, 61, 65, 66, 73,
143, 163, 334, 337.
Davie, John, 189, 190.
INDEX.
359
Day, Jeremiah, 23, 29.
Day, Stephen, 289.
Day, Wilbur F., 328, 340.
Deane, Silas, 255.
Delehanty, John, 282.
Dennison, Henry, 324.
Deshon, Daniel, 197, 210.
Desmond, Tliomas, 279.
Devoy, John, 279.
Dexter, Franklin B., 20, 68, 329.
Dexter, Henry Martyn, 68.
Diekerman, Isaac, 335.
Dieskau, Baron, 100, 114-116, 118,
119, 121-125.
Dixwell, John, 166.
Dixwell, John, Jr., 187, 188, 190, 333,
341, 343.
Dixwell, Mrs. John, 340.
Doolittle, A. B., 145.
Doolittle, Abraham, 133.
Doolittle, Ambrose, 133.
Doolittle, Amos, birth and removal to
New Haven, 133; first engravings,
134; story of hoAV they were made,
135-137; map of Connecticut, 138;
his part in the defence of New
Haven, 139-141; "Displays" of
U. S., 142-144; marriages, 145,
146; book-plate work, 147-149;
death, 149; mentioned, 188, 203, 314.
Doolittle, Eliakim, 146.
Doolittle, John, 133.
Doolittle, Martha Munson, 133.
Doolittle, Phebe Tuttle, 146.
Doolittle, Sally, 145.
Doolittle, Samuel, 133.
Doolittle, Silas, 133.
Drake, Joseph, 312, 316, 319.
Dunamer, Jeremiah, 187, 188.
Dutton, Eev. Samuel, 157.
Dwight, Henry E., 21, 23, 225.
Dwight, Sereno E., 21, 23.
Dwight, Timothy, Senior, 22, 29, 112,
123, 201, 333.
Dyer, Eliphalet, 4, 15.
Earle, Ralph, 135, 136.
Early Silver of Connecticut and its
Makers, 181.
Easton, James, 256.
Eaton, Theophilus, 96, 163, 165, 166,
173, 196, 313, 334.
Edward I, 82.
Edwards, John, 190.
Edwards, Jonathan, 143, 155, 334.
Edwards, Pierpont, 312.
Eldon, Lord, 99.
Ellery, John, 191.
Ellery, William, 302.
Ellsworth, Governor W. W., 21.
Emery, Rev. S. H., 59, 79.
English, Henry Fowler, 166.
Everett, Edward, 58, 226.
Fairchild, Robert, 186, 199, 200, 202.
Farnam, Henry, 36, 325.
Fenians of the Long-ago Sixties, 277.
Fenn, Benjamin, 168.
Fenwick, George, 1, 87, 91, 92, 95, 97.
Finley, Samuel, 158.
Fisher, A. M., 225.
Fiske, John, 162.
Fitch, Eleazar T., 21, 23.
Foote, Caroline Street, 29.
Forbes, Rev. W. C, 229.
Ford, George Hare, 162.
Forgarty, John, 288.
Fowler, William, 166, 168.
Franklin, Benjamin, 257, 291.
Franklin, William, 257.
French, Christopher, 256, 259, 260,
262-268, 270, 272, 274, 275.
French, Martin J., 283.
French, Stiles, 28, 34.
French, Truman, 34.
Fundamental Orders and the Charter,
238.
Funnell, Andrew, 341.
Gage, General Thomas, 11, 263, 264.
Gallaudet, Elisha, 137.
Gardiner, John, 194, 211.
Gaskell, Elizabeth, 340, 341.
Gay, Fisher, 259.
George III, 114, 140, 259, 262, 271.
Gibbons, Austin, 282.
Gibbs, Josiah W., 23.
Gilbert, Joel, 306.
Gilbert, Matthew, 335, 349.
360
INDEX.
Gilbert, Samuel, 305.
Gladstone, William, 278.
Glover, Joseph, 289.
Goff, John W., 279.
Goffe, William, 65, 66, 73, 79, 166, 167.
Gold, Nathan, 172.
Goodrich, Chauncey A., 21, 23.
Goodrich, Elizur, 149, 312.
Goodsell, Thomas, 339.
Goodwin, George, 293. 303.
Goodyear, Stephen, 165, 335.
Gorges, Ferdinando, 88, 94.
Gorham, John, 203.
Gorham, Miles, 203.
Gould, Judge James, 36.
Graves, John, 269, 273.
Gray, John, 210.
Gray, Samuel, 210.
Green, Abigail, 309.
Green, Bartholomew, 289.
Green, John, 290.
Green, Nathaniel, 290.
Green, Samuel (son of Timothy),
289.
Green, Samuel (brother of Thomas),
303-308.
Green, Thomas, ancestry and birth,
289, 290; learned the printer's
trade, 290; employed by Parker &
Co., New Haven, 290, 291; re-
moval to Hartford, 293; estab-
lished The Connecticut Courant,
295; connection therewith, 295-
303; returned to New Haven, 305;
started a paper mill, 306; mar-
riages and children, 308-309;
death, 307.
Green, Timothy, 289-291.
Greenleaf, David, 209.
Griffin, Cyrus, 14.
Grignon, Rene, 197.
Gurley, William, 210.
Hale, John P., 277.
Hall, Richard, 341.
Hal lam, John, 211.
Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 230.
Hamlin, Giles, 182.
Hamlin, John, 101.
Hammersley, Judge William, 245, 247,
250.
Hampden, John, 1.
Hancock, John, 139, 203.
Hardyear, J. G., 225.
Harland, Thomas, 209.
Harrison, Lynde, 340.
Hart, Charles Henry, 142.
Hart, Judah, 207, 209.
Hart, Samuel, 238.
Hartford Courant, first issue of, 296.
Hathaway, Henry C, 279, 280.
Hawks, Rev. Francis L., 22, 23.
Haynes, John, 90, 172, 260.
Hearne, William, 286.
Hemingway, Jacob, 336.
Hempstead, Joshua, 210.
Hendrick, Chief, or King, 109, 110,
114, 115, 117, 121.
Hequemburg, Charles, 203.
Herrick, Edward C, 232.
Herron, Peter, 258, 274.
Higginson, Rev. Francis, 94.
Hilldrupp, Thomas, 205.
Hillhouse, James A., 233.
Hinman, David, 232.
Hinman, Robinson S., 106.
Hinman. Royal R., 105.
Hitchcock, Eliakim, 133, 203.
Hoadly, Charles J., 95, 98, 101, 106,
296.
Hoadly, George, 324.
Hoare, Elizabeth, 27.
Hoare, Samuel, 27.
Hodson (Hudson), John, 339.
Holmes, Israel, 212.
Holt, John, 290.
Hooke, Anna, 56.
Hooke, Ebenezer, 62, 63.
Hooke, Elizabeth, 62.
Hooke, John, 56, 62, 63, 65.
Hooke, Mary, 62.
Hooke, Walter, 62, 63.
Hooke, Rev. William, birth and par-
entage, 56; education and orders
in the Church of England, 57; emi-
INDEX.
361
gration to New England, 57; set-
tlement in Taunton, 58 ; removal
to New Haven, 60, 61; returned
to England, 61; children, 62, 63;
Master of Savoy Hospital, 64;
troubles incident to the death of
Cromwell, 65; intercepted letter to
Davenport, 66-73; effect of Five
Mile Act, 74, 75; license under
Proclamation of Indulgence, 76;
Proclamation cancelled, 77; pas-
torate in Spitalsfield, 78 ; increas-
ing infirmities, death, burial in
Bunhill Fields, 79, 80.
Hooker, Horace, 225.
Hooker, Thomas, 90, 162, 163, 172,
238, 240-242.
Hopkins, Edward, 92, 173.
Hopkins, Jesse, 212.
Hopkins, Joseph, 186, 212-214.
Hopkins, Stephen. 186, 212.
Hosmer, Titus, 101.
Hotchkiss, Jonathan, 317.
Hotchkiss, Justus S., 334.
Hotchkiss, Lemuel, 306.
Houston, William C, 14.
Howe, John, 64.
Hubbard, Ezra Stiles, 328.
Huggins, Ebenezer, 319.
Hull, John, 187, 189.
Humfrey, John, 86.
Humphrey, Jonathan, 259.
Hunt, Frederick, 319.
Huntington, Benjamin, 322.
Huntington, Philip, 209.
Huntington, Roswell, 209.
Huntington, Samuel, 101.
Hurd, Nathaniel, 137.
Ingersoll, Jared, 7, 299, 339.
Inscriptions on Tombstones, 351.
Ives, Eli, 229.
Jackson, Richard, 5, 201.
Jay, John, 10.
Jefferson, Thomas, 144.
Jepson, William, 294.
Jesse, David, 187.
Jessop, William, 89.
Jocelin, Simeon, 141.
Johnson, Andrew, 277.
Johnson, Edward, 62.
Johnson, Guy, 4.
Johnson, Isaac, 86.
Johnson, Jacob, 346.
Johnson, Rev. Samuel, 202.
Johnson, General William, 109-122,
124, 125.
Johnson, William Samuel, 15.
Johonnot, William, 207.
Judd, William, 6.
Kellogg, Ebenezer, 21.
Kelly, Thomas, 281.
Kensett, John Frederick, 145.
Kensett, Thomas, 144.
Kierstead, Cornelius, 197, 198.
King, Joseph, 207.
Kingsbury, Frederick J., 346.
Kingsley, James L., 23.
Kingsnorth, Henry, 189.
Knight, Jonathan, 38.
Knight, Joseph, 194.
Knight, Madam Sarah, 190, 341.
Langston, John, 76, 78, 79.
Lawrence, Abbott, 56.
Learning, Jeremiah, 299.
Lechford, Thomas, 86.
Lee, General Charles, 264-266, 268.
Leete, William, 166, 167, 172, 173.
Leffingwell, Christopher, 306.
Lockwood, James, 134.
Lockyer, Nicholas, 64.
Longfellow, Henry W., 236.
Lord, Richard, 191.
Loton, Richard, 76.
Lovell, Jemmy, 261.
Lucas, Amaziah, 308.
Lyman, Phineas, 110-113, 120-129, 131.
Lyman, Mrs. Phineas, 129.
Lyon, William, 312, 313, 320, 322,
328.
Lyon, William, Jr., 319.
Lyon-Turner, G., 68, 73, 76.
McCarthy, Patrick, 285.
McDermott, Terence, 263, 266, 267,
271, 272.
862
INDEX.
McKay, Samuel, 258, 26G-269, 273.
Mahar, James, 271, 272.
Maltby, Elizabeth, 340.
Manchester, Earl of, 86, 88, 89.
Mann, Alexander, 207.
Mansfield, Elisha H., 210.
Mansfield, Jonathan, 335.
Mansfield, Moses, 198.
Mansfield, Sarah, 332.
Mascall, Robert, 76.
Mason, John, 164, 170.
Mather, Cotton, 62, 334, 336.
Mather, Increase, 65, 79.
Mather, Richard, 57, 58.
Mather, Rev. Samuel, .179.
Mather, Warham, 336, 337.
Mecom, Benjamin, 291-293, 304.
Merriman, Marcus, 141, 203.
Merriman, Samuel, 203.
Merwin, Samuel, 23.
Microscope, The, and James Gates
Percival, 215.
Miles, Abigail, 309.
Miles, George, 309.
Miles, John, 320.
Mix, Edward E., 328.
Mix, Samuel, 347.
Moland, Ensign Joseph, 272, 274.
Monson, Aeneas, 315, 319, 321, 327,
328.
Morgan, Pierpont, 333.
Morris, Luzon B., 106.
Morrison, Norman, 205.
Morrison, Rhoderick, 305.
Morrison, Sarah, 334.
Morse, Jedediah, 143.
Morse, Samuel F. B., 21.
Moss, Rev. Joseph, Jr., 338, 339.
Munson, John, 335.
Munson, Joseph, 306.
Munson, Stephen, 346.
Munson, Theophilus, 347.
Napier, Robert D., 42.
Negro Governors of Connecticut, 267.
Newark, settlement of, 168.
New Haven Bank, incorporation of.
310, 311; some of first stockhold-
ers, 312; selecting a site, 313;
earliest example of "beehive" sym-
bol, 314; business methods of those
days, 315, 316; prevalence of coun-
terfeiting, 317, 318; rules to
lighten cashier's burdens, 318; in-
crease of capital, 319; move to
build new banking house, 319, 320;
investments, 321; dividend record
in Civil War, 322; Eagle Bank
failure, 323, 324; Farmington
Canal, 325, 326; Panic of 1837,
326.
New Haven of Two Hundred Years
Ago, 329.
Newman, Francis, 166.
Nicoll, John, 312, 316, 319.
North, Erasmus D., 232.
Noyes, Benjamin, 233.
Noyes, Rev. Joseph, 113, 349.
Noyes, Samuel, 209.
O'Brien, Eliza Maria, 36.
O'Brien, Jeremiah, 277.
O'Brien, Laurence, 277, 283.
O'Brien, Michael, 282.
O'Connor, John, 282.
O'Donovan, William, 281, 287.
Ogden, D. L., 225.
Olcott, Daniel, 302.
Old New Haven Bank, 310.
O'Leary, Ellen, 281.
O'Leary, Mary, 281.
Olmsted, Denison, 23, 25.
Olmsted, Frederick LaAV, 50.
O'Mahony, John, 280, 281.
Oneco, Chief, 171.
O'Neil, John, 278.
O'Reilly, John Boyle, 278, 279.
"Osborn," or O'Brien, 283, 287.
Osborne, Jeremiah, 336.
O'Shaughnessy, Garrett, 281.
Otis, James, 257.
Otis, Jonathan, 206, 208.
Paine, Abigail, 179.
Paine, Elisha, 158.
Paine, Rev. George Lyman, 179.
Paine, Robert Treat, signer, 178.
INDEX.
363
Paine, Robert Treat, philanthropist,
179.
Paine, Eev. Thomas, 178.
Paine, Thomas Treat, 179.
Palmer, Eev, Charles Ray, 20, 56.
Palmer, Ray, 29-31, 34.
Parker, Rev. Edwin P., 151.
Parker, James, 290-292, 308,
Parkman, Francis, 117.
Parks, Elisha, 270.
Parmele, Samuel, 208, 209.
Parmelee, Ebenezer, 312.
Pavilion Hotel, 27.
Payne, Benjamin, 272, 275.
Peck, Timothy, 206.
Peck, William, 349.
Pelletreau, Elias, 212.
Penn, William, 5, 8, 11.
Percival, James Gates, birth and
early education, 227; settlement
in Hartford, 228; return to New
Haven, 229; first contribution to
The Microscope, 229 ; personal
characteristics, 231-236; estimates
of his poetry, 226; death, 236.
Peters, Hugh, 64.
Phelps, Timothy, 312.
Phelps, William Lyon, 313.
Pickett, Adam, 190.
Pierpont, James, 333.
Pierpont, John, 347, 349.
Pierson, Abraham, 108, 332, 334.
Pinchbeck, Clir., 208.
Pitkin, William, 172.
Poole, Elizabeth, 58, CO.
Porter, Ebenezer, 141, 142.
Porter, Isaac G., 28.
Porter, Noah, 21.
Porter, Sarah, 28.
Potwine, John, 192, 198, 203.
Pratt, Charles, 6.
Pratt, William, 302, 303.
Prince, Job, 197.
Prout, John, 339.
Prudden, Peter, 165.
Punderson, John, 335.
Putnam, Israel, 263.
Pym, John, 1, 56.
Pynchon, Henry R., 322.
Pynchon, John, 270.
Qnintard, Pierre, 198.
Read, Daniel, 141.
Read, John, 253.
Reed, Joseph, 14.
Revere, Paul, 137, 187, 188.
Reynolds, James, 279.
Rich, Nathaniel, 87, 89.
Rich, Robert, 87.
Richardson, J. B., 279.
Riggs, Samuel, 348.
Robert Treat: Founder, etc., 162.
Robertson, Mrs. John B., 29.
Root, Jesse, 15, 272, 273, 275.
Rosewell, Henry, 85.
Rosewell, Lydia, 340.
Rouse, William, 189.
Ruggles, David, 317.
Russell, John, 339.
Russell, Talcott H., 20.
Russell, William H., 20, 34.
Russell, Mrs. W. H., 28,
Ryan, John, 282.
Saltonstall, Gurdon, 98, 143, 151, 163,
188, 190, 210, 333.
Saltonstall, Richard, 71.
Sanderson, Robert, 187.
Sanford, Desire, 308.
Sanford, Isaac, 203.
Sargeant, Jacob, 206.
Say and Seal, Lord, 85-89, 93, 173.
Seabury, Bishop Samuel, 194.
Seal of Connecticut, 82.
Sergeant, Jonathan D., 15.
Sewall, Samuel, 95.
Seward, William H., 277, 278.
Seymour, Elizabeth, 303.
Seymour, Richard, 303.
Sheldon, Bishop Gilbert, 65.
Shelton & Kensett, 144.
Shepard, Charles U., 28.
Sheridan, Philip, 278.
Sherman, John, 313.
Sherman, Roger, 101, 304, 313, 324,
340.
364
INDEX.
Shipman, Elias, 310, 319.
Shipman, Nathaniel, 209.
Short, Thomas, 289.
Silliman, Benjamin, 23, 25, 233.
Silliman, John, 192.
Skene, Andrew P., 256, 261.
Skene, Governor Philip, 259, 261-263,
266, 267, 276.
Smith, David, 315.
Smith, Jacob, 258, 274.
Smith, Captain John, 84.
Smith, William, 7.
Smyth, Newman, 62.
Stanley, Nathan, 175.
Stanley, William, 191.
Steel, Ashbel, 302.
Sterry, Peter, 63, 64.
Steuben, Baron de, 143.
Stiles, Ezra, 11, 59, 143, 175, 190,
201, 307, 308.
Stiles, Rev. Isaac, 113, 117.
Stoddard, Solomon, 22.
Stoughton, John, 68.
Street, Augustus R., 334.
Street, Rev. Nicholas, 58, 60, 334.
Street, Samuel, 334.
Strong, Jedediah, 297.
Strong, Julia, 29.
Stuart, Gilbert, 144.
Sweeney, General Thomas, 278.
Talcott, Matthew, 259.
Tapp, Edmund, 166, 168, 178.
Tapp, Jane, 166.
Taylor, Nathaniel W., 23.
Taylor, William, 147.
Terry, Eli, 209.
Thacher, Thomas, 24.
Thomas, Isaiah, 290-292, 303.
Thompson, David, 315.
Thurlow, Edward, 5.
Ticknor, George, 232.
Tiley, James, 204.
Tompkins, Edmund, 212.
Townsend, Amos, Jr., 328.
Townsend, J. S., 225.
Tracy, Gurdon, 209.
Treat, Eunice, 178.
Treat, Katharine, 164.
Treat, Richard, 164, 168.
Treat, Robert, baptism, 164; settled
in Milford, 165; marriage, 166;
interest in the regicides, 167;
moved to New Jersey, 168 ; re-
turned to Milford, 169; military
career, 169; fight with Indians, 170,
171; chosen Deputy Governor, 172;
contest with Andros over the
Charter, 174-176; practical farmer,
177; his house in Milford, 178;
family, 178; death and inscription
on tombstone, 179; memorial slab
on Milford bridge, 180.
Treat, Rev. Samuel, 178.
Trott, John Proctor, 190, 211.
Trott, John, 163.
Trott, Jonathan, 211.
Trott, Jonathan, Jr., 211.
Trott, Richard, 163.
Trowbridge, Anne, 337.
Trowbridge, Daniel, 329.
Trowbridge, E. Hayes, 340.
Trowbridge, Francis B., 164.
Trowbridge, Hannah, 341.
Trowbridge, Joseph, 195.
Trowbridge, Thomas, 163, 339, 341.
Trowbridge, William P., 46.
Trumbull, Benjamin, 7, 85, 86, 143,
157.
Trumbull, J. Hammond, 240, 241.
Trumbull, Jonathan, 8, 100, 101, 174,
255, 257, 260-262, 267.
Tully, William, 28.
Turner, James, 137.
Turner, Stephen, 260.
Tuthill, Cornelius, 225, 230.
Tuttle, Ebenezer, 146.
Tuttle, Enos, 315.
Tuttle, Eunice Moss, 146.
Tuttle, Mercy, 329.
Tuttle, Phebe, 146.
Van Buren, Martin, 326.
Van Dyke, Peter, 192.
Vaudreuil, Governor, 118, 125.
Vernon, Samuel, 189.
INDEX.
365
Viets, John, 274.
Viets, Roger, 274.
Wade, Nathaniel, 337.
Wadsworth, James, 259.
Wadsworth, Jeremiah, 275.
Wadsworth, Samuel, 259, 275.
Walker, George Leon, 161.
Wallace, William, 262.
Walsh, Nicholas, 287.
Walter, Thomas, 299.
Walworth, Daniel, 207.
Ward, Billious, 208.
Ward, James, 204, 206.
Ward, Timothy, 206.
Wareham, John, 163.
Warner, Eli, 260.
Warwick, Earl of, 1, 85, 87-90, 93.
Washburn, Albert L., 293.
Washington, George, 142, 143, 250,
262-266, 270.
Watson, Ebenezer, 303, 306.
Webster, John, 173.
Webster, Noah, 173, 231.
Wedderburn, Alexander, 5.
Weed, John, 341.
Weed, Thurlow, 346.
Welch, Nicholas, 281.
Welles, Samuel, 252.
Welles, Thomas, 173.
Wells, Chloe, 21.
Wells, Jona, 259.
West, Benjamin, 135.
Whalley, Edward, 61, 166, 167.
Whalley, Frances, 61.
Whalley, Jane, 61.
Whalley, Richard, 61.
Wheelock, Eleazar, 193.
Whipple, William, 14.
White, Dyer, 312.
White, Rev. Ebenezer, 259, 291.
White, Herbert H., 255.
White, Jeremiah, 64.
White, Oliver S., 20.
Whitefield, George, 155, 156, 157.
Whitelocke, Bulstrode, 89.
Whitfield, Nathaniel, 73.
Whiting, Charles, 209.
Whiting, Joseph, 338.
Whiting, Nathan, 110, 112, 11.5, 117,
118, 123-125, 130, 131.
Whitney, Eli, 36, 37, 202, 312.
Whiton, James Milton, 21.
Whittlesey, Chauncey, 339.
Whittlesey, Rev. Samuel, 195, 337.
Wickham, Joseph D., 225.
Willcox, Alvan, 209.
Williams, Colonel Ephraim, 115, 117,
118.
Williams, Ezekiel, 258-260, 273, 274.
Williams, Bishop John, 194.
Williams, Richard, 59, 60.
Williams, Walter, 88, 89.
Wilson, James, 14.
Wilson, John, 58.
Wilson, Samuel, 66-70.
Winslow, Edward, 187.
WinsloAV, Josiah, 171.
Winthrop, Fitz-John, 176, 252.
Winthrop, Francis B., 23.
Winthrop, John, of Connecticut, 63,
65, 66, 73, 87, 92, 143, 164, 167,
168, 172, 173, 245, 248.
Winthrop, John, of Massachusetts, 85,
162, 163.
Wolcott, Henry, 241.
Wolcott, Roger, 98, 192, 198.
Wood, Anthony, 57.
Wood, Elisha, 317.
Woodbridge, Abigail, 191.
Woodbridge, Timothy, 191.
Woodward, Antipas, 200.
Woodward, Moses, 206.
Woolsey, Theodore, 29.
Woolsey, Theodore D., 333.
Woolsey, Theodore S., 310.
Wyllys, Governor George, 173.
Wyoming, Battle of, 12.
Yale, Asa, 260.
Yale College, engraving of, by Doo-
little, 145.
Yale, Elihu, 335.
Yale, Nathaniel, 335.
Yeldall, Dr., 194.
York, Duke of, 2, 6, 7, 114.
