Class. Book. '\:^s i/Oy^^y^ ^/r^^^^^TT^^^^ a /{^^ri SAfflOJEQ. MOJHTDPJGTt; m'.KVh ov pf-ii. HISTORY OP N O E W I C H , CONNECTICUT: PBOM ITS POSSESSION BY THE INDIANS, TO THE YEAR 1866. BY FRAXCES MANWARING CAULKINS. ny of these little things which -we speak of, are little only ia size and name. They are full of rich meaninj;. Thev illustrate classes of men and ages of time." ^..^.•cfCo. ■°''vv«h»t>a.^°''" PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 1866. Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1866, by F. ]VI. C^TJLKIjSTS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the District of Connecticut. PEESS OF CASE, LOCKWOOD AND COMPANY, nARTFORD, cosjr. PREFACE. The History of Norwich, published in 1845, having been for several years out of jirint, it seems desirable that the public should be furnished with a new and more complete work, — one that shall not only bring the course of events to the preseiit time, but shall glean over again the records of the past, and be more exhaustive in regard to memorials of former days. The first edition may be regarded as a preliminary foray into a district so rich in resources, that the invader could not leave it without a deep-seated determination to return and more thoroughly explore the field. The History has been entirely re-written, and is, in fact, a new work. The author has considered it an imperative duty to review all the sources of information, and to make it as complete a town history as the materials would permit. This led to a considerable delay in the original purpose which was to have it appear in 1860, as an offering to the tv/o hundredth year. But had it been issued then, it would have closed with the Bi- Centennial festival of the town, without any warning of that mighty con- vulsion which was about to upheave the country, and the closing chapters which display the patriotism, energy and sacrifices of the town in the war for the Union, would have been wanting. The author is now enabled to speak with more certainty than in the former history upon many points, and particularly concerning the ancestors of families. Yet the work is designed to be strictly a History, not a col- lection of Genealogies. The field was too opulent in narrative materials to leave space for following out the family branches of so large a surface, and to map out the descendants of a few of the fathei's of the town and not of all, would make the work a failure. It has been the aim of the writer to avoid profuse laudation, yet to be- stow praise where it was due, and invariably to speak of men and meas- iv PREFACE. ures historically, without straining the records, or ranking probabilities as certainties. Mistakes are made and errors propagated in history till they become current, and truth is lost by a loose and thoughtless way of para- phrasing the original annals, and giving the transcriber's impressions of the scene, rather than the strict features of the scene itself. The idea thus conveyed is often at variance with the facts. We look at the picture through another man's mind and see it colored with the hue of his prejudices. This history has not been written as a task, but rather for the pleasure it gave ; flowers grew and fragrance fi.lled the air, all along the path of research. The author can but hope that some few readers — aged and lonely people, or those among the stirring and ardent, who turn reverently toward the past, the youth perchance whose curiosity is excited to know what has been done on this spot in other times, and the far off wanderer that cherishes Norwich as his own early home, or the seat of his ances- tors — will experience in the perusal some portion of that satisfying interest which was felt in the preparation. The work is larger than the author had forecasted ; there is more of it perhaps than is desirable ; yet the original manuscript has been much abridged and condensed to bring it within this compass. LIST OF POKTRAITS 1. Samuel Huntington, LL. D., Gov. of Conn., 1786-1795. 2. William A. BuckinCxHAm, Gov., 1858-18G6. 3. Ebenezer Huntington, of the Xlevolutionary Army ; M. C. V 4. Ltdia Huntley Sigouknet. 5. Bela Peck. 6. Asa Fitch. 7. Eev. John Tyler, D. D. 8. William Williams. 9. Rev. Alvan Bond, D. D. 10. William C. Gilman. 11. John Breed. 12. Henry Strong, LL. D. 13. LaFayette S. Foster, LL. D., U. S. S. 14. George L. Perkins. 15. Jedidiah Huntington. 16. Marvin Wait, Lieut. 8th C. V. Several of these portraits were engraved from recent photogi'aphs. That of Mrs. Sigourney is from a painting executed by Alexander, in 1828. Shfe selected this portrait out of several that had been engraved and published at different periods of her life as the one that represented her nearest to her Norwich days, and which she preferred to have asso- ciated with the history of her native town. The engraving of General Ebenezer Huntington is from a miniature taken at Philadelphia in 1783. That of Dr. Tyler is from a miniature painted by Elkanah Tisdale, of Norwich, probaby about 1802, when Dr. Tyler was 60 years of age. GENERAL INDEX. Aboriginal History, 28-47, 104-112. \ Academical Institutions, 541-51. Addressers of Hutcliinson, 374, 5. Africans, slaves and free, 328-31 ; Vote against them, 568 ; Sabbath School for them, 556. Aged citizens in 1842, 586. Agreement Ictwcen the Town and its old friend Uncas, 261. \ Agricultural Society, 644. Alarm ! on to Boston, 376 ; Battle of Bunker Hill, 383. Allyn's Point, 157. Alms-house, 574, 5. Alphabetical list of early Inhabitanrs, 222-42. Alphabetical list of early Inhabitants in Long Society and Preston, 243-54. Alphabetical list of early Inhabitants in Newent, 256-9. "American Hero," — its author, 470. Amusements, 331. Ancient fishery in the Thames, 18. Animals, 296-301. Arnold House, — its history, 410. Arnold's Letter to Mrs. Gen. Knox, 414. Association against illicit trade, 398. Attorneys, 518. Autographs; Fitch, 137, 150; Mason, 144; Lathrop, 217; Birchard, 166; Brewster, 212; Elderkin, 216; Occom, 269, 465. Balloons, or "New Art of Flying," 521. Baltic Village, 4.33. Banks, 646-9. Baptists, 437, 50; 528, 9, 98-501, 61. Bass fishery, 18, 353. Bean Hill, 21, 78, 322, 61, 5; 510, 11. Beans and jjuddings, 78. Belligerent edicts, 479, 82, 4, 94, 8. Bi-centennial celebration, 587-9. Biographical Sketches : Mason, 140 ; Fitch, 148; other first proprietors, 148-208; second class of proprietors, 208-21 ; Arnold, 409; Generals Huntington and other Revolutionary characters, 415-26; Governor Huntington and others after the Eevolution, 516-22; several recent citizens, 625-33. ( See Index of Names. ) Blockade of the Thames in 1814, 561. Blue Law, 101. Bomb-lance factory, €23. Booksellers, 361, 4 ; 514. Boston tea-party, 373. Boston circular, 366, 73. Boswell farm, 540. Bounds described, 58, 9. Boundary tree, 59, 250, 4. Bozrah, 136, 434-8. Bozrahville, 194, 437, 616. Brewster's voyages to Conn., 211. Brewster's Neck, 44, 211, 13. Brick corner, 538. Bride-brook marriage, 164. Bridges, 99, 343-52, 4. Burial places : Oldest, 128-32, 144, 202; Leffingv.'ell-town, 1 92 ; Episcopal church- yard, 458 ; Chelsea Society, 460 ; Lung Society, 448 ; Jewett-City, 450 ; Yantic Cemetery, 645 ; Indian Cemetery, 585. Business at the Landing, 305-12, 638-40. (See also Trade, Jilarine Affairs, &c.) Business in the town-plot, 3G0-3, 511-15. Busmess men of recent date, 638-40. Cambridge Platform, 284, 318, 439. Candidates for the Ministry: 1st .^ocicty, Fitch and Flint, 125; Coit, 127; "VVil- lard, 287 ; How, 336. Chelsea Society, Curtice and Cleveland, 460 ; Elv and Austin, 469. Cannon cast and anchors made, 389. Carding machines, 449. Car factory, 623. Casualty at Lathrop's bridge in 1725, 343. Catholics, 472, 605. Catholic sermon in Cong. Church, 472. Centenarians, 218, 50; 578-80. Circulating Library, 514. Chair of Uncas, 40. Chaise and carriage ; one-horse chaise of Gov. Trumbull, 325. Channel companj^, 5G9. Chelsea, East, 25, 302, 539; West, 24, 263, 538; Plain, or Parade, 2.3, 53.3-5 ; Ecclesiastical Society, formerly 6th, now 2d, 460-72, 552-60. Chelsea in Vermont, 503. Till GENERAL INDEX. Chocolate Mills, 371, 608. Choirs introduced, 340. CKurclies burnt : Chelsea Conj^regational- ist, 5,52, 55 ; Town-plot, 526 ; Main Street Congregationalist, 529 ; Greene- ville Baptist, 529. Classes for i-aising soldiers, 396, 9. Clerks, Town, 82, 133, 594 ; County, 87 ; City, 595. Clock and watch-making, 372, 512, 608. Comity of Episcopalians and Congrega- tionalists, 455. Commerce and trade, 288, 303-14, 97; 475. Commissioners, or Justices, 86 ; cases be- fore them, 277-81. Confiscation of tory property, 371. Congregational ordination, 149 ; struggle with Presbyterianism, 461. Congregational Churches : 1st Church or- ganized at Saybrook, 55 ; 2d, or Chelsea, 460 ; 3d, now extinct, on the Plain, 558 ; 4th, now od, at Greeneville, 538 ; 5th, or Main Street, now 4th, or Broadway Congregational, 539. Constables for the first 25 years, 83. Continental soldiers, 391. Contribution for soldiers, 392. Contraband trade, 397. Controversies : with Preston respecting bounds, 271, 94 ; with New London for halfshlre, 273 ; Town-plot versus Chel- sea, for the courts, 570 ; Gas Compa- nies, 573. Cork-cutting, 614. Corn stalk molasses, 389. Cotton manufacture, 446, 9, 50 ; 512, 609 -16, 19-21. Court House, 22, 523. Courts, 86, 8 ; 267, 8 ; 273, 4 ; 570 ; trans- ferred to the Landing, 572. Crows and blackbirds, 55 ; bounties for their destruction, 297. Cushion and calash, 334, 5. Customs of former times, 75, 80, 121, 325, 33, 517. Date of purchase and the price, 57. Deacons, 155, 172, 184, 288. Death, 73, 336, 58 ; 501 ; by fire, 529. Debts of town in 1718, 271. Deed of Norwich, 57 ; of Preston, 243, 255 ; Indian deeds, 261 ; mortgage deed, 137. Deputies, earliest, 84. Descriptive sketch, 17-26. Disasters at sea from tempest, wreck, pi- rates, privateers, tropical fevws, and belligerents, 493-502. Distrainments, 323, 4. Division of the town, 428. Divorce case, 205. Donation to Boston, 376. Druggists, 326, 413, 26 ; 637, 8. Durkee's expedition to Wethersfield, 365 ; start for Boston, 376. Eagleville, 446. Early marriages, 177. Ecclesiastical difSculties, 284, 318, 461, 553. Elderkin's mills and meeting-houses, 72, 117,216. Emancipation, 229, 61 ; 520 ; proclaimed and honored, 677. Emigration, 309, 421, 44 ; 503-9 ; Episcopal Church, 451-9 ; at Yantic, 605 ; at Jewett City, 419; Christ's Church, 455 ; Trinity, 457 ; at Poquetannock, 451. Epitaphs: Adgate, 129; Mrs. Arnold, 409; Backus, 160; Baldwin, 163; Bil- lings, 500; Bushnell, 215; Calkins, 172 ; Fitch, 148, 448 ; Gager, 131 ; Gif- ford, 176; Griswold, 178; Huntington, 129, 183; Jewett, 450; Kinney, 564; "aged nursing mother," 191 ; " Jenteel woman," 191 ; Lathrop, 218, 221 ; Post, 195; Kude, 250; Smith, 200; Tracy, 203, 345 ; Governor Trowtrow, 330 ; Tyler, 458; Wight, 448; Samuel Uncas, 587 ; Waterman, 206. European trade, 486-92. Excise money, 342. Exports, 476. Extent of the town, 19, 58, 128; of the first parish, 128. Extracts from Norwich Packet, 358. Extraordinary coincidence, 240. Falls, 18, 22 ; plunge over, 34, 610. Falls Village, 22. Family meetings, 645. Fast and Covenant extraordinary, 110, 123. Fashions, 75, 7 ; 121, 325, 33-5, 67 ; 520 ; change at the Revolution, 335, 67. Female Academy, 546. Fillmore and the pirate, 229 ; descent of Millard Fillmore, 13th President of the U. S., 229, 30. Fire-lands, 507. First-comers, 61. First born child and other early births, 73, 182, 7 ; first born male, 182. First incident, 47. First houses on the Plain and in Washing- ington Street, 532-7. First marriages and deaths, 74. First military organization, 88. First masters of vessels, 303. First steam-boats in the Thames, 566. First turnpike in U. S., 530. Fitchville, 437, 617, 18. Fitting out for boarding school, 334. Flag before the Revolution, 378 ; of the l'8th C. v., 678. Flag-raising for the Union, 656. Foreigners, 605. Franklin, 136, 429-33. Franklin-Square, 540. Free Academy, 549-51. Freemen, 85, 6; 274, 281. (JENERAL INDEX IX French ofBcers visit Norwich, 393, 4. French neutrals, 310. Freshets, 352-5. Fritrht of Mrs. Brewster, 46. Fulling mills, 98, 371, 603. Golden wecUings, 641. Grants lavish and indefinite, 95. Grants at the Landing, 303 ; to Owaneco, 256. Grave-stone memorials, 314, 458. (See epitaphs.) Greeneville, 26, 558,618. Green's proclamatioa against Norwich and Windham, 377. Half-century Ministers, 459. Hanover Society, 444. Hemp manufacture, 610, 11. High prices, 389. Hill-top, or Zion's Meeting-house, 21, 119- 22, 6-9 ; 316. Home-lots, 63-9 ; first alienated, 102 ; parts that have not been alienated, 65, 6, 8; 167. Horse-jockeys and their cargoes, 478. Hour-glass of the pulpit, 283. Huguenot exile, 288 ; Huguenot bell, 282. Hungry march. 111. Imports direct from Europe, 310, 477, 92. Impressments, 484, 564. Indian fugitives ; great meeting to dispose of them, 114, 15. Indian deeds, 261 ; forts, 23, 81, 302. Indian graves, 30, 73, 263, 585 ; relics, 263. Indian plunge into Yantic Falls, 34. Indian raid upon the pioneer settlers, 46 ; do. upon Reynolds and Rockwell, 109. Indian totems, 264 ; Attawanhood, 53 ; Owaneco, 58, 255, 6 ; Uncas, 58, 262. Indian village at Pawcatuck destroyed, 145. Inns and Inn-keepers, 100, 331, 360, 512. Inoculation, 427, 8. Installation ia the open air, 462. Instruction to deputies, 369, 95, 9. Insurance, 310; companies, 649. Invasion ap[)rehcnde(l, 400. Inventories, 157, 8, 68, 72, 5, 91 ; 204, 10, 48, 89 ; 333. Irish population, 643. Iron works, 389, 606, 12, 53. Jail, 273, 547, 72. Jewett City, 448. Johnson, Vermont, 207. July 4th, 1865, 677. Justices, 86. Killingworth, 176, 8. Kinsman, wide range of meaning, 193. Labrador tea, 367. LaFayette in Norwich, 393. Landing-place, 99 ; original condition, "02, 5 ; first grantees, 303, 4. Lathrop Bible, 77 ; Lathrop ballad, 220. Law-books and election sermons, 276. Lawyers, 160, 518, 630,3. Laurel Hill, 25, 575, 6. Lebanon, 136, 15), 166. Lebanon, N. H., 208, 503. LefRngwcIl-town, 192. LcthngwcU's staff, l'.)0. Letters : Mrs. Arnold to her son Benedict, 410 ; Arnold to Mrs. Knox, 414 ; Elder- kin's petition, 120; Col. McLeilan to Major Loffingwell, 400 ; Occom's Well and Farewell, 4G5 ; Washington to Col. Rogers, 382 ; Taylor love letter, 154. Lil)erty Tree, 366, 8, 74, 6. Library of a clerical student in 1724, 210. Lisbon, 137, 429, 45. Litigation, 87. Longevity, 188. Long Society, 243, 447. Lotteries, 347, 50, 2, 63. Mackerel, 18. Magistrates, 90. Manufactures, 367, 9, 71; 446, 9; 504, 606-24. Marine Affairs, early, 306, 10 ; during the Revolutionary war, 402-8 ; after the war, 475, .502, 65, 95 ; 652, 3. Mashipaug, or Gardner's Lake, 227. Masonry, 524. Mason controversy, 266-70. Mason versus Richardson, 88. Mayors, 625-30. Medical Society, 359, 638. M. C.'s, 631, 2. Meeting Houses, 21, 63, 119, 126, 216, S2 ; 340, 527, 60, 88 ; 601, 3 ; at West Farms, 284, 430, 2 ; at Newent, 44(>, 2 ; at Paut- ipaug, 433, 8 ; at the Landing, 462, 503, 6, 9. Mer(;hants and merchandise, 100, 310, 14, 60. 97. Merchant's Hotel, 539. Methodist, 4-33, 7, 42, 59 ; 602, 3 ; Free Church, 603. Methodist Chapel swept down the river, 354. Mike-apple, 239. Militia, 88, 214, 377, 8, 91 ; 400. Mills, 72, 97, 216. Mining company, 624. Ministers originating in 1st Society, 560. Minister's Rates, 124, 288, 323, 41 ; 471. Mission School, 557. Mission of Occom and Whitaker, 464. Missions and Missionaries, 590-3. Model substitute, 673. Mohegans, their original scat and removal, 29, 30 ; attemjjts to Christianize them, 104, 14. Monuments : Lady Fenwick, 53 ; Miaa- touomoh, 31, 8 ; Uncas, 586. GENERAL INDEX. Nailery, 371, 607, 12. Names : Indian, 48 ; Puntanical and local, 80 ; of families, 281 ; of vessels, 485. Nai-ragansctt fort fight, 108, 179. Navy ixcruits, 675. Necrology of the late war, 680-92. Nevveut, between the rivers, first grant, 120, 197, 256-60, 439-43; its ancient Sanctuary, 442. New-light excitement, 316-24 ; Whitaker's sermon against it, 467. News from Lexington and the rush to arms, 380. News from Bunker Plill and the Sunday scene, 383-6. Newspapers : Norwich Packet, 357 ; list of 18, 580-4. Nine half-pay officers, 425. Non-importation agreement, 366-70. Norwich, why tlms named, 71 ; link con- necting it with Norwich in England, 180 ; tOAvns growing out of it, 136 ; indicted by the Grand Jury for want of a school, 93 ; inhabitants hungry, 390. Norwich Packet, 357-64 ; Courier, 582, 4 ; Aurora, 583 : Bulletin, 584. Norwich in Vermont and Massachusetts, 503; inNew York, 507. Norwich City, 23, 99, 302, 5 ; its streets, buildings, and prominent citizens, 533- 40 ; incorporated, 625 ; its present limits, 572. Norwich Light Infantry, 6£9. Occom Company, 620. Oil mill, 606. Old age of Dr. Lord, 336, 7. Old customs, 75-80, 121, 267, 32.5, 31. Old fashioned comforts, 75. Otis Library, 577. Owaneco's brief for charity, 265 ; quit claim to Preston, 255 ; agreement re- s])ecting Newent, 226. Oxford, N. Y., 507. Pachaug, 448. Paper currency, old and new tenor, 293-5. Paper-making, 367, 8 ; 607, 13, 19, 20. Parsonage land, 63, 277, 342. Patent of the town, 134. Patriotic and war committees, 367, 74, 96 ; 563. Pautipaug, or 8th Society, 432. Peace, 401, 475, 565; Treaty carried to France by the Spy, 403. Peculiarity in the foundation of the town, 70. Pew-holders at the Landing, 463, 7. Philip's war, 105-13 ; only five persons killed in Connecticut, 113. Physicians, 193, 203, 359, 426, 514, 634-7. Plains: in the town plot, 63, 119, 275; Chelsea, 23, 63, 263, 307, 533-5 ; Great Plain, 31 ; Sachem's, 36, 7. Poll-tax condemned, 395, 6. Pomfretj 137. Poor of the town, 272, 94 ; 574. Population, 26, 356, 522 ; of Franklin, 433 ; Bozrah, 437 ; Lisbon, 445. Poquetannock, 44, 211,453. Porto-Rico trade, 653. Post-office, 371,593. Powder-house blown up, 523. Prayer for rain, 116. President Adams in Norwich, 513 ; do. Jackson, 585. Presidential electors, 631. Preston, 243, 55 ; 447 ; Plantation act, 254. Preston, N. Y., 507. Prisoners from St. Domingo, 525. Proprietors : first class, 61 ; 2d class, 68 ; surviving in 1702, 135; of Chelsea, 305-8 ; Long Society and Preston, 243- 54 ; Newent, 257-60. Pumpkins, 79. Quinebaug, 17, 49. Railroads, 531, 2; 650, 2. Rates, 119, 24 ; 341, 455, 472. Rattle-snakes : death from their poison, 128 ; bounties for their destruction, 298. Reason for removal, 55, 6. Records imperfect, 60, 82, 3, 95, 6. Refugees from Boston, 379. Regulations prudential and municipal, 95. Remonstrance against the five years' pay to officers, 399. Revolutionary Sabbath, 657. Rivalry between Norwich and New Lo7i- don in business, versus harmony in so- cial affairs, 79, 90, 273. Rogerene episode, 290-2. Rolling mill, 612, 24. Rustication of an English noblemen, 573. Sabbath-day journey, eight miles to meet- ing, 439. Sabbath School in 1st Society, 527 ; at the Landing, 566 ; both Societies, 693. Sachems succeeding Uncas, 264, 5. Salaries, 341, 557. Salem Town House, 457. Sampson Fox, or Woollaneag, 297. Saw-mills, 97. Saj'brook, its early history, 51-4, 141. Saybrook platform, 284, 7 ; 318. Scarcity of sugar, molasses, salt and wheat, 389, 90. Scenery, 19, 69, 515. School fund of the State, 547. Schools and school-masters, 92-4, 275, 541-8 ; consolidated and graded, 548. Schooner sent to Ireland in 1732, 306. Sealing and whaling, 489. Seamen plenty, 481. Seating the people and dignifying the seats, 126. Sentry Hill, 65. GENERAL INDEX. XI Separatists, 318-24; reasons for separa- tion, 320 ; list of their preachers, 322 ; first members, 321. Settlements : at Pequot Harbor, now New London, 41 ; Brewster's Neck, or Po- quetannock, 44, 211-13; Saybrook, 51 ; Lebanon, 151; Windham, 136, 159; Newark, 181 ; Canterbury and Plain- field, 138, 59 ; Preston, 254. Seven pillars of the Church, 439, 71. Seven expeditions in Philip's war, 112. Shad, 17. Shantok, 39. Sheep-walks, 103, 302-5. Shetucket feriy, 97, 204. Ships, shipping and ship-building, 303, 402-8, 475-502, 505, 95-7 ; 653 ; first ship-masters, 303-14. Showtucket Indians, 115, 256. Sign-posts, 102, 274, 307. Slavery, 328, 61 ; 520. Sleighing, 331. Smuggling, 397. Society before the Kevolution, 333, 58. Soldier farm, 170. Soldiers' Aid Society, 676. Soldiers for frontier service, 313 ; in the war for the Union, 660-80. Soldiers and patriots of the Revolution, 333, 58. Sons of Liberty, 374 ; address to them, 379. Sprague, 402, 29, 45 ; 595-7. Stage-coach, 368, 507, 13. Stamp-act, 365. Steam-boats, 566, 7 ; 651. Stocking looms, 607. Surface and contents of the town, 19. Summary of Churches, 605. Summary of forces in the war for the Union, 675. Surrendei-ers, 97, 257 ; great meeting to dispose of them, 113-15. Surrender of Gen. Lee, 676. Survey of Bean Hill and Town Plot, with notices of persons and things, 510-22; do. of the Plain and Chelsea, 533-40. Swine, 98. Sympathy with Boston, 373, 6. Tape-making, 372. Tarring and feathering, no case in Nor- wich, 291. Taxation, 373, 95. Tea-drinking, 366. Temperance, 568. Thames, its fisheries, 18; its name, 19; navigation, 85. Thamesville, 25, 653. Thanksgiving, 80, 331, 92. Tories, 370, 4-6, 9 ; 385-8. Tory molasses, 389. Tory timber, 405. Town House, 273, 4. Townsmen, or Sel-ectmcn, the earliest, 84. Town Clock, 340, Town Plot, 21, 62, 3 ; 510-15. Tradition, its uncertainty exemplified, 179. Trade: with West Indies, 310, 475-85; Europe, 486-90 ; East Indies, 490. Trading Cove, 212, 67. Train-bands, 89, 377, 8. Training day, 214, 378. Trespass, cases of, 277, 281. Turnpikes, first in U. S., 550. Uncas : besieged at Mohegan, and relieved by Leffingwell, 41 ; at Niantick, and re- lieved by Brewster, 45 ; at Shantok, " diverse times," 46 ; his death and char- acter, 117, 261, 2. Uncas Cemetery and Monument, 585-7. Univcrsalism, 324, 472-4, 604 ; books in its favor published in Norwich, 474. Uprising for the Union, 657-60. Vernett grape, 512. Veteran Guards, 391 ; veterans of the war of 1812, 674. Veteran Missionary, 592. Volunteers for Boston, 381, 2, 91. Votes, 522, 654. Wardrobe of a lady in 1757, 333. War : Mohegans and Narragansetts, 30- 47 ; Fi-encli war, 313, 58 ; war of the Revolution, 365-401 ; war of the races in St. Domingo, 480, 525 ; with Great Britain, 561-5, for the Union, 655-692. Warwick Patent, 51. Washington in Norwich, 393 ; his funeral solemnities, 525. Waureegun Hotel, 645. Waweekus, or Waweequaw's Hill ; two of this name, 50, 103, 115, 297, 300, 624 ; at the Landing, 23, 81, 452. Wears, 101. Weddings, 332, 67 ; wedding in Court, 219; at Windham, 367 ; at New Lon- don, 332. Wequanock Company, 621. West Farms, 136, 188, 429. West India trade ; its beginnings, 304, 310, 475-85. Western Reserve, 507, 22, 47. Whaling vessels, 490. Whitefield in Norwich, 321. Wigwams, 62 ; the last in the Town Plot, 115. Wilkesbarre, 421, 504. Wilkes and Liberty, 368. Williams Park, or Chelsea Plain, 534. Winter of gloom, 108. Windham, 136, 159, 205, 33. Woolen mills, 614, 16. Wyoming, 503-6. Yantic Village, 20, 615. Yantic Cemetery, 645. IIISTOEY OF NOKWICH, CHAPTER I. Introductory and Descriptive. Norwich, when purchased of the Indians, June 6, 1 650, consisted of a tract of wild land nine miles square, in the heart of the Mohegan terri- tory, at the head of what was then called Mohegan or Pequot river. This ai-ea comprised the present towns of Norwich, Bozrah, Franklin, Lisbon, Sprague, and the western border of Griswold and Preston, embracing Jewett's City, Long Society, and a part of Poquetannock. The Slictacket river flows in a semicircular sweep through the eastern portion of this area, receiving the Quinebaug about three miles before it reaches the Thames. The Quinebaug comes down with a rapid current through a country abounding in hills and valleys, rugged and abrupt, and has its channel frequently encumbered with ledges of rock. Its name in the Indian tongue signified Long Pond, — the flowing river bearing with it in its course the name of its fountain head. It is a larger stream than the Shetucket, yet the Indians, after the junction, continued the name of the minor branch, and this practice has been very properly retained, since the united stream, both in its course and the nature of its current, seems to be a continuation of the Shetucket rather than of the Quinebaug. The Shetucket was formerly noted for its abundant supply of shad. Just below the mouth of the Quinebaug they were caught in April and^ May by driving the river. Pens were constructed in the shallow waters, and the fishermen, plunging into the river with bushes in their hands, drove the fish into these inclosures, where they were caught by hand and thrown into baskets. Shad and other fish are still found in the river, but. not of the size and flavor of former times, and far less abundant. The Yantic is a small romantic stream flowing east and southeast, affording by its declination and consequent rapidity various sites for mills and maimfacturing establishments. The brooks and rivislcts that swell it to the size of a little river conje from Lebanon, Colchester and liozi^h. 2 18 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The largest stream issues from Gardner's Lake, the Mashipaug of the Indians, a fine sheet of water that forms a corner bound to the three towns of Colchester, Bozrah and Montville. About a mile before the Yantic meets the vShetucket, while flowing south, it suddenly sweeps round in an easterly direction, and coming upon a bed of rocks, plunges over a ledge twelve or fifteen feet in height, and still descending, works its way amid the heaped up rocky masses, through a narrow chasm between perpendicular cliffs to the level basin below. These are the well-known Norwich Falls, which at the time of a spring flood suddenly swell into sublimity, spanning the river with a sheet of foam, and filling the ravine with a heavy roar. Escaping from this compression, the river turns again to the south, and in a gentle current passes onward to meet the Shetucket, and in their union they become the Thames. The whole course of the Thames from Norwich to its entrance into Long Island Sound is about fourteen miles. It is navigable from its mouth to Gale-town village, more than half its length, for vessels drawing twenty-five feet of water. Ships of the line might at all times of the tide ascend to a distance of nine or ten miles ; but above this the channel is impeded by bars and sand-banks, which are frequently changed in their position by the spring floods, and aggravated by the sand brought down from the Shetucket.* The Thames in earlier days was widely known for its lavish abundance of fish. The shad, alewives, bass, mackerel, eels, oysters, and lobsters, were nowhere to be found in larger quantity or greater perfection. Stur- geon and other large fish often wandered into the stream, and have been known to leap into a passing boatf It was chi'onicled in the Boston News-Letter, just after the great freshet of February, 1729, that Norwich river was swarming with fish to such an extent that 20,000 bass had been caught within a few days just below the Landing. This might have been a larger amount than usual, but every year at the breaking up of the ice, there was a great demand, far and near, for the striped bass of Norwich river. In a newspaper of 1771, it was noticed that 300 barrels of mackerel had been taken that season in the river between New London and Nor- wich, and that six barrels were filled from the contents of a single seine. The river has not entirely lost its character for supplies of fish, but the abundance varies with varying seasons, and incessant navigation has had its usual effect in scattering the finny tribes. * In 1806, the Channel Company, after dredging the river, reported nine feet of water at common tide, the whole distance from Norwicli to New London. t So recently as May, 1861, a sturgeon (called in the marine vernacular, Albany beef,) was caught above Gale's Ferry, which weighed 125 lbs. HISTORYOF NORWICH. 19 It was long before the river attained a fixed and popular name. It was called indifferently the Pequot or Mohegan river. At what period or by whose suggestion it began to be called the Thames, is uncertain, but the name is an easy sequence to that of New London. London on the Thames seems to require that the river of New London should be the New Thames, and probably the name slid into usage without any definite beginning or sponsorship. The aboriginal name has not been recovered, but there can be little hesitation in assuming that it was the term which signified in the Indian tongue, Great River, — this being the first distinctive name applied to it by the English, and the one long in use among the Mohegans. In its present dimensions, Norwich covers an area of twenty-six square miles. The greatest extent is from Trading Cove brook to Plain Hill, which measures seven miles ; its medium breadth is about three. In point of scenery it is one of the most picturesque towns in New England, pre- senting a pleasing variety of high and low ground, forest and field, rock and river. It displays a multiplicity of slopes and side-hills ; every turn brings forth a new landscape ; every height oifers a fresh expanse of interesting details. It is beautiful in its contrasts and its harmonies ; beautiful beyond comparison in its circling streams, its umbrageous parks and rural avenues. ^ In the pursuits of life, rare combinations of apparently opposing interests are here embraced in one municipal bond. Tasteful and costly dwellings, the refinements of social life, means of high mental culture, and all the aspects of elegant retirement, are found in strange proximity with crowded places of business, the bustle and haste of railroads and wharves, and the tremulous, unceasing roar and confusion of innumerable mills and machine shops. There are many points of observation within the limits of the town, that may be called mounts of vision. From Plain Hill on the northwest boundary the prospect' is broad and noble, expanding almost to vastness and sublimity. The Old Parsonage or Meeting-House hill in the Town- plot commands a lovely valley warm with hfe, where the quiet abodes of man seem in perfect harmony with the works of nature. From Ox-hill, east of the Town-plot, there is a view of surpassing beauty, ample and pano- ramic, the outlines composed of those interminable woods which are the relieving shadows of all American scenery. The high grounds in and around Chelsea afford a still greater variety of prospect. In addition to woodland grandeur and village beauty, the eye takes in the clustered, crowded city, the neighboring villages, and a long reach of the river with its diversified banks, combining several dis- tinct landscapes in one view. In historical interest Norwich holds a prominent position. It has an aboriginal as well as an English and American history. The first plant- ers were a body of men who displayed much of the genuine old English 20 HISTORYOPNORWICH. character, and left the impress of their origin deeply stamped upon their laws and regulations. The two most noted founders of the town. Major John Mason and the Rev. James Fitch, were remarkable men, and various individuals of more than common note have, first and last, issued from this community. In Revolutionary times the inhabitants stood boldly forth in resistance to oppression, and were among the first in the country to turn their attention to certain manufactures for which the colonies had been kept dependent upon Great Britain. In later times it has become still more distinguished for the variety, quantity and value of its manufactured products. These circumstances, in connection with the diversified scenery, have given a name and character to the town, which make it more con- spicuous than many others of greater numerical importance. In some respects Norwich has been peculiarly favored by Providence. It has never been visited by any extraordinary visitation of disease, or crushed by any sudden calamity. In common with other parts of the coniitrj'^ it has met with financial reverses; it has had periods of depres- sion, when improvements ceased and business of all kinds ran to a low ebb, throwing it backward in its career for a time, and obliging it to retrace the steps to prosperity. But neither war, nor treason, nor famine, nor plague, nor whirlwind, nor life-destroying floods, nor widely desolating flames, have ever imperiled its welfare. Since the Nine-miles-square was bought of the Indians, no embattled foe has been seen in the territory. The greatest of outward disasters has been an occasional loss from flood or fire ; the destruction of a church, a factory, or dwelling-house, the rup- ture of a bridge, or the submerging of a wharf. Norwich, beside its central division, the city, consists of several distinct portions or villages, stretching like wings along the banks of the Shetucket and yantic, with a background of hills and woods, interspersed with farms moderately fertile, surrounding the whole area. At the northwest, three and a half miles distant from the port, and bordering closely upon Bozrah and Franklin, is the village of Yantic. This section of the town retains its aboriginal name. At the time of tlie settlement, the whole district beyond Bean Hill was called Yantic, or Yantuck. Strips of meadow land at Yantuck were among the eai-hest grants dealt out to the planters, and highly prized as affording native grass for their cattle. But the name was probably derived from the river, the syllable ticJc, or tuck, usually denoting in the Indian tongue, a stream of water. The village is wholly of modern growth; built up since 1820, and mainly dependent upon the manufacturing interest for its business and population. Here in former times were the Backus iron-works; the HISTORY OF NORWICH. 21 Backus mansion, and a range of woods, meadows and rugged heights belonging to the Backus family. Beyond these were the West Farms and the Hyde tavern. Various branches of the Backus family, scattered over the Union, look back to this place for their ancestors. Yantic is also the birth-place of the late Joseph Otis, to whom Norwich is indebted for its public library. His father wrought in these old iron- works, and his boyhood was spent in this secluded hamlet. It was here that he acquired habits of industry and perseverance, and what education he had, was obtained at the Bean Hill school. Bean Hill, in the early days of the settlement, was the northwestern limit of the town-plot. No house-lots were originally laid out beyond the point where the river ci'osses the main street. The platform of the hill, wisely left open for jiublic use, was then probably covei*ed with forest trees. It is still shaded in part by a fine old elm, the successor of one of great size and symmetry, which, according to tradition, was verging toward decay when the settlement commenced. Under the shadow of this elm dynasty, in foi'mer times when Bean Hill was noted for its business and gaiety, tables were spread, speeches made, and sermons preached. Here neighbors gathered to hear the news, and teamsters loitei'ed in the heat of the day. The Toum-plot, the oldest part of Norwich, originally consisted of one long, irregular street, winding ai'ound the hills, and following the course of the Yantic. It retains still the same outline, with but little variation from its first laying out. The streets, the house-lots, the garden-plots, are the same, and in many places the old first-built walls and fences remain. Near the center is an open square or plain, hedged in on the north by a range of high ground, rocky and precipitous. In the early days of the settlement, on the summit of this hill, towering over the plain, stood the venerated House of Worship, for many years the only public gathering- place for a Christian assembly in the Nine-miles-square. The neighbor- ing heights were doubtless crowned with woods, and the rocks, now so bare, decked witli a luxuriant growth of moss-tufts and creepers. How beautiful the ascent to this Mount Zion ! — the venerable Mr. Fitch leading the way, and his pilgrim followers, old and young, singly or in groups, scattered along the pathway and gathering at the sacred porch. At the end of the first century from the settlement, the church, no longer necessary as a look-out post of the town, came down from the hiil, and took its position at the corner of the Green, where it now stands. This Plain, or Green, was the place where trades, merchandize, public business, military exercises, shows, sports, festivals, and the general enter- prize of the town, found a center. The County Jail stood on the north side at the foot of the hill ; the Court-House was in the open area ; the Post-Olhce not far from the meeting-house ; two printing-offices, within a 22 HISTORY OF NORWICH stone's throw at the west, and taverns, schools and shops aUei-nating with private dwellings around the border. The Court-House in 1798 was removed to the site once occupied by the dwelling of Capt. John Mason, (the first house built in Norwich,) where it now stands, and since the transfer of the courts to Chelsea, has been used for a school-house. Trade, noise, bustle and gaiety have left the precincts ; the taverns are closed, and the peace and quiet of the Happy Valley seem to have obtained undisturbed possession of this charming plain. Yet the gei-ras of mental and moral power are quick with life beneath the calm green of these quiet scenes. Character draws strength and elas- ticity from the soil. From this nucleus issue forth bright spirits, one after another, who take positions east or west and radiate light through other spheres. Latent fire is at work in the heart of a society from which pro- ceed such young men as Herr Driesbach, the lion-tamer ;* Aaron S. Ste- phens, the unfortunate participator in the measures of John Brown ; Ed- ward Harland, a brigadier-general at the age of twenty-five ; merchants for other cities, ministers for many pulpits, and patriot soldiers to die for the Union. Honor to the old Town-plot. It is still worthy of its founders, the Masons, the Fitches, the Huntingtons, Hydes, Tracys, Leifingwells and Lathrops of the ancient settlement. The Falls Village lies in a hollow bend of the Yantic, just where it rushes over the rocks through a winding channel into the cove leading to the Thames. It is wholly of manufacturing origin, and with the exception of an old mill-seat, and a dwelling-house built by Elijah Lathrop, is the growth of the last half century. The Water-Fall at this place was formei-ly regarded as one of the most interesting natural curiosities in this part of the country. So mucli of the stream has been diverted from its original headlong course over the para- pet of rocks, for mechanical uses, that the description given of the cataract sixty years ago seems exaggerated. It is only at the spring floods, when the swollen river comes roaring through the chasm, filling the channel from side to side, that we can realize the old picturesque grandeur of the scene. It then becomes easy for the imagination to re-people the landscape with savao-e combatants, and to discern amid the noise of the falling water, dis- tant echoes of the war-whoop. The perpendicular cliff that walls the chasm suggests the old tradition, and the Lidian tragedy seems again acted before us. The panting Narragansetts come suddenly amid the thick * Samuel, son of Consider Sterry, is supposed to be identical with this hero of the hippodrome, — Herr Driesbach being the name assumed when he became a circus actor. HISTOEYOFNORWICH. 23 woods upon the edge of the precipice, and plunge, or are driven by their victorious pursuers, over the battlements upon the pointed ]-ocks below. Chelsea Plain in its whole extent from the range of hills by which it is circumscribed on the east, to the brink of No-man's Acre, is without rocks, and resembles an alluvial formation, or the bed of a lake. GraveT and rounded stones, differing in their character from the gneiss and hornblende of the neighboring heights, are found a few feet below the surface. The form of the land in its descent toward the river, the clefts in the banks, and various peculiar configurations, suggest the idea of some violent force exerted in past ages, such as the rush of retiring waters and the fitful sweep of an eddy.* This Plain is a very beautiful part of Norwich. Here is the Free Academy, a magnificent building planted in the midst of ample space, with a romantic woodland for its background, — tlie broad and open Park, — the Uncas Monument, overshadowed with almost se[)ulchral gloom, — a small but tasteful church, — the Yantic Cemetery, already rich in its memorials of departed worth, and continually amassing saci'ed treasures, — many elegant private mansions, gracefully varied in age, style and posi- tion, and evei'ywhere groups and columns of towering, interlacing trees. It is on this plain that we may with some degree of probability fix the seat of an Indian sachem and a village of wigwams prior to the English settlements. The Yantic cove below, we may assume, was their canoe- place, for like other savages they would natui-ally congregate at the foot of a waterfall. Near at hand is the ravine by which they ascended to the plain, where stood their matted tents and corn-fields. Waweekus Hill, the rock-browed head of Norwich, looking down the river and commanding the entrance to the streams on either side, was their watch-post and place of refuge. This we may infer from its ancient name of Foi't Hill. They have, moreover, left arrow-heads and stone pestles embedded in the soil, and their i-oyal burying-ground on the brink of the upland, to attest theii' residence and identify their abonginal character. Tlie City, or central part of Norwich, encompasses the meeting-place of the Yantic, the Shetucket, and the Thames, spreading over both sides of each of these three rivers. It is an assemblage of side-hills and hill- tops, with rivers gliding at their feet. The upper streets are declivities, and the buildings lie in tiers one above anothei". In ascending tlie river by night, the houses on the hill seem suspended in the air. The lower streets have either been won from the water, or blasted out of the rock. The bold projections along the border line have been moulded into foun- dations for wharves, offices, and freight-houses. Central Wharf, a stupen- dous platform covered with shops, factories, and machinery of various kinds, * The elevation of the Plain above the level of Shetucket and Main streets, at theii" iuterseetion, according to an old measurement of surveyors, was 78 feet. 24 HISTORY OF NOEWICH and affording facilities for an extensive trade in coal and lumber, has been wholly created, and a railway laid along the semicircular border of the promontory forms a connecting link between the railroads to Amherst and to Worcester, which run from hence northwest and northeast, leaving Norwich between them at their point of junction. In this part of Norwich since 1835 the advance in the style of build- ings, both public and private, has been surprisingly rapid, — almost like the changes of imagery in an enchanter's mirror. Churches, banks, — and among the most recent, the noble bank building in Shetucket street, stand- ing upon the brink of a ledge of rock, with the narrow, dark river far down in its rear, — mercantile blocks, armories and machine-shops, school- houses of grand proportion and finished detail, the Waureegan Hotel, the Otis Library, Breed Hall, one after another, have taken their places in the scene. Elegant mansions, in all the various styles of cottage, city, country and castellated architecture, erected at a cost varying from five to forty thousand dollars, and collecting around them groves and gardens of exquisite beauty, rise along the streets and extend over the hills. So great are the ti'ansfbrmations, that absentees of fifteen or twenty years, on returning are embarrassed in endeavoring to trace out their former haunts. Taste and enterprise, led on by prosperity, are in continual operation, creating the new, remodeling the old, transforming the rude into the ele- gant, the barren cliff to a verdant terrace, and gullies of sand and gravel to gardens of fruitfulness and bloom. West Chelsea was formerly noted for ship building. Not only common trading vessels, but ships of considerable size, were constructed here under disadvantages Avhich erjergy and perseverance only could have con- quered, the narrowness of the river making it necessary to launch them side-ways or diagonally. Oak-spring hill. Baptist hill and Mount Pleasant are names by which this high district has been locally known at different periods. Here, under the shade of venerable trees, far above the level of the river, above the line of numberless chimneys and tree-tops, springs of pure water that have never been known to fail, rise to the surface of the earth. For many years one of these perpetual fountains has supplied a portion of the city with water. This hill was in former times covered with a stately forest, and until a recent period all the roads and pathways on this side of the river led through woods and thickets. Streets and houses are now extending over the heights, and the waste lands are rapidly passing into gardens and cul- tivated fields. Below West Chelsea, on the river, is a place formerly known as a re- treat for fishing boats, with here and there a farm house in sight upon the bank, and called Bushnell's Cove. A distillery was an old occupant of HISTOEYOPNORWICH. 25 the Point, and a house near by was at one time kept as a tavern. Since the year 1850, an entire change has been effected in this locahty, and the present appearance is no more Hke the former than if a new creation had taken place. Mitchell's iron works, Wetmore's ship-yard, and the com- mercial enterprise of J. IM. Huntington & Co., have transformed this secluded station into a thriving village, which lies within the city bounds, but is distinguished by the a[)propriate name of Thamesville. A vast amount of labor has here been expended in leveling, grading and building. The high banks have been broken up and gradually de- posited at the river side, changing the marshes and shallows into acres of solid ground. By perseverance and capital, overcoming obstacles, ample space and facilities for business have been obtained, and the village now exhibits several handsome dwelling houses, a steam engine and machine factory, a well prepared ship-yard, convenient wharfage and a quay, with all the necessary appurtenances of workshops, warehouses and tenements. On the east side of the river, below the mouth of the Shetucket, is the wild and romantic district of Laurel Hill, one of the youngest of the Norwich group of villages. So late as 1850, this bank of the river re- mained chiefly in its natural condition, abrupt, rocky and uncultivated, with a single farm-house in an extent of two or three miles. It has had no magic touch from the wand of manufacture, no mines or marble quarries lurk beneath the surface ; it stands apart from the clash of mills and machinery, but under the management of taste and enterprise, pleasant homes and fertile gardens have risen along the rugged i>lopes, bursting out one after another, like the old laurel blossoms, for which the place was noted, at the call of June. The first dwelling house was erected in 1852. It numbers at the present time, (18G5,) 45 houses; has 70 scholars for the public schools, and sends 50 voters to the polls. East Chelsea was originally the least desirable of all the suburbs of the city. The river swept over it at every freshet, and receding, left it cov- ered with the stones and rubbish that came down imbedded in the ice- blocks, or torn up by the impetuosity of the current. Hence, probably, it obtained the descriptive name of Swallow-all. Franklin street was a rugged lane winding into the woods between Stony Brook and Burial Ground hill. The brook itself, alternately a quiet stream and a roaring torrent, having received its petty branches and its tributary pond, flowed into the Shetucket, crossing Main street in the line of Franklin Square. The bi'ook and the massive stones that covered it, are now fiir beneath the surface of the street, the soil having accumulated above to the depth of several feet. Churches, handsome houses, mercantile blocks, a railroad depot, and various forms of business, occupy the once neglected surface. Franklin street, elevated, widened, lengthened, and lined with buildings 26 HISTORY OF NORWICH on either side, has become a busy tliorouglifare and the seat of several large manufacturing establishments ; among them are the gigantic works of the Norwich Arms Company, which, during the pressure of the war, had the workmen at command, and the machinery in operation, capable of turning out 400 finished muskets per day.* Greeneville, on the Shetucket, was indebted, in its origin, to the foresight and well-directed enterprise of William C. Gilman and William P. Greene. The former made the first purchase ; the latter followed out and comjdeted the grand design, and is imperishably connected with its name. It was founded upon manufacturing privileges. Dams, canals and fac- tories were here coeval with dwelling houses and families. A first speci- men of each sate down together in 1829, and these rapidly grew into a community. A school was established in 1832, a Congregational church organized January 1st, 1833, and a house for worship completed in 1835. Greeneville affords a striking illustration of the success with which, under the influence of wise regulations and liberal patronage, an assem- blage of various nations and pursuits may be wrought into a prosperous and well-ordered community. This village has now several large facto- ries, with the great Shetucket Cotton Mill and the mammoth Chelsea paper-mill at their head ; three churches, an excellent system of graded schools, and a population of 3,000 or more, gathered from five different nations, — ranking them in the order of numbers, — Irish, American, Scotch, English and German. So far they have worked well together, and give promise of soon becoming a homogeneous community. This cursory survey of Norwich is sufficient to show how richly she has been endowed by nature with sources of prosperity and with what happy results these facilities have been thus far improved. In available sites for manufactories the town is peculiarly favored. It is surrounded by a farming region, fertile, extensive and well culti- vated, which makes it advantageous as an agricultural market. Its situation at the head of a navigable river gives it facilities for fur- nishing supplies to a widely extended back country and to the numerous mill seats and villages that occupy the tributary streams. POPULATION. 1756—5,540, of whom 223 were colored. 1774_7^3oi. 1,024 families; 901 dwelling-houses. 1779—7,187. 1780— G, 541. 1790—3,284. 1800—3,476. AFTER THE DIVISION OF THE TOWN. * Sec article "Norwich Armories," in Harper's Magazine for March, 1864. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 27 Census taken by Benjamin Tracy at the close of the year 1810 : Free white males, 1,554 Free white females, 1 ,807 Free colored persons, 1 52 S hives, 12 Total, 3,525 1820—3,624, 1830—5,179. 1840 — Free white males, 3,254 Free white females, 3,633 Colored persons. 352 Total, 7,239 1850—10,205. 1860—14,058, of whom 361 were colored. According to the Grand List of 1864, Norwich has 1727 dwelling-houses; 267 stores ; 41 manufactories ; 758 horses; 533 carriages ; 613 time-keepers. Total value of property, $;i 6,094,637 ; of taxable property, $10,649,619. Total number of polls registered, 1764 ; military exempts, 47 ; firemen, 296 ; other exempts, 107 : total taxable polls, 1314. It has seven banks, besides one for savings and a savings society that has been forty years in operation ; four insurance companies ; seventeen churches ; eight school dis- tricts ; thirty-nine public schools ; and a Free Academy, open for an academical educa- tion to all the children of the town, free of expense, and without regard to sex or con- dition. By the old stage route, from Norwich to New York is 128 miles ; to New Haven, 58 ; to Boston, 80; to Hartford, 38, and about the same distance to Providence. By the Norwich & Worcester Railroad, Boston is reached in four hours. By the Northern Railroad to New London, and the New Haven Railroad, New York is reached in six hours ; by the Northern Railroad and the steamboat hue connected with it, in eight or nine houi's. Latitude, 41°, .33', N. Longitude, 72°, 7', W. of Greenwich, MEASUREMENTS. Line between Norwich and Lisbon, by the Shetucket river, 4 miles and a few rods. Between Norwich and Franklin, 5.^ miles. Between Norwich and Bozrah, 4| miles. Between Norwich and Montville, by Trading Cove and brook, 3^ miles. From Trading Cove to the mouth of the Shetucket, 2 miles, 100 rods. From thence by the river to Lathrop's bridge, 3 miles, 80 rods. From 1st Society Court House to Lathrop's bridge, a little over 3 miles. " " " to Lovett's bridge, 4 miles. " " " over Plain Hill to Franklin line, 4;^ miles. " " " to Trading Cove, (New London road,) 3| miles. " " " to Wharf bridge, 2 miles. CHAPTER 11. Aboriginal History of the Nine-Miles-Squaee. When the English began their settlements in the eastern part of Con- necticut, they found the Mohegans claiming and holding by a kind of wan- dering possession, a large area back from the sea-coast, and extending far into the interior of the country. How was their title obtained ? Not by inheritance or conquest, but apparently by stepping into vacancy and occu- pying the seats of an extinct or fugitive race. This appears to have been the origin of the right which Uncas had to the Nine-miles -square, and to several other fair towns, the ownership of which is derived from him and his sons. In point of fact, this title could not be fiiirly challenged ; for as aborigines and as present sole occupants, their right was paramount to all others. The English had no claim beyond the line of their conquests on the sea-board. But who were the antecedent inhabitants of the Nine-miles-square ? What people had fished in its streams, swept over it with their hunting bands, and built their huts upon its area, not only before Mason and Fitch set up their pillars in the wilderness, but before Uncas became a sachem and his people a tribe ? On this point no certainty has been obtained. The Pequots were the earliest children of the soil, of whom we have any knowledge. Beyond the Pequots we recede into darkness and ob- livion. A committee appointed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies to inquire into the claims of Uncas to the Pequot territory, made a report in 1663, which throws some light on the ancient condition of that tract of land which is now Norwich. They had consulted, they say, "old and creditable chiefs," and the testimony obtained goes a step beyond the Pequot war, and gives us a starting-point for our history. " They jointly affirm that Uncas had at first but little land and very few men, inso- much he could not make a hunt, but always hunted by order from other Sachems, and in their companies ; which Sachems, being five brothers, lived at a place called by the HISTORYOFNORWICH. 29 Indians, Sondahqne,* at or near the place where Major Mason now liveth, [t. e., Nor- wich,] vv ho were the sons of the great Pequot Sachem's sister, and so became very great Sacliems, and had their bounds very large, extending their bounds by Connecti- cut path.t almost to Connecticut4 and eastward meeting with the bounds of Pasquat- tuck, (wlio lived at Showtuckett, being a Pequot Sachem whose bounds extended eastward and took in Pachaug ;§) the which five Sachems being brothers grew so great and so proud that upon hunting they quarrelled with the Pequots, at which the great Pequot [Sachem] being angry with them, made war upon them and conquered them and tlieir country, and they all fled into Narragansett country, (leaving their country and men unto the Pequot Sachem,) from wlience they never returned, but there died. So that Indians affirm all their lands and Woncas's too, according to their customs and manners were Pequot lands, being by them conquered, and now are the true right of the English, they having conciuered the Pequots. "|| According to this testimony, the Nine-miles-square, at a period not long anterior to the arrival of the English, was inhabited by bands of Indians whose riders were allied to the royal Pequot race, and probably they and their people were of Pequot origin. Nothing more is known of these children of the soil. They were doubt- less few in number, and passed away like dry leaves of the forest, swept off by winds, or beaten into the earth by wintry storms. Perhaps the report of the aged chiefs was correct, that they withdrew into Narragan- sett and coalesced with its tribes. The territory that had been occupied by these five brothers, however, again rises to the view in 1G43. It was then claimed by Uncas, the Mohegan chief, and bore the general name of Mohegan. Various historical notices tend to show that the Mohegans were origin- ally a river tribe, possessing lands on the Connecticut, in what are now the towns of East Hartford and East Windsor. The father of Uncas having married into the royal Pequot family, acquired by this alliance a right to a certain trdct of land on the west side of Pequot river, since known as Mohegan proper, and here fixed the principal seat of his sachemdom. The chiefs, consulted by the committee before mentioned, testilii'd tliat Uncas was " akin to the Pequots," and that he received this tribal seat by inheritance from his father. Thus, when the five sachems were driven from their possessions in the neighborhood, the Mohegans stood ready to spread their hunting and fishing claims over tlie relinquished country and include it in their domain. * Soudahque: the name comes to us through several copyists in this form. It may have been identical with Souduck, a variation of Sliowtuck, Showtuckct. It has been suggested also that the word was originally written Yontahque, a name of which our modern Yantic would be the representative. t The road to Hartford. t The three towns of Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor then constitu'ed Connect- icut. ^ Showtuckct and Pachaug are now Lisbon and Griswold. II Conn. Col. Rec, 3 :479. 30 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The Yantic water-fall appears to have been a flxvorite resort of the Mohegans. It was their landing place and their fishing place. It is probable that they had wigwams at intervals in the neighborhood, and that it became one of their wandering homes. This supposition harmo- nizes with the fact that the first English settlers found here a "place of Indian Graves" which was venerated by Uncas as the spot where his parents and relatives were buried. As a tributary chief, Uncas was exceedingly restless and ambitious. Five times, the Indians said, he rebelled against his superior, and each time was expelled from his possessions, and his followers subjected to the sway of the conqueror. But at this extremity, he had always managed, by submission and entreaty, to gain the pardon of his liege lord and re- cover his inheritance. Still another of these rebellious outbreaks occurred about the time that the English first settled upon Connecticut river. Uncas being once more defeated by Sassacus, retired to the territory claimed by the Mohegans, near Windsor, where some of the tribe still remained. This brought him into the neighborhood and to the knowledge of the English, and particu- larly of Capt. Mason, whom he joined, with seventy Mohegan and river Indians, in the famous expedition against the Pequots, in May, 1637. The success of this enterprise opened the way for his return to his seat upon Pequot river. He was henceforward protected and fostered by the English, his claims to large tracts of land allowed, and the number of his subjects greatly increased by the captives bestowed upon him, and the fugitives that sought liis protection. In the words of other Indians, "the English made him high." The Narragansetts and Mohegans were rival races ; their sachems jeal- ous of each other, and the people ever ready to break out into rancorous warfare. The early history of Connecticut is perplexed with accounts of their petty quarrels. Our present Norwich was then the Mohegan fron- tier, the battle-ground and lurking place of hostile tribes. Among its rocks and ravines the scouting parties of the Narragansetts often laid their snares or found shelter when pursued ; and here also was the look- out post of the Mohegans, when expecting an attack from the foe. In 1638, the hostile sachems, Miantonomoh and Uncas, through the persuasion or authority of the English, entered into an agreement at Hartford, not to make war upon each other without first appealing to the English. But mutual dislike and national jealousy were easily inflamed into open hostiUty, and neither party, when roused to the conflict, waited for the sanction of its neighbors. An open rupture at length took place, the immediate cause of which is thus stated by Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts, in his journal : HISTORYOFNORAVICH. 31 "Onkus, being provoked by Seqitasson, a sachem of Connecticut, mndc war u])on him, and slew divers of his men, and burnt his wij^wams ; whercu]3on Minantunnomoh being- his kinsman, took offence against Onkus, and went with near one thousand men and set upon Onkus before he couUl be provided for defence, for he iiad not tlieu with him above three or four hundred men." Other historians, and among them Trumbull, in his History of" Connec- ticut, trace the dispute farther back, to an attempt which was made to assassinate Uncas by a Pequot, who was suspected to have been incited to this act by the Narragansett sachem. Of this, however, no satisfactory proof was ever adduced. Miantonomoh indignantly denied the charge, and retorted upon Uncas that he had cut his own arm with a flint, and then accused the Pequot of wounding him. But whatever might be the incident which supplied the spark of ignition, the materials had long been gathering, and the flame broke forth in the summer of 1G43. The follow- ing account, more miimte than is usually given of this contest, is deduced from a careful comparison of the earliest histories, with the traditions of the Mohegans. Miantonomoh having secretly assembled a force of five or six hundred warriors,* marched against the Mohegans. He expected to take them by surpi-ise, the season being that in which they were usually busy in their cornfields, or engaged in fishing, and he might reasonably anticipate a briUiaut victory. But Uncas was a wary chieftain ; his partizans were at that very time abroad, and he soon received information of the movements" of his enemies. According to tradition the Narragansetts were first dis- covered as they were crossing the Shetucket at a fording place, near the junction of the Quinnebaug. From this point they came streaming onward through the Avoods and over the long hill that commands the valley of the Yantic. This was one of the common routes from Narragansett to Mohegan, and without doubt, Uncas in seasons of peculiar peril kept the path strictly watched. Having received information of their ajiproach, he assembled his men with great celerity and boldly advanced to meet the foe. When he readied what is called the Great Plain, tlu-ee or four miles from his principal settlement, and a mile and a half south-west of the Yantic, he learned that the Narragansetts had crossed the fords of the Yantic, [at Noman's acre,] and were pouring down uj)on him. He im- mediately halted, arranged his men on a rising ground, and made them *Nine hundred, or one thousand, says Trumbull, and the warriors of Uncas four or five hundred. This is an over-estimate, as an inquiry into the cflfcctive force of the two tribes will show. Half the number assigned in each case, would probably come nearer to the truth. In Mohegan proper, there is no reason to suppose that even two hundred warriors could have been found at that time, and though Uncas might com- mand the services of several small tributary bands, he could have had no opportunity to assemble them for this service. 32 HISTORY OF NORWICH. acquainted with a stratagem, the effect of which he was about to prove. He had scarcely given his warriors instructions how to act, before the Narragansetts appeared on an opposite declivity. Uncas sent forward a messenger, desiring a parley with Miantonomoh, which was granted, and the two chiefs met on the plain, between their respective armies. Uncas then proposed that the fortune of the day should be decided by themselves in single combat, and the lives of their warriors spared. His proposition was thus expressed : " Let us two fight it out : if you kill me, my men shall be yours ; but if I kill you, your men shall be mine." Miantonomoh, who seems to have suspected some crafty manoeuvre, in this unusual proposition, replied disdainfully, "My men came to fight, and they shall fight." Uncas immediately gave a pre-concerted signal to his followers, by falling flat upon his face to the ground. They, being all prepared with bent bows, instantly discharged a shower of arrows upon the enemy, and raising the battle yell, rushed forward with their toma- hawks, their chieftain starting up and leading the onset. The Narragan- setts, who were carelessly awaiting the result of the conference, and not expecting that the Mohegans would venture to fight at all with such infe- rior force, were taken by surprise ; and after a short and confused attempt at resistance, were put to flight. The fugitives and their pursuers, with despairing cries and triumphant shouts, crossed the river at the shallows and swept like a whirlwind over the hills, regardless of tangled forests, rushing torrents and precipitous ledges of rock. The course of flight and pursuit led across the Yantic shoals below Noman's acre, and from thence through Norwich, over the high ridge of Ox-hill, toward the well-known fords of the Shetucket, above the mouth of the Qninnabaug. One of the Mohegan Captains, who was very swift of foot, singled out Miantonomoh and pursued him Avith relentless pertinacity. The sachem had nearly reached the river, but being, it is said, encumbered and retai'ded by a corslet of mail,* his pursuer overtook him, and throwing himself against him, impeded his motion. When the chief had recovered himself, he repeated the act, continuing thus to obstruct his flight, but not attempt- ing to seize him, that Uncas might come up and have the honor of his capture. The moment that Uncas touched his shoulder, Miantonomoh stopped, and without the least resistance, remained calm and silent. Un- cas, surveying him, demanded why he did not speak. "If you had taken me," he said, "I would have besought you for my life."t The captive chief made no reply, "choosing i-ather to die, than to make supplication for his life." | Uncas, giving the Indian whoop of victory, collected his * Furnished by Gorton of Rhode IsLxnd. Probably it was only a padded or quilted vest to check the force of an Indian arrow. tWinthrop 2: 138. Savage's edition, 1853. J Hubbard, 451. HISTORYOPNORWICH. 38 men around liim and the strife ceased. The conflict had been short, and the pursuit rapid, occupying the shortest si^ace of time in wliich we may sup})ose the fleet-footed Indians to liave swept over a distance of five or six miles. About thirty Narragansetts were slain and many more wounded. Among the hitter Avere two of the sons of Canonicus and a brother of Miantonomoh. We have said above that a Mohegan warrior overtook Miantonomoh in his fliglit, impeded liis steps, and materially assisted Uncas in hunting him down. According to Winthrop's account, it was two of the flying sachem's own men who arrested his course and gave him up to Uncas, hoping thereby to obtain favorable terms for themselves ; but the Mohegan sachem, indig- nant at their treachery, slew them on the spot. This account is happily at variance with other contemporary testimony, which states that the cap- ture of the Narragansett chief was secured by a Mohegan, and not by the cowardice and treachery of his own companions. The very name of the fortunate warrior has been preserved. Mr. Thomas Peters, who was shortly afterward a visitor at the fort of Uncas, mentions Tantaquieson as the Mohegan captain "who first fingered Miantonomio." Hubbard also, in his History, gives the credit of the capture to the same chief.* More- over it was this exploit that elevated the name of Tantaquieson, (or Tan- taquidgin, as it was pronounced in later days,) and made it an honorable one among the Mohegans. His descendants long afterwards, in their visits among the neighboring whites, were accustomed to boast of the capture of the great Narragansett giant by their ancestor. But while it exalted the warrior in the estimation of his own people, it pointed him out as the special object of Narragansett vengeance, exposing him both to open attack and secret assassination. Various snares were laid for him, and both craft and courage employed to accomplish his destruction ; but apparently he escaped all designs against his life, and died in a quiet way.f Traditions of this remarkable contest, embellished probably with various legendary additions, have been preserved both by the whites and Indians in the neighborhood of the scene. In point of fact, it is the most conspic- uous purely Indian fight recorded in the annals of New England. The- English had no direct concern in the conflict. It was entirely aboriginal in its character and execution. The numbers engaged, the dignity of the sachems, the importance of its results, and the romantic incidents in its train, combine to enhance the interest of the contest, and to demand for it a special prominence in the history of Norwich. Here was the battle- * App. to Savage's Winthrop, Vol. 2. Hubbard's New England, 459. t One of his grandsons was an estimable deacon of the Mohegan church. 3 34 HISTORY OF NORWICH. ground : the flight, pursuit and capture of the sachem all took place within the limits of the present town. The sudden rout and extreme terror of the Narragansetts, which fol- lowed the first onset of the Mohegans, shows in a strong light the bewil- dering influence of panic. Considering the preponderance of their ninn- bers, and the confidence with which they advanced to the attack, the precipitate, headlong retreat that followed becomes almost ludicrous. If we may credit the accounts given by the Mohegans, so great was the dismay and alarm of the fugitives, that they seemed bereft of their senses, and were driven like frightened sheep through woods and swamps, or captured without resistance. Long afterwards some old Mohegans were heard to boast of having found in the chase a poor Narragansett struggling and panting in the thicket that bordered the river, and so frantic with fear and excitement, as to suppose himself in the water, and actually attempt- ing to sioim among the bushes. It is to this headlong rout that the traditionary legend connected with the Falls of the Yantic may with some degree of probability be assigned.* One band of the fugitives being turned out of the direct line leading to the fords of the Yantic, were chased through woods, and over rocks and hills, by the relentless fuiy of their pursuers, and coming upon the river where the current was deep and rapid, many of them were driven into it headlong, and there slaughtered or drowned. Others, in the rapidity of their career, having suddenly reached the high precipice that overliangs the cataract, plunged, either unawares or with reckless impetuosity, into the abyss beneath, and were dashed upon the rocks, their mangled bodies floating down into the calm basin below. After the battle, Uncas returned in triumph to his fortress, carrying his illustrious captive with him, whom he treated with generous kindness and respect. But on the requisition of the English, he conducted him to Hart- ford and surrendered him to the custody of the government, consenting to be guided in the future disposal of the sachem entirely by their advice. The whole affair was laid before the Commissioners of the United Col- onies, at their meeting at Boston in September, and the question was there debated whether it was just and lawful to put Miantonomoh to death. His execution of a Pequot who had testified against him ; his repeated attempts upon the life of Uncas by assassination, poison and sorcery ; his turbulence "in making war against the Mohegans without a previous appeal to the English ; and his inveterate hostility to the whites, to exterminate whom * It is difficult to give these old unwTitten tales their proper place in history. The autlior formerly assigned a later date to the frightful plunge of the fugitives at the Falls, but \vhen all the accompanying circumstances are considered, the legend is found to coincide best with the strange panic that prevailed among the Narragansetts at this time. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 35 he was accused of endeavoring to bring about a confederacy of several tribes, and of hiring the Mohawks to assist in the deadly w^ork, were the arguments urged against him. Nevertheless, the court still liesitated whether it would be just to put him to death, and in this dilemma referred the matter to ecclesiastical counselors. Five of the principal ministers in the colonies were consulted, and these, considering it hazardous to tlie peace of the country that the sachem should be released, gave their voice in favor of his execution. This decided the question in the affirmative, and the Commissioners directed that Uncas should conduct his captive " Into the next part of his own government, and there put him to death : provided that some discreet and faithful persons of the English accompany them and see the execu- tion, for our more full satisfaction." Such was the death-warrant of the Narragansett sachem. The result is recorded by Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts, in his Journal. lie states that the Commissioners from Connecticut, on their return to llartr ford, sent for Uncas and acquainted him with the decision in regard to his captive. He readily undertook the execution of the sentence, and Miau- tonomoh was accordingly delivered into his hands. Two Englishmen from Hartford were directed to remain with the prisoner as witnesses of the deed. Uncas promptly obeyed the directions given. "Winthrop says : " Taking Miantonomoh along with him, in the way between Hartford and Windsor, (where Onkus hath some men dwell,) Onkus' brother, following after Miantunnoraoh, clave his head with an hatchet." This slaughter of the Narragansett chief undoubtedly took place on that tract of land south of the Podunk which was claimed by Uncas and inhab- ited by scattered families under his jurisdiction. The narrative of Win- throp is explicit in stating that Uncas led his captive to this district, and that he was executed suddenly on the way, probably as soon as they had passed the English boundary and entered upon Indian territory. We can not doubt that the Commissioners had this special tract in view when they directed Uncas to carry his captive into the next part of his own govern- ment, and there put him_ to death. Winthrop, who records the event, understood, evidently, that the execution took place in this Mohegan claim between Hartford and Windsor, that is, the present East Hartford and East Windsor, and he probably derived his information from the Englishmen that were designated to witness the act and see that it was done without torture. We are thus, in a manner, compelled to admit that Miantonomoh was executed in some unknown spot, near the old boundary line of Hartford and Windsor. But TrmnbuU, the worthy historian of Connecticut, yielding to the strong current of local tradition, in and around Norwich, assigns a very different place for the scene of this tragedy. 36 HISTORY OF NORWICH. According to this authority, Uncas conducted his captive to the very spot where he had taken him prisoner : that is, to the border of the She- tucket river, about forty miles in a southeasterly direction from Hartford, and there executed the awful sentence ; a blow upon the head with a hatchet by one of the attendants of Uncas dispatching him at a single stroke. The historian adds : " Uncas cut out a large piece of his shoulder, and ate it in savage triumph. He said, It was the sweetest meat he ever ate : it made his heart strong." We know that many of the Indian tribes, even those not accounted (Cannibals, had the custom of tasting the flesh or blood of a slaughtered foe believing that thereby the strength and valor of the deceased was infused into their own souls. This part of the tradition is not wholly improbable. Whether the chief was slaughtered in the nameless wilds above Hartford, or on the banks of the Shetucket, Uncas may have grat- ified his revenge and honored a savage practice by tasting the flesh of his fallen enemy. The incident, however, rests wholly on tradition, and is not countenanced by any thing that we know of the customs and charac- ter of the Mohegans. On the contrary, it has the vague and exaggerative features of fiction. The historian further relates that the Mohegans, by order of Uncas, buried the victim at the place of his execution, and erected a great heap or pillar upon his grave ; adding that this memorable event gave to the place the name of Sachem's Plain. This narrative coincides with current tradition. Sachem's Plain is on the western bank of the Shetucket, north of the present village of Green- ville, and here for a long course of years the monumental heap was to be seen, apparently giving solemn evidence of the verity of the statement. Nevertheless the Records of the Commissioners, and the Journal of Win- throp, being written at the time, and with such manifest attention to minute accuracy, must be accepted as more reliable than tradition.* And indeed, considering the nature of the route, without reference either to history or tradition, it is scarcely credible that Uncas would have taken that long journt^y with his manacled captive, through the wilderne>s, where the chances of escape or recapture were so imminent, and he might reasonably expect his course to be watched and his path ambushed by the enemy, when the terms of his engagement could be fulfilled and his em- barrassments ended at a much nearer point. For it is evident that the * The authority quoted by Trumbull is a manuscript of Eichard Hyde, Esq., (now in the Library of Yale College,) which is dated Oct. 9, 1769. It is undoubiedly what it claims to be, a faitiiful narrative of the traditions of ancient men in the vicinity ; but in the course of 126 years it would be very easy for an error to slide into tradition, which should blend the place of the sachem's execution with that of his capture. HIStORYOPNORWICH. 37 Commissioners designed that Miantonomoli should be removed from life with expedition, and the phrase, next part of his oion government, used in reference to the jurisdiction of Uncas, points to the Mohegan territory on the Podunk, and not to the Mohegan territory on the Shetucket.* Tliis view of the subject by no means destroys the interest attached to the monumental heap, and the commemorative name, Sachem's Plain. They were memorials of the capture, if not of the slaughter, of the chief- tain. Here the first blow was given, that ended in the bloody execution. Here the great Narragansett was arrested in his flight. Here he sate upon the stone, and his captors came around with taunts and mockery, and shouts of joy and triumph. Here they bound his arms with withs, and led him away like a captured lion to Mohegan. The heap of stones was doubtless in its origin a Mohegan pile, — a mar- tial trophy erected upon the spot where the tribe had been victorious. But the place of sacrifice in the woods of Windsor, — the spot where the helpless chief received the fatal blow, — was left unmarked and unvisited. There, perchance, the carrion fowls fed upon his flesh, and his bones were left to bleach and decay. No tradition designates the spot, and it must forever remain unknown. The rude tumulus on Sachem's Plain, which was at first, perhaps, but three or four stones rolled together, grew at last to a memorable heap. Being near an Indian route often traveled, it was visited by scouting par- ties of different tribes, and additions made to it alike by exultant foes and bewailing friends. All true-hearted Narragansetts who passed that way, renewed their lamentations at the heap, and cast a few more stones upon it, consecrating them with doleful gries and frantic gestures. Tradition, therefore, might naturally be drawn into the mistake of supposing this the tomb of the chieftain. The English who settled on the tract, seeing this artificial mound, this Gilgal or heap of memorial stones reared in the wil- derness, and observing that every Mohegan, when he came within sight of it, broke into loud exultation and bravado, and every Narragansett uttered bis dismal howl of lamentation, while each paused to cast upon it another stone of defiance or of honor, would easily credit the report, however vague its authority, that here lay the remains of the great Miantonomoli. A late citizen of Norwich, N. L. Shipman, Esq., who deceased in 1853, at the age of eighty, remembered this tumulus in his youth, — a rude stone heap, between two solitary oak trees, about sixteen rods east of the old Providence road, and nearly in a line with that part of the river where the great dam has been built. * In the former edition of this work, the author, swayed by a belief entertained from childliood, — a belief current and unquestioned in the neis^bborhood of Norwich, and sanctioned by Trumbull and other historians, — expressed a different opinion. It was an opinion, however, based upon tradition rather than coeval testimony. Subsequent inquiries have led to a different conclusion. OO HISTOEYOFNOEWICH. At length the owner of the land, who was perhaps ignorant of the design of the stones, removed the greater part of them to use in the undersetting of a barn he was erecting in the neighborhood. The remain- der, in the clearing up of the ground, gradually disappeared. In the process of time the old oak trees also vanished, and nothing was left to designate the spot where the tlying chieftain yielded to his foe, until the 4th of July, 1841. At that time a monument was erected, by a few citi- zens of Norwich, as nearly upon the site of the old tumulus as could be ascertained.* It consists of a block or cube of granite, five feet square at the base, placed on a pedestal that raises the whole eight feet above the surface, and bearing the simple inscrijition — MIANTONOMO. 1643. Tliis is the Sachem's monument. The place where it stands has long been known as Sachem's Plain, or Sachem's Point : a small stream which here flows into the Shetucket, is Sachem's Brook; and a living spring near by, is Sachem's Spring. In fact, the whole neighborhood is overshadowed and engraven with the name and fame of the great Narragansett cliief. This granite block was dedicated in -the presence of a concourse of people, young and old, from the neighborhood, the ceremony being con- nected with a festival of children from the village of Greeneville. It was consecrated by prayer, and libations of pure water from the Sachem's spring, where doubtless he had slaked his thirst and cooled his heated brow in his marches through the wilderness. Another question may be worthy of some consideration. What was the precise date of the execution of Miantonomoh ? A note in the Massachusetts Historical Collection says : " The Indian Prince was murdered, as appears from Governor AVinthrop's MS. His- tory, the 28tli of September, 1643."t Winthrop's History, since published, fails to verify this statement, the date of the tragedy not being there given. Nevertheless, the time desig- nated may be con-ect. The Commissioners met at Boston on the 17th of September. It was agreed that the proceedings should be kept secret until after the members from Hartford and New Haven should return home. Uncas was then to be sent for, and the execution committed to his hands. * Erected principally through the influence and exertions of Wm. C. Gihnan, Esq. To identify the spot, the party relied upon the accuracy of Judge Shipman, who was present at the dedication, and rehearsed the traditions connected with the place. t Vol. 7 of Series 2, p. 47. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 39 The Commissioners probably reached Hartford by the 2 2d. Uncas might have been summoned so as to arrive on tlie 2Gth or 27th, and the execution would naturally follow without unavoidable delay. The General Court met at Hartford on the 12th of October, and passed a resolve to send eight soldiers to remain a while with Uncas to protect him from the anticipated vengeance of the Narragansetts.* The same day the message of Pessacus, the brother of Miantonomoh, arrived in Boston, avowing his intention to avenge the death of the chief. All these dates and attendant circumstances concur in assigning the sachem's death to one of the last days of September ; and probably it occurred on the 28th. The sentence of Miantonomoh is one of the most flagrant acts of injust- ice and ingratitude that stands recorded against the English settlei'S. He had shown many acts of kindness towards the whites ; in all his intercourse with them had evinced a noble and magnanimous spirit ; had been the uniform friend and assistant of the first settlers of Rhode Island ; and only seven years before his death, had received into the bosom of his country. Mason and his little band of soldiers from Hartford, and greatly assisted them in their conquest of the Pequots. The Narragansetts were determined to avenge the death of their chief. They were particularly exasperated with Uncas, as he had entered into treaty with them for the release of the sachem, and had already received, as they averred, a large quantity of wampum in part payment of his ran- som. The Mohegans, on their part, denied that any wampum or other goods had been received by them, except small parcels which Miantono- moh himself had bestowed, as gratuities, upon their captains and counsel- ors, or given to " Uncas and his squaw, for preserving his life so long and using him courteously during his imprisonment." A harrassing and inveterate system of hostility between the two tribes ensued. The Narragansetts were double in number to the Mohegans, but the latter were shielded by the protecting care of the English, so that a balance was preserved between the two nations, otherwise unequal. The war was carried on by sudden skirmishes, and a system of scouting and ambushment, creating constant alarm and irritation, but yicdding small results. During the spring of 1045, the Narragansetts invaded the Mohegan country with a large force, committed great devastation, and finally drove Uncas to his strongest fort and besieged him there. According to tradi- tion this fort was on Shantok Point, a rougli projection by the side of the Thames, nearly opposite Pocquetannok. The English had assisted Uncas in fortifying this spot. There is still a fine spring of water by the bank. * Col. Rec. Conn., 1, 96. New Haven also seat six by a resolve of Oct. 14. Col. Rec. N. H., p. 110. 40 . HISTORY OF NOEWICH. The position was easily defended, and the Narragansetts had no hope of taking it by assault. Many of the women and children had fled to the other side of the river, with a part of the canoes, but of the remainder the Narragansetts had taken possession, so as to cut off retreat on the water side, and thus enclosing them on this point of land, they hoped to subdue thgm by ftmiine. How long the siege continued is not known ; but one night a messenger dispatched by Uncas left the fort without being discov- ered by the besiegers, and creeping along the margin of the river very cautiously till without the range of the enemy's scouts, he crossed the country with Indian speed, and arrived the next day at Saybrook, the nearest English settlement, where he made known the desperate situation of the Mohegans. Or perhaps Trumbull's account may be more correct • that he fell in with a scouting party from the fort, and communicated to them the messag(; with which he was charged by Uncas. Measures were immediately taken at Saybrook for the relief of the beleaguered sachem. This was before the appointment of Mason to the command of the fort, and the supplies sent are supposed to have been for- warded by private enterprise. No later investigations either enlarge or vary the account given by the venerable historian of Connecticut. " Upon this intelligence, one Thomas Leffingwell, an ensign at Saybrooii, an enter- prising, bold man, loaded a canoe with beef, corn and pease, and under cover of the night paddled from Saybrook into the Thames ; and had the address to get the whole into the fort." * It is probable that Leffingwell had often been on trading excursions to Mohegan, and was well acquainted with Pequot river, and the position of Shantok fort. We know in general that the people of Saybrook were in the habit of coming into the river to trade with the Indians, and that Trading Cove, which afterwards became the southern boundary of Nor- wich, was a name bestowed by them long anterior to the settlement. A fiinciful legend has in later times been connected with this adventure. It would be difficult now to ascertain what degree of truth belongs to it. It is said that the expected relief from Saybrook was delayed much longer than the hungry and impatient Mohegans had anticipated ; and that each night Uncas left the fort and crept along the bank of the river, skulking by the water's edge, till he came to a rocky and precipitous point, which juts into the stream, a little above Massapeag Cove. Here, under shelter of the rock, the sachem remained till nearly day-light, with his sleepless eyes upon the river, and his ear intent to catch the lightest sound of a falling oar, and it was not till the second or third night of his watch that * Trumbull's Conn.: Ch. xi. Leffingwell was not an ensign at that period. He was chosen ensign of the train band in Norwich, long aftenvard. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 41 Leffinfrwell arrived. The ledge of rock on which the pachem sat in his midnight watch has since obtained the name of Uncas" Chair. No sooner was this timely supply of provisions safely lodged in the for- tress, tlian loud shouts of exultation wore uttered by the besieged, to the astonishment of the Narragansetts, who were unable to divine the cause of this midnight triumph. At the dawn of day, however, the secret was disclosed ; the Mohegans elevated a large piece of beef on a pole, and thus gave notice of the relief they had obtained. The Narragansetts dared not assail either the pei'sons or property of the English, but we can readily believe that they beheld the boat lying by the shore with bitter feelings of exasperation, and poured out a torrent of threats and invectives against its officious owners. That they saw Leffingwell, and knew it was he that brought the supplies, is evident from Leffingwell's own testimony, as will soon appear. Finding that there was no chance of reducing the Mohegans while they were thus supported, the Narragansetts abandoned the seige and returned home. It may be thought that the year 1G45 is loo early for the date of that particular irruption of the Narragansetts from which Uncas was relieved by Lefhngwell. The sachem was so often, after the death of Miantono- moh, assailed by his enemies, that it is not easy to determine where this incident belongs. Trumbull uses the vague phraseology, '■'during the wars between Uncas and the Narragansetts" which would apply to any year b(;tween 1642 and 16 CO. A later historian of the State places it without question in 1657,* but this date can not be sustained. Uncas was indeed closely besieged in 1657, but in a fortress that stood near the head of Niantick river, west of New London, and the siege was raised not by virtue of beef and corn from Saybrook, l)ut by the presence of Lieut. Avery, Jonathan Brewster, and otiier inhabitants of New London, who hast(^ned to the fort and spread their protecting ^gis over the sachem. It might be the safest course to leave the period of this incident indefi- nite ; yet there appears to be sufficient historic evidence to justify us in assigning it definitely to May or June, 1 645, that being the period when the Mohegans were reduced to the greatest extremity. It v/as in the year 1645 that the younger Winthrop and his party com- menced that settlement in the conquered Pequot territory, which soon grew into the town of New London. This was but seven or eight miles below the principal fort of Uncas, and it may be fairly inferred that the siege, in which the sachem was brought to the verge of destruction by his enemies, was before this English settlement had taken the form of a regu- lar plantation. Otherwise, Uncas would have been likely to apply for aid to his nearer neighbor, Winthrop, instead of sending his scouts to Say- *Hollister's Hist. Conn., 1 : 199. 42 HISTORYOPNORWICH. brook for assistance. He would, at least, have informed Mr. Wintlirop of his situation, and implored the interference of the English. Moreover, the summer of 1645 was a critical period in the history of Uncas. The regular meeting of the Commissioners of the United Colonies was to take place in September, but on account of the hostile bearing of the Narra- gansetts, and the consequent danger of Uncas, they assembled in an extra session at Boston, on the 28th of July. From their proceedings at this time, we learn that the Mohegan sachem had already been "divers times assaulted in his fort by a great army of the Narrohigansetts." In the regular sequence of events, "about or before planting time," Tantaqueison, the Mohegan warrior that captured Miantonomoh, was assaulted and dangerously wounded by a lurking foe, that crept stealthily into his wigwam, as he lay asleep. After this, and before the meeting of the Commissioners, in July, the Narragansetts "at several times openly invaded Uncas," and the colonies of New Haven and Connecticut sent a few soldiers to Mohegan for his defence. Again, before the 11th of August, the Commissioners say that the enemy have made "a new assault upon Uncas, and have done him much hurt." In another irruption made by Pessacus, the same year, the force of the Narragansetts, when compared Avith that of Uncas, was so overwhelming in point of numbers, that it is difficult to understand why the Mohegans were not entirely annihilated. Making a show of only forty men at a time, they drew the warriox's of Uncas into an ambush, then suddenly rising, pursued them with arrows and bullets to the cover of their forts. But here the latter rallied, repulsed their assailants, and in the end drove them from their territory. It was during this season, and while these sanguinary conflicts were raging at Mohegan, that Winthroj), with his associate, Mr. Thomas Peters, arrived at Pequot hai'bor with a pioneer band, to lay out a plantation and make preparations for an immediate settlement. In the midst of their work, learning, probably from the feai'-stricken fugitives that came down through the forests from Mohegan, that the Nari'agansetts were devasta- ting the foir fields of Uncas, they cast aside the woodman's axe and the surveyor's chain, and hastened to the assistance of the sachem. A letter from Mr. Peters to the elder Winthrop, at Boston, giving a brief but spirited description of the condition in which they found the Mohegans, has been preserved. " I with your son were at Uncus fort where I dressed seventeen men and left plas- ters to dresse seventeen more who were wounded in Uncus brother's wigwam before we came. Two captains and one common soldier were buried, and since we came thence two captains and one common man more are dead also, most of which were wounded with bullets. Uncas and his brother told me, the Narragansetts had thirty guns which won them the day else they would not care a rush for them. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 43 They drew Uncus forces out by a wile, of forty appearing only, but one thousand in ambush, who pursued Uncus men into tlieir own land where the battle was fought vario mnrte, till God put fresh spirit into the Moheagues, and so drave the Narragan- setts back again."* It is evident that amid the multiplicity of attacks and sieges, and the numerous invasions of Mohegan during the long wars of Uncas and the Narragansetts, it would be a vain attempt to determine with nice precision the time when the adventurous Leffingwell appeared with his boat load of nutriment. It tallies best, however, as we have seen, with other historical facts to give it a place in this eventful year, and at an early period of the campaign, before Winthrop and Peters were well established at New London. It is probable that Leffingwell was paid for his exploit, as far as expense was incurred, in the usual way of Indian traffic, with skins and wampum. Trumbull says, " For this service Uncas gave said Leffingwell a deed of great part if not the Avhole town of Norwich." There is, however, no such deed on record, and no allusion to any such deed in subsequent transactions ; nor does it appear afterwards, upon the settlement of the town, that Leffingwell received or claimed any larger share than the other proprietors. In 16G7 he petitioned the General Court to confirm to him a grant of land which Uncas had proffered him in recompense for services that he had rendered. His petition implies that he had heretofore received no special gratuity from the sachem. He says : " Its not unknown to him and others what damage in my outward estate I have suf- fered by his men, and yet notwithstanding, when he and his people were famishing, being besieged by many enemies, I did afford him provition for their relief, although it was to the hazard of all my outward comforts, tlie enemy knowing what supply I had and did afford liim ; upon these and such like reasons, Uucas hath several times offered me some land for my recompense and just satisfaction, and hath expressed the same to tlie Major, who is acquainted with the truth of these things, but order requireth me to propound the matter to your worshipful consideration, desiring your approbation of the way Uncas hath propounded for my satisfaction. "t The petition of Leffingwell was considered by the General Court, jointly with an application for land by Thomas Tracy, and a grant was made to the two of 400 acres, to be laid out on the " east side of Show- tuckett river," and ecjually divided between them. The land taken up by them in virtue of this grant lay beyond the bounds of Norwich. | * Appendix to Savage's Winthrop, Vol. 2. t Col. Rec. Conn., 2, 74. I .From the fact that Tracy shared with Leffingwell in this grant, the idea originated that he had been a partner with him in the relief of Uncas. But the inference is not necessary. Tracy was much employed in public affairs, and might obtain the grant in recompense for other services. 44 HISTORYOFNOEWICH. This is all that has been found on record concerning the claim and compensation of Leffingwell. There is no evidence that he ever obtained from Uncas a deed of the town of Norwich, or a promise of it. What he did obtain in remuneration for certain services, was granted more than twenty years afterwards, and instead of being a sufficiency for a town, it was only 200 acres, and not even within the bounds of the Nine-miles- square. It was through the influence and agency of Mason, and not of Leffingwell, that the cession of Norwich was obtained of the Indian sachems. For a period of fourteen years after these desperate fights at Mohegan, the mutual enmity of the Narragansetts and Mohegans continued without abatement, and other Indian tribes of less note, Podunks, Pecomticks, Nehanticks, were drawn into the quarrel. The results indeed were tri- fling. It was a system of marauding, skulking and assassination, rather than of legitimate warfare, but such a state of things rendered it hazard- ous for the English to advance the frontier and attempt new settlements in tire Indian country. The utmost vigilance, prudence and bravery were for several years necessary to defend the points they had already assumed. Through all this long succession of disputes and contests, the English of Connecticut, though ostensibly neutral, were the favorers and protectors of Uncas. Their timely assistance and the dread of their power alone prevented him and his tribe from falling a prey to the exasperation of their enemies. The plans of the Narragansetts were repeatedly discov- ered and their designs defeated by the planters in the neighborhood of the Mohegan villages. Mr. Jonathan Brewster had erected a trading-house in 1650, at Poquetannock on the east side of the river, opposite the prin- cipal settlement of the Mohegans, and in all the subsequent inroads of the Narragansetts, and of their allies, the Podunks and other Indians of Con- necticut river, he was the constant friend and adviser, though not the open ally and defender, of Uncas, the English neutrality forbidding any overt act of championship. Uncas was on several occasions warned of the approach of his enemies by these friendly neighbors. By a concerted signal from the summit of a hill, by the firing of a gun, or by shouting across the river, they contrived to give him timely notice of impending danger, and prevent him from being taken by surprise.* * Roger Williams and other planters, east of Pawcatuck river, fiivored the Narra- gansetts. A letter from Rhode Island, dated July 4, 1657, observes : "We have at this instant a very solemn and serious information from the Narragansett sachems, by a chief counsellor of theirs, that they take it ill of some English who live near Uncas his fort, for that (as they say) the English by their scouts discover to thcMo- hegans the approach of the Narragansetts, and thereby do defeat their designs in war against Uncas." Mass. Hist. Coll., 2d Series, 7, 81. Potter's Narragansett, p. 54. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 45 But on the north and west of the Mohegans there were no friendly set- tlements, and the Narragansett war parties often came from that quarter, skulking tlirough the woods and breaking in upon them with a sudden howl. The customary haunts of the Mohegans at Trading Cove, and along the river, were rendered so hazardous by exposure to these furious irruptions, that at length the wigwams were deserted and the tribe scat- tered abroad. Some of them, in groups or families, found temporary shelter and concealment in distant woods, but Uncas and the greater part of his people retired to Nayantick, (or Niantic,) on the western border of New London. This was a fishing station of the tribe, where they often encamped during the summer. Here they entrenched themselves in a fort, built after tlieir usual mode with logs, stakes and stones, erected a few wigwams, and feasted on fish and clams. But the repose was of short duration. Pessacus of Narragansett could not forget the murder of his brother, and was resolute not to bury the hatchet while his great enemy breathed the air of heaven. In August, 1 657, he collected his forces for a fresh onslaught, and sweeping through Mohegan, came upon Uncas in his new entrenchments at Nayantick, and pressed him with a close siege. The sachem would probably have been compelled to surrender, had not a body of armed men from the neighborhood, headed by Mr. Brewster and Lieut. Avery, hastened to his assistance.* They threw themselves into the fort, and the besiegers, unwilling to engage in a contest with the English, retreated. At the next session of the Genei'al Court of Connecticut, Major Mason presented a narrative of the beleaguering of Uncas by the Narragansetts at Nayantick, and Mr. Brewster was regularly authorized to assist and protect the sachem, should he be again molested by his enemies. Tlie Commissioners of the United Colonies, however, at their meeting disap- proved of this measure, and ordered that henceforth no colony nor indi- vidual within their jurisdiction should interfere in any Indian quarrel, unless in their own just and necessary defense. It is exciting to the imagination to consider how many times in the course of these barbarous incursions, the peaceful hills and vales of our now populous and hospitable Norwich, which lay directly in the path of the invaders, were swept over by rushing bands of grim and stalwart warriors, horribly painted for war, brandishing their hatchets and war- clubs ; now creeping stealthily as a beast after his prey, and anon rushing down to the attack, or fleeing in disordered rout before the pursuer. In the year 1659, Uucas was invaded by a combined force of Pecom- ticks and Narragansetts. They found him strongly intrenched in his fort * Col. Ecc. Conn., 1, 301. Hist. New London, p. 127. 46 HISTORYOFNORWICH. at Shantok, opposite Mr. Brewster's trading-house, and having laid waste his fields and plundered his wigwams, they departed. An incident that occurred at the time of this inroad, was made the sub- ject of complaint before the Commissioners. Some of the young warriors, having been fired at by an Indian near Mr. Brewster's, crossed the river in pursuit of the offender, and chased him into the house and to the very feet of " Mistress Brewster," to whom he fled for succor, and slew him there, " to her great affrightment." For this offence the Narragansetts were amerced by the Commissioners in eighty fathoms of wampum. In a second irruption of the enemy at a later period of the same year, Mr. Brewster was plundered of both corn and goods. The Mohegans fled at first, but rallied, and gaining some advantage, obliged their enemies to retreat, pursuing them triumphantly into the wilderness. This was prob- ably the last battle fought at Mohegan. The long contest was drawing to a close. The course of our narrative has now brought us to the verge of the settlement of Norwich. The soil had been purchased, the deed signed, and certain advance parties from Saybrook were exploring the banks of the Yantic, making surveys and measurements, and laying out lots for a future township at this very period, near the track of this last expedition. According to tradition, two of these English surveyors were upon the side hill, near the present residence of Daniel W. Coit, Esq., engaged in digging gi-ound-nuts to satisfy their hunger, when they heard the noise of a tumultuous throng pressing furiously through the fords and wood-paths, and the distant shouts of pursuers driving them over the Yantic. From this period the alarms of Uucas were at an end ; the English, advancing beyond him, manned his frontier and became his bulwark. Capt. Mason, his patron and friend, stood ready with arms and influence to intercept the blows of his enemies. Stonington also on the eastern frontier had become a settled township, and a barrier against the Narra- gansetts in that quarter. The providence of God had prepared the way for the peaceable settlement of the Saxon race, by permitting for a while the deadly passions of the Indians to take their full scope, and make them instruments of each other's destruction. The wilderness was thus thinned of its obstructions, and prepared to receive the new race of inhabitants. Although there does not appear to have been any destructive attack upon the Mohegans after 1059, incidental circumstances show that small scouting parties occasionally came into the neighborhood, sometimes plun- dering and alarming the white settlers as well as the Indians. One such hostile skulking party passed through Norwich early in the year 1660,* * It was proliably before the 25th of March, at which time the double dating of the year ceased, as the occurrence is by one authority assigned to 1659, and by others to 1660. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 47 and lingering in tlic way, made an attempt upon the life of IMason. The incident is thus reported in a document emanating from the General Court of Connecticut, dated June 9th, IGGO: " Not many weeks now past, wee are by sufficient information certified, tliat one night at y° New Plantation at Monheage [Norwich,] some Indians, as will appcare, of the Narragansetts, shot 11 bullets into a house of our English there, in hopes, as they boasted, to have slaine him whome we have cause to honor, whose safety we cannot but take ourselves bound to promote, our Deputy Gov Major Mason."* Tlie same fact is mentioned in the Recoi'ds of tlie Commissioners, (with some variation in the number of bullets,) as a complaint presented by the English, living at a new plantation at Mohegan, viz. : " That some Indians did in the dead time of night, shoot eight bullets into an Eng- lish house, & fired the same, wherein five Englishmen were asleep. "t This was a rough salute for the new settlers, and an appalling specimen of the hazards attending their enterprise. The house thus attacked must have been that of Major Mason, supposed to have been the first built in Norwich. It stood upon a knoll above the river, at the southwest corner of the Green, where is now the old Court-House. The Narragansetts were summoned by the Court of Commissioners to answer for this outrage. The chiefs apologized, saying that the offence was committed without their consent or knowledge, and that they counte- nanced no such practices. It was decreed, however, that in expiation of the insult they should either deliver up the four principal offenders, or pay 500 fathoms of wampum. Of one more, and perhaps the last irruption of Narragansett upon Mohegan, a glimpse is obtained from a passage in a letter of Roger Wil- liams to the younger Winthrop. Writing from Providence, Sept. 8, 1 GGO, he intimates that a party of his barbarous neighbors had just returned from an expedition in which nothing had been effected : " The Monhiggins would not sallie, and the Nanhiggs would not spoilc the come for feare of offending the Englisli ."J * Col. Rec. Conn., Vol. 1, App., 577. t Hazard's Records of United Colonies. t Winthrop Papers iu Mass. Hist. Coll., 3, 10, 41. 48 HISTORYOFNORWICH. INDIAN NAMES. Miantonomoh. A standard of authority for the spelling and accentua- tion of Indian names would be a great relief to writers, and an acceptable contribution to the history and topography of the country. But it is a desideratum to which Ave seem as yet scarcely to have made an approxi- mation. Hesitation and uncertainty hover over the pen whenever an Indian word is to be written or pronounced. And amid the throng of doubtful terms, there is no one more variable, and therefore more perplex- ing, than the name of Narragansett's greatest sachem. The variations of the name are too numerous to quote at large. The old authors disagree with one another, and are not consistent in their own practice. But the difference of orthography might perhaps be accommo- dated to a common standard of sound, if they had given the name its proper accent. One of the forms used by Roger Williams, viz., Mianton- omi, may be pronounced in three ways, viz. : Mi-anto-no-mi. Mi-anto-nom-i. Mian-ton'-o-mi. The first of these forms, with the long o accented, is both sonorous and majestic, and if the termination o or oh be adopted, as used by the elder Wiuthrop, who usually wrote the name Miantunnomoh, the result is agree- able both to the eye and ear. The second pronunciation coincides with that considered most authentic by J. H. Trumbull, Esq., who, after collating the various authorities, de- cides in favor of Me-jinto-nom'-y. The third mode, with the accent on the antepenultimate, has been much in vogue of late years, and seems to be requii-ed by the orthography used by Hubbard in his Indian Wars and New England History, and by Dr. Trumbull, — Mian-ton'-imo, with or without a final h. But this pronunciation is probably Anglican, and not aboriginal. It is entirely irreconcilable with some of the most ancient modes of spelling the name ; for instance, that employed by Mr. Thomas Peters in 1 G45 : Miantinomio. On the Sachem's monument in Greeneville, the inscription is MI AN TO NO MO. This mode of spelling the name, with the three O's, and the finishing letter /«, is adopted in this work. It affords scope for the accent to be placed either on the third or fourth syllable. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 49 Uncos, Occam, Pequof, Niantic. Roger Williams for Uncas wrote Okace. Other cotemporary writers supply tlie variations Oiikos, Wonkus, Unkus, Uncas. The last form has prevailed and driven its rivals from the field. When a mode of spelling has become currtr.f, it is undoubtedly wise to let it pass on to perpetuity, whether, abstractly considered, it is the best form or not. We should perhaps write Unkus, or Onkos, if the name was now for the first time to be embodied in letters ; and likewise Aukum, for the name of the Moliegan preacher; but Uncas and Occom are time-sanc- tioned, and we would therefore leave them as they are. For the same reason we use Pequot instead of Pequoadt, and Niantic instead of Nahan- tick or Nahanticut. Owaneco, son of Uncas. This name, as uttered by the Indians, commenced with the whistled W, 'Wuneco. There is a doubt where the accent should be placed. Oneco is a familiar abridgement of the name, and this seems to indicate the penidtimate accent, Owane'co. But the modern Mohegans pronounce it Owan'eco, which harmonizes with the orthography sometimes found in old records, as Awaneca, Oaneca, &c. Mohegan. There are many forms of this name. Mohiccan is one of the best. The tribe is supposed to have been a branch of the Moliiccanni, or Mo- hickanders of Hudson river, that had migrated to the banks of the Con- necticut long before the Ejiglish settled at Hartford. The Indian names were all descriptive and significant. This portion of the country having been so recently in their occupation, every distinctive object, hill, stream, plain, forest, ledge of rocks, or sweep of river, seems to have had an Indian descriptive name. The early settlers being on friendly terras with their aboriginal neighbors, caught up and perpetuated many of these terms. This accounts for the number of Indian names that appear in old deeds and grants, some of which can not now be located. The aboriginal name of the Thames has not been recovered. In the early records it is simply styled the Great River, in distinction from the Yantick, or Little River. This being used also in Indian conveyances, it may be inferred that the original name was an Indian term signifying great or large. Quinebaug is litei'ally Long Pond. In a deed of 1G53 it is called " the river that comes from Quinabaug," and runs down toward Mohegan. In a deed of 1699 this phraseology occurs, " Quinabaug river, alias Aspinook river, according to the Indian name." 4 50 HISTOEY OP NOEWICH Showtuck, (passing through many variations to Shetucket,) is supposed to mean middle river. The determining part of the word, show or shaw, is a contraction of nashaw, hetween, or in the middle. The termination et, makes it appHcable to the land between the rivers. Perhaps this was the original name of Norwich ci!/ The situation is such as the Indians would describe hy that word. The Indian settlement in the southern part of Lisbon was called Show t et. Yantick may have had its origin in Mishontuck, which means a roaring or noisy stream. Mishi-yon-tuck, great-noise-river, or loud-voiced-stream. 3Iashipaug. This is the Indian name of a lake or pond, which was the south-western corner boundary of the nine-miles- square. Several other sheets of water in New England had the same name. It signifies Great Pond. Massapeag — the same word in a different dialect — denotes a large cove at Mohegan, nearly surrounded by high land. Mr. Brewster in 1657 wrote the name Massapeack. Waioeehis. Two hills in Norwich bore this name : one, a range lying west of the town-plot, sometimes called Westward hill, and the other at the point where the rivers meet, now covered by the City. The latter was often written Weequaw's hill, and the name of both is supposed to be derived from Waweequaw, or Waweekus, the brother of Uncas. Wequonuh. This name was given to a tract of land north of the town- plot, on the Shetucket. The brook which flowed through it bore the same name, which was familiarly abbreviated to Quonuk. The word is sup- posed to have some relation to wet or marshy land. Pautipaug. This is the aboriginal name of a portion of the nine-miles- square, now included in the town of Franklin. The word is supposed to signify a bay, or cove, setting into the land, or at least to relate in some way to water. It is not easy therefore to determine why it should have been given to this inland district. CHAPTER III. Early History of Saybrook; Purchase and Deed of Norwich. Saybrook is an old, substantial, euphonious name, interesting from its historical associations, and honorable in its derivation. It perpetuates the unity of sentiment and partnership in enterprise of two enlightened noble- men. Lord Say and Seal and Lord Brook, and the grateful regard of the first settlers of the place for these their benefactors. These noblemen, with their associates, were the patentees of Connecticut. Their right or privilege, technically called a Patent, was purchased of Robert, Earl of "Warwick, in 1632, and extended along the New England coast, westward of Narragansett river, 120 miles, and "in latitude and breadth to the South Sea." The Earl of Warwick was President of the Council of Ply- mouth, incorporated by King James the First for the settlement of New England, and authorized to dispense grants and patents to othei's. The right of the patentees was therefore valid and clear. The place of immediate importance in this patent was the Point at the mouth of Connecticut river ; and here John Winthrop the younger, acting under commission from the patentees, built a fort and commenced a plant- ation in 1635 and 1636. The Poquot war followed close upon this estab- lishment, and threatened the annihilation of the infant settlement. The fort was frequently surrounded by the savages. During one whole win- ter, that of 1636-7, it was kept in constant jeopardy like a besieged place. Several of the men were slain ; others taken prisoners ; and one, by the name of Butterfield, tormented to death. The place was however sus- tained by the prudence and bravery of Lieut. Lion Gardiner, the active and efficient agent of Winthro}) in building the fort and beginning to cul- tivate the ground. At the close of the Lidian troubles. Col. George Fenwick, one of the patentees, clothed with the authority of the Company, came over to take the direction of atfairs, hoping to revive the drooping spirits of the plant- ers, and give a fresh impetus to the undertaking. This gentleman arrived at New Haven in September, 1 639, in the first European vessel that ever 52 HISTOEY OF NORWICH. anchored in New Haven harbor.* He was accompanied by his wife, Lady Ahcft Botler, the daughter of an English knight.f The settlement now began to be known by the genial and enduring name of Saybrook. Previously it had been distinguished only as the fort or settlement at the river's mouth. New houses were now built, and the land more extensively cultivated. The Point was laid out into streets and blocks for a city. West of the fort a square was reserved for the dwellings of the magistrates and noble emigrants. Another square was set aside for the public service, — for churches, courts and schools. Across the neck of the peninsula a row of palisades was erected as a protection against tlie Indians. It was expected that others of the patentees and devout Puritans would emigrate with their families, and that prosperous towns would spring up along the coast, within the 120 miles of the patent, which would become places of refuge for noble and generous spirits that might wish to escape from the vanities and perplexities of courtly life and feudal obligation, as well as for those who should flee from persecution, or seek by voluntary exile a sphere of religious freedom. But subsequentl}^, a different turn of public affairs, and the fluctuations of fortune and opinion, effected a change in these designs. The higher classes of proposed emigrants found themselves more necessary or more comfortable at home. Statesmen and generals, princely merchants and titled noblemen, the Cromwells, Hamp- dens, Pymms and Hazlerigs i-emained behind, and left New England to be colonized, with a few exceptions, from the ranks of oppressed virtue, heroic faith, and adventurous poverty. In December, 1644, Col. Fenwick entered into an agreement with the associated towns upon the river, forming the Colony of Connecticut, by which, for the sum of £1G00, and the revenue for ten years arising from certain duties paid by vessels oh entering the river, he transferred, to them the fort and plantation at Saybrook, with all other rights and claims to the occupation, ownership and jurisdiction of lands upon Connecticut river, derived fi-om the Warwick patent. He only reserved to himself certain personal privileges and especially the liberty of occupying his premises at the fort for ten years, if he should choose to remain for that time in the country. From this period the settlement took a new start. It had been hitherto merely a military post ; it was now a plantation, and the inhabitants in- creased rapidly. In 1646, a church was organized, and Mr. James Fitch ordained for its minister. In 1647, at the special instance and request of * See letter of Rev. Mr. Davenport of New Haven, to Lady Vere ; printed in Hist, and Gen. Reg., App. 1855, p. 149. t Among the English nobility, a lady married to a commoner is allowed by courtesy to retain her maiden title. HISTOKYOFNORWICH. 53 the inhabitants, Capt. John JMason removed thither from Windsor, and was thereupon appointed by the Colony to the military command of the post. He was empowered to receive the fort and its a])purtenances from Fenwick, who had apparently been left in possession until this time. Sayhrook Point, the part of the plantation lii'st settled, is a neck of land, elliptical in form, and about a mile in length from east to west, spreading out between two coves or inlets from the river, of Avhich the one on the north side affords a good harbor for shipping, and is known as Saybrook harbor. The fort stood on the eastern bank, or upland blutf, overlooking and commanding the Hats and shallows at the mouth of the river. This fort was built of wood. It caught fire in the winter of 1647, and was consumed, with the dwelling-house connected with it. Capt. Mason, with his wife and child, narrowly escaped from the flames. Another fortification was soon afterward constructed, not on the same spot, but a few rods distant, upon a height which advanced more promi- nently toward the river, and was from that time called New Fort Hill. A portion of the walls and embankments of this second fort, (often, liow- ever, renewed in later times,) may yet be traced. Lady Fenwick died at Saybrook, in 1G48, and was interred within the inclosure of the old fort. A monument of red sandstone erected over her remains is still extant, and has given to the site the name of Tomb Hill. Saybrook has no church records of the period of Mr. Fitch's ministry, and the town records before 1G60, are also wanting. A few items only of earlier date may be found standing amid subsequent entries. One of these, (perhaps the earliest remaining of a munici[)al character,) is a no- tice of a town meeting, January 7, 1G55-G, at which the following persons were present : Tlio. Aclfyate, William Hicle, Eobcrt Bull, Randall Marvin, Tho. Bmchct, William Parker, William Buslmell, John Post, Eobcrt Chapman, Stephen Post, John Clark, Sen , Jonathan Rudd, Tho. Dunko, Richard Tousland, Richard Edgcrton, - Tho. Tracy, Francis Griswold, William Waller. At the same time mention is made of IMr. Fitch and JMr. Lay. Nearly half of the.se are afterward foimd at Norwich. William Backus, Thomas Bliss, Morgan Bowers, the two Iluntiiigtons, Thomas Leflingwell and John Olmstead, were probably inhabitants of as long standing as most of tho.se in the list. It is apparent that the plantation before IGGO, had been extended over 64 HISTORYOPNORWICH. a large area. The lands on Oyster river were cultivated ; plantei's had settled at Pautipang, Deep Eiver, Six-mile-island, and on the east side of the Connecticut, in Lyme, which was then a dependency of Saybrook. A division of lands made before 1G50, gives a list of forty grantees, and this number must have been nearly doubled in 1660. The removal of Mr. Fitch and his friends, though it weakened Say- brook, by no means left it desolate. She had stout and valiant hearts left and in the course of a few years the vacancies made by the Norwich emigration were filled by fresh purchasers, and new grants and divisions of the common land were necessary in order to accommodate the thick coming planters. The church, however, languished under the loss of her golden head, and was scarcely kept alive until 1670, when the Rev. Thomas Buckingham, originally from Wales, but immediately from Mil- ford, was settled as the pastor.* This preparatory sketch of Saybrook, the mother-town of Norwich, in- troduces us to the settlement of the latter place. The project of establishing a plantation in the Mohegan territory, four- teen miles above New London, originated, in all probability, with Capt. Mason. "When his previous adventures, his long familiarity with Uncas, and his frequent explorations of the Indian country, are considered, to- gether with his influence in the Colony, there can be no hesitation in affirming that he was the prime mover and ruling spirit of the undertak- ing. If any one of the first proprietors, more than another, has a special claim to be considered the founder of Norwich, the pre-eminence must certainly be accorded to Mason. He had been one of the founders of Dorchester and Windsor, had re-awakened the breath of life, in the dying settlement at Saybrook, and was now ready for the fourth time to erect his lodge in the wilderness. At what period the plan of this new settlement was broached is uncer^ tain. Probably it was for several years under consideration. A large proportion of the best inhabitants of Saybrook entered into it ; a few names from other places were added to the list, and in May, 1659, appli- cation was made to the General Court for permission to begin the work. The proposition was favorably received by the Assembly, and sanctioned by the following enactment: Hartford, May 20, (59.) This Court haveing considered the petition presented by the inhabitants of Seabrook, doe declare yt they approve and consent to what is de- * This worthy successor of Mr. Fitch, forms another link uniting Norwich with its ancient nursing mother Saybrook. Some of his descendants of the present generation, passing by way of Lebanon, have chosen Norwicii for their home, and given to it the distinction of furnishing a second Chief Magistrate to the State. William Alfred Buckingham, Govei'nor of Connecticut since 18.58, is of the sixth generation in de- scent from the Rev. Thomas Buckingham of Saybrook. 1^ pigss^" -^^■^lyG.oEP- ClfMuM HISTORY OFNORWICH. 65 sired by ye petitioners, respecting Mohegin, provided yt within ye space of three yeares they doe effect a plantation in ye place propounded. It is to be regretted that no copy of the petition has been preserved. A list of the signers would be invaluable. The action of the court speaks of it as emanating from "the inhabitants of Seabrook," not from a com- pany or a portion of the planters. This would seem to imjdy that the greater part of the people, or at least a majority, were proposing to re- move to the new settlement ; and this coincides with the current opinion, that the company consisted of Mr. Fitch and the major part of his church. It would be gratifying also, to ascertain the motives which led these solid and considerate householders to detei-mine upon a change of resi- dence. What should induce them to abandon im[jrovements Mhicli they had long labored to obtain, lands which they had subdued by toilsome cul- tivation, comfortable abodes and a civilized neighborhood, to i)hinge again into a wilderness and begin life anew, upon another savage soil, near a frontier bristling with alarm and terror. It was undoubtedly wise as a measure of State policy, to advance the settlements and erect a fresh bar- rier against Indian invasion, and this consideration may have been of weight with Major Mason and Mr. Fitch. But the majority must have had some alluring prospect of individual advantage, to counterbalance the sacrifices they were to make. Undoubtedly the moving cause was to be found in the sheltered vales and fine grazing lands, the sparkhng, dashing streams, the wide ranges of upland forest, and the rich provisions for hunting and fishing which Avere included in the broad extent of the pro- posed township. These were the bright attractions that charmed the planters of Saybrook from their fertile plains and stoneless soil, and fixed their longing eyes upon the frowning cliffs and wild varieties of surface in the neighborhood of the Yantic, the Shetucket and the Quinebaug. Another reason dissimilar, and apparently inadequate and frivolous, has been assigned, by local tradition, as the immediate, provoking cause of the removal. It has been said that the Norwich settlers, being for the most part farmers, were driven from Saybrook by the ci'ows and black- birds. This story is at least suggestive of a great nuisance in the early- days of our country. It is well known tliat clouds of these gormandizing fowls, darkening the sky, and filling the air with clamor, would come down upon the newly jdanfed maize, in the late May or early June, wlien the young shoots could be easily torn up, and in a few days leave the fields of a wliole district in ruin. These cormorants were pecuHarly trouble- some upon level corn-fields, near the sea, or large rivers, obliging the farmer to plant and reidant, and sometimes destroying prematurely the Avhole harvest. In most of the settlements by-laws were made rendering it obligatory upon every man to destroy, during the three spring months, a certain 56 HISTORY OP NORWICH. number of crows, black-birds, wood-peckers, jays, and other grain-devour- ing birds. A dozen Avas the usual number required, with a premium for all over a dozen, and penalties imposed on those who fell short.* Thus •it appears that the early inhabitants of nearly all our towns were obliged to wage an annual war, not only with wild beasts, venomous serpents and pilfering animals that burrowed in the ground, but with predatory fowls swarming in the air. But that the people of Saybrook were routed from their habitations, and forced into exile by the inroads of voracious birds, was doubtless a pleasant satire rather than a fact. President Styles notices the tradition in his diary, but dismisses it, expressing an opinion with which most peo- ple who consider the circumstances will coincide, that Mr. Fitch and his congregation relinquished their Saybrook grants in the hope of finding accommodations better adapted to their pursuits and aspirations at Nor- wich. The enterprise having been sanctioned by the General Court, and the deed obtained from the Indians, the proprietors began to prepare for a removal. The township was surveyed, the town plot or central village laid out, a highway opened, and house-lot-; measured and assigned to the purchasers in the fall of 1659. By what rule the distribution was made is not known. The probability is that Mr. Fitch and Major Mason had the privilege of a first choice.. No removal of cattle or goods appears to have taken place until the next year. Doubtless some small cabins were erected, and a few persons remained on the ground to keep watch and guard. The flying attack made by the Narragansetts, already mentioned, shows that there was one Engli.vh house and five Englishmen at Norwich during the winter ; and this, as far as is known, comprises the Avhole settlement previous to the spring of IGGO.f The Mohegan territory, comprising all the lands claimed by Uncas and *A similar regulation was enforced at Colchester, so late as the year 1717. " Voated to oblige every person in the town of sixteen years of age and upwards to kill one Duson of blackbuds, or woodpeckers or gay burds, and bring their heads to the Select Men ; and what are killed in the months of march aprell or may, six shall be counted as a duson ; and if any person kills more than his Duson he shall be alowed one penne pr head — and he that doth not kill his dusen shall pay to the town Eate one shilling." Taintor's Extracts from Records of Colchester, p. 19. t In the MS. Journal of Thomas Minor of Stonington, this memorandum occurs, under date of 1659, Nov. 8th : " We wer at Mohegon." It is tantalizing not to have him say more. But this being the precise montli when the proprietors were laying out their lots in the Mohegan purchase, it may be conjec- tured that Minor went there as an assistant in surveys and measurements. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 67 his tribe, by whatever name known, within the bounds of the Connecticut colony, was ceded by Uncas to the colonial authorities at Hartford, Sept. 28, 10)40.* This appears to have been regarded as a cession of jurisdic- tion only ; for whenever afterward settlements were about to commence, a regular purchase of the place was made. Often also additional gratu- ities were made for special tracts within these purchased towns, by indi- viduals. When the settlement of Norwich was projected, the township was con- veyed to the proprietors by Uncas and his sons, for the sum of seventy pounds. This was in June, 1659. Major Mason was at this period act- ing under a commission from the General Court, the object of which was to obtain a fresh conveyance to the colony of all the Mohegan lands not actually planted and improved by the tribe. In this business he was suc- cessful. A deed of cession was obtained, signed by Uncas and his brother Wawequaw, Aug. 15, IGoO.f Thus it appears that the nine-miles-square of the Norwich purchase was three times legally transferred from the abo- rigines to the whites, and each time, apparently, in the way of fair and honorable dealing. " On just and equal terms the land was gained ; No force of arms hath any right ol>tivined."t The original deed of Norwich is not extant. In March, 1G63, the General Court ordered it to be placed on record at Hartford.§ Appa- rently, in recording the deed, some slight variations from the original copy were allowed, for the phrase used by one of the contracting parties, viz., Toivn and Inhabitants of Norwich, seems to imply that a settlement had been made. DEED OF NORWICH.II Know all men that Onkos, Owaneco, Attawanhood, Sachems of Mohegan have Bargined, sold, and passed over, and doe by tliese presents sell and pass over unto the Towne and Inhabitants of Norwich nine miles square of land lying and being at * Proceedings in the Mason controversy, transmitted to the Board of Trade and printed in London, 1743. / t Ibid. This deed was witnessed by Wm. Thompson, Thomas Lcffingwell, and Benjamin Brewster. X Koger Wolcott. ^ Conn. Col. Rec, 1, 393. II Tliis is taken from the first book of Norwich Proprietary Records, into which it was transcribed about 1680, not apparently from tlie original deed, but from ilie copy recorded at Hartford in 1663. It has, however, some slight variations from the Hart- ford record. The latter has Monheag for Moheagen, and after Great River (line 11) is added, " commonly called Monheag river." This deed is also recorded at New London, (Deeds, V. I, 226,) where the orthogra- phy is Uuehas, Owaneca, and Monheage. 58 HISTOEY OP NORWICH Moheagen and the parts thereunto ajoyneing, with all ponds, rivers, woods, quarries, mines, with all royalties, privileges, and appurtenances tliereunto belonging, to thera the said inhabitants of Norwich, theire heirs and successors forever — the said lands are to be bounded as followeth, Cviz.) to the southward on the west side of the Great River, ye line is to begin at the brooke falling into the head of Trading Cove, and soe to run west norwest seven miles — from thence the line to run nor north east nine miles, and on the East side the afores'd river to the southward the line is to joyne with New Lon- don bounds as it is now laid out and soe to run east two miles from the foresd liver, and soe from thence the line is to run nor noreast nine miles and from thence to run nor norwest nine miles to meet with the western line. In consideration whereof the sd Onkos, Owaneco and Attawanhood doe acknowledge to have received of the parties aforesd ttie full and juste sum of seventy pounds and doe promise and engage ourselves, heirs and successors, to warrant the sd bargin and sale to the aforesd parties, their heirs and successors, and them to defend from all claimes and molestations from any whatsoever. — In witness whereof we have hereunto set to our hands this 6th of June, Anno 1659. Unkos Owaneco his niarke raarke TV Attawanhood i \X y Witness hereunto John Mason Thomas Tract. This deed is recorded in the Country Booke Agust 20th 1663 : as atests John Allyn, Sec'y- The bounds of this tract, as more particularly described in the first volume of the Proprietors' Records, were as follows : The line commenced at the mouth of Trading Cove, where the brook falls into the cove ; thence W. N. W. seven miles to a Great Pond, [now in the corner of Bozrah and Colchester,] the limit in this direction being denoted by a black oak marked N that stood near the outlet of the " Great Brook that runs out of the pond to Norwich river ;" thence N. N. E. nine miles to a black oak standing on the south side of the river, [Shetueket,] " a little above Maw-mi-ag-waiig ;" thence S. S. E. nine miles, crossing the Shetueket and the Quinebaug, and passing through "a Seader Swamp called Catantaquck," to a white oak tree, marked N, thirteen rods beyond a brook called Quo-qui-qua-soiig, the spacf^ from the Quinebaug to this tree being just one mile and fifty-eight rods; thence HISTORYOFNORWICH. 59 S. S. "W. nine miles to a white oak marked N, near the dwelling-houses of Robert Allyn and Thomas Rose, where Norwich and New London bounds join ; thence west on the New London bounds, crossing the south- ern part of Mr. Brewster's land, two miles to Mohegan river, opposite the mouth of Trading Cove brook, where the fii'st bounds began. Such were the bounds, as reviewed and renewed in October, 1G85, by an authorized committee, accompanied by the two sachems and some of the chief men of Mohegan. The former deed of 1659, with the bounda- ries thus described and explained, was then ratified and confirmed by " Owaneca, sachem of Mohegan, son and heire unto Vnchas deceased," and " Josiah, son and heire unto Owaneca," in a new deed, signed by them OcK 5th, 1685, witnessed by John Arnold and Stephen GifFord, and acknowledged before James Fitch, Assistant.* The southern boundary line, it will be observed, is nine miles in length, two east of the river, and seven west, without counting the breadth of the Thames, and the length of Trading Cove to the mouth of the brook, which would make this line nearly ten miles long. This is explained in the deed to be designed as a compensation for " the benefit and liberty of the waters and river for fishing and other occasions," reserved to the Indians. * Recorded at Hartford, Liber D, folio 104. Also at New London, Book 6, folio 226. CHAPTER IV. Proprietors and House-Lots. Who were the original proprietors of Norwich ? The current state- ment that they were just thirty-five in number, is based upon the author- ity of historians writing more than a century after the settlement. Dr. Trumbull in his History of Connecticut gives this number, relying, it is supposed, upon a list furnished in 17G7 by the Rev. Dr. Lord, pastor of the First Church of Norwich. Dr. Lord's manuscript is extant. He says: " The town of Norwk-h was settled in the sprinfj of 1660 : the Purchase of sd Town was made in ye month of June, 1659, by 35* men." He then gives a list of the names, which includes several who were minors at that time, and one at least [John Elderkin] whose earliest grant at Norwich was in 1667. Laying aside therefore all subsequent statements, and recurring to the oldest records remaining at Norwich, from which these abstracts must have been derived, it is found that the original records were very defi- cient in giving dates to the early grants. Resolutions passed at different periods, in the town meetings, refer to this defect. In 1672, a new record of lands was made under direction of the town authorities, by James Fitch, Jr. It was commenced May 1st of that year, and the book contains a registry of the town lands and grants, " so far as copies of said lands were brought in by the inhabitants." The number of land-owners recorded is seventy-eight, three or four of whom were non-residents. In 1681, the inhabitants declaring, themselves sensible of a deficiency hi their original records, appointed three of the first-comers, Thomas Lef- fingwell, Thomas Adgate, and John Post, to search for the original dates of former acts and grants, but nothing appears to have been done under iiiis commission. May 3d, 1684, Christopher Huntington, Recorder, at the request of John Olmstead, who, he says, "desirelh to have the primitive date set to his record of land, which hath not been done heretofore for the want of * Altered in the MS. from 34, and John Elderkin interlined. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 61 an orderly dating by the first recorder, Mr. Bircliard," ascertains the true date, and affixes it under his signature, — "which date we find out of aa antient wrighting which respects our purchase interest, and right, to be in the yeare of our Lord upon the 30th day of June 1659." Again, Dec. 18th, 1694, the town, after adverting to their former neg- ligence in the record of proprietary lands, nominated a committee of six men " to search out and do the best they can to find the names of first purchasers, and what estate each of them put in, and report to the town." The striking fact is here disclosed, that in little more than thirty years after the settlement, the number of the first proprietors, the aniount of each one's subscri[»tion, and the names of all the purchasers, were not generally known and could not be determined without some difficulty. No report of the last commission is recorded. Not long afterwards Capt. James Fitch was employed in the same business. He began a new registry of lands, copying original records where he could find them, stating bounds as they then existed, and affixing dates as nearly accui-ate as could be ascertained. It is from this registry that the various lists of the thirty-five proprietoi's have been gathered. Home lots, that seem to have constituted original grants, not having been alienated or purchased, were in general dated November, 1659. But the whole number that appears to be included under this date, either expressly or by implication, is thirty-eight, and it is difficult to decide which of these should be rejected, so as to leave the number just thirty-five. The following list comprises those against whom not only nothing is found to militate against their being ranked as first proprietors, but, on the contrary, the records either prove conclusively, or favor the idea, that they belonged to that class : Rev. James Fitch, Christopher Huntington, Miijor John Mason, Simon Huntington, Thomas Adgate, ""- William Hyde, ■''4' Eobert Allyn, Samuel Hyde, —"William Backus, Thomas Lcffingwell, ■"" ^William Backus, Jr., John Olmstead, John Baldwin, — ^John Pease, John Birchard, ^--John Post, ^—Thomas Bliss, Thomas Post, Morgan Bowers, John Eeynolds, Hugh Calkins, Jonathan Royce, John Calkins, Nehemiah Smith, Richard Edgerton, y Thomas Tracj--, Francis Griswold, Robert Wade. Others having original home-lots and all the privileges of first proprie- tors, were : 62 HISTORYOFNORWICH. Thomas Bingham, Thomas Howard, John Bradford, Thomas Waterman, John Gager, John Tracy, Stephen GifFord, Josiah Reed, Richard Hendy, Richard Wallis. Of this second class, Bingham, Gifford, Howard, Reed, Tracy and Waterman, were probably minors when the plantation commenced. They were all married between 1666 and 1670, inclusive, and were all living, except Howard, in 1702, when a roll of the inhabitants was made in ref- erence to a division of lands which distinguished the surviving first pro- prietors from the list of accepted inhabitants. Bingham, Giffbrd, Reed, Tracy and Waterman, were enrolled with the latter, which would seem, to settle the point that they were not original proprietors. Most of these names, however, are necessary in order to make up the charmed number thirty-five. From the position these young men took, and the prominence of their descendants in the history of the town, they seem to have a higher claim to be ranked as proprietors than some of the earlier class, Hendy and Wallis, for instance, of whom we know little more than their names, and Wade, who soon alienated liis possessions. By dropping these three names, and accepting the six minors, we are brought back to the time-honored prescriptive number, TJiirty-jive. Stephen Backus, another minor, became a proprietor in the right of his father, William Backus, who died soon after the settlement. The Town-plot was laid out in a winding vale, which followed the course of the rapid circuitous Yantic, and was sheltered for the greater part of the way, on either side, by abrupt and rocky, but well-wooded hills. A broad street or highway vvas opened through this valley, on each side of which the home-lots were arranged. A pathway was likewise cleared from the center of the settlement, to the Indian landing place below the Falls of the Yantic, near the head of the Cove ; following the old Indian trail from Ox-hill to Yantic ford. This path, called by the settlers Mill-Lane, was the most eligible route by which the effects of the planters could be conveyed. In some places the forests had been thinned of their undergrowth by fires, to afford sco})e for the Indians in their passionate love of the chase, and the beaver had done his part towards clearing the lowlands and banks of the rivers. A few wigwams were scattered here and there, the occasional abodes of wandering families of Indians at certain seasons of the year, who came hither for supplies of fish, fruit, or game ; and the summits of some of the hills were crowned with disorderly heaps of stones, showing where some rude defence had been constructed in the course of their wars. But in every other respect the land was in its natural wild state. It was a laborious task to cut down trees, to burn the underbrush, HISTORYOPNORWICH. 63 to mark out roads and pathway?, to throw temporary bridges over the runs of water, and to collect materials for building. The home-lots comprised each a block of several acres, and were in general river-lands, favorable for mowing, pasture and tillage. Here lay the prime advan^^age to be gained by a change of residence, the first pro- prietors being, with scarcely a single exception, agriculturists and farmers. Each homestead had a tract of pasture land included in it, or laid out as near to it as was convenient. Where the street approached the river, the planters had their pasture lots, in the same line with the house lot§ on the opposite side of the stream. Near the center of the Town-plot an open space was left for public buildings and military parades. This was soon known as the Green, or Plain. Here stood the first meeting-house, toward the south side, with the open Common around it, and a steep pitch to the river. Of its erec- tion there is no record. It was probably built as the bridges were, by a general turn-out of the effective inhabitants, laboring under the direction of the best workman among them. The dwellings of Mr. Fitch and Major Mason were near together, facing the Green, and with the river in their rear. The road running from the Green to the river, and spanning the stream with a bridge, sepa- rated the two homesteads. ' The allotment of Mr. Fitch, consisting of j eleven acres, was on the south-east side of the Green ; the home-lot of Mason, "eight acres more or less," — the eai'ly measurements were ex- tremely liberal, — was on the south-west side. The first wife of Mr. Fitch died at Saybx'ook, in September, 1659, He came to Noiwich a widower, with six children; two of them sons, five and eleven years of age, who became active business men, and ap- pear in so short a time taking part in the affairs of the town that it might be a pardonable inaccuracy were they ranked as original planters. Three aci'es of IMr. Fitch's home-lot he afterward transferred to his son, Capt. James Fitch. On the north-west side of the Green, covering the ledgy side hill, was the allotment of Stephen Gifford. Tliis was afterward bonglit by the town for [)arsonage land. On this hill, in tlie time of Philip's war, the meeting-house, the second sacred edifice of the town, stood. At the east end of the Green was the homestead of Simon Hunting- ton. His lot was laid out on both sides of the street, with a pleasant rivulet running through it and a lane winding into the woods on one side, separating his land from that of his neighbor, Bradford. The dwelling- house of the late Gen. Z. Huntington, stands on a portion of the original lot, which has never been alienated, but is still in the possession of de- scendants to whom it comes by inheritance. On the river, south-east of Mr. Fitch, was the lot of John Olmstead, 64 HISTORY OP NORWICH eiglit acres ; and next to him that of William Backus, Senior, six acres. Mr. Backus died soon after the settlement, and left his accommodations to his son Stephen, in whose name they were subsequently registered. " Memorando : the footeway six foote broad which goes t]irou;j;h the home lot of Mr. Fitch John Holmstead and Steven Biyckus was laid out by Towne order and agreement for the use of the towne, in August 1661." This path, tor more than a centuiy, remained a pent-way, with a gate and turn-stile at each end, and when at last, that is, a little before the revolutionary war, it was widened into a road and thrown open to the public, it was dark with shrubbery and overhanging trees, and known as the road through the Grove. Thomas Tracy's home-lot lay east of Simon Huntington's, on the south side of the street, which here runs nearly east and west. .It consisted of nine acres, measuring thirty-four rods on the street. His son Solomon afterwards built a second Tracy house on a part of the same lot. '\j John Bradford, four acres, opposite Tracy, with the street and high- ways on all sides. "Mr. John Bradford's corner," was quoted as a land- mark. This was at the east end of his lot, where what was then called "the road to Slietucket" began. Christopher Huntington, six acres, east of Thomas Tracy, with the brook between them. His house was at the corner, and the homestead remained in the family down to the present generation. By the detours of the street, first east and then south, a large central space was left in the town plot which included a dark and dolorous swamp, antecedently the haunt of wolves and venomous serpents, from whence it is said, often at night-fall low bowlings issued and phosphorescent lights were seen, very fearful and appalling to the early planters. In this swamp Huntington's and Bradford's brook united and flowed into the Yantic. These are now insignificant rills, confined in channels, or only gleaming like silvery lines amid the grass ; but when the country was in its natural state, they were loud-voiced, swift-footed streams. South of Huntington's corner was a ravine, Avith a pitch of several feet, through which, in times of abundant rain, another gurgling stream, formed by rivulets trickling down from Sentry Hill, passed into the dense alder swamp below. South of this ravine was the allotment of Thomas Adgate, whose land met that of Olmstead at the corner, completing the circle of iiome-lots around the central block. Opposite 'the homestead of Adgate a branch of the town street ascended Sentry Hill and came down again to the main road below the corner, in the line of the old Indian trail toward the fords of the Yantic. Upon this side road near where it came into the Town street, was the HISTORYOFNOEWICH. 65 lot of Sergt^-UiQiiiaa-Leffingwell, twelve acres, with an additional pasture lot of ten acres', with Indian wigwams then upon it, "abutting easterly upon the rocks." The house lot was eighty-six rods in length upon the narrow highway. The residence of the late Judge Hyde (originally a Lei!ingwcll mansion,) stands on this old house lot; but the first house built upon it by the ancient proprietor is supposed to have stood on the opposite side of the road, founded upon a rock and sheltered by the liilL Sergt. Leffingwell was peculiarly the soldier and guardsman of the new town, and Sentry Hill was tlie look-out post, commanding the customary Indian route from Narragansett to Mohegan. A sentry box was built on the summit, and in times of danger and excitement a constant watcli was kept from the height. Here too, in the war witli Philip, a small guard- house was built, sufficient for some ten or twelve soldiers to be housed. It has of late been called Center Hill, an unconscious change from Sen- try, that has probably obtained currency from the supposition that the name referred to its position among other elevations in this multitude of hills. Nor is the name at present inapplicable, this being not far from the center of the modern township, though by no means central in refer- ence to the original nine miles square. North of Leffingwell, and stretching toward Ox Hill, grants -were laid out to Richard Hendy, Josiah Reed, and Richard Wallis, with the com- mons for their principal boundaries. Next to Leffingwell, on the street as it runs south, was the allotment of Thomas Bliss ; five acres and a fourth, with a lane on the south leading to a watering place at the river. This homestead is still in the occupation of his descendants, and the house itself in its frame-work is doubtless the original hal)itation built by the first grantee. John Reynolds, southeast of Thomas Bliss, six acres ; bounded south by the highway to the old landing-place, i. e., mill-lane. This is another homestead which has descended by inheritance to the present generation. Here was the eastern frontier of the town plot. A dense and miry thicket lay between the mill-lane and the upland plain below. Returning to the Green which divided the settlement into East and West Ends, the proprietors were arranged along the street and river, west of Major Mason, in the following order : Thomas Waterman, seven acres. Thomas liingham, four acres ; a strip running from the street to the river. John Post, six acres. The meadow land of Waterman and his neighbor Post is incidentally mentioned at an early date. This meadow, which lay in the rear of tlie old Waterman and Post homesteads, has i-ecently become the seat of a large manufacturing establishment. 5 66 HISTORYOFNORWICH. The Waterman house was nearly opposite the residence of the late Dr. Turner. The Post house stood by the side of a noisy rivulet that crossed the street and leaped down to the glen below. The older portion of the house still standing on the spot, is supposed to have been a part of the original dwelling built by the first John Post, John Birchard, seven and one-fourth acres: sixteen rods and eleven feet in front. Mr. Birchard's house is supposed to be the one still extant at the entrance of Hammer-brook lane, and, taken as a whole, is without doubt the most ancient house remaining in Norwich. It has had various owners and occupants, but no lean-tos, porches, additions or improvements of any kind have changed its original outward form. According to tradi- tion, it was fortified in the time of Philip's Avar, and a garrison kept in it, who made port-holes under the roof, through which to fire if they should be attacked. Robert Wade, six acres: sixteen rods front. This lot was sold in 1677 to Caleb Abell, and better known as the Abell homestead. Adjoining Wade, but with boundaries and situation uncertain, was the lot of Morgan Bowers. Probably his house was in Hammer-brook lane. Opposite Post and Birchard, on the northeast side of the street, were the allotments of William Hyde and his son Samuel, extending back into the commons. The Hyde house stood a few rods back from the town street, upon the "highway into the woods," as the lane was then called, near the present residence of Henry B. Tracy. The father and son prob- ably formed but one family. The Mansfield house, built by one of the later Hj des, on a part of the old home-lot, has descended to the present owner by inheritance on the maternal side from the Hydes, and has never been conveyed out of the family. Next west of Robert Wade, on the river side of the street, was the home-lot of John Gager, eleven and a half acres ; part of it a dense swamp, and Hammer brook running through it. Thomas Post, adjoining Gager, on the upland, six acres; "a burying- place excepted that lyeth within his lot, and also a way to it." On the other side of the street were the locations of Nehemiah Smith [fifteen acres] and Thomas Howard, with Hammer brook running between them. Beyond Thomas Post on the northwest, with lots reaching' from the town street to the river, were the following proprietors in regular suc- cession : Richard Edgerton, six acres ; William Backus, six ; Hugh Calkins, eix ; John Calkins, four and three-fourths ; Francis Griswold, seven ; Kobert Allyn, five; Jonathan Royce, six; John Baivi»vin, 5 ; John Tracy, twelve ; John Pease, seven, with the river on the northwest, west and south. First Hotjse Lots 1660. 68 HISTORY OF NOEWICH. This was at the western limit of the town-plot, where the river by a sudflen turn to the southwest crossed the street at right angles. These thirty-eight lots were the first laid out, and though not all in 1659, and some perhaps not till several yeavs later, those who held them, whether immediate possessors or not, were commonly reckoned original proprietors. As heretofore intimated, several of these first home-lots, or parts of them — those of William Hyde, Simon Huntington, Thomas Leffingwell, Thomas Bliss, and John Reynolds — shorn indeed of their original dimen- sions and of their first-built dwellings, but each a portion of the original grant of November, 1659, and with a representative house upon it, the most recent of which dates backward more than a century, remain in the possession and occupancy of descendants, having never been alienated, sold, or purchased, but descending by inheritance to the present day. In a country where the tenure is allodial and there are no rights of primo- geniture or laws of entailment, instances of two hundred years of family ownership are not very common. Similar examples are to be found among the farms within the Nine-miles-square, but the home-lots above named are supposed to be all that claim the distinction within the present bounds of Norwich. After the first thirty-eight proprietors, the next inhabitants who come in as grantees of the town, are John Elderkin and Samuel Lothrop. Eider- kin had two home-lots granted him in remuneration of services. The first grant of 1667 was laid out in the town plot, but being at too great a dis- tance from his business, it was conveyed, with consent of the townsmen, to Samuel Lothrop, 24th August, 1668. Another was given him at the old landing-place below the Falls, where, according to contract, he built a grist-mill for the convenience of the town. The Lothrop house-lot comprised six acres, and had a street, highway, or lane on every side of it. Probably it lay on the side-hill opposite Adgate's. The early intermarriages in tlie families of Lothi-op, Letfing- well, Adgate, and Bushnell, leading them to divide house-lots and settle in contiguous homes, make it ditficult to determine the precise situation of each oi'iginal grant. We can be confident only that these families had their first dwellings near together at tlie east end of the town plot. The first Samuel Lothrop appears to have erected a house on the town street before 1670. The house built by Dr. Daniel Lathrop* about the year 1745, probably stands on the same site. Samuel Lothrop, Jr., in 1679, had a piece of land given him by the town, to build upon, "near his father's home-lot," upon which he is sup- posed to have built the house that subsequently belonged to Col. Simon Lathrop, and still later to Rutus Lathrop Huntington. A noted pine-tree, * Now Mrs. Gilmau's. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 69 originally of great size and height, stood near and pointed out the site even after the house was demolished. But within a few years, this interesting landmark, the old Lathrop pine, reminding us of the stout Louisburg Colonel, has disappeared. The next householders after these were the older sons of proprietors, of whom the most distinguished were John and Daniel Mason, sons of the Major, Capt. James Fitch, and Richard and Joseph Bushnell, sons of Mrs. Adgate. These are all ranked as first-comers, taking part in- the affairs of the first generation. Richard Bushneli's residence stood conspicuously upon the side-hill, where is now the mansion of Daniel W. Coit, Esq. Courts of larger or lesser significance and meetings of various kinds were held there. One of the Courts of Commission appointed by royal authority to settle the Moliegan controvei-sy, is said to have held its sessions in the great square room of the Bushnell house. A careful examination of the grants and proprietary records shows that in 1G72 land had been recorded to only seventy-seven persons within the town limits. In April, 1661, the first division land was laid out, (this included the Little Plain) ; in 1663, the second division land, which lay towards Leb- anon ; and in 1668, the third, upon Quinebaug river. After a few years, almost every citizen owned land in eight or ten different parcels. For the first eighty or one hundred years, very few of the homesteads seem to have been alienated. They passed from one occupant to another, by quiet inheritance, and in many cases were split into two or three portions, among the sons, who settled down by the side of their fathers. The impression made by the scenery upon the minds of the planters, at their first arrival, must have been on the whole of a hopeful though solemn character. The frowning ledges of rock, with which the place so pecul- iarly abounds, and the immense preponderance of forest, chastened the landscape almost into gloom. Many of the rocky heights were rendered impervious with stunted cedar, spruce, hemlock, juniper, savin, and the whole family of evergreen trees. The uplands and declivities were cov- ered with groves of oak, walnut, chestnut and maple, and having been partially cleared of underwood, were designated as Indian hunting grounds. The lowlands were dense with alder, willow, hazlenut, and other shrubs ; and the plains, now so smooth and grassy, were rough with bogs and stumps, mullein, thistle, and various unsightly weeds. The inequalities of the ground were much greater than at present. Running waters now scantily trickling down the rocks, or murmuring over a few small stones, were then rushing torrents, and the little brooks that creep under the streets in concealed channels, were broad streams, to be forded with care, or avoided by tedious circuits. Flowering plants and shrubs were com- 70 HISTORYOFNOKWICH. paratively abundant, and the settlers must have been regaled with a suc- cession of scents and blossoms, from the arbutus, the shad-flower, the dog- wood, the early honeysuckle, and the laurel, which, at the time of their removal, were in bloom. Birds and animals of almost every species belonging to the climate, were numerous to an uncommon degree. The evening air often brought with it from the dingles and swamps of the neighborhood, low bowlings or melancholy whines, mingled with the hoots and plaints of owl and screech-owl, or the less demonstrative but more nerve-trying hiss and rattle of the venomous serpent tribes. To complete the view, it may be added, that the streams swarmed with fish and wild fowl ; in the brooks and meadows were found the beaver and the otter ; and through the whole scene stalked at intervals the Indian and the deer. On this spot the hardy race of Puritans sat down with a determination to make the wilderness smile around them, to build up the institutions of religion and education, and to leave their children members of a secure and cultivated community. They were a fearless and resolute people, most of them being men of tried fortitude and experience, upright and devout, industrious and enterprising. Though assembled from many dif- ferent places, they were bound together by a common faith, a common interest, and a common danger. They were an associated body, both in their civil and ecclesiastical capacity, and only a few weeks were necessary to give them the form and stability of a well-ordered society. There Avas a peculiarity in the foundation of Norwich, that distinguishes it from most other settlements in this part of the country. It did not begin in a random, fragmentary way, receiving accessions from this quarter and that, till it gradually grew into a compact form and stable condition ; but came upon the ground, a town and a church. The inhabitants were not a body of adventurers, fortuitously thrown together, but an association, car- rying their laws, as well as their liberties, with them ; each member bound to consult the general good, as well as his own individual advantage. Steady habits, patient endurance, manly toil, and serene intelligence, set- tled with them, inspiring and efficient though quiet housemates. In the early days of the township, the inhabitants labored hard, but every man helped his neighbor. Ti-espasses were rare ; a grand decorum of manners prevailed ; sympathy, kindly counsel and friendly assistance softened the rigors of the wilderness, and the hearts of all were strengthened with the constant cheer of gospel promises. All the enactments and proceedings of these fathers of the town, all that we can gather concerning them from records or tradition, exhibits a well -organized community, — a people, bold, earnest, thoughtful, with the ring of the true metal in their transactions. The whole course of history furnishes no fairer model of a Christian settlement. CHAPTER V. Name of thk Town. First Things and Early Costoms. The name, Norwich, was probably selected for the new township before the actual settlement, but it did not come immediately into familiar use. For the first two or three years it was generally known as the new town- ship of Mohegan. The earliest notice of the English name upon the rec- ords of the General Court is in March, 1660-1, where "the Constable at Seabrook" is required to levy a certain sum "upon ye estates of such at Norridge as are defective in their rates."* The settlement appears to have been accepted and enrolled as a legal township, under the government of Connecticut, in May, 1662. The act is omitted in the records of the General Court, but dui'ing the session of October preceding, the following order was issued : " This Court orders ye Secretary to write a letter to Norridge, to send vp a Comit- tee in May next invested with full [power] to issue ye atfair respecting settling that Plantation vnder this Goverment."t The name was undoubtedly bestowed in honorable remembrance of Norwich in England ; but why ? Was it suggested by resemblance of situation, or was there anything about the old English city so becoming and acceptable to the minds of these dwellers in the Avilderness, that they wished their settlement to become a New-Norwich ? The most natural supposition is, that the prominent persons engaged in the new plantation came from old Norwich, and wished to perpetuate the familiar name by giving it to their American home. But as yet, no such connection has been traced between the ancient city and the new settlement, except through the brothers Huntington, and even with them the link is uncer- * Conn. Col. Rec., 1, .362. t Ibid., 1, 374. In early records it is often called New-Norwich. In a journal kept by Thomas Miner of Stonington, and preserved hy his descendants in MS., there are, from 1662 to 16 76, fifteen references to Norwich, but they are chiefly bare memoran- dums of going thither, with nothing suggestive about them but the variations in spell- ing the name. In three places it is correct; the other changes are Norwitch, Nor- which, Norwigc, Norwig, Norigc. i-' i- 1 b i o i: Y c ? N L t; . c ^ . tain or slight. Major Mason was the controlling spirit of the party, and without doubt the name was either suggested in the first place by him, or sanctioned by his special favor. If Norwich, the capital of Norfolk Co., England, had been the place of his nativity, it would be easy to account for the planting of the name in this new soil. But it is not known where Major Mason was born. The original meaning of the word Norwich, renders its application to the new township strikingly appropriate. It is derived from North-wic, a Saxon name, signifying North- Castle, and the formidable piles of rocks found here, some of them crowned with the stone forts of the Indians, are forcibly suggestive of walls, towers and battlements. 3fill. In settling a plantation, one of the first necessities to be pro- vided for was the grinding of corn. Maize was the common grain, and a mill was indispensable. The earliest town act of which any record has been recovered, bears the date of Dec. 11, 1660. It is the renewal of a contract stated to have been made at Saybrook, Feb. 26, 1655,* [probably should be 1659-60,] between John Elderkin on the one hand, and "the town of Moheagan ' on the other, to erect a corn-mill, either by the home-lot of John Pease, [at Yantic, western extremity of the town-plot,] or at No-man's Acre, to be completed before Nov. 1, 1661, under penalty of forfeiting $20. The toll allowed was to be ^, and a tract of land was pledged as a compensation for the erection of the mill. Elderkin's mill, erected first at No-man's Acre, was soon removed to a situation below the Falls, and new grants and privileges were bestowed upon the proprietor, that it might be well sustained. Here for a long course of years stood the mill and the miller's house. This had formerly been a noted landing-place of the Indians. A fine spring of pure water gushed copiously from the side-hill near by, which was literally a perpet- ual fountain of sweet waters, with no record or tradition of its having failed but once, and that was in the great drought of 1676. The Mill Falls, Elderkin's Mill, " the valley near the mill in which the Spring is," "the deep valley that goeth down to goodman Elderkin's house," and "the island . before his house at the Mill Falls," are all * This date, 1655, is a mistake of the recorder. In 1701, a controversy having arisen between the Town and the second John Elderkin respecting the mill, a com- mittee was appointed to review what was called the old Covenant with Elderkin, and give a clear statement of the case. In their report tliev affirm that Elderkin was obli- gated to maintain a mill for the use of the town, or forfeit the lands and privileges appertaining to the mill. To the record of this report a notice is appended, that the old agreement with Elderkin, "bearing date 1655, the town do now declare to be an error in the date." The true date is not given, but probably it was during the winter of 1659-60. HISTORYOPNORWICH. 73 referred to in the early records, with circumstances indicating that they were locally grouped together. Forty acres on the south side of the Little Plain side-hills, upon the cove, were given to the mill, " to lye to it with the Landing Place, for the use of the town," and to be improved by John Elderkin, the miller. This grant covered the Indian burying-place, and was coupled with a reservation that the Indians should have free access to the spot, and the right of sepulture — privileges which it may be inferred from this stipula- tion the town had promised to Uncas. The grant extended over the greater part of what is now Washington street. It was afterwards pur- chased by Col. Simon Lathrop. First Births. Elizabeth Hyde, born in August, 1660,* was the first- born child of the plantation. The parents, Samuel Hyde and Jane Lee, had been married the preceding year at Saybrook. The house where this first daughter of Norwich opened her eyes upon the world, stood on a declivity sloping to the town street, with higher land in the back-ground, bristling with massive focks and heavily shadowed with chestnut and oak. This homestead remained in the Hyde family for five generations, the last occupant of the name being Elisha Hyde, Esq., Mayor of the city.f The second offspring of the plantation was also a female — Anne, daugh- ter of Thomas Bliss, born in September, IGGO. Elizabeth Hyde mari'ied Richard Lord of Saybrook. Anne Bliss married Josiah Rockwell. The first-born male child was Christopher, son of Christopher and Ruth Huntington, Nov. 1. There is no record of any other births during the year 1660. The following occurred during the first five years of the settlement. They were not registered at the time, but are gathered from subsequent records. This list may not comprise the whole number of births during that period, but no others have been traced. 1661. Sarah, dr. of John Birchard ; Deborah, dr. of Francis Griswold ; both born in May. Sarah Birchard died young. Deborah Griswold married Jonathan Crane. John, son of John Calkins, born in July. Abigail, dr. of Thomas Adgate, in August. Joseph, son of Simon Huntington, in September. 1662. Elizabeth, dr. of Jonathan lloyce, in January. John, son of William Backus, Feb. 9. John, son of Richard Edgerton, June 12. * In the town registry of these ancient births, the day of the month is seldom given. Mr. Birchard, the first clerk, was very remiss in this respect, t The present residence of H. B. Tracy, Esq. 74 HISTORYOFNOEWICH. Thomas, son of John Baldwin ; no record of his birth found, but his age shews that he was born this year.* 1663. Rebecca, dr. of Thomas Bliss, in March. Lydia, dr. of John Gager, in August. She married Simon Huntington, who was born at Saybrook in 1 659. Samuel, son of John Calkins, in October. John, son of Jonathan Koyce, in November. 1664. Sarah, dr. of Thomas Adgate, in January. Elizabeth, daughter of Simon Huntington, in February, and died in infancy. Mary, dr. of John Reynolds, in April. She married John Edgerton, above named, (born 1662.) Abigail, dr. of John Post, Nov. 6. Thomas, son of Thomas Post, in December. 1665. Thomas, son of Christopher Huntington, March 18. Samuel, son of William Backus, May 2 ; died young. James, son of John Birchard, July 16. Daniel, son of Kev. James Fitch, in August. Samuel, son of Francis Griswold, in September. Sarah, dr. of Jonathan Royce, in October. Deaths. The earliest death on record is that of Sarah, wife of Thomas Post, who died in March, 1661, and was buried in a corner of her hus- band's home-lot, " adjoining Goodman Gadger's lot." The elder William Backus Avas probably the second person, at least the second of mature age, summoned from the plantation. His will is dated June 12, 1661, and though the time of his death is not known, it may be inferred that he died shortly afterward. The arrangements of the will show that the testator considered himself near death. The homestead which he left to Stephen is recorded to the latter with the date 1661. Moreover, the testator nowhere appears after that period, and his son, William Backus, is mentioned in 1662 without the distinction of junior. Marriages. Of the first marriage in the plantation no special informa- tion has come down to us, either by record or tradition. Most of the proprietors were men of mature years, with considerable families, and among the younger class several marriages had taken place at Saybrook within two or three years previous, in anticipation of the settlement. Thomas Post was married to his second wife, Rebecca, daughter of Oba- diah Bruen, Sept. 2, 1663, but the rite was undoubtedly performed at her father's house in New London. We may therefore conclude that the first nuptial ceremony within tlie bounds of the new plantation, was that in which its widowed minister, the Rev. James Fitch, was united to Pris- cilla Mason. This was in October, 1664, and as the marriage service was then commonly performed by a magistrate, we may suppose that Major Mason himself officiated upon the occasion. * He died Sept. 16, 1741, in the 80th year of his age. HISTORYOPNORWICH. 75 Miscellaneous Details. The early houses of our country covered a large area, but they were seldom thoroughly finished, and the upper rooms of course were cold and comfortless. A snug, well-finished house, adapted to the family and circumstances of the owner, is an improvement of modern times. These old houses were generally square, heavy build- ings, with stone chimneys that occupied a large space in the centex*. The posts and rafters were of great size and solidity, and in the rooms heavy be;xms stood out from the ceiling overhead, and projected like a low, nar- row bench around the sides. The fioors were made of stout plank, with a trap-door leading to the cellar. A line of shelves in the kitchen, called the dresser, often displaying a superb row of burnished pewter, performed the ofiice of side-table and closet. The best apartment was used for a sleeping-room, and even the kitchen was often furnished with a bed. The ceilings were low, and the fire-place, running deep into the chimney, gaped like an open cavern. But when the heaped-up logs presented a front of glowing coals and upward-rushing fiame, wliile storms were raging with- out, or the heavy snow obliterated the landscape, such a fountain of warmth not only quickened the blood, but cheered the heart, inspired gratitude, and promoted social festivity. Such scenes have made the fire- side an expressive type of domestic happiness. There is certainly a charm in the very phrase, old-fashioned comforts. Yet these large fire-places were not Avithout their disadvantages. They required a constant current of air from without to force the smoke up the chimney, and this kept the room cold. They were often made eight feet wide, and two or three feet deep. Wood was cut four feet in length, and the rolling in of a log was a ponderous operation that made all the timbers creak and crushed the bed of burning coals upon the hearth into cinders. Even if wood were as abundant as formerly, we should still be compelled to acknowledge that the reduction of fire-places and the introduction of other modes of warming rooms, are great improvements of modern house- keeping, promoting at once comfort, economy, and symmetry. Norwich, in its beginning, was a step in advance of most settlements. The people had built their first habitations at Saybrook, or elsewhere, and on this chosen spot, at the outset, laid firm their foundations and furnished themselves with respectable homes. No record or tradition favors the notion that huts or log-houses preceded the spacious and comfortable houses of the first proprietors. The builders must have had some tempo- rary shelter, of booth or wigwam, but it is probable that in most instances families were not removed until the houses were at least framed. Towns were not built in those days like a factory-village, all at once and after one model. At Norwich, especially, if considered in its whole extent, great diversity in the form and position of the buildings was dis- played. Here a house stood directly on the town street ; another was 76 HISTORYOFNORWICH. placed at the end of a lane ; a third, in a meadow by a gurgling brook ; and others wei'e scattered over side-hills, or sheltered under jutting ledges of rock. Some were only of one story, with two rooms; but tlie better sort presented a wide, imposing fi-ont of two stories, ending in a very low story in the rear. Two large rooms, often twenty feet square, viz., a great room, as it was called, but meaning a he&t or company room, and a kitchen, with a bed-room, and a capacious milk and cheese pantry, usually covered the ground-floor. The windows were small and few, most of them fur- nished with panes of diamond glass, cased in lead.* The rooms were supplied with chimney-closets, both over the fire-places and by their sides. In the chambers, and sometimes even in the garret, large closets might be seen diving here and there into the chimney, or occupying the space be- tween the cliimneys. Occasionally one has been found having a winding course around the chimney, or a turn in it like a corner ; others have had the door inconspicuous, suggesting the idea that they were made for places of concealment. As the houses decayed, these closets became receptacles for rubbish and vermin. Often in later times,, the wrecks of discarded furniture, old snow-shoes and wooden-clods, moth-eaten buff-caps, broken utensils, and sometimes books and pamphlets, or written papers, discolored, tattered, nibbled, till they were worthless, have been dragged from these dusty reservoirs. Among articles of furniture distinctively belonging to old times, we may notice the high chest of drawers, reaching nearly from floor to ceiling, and its multitude of drawers graded in size from a button-box almost to a trunk. Whether any of the first settlers owned a clock or watch, is unknown. Perhaps Mr. Fitch or Major Mason had this convenience; but in general, the only time-pieces must have been the universal noon-mark in the window, and the dial in the garden, — both useless when the sun was obscured. After a time, as wealth increased, the great house-clock, with its radiant, moon-like face, made its appearance in a i^^s houses. In the kitchen, the high wooden settle was never absent, — now used as a screen, and now receding to the wall, to give full exhibition to that grand recept- acle of cheering coals and flame, the wide-mouthed-fire-place. The kitchen was the principal sitting-room of the family. Blocks in the chimney-corners were used for children's seats ; the settle kept off the air from the door ; a tin candlestick, with a long back, was suspended on a nail over the matel, and the walls were adorned with crook-necks, flitches of bacon and venison, raccoon and fox skins, and immense lobster claws. Afterwards, as fears of the Indians died away, and weapons of warfare were less used, occasionally a musket or an espontoon might be * As late as the year 1810, windows of this kind were renaaiaing in the old Post house. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 7T seen suspended transverse from beam to beam, and bearing as trophies, reserved for winter use, strings of dried apples, chains of sausages, and bunches of red peppers. A small open recess for books was usually seen on one side of the fire-place, a little below the ceiling, where even the cleanest volumes soon acquired a dingy hue. Venerated were these books, for they came from the fatherland, and were mostly of that blessed Puritan stamp whose truths had inspired the owners with courage to leave the scenes of their nativity, to find a home in this distant and savage land. This little recess, displaying its few books, often appears in the back- ground of ancient portraits ; for example, in that of Col. Dyer, of Wind- ham, formerly among the pictures in the Wyllis mansion at Hartford. In these houses the Family Bible was never wanting. It occupied a conspicuous station upon the desk or best table, and though much used, was well preserved. It came from home, for so the colonists loved to call the mother country ; it had voyaged with them over the billowy waters, and was revered as the gift of Heaven. One of these blessed volumes, long preserved as a precious relic in the Lathrop family, and now depos- ited in the archives of the American Bible Society, merits a particular notice. It is in the old English text, and of that edition usually called Parker's, or the Bishop's Bible. It was })reserved in the family of Mr. Azariah Lathrop, grandson of the second Samuel Lathrop of Norwich, with the tradition that it was brought from England by an ancestor, who, reading one night in his berth, fell asleep over the book, when a spark escaped from his lamp, and falling upon the leaf, ate its way slowly through a large number of pages, committing sad havoc in the sacred text. The owner afterwards with great neatness and patience repaired the ravage with his pen, restoring the text to each of the inspired leaves, as may be seen by inspecting the venerable relic. The Rev. John Lathrop of Barnstable, Mass., a devout lover of the Sacred liook, was the emigrant ancestor of the Lathrop family : to him, therefore, the above incident may with some probability be referred. But the vohune is found among the descendants of his son Samuel, the ances- tor of the Norwich Lathrops, and the latter, though only a lad at the time of his emigration, may nevertheless have been the sleeping student who came so near to the losing of his treasure. All that can be asserted on this subject is, that the repaired Bible, with this interesting tradition con- nected with it, comes down to the jjresent generation in the line of Mr. Azariah Lathrop. There is no account that the planters ever experienced any scarcity of food, or were ever deprived at any time of the real comforts of life. On the contrary, they seem to have had abundant harvests, and to have been generous livers. Though their modes of cooking wex'e more simple than. 78 HISTORYOFNORWICH. those now in vogue, the variety of sustenance was nearly as great. To obviate the necessity of going often to mill, pounded maize, called by the Indians samp, or nasaump, which resembles hominy, was much used. Hasty-pudding was a common dish, the usual supper of children. Out of New England this article was called mush and suppawn. The coarse meal of those days required at least an hour's cooking to make the pud- ding good ; the name hasty is therefore entirely inappropriate, the special pleading of Barlow to the contrary notwithstanding : "In hasle the boiling cauldron, o'er the blaze, Receives and cooks the ready-powdered maize." A true hasty-pudding, that is, one which can be properly made in a short time to meet a sudden emergency^ requires a different grain from maize. The minute-pudding, so called, made of rye or buckwheat, is of this kind, justifying its name by the haste with which it can be prepared. Another dish which the Indians taught the English to make, was succa- tash, a mixture of tender Indian corn and new beans, forming a delicious compound, still a great favorite all over New England. They also learned of the natives to bake corn-cakes on the hot hearth, under the ashes, form- in"' a sweet and wholesome bannock; and to pound their parched corn and eat it with milk or molasses. This was called in their language, Yo-ke-ug* The first planters were also famous for baked beans and boiled Indian puddings, — dishes that have been perpetuated by their de- scendants, with considerable spirit and pertinacity, though they have ceased to be peculiarly characteristic of the place. f The beans were put into the oven early in the morning, crowned with a choice portion from the pork-barrel, and having been kept all day seething and brown- ing, appeared upon the supper-table, hot and juicy, and with their respect- able accompaniment, the slashed and crispy pork, gave dignity to the best tables. This was the universal Saturday night treat ; so that wits would say the inhabitants knew when Sunday was coming only by the previous dish of baked beans ; and that if the usual baking should at any time be omitted, the ovens would fall in. There can be no doubt that the name Bean Hill was bestowed on a part of the town-plot from the prevalence of this Saturday night treat. Bean-porridge was also, in those early days, a common breakfast dish. * Nokehick, in the idiom of some tribes. "Nokeliick, parched meal, which is a rcadie wholesome food." (Roger Williams.) The English sometimes called it No-cake. t It has been said tliat baked beans is not an old English dish, yet from its preva- lence in Norwich and some other places, so soon after the settlement, we siiould natu- rally infer that the emigrants brought vviih them their rclihh for this dainty of the table. They certainly did not find it among the Indians. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 79 In other places, peas were more generally cultivated than beans. In a list of the principal productions of the Colony, made out in 1680, peas are mentioned, but not beans. Perhaps the inhabitants of Norwich were par- ticularly prominent in bringing the latter into common use, and hence arose their local renown in connection with them. The beans and pud- dings of Norwich were, however, only a popular way of representing tables bountifully supplied with substantial food. With respect to the puddings, it is ref^orted that they were frequently made of such size and solidity as to carry ruin in their path if the pyra- mid chanced to fall.* An extra-good housewife would put her pudding in the bag at night, and keep it boiling until dinner-time the next day. The carving commenced at the top, and as the pile lowered to the center, the color deepened to a delicious red. One can not help being curious to know whether these local customs could be traced back to those parts of England from which the planters came. Potatoes were then unknown in the country, and not introduced until after 1720. Turnips were a common vegetable. Pumpkins were so abundant in New England, that wits seized upon them as a symbol of the country. A chubby boy astride of a lai-ge pumpkin, and blowing the hollow stalk of the vine for a trumpet, is at least an emblem of some sig- nificance. Pumpkin johnny-cake, made of corn-meal and stewed pump- kin, baked before the fire upon the trencher, and turned to give a brittle crust to both sides, was an article for the table in high estimation. The drink of our ancestors consisted chiefly of pure water from the well or fountain ; but they had also beer, cider, and metheglin, and they made great account of syrups concocted from the juice of berries, and cordials distilled from mints. In addition to the flesh afibrded by the flocks and herds which they fed, the bounty of Providence furnished them with rich supplies. Deer at the time of the settlement were not infrequent ; wild fowl, especially pigeons, were at the proper season very abundant ; all the smaller game, such as squirrels, foxes, woodchucks, and rabbits, might be caught in snai-es at the very doors of the houses, and the rivers and brooks around them furnished * A sportive story was formerly current, that on a certain festive occasion, a conical puddin;^ was set in the center of tlie table, in monumental dij^jnity, but losinj; its bal- ance at the first insertion of the carvin<:;-knifc, it fell and knocked down tliree men. Whereupon the townsmen made a regulation that no pudding should henceforth con- sist of more than tuicnt;/ coombs of corn, that is, about lour bushels. The Norwich puddimjs were played by the local humorists against the New London dump/iiitt. The latter, it is said, were often made so large and hard that it was neces- sary to chip them up with a pick-axe. The remains of a great dinner being at one time thrown into the river, near the town, the Isle of Rocks, a noted fishing ledge in the harl)or, was formed, and is still by some of their neighbors called the New London Dumplins. 80 HISTORYOF NORWICH. first-rate bass, innumerable shad, fine lobsters, delicate oysters, and liiglily- prized trout. Such were the dainties spread upon their board. The annual Fast was kept with great strictness : no food being allowed between sunrise and sunset. Thanksgiving was then, and has ever since been, the great festal day of the year, — the day for family gatherings and heai't-greetings ; for the noonday feast, and the evening spent in eating nuts and apples, telling stories, and playing blind-man's-buff, — simple ele- ments of pleasure, but great in their productive result. These two memo- rial seasons have been called the saint-days of New England, or, as ex- pressed by a domestic humorist, the festivals of St. Shiff" and St. Starve. Names. Our ancestors displayed but little taste in the way of names- giving, either to persons or places. The Christian names bestowed upon sons and daughters were often quaint and whimsical, sometimes even harsh in sound and inconvenient of utterance. Shadrach, Jephthah, Abinadab, Aquilla, and Zorobabel, are to be met with upon the records. Others were chosen from some implied principle of association, in defianc(! of all fitness ; such as Consider, Friend, Preserved, Eetrieve, Yet-once. But these are the extremes in this line, and none more ungainly, such as are often and perhaps falsely attributed to the old Puritans, are found in our Connecticut registries. Female names of a descriptive class were very common, such as Thankful, Mindwell, Patience, Experience, Temperance, Obedience, Re- membrance, Deliverance, Desire, Submit, Faith, Hope, Love, Charity, Silence, Mercy. Many of these, however, far from being uncouth, are euphonious and appropriate, worthy of perpetual repetition. Many local names that were current in the early stages of the settle- ment, have become obsolete. Such are — Connecticut Plains, — a tract wiihin the bounds of the nine-miles-square, on what was then called the path to Connecticut, that is, the old road to Hartford. Little Lebanon, — at the end of Yantick, or just beyond Yantick. Little Lebanon Hill and Valley, mentioned 1673, before the settlement of the present town of Lebanon. New Roxbury, — now Woodstock. Nicholas Hill, — south of the Yantic, since called Nick's Hill, Little Faith Plain, — south of Wawekus Hill. The first names given to a new country are usually descriptive, embody- ino- some prominent characteristic that shall bring the place directly before the mind. Thus we find on the early records of Norwich — The Crotch of the Rivers. The Hook of the Quinabaug. Hammer Brook. Stony Brook. HISTORYOFNORWICH. 81 Kimicall [Chemical] Spring, — ^in a grant to Capt. Fitch, 1G87. Tlie White Rock upon Plain Ilill, — a land-mark. Scotch Cap Hill, — near the point where the present bounds of Norwich, Franklin and Bozrah meet. Huckleberry Plains. Great Beaver Brook. Ising-glass Eock. Little Beaver Brook. Wheel-timber Hill. Wolf-pit Hill. Hearth-stone Hill. Saw-pit Hills. Butternut Brook. Great Cranberry Pond. Stonie Hollow, (now East Chelsea.) Clay Banks of the Great River. The Great Darke Swampe. Dragon's Hole at Kewoutaquck. The Rocky Hill, called Wenaniasoug. If any dependence can be placed on names and traditions, the Indians had at least three rude forts within the present bounds of Norwich. One at the Landing on the brow of the hill, which on this account was called at the first settlement. Fort Hill. This was probably the citadel of Wa- weequaw, the brother of Uncas. Another, upon Little Fort Hill, between the Landing and Trading Cove, belonging to Uncas himself. And a third, more ancient than either of these, on the south-western side of the Yantic, below the junction of Hammer-brook. This stood upon a rugged platform of rock, surrounded and overshadowed with woods. It was a barren and secluded spot ; but the tradition has been current, particularly among the Hydes and Posts, who first owned the spot, that here was an ancient Indian fortress. It consisted of a high stone wall, inclosing an area upon the brow of the hill, and must have been designed only as a hiding-place, to which to retreat in times of invasion. The stones had been broken by the Indian builders into portable size, and about the year 1790, were removed and used in the building of a cellar and for other purposes by the owner of the land. CHAPTER VI. Earliest Town Officers. Courts. Train-Bands. Magistrates and Schools. According to the best writers on New England polity, the four important institutions that lie at the foundation of our prosperity are the towns, congregations, schools, and militia. Upon these as a basis, com- munities spring rapidly into thrift and importance, and become the pillars of nations. The first of these institutions in ordei', and that which em- bodies the first element of a commonwealth, is the township. Formerly, in Connecticut, this included also the second branch, the j)ai"ish, or con- gregation, which was co-extensive with the town, and the minister not only the religious head, but the political counsellor, of the people. The schools were quiet and insignificant, partly domestic and partly municipal. The train-bands, on the contrary, were indispensable and efficient, being the town itself, in its wisdom and sti'ength, armed for defence. The Connecticut Constitution, the oldest of the American State Con- stitutions, makes no allusion to the king.* It regards the people as the only source of power ; deputies represent the will of the people ; towns select the deputies and impower them to act in their behaU'. Towns are older than states, and the fountains of political power. Townships are therefore the foundation-stones of American liberty : accepted inhabitants are identical with free citizens, and municipal inde- pendence opens the way to all other liberal institutions. The earliest town records of Norwich are in the hand-writing of John Birchard, who had probably been the Town Clerk at Saybrook, before the removal. He discharged the duties of a Clerk or Recorder at Nor- wich, for fifteen or eighteen years, but there is no memorandum extant of his appointment to office. No town action remains of an earlier date than Dec. 11, 1660, but from the fragmentary state of the oldest book, we may infer that several pages in the beginning have been worn away and lost. The original grants were evidently not recorded, until reviewed and * See Constitution of 1639 : Conn. Col. Kec., 1, 20-25. Also Code of Laws, ibid., 509. HISTOEYOFNORWICH. 83 rectified by later surveys, and these, with subsequent grants and divisions of common land, were registered by Captain James Fitch. The affairs both of the town and society, civil and ecclesiastical, were all recorded together, until the year 1720. The volumes are labeled, Town Books of Acts, Votes, Grants, &c. They contain also an account of the freemen, strays, cattle-marks, lost goods, and occasionally a record of a justice's court. Afterwards the town and society affairs were sepa- rated, and the latter kept by themselves in a volume entitled "The Town- Plot Society Records." In the first books, dates are confounded and sub- jects intermixed with a strange degree of negligence. Some of the rec- ords seem to have been made promiscuously, with the book upside down, or upright, as it happened ; and forward or backward, wherever there was a blank space, The earliest notices relate to the granting of lands, appointing fence- viewers, erecting public pounds, gates and fences, stating highways, felling trees, and regulating the running at large of swine, rams, and other domestic animals. These were the first subjects of legis- lation, and the first officers were a constable and two townsmen, one for each end of the town. The townsmen were afterwards called overseers, and select-men, and varied in number, though seldom more than four were chosen. It was their business (according to a town vote in 1683,) "to order the prudentials of the town, and see to it that the wholesome town orders be attended to." They were empowered to call public meetings, to take cognizance of all offences against law, order, and morality ; to settle differences, and try cases of small value. The imperfection of the early records leaves us without a complete list of early town officers. The following are all that have been recovered for the first twenty-five years of the settlement. Later than this, the officers for each year are, with rare exceptions, extant. CONSTABLES. 1669. Eobert Allyn. 1682. Samuel Lothrop. 1670. Ensign Thomas Tracy. Joshua Abel. 1671. Thomas Post. 1683. Thomas Bingham. 1673. Samuel Lothrop. Josiah Reed. 1674. John Gager. 1684. Caleb Abel. 1675. Simon Huntington. Christopher Huntington, Jr., east of 1678. John Bahlwin, Sen. Showtucket. Thomas Leffingwell, Jr. / Thomas Tracy, Jr. 1679. John Calkins. 1685. Joseph Bushnell. i/ Richard Bushnell. y Simon Huntington. 1680. Richard Edgerton. ^ Caleb Forbes. Thomas Sluman. 1686. Stephen Gilford. 1681. Solomon Tracy. John Calkins, Sen. Stephen Merrick. Thomas Parke, Jr. »4 HISTOEY OP NORWICH. TOWNSMEN. 1669. Thomas Leffingwell. 1680. Capt. Fitch. Christopher Huntington. Lefft. Thomas Tracy. 1671. John Bradford. Lefft. Leffingwell. John Calkins. Ensign Backus. 1672. Hugh Calkins. Thomas Adgate. Simon Huntington. 1681. Simon Huntington. 1673. William Hide. Thomas Waterman. John Holmsted. John Tracy. 1674. John Post. 1682. Ensign William Backus, Thomas Adgate. Caleb Abel. 1675. Thomas Waterman. Lefft. Leffingwell. John Calkins. Thomas Adgate. 1676. East End, Thomas Adgate. 1683. John Baldwin, Sen. West End, Thomas Bingham. Thomas Tracy. 1677. John Holmstead. 1684. Ensign Backus. Lefft. Th. Leffingwell, Sergt. Waterman. 1678. Simon Huntington. Lefft. Leffingwell. Richard Edgerton. Thomas Adgate. 1679. Six Townsmen chosen : 1685. Sergt. John Tracy. James Fitch, Jr. Stephen Merrick. Lefft. Leffingwell. Solomon Tracy. Ensign Backus. Samuel Lothrop. Simon Huntington. 1686. Left't. Leffingwell. John Post. Thomas Adgate. Thomas Adgate. Ensign Backus. John Post. In October, 1661, the first deputies of the town, Thomas Leffingwell and Thomas Tracy, appear on the roll of the General Court at Hartford. There was but little fluctuation in the higher public offices at that period. A candidate once chosen and found to be competent and faithful, was gen- erally a life-long incumbent. The election of deputies was semi-annual, but for the first eleven years, the choice, with only two exceptions, was restricted to four persons : Thomas Tracy. Thomas Leffingwell. Hugh Calkins. Francis Griswold. The exceptions were Mr. Benjamin Brewster, chosen for one session in 1668; and John Mason, one in 1672. Afterwards other proprietary names appear among the representatives, but the perpetuity of the office continued. Richard Bushnell, beginning at 1691, was chosen for 37 sessions ; Solomon Tracy for 19 ; and Joseph Backus for 34, beginning at 1704 and ending in 1733. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 85 In the list of estates in 16G3, Norwich was estimated at £2,571. Say- brook at the same time was vahied at £8,000, and New London at £7,185. This was before the union with New Haven, when Connecticut comprised only eleven towns or plantations.* Of these, Norwich was the lowest on the list. By the union under the charter in 1665, and the addition of two or three new settlements, the towns in the Colony increased, during the next twelve years, to twenty-three ; of these, Norwich was about the fif- teenth in valuation, reporting in 1676, persons 71, estates £4,598. Before 1688, the towns increased to twenty-six, and Norwich advanced to the ninth position, returning over 100 polls and upwards of £7,000 in estates. Those higher upon the list, in the order of valuation, were Hartford, New Haven, Windsor, Wethersfield, Fairfield, New London, "Windsor, Strat- ford. In 1676, the best house-lots in New London and Norwich went into the list at 25s. per acre, the poorer quality at 20s., and other fenced lands at Is. In Say brook and Stonington, none were estimated above 20s. per acre. This was also the highest estimate at New Haven, but at Hartford and "Wethersfield the home-lots were listed at 40s. per acre. Houses were not reckoned in the valuation of estates ; being " so charge- able to maintain," that they were exempted from taxation. Horses, four years old and upward, in 1665, were reckoned at £10, but in 1670, at £4. In 1 680, the Lords of the Council of Trade, in England, proposed cer- tain queries to the General Court of Connecticut, respecting the state of the Colony. In the answers to these questions, an allusion incidentally made to Norwich was perhaps the first public notice sent across the ocean tliat such a town had been established. In speaking of New London and Pequot river, the document says : " A ship of 500 tunn may go up to the Towne, and come so near the shore that they may toss a biskit ashore : and vessells of about 30 tunn may pass up about 12 mile above New London, to or neer a town called Norwich. "t The number of towns in the Colony at this period was 26 ; the number of men, 2,507 ; in Norwich, 85. In a roll of freemen of the Colony, recorded in 1669, Norwich has 25, viz. : Thomas Adgate. Eichard Edgerton. Thomas Leffingwcll. ^^ William Backus. John Elderkin. Major John Mason. John Baulden. Mr. James Fitch. John Post. John Birchard. Francis Griswell. Thomas Post. * The word Plantation was nearly synonymous with town, — not always meaning dis- tinctively a new town. To obtain the privileges of a plantation, was equivalent to incorporation as a town. t Conn. Col. Rec, 3, 297. 86 HISTORYOPNORWICH. Morgan Bowers. "William Hide. John Renolds. Benjamin Bruister. John Holmstead. Jonathan Roice. Hugh Calkins. Christopher Huntington. Nehemiah Smyth. John Calkins. Simon Huntington. Thomas Tracey. Robert Wade. Taken by us whose names are underwritten this 9th of October, '69. John Baulden, John Renold, Townsmen. Jonathan Roice, Constable* It is probable that the name of Thomas Bliss was accidentally omitted from this list, as he was one of those that had been propounded and accepted by the General Court, in 1664. In 1681, eight other freemen were added to the list: Hugh Amos. Thomas Howard. John Tracy. Thomas Bingham. Thomas Leffinewell, Jr. Thomas Waterman t Stephen Gifford. John Mason. In 1685,— Samuel Bliss. Samuel Lothrop, Jr. Joseph BushncU. Solomon Tracy. In 1662, Thomas Tracy, Thomas Adgate and Francis Griswold were chosen, with the townsmen, to try all cases to the value of 40s. These formed a Court of Commission. \i In 1669, John Bradford, Simon Huntington and, Thomas Leffingwell were the Commissioners, with William Backus acting as marshall. In 1671, Ensign Thomas Tracy, Serg. Thomas Leffingwell and Hugh Calkins held the office. These were all appointed by the town. The first Commissioner or Justice appointed by the General Court for the town was Ensign John Mason, 1672. In 1676, John Birchard. In 1678, James Fitch and Thomas Tracy. In 1686, Benjamin Brewster. The next year Mr. Brewster was com- missioned both for Norwich and New London, and in 1689, for Preston also. Cases of over 40s. value, and all weighty matters, were carried before a special court, called a Court of Assistants, where a magistrate or assist- ant presided. Several Courts of Assistants were held in New London, at which Major Mason, with others of the magistrates, Wyllis, "Wolcott, or Governor Leete, presided. These courts were subsequently merged in the County Court. * Col. Rec. Conn., 2, 523. t Ibid., 2, 154. HISTOEYOF NORWICH. 87 Counties were constituted in 1666. New London County extended from Pawcatuck river "to the western bounds of Haramonassett planta- tion," comprising the four towns of Saybrook, New London, Stonington, and Norwich, with the new settlement at Hammonassett or Killingworth. New London was the shire town. The first County Court was held June 6, 1666. Major Mason presided, assisted by John Allyn, Assistant; Thomas Stanton and Obadiah Bruen, Commissioners. Major Mason continued to preside at the sessions of this court until Sep- tember, 1670, when he appeared for the last time on the bench. The first Clerks of the County Court were Obadiah Bruen, Edward Palmes, and Daniel Wetherell, all of New London, and in office success- ively, each about two years. In 1673, John Birchard of Norwich was appointed Clerk of the Court, and held the office for eight or ten years. Frequent courts, either of higher or lower grade, were an imperious necessity of the times. It was a litigious age. The early settlers were fond of appealing to the laws, and settling their disputes by writs, pleas, and judicial forms. A case in court was, with some men, little more than a customary part of the year's business. When the county consisted of only five or six towns, frequently the list of cases for debt, trespass, dis- orderly conduct, and breach of law, amounted to forty or fifty at a single session of the court. In several instances, however, wherein Norwich as a town appears on the docket, the cases were such as show the prevalence of law and order in the community, rather than a fondness for litigation. Such are the fol- lowing : In 1671, the grand jury made a presentment of John Pease for living alone and neglecting the Sabbath. In 1 680, an action was brought by Frederick Ellis against the towns- men for warning him out of the town after he had been made an inhabit- ant by grant and possession of lands ; and also against Christopher Hunt- ington, the Clerk, for refusing him a record of said lands. He was non- suited in the first case ; but in answer to the complaint against the clerk, the court ordered that Ellis should have a record of the land. Prosecutions for slander, profanity, speaking evil of dignities, and other cases for which an unbridled tongue was answerable, were more frequent in the young, half-established communities of that period, than at the present day. An instance Avill be given for illustration, which has an additional interest from its connection with one who was then tlic great man of the nine-miles-square. With the exception, however, of this case, Mason vs. Richardson, the first band of Norwich proprietors furnished but little business for the courts, — preferring, it would seem, to settle the common cases of debt and trespass in a private way, or before a justice of the peace. oO HISTORY OP NOEWICH. At a County Court held in New London, June 6, 1671 : John Allyn, presiding Judge, a case was brought by " Major Mason, plaintiff, contra Amos Richardson, defendant, in an action of slander and defamation for saying he was a traytor and [had] damnified the Collonie one thousand pounds." The damages were laid at £500. The jury found for the plaintiff one hundred pounds, and costs of court, £1 8s. The defendant applied for a review, which was granted, and the case being called up at the next September court, was respited and not brought before the Bench again till June, 1672. In the meantime the original plaintiff, Major Mason, had been removed by death ; and when the appellant, Richardson, was summoned by the court either to withdraw his action or go on with his review, he replied that Major John Mason, who was the first plaintiff, is now deceased, and that he conceives the action dies with him." Samuel and John Mason, sons of the Major, appeared in court and tendered to defend the action, but still the plaintiff replied that he had nothing further to say than what was contained in the papers on file. The action was therefore dropped, and the judgment against the plaintiff remained in force. At the same court, when the proceedings in this case were read, Mr. Richardson disputed the record. He was thereupon arraigned for defam- ing the court by saying that a part of its record was not true, and fined in the sum of eight pounds. Execution to satisfy the original judgment was subsequently levied by the heirs of Mason upon the estate of Richardson, and twelve mares taken, for which only £71 being allowed, and the plaintiff claiming that they were worth much more, further litigation ensued before the matter was finally settled. The first notice of a military organization in the town is from the Rec- ords of the General Court: Oct. '66. Francis Griswold is confirmed Lt. to ye Traine band at Norridge and Thomas Tracy to be Ensigne. June 1672. This Court confirms Mr. John Mason, Lieutenant, and Thomas Leffing- well, Ensigne of the Traine Band of Norwich. These were the first militia officers. John Mason was the second son of the Major, and son-in-law of the Rev. Mr. Fitch. Though but a young man, he was already in the commission of the peace, and was this year chosen an Assistant. In August, 1673, upon some hostile manifestations from the Dutch of New York, the militia or train-bands of Connecticut were ordered to be ready for service, and 500 dragoons raised, who were to be prepared to march at an hour's warning, to defend any place in the colony. Of these dragoons, New London County was to raise a company of one hundred : HISTORYOFNORWICH. 89 James Averj of New London, Captain ; Thomas Ti-acy of Norwich, Lieutenant ; John Denison of Stonington, Ensign. The number of pri- vates apportioned to Norwich was 17. Saybrook had the same number; New London 26, and Stonington 19.* Later in the same year, Benjamin Brewster was appointed Lieutenant of tliis troop ; Daniel Mason, Quarter- master; and Lieut. Tracy, Muster-master, or inspector of arms and am- munition. According to the laws of the cotony, a train-band of thirty-two persons was entitled to a Lieutenant, Ensign, and two Sergeants ; but no Captain was allowed until the band numbered sixty-four privates. John Mason was the first person in the town who attained the rank of Captain. He was commissioned during Philip's war, Sept. 15, 1675,t received a severe wound shortly afterward in the attack upon Narragansett fort, and died the next year. /^Thomas Leflfingwell held a Lieutenant's commission in 1G76, and per- formed active service against the Indians, but did not succeed to the cap- taincy. The highest civil officer, assistant or magistrate of the town, probably had a prior claim, as in May, 1G80, James Fitch was confii'med Captain of the Norwich train-band, Thomas Leffiiigwell Lieutenant, and William Backus Ensign. | The predilection for military titles was a trait of our worthy ancestors, which it is not easy to reconcile with their Puritan origin and peaceful pursuits. It is rare to find upon the early recoz'ds a militaiy officer men- tioned above the rank of corporal, without the adjunct of his title. They plumed themselves upon an office in the train-bands, as a token of distin- guished rank and honor.§ Major Mason had been elected Deputy Governor of the Colony in May, 1660. His connection with the settlement of Norwich, and his res- idence in the place, gave dignity and respectability to the young town. Many people resorted thither for the transaction of public business. Thomas Minor, in a MS. diary preserved by his descendants, records, June 18, 1664: " Ould Chcesbrough was going to Norwig to sorendcr the Towne to Coneticut." That is, transfer the jurisdiction of Stonington, or Southerton, as it was then called, from the Bay State, under which it had been comprehended, to the Colony of Connecticut, of which Mason was then the acting Gov- ernor. * Conn. Col. Rec, 2, 207. t Ibid., 2, 366. t Ibid., .3, 60. § Civil titles also were ceremoniously obscr\-cd. An assistant, or magi:?trate, was addressed as the worshipful. 90 HISTORYOFNORWICH. Again lie writes, Sept. 8, 1667 : " We wer at Norwhich, the Commission wer there." Eeferring, probably, to the Court of Commissioners, where a magistrate usually presided. While Major Mason lived, there was no other magis- trate in New London County, and he generally held his courts at home. But during several of the last years of his life, he was subject to attacks of a painful disease that often disabled him from attending to public affairs. This caused some inconvience, and led to murmurings and com- plaints, particularly at New London, where there was more trade and bustle, more of a populace, and a louder call for courts and pleas, than in any other place in the colony. It was onerous and irritating to this stir- ring community, to be dependent upon Norwich, the staid and somewhat frowning younger sister, for justice and arbitrament. Li October, 1669, Mr. "Wetherell of New London, Clerk of the County Court, in behalf of the Commissioners, petitioned the General Court for relief in this partic- ular, and obtained an order for an assistant or magistrate to hold a court at stated times in New London.* After the death of Major Mason, New London County had no chief magistrate or presiding judge resident within its bounds, till May, 1674, when the following appointment is recorded : " Major Edward Palmes is invested with magistratical power, throughout New Lon- don County and the Narragansett country. "f Major Palmes was of New London County, and Norwich in her turn found it irksome to go to her neighbor for award and decree. Between these sister townships there seems to have been little similarity of taste, and no fusion of purpose and action. When two communities are situated near to each other, and possess nearly equal claims to patronage and favor, — especially if they lie upon the same river and expect to draw their prosperity from similar pursuits, — occasional outbreaks of jealousy and rivalship invai'iably make their ap- pearance. Tlie rivalry between New London and Norwich, however, though it arose early and has never entirely disappeared, has generally exhausted itself in sportive sarcasms or a few passionate invectives, stop- ping short of aggressive deeds. It has been restricted to public matters * The petitioner stages that Major Mason, "hy God's visiting hand upon liim in respect of weakness and sickness of body, hath not at all times been in a capacity to undergo the great trouble that attends our courts," and further observes, " Our matters many times require able help in respect of the often recourse of merchants and stran- gers by reason of the convenience of our harbor here." Conn. Col. Eec, 2, 115. t Ibid., 2, 231. HISTORY OFNORWICH. 91 and objects of pecuniary concern, never interfering with the cultivation of social intercourse, the establishment of warm friendships, the alliance of families, and a hearty, pl'ompt and efficient assistance in seasons of calam- ity and danger. On festive occasions particularly, the inhabitants of the two townships were accustomed from the earliest times to unite with the utmost cordiality and sympathy. Concerted parties would turn out from both places, on horseback, and in all kinds of vehicles as they successsively served the generations, and meet half-way, at Massapeag, or Indian hill, or Cochegun rock, or some other part of IMohegan, to roast oysters, hunt squirrels, or witness the Indian dance ; in spring, to gather strawberries ; in autumn, wild plums ; and in winter, upon sleds or sleighs to have a great supper at /' Bradford's, or Haughton's, or some other half-way house.* Nor has the jealousy between the two places ever been so patent, nor the exasperation so bitter, as has been sometimes exhibited by different sections of either to\\Ti toward each other ; between Chelsea society and the Town-plot, for instance, which have had seasons of convulsive enmity so violent as to make reconciliation seemingly impossible, but which have commonly terminated in greater harmony and complacency than before. These prefatory remarks are designed to introduce the wary, caustic, and somewhat plaintive petition sent from Norwich to the Legislature, in October, 1674, praying to be freed from their connection with New London County. It was a burden to which they had hitherto been sub- missive : " But upon many yeares experience it hath proved so afflicting to us that wee can- not but desire to bee free from this County and come under Hartford County, if it may be. Many reasons we could give, but we fear it will not be expedient for us to men- tion them ; onely this wee must crave liberty to say, that hitherto our relation to Lon- don County hath bene an oppression unto us, wee bearing the burthen of others con- tentions, w'ch now seeme to be rather of an increasing nature than otherwise." They further intimate that several other plantations in the county " doe sigh under the same burden and desire the like reliefe." Signed by Wil- liam Hide and John Holmstead, " Select men in the name and with the consent of the town."t This petition was not placed on record. The Legislature wisely post- poned the consideration of the subject to the next May, and it does not appear to have been afterwards revived. * These rural excursions to which our ancestors were so partial, were of a jubilant, exhilarating nature, especially those which took place in the genial seasons. Men and women on horses of every grade, some with pillions riding double, crowding together, filled the air with echoes, often shouting rapturously and singing on their way. Our modern pic nics fail to reproduce the joyous inspiration and healthful flush of those old festivities. t Conn. Col. Rec, 2, 247. 92 HISTORYOFNORWICH. By tlie early laws of the colony, it was ordered that every town con- taining thirty families should maintain a school to teach reading and writ- ing, and that a Latin School should be estabhshed in every county town. A grant of six hundred acres of land was made to each county, to assist in establishing this Latin School. These regulations were not always observed ; the new settlements were tardy in their educational concerns. The earliest schools were taught principally by females, who advanced their pupils but little beyond reading, spelling, and learning the catechism. The New England Primer, containing the Westminster Catechism, was the universal class-book of the children. This was first published about 1660. In 1678, the County Court took the condition of the schools into con- sideration, and appointed a committee to see what could be done towards settling a Latin school at New London. Members of the Committee, — Major Edward Palmes, for New London. Mr. James Fitch, Jr., for Norwich. Mr. Samuel Mason, for Stonington. Capt. Robert Chapman, for Saybrook. Ensign Joseph Peck, for Lyme. Mr. Edward Griswold, for Killingworth. Several years elapsed before the county grant was disposed of and a Latin school established, but the agitation of the subject seems to have aroused the towns to the importance of maintaining each a common school of its own. In Norwich, no schoolmaster is mentioned before 1677, when John iiirchard occupied the teacher's chair, and was engaged to keep nine months of the year for £25, provision pay. The next item recorded is the following : March 31, 1679. It is agreed and voated by the town that Mr. Danill Mason shall be unproved as a school-master for the towne for nine months in the yeare ensuing and to allow him twenty-five pounds to be payed partly by the children, and each child that is entered for the full time to pay nine shillings and other children that come occasionally to allow three pence the week ; the rest to be payed by the Towne. July 28, 1680, a special meeting was called to deliberate respecting the establishment of a town school, and the whole matter committed to the charge of the Selectmen, with injunctions that they should see — " 1st, that parents send their children ; 2d, that they pay their proportion, according to what is judged just ; 3d, that they take care parents be not oppressed, eppeshally such who are disabled ; 4th, that whatever is additionally necessary for the perfecting the maintenance of a school-master, is a charge and expense belonging to all the inhab- itants of the town, and to be gathered as any other rates ; 5ih, whatever else is neces- sary to a prudent carrying through this occation, is committed to the discreshon of ye sd select men." HISTORYOFNORWICH. 93 Public works in those days were slow in progress, more from the want of hands to labor, than from deficiency of skill or the absence of enter- prise. A school-house, for which appropriations had been made in 1680, was finally built in 1683, by John Hough and Samuel Roberts. These men were both from New London, but found employment in Norwich, as house-builders, and about this period became residents of the town. 1680, July 21. Mr. Arnold accepted as an inhabitant : the Select men to provide him with 4 or 5 acres of land as convenient as may be. Mr. John Arnold was a school-master, and probably exercised his call- ing for several years in Norwich, although the records do not advert to him in that capacity. An allusion occurs to " Mr. John Arnold, merchant," who was doubtless the same person, as a variety of occupations, in a small way, were often pursued by one man in those days. Mr. Arnold afterwards removed to Windham, where his name is found on the hst of the first twenty-two inhabitants. May, 1693. He settled in that part of the town which is now Mansfield, and the records of the place show that he had been master of a school in several different towns, and had children born at Newark, Killingworth, Norwich, and Windham.* Schools in our early settlements were only kept a certain part of the year, varying from two to eight or nine months. In 1690, the Selectmen were directed to provide a school-master, the scholars to pay Ad. a week, and the remainder of the salary raised on the list. No further notice is taken of schools, town-wise, until 1697, when Richard Bushnell is ap- pointed to keep the school for two months that year, and to be paid in land. In 1698, David Hartshorn was engaged for the same time. Here it is probable that the town school died out. In the year 1700, a startling foct appears in the indictments of the grand jury of the county : *■'■ Norwich presented for want of a school to instruct children." That measures were immediately taken to remedy this deficiency, we may infer from the fact that £6 was added to the next year's rate, for repairing the school-house, and about the same time a tract of land was granted to David Knight in payment for work upon the meeting-house and school-house. It may not be true of all New England, but in some portions of it, for a considerable period after the first generation had passed away, educa- tion was neglected ; the schools were of an inferior grade, and very grudg- ingly and irregularly sustained. This was probably owing to the paucity * Weaver's Ancient Windham, p. 42. This Mr. Arnold was probably an English, man, and must not be confounded with John Arnold, merchant of New London, who died in 1725, aged 73. 94 HISTORYOFNORWICH. of good teachers, and the superfluous activity of the people, which led them to break away impatiently from sedentary pursuits. But the inev- itable consequence was, that the grand-children of the first settlers were more illiterate .than either the generation before or after them. April 26, 1709, the town passed a resolution, "that they will have a school-master, according to law." Thin emphatic determination seems to imply an antecedent neglect. Richard Bushnell was again employed for a short period. Jan. 26, 1712. In town meeting, Lieut. Joseph Backus, moderator : " It was voted that a good and sufficient scliool-master be appointed to keep school the whole year and from year to year ; one half of the time in the Town Plot and the other half at the farms in the several quarters." At this period 40s. on the list of every thousand pounds was granted by the country, — that is, by the General Court, for the benefit of schools, and each town was by law obliged to maintain a school for a certain part of the year. After this we find nothing of importance in regard to schools until far into the century. The old course kept on with gradual improvements in teaching and a wider range of subjects, but with no systematic change of plan, to the era of boarding schools for misses and classical schools for boys. CHAPTER VII. Town Affairs. Grants. Prudential Regulations. Land at this period was given away with a lavish hand. Grants were often made in this indefinite manner, — " where he can find it," — " over the river," — "at any place free from engagement to another," — "at some con- venient place in the common lands," — "a tract not included in former grants," — "what land may be suitable for him," — "as much as he needs in any undivided land," i&c. A man obtains a lot, "for the conveniency of joining his lands together," — another five or six acres "in order to straiten his line," — and frequently in lieu of a lap, of somebody else, on his land. These laps, owing to imperfect surveys, were very numerous. Several of the original home-lots measured double their nominal extent ; the convenient terms, more or less, used in the grant, fortifying the owner's right. Often the grants were not only indefinite in situation and extent, but imperfectly recorded, and without date. In 1681, a resolution passed, that if no other date could be ascertained for the grant of any inhabitant, it was to take date from that period, and the title remain good and firm. Committees were frequently appointed to ascertain dates and add them to tlie old book of records. In 1683, one hundx*ed acres of land — "where he can find it" — is granted to Capt. Fitch, "for being helpflil to the town Recorder, in making a new record of lands." This gentleman commenced a regibter of the proprietary lands, in a volume distinct from the town books. It is endorsed thus, "Norwich Book of Records of the River Lands. Capt. James Fitch writt this booke." This register was after- wards partially copied and continued by Richard Bushnell and others. Clerks of the Proprietors, until the year 171:0, when the final division of the common lands was made, the accounts of the proprietors closed, and their interests merged in those of the town. Grants were uniformly made by a town vote. Examples : 1669. " Granted to one of Goodman Tmcie's sonnes 100 akers of land in y° divisioa of y'' out lands. " Granted to Sergent Waterman liberty to lay down twenty acres of upland over Showtucket river, and take it up again on the same side of the river, against Potapaug bills, adjoining to some other lands he is to take up, and the town leaves it to the meas- urers to judge respecting any meadow that may fall within the compass of it, whether it may be reasonable to allow it to him or not." 96 HISTORYOFNORWICH. " Granted to Mr. Brewster and John Glover two bits of land on the east side of Showtucket river, near their own land, they two with the help of Goodman Elderkin to agree peaceably about the division of it between them, and in case they cant well agree about the division then it falls to the town again." " Granted to Ch"^ Huntington, Sen', an addition to his land at Beaver Brook to the quantity of seven or eight acres to bring his lot to the place where the great brook turns with an elbow." In 1682 we find the following entry : "It is voted y' there shall be a book procured at town charge for the recording of lands, and allso a boat cumpas and y*- there shall be allowed to any of the inhabitants of this townc to make a new survey of their land provided they take their neibors with y"" whose land lyeth adjoining to them." To the confusion produced by contradictory deeds, grants without date, and careless surveys, was added that of undefined town limits. This led to vexatious and long-continued disputes with the Indians, and after- wards with the neighboring towns. The Selectmen were obliged to per- ambulate the bounds, in company with a committee from the adjoining towns, every year, and to see that the boundaries and meres were kept up. The preservation of boundaries, both public and private, was extremely difficult, where the only marks were a white oak tree, or a black oak with a crotch, — a tree with a heap of stones around it, — a twin tree, — a very large tree, — a great rock, — a stone set up, — a clump of chestnuts, — a wal- nut with a limb lopped off, — a birch with some gashes in it, &c. If a man set up a stone in the corner of his grant, with his initials marked on it, he was much more precise than his neighbors. A strip of land, about three miles in breadth, lying between the northern boundary of New Lon- don and the southern of Norwich, gave rise to much litigation and contro- versy, not only among individuals, but between the two towns, and the whites and Indians. Three parties claimed it, and each was officious in selling and conveying it to individuals, so that a collision of claims and Interests was inevitable. It was long before this affair was satisfactorily settled. Many committees were appointed ; and the town hoped to arrange the difficulty by referring it, as far as they were concerned, " to the wor- shipful Samuel Mason and the Rev. Mr. Fitch." This tract is now included in Montville. Dec. 31, 1669. "Ordered by the town concerning the outlands that, there shall be only one allotment for the said lands and every man shall take his allotment in the place where God by his Providence shall cast it, Mr. Fitch only excepted." The meaning probably is, that Mr. Fitch had the liberty of choice, but others must abide by the lot. Every enterprise that tended to advance the public convenience was patronized by a grant of land. The advancing settlements began to HISTORYOFNORWICH. 97 require a regular ferry over Shetucket river, about the year 1G70. Sam- uel Starr proposed to keep this ferry, and for his encouragement land was given him upon the east side of the river, where he began to build and make fences ; but soon relinquished his purpose and forfeited the grant. Li November of that year, the town reclaimed the grant and authorized reprisals ; to wit : Nov. 6, 1670. "The towno have sivcn liberty promising defence to any that shall demolish whatsoever building or fencing is done upon said lands by Samuel Starr." In 1671, Hugh Amos was engaged to keep the ferry, and the land made over to him, Nov. 18, 1679. The ferry place over the Shov/tucket shall be at the upper end of the Island against the land of Levt.Ifeffi.ogwell.— The adjoining lands granted to Hugh Amos for keeping the ferry are to extend as far as his neighbor Kockwell's land. —None to set up a ferry between this place and the mouth of the river." A blacksmith was encouraged to enter upon business by a similar reward : March 11, 1699. Granted to Joseph Backus so much land upon the hill by Thomas Post's house, as may be needful for him. to set a shop and coal-house upon, provided he improves it for the above use. This grant was confirmed the next year. The place was between the roads, just below Bean Bill, and remained in the Backus family for three generations. July 7, 1704. The town being sensible of their uecd of another blacksmith desire that the son of Capt. Edmonds of Providence, may be invited to settle in the town, engaging that coals and a place to work in, shall be provided by the town. This application was not successful. Jonathan Fierce was subsequently engaged as a smith, and land given him for his encouragement both in 17U5 and 1712. A miller, a ferryman, and a blacksmith, were important personages for the infant settlement. A saw-mill would seem also to have been a desirable acquisition, but this convenience was not early obtained. In 1680 a grant of 200 acres of land was tendered to Capt. Fitch for his encouragement in setting up a saw-mill. This was reiterated in 1689, with the condition that if the mill was not forthcoming within two years, the privilege should be forfeited. In 1691 no mill had been built, and the town proposed to erect one on its own account. This was not done, and it does not appear that any saw- mill was set in operation, within the town limits, until about 1700. The first planters might have had some of their work done at Mr. Triu- throp's saw-mill on the river above New London, from whence the trans- portation by water was easy. But in general, the timber and plank that 7 98 HISTORY OF NORWICH. composed the first habitations were hewed and shaped entirely by hand. Many of the houses were covered with short clapboards, overlapped like shingles, and these wei'e split and cut without the aid of the saw-mill. The beams and rafters of old buildings still extant, are scarred with hatchet clefts. The axe was a mighty instrument, when wielded by these hardy pioneers. With a brave heart and a stropg arm they marched into the wilderness, and it took but a short time to transform a clump of trees into a comfortable dwelling. In 1G90, a committee was appointed to fix upon a suitable position for a fulling-mill. In 1704, Eleazer Burnham applied for "liberty to set up a fulling-mill upon the stream that runs into Shetucket river by the Chemical Spring." Thirty acres of land were granted to encourage the undertaking, and more promised if the enterprise should prove successful. The project, however, foiled. Competent workmen in this trade were then scarce in the country. Before the year 1710 there was but one clothier in the whole colony of Connecticut. The regulation of swine was a subject brought up at almost every pub- lic meeting for a number of years. Innumerable were the perplexities, the votes and the reconsiderations respecting them. Sometimes they were ordered to be rung and yoked, — at others not : sometimes strictly confined, and then again suffered to go at large. There is no municipal act of those early days introduced with such prosy solemnity as the report of a com- mittee on this subject, accepted and confirmed by the town : " When Providence shall so order, (says the act,) that there are plenty of acorns, walnuts or the like in the woods then it may be considered and determined what liberty to grant in this respect that the swine may have the benefit and profit of it." " In tlie time of acorns we judge it may be profitable to suffer swine two months or thereabouts to go in the woods without rings." The stringency of these laws in regard to the confinement of swine, they justified by the necessity of the case : " Our corn-fields being remote from the settlement and our mowing lands not in one parcel, but scattered here and there through the town." Yokes for swine were to be two feet in length, and six inches above the neck. The recording of cattle-marks was a work of no small labor, and one which the increasing herds made every year more and more arduous. The pasture lands being mostly held in common, and private fences often rude and insecure, and therefore strays frequent, it was absolutely neces- sary that each man's cattle should bear a peculiar mark, and that this mark should be made matter of public record. These marks were made on the ear, and were of this kind — a cross, a half-cross, a hollow cross, a slit perpendicular, horizontal or diagonal, one, two, or three notches, a i HISTORYOFNORWICH. 99 t penny, two pennies, or a half-penny, a crop or a half-crop, a swallow-tail, a three-cornered hole, &c. All public affiiirs were transacted town-wise ; and of course some mis- takes were made in their legislation, which experience or mature delibera- tion corrected. Occasionally, under a town vote which had been recorded, an endorsement to this purport is found : " Ondon next meeting." All the effective males turned out at certain seasons of the year, to labor on the highways, or to build and repair bridges. Two horse-bridges were very early erected over the Yantic, at each end of the town-plot ; and before many years, six bridges over the same river were maintained by the town.' The roads leading into the countrj^, and fi-om tov.n to town, were at first merely foot or bridle paths. It was a great advance when they were widened or cleared into cart-paths. Tlie patJi to Neio London was exceed- ingly rough and circuitous, with several pitches meriting the name of hreak-nechs. ■ The path to Connecticut, often referred to in old records, was the road leading westward through Colchester, toward Hartford and Wethersfield. The town street was originally laid out four rods wide in the narrowest part. Most of the branches or side-roads, leading into the woods, were kept as pent-ways, closed with gates or bars. Mill-lane was the regular avenue to the old Landing Place. There was no direct path to that rock- incumbered, forest-crowned Point between the rivers, where now an im- [)Osing city sits upon the hill, with her shining garments trailing far around her. The road thither from Mill-lane and No-man's Acre was very cir- cuitous, following the turns of the river and the declivities of the hills. The whole point was considered scarcely worth a pine-tree shilling. For the first fifty years, almost the sole use made d^ that quarter of the town was for a sheep-walk, and for that purpose it was kept within fence and gate. 1670. "It is or'lered if any person shall pass with horse or cattle over the general I'cnce and so come through the Little Plain, to or from the town, he shall pay a tine of 5 sliillings." A gate was maintained at the town charge below th(; house of John Reynolds, another at Thomas Bliss's, or Leffingwell's corner, a tliird at the end of the Green by Mr. Fitch's, a fourth at Quarter-bridge lane, near the houses of John Calkins and Samuel Griswold, and a fifth at Stephen Merrick's on Bean Hill. The fences were a continual source of vexation. One of llie duties enjoined upon the townsmen was, "that they take effectual care to secure llie field.s in which is our livelihood." The winter was the season for making fences and cutting bushes. It was repeatedly ordered that alt 100 HISTORY OF NORWICH. front fences should be done up by the first of March, and the gene2*al fences by the first of April. The front fences were to be "a five rayle or equivalent to it, and the general fences a three rayle or equivalent to it." Afterwards a lawful fence upon plain ground was thus defined — "A good three rail fence, four feet high ; or a good hedge, or pole f^nee, well staked, four and a half feet high." Two pounds were erected in 1669, one at each end of the town, which appear to have had plenty of occupants ; for cattle, swine, sheep and goats often roamed at large, and trespasses were frequent. March 2, 1685-6. "Voted that the town will cut bushes two days this ensueing year; one day on 'ye hill, the other in ye town, and that the townsmen procure hay- seed at the town charge." In 1 687, the order for bush-cutting was repeated in urgent terms, as absolutely necessary for the successful raising of sheep and swine, and the townsmen were empowered to call out for the customary two days' service, all the inhabitants between fourteen and seventy years of age, farmers only excepted. The inhabitants being principally employed in agricultural pursuits, their trading must have been chiefly in the way of barter. Clothing and provisions formed the circulating currency. Loaded boats, however, fre- quently passed up and down the river, and the beginning of commerce was soon beheld at the old Landing Place. No shopkeeper or merchant appears among the early inhabitants. Li- cidental allusions are found to temporary traders, but for a considerable period most of the commodities required for comfortable house-keeping, not produced among themselves, were probably procured at New London. Alexanger Pygan, an early merchant of that place, but originally from Saybrook and doubtless well acquainted with Norwich people, had many customers among them, receiving in return for his merchandize, the rich produce of the field, the stall, and the dairy. A note-book of Mr. Pygan has been preserved, which contains the names of thirty-two persons in *' Norwich and Windam," with whom he had accounts before 1700. Inn -keepers were considered as town officers. The appointment was one of honor and respectability, and to obtain a license to keep a House of Entertainment, a man must be of good report and possessed of a comfort- able estate. The first of wliom we have any notice was Thomas Water- man. "Dec. 11, 1679. Agreed and voted by y" town y' Scrgent Thomas Waterman is desired to kecpe the ordynary. And for his encouragement he is granted four ackers of paster land where he can convenyently find it ny about the valley going from his liouse into the woods." i^rawsd 07 ICBoare,*'*''' '""^'"^ /2/UrCco ■ixeg.\toiiu. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 101 To him succeeded, about IG'JO, D^a. Simon Huntington. Under date of Dec. 18, 1004^, is the following appointment: " T!ie towne makes choise of calil) abcU to keep ordiuari or a house of eiitertayne- ment for this yeare or till another be choosea." In 1700, liberty was given to Tliomas Leffingwell to keep a House of Entertainment. This is supposed to have been the commencement of the famous Leffingwell tavern, at tlie east corner of the Town-plot, which was continued for more than a hundred years. In 170G, Simon Huntington, Jr., was licensed; in 1709, Joseph Rey- nolds. Dec. 1, 1713. "Sargent William Hide is chosen Taverner." These were in the town-plot. The frequency of taverns in the early days of the country, when the population was slender and travelei's w^ere few, excites some surprise. But our English ancestors had a prescriptive love for a common gather- ing-place, — not a bar-room, nor a caravansery, nor even a club, but a lire- side, a porch, or a bench under the trees, where curi-ent events and [)rivate opinions might be circulated, and a kind of "portico parliament" held, with an accompaniment of a mug of flip or a drawing of cider. They have sent down to us a maxim which their own practice contradicted ; " Taverns are not for town-dwellers." The following order shows that an erroneous principle prevailed among the authorities of the town, viz., that church-membership conveyed civil rights and privileges. A regulation so remarkably prescriptive and sect- arian in its bearing, could not have been long enforced in a mixed and rapidly increasing community. It has more of the Blue-law tincture than any other item upon the records of the town. Dec. 11, 1679. Agreed and voted at a town meetin Bushnell and three others with liberty to increase the number to twelve or twenty for the purpose of making wears and taking fish for the term of seven years, they attending to those things that arc customary in other places in New Eng- land in respect to opening the weares." 102 HISTORY OP NORWICH. Great care was taken to admit no inhabitants that were not industrious and of good moral character. Transient persons, and those who had no particular way of getting a livelihood, were quickly warned out of town. A few instances will be given to show the solicitude of the townsmen to keep the community free from vagrants and contemners of law and order. " At a towne meeting January 24, 1678, the Towne having seryously considered the desires of Frederick Ellis lether dresser respecting his admission into the towne to set up and make improvement of his trade, — we hearing some things y' doe apeare much discouraging and allso his comeing to us not being so orderly haveing no testymony from the place from whence he came of his comely behaviour among rhem but reports passing rather to the contrary, yet notwithstanding he being providentially amongst us we are willing to take a tryall of him for one yeare provided y' if he carryeth not comely and comfortably amongst us y* he shall now at his entrance give security under his hand y' upon a warning given him by the Select Men of the town he shall without delayes remove his dwelling from us." With the passage of this vote, space for a tannery was granted to Ellis upon Hammer brook, and seven acres of land promised conditionally, but after a sliort trial a collision occurred between him and the town authori- ties, which endi^d in his expulsion from the place, and a fruitless resort on his part to the courts for redress. "1692. — "Whereas Richard Elsingham and Ephraim Philips have petitioned this town that they may live here one year, the town do agree that they m.ay dwell here the year ensuing, provided that they then provide for themselves elsewhere." No exchange or alienation of house-lots and no sale of lands could be made Avithout the consent of the town. If a man sold house or land with- out first tendering it to the town and obtaining permission, the compact was declared null and void. An early exchange of allotments, made by Wade and Abell, is recorded Avith a ceremonious preamble : "Forasmuch as in Anno Dom 1677, January 1, Caleb Abel and Robert Wade by mutual agreement and consent of their wives did then see cause to make an exchange of their home-lots, making over the property each to other by deed," &c. [Confirmed by the town, and signed by Robert Wade and his wife Susannah, Caleb Abel and his wife Margaret.] In 1704, Thomas Rood sold his house and land without the consent of the town, and the sale was declared null and void. The Annual Town Meeting was held at first in Februaiy, but afterward in December. Warnings for town meetings were set up six days before the time, at the smith's shop, (l)etween the roads,) at the corner of the Green, at Ensign Leflingwell's, and other conspicuous places. The meet- ings were opened at 9 o'clock A. M., and must be dismissed half an hour before sunset, at the latest. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 103 Slieep- Walks and a Shepherd. Several sheep-walks were laid out in different parts of the town, to accommodate the several districts. One of these was at Wequonuck Plains, and another, agreed upon in 1G73, lay "between the Great River and the Great Plain," reaching south to Trading Cove. Two others were reserved expressly for the benefit of sheep-owners living in the town-plot, and not for farmers, and were called the East and West sheep-walks. These remained long intact. The eastern reserva- tion, of 900 acres, covered the Point between the rivers, now the central part of Norwich City. No special appointment of a shepherd to preside over this walk has been found. The west sheep-walk, of 700 acres, ex- tended over West Wawecos Hill, and Richard Pasmoth was appointed the shepherd, Feb. 12, 1682. He was to have a salary of 40s. per annum, and twelve acres of land on the hill for a house-lot, and the sheep-owners were to take their turns with him in guarding and folding the flock on the Lord's days. Sheep-raising, however, was never carried to its expected extent in Norwich, and in 1726 the two reservations were relinquished and divided as commons among the inhabitants, according to the following general principles : No one to have less than a fifty-pound share. First-comers who had fallen in estate, to be rated as at first. All other shares to be laid out according to estates in the list. CHAPTER VIII. Indian History. Attempts of Mr. Fitch to Christianize the Indians. Philip's War. The Mohegans were eager to exchange their services for the food, clothing and other comforts which tliey received from the English. Many of them erected wigwams in the vicinity of the settlers, and some even in their home-lots. The plantation soon swarmed with them, and the whites found them rather troublesome neighbors. Their habits of indolence, lying and pilfering were inveterate. At first, a strong hope of converting them to Christianity was very generally entertained, but the major part of the planters soon relinquished the task in despair. It was now found a work of no small difficulty to shake them off, or to keep them in due sub- jection and order. Laws wei-e repeatedly made for their removal from the town, but still they remained. Restrictions of various kinds were thrown around them ; a fine of 10s. was imposed on every one who should be found drunk in the place ; the ^^erson who should furnish an Indian with ammunition of any kind, was amerced 20s., but they were neither driven away, nor their morals improved. The Indian of that day, — the one with whom the early settlers had to deal, — was a heathen of the most untameable species. He would readily fall into vicious habits, but if he made any advance in civilization, it was accompanied with a tendency to relapse, which rendered it necessary to be cautious in trusting him, even when he seemed the safest. Vagrancy was his nature and his habit, and he was moreover deceitful and thievish beyond remedy. With such a people swarming around them, the path of the settlers, however beautifully embellished with roses in other respects, was beset with troublesome thorns. There is no race of men whom it has been found so difficult to civilize and Christianize, and at the same time to pre- serve and render prosperous, as the Aborigines of America. A change of their wild habits leads by degrees, more or less rapid, to extinction. The conversion of these Indians was a cherished object with the Rev. Mr. Fitch. He continually sought opportunities for sowing the seed, and his earnest faith and large-hearted charity made him hopeful of the har- HISTORY OF NORWICH. 105 vest. He cultivated an intercourse with the tribe, and made use of every opportunity for acquiring their language. Most of" the early settlers of Norwich gleaned enough of the Indian tongue to be able to chaffer and chat with tlieir vagrant visitors, and learn the general news of the tribe. The Indians on their part were equally venturesome and successful in their inroads upon the English speech. But Mr. Fitch, having a great purpose in view, pursued the study of the native tongue with system and a fair measure of success. After a few years he was able not only to instruct in private, or with an interpreter, but could speak in a way to be understood and appreciated in assemblies of the tribe. With the sachems and chiefs, Christianity was never popular ; not all their reverence for Mr. Fitch and the benefits he heaped upon them, could induce them to accept his doctrine and worship the Being whom he adored. Uncas and Owaneco, it is true, fluctuated somewhat in their bearing toward the subject, but at heart were never its favorers, and Wawequaw, the brother of Uncas, a chief of power and influence, if we may believe tra- dition, was invariably hostile. But among the poorer, gentler, and more scattered families, particulaidy among the tributaries and those adopted from other tribes, who were often oppressed by Uncas, Mr. Fitch found willing ears and accessible hearts. Here the gospel seemed to come as into a prepared place, bringing with it peace and comfort. Mr. Fitch rejoiced over these poor people as over lost children that had been found, and collected them into a small commu- nity, setting over them instructors and guardians from among themselves, whom he himself taught and trained for their office. The war with Philip commenced in June, 1G75, and raged about fifteen months. Mr. Fitch was an active agent and valued counselor of the gov- ernment. Norwich and Stonington were frontier towns, and consequently kept during the whole course of the war in a state of excitement and apprehension. Alarming rumors swept over them with every wind. Sol- diers from all quartei's, horse and foot, came among them for rendezvous ; bands of friendly Indians, apparreled for war, made these their starting- points ; and often other parties, connected with the hostile tribes, forlorn, abject, famished, came from tlieir haunts to take whatever doom — kind- ness, captivity, or death — might be awarded to them. Of these incidents, interesting and exciting as they are, the town records furnish no information. Indian regulations and warlike proceedings were affairs of the g(Mieral government, and not of selectmen and constables. We must therefore look elsewhere for mementoes of the war.* * The author has very carefully prepared the following review of Philip's war. The principal facts may be verified from the second volume of Conn. Col. Records, but various bints, dates and minor circumstances have been gathered from county court papers, and other local MSS., public or private. 106 HISTORY OF NORWICH. A rapid sketch of the shifting scenes presented to the inhabitants of Norwich during this period of alarm, is all that can be here attempted. The picture would serve, with a change of names and some variation of detail, for almost everj town then lying upon the barbarian frontier. In Jul J, 1G75, those vague alarms that had occasionallv swept out of the wilderness, became embodied in startling reports of hostile Indians prowling in the vicinity. An invasion was apprehended, a night watch was established ; several houses at intervals along the street were fortified- and householders lay down to sleep with loaded muskets by their side. Brewster, Mason, and Tracy, the train-band officers of the town, were summoned to attend upon Capt. Wait TTinthrop, with a certain number of men, and assist in an expedition into the Narragansett country, to prevent that tribe, if possible, from joining the party of Philip.* Uncas came to consult with Mr, Fitch, and ]Mr. Fitch visited the Pequots to see if all was right in that quarter. The Indians consented to join the English, but apparently with a doubtful mind, and inclined to take that side only because it was the strongest.f Of Uncas the English had at first deep distrust. He professed great friendship in his consultation with ^Ir. Fitch, but the latter thought it prudent that he should be induced to commit himself as soon as possible, by some act of hostility against Philip. The sachem saw where his inter- est lay, and consented to engage in immediate action. Before the end of July, fifty Mohegan warriors, staunch and well caparisoned, under the command of Owaneco, who had two other sons or near relatives of Uncas with him, were ready to start for Boston, there to offer their services against the Pocasset chief. They paused in Norwich to obtain letters from Mr. Fitch and Lieat- Mason, and then proceeded to the Bay. At Boston the two younger chief's were retained as hostages, but Owaneco and his men were dispatched to join the ^Massachusetts forces then in the field. It was this party that on the Ist of August fell upon the rear of Philip's retreating force, at Eehoboth plain, and killed a number of his men. — among them one of his bravest captains, named Woonashum, alias Nimrod.t ]VIajor Pynchon of Springfield, in a letter to Gov. TTinthrop of Con- necticut, Aug. 7, 1675, observes: " If T* Pequot Indians and Moheags would now pursue Philip while he is faint and wearj it would be the best service, and so likewise for our army : for y* Indians say he hath lefc his country wholly ; so that it is to noe purpose to be there, neither is there any need of fear about Norwich. "§ * Lieut. Tracy was the Quartermaster or Commissary of the expedition. Conn. Col. Eec, 2, 332. t Ibid., 2, 336. J Increase ilather's Hist, of Philip's War, Drake's excellent edition, p. 65^ § Ibid., Appendix, p. 238. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 107 At this time, Joshua, another son of Uncas, took the field with a band of thirty Indians, and went up by the way of Hartford, to scour the woods in the route of the retreating foe. He was at Hadley, Aug. 9th.* In the latter part of August, a body of Nipmug Indians, comprising twenty or thirty families, 126 in all, surrendered themselves to Uncas. Lieut. Mason also, with a party of volunteers, whites and Indians, made a hasty march into the wilderness, to secure a troop of timid, unsettled, wan- dering Indians, allies of Philip, that had been arrested in their flight west- ward by the friendly Wabequassets, and detained for English supervision.f These were brought to Mohegan and delivered in charge to Uncas, but the greater part were afterward transferred to Boston. During the month of September, the Mohegans and Pequots were out with their whole force. Every able-bodied man among them was engaged in the various forays against the enemy, generally attached to some Eng- lish command, but under little restraint in regard to forage and plunder. Major Pyncheon, in a letter to the Council of Connecticut, notices among the forces in the field, " Those English that have gone out of Nor- wich with Lt. Browne and about S(^ Pequots and some Mohegans."* Lieut Mason, also, had a hundred or more of the warriors of these tribes under his command, and marched with them to Hartford, from whence they joined the expedition into western Massachusetts under Major Treat.§ Smaller scouting parties under Uncas himself, or some of his family, were frequently making excursions towards the Nipmuck country, and bringing home prisoners or booty. In October the alarm increased. A portion of the enemy were retiring from Xarragansett to the interior, and were supposed to be gradually ap- proaching Norwich. The wildest rumors prevailed, and great apprehen- sion was excited. The power and resources of Philip and the number and strength of his allies were greatly exaggerated. At length a report came that Philip v,ith 400 men was meditating a desperate attack upon Norwich, and on the 15th of October the Council at Hartford ordered forty soldiers to march immediately to the defence of the place. The rumor seems to have been without foundation, but when the next levies were made, New London County, being considered in jeopardy, was exempted from furnishing its quota. A company was however organized from the four towns, to hold themselves in readiness for any exigency, and placed under the command of Capt. John Winthrop. Norwich furnished twenty men, to whom were joined a band of Mohegan auxiliaries, forming a company, with Capt. Mason and Lieut. Leflfingwell for their immediate officers. * Conn. Col. Rec, 2, 348, 49. t Ibid., 2, 355. i Ibid., 2, 348. ^ Ibid., 2, 366. 108 HISTORY OF NORWICH. On the 2(1 of November, the Commissioners declared war against the Narragansetts, and the whole country started into immediate action. A thousand men were to be raised: the proportion of Connecticut was 315 ; of New London County, 70; of Norwich, 18: — all to be equipped with arms and ammunition and to be in the field by the 10th of December. The rendezvous was at New London. The towns were scoured for provisions ; the county was embargoed for two months, and wheat, cheese, beef, pork, Indian corn, oats and rum were seized and sequestered for the army wherever they could be found in quuntities beyond the necessary demands of their owners. Wheat to the amount of three hundred bushels was hastily baked into biscuits. Ten men from every county were fur- nished with hatchets, instead of swords and guns, to clear the way through the thickets. Major Treat went forward with the army. Norwich was on the frontier, and at the mercy of hostile Lidians who might suddenly cross the Quine- baug and make a dashing raid upon the settlement, with every prospect of success, while so many of her best men were in the field. In great alarm she applied to the Council of War for a guard, and twenty-six men were accordingly detailed " to lye in garrison at Norwich." And now the colonies resounded with the deep echoes of the Narragan- sett fort fight, which gave such a mournful notoriety to December 19th. Eighty out of Major Treat's little army were slain or fatally wounded, 138 more disabled from duty, and he hastened back to New London with his battered forces. The gallant Capt. John Mason, fearfully wounded, but not yet despairing of recovery, was brought by the aid of his Indian warriors with great care to his own home. Nine of his little company were killed or badly wounded, one of whom was Thomas Howard, who is usually classed among the first band of Norwich pro})rietors. He was left dead upon the field of battle. Capt. Mason also ultimately died of his wounds, Sept. 18, 1676.* This was emphatically the winter of gloom. Norwich was a garrisoned town ; twenty or tliirty soldiers were quartered upon the inhabitants ; a block-house was built ; private houses were fortified. It was a general order throughout the colony, that the inhabitants should carry arms and ammunition with them to every public meeting ; but at this time, upon the frontier, it was necessary to keep a loaded musket continually at hand, and to be well armed in passing from house to house, and especially in driving * Capt. Gallop of Groton, who commanded the Mohegans and Pequots, was slain in the battle. " It hath pleased God to humble us, by translating to rest out of the bod of honour in the service of Christ, severall worthy and valiant comandcrs and souldiers both of ours and yours." Letter from Gov. and Council of Mass. to Gov. and Council of Conn, after Narragansett fort fight. Col. Rec. Conn., 2, 399. HISTORY OP NOEWICH, 109 cattle or tending sheep. The woods were suppo-ed to be haunted with prowling enemies. The Indians around them, quick, fearful, and imagin- ative as childi'en, with their rumors and fancies increased the general excitement. Uncas, though in the main a valuable ally to the whites, and attesting his friendship by numerous expeditions and blows in their behalf, yet conceiving that his own interest might be served by keeping his neigh- bors in a state of alarm, did not hesitate to make use of that advantage. He l)lew up the coals and cried loudly, fire ! fire ! that he might have the credit of quenching the tlames. This was the cunning streak conspicuous in the character of Uncas: tvihj is the most expressive epithet that can be attached to his name. On the 2oth of January, 1G7G, INIajor Treat left New London on a second expedition into the wilderness, with a force of about 300 men.* Mr. Fitch accompanied him as chaplain, — Uncas and his M'arriors as scouts. They were absent twelve days, and killed and captured about seventy. During this interval, Norwich experienced something more than rumor and panic. The tomahawk swept along her eastern border, and left slaughter in its track. A band of Indians, supposed to be Nar- ragansetts, prowling on the east side of Shetucket, killed two men, and carried off a young lad as prisoner. The only cotemporary account of this affair is contained in a letter from Major Palmes of New London to the Council of War, dated Jan. 29th: " Tills morninij early came post from Konvich with the sad intelligence of two men and a boy being taken and killed, who went over Showtuckett "River to spread flax, viz. Jos: Rockwell and his boy of 15 or 16 years ould and John Eenolls Jun. of Nor- wich. The said Jos: Rockwell and Renalls ware found dead and thrown downe y' River banke, thcirc scalps cutt off: the boy is not yett found, supposed to be caryed away alive. "t Mr. Fitch was absent with Major Treat's expedition at tlie time of this outrage, otherwise we might have looked for an account of it from his pen, as he usually kej)t the authorities at Hartford well informed of occurren- ces in his neighborhood. No allusion to it is to be found on the records of the town. The deaths of the two men are registered without notice of their tragic end. Tlie captive boy, Josiah Rockwell, Jr., was soon after- ward recovered by the aid of a friendly Indian. j * Conn. Col. Rec, 2, 402. Trumbull in Hist, of Conn, docs not mention this sec- ond expedition. t Conn. Col. Rec., 2, 403. t A mistake seems to have been made in his age. Tlis birth as registered in Norwich was in June, 1G62. He was therefore less than 14. The inventory of Josiah Rockwell, the father, was exhibited in the County Court in September, 1676. A wife and six children are mentioned. The oldest child was this Josiah ; the youngest not bora until after the father's decease. 110 HISTORY OP NORWICH. Early in Feln'uaiy an expedition of sixty or eighty impressed men, from the four towns of New London County, under Capt. Denison and Lieut. Minor, with Mohegan and Pequot flankers, assembled at Norwich and marched toward Wabequasset to disperse the lurking foe in that quarter. After this the noise of clashing arms and tramping hosts passed around to the north, the seat of war being transferred to the neighborhood of Connecticut river. Edward Culver and his Indian scouts trailed off in that direction, and in this county a short period of secuiity intervened. The towns were nevertheless kept lively by frequent raids made by vol- unteer parties into Narragansett and the Nipmuck country, to hunt out the last remains of hostility and gather the scattered booty. At this period of comparative serenity, the Fast Day, appointed by the Council (March 22d), was kept by Mr. Fitch and his congregation with unexampled solemnity. This will be more particularly noticed in another chapter. Before the end of March the blast of war again veered toward Narra- o-ansett. Major Treat was ordered to march with a hundred men to Nor- wich, where recruits and provisions were to be collected for a fresh expe- dition against the foe. Before, however, the Major could reach the ren- dezvous, he was suddenly recalled and ordered to the defence of Sirasbury, which had been attacked by the enemy. The contemplated expedition was therefore consigned to the charge of Major Palmes, assisted by the Rev. Mr. Fitch as counselor. The force assembled consisted of 42 volunteers, 37 pressed men, and 100 Indians, — three parties not well inclined to act in concert. Major Palmes complains of them as a disorderly company, — "every man his own carver,'' — and at the same time gives a side-thrust at Norwich for sending but 15 men, "which (he says) may well be furnished out, when 20 men are maintained in their place at the country's charge."* The Major did not himself accompany the expedition. Its officers were Denison, Avery, Minor, and Leffingwell, and it proved one of the most successful forays of the war. They left Norwich, March 27th, and re- turned the 4th or 5th of April, having killed and captured forty-four of the natives. Among the captives was the brave sachem Canonchet or Nanunteno, the son of Miantonomoh, who was can-ied to Stonington, and there shot, — the unfortunate victim of a too stern vengeance. In May a much larger force was raised by the colony. It was designed to consist of 350 men besides Indian auxiliaries, and was to be kept ini service as a standing army during the war. The command was assigned to Major Talcott. Norwich was the place of rendezvous, and tlie first movement -was to be made into the northern wilderness in search of the Pocomticks and Nipmucks. After long waiting for the necessary supplies, * Conn. Col. Rec, 2, 427. HISTORY OF NORWICH. Ill the Major left Norwicli, June 2d, with a force of 250 English soldiers, all on horses, and 200 Indian warriors on foot, and reached tiadlcy on the 8th. Mr. Fitch accompanied the army as chaplain, and the Rev. Gershom Bulkley as surgeon. On the march they killed and captured above fifty forest wanderers, sparing the women and children and sending them to Norwich with a guard. Hadley was attacked by the Indians, June 12th, and but for the presence of this force from Connecticut, of whose arrival the attacking party seems not to have been aware, would probably have been destroyed. Major Talcott went as far north and west as Deerfield Falls, and returned to Connecticut after an absence of eighteen days. Major Talcott left Norwich again on the 29lh or oOth of June, and led his army toward Providence, and from thence south through the Indian territory to Point Judith, accomplishing with vigor and rapidity the work he was sent to perform. This expedition was pre-eminently successful, so far as slaughtering and making captives of the wretched savages may be called success : 238 were killed or taken prisoners, and among the latter was a well-known female chief called the Sunkesquaw. Mr. Fitch was the chaplain of this tour of service also. Still another expedition into the Indian country was led by Major Tal- cott, the point of departure being this time New London, which had been the rendezvous of the army on its retui'n from Narragansett. They left New London in the latter part of July, went first to Taunton, and from thence turned west, following the enemy to the Connecticut. The Indians crossed the river at the foot of the Great Falls, on rafts, August 11th. Talcott reached Westfield on the 12th, but being short of provisions, he sent back his horses and all his force except sixty soldiers and as many Indian warriors, and with these pursued the retreating foe to the Housa- tonick. He overtook them on the west side of that river, August 15th, killed and captured a considerable number, and dispersed the rest. He then returned to the settlements, half-famished and worn down with fatigue and exposure. This was the expedition afterwards distinguished as " the long and hungry march."* Its whole course was from New Lon- don to Taunton, and from thence through the wilderness to nearly the western limit of Massachusetts, and back to Hartford. In the meantime Philip had been skiin at ]Mount Hope, by a party of English and friendly Indians, under Caj)t. Cliurcli of Rhode Island, and there was very little more ligliting to be done. Though Connecticut suffered but slightly during this war, fi-om any actual attack within her borders, she certainly boi-e her full part in its fightings, marchings, and privations. * Trumbull has erroneously given this desmptivc title to the expedition of Talcott in June. 112 HISTORY OF NORWICH. We have designed to rehearse tlie incidents of Philip's war only from a Norwich point of view, and to enter upon them no farther than as they affected her inhabitants and were connected with her history. But from this brief statement it appears that beside the various forays upon the enemy by volunteers under Captains Denison, Avery, Minor, and others, seven successive expeditions marched from New London County into the Indian territory in the space of little more than a year, under the direction of the Governor and Council of War. 1. July, 1G75, from New London, under Capt. Wait Winthrop, who met the forces from Massachusetts, and a treaty of peace was concluded with the Narragansetts, July 15th. 2. Dec. 10th, from New London, under Major Treat : 300 soldiers and 150 Indian warriors. These took part in the Swamp fort fight. 3. Jan. 26th, 1G76, from New London, under Major Treat. The army went through Westerly, Charlestown, Kingston, and Wickford ; united with the Massachusetts forces and pursued the enemy into the Nipmuck coun- try ; returned, Feb. 5th, to Norwich. 4. March 27th, from Norwich, prepared by Major Palmes, sent into Narragansett under Capt. Denison ; returned to Stonington, July 4th or 6th. 5. June 2d, from Norwich, under Major Talcott ; went to Hadley and Deerfield ; 250 English and 200 Indians. 6. June 29th or 30th, the same army from Norwich, under Major Tal- cott; scoured the Narragansett country, and returned to New London, July 8th, and recruited. 7. July 20th, from New London, under Talcott ; went first to Taunton, and from thence west to Housatonick river. Since the settlement of our country. New England has known no war so terrific in its features as this ; none that filled the country with such alarm and apprehension ; none attended with such burdensome toil both in marching into the wilderness and in keeping guard at home. The reg- ulations of the Council of War Avere exceedingly stringent. Great labor was expended upon fortifications ; a watch was kept night and day in every town through the colony, and in March, 1G76, measures of extraor- dinary vigilance being considered necessary, all the effective inhabitants of every plantation were obliged to take their turn as watches or scouts.* Soldiers engaged merely in defence of their own town or county, re- ceived no pay. The whites and Indians engaged in volunteer expeditions against the enemj'-, were compensated by the plunder they amassed. The forces raised by the colony were under pay at the foUov/ing rates : * Conn. Col. Kec, 2, 417. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 113 Major, 30s. per week; Captain, 20s.; Lieut euant, IGs. ; Ensign, 14s.; Serj^eant, 12s.; a private soldier, 8s. For a horse, os. per week was allowed. For qnartcrage of a soldier, 5s. per week. Pasturage for a horse, 4c?. per day.* Though Norwich during the whole of Philip's Avar was kept in continual alarm, and the town was often changed from a quiet village to a tumultuous camp, yet the only actual outrage upon the inhabitants was the slaughter of Reynolds and Rockwell. This is a remarkable fact, considering the recent origin of the town and its situation upon the frontier during a bar- barian war. The whole colony was indeed singularly favored with exemp- tion from the stain of blood. The two men above named, with three that were slain in the neighborhood of Hartford.f were the only English per- sons killed while the war lasted, within the bounds of Connecticut. Surrenderers. During the war a considerable number of the Indians voluntarily gave themselves up to the English, or to the Mohegan sachem. Small tribes and companies, tliat Iiad been necessarily forced into some degree of intercourse with the hostile bands, Init had not taken arms, or committed any act of violence against the whites, found themselves in continual danger of being treated as enemies, and therefore sought pro- tection and safety under the shadow of the English settlements. Several of these companies came of themselves to Norwich, or were brought in by the soldiers ; others were collected by the Mohegan scouts. In August, 1G76, no less than sixty -five men, with their retinue of old men, women, and children, at one time gave in their adhesion to Uncas. Mr. Fitch manifested a deep interest in the fate of these homeless, broken-spirited strangers. He earnestly requested that they might be settled in a community by themselves, apart from the control of Uncas and the debasing iniluence of heathenism. The Council of War gave a temporary and conditional sanction to his benevolent designs. They say : "Norwich gentlemen are desired to consider of a place for such as are not otherwise disposed of to plant on, as near as may be for Mr. Fitch to have often recourse to them till the General Court, or some other Court or Council, doe order or appoynt them else- where. "J It proved to be a difficult business to manage. Vagrants skulking in the woods, half-famished wanderers, fearfully imploring aid, the forlorn * Conn. Col. Rec., 2, 38G. t These three were John Kirliy of Middletown, killed between Middlefown and "Wcthersfield ; Edward Elmore of East Windsor, killed at Podunk ; and Henry Dens- low of Whidsor. \ Conn. Col. Rec, 2, 475. 8 114 HISTORY OF NORWICH. remnants of former considerable tribes, mecklj submitting to the hunters : when all these were gleaned out of the wilderness, not only the Mohegans, but the Pequots of Groton and the friendly tribes at or near Stonington, were embarrassed with the multitude of fugitives. The Council of War therefore appointed three Commissioners, Samuel Wyllis, James Rich- ards, and John Allyn, to hold a genei-al Indian convention at Norwich on the second Wednesday of December, and there, in concert with Mr. Fitch, as one of them, "to receive, dispose and settle all surrenderors according to order."* Of this meeting no special record has been preserved, though several allusions show that it took place. It must have displayed the greatest assemblage of Indians that were ever gathered at one time in Norwich, famous as the place has been for similar meetings. The neighboring tribes were summoned to appear and give account of all captives and sur- renderers, with the time of their coming in. Then the Committee were to call for their personal appearance, and "to list them by their names, their relations and progenies respectively." All young and single persons were to be settled in English families as apprentices for ten years. Those taken in war were to be sold as perma- nent bondsmen, and distributed to each county proportionably ; Avhile others were to be disposed of temporarily in some fit place under English teachers and Indian constables, and every full-aged man was to pay to the colony a yearly tribute of 5s. per head as an acknowledgment of subjec- tion. These wei'e rigorous terms. How far they were put into execution is not known, nor has the number of registered persons been ascertained. Some were doubtless concealed or favored by the friendly Indians. Uncas was accused of double dealing with his captives and dependents, — keeping some at hard service, accusing others falsely to the English, and instigating many to run away. A certain number of innocent families were registered by Mr. Fitch and placed under his superintendence. With i-espect to these the following action of the town is recorded : Feb. 1, 1676-7. A motion was made by the Eev. Mr. Fitch with reference to a place of residence for those Indians who are listed surrenderers, where they might be enter- tained and accommodated with hinds for their improvement in order to their comfort- able living till such time as some other way may be made open for tliem. The Town consented that they sliould settle on the hill called Wawequos, where they should have liberty, they behaving themselves orderly, to make the best improve- ment of the place for their own advantage for 4 years without any rent being de- manded. It is probable that the higldand ridge, called Waweekus, in the western * Conn. Col. Eec., 2, 481. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 115 part of the town, near the present line of Bozrah, was tlie place designed for this Indian settlement. From some cause not explained, the project failed of accomplishment. A few families may have been gathered upon the hill, but if so they were soon dispersed. The kind-hearted JMr, Fitch labored hard for his poor Indians, yet with unsatisfying results. Out of the hundreds that surrendered during the war, only one village consisting of about thirty families was actually established, and this was on a reserv- ation, laid out by the town for this express purpose, between the rivers Shetucket and Quinebaug, where Owaneco and his people had formerly sojourned. This settlement was effected during the winter and spring of 1G78. The Indians, known afterwards as the Showtuchets, were provided with corn and other necessaries to begin life anew, and a fort was built for their protection. Mr. Fitch, in his report of the business to the Genei'al Court, observes : "I am sufficiently informed there are a considerable number more abiding wiiii Uncus, who are doubtless willing to come and settle with the others, but are meerly hindered by Uncus."* It was hoped that this remnant of a subdued race would take root and prosper and grow into a permanent conmaunity. They had comfortable wigwams, and were furnished with some of the tools and conveniences of civilized life. But the settlement seems to have languished for a few years, and finally tapered into extinction. The enmity and intrigues of Uncas were alone sufficient to deaden its prosj)erity. At its outset, one of the men was waylaid and murdered, and though Uncas endeavored to fasten the deed upon the Mohawks, Mr. Fitch believed that it was done with his connivance and by some of his agents. In the meantime Norwich was harrassed with Indian fugitives. It is probable that the well-known benevolence of Mr. Fitch allured many of these troublesome dependents to the town, but their thriftless habits and pilfering propensities could not be long endured. At length a vigorous effort was made to clear them all away, except those that were engiged as family servants. Nov. 12, 1G78. In town meeting an order was passed, requiring the Selectmen to remove forthwith all Indians from the town plot. Twelve days warning was to be given, and if, after that, any inhabitant should allow them to remain on his home-lot or pasture near the town, he was to pay a line of twenty shillings. Similar orders were reiterated from time to time, yet a few families of resident Indians continued in the town until they slowly melted away. Several wigwams remained far into the next century. One of the last that decayed was on the hill not fai' from the * Conn. Col. Koc, 2, 591. 116 HISTORY OF NORWICH. spot wliei-c the Marsh house stands, the place bemg still known to aged people as the wigivam pasture. It was a part of Leffingwell's grant. MR. fitch's prater FOR KAIN. The summer of 1676 was remarkable for a long-continued drought. It was particularly severe in the southern part of Connecticut ; the fields of Indian corn were parched, and the Mohegans were apprehensive that they should lose their whole ci'op. They had recourse to powwows, incanta- tions, and various heathenish rites, but could get no rain. At length they ai)plied to Mr. Fitch, entreating him to intercede with the Lord of the harvest to refresh their drooping fields with the customary showers. Of this drought and the successful prayer for rain, an account is given under Mr. Fitch's own hand, which he calls "a true narrative of that providence." " In August last such was the want of rain, that the Indian corn was not only dried and pai'ched up, but the apple trees withered, the fruit and leaves fell off as in autumn, and some trees seeming to be dead with that drouth; the Indians came into town and lamented their want of rain, and that their powows could get none in their way of worship, desiring me that I would seek to God for rain : I appointed a fast-day for the purpose ; the day being come it proved clear without any clouds until sunsetting when we came from the meeting, and then some clouds arose ; the next day remained cloudy ; then Uncas with many Indians came to my house, Uncas lamented there was such a want of rain : I asked whether if God should send us rain he would not attribute it to their powows ; he answered no, for they had done their utmost and all in vain : I re- plied, if you will declare it before all these Indians you shall see what God will do for us, for although this year he hath shewn his anger against the Englisli and not only against the Indians, yet he hath begun to save us, and I have found by experience twice in the like case, when we sought by fasting and prayer he hath given us rain, and never denied us. Then Uncas made a great speech to the Indians (which were many} confessing that if God should then send rain, it could not be ascribed to their powaw- ing, but must be acknowledged to be an answer of our prayers. This day they [the clouds] spread more and more, and the next day there was such plenty of rain that our river rose more than two feet in height."* An impression has prevailed somewhat extensively, that Uncas yielded at length to the eloquence of Mr. Fitch and the convictions of truth, and became at least a favorer of Christianity, and an outward attendant upon its ministrations.! This charitable inference is based upon the sachem's frequent promises to attend upon the preaching of the word, the bond or pledge to this effect signed by him at the instance of Major Talcott, and the impression made on his mind by Mr. Fitch's prayer for rain, as related above. Unfortunately the sequence of dates militates against this fiwor- * Relation of Mr. Fitch in Hubbard's Narrative of Indian Wars. t " Whether Uncas died in faith or not, I am unable to say. It is agreeable, how- ever, to find him at last acknowledging the God who is above, and paying homage to the religion of his Son." Holmes' Memoir of the Mohegans. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 117 able judgment, and the fallacy of the sachem, as 'My. Fitch calls his double-dealing, deprives us of all confidence in his promises. The pledge to attend on the ministry and to encourage his people to do the same was signed June 7, 167o. In September, 1674, Uncas sent an agent to Wabequisset, (Woodstock,) to meet Mr. Elliot, who was then on a preaching tour to the Indians, to protest against the introduction of Christianity among his tributaries in that region, — the agent delivering his message in these brief expressive terms : " Uncas is not well pleased that the English should pass over Mohegan river, to call his Indians to pray to God."* The character of Uncas, as drawn at this time by General Gookin, com- prehends only sinister and repulsive features : " Unkiis, an old and wicked wilful man, a drunkard and otherwise very villous ; v,-ho hath always been an opposer and underminer of praying to God." The sachem's recognition of the mighty power of God, in the success- ful prayer for rain, was in 1676. But in May, 1678, Mr. Fitch depicts his character in colors of the blackest dye. He accuses him of hostility to the English, and hatred of their rulers, laws, and religion ; of cunning, maUce, robbery, oppression, and breaking of pledges, closing the statement by saying that he is " The greate opponent of any meanes of soul's good aud concernment to his people and abounding more and more in dancings and all manner of heathenish impieties since the warrs and vilifying what hath been done by the English and attributing the victory to their Indean helpe3."t Such is the latest contemporary portrait of the sachem Uncas, drawn, too, by a truthful, tender-hearted, saintly man, proverbially the friend of the aborigines, and a benefactor to the sachem himself. It is impossible, therefore, for the most lenient judgment or the most ardent hope to con- ceive of him as a Christianized man, or even a noble-hearted barbarian. Yet there were some valuable points about him. He manifested a certain degree of native talent, a more than common share of worldly wisdom, and a persevering activity in securing the independence of his tribe. Moreover, the generous and kindly treatment which the Narragansett prince received from him, while in his power as a captive, ought to be placed to the credit of the Mohegan chief. Miantonomoh confessed that he had nothing to complain of in this res])ect, and that the courtesy he had experienced was beyond the connnon degree of consideration in such cases. * Gookin's Hist. Col. of tlic Indians, t Conn. Col. Kcc, 2, 593. 118 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The savage character of Uncas is by no means an exponent of that of his tribe. Whatever they may have been in the days of their heathenism, for the last hundred years they have been noted as a civil, teachable, act- ive, and intelligent people. "With the sachem himself the inhabitants of the town always sustained amicable relations, and his tribe, the Mohegans, from the earliest period of the settlement to the present day, may be called favorites with the people of Norwich. They have been looked after with almost parental care, and the men of most influence in the town, on all public questions, have taken their part, against the state and against opposing tribes. CHAPTER IX. Church History. The Meeting-IIouse on the Hill. Mr. Woodward's Settlement. Grave-Yards. The Meetinp:-house Green or Plain was originally somewhat larger than it is at the present day. A considerable slice, where the post-office and several dwelling-houses stand, was cut off from the common in 1 G84, and given to Capt. James Fitch, as an addition to the home-lot bestowed on him by his father. The first meeting-house stood near the south-west corner of the Green, not far from the dwellings of the minister and mag- istrate, and forming with them the three corners of a triangle.* It is not probable that this primitive church had either steeple, porch, or gallery. We may conjecture that a sun-dial stood near the door, and perhaps a horse-block. Without doubt it was furnished with a pulpit, though no tasseled cushion supported the open Bible. In all probability long benches were used instead of pews, — the men sitting on the right hand of the min- ister, and the women on the left. A choir of singers was then unknown ; the deacon read off the lines, and the congregation followed in tuneful quavers. In 1GG8 a small rate Avas collected to pay Samuel Lothrop "for repaii- ing and heightening the meeting-house." But this first rough-hewn edifice could not long satisfy the demands of the growing town. It was in use only twelve or fourteen years. In 1 G73 tlie town contracted witli John Elderkin to build forthwith a new meeting house. The site fixed for it was the summit of the hill, towering over the Green, and looking east and west toward the two ends of the town- plot. The country was at this period in a disturbed condition. The at- mosphere was dark with the shadows of approaching evil. On the west- ern border of New England the Dutch had assumed a threatening attitude, and several of the larger Indian tribes appeared surly and vindictive. In this posture of affairs, if a new meeting-house was to be built, the * We learn the situation from incidental allusions attcrwiinls made to the i)lace u'liere the old meetinrj-house stood; as in the following item : 1684. " Granted to Capt. Fitch, a gusset of land from tlie S. E. corner of the old mcetinains should be respected ? We may take it for granted therefore that Mason was buried in the common place of sepulture with his friends and neighbors.* In that primitive cemetery, the only memorials ejected in honor of the dead were a grassy hillock, and a block of unhewn granite at the head and foot of the grave. No squared pillars or chiseled inscriptions decorated this humble spot. The stones gradually stink into the earth, or were removed by those that knew not they had any watch to keep ; the graves wore away to a level with the field, and then a little belovir it, and long before the end of another century, the ploughshare and the seedsman passed over and obliterated every vestige of grave and monument from the place. Mason is one of the prominent figures in our early history. He shines forth as a valiant soldier and a wise counselor. He was prudent, and yet enterprising ; fertile in resources ; prompt and heroic in the field of action. The natural ardor of his mind, fostered by early military adventures, and continually called into exercise by great emergencies, made him a fearless leader in war. Sturdy in frame, and hardy in constitution ; regardless of danger, fatigue, or exposure ; he was invaluable as a pioneer in difficult enterprises, and a founder of new plantations. He was also a religious man and a patriot ; of virtuous habits, and moderate ambition. Though he sustained many high and honorable offices in the infant colony, he is best known by the simple title of Captain. Trumbull comprises his peculiar traits in these few words : " He was tall and portly, foil of martial fire, and shunned no hardships or dangers in the defence and service of the colony." His sign manual seems expressive of his massive person and bold de* cision of purpose. /^S/ * This argument, seemingly unnecessary, is prompted by the doubts and surmisetf that have been broached respecting the place of Mason's burial. Such doubts appear to the author entirely baseless. They have originatpd, doubtless, from the absence of grave-stones and the obliteration of hillocks in tliis old burial-place. The meditativs HISTORY OF NORWICH. 1-15 Yet viewing the character of Ma?!on at this distance of time, we become aware of some rigid and imperious features. Though faithful to his con- victions of duty, lie was stern and unrelenting in the execution of justice, and as a magistrate and commander, dictatorial and self-reliant. Roger Williams, in his correspondence with Winthrop of New London,* refers to Mason in terms wdiich lead us to infer that the latter, as a neigh- bor, was not particularly acceptable to other plantations : " Since I mention Capt. Mason, worthy sir, I humbly beg of the Father of Lights to guide you in youre converse and neighbourhood with him." " Sir, heape coales of fire on Capt. Mason's head, conquer evil with good but be not cowardly and overcome with any evill." Again, alluding to dispatches that he had received from Capt. Mason, he says : " The'letters are kind to myself but terrible to all these natives, especially to the. sachims." Uncas and his tribe were peculiarly the wards and adherents of Mason,, and he seemed pledged to defend them against all complaints. Several, times he interfered to screen his favorite sachem from punishment, for his. insolent bearing towards the neighboring settlements, or for his depreda-- tions upon private property ; but towards other native clans, Mason was often a severe and exacting ruler. In September, 1639, he broke up with ruthless determination a small settlement of the Pequots, whose only offence was, that they had huddled together at Pawcatuck, upon the skirt of their former domain, and were endeavoring to obtain a comfortable subsistence. With about forty of his own men, and a horde of Mohegans- under the command of Uncas, he made a sudden descent upon the village, dispersed the terrified inhabitants, or took them prisoners, plundered and: burnt the wigwams, destroyed all the goods and provisions that could not be removed, and returned with thirty canoes, taken from the natives and filled with their plunder. They found a harmless people, prospering by means of their corn-fields and fishing-boats; they swept over the scene,, and left nothing but flight, terror, and desolation. It was probably an act of sagacious foresight, but not of true heroism*. We would willingly blot it out of the history of our gallant captain. Yet it must be conceded that undue severity to the aborigines was then a part of the law of the land, and not a peculiarity in the character of Mason. . mind very naturally asks itself, — Can it be that this bold Connecticut pioneer has been . left in this unnoticed spot for nearly 200 years, without a stone to mark his grave 1 After wonder at this forgetfulness, comes a doubt of the fact. Yet there is but this one place pointed out by tradition, and this is sustained by all the attendant circumstances.. * "Winthrop Papers in Mass. Hist. Coll., 3d scries, 9, 278. Letters of 1648-9. 10 146 HISTORY OF NORWICH. "We may be disposed to charge him with crueUy to a vanquished foe ; but the same taint lies on most of the early colonists. He only shared in the ferocious character of the age, and we may add, in that misconstruction of the sj)irit of Christianity, which devoted its enemies to immediate and vin- dictive destruction. Of the first marriage of Capt. Mason, no date or specification has been recovered. A memorandum in the old Church Book at Windsor gives the number of those who had died in the plantation before the year 1 639, and mentions as one of them, the Captain's wife. No other inhabitant is known to have had at that time the title of Captain, and therefore this may be pronounced, without hesitation, the wife of Mason. In July, 1639, he was married to Anne Peck, who was the mother of the seven children recorded at Norwich, which list is supposed to comprise his whole oflf- spring. Mrs. Anne Mason died at Norwich, before her husband. A memorial sermon, preached by Mr. Fitch, represents her as a woman of eminent piety, and "gifted with a measure of knowledge above what is usual in her sex." " I need not tell you, (says the preacher,) what a Dorcas you have lost; men, women and children are ready with weeping to acknowledge what works of mercy she hath done for them."* The family is registered at Norwich, with this heading : " The names and ages of the children of Major Mason." The day of the month is not given, nor the place of birth. The list is as follows : Pri3cilla, born in October, 1641. Samuel, " July, 1644. John, " August, 1646. Rachel, " October, 1648, Anne, " June, 1650. Daniel, " April, 1652. Elizabeth, " August, 1654. 'The first three were probably born in Windsor, the others at Saybrook. Of this group, three were ingrafted into the Fitch family. Rev. James Fitch married for his second wife, in October, 16G4, Priscilla Mason; John Mason, 2d, married Abigail Fitch ; and James Fitch, 2d, married Ehza- l)eth Mason, Jan. 1, 1676. * Printed at Cambridge by Samuel Green in 1672. But neither the date of Mrs. Mason's death, nor the time when the sermon was preached, is stated. The title page •simply refers to her death as preceding that of her husband. "A Sermon preached upon the occasion of the Death and Decease of that piously affected and truly religious Matron, Mrs. Anne Mason, sometime wife to Major Mason who not long after finished his course and is now at rest. By Mr. James Fitch, Pastor of the Church at Norwich." HISTORY OF NORWICH. 147 Rachel Mason became the second wife of Charles Hill of New London. They were married June 12, 1G78, and she died in less than a year after- ward. Anne Mason married, Nov. 8, 1C72, Capt. John Brown of Swanzey. John Mason, second son of the Major, succeeded to his father's accom- modations in Norwich. This gallant young Captain was severely, and as it proved, fatally wounded in the great swamp fight at Narragansett, Dec. 19, 1675. It is probable that he was brought home from that sanguinary field by his Mo- hegan warriors on an Indian bier. His wounds never healed. After lin- gering several months, he died, as is supposed, in the same house where his father expired, and was doubtless laid by his side in the old obliterated grave-yard of the first-comers. Tliough scarcely thirty years of age at the time of his death, he stood high in public esteem both in a civil and military capacity. He had represented the town at three sessions of the Legislature, and was chosen an Assistant the year of his decease. In the probate of his estate before the Countj^ Court, he is called "the worshipful John IMason." The Rev. Mr. Bradstreet of New London records his death in these terms : "My hon'd and dear Friend Capt. Jno. Mason one of ye magistrates of this Colony, and second son of Major Jno. Mason, dyed,"* Sept. 18, 1676. He left two young children : Anne, who married John Denison ; and John, born at Norwich in 1673, afterward known as Capt. John Mason, being the third in lineal succession who had borne the name and title. He is best known as an Indian claimant, visiting England to assert the rights of the heirs of INIajor Mason to those lands which the latter pur- chased as agent of the colony. His connection with this long Mohegan controvex'sy, will bring him at another period within the range of our history. The other sons of Major Mason, Samuel and Daniel, settled in Stoning- ton, on an ample domain given by the colony to their father, near the border of Long Island Sound. Samuel was chosen an Assistant in 1 683, and acquired the same military rank as his father, being known also as Major Mason. He was one of the four purchasers of Lebanon, but never removed thither. He died at Stonington, March 30, 1705, leaving four children, all daughters. His only son, John, died ten days before him, aged twenty-eight, and unmarried. The male branch in this line here became extinct, but the name was continued in the line of the oldest daugliler, Anne, who married her cousin, the third John Mason, before mentioned. * Hist, and Gen. Keg., 9, 46. 148 HISTOEY OP NORWICH. Lieut. Daniel Mason, the early schoolmaster of Norwich, died at Ston- ington, Jan. 28, 1736-7, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. His first wife was Margaret Denison of Roxbury, and his second Rebecca Hobart of Hingham. His oldest son, Daniel, married Dorothy Hobart, and settled in Lebanon, where he died, July 4, 1706, thirty years before the decease of his father, leaving only one child, an infant son, named Jeremiah, after his grandfather, Rev. Jeremiah Hobart.* IL Rev. James Fitch. This venerated man died at Lebanon ; a plantation in which he had taken great interest, and where several of his children had established their homes. In the quiet cemetery of that place, where almost a congre- gation of good and great men have since been gathered, he was laid to rest. The monumental tablet that marks his grave, has an elaborate Latin inscription, said to have been written by his son, the Rev. Jabez Fitch,* that furnishes a judicious and comprehensive summary of his life and character. « [translation.] la tills tomb are deposited the remains of tlie truly Reverend Mr. James Fitch ; born at Bocking, in the county of Essex, England, December 24, 1632 : who, after he had been well instructed in the learned languages, came to New England at the age of 16, and passed seven years under the instruction of those eminent divines, Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone. Afterward he discharged the pastoral office at Saybrookfor 14 years, from whence, with the greater part of iBs church, he removed to Norwich, and there spent the succeeding years of his life, engaged in the work of tlie Gospel, till age and infirmity obliged him to withdraw from public labor. At length he retired to his children at Leb- anon, where scarcely half a year had passed, when he fell asleep in Jesus, Nov. 18,t 1702, in the 80th year of his age. He was a man, for penetration of mind, solidity of judgment, devotion to the sacred duties of his office, and entire holiness of life, as also for skill and energy in preaching, inferior to none. Mr. Fitch is placed by Mather in his second classis of New England ministers, — consisting of "young scholars, whose education for their * Mrs. Dorothy Mason subsequently married Hezekiah Brainerd of Haddam. The devoted missionary to the Delaware Indians (David Brainerd) was one of the children of this connection. t Mass. Hist. Coll., 10, 68. X In the town book at Lebanon, Nov^ 19 is the recorded day of Mr. Fitch's death. Slight discrepancies in the cotemporaneous records of deaths frequently occur, and may sometimes result from one giving the diy of death, and another that of interment. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 149 designed ministry not being finished, came over from England with their friends, and had their education perfected in this country before the Col- lege was come into maturity enough to bestow its laurels."* It appears that the father of the flimily had deceased, and that the mother with several sons emigrated to this country in 1638. The exact number of the brothers that came over has not been definitely ascertained. Thomas, Joseph and James can be clearly traced. But there was a coeval Samuel Fitch, schoolmaster at Hartford, that married, in 1650, the widow of the first William Whiting, and subsequently removed to Milford, who may have been another brother.! Thomas Fitch settled in Norwalk, where, in the valuation of estates in 1665, he was the highest upon the list. J He is also the first person men- tioned in the Patent of that town, granted in 1685, and from him in a line of three generations, each bearing the same name, Gov. Thomas Fitch, who occupied the chair of state in Connecticut from 1754 to 1766, was descended. Joseph Fitch can be traced as a landholder, or as a temporary inhabit- ant, at Norwalk, Hartford, and Northampton ; but he ultimately settled at Windsor, upon a valuable fai-m near the boundary line of the present towns of East Hartford and East Windsor. John Fitch, whose name is iionoi'ably connected with the invention of steam navigation, was a de- scendant of Joseph, and born Jan. 21, 1743, near the place where his ancestor settled, on the Windsor part of the farm. Of Mr. James Fitch, our immediate subject, we have a statement of his birth, emigration at the age of sixteen, and seven years of theological instruction at Hartford, and this is all that is known of him previous to his ordination at Saybrook in 1646. At this ceremony, Mr. Hooker of Hartford was present, but the imposition of hands was by two of the brethren appointed by the church to that office- The same form was also used at the same place, at the ordination of the Rev. Mr. Thomas Buck- ingham in 1670. § Mr. Hooker had himself been ordained in the same manner at Cambridge. This was a Congregational ordination in the strictest sense of the term. The element of independence thus wrought into the original structure of Mr. Fitch's church, was brought with it to Norwich, and has never died out. Though not subsequently asserting its rights in the special form of ordination, the congregational principle struck its roots deep, and has ever * Magnalia, I, 21b. Hart. Edition. t In Wcstcott's Life of John Fitch, it is said that five brothers emigrated, but the authority seems only traditionary. } Hall's History of Norwalk. i Trumbiill's Coan., I, 293. 150 HISTOEY OF NOEWICH. since maintained its ground, giving something of a distinctive character to the church in its whole course.* "When a part of Mr. Fitch's church decided, in 1660, to remove to Norwich, it was a subject of some contention between the two parties whether he should stay with those who were to remain, or go with those who should remove. He was greatly beloved by all, and each side claimed him. After solemn prayer and long deliberation, Mr. Fitch decided that it was his duty to keep with the majority, and this brought him to Nor- wich. Soon after his removal thither, the people of Hartford invited him to become their minister, thinking, probably, that the hardships of a new settlement, and the prospect of extensive usefulness in a Avider and more elevated sphere, might induce him to leave his flock. The only reply he sent to their invitation was this : " With whom then shall I leave these few poor sheep in the wilderness ? " The oldest Election Sermon in Connecticut, of which any record has been discovered, was preached by Mr. Fitch, in 1674, from this text: " For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her."t Other products of his pen, yet extant, are : a sermon on the death of Anne, wife of Major Mason, 1672, and a small volume printed at Boston in 1683, with an Introduction by Rev. Increase Mather, and comprising three distinct tracts, viz. : A Treatise on the reformation of those evils which have been the procaring caase of the late Judgments upon New England. The Norwich Covenant, which was solemnly renewed March 22, 1675. A brief Discourse proving that the First Day of the week is the Christian Sabbath. The multiplied labors of Mr. Fitch in behalf of the Indians, to civilize, Christianize, and render them comfortable, have been heretofore noticed. His correspondence with the Governor and Assistants was voluminous. Among the documents of the State, letters concerning the wayward natives are yet extant, bearing his signature. * Rev. H. P. Arms, the successor of Mr. Fitch at the present day, — the sixth incum- bent of the pastoral office in the old town of Norwich, — in reference to the ordination of Mr. Fitch, observes : " We retain the same principles, and hold that all ecclesiastical authority is vested in the individual churches^ and that while, as a matter of Christian courtesy, we ask the aid of a council in ordaining or deposing ministers, we accede to that council no authority beyond what the church delegates to it for the occasion." Norwich Jubilee^ p. 252. ■ % t Conn. Col. Eec., 2,. 222. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 151 As a pastor, Mr. Fitch was zealous and indefatigable. In addition to his other labors, he trained several young men for the ministry, as he him- self had been trained by Mr. Hooker. Rev. Samuel Whiting of Wind- ham, Taylor of Westfield, and Adams of New London, received a part at least of their theological instruction from him. Before colleges and academies were established in the land, a course of study in the family of some experienced divine was the customary method of preparing young men for the ministry. Lebanon, we have said, was an offshoot of Norwich. Li 1GG3, Major Mason had a legislative grant of 500 acres of land, with his choice of location in the unappropriated territory of the colony. It was taken up "at a place called by the Indians Pomakuck near Norwich." The registry is found on the records of the New London County Court : "Wee whose names are under writen according to the order from the Generall Court wee have laid out five hundred ackers of upland and meadow for Maior Mason at po- macook. Thomas Tracv. Francis Gkiswold. from Norwig 1G65, the 6th [month left blank.] Acknowledged by Uncas sachem of Mohegaa in Court at New London Nov. 14, 16G5. Pomakuck, or Poraakook, was a tract of land upon Deep River brook, near the boi'ders of Lebanon and Franklin, the latter being then a part of Norwich. In October, 166G, a grant was made to Mr. Fitch of 120 acres adjoining Major Mason's land at Pomakook.* To this grant, Owancco, the son and successor of Uncas, at a subsequent period, in acknowledg- ment of favors received from Mr. Fitch, added a tract five miles in length and one in breadth. This munificent gift was familiarly called the MUe, or Mr. Fitch's Mlle.-\ Afterward the same chief, who claimed all the unsettled lands in this quarter, sold to four proprietors, viz., Capt. Samuel Mason and Capt. John Stanton of Stonington, Capt. Benjamin Brewster and Mr. John Birchard of Norwich, a tract five miles square, "at a place called by the Indians Po([ue-chan-neeg adjoining to the Mile, so called of the Rev. Mr. Fitch." This deed bears date, Sept. G, 1G92, and Avas "probably executed at Nor- wich, the witnesses being Richard Bushnell and Thomas Adgate.J * Conn. Col. Rec., 2, 49. t L. Hebard, Esq., of Lebanon, estimates the Mile to have been a mile in width, lib- eral measure, and about seven miles in length instead of live. It was bounded north by Shetucket river, and east by Norwich. \ Acknowledged before Samuel Mason, at Norwich, Jan. 5, 1G98-9. Recorded at. Lebanon, Book 1, Article 1. Endorsetl, confirmed by Gen. Ass., May, 1705. 152 HISTORY OP NORWICH. These various grants, with certain strips and gores purchased at a later date, make up the town of Lebanon. Major Mason was undoubtedly the first English proprietor, but not a resident. The distribution into lots, the occupation and actual settlement of the town, began in lG9o.* The number of grants and allotments bearing date in November of that year is about fifty. In the earliest roll of inhab- itants, made soon after 1700, are the names of four sons of the Rev. Mr. Fitch, — Jeremiah, Nathaniel, Joseph, and Eleazer. According to tradition, the township was named by Mr. Fitch before a house had been built, or a tree felled by a white man upon the tract. "Within the bounds of the Mile, was an extensive cedar forest, which, by the principle of association, assisted also by the height of the land, sug- gesting to the mind of its accomplished owner the Cedars of Lebanon, led him to bestow the name of Lebanon upon the whole tract. The town and its patron have reason to be satisfied with each other. Quiet, beautiful, dignified Lebanon ! with its broad street like a continued park, and its fertile farms, — the birth-place and resting-place of the two Trumbulls, and of Williams, equally true-hearted and patriotic, — let pil- grimages be made to its bounds, and wreaths, often renewed, laid upon the graves of the fathers and patriots that rest in its bosom.f To this new and interesting plantation Mr. Fitch, in the year 1701, retired to die. A brief summer passed in its quiet, secluded shades, led him gently forward to the tomb. His three youngest sons, Nathaniel, Joseph, and Eleazei-, early settlers of Ilebanon, repose near him, with head-stones to point out their graves. Mr, Fitch was twice married, and had fourteen children, whose births are all recorded at Norwich, though the first six were born in Saybrook, and are also recorded there, with the death of the first wife. All the children except Elizabeth are referred to as among the living, in the will of their father, February, 1696, and it is not improbable that twelve fol- lowed his remains to the grave. His first wife was Abigail, daughter of the Rev. Henry Whitefield, M'hom he married in October, 1648. She died at Saybrook, Sept. 9, 1659, and in October, 1664, he was united to Priscilla Mason, who survived liim. The date of her death has not been ascertained. Her signature {Priscilla Fitch) is attached, with the names * The name, Lebanon, was current in the neighborhood of Norwich, before it was given to the town. Grants at Lebanon, referring to certain parts of what is now Frank- lin, were recorded in 1687. The farms of John Johnson and Thomas Baldwin were described as "near to Lebanon," and Johnson had ten acres in Lebanon Valley. Litil^ Lebanon and Lebanon Hill were terms used at that period in reference to places in Franklin. t In 1850, there was no lawyer and no tavern in Lebanon. The population had : somewhat decreased, and was then only 1,901. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 153 of other Mason heirs, to a quit-claim deed to rights in Mohegan lands derived from their ancestor Major Mason, March 20, 1710, probably N. S. 1711. The Fitch family soon became numerous, and the name -widely spread, owing to the preponderance of sons in the early branches. Mr. Fitch had himself nine sons, and his oldest son James the same number. Joseph had seven sons, and Nathaniel fifteen children, of whom eleven were sons. Eleazer, the youngest of the original family, was the only one who left no posterity. It is a little singular that not one of the sons of Mr. Fitch established his permanent home in Norwich. James went to Canterbury. Samuel settled on a farm in Preston as early as 1G87.* Daniel became an inhab- itant of the North Parish of New London, in the immediate neighborhood of Norwich, but not within its bounds. John went to Windham. Jabez pursued his ministerial calling at Ipswich and Portsmouth, and the four others took up farms in Lebanon. Capt. Daniel Fitch above named, of the North Parish (now Montville), was born at Norwich in the fifth year after the settlement, and died June 3, 1711. His inventory shows that he owned three farms, one at Trading Cove, one at Dry Brook, and one lying on both sides of Connecticut path^ that is, the road to Hartford, through Colchester. The homestead farm at Trading Cove was a town grant to his father, and has never been either bought or sold, but has descended by inheritance to the present day, (18G5.) As a general rule, the early Fitches were men of capacity, and pros- perous in their worldly concerns. It was formerly a current saying among the farmers of the neighborhood, that the Fitches always settled by a stream of water, which was equivalent to saying that they were thriving men possessed of valuable farms. The five daughters of the Rev. James Fitch were connected in mar- riage as follows : Abigail with Capt. John Mason, 2d. Elizabeth with Rev. Edward Taylor of Westfield, Mass. Hannah with Thomas Meeks, or Mix. Dorothy with Nathaniel Bissell. Anna, the only daughter of the second marriage, became the wife of Joseph Bradford. Two of these daughters, viz., Abigail and Hannah, remained at Nor- wich. Thomas Meeks married Hannah Fitch June 30, 1677. They settled on the east of the Shetucket, but within the bounds of the Nine- miles-square. * Mr. Samuel Fitch died in 1725. He was the ancestor on the maternal side of As*- Titch, Esq., of Fitchville. 154 HISTOEY OF NORWICH By means also of intermarriages with other families of the town, Nor- wich still retains a large interest in the family of her first revered minis- ter. Not only his influence, memory, and example, but the vital current that quickened his frame, flows in the veins of many of her children. Mr. Taylor, who settled in the ministry at Westfield, Mass., had been a theological student in the family of Mr. Fitch. His attachment to the daughter probably commenced at that time. A love-letter that she re- ceived from him before their marriage, has been preserved,* which dis- plays in a striking manner the quaint and metaphorical taste of the age, — a taste, the decline of which can not be lamented, since it seems better adapted to the display of an elaborate fancy, than to express genuine feeling. The address was accompanied with a crude sketch of a carrier dove with an olive-branch in his mouth. This for my friend and only beloved Miss Elizabeth Fitch, at her father's house in Norwich. Westfield, 8 day of 7th month, 1674. My Dove, I send you not my heart, for that I trust is sent to Heaven long since, and unless it hath wofully deceived me, it hath not taken up its lodgings in any one's bosom on this side of the Royal City of the Great King, but yet the most of it that is allowed to be layed out upon any creature doth safely and singly fall to your share. So much my post pigeon presents you with here in these lines. Look not, I entreat you, upon it as one of Love's hyperboles, if I borrow the beams of some sparkling metaphor to illustrate my respects unto thyself by, for you having made my breast the cabinet of your affections, as I yours mine, I know not how to offer a fitter compari- son to set out my love by than to compare it unto a golden ball of pure fire, rolling up and down my breast, from which there flies now and then a spark like a glorious beam from the body of the flaming sun. But alas ! striving to catch these sparks into a love- letter unto yourself, and to gild it with them as with a sunbeam, I find that by what time they have fiillen through my pen upon my paper they have lost their shine, and fall only like a little smoke thereon instead of gilding them, wherefore, finding myself so much deceived, I am ready to begrudge my instruments, for though my love within my breast is so large that my heart is not sufficient to contain it, yet they can make it no more room to ride into, than to squeeze it up betwixt mv black ink and white paper. But know that it is the coarsest part that is couchant there, for the purest is too fine to clothe in any linguish huswifry, or to be expressed in words. * If not the original, at least a cardful copy. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 155 The writei' then proceeds to show "that conjugal love should exceed all other love," but in illustrating this point he runs into the style of a sermon, and the lover is almost lost in the theologian. Mr. Taylor was a man of great erudition, and left a large number of MSS. behind him. One of his daughters by his second wife, Ruth Wyllis of Hartford, was the wife of Rev. Dr. Lord of Norwich. Another daush- ter was mother of President Styles of Yale College. III. Adgate. No other Adgate except Thomas is found among the original settlers of New England, and his name has not been traced until it appears at Say- brook. From whence he came, or when, and whether alone or with wife and children, are alike unknown. It is seldom that any name appears so isolated and untraceable. Tlie following record, with a registry of lands, and his name, as pi'esent at a town meeting in 1655, are the chief memo- rials of him at Saybrook. Children or Thomas Adgat. Elizabeth born the 10th of October, Anno 1651. Hanna bom the 6th of October, Anno 1653. At Norwich the same children are recorded with those of subsequent birth, as follows : Elizabeth, born in October, 1G51 ; Hannah in October, 1653; Abigail in August, 1661; Sarah in January, 1663; Rebecca in June, 1666; Thomas in March, 1669-70. No day of the month is given. The death of the first wife, and his marriage with the second, are not registered. From incidental circum- stances it is evident that the second wife was Mary, daughter of Matthew Marvin and widow of Richard Bushnell, and it is probable that the mar- riage took place about tlie time of the removal to Norwich. The five daughters married respectively, Richard Bushnell, Samuel Lothrop, Daniel Tracy, Christopher Huntington, and Joseph Huntington, all proprietors of Norwich, of the first or second generation. Thomas Adgate was a deacon of Mr. Fitch's church, but at what period chosen to that office is not known. He was older than his pastor, and per- haps his coeval in office. It is probable that he exercised the functions for at least half a century. His will, dated May 22, 1704, commences, " I Thomas Adgit, being in the 84th year of my age," &c. He died July 21, 1707. Mrs. Mary Adgate, his relict, died March 29, 1713. The second Thomas Adgate was also deacon of the church, holding the office for forty-two years. He died Dec. 10, 1760, aged 91. He had two 156 HISTORY OP NORWICH. sons, Thomas and Matthew, both of whom had families. The former died in the 34th and the latter in the 81st year of his age. Most of the descendants emigrated to other states, and the name is now rare in this vicinity. Matthew, the son of Matthew, removed in middle life to a place called from him Adgate's Falls, in Chesterfield, New York. He was a member of the Convention that formed the Constitution of New York in 1777. Asa Adgate, M. C. from Essex County, N. Y., from 1815 to 1817, was his son. "William Adgate, brother of the last-named Matthew, occupied the family homestead at Norwich, where he died in 1779, in the 35th year of his age. His relict survived him thirty-three years. Their sons Daniel and William had previously settled in Philadelphia, and the old residence of the family went into other hands.* IV. Allyn. , Robert Allyn was of Salem in 1637, and enrolled as a member of the church, May 15, 1642. He removed to New London in 1651, where he obtained a grant of a large farm on the east side of the river, at a place still known as AUyn's Point, but now in the town of Ledyard. He was one of the first company of purchasers of Norwich, and resided for sev- eral years in the western part of the town-plot. In 1661, he styles him- self of " New-Norridge," and held the office of constable in 1669, but in a deed of 1681 uses the formula, "I Robert Allyn of New London." Among the early settlers of the country, we often meet with persons whom it is difficult to locate. They possess lands that lap over the bounds of adjoining settlements, and sometimes appear to belong to different town- ships at one and the same time. Robert Allyn had doubtless relinquished his house in Norwich to his son John, and retired to his farm on the river, within the bounds of New London, where he died in 1683. His age is unknown; but he was freed from training in 1669, probably upon attaining the age of 60, the custom- ary limit of military service : this would make him about 75 at death. The heirs to his estate were his son John, and four daughters, — Sarah, wife of George Geares ; Mary, wife of Thomas Parke ; Hannah, wife of Thomas Rose ; and Deborah, who afterwards married John Gager, Jun. The son received £133, and each of the daughters £66 6s. John Allyn, the son, married Dec. 24, 1668, "Elizabeth, daughter of John Gager of New Norwich." In 1691, he exchanged his homestead * Origin of the name : Tlie prefix At was used to denote the residence of a person, as James At Well, at the well; Tom At Wood, at the wood; Will At Gate, at the gate ; now Atwell, Atwood, and Adgate. See Arthur's Family Names. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 157 and other privileges in Norwich with Joshua Abell and Simon Hunting- ton, Jr., for lands east of the river, and transferred his residence to the former seat of the family at Allyn's Point. This brought him again ■within the bounds of New London, and his name apj^ears in 1704 as one of the patentees of that town. He died in 1709, leaving an estate of £1278, to be divided between his son Robert and his daughter Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Waterman. His inventory enumerates three farms and a trading establishment upon the river. Among the moveables are such articles of cost and comfort as a silver tankard, cup and tumbler, a silver whistle, a gold ring, a wrought cushion, and a lignum-vitte mortar and pestle. This was about the period when such small luxuries were beginning to be diffused among prosperous farmers and traders. With Robert Allyn of the third generation, the male line was still a unit. He married Deborah Avery, and died in 1730, leaving nine child- ren. Robert Allyn, of the fourth generation, occupied the same home- stead at Allyn's Point, and dying in 1760, left an estate of more than £3,000. His inventory of wearing apparel comprised : a blue coat with brass buttons ; silk jacket and breeches ; laced jacket ; boots and spurs ; gold sleeve-buttons and ring ; silver snuff-box ; silver buckles for shoes, knees and neck-bands. These successive inventories vividly illustrate the advance of the coun- try in wealth, comfort, and elegance. Allyn's Point, where stood the old homestead of the family, is about six miles below Norwich, on the opposite side of the river from the Mohegan fields. The ancient fort of Uncas was in full view from the house. South of the pond and cove is a conspicuous elevation known as Allyn's Mount- ain, from whence the prospect is wide and far-reaching. To this height the neighbors were accustomed to resort as a look-out post, when the river was visited by any unusual craft, or the Indians on the other side were gathered for council or sjiort. From this place on the memorable 6th of September, 1781, the conflagration of New London was witnessed by women and children whose husbands and fathers had hastened to the scene of action. Li the war of 1812, the three blockaded vessels forming the squadron of Commodore Decatur were laid up in the river near by> and on this hill his men threw up a redoubt and kept a sentry to watch the movements in and near New London Harbor. Backus. Little is known of the history of William Backus, Sen. He is sup- posed to have been living at Saybrook as early as 1637. Lithe settle- ment of the estate of John Charles, who died at Branford in 1673, the 158 HISTORY OP NORWICH. children of "William Backus received a share, in right of their deceased mother, who was his daughter. From this fact it is ascertained that the first wife of William Backus was Sarah, daughter of John Charles. Before removing to Norwich, he married Mrs. Anne Bingham, aiid brought with him to the new settlement three daughters, two sons, and his wife's son, Thomas Bingham. The three young men were of mature age, or near maturity, and are all usually reckoned as first proprietors. The daughters were subsequently united in marriage to John Reynolds, Ben- jamin Crane, and John Bayley. v The house-lots of the younger William and of Stephen Backus are both recorded as laid out in 1659 ; but the latter was the allotment of his father, who dying at an early period after the settlement, and the land-records being made at a later date, it was registered in Stephen's name, who had received it by bequest from his father. Hence, William Backus, Senior, does not appear on the town record as a land-holder. His \vi\\, dated June 12, 1661, and witnessed by Thomas Tracy and John Post, is recorded at New London, and endorsed as allowed by a court held in that place, June 21, 1665. The inventory of his effects is found among ancient court documents at Hartford, dated June, 1664. The date of his death has not been recovered. It is probable that it took place soon after the signing of the will. The slender legacies mentioned are suggestive of the limited resources of the settlement in its earliest days, and we may fairly infer from the rapid growth of the town after- ward, that they would have been enlarged by a subsequent addition, or that a fresh instrument would have been executed, had the testator sur- vived until 1664. That three or four years intez'vened before the settle- ment of the estate, scarcely militates against this supposition, when the circumstances of the case are considered ; the land almost a wilderness, the inhabitants engaged in arduous labors, the town but just organized, and no justices, no law offices or courts within their own bounds. The provisions of the will are few and simple. He has nothing to bequeath but his house and land, cows, corn, household stuff, and "the tools belonging to the trade of a smith or cutler;" and he confirms it with the signature W. B., instead of writing his name. It is interesting to observe how rapidly the settlement advanced in pros- perity and comfort. This family and others in the course of a single gen- eration grew strong and luxuriant, throwing out buds and branches of rich and noble growth. The death of Mrs. Backus is registered with the Bingham family. " Mrs. Anne Backus, mother of Thomas Bingham Sen. died in May 1670." HISTORY OF NORWICH. 159 V. Stephen Backus. The rights and privileges of William Backus, Senior, were transferred so soon after the settlement to his son Stephen, that the latter is accounted the original proprietor. The house-lot was entered in his name, as to a first purchaser. It lay upon the pent highway by the Yantic, between the Town Green and the allotment of Thomas Bhss. Stephen Backus was married in December, 1666, to Sarah Spencer. After a residence of over thirty years in Norwich, he removed with his family about the year 1692 to Canterbury, and there died in 1695. His sons Stephen and Timothy are counted among the early settlers of that town. Stephen, 2d, died May 1, 1707. An agreement subsequently made by the heirs of the elder Stephen, has the signatures of the widow Sarah Backus and her daughter Elizabeth, of Timothy Backus, and of David Knight, Robert Green, and William Baker, who signed in behalf of their wives, Sarah, Ruth, and Rebecca, daughters of the deceased. VI. William Backus, Jr. The second William Backus mai-ried Elizabeth, daughter of Lieut. William Pratt of Saybrook. She was born Feb. 1, 1641. The date of the marriage is not registered at Norwich, and it is probable that the young couple did not remove to the new settlement till after the birth of their first son, William, May 11, 1660. John, the second son, born Feb. 9, 1661-2, married Mary, daughter of Thomas Bingham. Hannah Backus, one of the daughters of the family, found a partner in the second Thomas liingham. Both marriages have the same date, Feb. 17, 1691-2. It was not uncommon in that day for families to be linked and interlinked and the knots doubled and twisted as in the case of the Backuses and Binghams. William Backus, 2d, is found on record with the successive titles of Sergeant, Ensign, and Lieutenant, thougli he styles himself, in deeds, simply yeoman. His will and inventory were presented for pro- bate in April, 1721. William Backus, 3d, son of the above, sold his accommodations in Nor- wich to his father, in 1692, and removed to "^//e nameless new toivn lying about ten miles N. W. of Noricich." His brother .John also emigrated to the same place, afterward named Windham, and both are reckoned among the early proprietors of that town. The present Windham Green was part of the original home-lot of William Backus. Joseph and Nathaniel, the younger sons of William Backus, 2d, re- mained in Norwich. Joseph married Elizabeth Huntington, and Nathan- iel, Elizabeth Tracy, daughters of the proprietors Simon Huntington and 160 HISTORY OF NORWICH. John Tracy. Joseph and Simon Backus, the first two graduates of Yale College of the name of Backus, were sons of Joseph. The former grad- uated in 1718, and some eight or ten years later was styled by his cotem- poraries, Lawyer Backus of Norwich. A large number of the Backus family have acquired distinction in the various walks of life. Elijah Backus, whose iron works at Yantic were so serviceable to the country in the Revolutionary war, was a grandson of Joseph. He married Lucy, daughter of John Griswold of Lyme. His sons, and his son-in-law, Dudley Woodbridge, were among the first emi- grants to the banks of the Ohio. James Backus, one of the sons, as agent of the Ohio Company, made the first surveys of Marietta, and is said to have built the first regular house in that town. He afterward returned to Norwich, and died at the family residence, Sept. 29, 1816. The second Elijah Backus, an older brother of James, graduated at Yale College in 1777, and for several years held the office of Collector of Customs at New London. His first wife was Lucretia, daughter of Rus- sell Hubbard, who died at New London in 1787.* He afterward married Hannah, daughter of Guy Richards, and removed with his family to Marietta, Ohio, where he died in 1811. His daughter Lucretia, born at New London in 1787, married Nathaniel Pope, of Kaskaskia, Illinois, delegate in Congress from Illinois in 1816, and Judge of the U. S. Dis- trict Court. Major-General John Pope, U. S. A., is their son, born March 12, 1823. His mother, Mrs. Lucretia Pope, in remembrance of the place of her father's nativity and of her own early associations, came from her western home to attend the bi-centennial Jubilee at Norwich, in Septem- ber, 1859. Among the descendants of "William Backus, who were natives of the old town of Norwich, the following clergymen are of note : 1. Simon Backus, son of Joseph, born at Norwich, Feb. 11, 1701, grad- uated at Yale College in 1724, and was ordained pastor of the church at Newington in 1727. He attended the expedition to Cape Breton, as chaplain of the Connecticut troops, and died while on duty at that place, in May, 1746. His wife was a sister of President Edwards of the New Jersey College. * Her grave-stone has the following inscription : Hie jac : reliq : Lucretia uxor E. Backus Armig : quie ob. Jan. 30. An. Christ. 1787 •■ ..aetat. 25. Quas latet Veritas sub umbra, Nocte prreterita tenebrarum patebit. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 161 2. Rev. Simon Backus, son of tlie above, was pastor in Granby, Mass., and died in 1828, aged 87. 8. Rev. Charles Backus, D. D., of Somers, born in that part of Nor- wich which is now Franklin, Nov. 9, 1749, died in 1803. He had a hijrh reputation as an acute and able theologian, and prepai'ed between forty and fifty young men for the sacred office. Dr. Dwight said of him, " I have not known a wiser man." 4. Rev. Isaac Backus, A, M>, of Middleborough, Mass., was born at Nwwich, within the limits of the old town plot, Jan. 9, 1724, and died Nov. 20, 1806. He was first a Separatist, and afterwards embracing Baptist principles, becamo eminent in that denomination as a preacher, and the author of several historical works relating to the diffusion of the Baptist faith in New England. 5. Rev. Azel Backus, D. D,, born in Franklin, Oct. 13, 1765, was a n-ephew of Rev. Charles Backus of Somers. His father died v/hen he was a youth, and left him a farm, which, he said, "I wisely exchanged for an education in College." He settled at Bethlem, Conn., as the successor of Dr. Bellamy, but in 1812 was chosen the first President of Hamilton College. The most noted of his writings is an Election Sermon preached at Plartford in 1798, on the character of Absalom, — a political discourse <^ strong partizan tendency^ YII. Baldwin.* John Baldwin is a name often repeated among the early emigrants to the New World. Two or three John Baldwins settled in Massachusetts. John, the son of Sylvester, was at New Haven before 1640, and is sup- posed to have removed to Stonington.f A person of the same name, with several otlier Baldwins, is found among the planters at Milford in 1'639, from Avhence he removed with his son John to Newark in 1667. John Baldwin of Norwich stands apart from all these, no connection between him and any otiior Baldwin family having been hitherto ascer- tained. A family tradition has been current that he came to this country in his youth with a relative, but liad no brothers. His first appearance on record is at Guilford, where he married, April 2.'), 1653, Hannah Burchet, [probably Birchard.] The children recorded at Guilford are : John, born Dec. 5, 1654. Hannah, born Oct. 6, 1656. Sarah, born Nov. 25, 1658. * The name, Baldwin, is said to be a contraction of Bold-winner. t John Bahl'.vin, first of New London and afterward of Stonington, mari^ied widow Rebecca Chesebrough, July 24, 1672. He died in 1683. 11 162 HISTOEY OF NORWICH. The registry is not continued in Norwich, but we know that he had a second son, Thomas, who was born in 1661 or 62. Of the decease of the proprietor thei-e is no account. His oldest son,. John, removed to Lebanon. He was one of the grantees of that planta- tion in 1695, one of the selectmen of the newlj organized township in 1699, and at the time of bis decease in January^ 1705, was a deacon of the church, "Thomas Baldwin, Husbandman," the second son of John the proprie- tor, married Sai'ah, daughter of John Calkins. He died Sept, 16, 1741, in the 80th year of his age. His farm was three miles distaet from the town-plot, and now fornas a part of the large domain of Asa Fitch, Esq., of Fitchville, Bozi'ah. Though he himself made a cross for his signature^ in the course of three or four generations we find among his descendants^ divines, lawyers, physicians, scholars^ and statesnoen. He had four daugh- ters, who passed in due time into other families, — Baldwin of Lebanon,- Birchard, Backus, and Post ; and four sons, viz., John, who- married Lucy Metcalf of Lebanon, and his family removing to the Cohos country, as- sisted in peopling the New Hampshire grants ; Thomas, Ebenezer, and Jabez. The second Thomas, so^n of Thomas and Sai'ab, baptized by Rev. Mr.. "Woodward, July 22, 1701, married Ann Bingham, 1730, They had eight children. Their oldest son, the third Thom-as Baldwin, born in 1734^ studied medicine, and after a short term of practice, entered the army as surgeon, and served in that capacity on the frontier, in the wars against the French. He died in the prince of life, and probably while in the service, before he had attained his SOth year. He had married at a very early age, and left a widow, and an only son^ wlio continued the paternal name, and gave to it a distinguished reputa- tion. This fourth Thomas Baldwin, in regular succession, was born in the Bozi-ah district of Norwich, Dec. 23, 1753, and considered in the light of a self-taught man, deriving but little aid from schools or books, and gathering mental treasures slowly, in the intervals of a laborious farming^ life, was one of the most noted characters that the Nine-miles-square haa pi'oduced. His mother married a second husband of the name of Eames, and when he was about sisteen years of age tbe family removed to Canaan, N. H.,. where they breasted the hardships of a frontier life. In that mountainous^ lialf-opened, sparsely-inhabited district, tbe ministerial labors of Thomas Baldwin commenced. He married, in September, 1775, Ruth Hunting- ton of Norwich, (one of the Ruth Munthigtons, it might be said, for that has been a name often duplicated in Norwich,) and spent several years,, farming and studying, traveling and preaching, — a pains-taking, hard- working, unpaid evangelisfc of the Baptist denomination. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 163 From these useful but obscure scenes, he was suddenly transferred, in the year 1790, to the pastorate of a large, intelligent and wealthy society in Boston. Yet he rose naturally to the requisite standard, and filled this new sphere as successfully as the former. The native vigor of his intel- lect was equal to all demands made upon it. He became known as an author, editor, and theologian, and exerted a powerful influence in favor of the denomination to which he belonged, concentrating its energies and greatly enlarging the sphei'e of Its operations. He died suddenly, at "Waterville, Maine, while on a visit to that place,- Aug. 29, 1824, aged 71. Capt. Ebenezer Baldwin, the third son of Thomas and Sarah, was born May 7, 1710, and married Bethiah Barker, the nuptial contract being made sure " per Jacob Elliot." The epitaph upon his tomb-stone con- *denses the history of his life. In Memory of Capt. Ebenezer Baldwin, who departed tins life May 2d 1792, aged 80 yeai-s, A reputable citizen, A kind husband, a tender parent, An amiable cheerful neighbour, And a good man. Supported by Christian fortitude He bore with singular Philosophy the peculiar calamities of his life during nine years of blindness and infirmity and the extreme pains of his last lingering sickness in the sure hope of a long wished for Eternity of happiness. Ebenezer, the oldest son of Ebenezer and Bethiah Baldwin, born July 3, 1745, was a graduate and tutor of Yale College ; ordained pastor at Danbury in 1770, entered the army as chaplain in 1776, and died in October, 1777, aged 31. PIou. Simeon Baldwin, so long known as Judge Baldwin of New Haven, one of the sterling men of Connecticut, was also a son of Capt. Ebenezer and his wife Bethiah. He was born at Norwich, Dec. 14, 1761, gradu- ated at Yale College in 1781, was member of Congress from Connecticut from 1803 to 1805, Associate Judge of the Superior Court and Supreme Court of Errors, and Mayor of the city of New Haven, where he died. May 20, 1851, in his 90th year. His son, the Hon. Roger S. Baldwin, held the offices of Governor of Connecticut, and U. S. Senator, serving his native state in her highest 164 HISTORY OF NORWICH. executive and confederated capacity. He' died at New Haven, Feb. 19, 1863. Jabez Baldwin, the fourth son of the first Thomas, died in his 25th year, without issue. VIII. Bingham. The house-lot of Thomas Bingham bears the date of April, 1G60, though at that time he could not have been over eighteen years of age. He mar- ried, Dec. 12, 16G6, Mary Kudd, who is supposed to have been the daugh- ter of Lieut. Jonathan Rudd of Saybrook. Her image rises before us enveloped in a haze of romance, on account of her probable connection with the story of Bride Brook. The dainty little river or rivulet that bears this name, is in East Lyme, and received its designation from a marriage ceremony that was performed on its bank in the latter part of the year 1G46, or the early part of 1647. The couple linked together were Jonathan Rudd and some unknown fair one to whom with little hazard of mistake we may give the gentle name of Mary. New London and Saybrook were then adjoining towns, though Lyme, East Lyme and Waterford have since seated themselves between. The scene of this solemn betrotlial was a solitary spot, far from any human habitation, unless it might have been of savage wigwams ; the ground was covered with snow, and the solemnities must have been performed in the open air. Witnesses were not wanting on this interesting occasion. The air, we may believe, was full, — and a goodly number belonging to the earth, stood around, wrapped in their furry robes. John Winthrop, Esq., afterward Governor of the Colony, was the acting magistrate; a friendly cavalcade accompanied him from New London, which, with the bridal party from Saybrook, and a few wild faces peering curiously from the woods, made a company sufficient to relieve the wilderness of its silence and solitude. Tins enlivening piece of romance, which comes like the breath from a bank of violets across the sterile ridges of our early history, originated from what the historian may consider a fortunate concurrence of untoward events. No person duly qualified to perform the nuptial service was to be found in Saybrook, and the route to Hartford was too much obstructed with snow to admit of travel in that direction. Application was made to Mr. Winthrop at Pequot Harbor to come to Saybrook and ratify the con- tract ; but he had been commissioned by Massachusetts, and his settlement being under the jurisdiction of that colony, he could not exercise the func- tions of a magistrate within the limits of Connecticut. To obviate the difficulty, he proposed to meet the parties upon the border of the two gov- HISTORY OF NORWICH. 165 ernraents, and there, under the open expanse of heaven, to rivet the golden chain. This arrangement not only gave novelty and brilliance to the ceremony, but made it an incident of historical importance, subse- quently cited and accepted as reliable testimony in a case relating to the original bounds of the two plantations.* The name of the bride of Bride Brook has not been recovered. Mary Rudd, who became the wife of the young Norwich proprietor, Thomas Bingham, is supposed to have been a daughter of the couple who were there united, and probably their first-born child.f Her age at the time of her death carries her birth back to 1648. Thomas and Mary Bingham had eleven children, four of them daugh- ters, viz., Mary, Ann, Abigail, and Deborah, who became in due time the household partners of John Backus, Hezekiah Mason, Daniel Huntington, and Stephen Tracy. The parents, with the greater part of their family, removed to Windham, where Thomas Bingham can be traced for more than thirty years, as sergeant, selectman, and deacon of the church. He is on the first list of approved inhabitants in 1693, and appears to have sustained through life a position of influence and respectability. Both in a civil and religious capacity, he takes rank among the fathers of that town. J He died Jan. 16, 1729-30, aged 88. Mrs. Mary Bingham died Aug. 4, 1726, aged 78. Thomas Bingham, .Jr., boi-n Dec. 11, 1669, was the only one of the sons that settled permanently in Norwich, and succeeded to the privileges of his father as a proprietor of the town. He married Hannah, daughter of William Backus, and died April 1, 1710, leaving eight children under the age of 1 went to Windham. John, Joseph and Daniel are found among the early inhabitants of Lebanon, though it is not certain that they all remained there. * Mass. Hist. Coll., 3 : 8, 272. t A Thomas Birchard died at Dorchester, near Boston, Oct. 3, 1657. Savage's Gen. Diet., 1, 181. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 167 James Birehard, born JuJy K'u 1G.0."J, scltled at Norwich West Farms, now Franklin. He married Elizabeth Beckwith, had a family of ten •children, and lived to be more than eighty years of age. Thomas Birchard also settled in Norwich, and left descendants. The 2iame has never disappeared from the roll of inhabitants. The two daughters of the jii-oprietor, John Birehax'd, married John Calkins and Jonathan IIai-tshorn« X. Bliss. Thomas Bliss, Senior and Junior, had house-lots and divisions of land in Hartford, as early as 1G40. The senior died in Hartford, leaving nine -children, and his -widow, Margaret, apparently a woman of resolute, inde- pendent character, removed with the younger part of the family to Spring- field. Thomas Bliss, Junior, is afterwards found at Saybrook, where his marriage and the births of six -children are recorded. The list is repeated with some variation of date and the addition of two more children, at Nor- wich. The wife's family name is not given in either place. "Thomas and Elizabeth BUss v/ere married the latter end of October, 1<)44." The allotments of Thomas Bliss in Saybroek were eastward of the river in what is now Lyme. His house-lot of thirty acres lay between John Ompsted (Olmstead) on the north, and John Lay south. He sold it, July 23, 1662, to John Comsteck. His home-lot in Norwdch was also near to ihat of John Olmstead, extending originally, at the north-west, to the pent highway. That part where the house stands, has never been alienated. Seven generations have dwelt on the same spot, and the house is supposed not to have been entireiy rebuilt since it was erected by the first pro- prietor-* Thomas Bliss died April 15, 1688. His will, executed two days before his death, -was proved at New London, before Edward Palmes, June 13, and allowed by Sir Edmund Andr * Was aot the vessel her namesake I 170 HISTORY OP NORWICH. describing it as " my home lot in Norwich with my new dwelling house and pasture adjoining, 8^ acres, more or less, abutting on the town street, 19^ rods." The price was £50 in country pay, or £25 in money.* About this time Thomas Bradford engaged, in connection w^ith his brother-in-law, Nehemiah Smith of New London, (son of N. S., senior, of Norwich,) in a large land purchase, made of Joseph and Jonathan Bull of Hartford. This land lay on the west side of Nahantic Bay, and was called the Soldier Farm, having been originally granted by the Leg- islature to five of Capt, Mason's soldiers for services in the Pequot war. On the northern portion of this tract, was a farm of about two hundred acres, where Thomas Bradford settled. His house was not far from the north-western corner of New London, as the bounds were then understood. It would now fall Avithin the town of Salem, Thomas Bradford was a son of Major William Bradford of Plymouth. He died in 1708. Two of Major Bradford's daughters, own sisters of Thomas, found partners among the inhabitants of Norwich. Alice, relict of Rev. Wm. Adams of Dedham, who became the second wife of Major James Fitch ; and Melatiah, who married John Steele, then a resident of the town^ / Joseph Bradford, another of the fifteen children of Major William of Plymouth, also came to Connecticut. He married Anna, the youngest daughter of the Eev. James Fitch, and settled first in Lebanon. After the death of his wife, he made important purchases in the Mohegan terri- tory, between Norwich and New London, and removed to this new field in 1716. The district in which he settled was then the North Parish of New London, but is now the town of Montville. The births of ten children of Joseph and Anna Bradford are recorded at Lebanon, — one son, Joseph, and nine daughters. Among them are three couplets, or pairs of twins. He had also, by a second wife, a son John, born May 20, 1717, at Mohegan. Mr. Bradford was the only son of Major William Bradford by his second wife, who was the widow Wiswall. From his gravestone in the Montville Cemetery, we learn that he was born in 1675. "In memory of Lieutenant Joseph Bradford, who died Janj. 16, 1647, in the TSd. year of his age." * Three Hantington houses were afterwards built on this lot, and still retain their places. They were occupied for many years by the brothers, Andrew, Joshua, and Ebenezer, sons of General Jabez Huntington. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 171 XIII. Hugh Calkins. Hugh Calkins (or Caulkin.s*) was one of a body of emigrants, called the Welsh Company, that came to New England in 1G40, from Chepstow in Monmouthshire, on the border of AVales, with their minister, the Rev. Mr. Blinman. The larger portion of this company settled first at Marsh- field, but soon transferred their residence to Gloucester, upon the rough l^romontory of Cape Ann. From thence, after eight years of experiment, most of them removed to New London, hoping probably to find lands more aral)le and productive, and allured also by affectionate attachment to Mr. Blinman, wliom Mr. Winthrop had invited to his plantation. Hugh Calkins was, in 1 650, deputy from Gloucester to the General Court of Massachusetts, and chosen again in 1G51, but removing early in that year to New London, the vacancy Avas filled by another election. While living at New London, he was chosen twelve times deputy to the Connecticut Assembly, (the elections being semi-annual,) and was one of the townsmen, or select-men, invariably, fron> 1G52 till he removed to Norwich. From Norwich he was deputy at ten sessions of the Legislature, be- tween ]March, 1663, and October, 1671, and was one of the first deacons of the Norwich church. At each of the three towns in which he was aa early settler and proprietor, he was largely employed in public business, being usually appointed one of committees for consultation, for fortifying, drafting soldiers, settling difficulties, and particularly for surveying lands and determining boundaries. These ofiices imply a considerable range of information, as well as activity and executive talent, yet he seems to have had no early education, uniformly making only a bold H for his signature. In a deposition made in 1672, he staled that he was then 72 years of age. The year 1600 may therefore be taken as the date of his birth. Of his wife, we only know that her name was Ann. Six children have been traced, four of whom were probably born before the emigration to this country. Sarah, supposed to be the oldest child, was married at Gloucester, Oct. 28, 1645, to AVilliam Hough. This couple removed in 1651 to New Lon- don, and several of their descendants afterwards settled in Norwich and its vicinity. Mary was married at Gloucester, Nov. 8, 1 649, to Hugh Roberts ; and these also followed the fortunes of the family to New London. Rebecca died at Gloucester, March 14, 1651. Deborah was born at Gloucester, March 18, 1643-4, and is the only * Tlie name appears on the early records, written indifferently, with or without tho u, and with or without the final a. 172 HISTORY OF NORWICH. one of the children the date of whose birth has been ascertainedi. She married Jonathan Royce, one of the first band of Norwich proprietors. The two sons of Hugh Calkins were John and David. The former removed with his father to Norwich. David remained in New London. Deacon Hugh Calkins died in 1690, aged about 90 years. XIV. John Calkins. John Calkins, the oldest son of Hugh, was probably born about 1634. He was old enough to be summoned to work, with other settlers, on the mill-dam at New London in 1652. He married, at New London, Sarah, daughter of Robert Royce, and his oldest child, Hugh, was born at that place before the removal to Norwich. John Calkins was one of the selectmen of Norwich in 1671, and on the jury of the county court so late as 1691. He died Jan. 8, 1702-3. Sarah, his relict, died May 1, 1711, aged 77 years. They had three daughters that lived to niaturity, Sai'ah, Mary, and Elizabeth, who mar- ried in the same order, Thomas Baldwin, Samuel GifFord, and Samuel Hyde. They had also three sons, older than the daughters : 1. Hugh, born in June, 1659, married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Slu- man and step-daughter of Solomon Tracy. She died in 1703, and he married, second, Lois Standish, probably daughter of Capt. Josiah Stand- ish of Preston. He had five children, and left them at his death what was then consid- ered a large estate. After providing for the widow, the oldest son had a double portion, and the others inherited equal shares of £203 10s.* INSCRIPTION UPON HIS GRAVE-STONE. SERt H V GH CALKINGS DYED S E P T R 15. 1722 IN YE 63D Year OF HIS AGE. 2. John, the second son of the proprietor John, born in July, 1661, — probably the third male child born in Norwich, — married Abigail Birch- ard, Oct. 23, 1690, and subsequently removed to Lebanon. He was the first constable of that town, chosen at its organization, May 31, 1698, and corporal of the first militia company, 1700. * The inventory of his effects, taken a few days after his death, mentions the articles of honey, beeswax, butter, cider, and metheglin, which shows the variety of domestic produce of that day. Metheghn was a favorite beverage of the old inhabitants. HISTOEY OF NORWICH. 173 His youngest son, James, born Aj.ril 29, 1702, is on the list of Yale College graduates as 31r. Jacohus Galhing, 1725. He was an ordained minister, and officiated as such for several years, but afterwards settled as a farmer in the western district of Norwich, where he died in 1750. 3. Samuel, the third son of John, settled in Lebanon. Stephen, the son of Samuel, born in 170G, was an actii'e, stalwart, enterprising farmer, famous in his time as a cattle-drover or horse-courser. He may be traced by deeds, and town and court records, as a resident at Norwich, New London, Lyme, Lebanon, and finally at Sharon, Ct., where several of his sons settled, and from whence, after the Revolutionary war, his descend- ants spread into western New York. XV. Edgerton. No earlier notice is obtained of Richard Edgerton, than the date of his marriage, which is recorded at Saybrook, but without naming the wife. The omission is supplied by the ampler details at Norwich. Richard Edgerton and Mary Sylvester were married April 7, 1653. The birth of three daughters is registered at Saybrook, reaching to September, 1659, and in November of that year we have the date of his house-lot at Nor- wich. In this new home, six other children are added to the list, four of them sons, John, Richard, Samuel, and Joseph, each of whom Ij^came the head of a family. Richard, the proprietor, served at diiferent periods as townsman and constable. He died in March, 1692. John Edgerton, one of the earliest-born sons of Norwich, (b. June 12, 1662,) married Mary Reynolds, and died soon afterward, leaving an infant son John, afterward known as Lieut. John Edgerton, the father of Capt. Elisha Edgerton of the Revolutionary period. Richard Edgerton, 2d, married Elizabeth Scudder, Jan. 4, 1692. He died in 1729, and his aged relict in 1762. Samuel Edgerton married Alice Ripley, and died in 1748. Captain James Edgei-ton, a noted ship-master of New London, who died in 1842, was a descendant of this couple. Joseph, the youngest son of the proprietor, was one of the original planters of Leljanon. 174 HISTORY OF NORWICH. XVI. Gager. William Gager came to America in 1630, with Gov. Winthroii, but died the same year from a disease contracted by ill diet at sea, which swept off many of the emigrants. He is characterized by cotemporary journalists as " a skilful surgeon, a right godly man, and one of the dea- cons of our congregation."* His son John, the only child that has been traced,t was one of the company that settled at New London with John Winthrop the younger.J His name is there found on the earliest extant list of inhabitants. He had a grant from the town of New London, of a farm of two hund- red acres,§ east of the river, near the straits, (now in Ledyard,) to which he removed soon after 1 650, and there dwelt until he joined in the settle- ment of Norwich and removed thither. His house-lot in the new town bears the date of the oldest surveys, viz., November, 1659. He was con- stable of Norwich in 1674 and 1688. His oldest son, born in September, 1647, who in 1688 is styled "John Gager of New London, son to John, Sen. of Norwich," died in 1691, without issue. The will of John Gager, the proprietor, dated Dec. 21, 1695, has the descriptive passage, "being now aged and full of days;" but he lived eight years longer, dying Dec. 10, 1703. His will provides for wife Elizabeth, bequeathes all real estate to "only son Samuel," and adds "to my six sons that married my daughters, viz. John AUyn, Daniel Brewster, Jeremiah Ripley, Simon Huntington, Joshua Abel and Caleb Forbes,|| twenty shil- lings each, having already given their wives considerable portions in move- ables and lands." It was much the custom in those days for men who had children arrived at maturity, to become in great part their own executors, distributing their estates by deed and assignment before death, reserving only a needful portion for themselves, to be disposed of afterwards. This accounts for * Sec Prince's Chronology, 1630; also, Life and Letters of John Winthrop. t Gov. Winthrop, in a letter of Nov. 29, 1630, says : " I have lost twelve of my family," — and among them enumerates Mr. Gager and his wife and two children. Savage's Winthrop, App. Vol. I. X The elder Gov. Winthrop remembered him in the following item of his last will and testament : " I will that John Gager shall have a cow, one of the best I shall have, in recom- pense of a heifer his father bought of me, and two ewe goats, and ten bushels of Indian corn." Sav. Winth., App. Vol. 11. § Sold in 1696 to Kalph Stoddard. II Had he mentioned the names of the wives in the order of their age, they would have been, Elizabeth Allyn, Sarah Forbes, Bethiah Abel, Lydia Huntington, Hannah Brewster, and Mary Ripley. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 175 the slendemess of many ancient inventories. That of John Gager in 1703 amounted to £49 16s. Among the items enumerated are, — One great BibelL One white-faced stag. This last we may imagine to have been a domestic pet of the old peo- ple. Several articles are mentioned belonging to the old-fashioned fire- place, which the modem use of stove, furnace and range has rendered almost obsolete ; such as, — Two tramiUs, a peal and tongs. A suit, warming-pan and andirons. A peal (or peel) was a large flat shovel used to draw bread from the oven. A common shovel was often termed a slice, and sjiit was probably used for snuffers.* Other articles that seem antique and homely to the present generation, were porringers, wooden trenchers, and syllabub pots. Many curious things are found in these old inventories, — very common articles are canns, of pewter or silver, piggins, keelers, pewter basins, and a cow-bell. Samuel Gager, only surviving son of John, born Feb., 1654, married Re- becca (Lay), relict of Daniel Raymond of New London, in 1695. He was a man of good repute and considerable estate, a resident in the parish of New Concord, but interred at his own request, as heretofore stated, in the old neglected grave-yard of the first-comers, in the town-plot, where some fragments of the stone may yet remain. William Gagei', one of the sons of Samuel, born in 1704, graduated at Yale College in 1721, and in 1725 was settled in the pastoral office at Lebanon. He died in 1759. Othniel Gager, who has held the office of Town Clerk in Norwich for the last quarter of a century, is of the sixth generation in descent from the first proprietor, in the line of John, oldest son of Samuel. XVIL GiFFOKD. Stephen GifFord's first marriage was with Hannah Gove, in JMay, 1667. She died Jan. 24, 1670-1, leaving two children, Samuel and Hannah. He married, second, Hannah, daughter of John Gallop of Stonington, May 12, 1672. Four children are subsequently recorded to him, — John, Ruth, Stephen, and Aquilla. * See Bntte ia Webster. 176 HISTOEY OP NORWICH. The proprietor and his second wife lived together more than half a century, and died the same year. Twin head-stones of rough granite record their decease. MR MRS STEPHEN GIFF HANNAH GIF ORD DYEDNOVr ford DYEDJANy 27. 1724. AGED 20. 1724. AGED 83YERS. 79YERS. Samuel Gifford removed to Lebanon in 1692, and there died, Aug. 26, 1714. The two daughters of Stephen, the proprietor, also settled in Leb- anon, as the wives of Samuel Calkins and Jeremiah Fitch. John, Stc» phea and Aquilla GifFord, sons of the first proprietor, were inhabitants of Norwich in 1736. They left descendants, and the name has continued on the rolls of freemen and among the substantial farmers of the neigh- borhood to the present day. XVin. Griswold. The brothers Matthew and Edward Griswold were natives of Kenil- worth, in Warwickshire, England.* The latter, according to a deposition in the State Records at Hartford, was born in 1607. The date of their emigration to this country has not been ascertained. Edward is found at Windsor not long after 1640, and is supposed to have brought with him from England a wife, Margaret, and several children, others being added to the group in this country. Li 1664 he removed to Ivillingworth, as one of the leaders in the settlement of that place, and was its first magis- trate. It may be inferred also that he stood sponsor when the name was given, Killingworth, or Killinsworth, answering to the popular pronuncia- tion of his native place in England. Lieut. Francis Griswold, the Norwich proprietor, was a son of Edward * Copy of a depositioa made by George Griswold of Killingworth : "George Griswold, about 61, testifieth— " That in his youtiiful years he lived with his fother in England, in a town called Killinsworth in Warwickshire-^-he did several times since heare his fatiier Edwai-d Griswould say that the house he then lived in and lands belonging thereto was his brother Matthew Griswoulds and have lately seen and read a letter under the hand of Thomas Griswould of Killinsworth abovesd, directed to his brother Matthew Griswould afores'd, wherein the said Thomas Griswould intimated that he did then live in the abovesd house, belonging to his said brother Matthew aforesd. Sworn before Joseph Curtiss, Assistant. May 9, 1700." HISTORY OF NORWICH. 177 and Margaret, born about 1632. He appears to have been a man of capacity and enterprise, and took an active part in the affairs of the plant- ation, serving as representative to the General Court for eleven sessions, beginning October, 1664, and ending May, 1671. It is not known when he was married, or to whom. Not even the household name of his wife is found in the records at Saybrook or Nor- wich. At the former place is the following registry : " Children of Francis Grisell. Saraw b. 28 March, 1653. Joseph, b. 4 June 1655, d. tlie hitter end of July, the same year. Mary, b. 26 August 1G56 : Hanna, b. 11 December, 1658." From Norwich records: " Some of the children of Lieut. Griswold dec'd. Deborah born in May 1661. Lydia in June 1663 and died in 1664. Samuel in Sept. 1665, Margaret in October 1668. Lydia in October 1671." Lieut. Griswold died the same month, October, 1671, — cut down appa- rently by some sudden attack of disease, leaving seven of the above-named children, varying in age from an infant of days to eighteen years. Thomas Adgate and John Post, Sen., acted as guardians to the younger children. The daughters were very early provided with eligible part- ners. Sarah was married to Robert Chapman of Saybrook, June 27, 1671. Mary to Jonathan Tracy, July 11, 1672; second marriage to Eleazer Jewett, Sept. 3, 1717. Hannah to William Clark of Saybrook, March 7, 1678. Deborah to Jonathan Crane, Dec. 19, 1678. Margaret to Thomas Buckingham, oldcjst son of the Rev. Thomas Buckingham of Saybrook, Dec. 16, 1691. Samuel Griswold became a married man at the age of twenty, follow- ing his sisters in the flowing stream of youthful connections. Young people in those days, scarcely waiting to reach maturity, chose their part- ners and marched on with rapid and joyous steps to the temple of Hymen. The companion of Samuel Griswold was Susannah, daughter of Christo- pher Huntington, and the wedding took place on her 17th birth-duy, Dec. 10, 1685. About the middle of the 18th century, a branch of the Grisvv'^old family of Norwich removed to Sharon, Ct. It consisted of three brothers, Fran- cis, Daniel, and Adonijah, grandsons of Capt. Samuel Griswold. Capt. Adonijah Griswold was in the army of the Revolution. 12 178 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The grave-stone of Capt. Samuel Griswold has the following epitaph ; Here lies interred ye Remains of Capt. Sam uel Griswold the first Captain of the 2d Company of train bands in Norwich. He was born in Norwich Septr 1665 and died on ye 9th day of DecemV 1740 in the 76"^ year of his ao;e. XIX. Hendt. This name is identical with Hende, Hendys, and Handy. Richard Hendy seems to have been one of the first purchasers of Norwich, and to have had an early allotment in the neighborliood of the town-plot. He also shared in the first divisions of land, but there is no evidence of his actual residence at any time in the settlement. In 1660 and '61 a person of this name was at work upon vessels at New London and Newport. A Richard Handy, four or five years later, was proprietor of a mill built by John Elderkin on the Menunkatesuck river at Ivillingworth, and died at that place, Aug. 4, 1670. This mill at Ivillingworth, and fifty acres of land on Westward Hill in Norwich, were among his assets.* The same year the townsmen of Norwich directed that the children of Richard Hendy, deceased, should have a share in the divisions of common land equal with other proprietors. From these and other concurrent facts, it is evident that Richard Hendy, the Norwich proprietor, and Richard Handy, of Killingworth, were one and the same person. Hannah, the wife of Richard Handy, was a daughter of John Elder- kin. Only three children appear as heirs, Jonathan, Richard, and Han- nah. Elderkin was their guardian, and settled the estate. Richard lived in the family of Elderkin, and became an inhabitant of Norwich. Han- nah married Samuel Belding of Wethersfield, Jan. 14, 1685. * Conn. Col. Bee., 2, 191. t The author is indebted for this fact and other information concerning: Eichard Handy of Killingworth, to R. D. Smith, Esq., of Guilford. Miss Sally Handy, the last of the name in Guilford, died Feb. 28, 1849, almost a centenarian. She was bom March 20, 1750. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 179 XX. Howard. The house-lot of Thomas Howard has the same date as those of Fitch and Mason. Of his antecedent history no information has been obtained. His family registry at Norwich is as follows : "Thomas Howard and Mary Wellman were married in January, 166G. Children : Mary born in Dec. 1667. Sarah in Feb. 1669. Martha in Feb. 1672, and died one month after. Thomas born in March 1673, and Benjamin in June 1675." Thomas Howard was slain at the Narragansett fort fight, Dec. 17, 1G75. The County Court settled the estate in the following manner: to the relict twenty-four pounds, with a third of the profits of the lands dur- ing life ; to Thomas, sixty pounds ; to Benjamin, thirty-two ; to Mary, thirty-two ; to Sarah, thirty. John Calkins and John Biix-hard to be overseers. In August, 1677, Mrs. Howard became the wife of William Moore, and removed with him to Windham, where Mr. Moore died, April 28,. 1728, aged 87. Huntington. The Huntington pedigree offers a good illustration of the uncertainty of tradition, even when the details appear to have been carefully pre- served, and the lapse of time is not more than a century. The Rev. Joseph Huntington, of Coventry, Ct., of the fourth generation from the first emigrant, collected and embodied the reminiscences that had been preserved in the family concerning their progenitor, which were in sub- stance these : That the ancestor of the family, Simon Huntington, was a citizen of Norwich in England, who, during the reign of Charles the First, (about 1640,) embarked witli his wife and three sons for America; that he was a Puritan, suffering from persecution, but liad a brother Samuel who was captain of the king's life-guard, and liigli in the royal favor ; that the said Simon Huntington was nearly fifty years of age, his wife some years younger, and their three sons, Christopher, Simon, and Samuel, in the bloom of youth ; and that they made tlieir course for the mouth of Con- f necticut river. "But our progenitor, (says the MS.,) being seized with a- J violent fever and dysenteiy, died witiiin sight of the sliore ; whither he » was brought, and now lies buried, either in Saybrook or Lyme, as both ■j towns were but one at first." The above statement was long unquestioned, and has been repeated and perpetuated in various narratives and historical annals. It is, how- 180 HISTORY OF NORWICH. ever, ascertained from authentic documents that the family arrived at an earlier date and upon a different part of the coast, and the other incidents mentioned have not been substantiated by later inquiries. The church record at Roxbury, Mass., contains the following entry, in the hand-writing of the Rev. John Eliot, who was then the minister of that place : "Margaret Huntington, widow, came in 1633. Her husband died by the way, of the small pox. She brought children with her." The rest is left blank. The name of the husband is not mentioned, nor the names or number of the children, but the record makes it evident that this emigrant family landed in Massachusetts and not at Saybrook, and if the husband was buried on the coast, it was more likely to be on Nantas- ket beach than on the banks of the Connecticut. The widow Margaret Huntington united with Roxbury church, and is afterward found at Windsor, Ct., as the wife of Thomas Stoughton, the family having removed thither in 1635 or '36. Tradition is uniform in naming the husband who died on the voyage, 'Simon, and a letter registered in an ancient volume of Connecticut Records that has been recently brought to light,* enables us to settle some points respecting this Huntington family, that were formerly left doubtful; viz., the number of the children, the order of seniority of the sons, and the .maiden name of the mother. This letter, written from Norwich, England, April 20, 1650, and ad- . dressed to "Cozen Christopher Huntington," acknowledges a letter from .liirn dated at Seahrook, Sept. 20, 1649, and is signed, " Your loving uncle, Peter Baret." It relates principally to the disposition to be made of certain remittances that had been forwarded by the writer to his brother Stawton, [Stoughton,] amounting to £140, which he directs to be divided in certain proportions, as his gift, between the three brothers and their sister Ann.f We learn from this letter that the children of Margaret Huntino-ton were four in number : three sons, Christopher, Simon, and Thomas, appa- rently in this order of seniority, and a daughter Ann, whose position in * C. J. Hoadly, Esq., State Librarian, has recovered a long-missing volume of the Records of the Particular and Probate Court from 1650 to 1663, and two volumes of Land and Miscellaneous Records, 1640 to 1656, whose existence was not known. In ■ one of these latter volumes, the letter referred to is found. \ William Huntington, who settled at Salisbury, Mass., is the ancestor of a distinct line of Huntingtons. His relationship, if there was any, with the family of the widow ^Margaret, has not been ascertained. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 181 the line is uncertain. The whole group, at the time of their emigration, were probably under eight years of age. The letter shows also that the mother of the family was originally Margaret Baret, of Norwich, Eng. From Bloomfield's History of that ancient town, we learn that Christopher Baret was Mayor of Norwich in 1G34, and again in 1G48. It is not unlikely that this Mayor was the father or a near relative of INIargaret, and that from him the oft-repeated name of Christopher first crept into the Huntington nomenclature. Of the daughter, Ann, nothing further is known. We may presume that her uncle's marriage dowry of £27 would assist in settling her eligi- bly in life, and we may yet obtain some fortunate hint that will show into what family she was ingrafted. Thomas Huntington, though apparently the youngest of the brothers,* was the first admitted to political privileges. He was made a freeman by the General Court at Hartford in May, 1G57 ; Christopher in May, 1C58 ; Simon, not till after his settlement in Norwich, 1663. Thomas Huntington was one of the company that first purchased and settled Newark in New Jersey. This company was gathered from the ■towns on the southern coast of Connecticut, from Milford to New London inclusive, and had the Rev. Abraham Pierson for their spiritual guide. Previous to their departure from Connecticut, a body of the planters met at Branford, and adopted, Oct. 30, 1660, certain ''fundamental agreements touching their intended design." This was signed by twenty-three "heads of families," of whom Thomas Huntington was one. He is subsecjuently traced at Newark, as sergeant of the train-band in 1675; afterward, as one of the seven townsmen to whom the municipal aflfairs of the plantation were intrusted, and finally as deputy to the As- sembly in 1658.t He had a son, Samuel, who continued the line in New Jersey. XXI. CiiRisTOPiiEii Huntington. Christopher and Simon Huntington probably settled at Saybrook as soon as they attained their majority. Christopher was there in 1649, apparently engaged in trade, and had written to his uncle Baret in Eng- land, for consignments of cloth and shot. In 1651, he was one of five persons who seized a Dutch vessel that was on the coast trading illegally * From the letter of his uncle, Peter Baret, in 1G50, Thomas seems to have been the only one of the ehildren then under age. lie directs that the bonus of Thomas shall "he jiut into some good hand and security taken for it, till he become able to em])loy it," while the others receive their shares at once. Thomas was probably IG or 17 years of age. t Gen. Hist. Reg., 8, 186. 182 HISTORY OP NORWICH. with the Indians. He married Ruth, daughter of Wilham Rockwell of Windsor, Oct. 7, 1652. They lost one child, and perhaps more than one, in infancy, and when the removal to Norwich took place, the parents had only their little daughter, Ruth, to carry through the wilderness. But a blessing soon descended upon their new home ; a son was born, a second Christopher, Nov. 1st, 16G0.* The first horn male in Norwich. The children of Christopher Huntington were subsequently increased to seven in number, while Simon had a family of ten. They both lived to embrace their children's children, and to see the family hives swarm and emigrants pass off to alight in the woods and wastes of Windham, Mansfield, and Lebanon. Thomas, the second son, born in 1G64, was one of the early settlers of Windham. Christopher Huntington, 1st, died in 1G91, as is indicated by the pro- bate of his estate that year. No other record gives the date. He was probably buried in the Gager and Post burial-ground, and no stone marks his grave. The second Christopher Huntington, the first-born son of Norwich, executed the office of Town Clerk and Recorder for twenty years, and was deacon of the church from 1696 to 1735. The two wives of Deacon Christopher were Sarah Adgate, and Judith, widow of Jonathan Brewster. He had a family of twelve children ; seven sons and four daughters survived him. His oldest child, Ruth, was the mother of Di*. Eleazer Wheelock, the founder of the first Indian school at Lebanon, and the first Pi-esident of Dartmouth College. * What a pleasant excitement this event must have caused in the young plantation ! The inliabitants, well housed, with plenty of corn, beans and pumpkins in store, (not to mention acorns, for coffee,) were reposing after the toils of the first arduous season, and liad leisure to engage in huskings, nuttings, oyster-parties, neighborly visits, and conference-meetings. And lo ! a child of promise appears, the herald of a numerous race. Norwich has not only daughters, but a son, to wliom the right of primogeniture belongs. How swiftly tlie news passes from house to house ! What congratulations and kindly inquiries are dropped at tiie door. What lively sallies are indulged, and adventurous calculations made respecting future rates of increase, and conjectures how the population will stand ten, twenty, or a hundred years hence ! What a thronging to the baptism of the little Christopher. He is wrapped perhaps in some sacred child- blanket brought from England, which is kept as a venerated relic of ancestral drapery. The blessed Mr, Fitch performs the ceremony with so much unction, that the audience is moved, and the women in little mob caps wipe their eyes. As they go out of meet- ing, one says to another, " A precious sarmont ! " or, perhaps, " A solemn sarcum- stance ! " — while a young damsel whispers to her companion, " Didn't he look peerl for such a young one 1 I wish Christenings would come every Sunday ! " HISTORY OP NORWICH 183 Slabs of gray stone, broad, lo.v, and quaintly carved, point out the spot where this worthy deacon, the sou of the wilderness, was laid. OV iDHj C -^ C HAT $ T OPHE, U l-EYKTlhl^j TON OT rtOHWTdH- ^ 30R!\r KOV^/W-| ^EAJ<. UOY^AH^ IN §- OFTTCE or A t>y^A con W X)t:ed ArKFL-r 2^>/)3S-^U^ r/S-Y^ Orn/:s AGE ni:MEN'Tb MORI. '^!W^^41niJ^'iV^i1^^fe5K^M#tVJ^f^;^^^^ 184 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Christopher Huntington, 3cl, was born in 1686. Christopher Hunting- ton, 4th, born in 1719, was a physician in the parish of New Concord. Tliese four Christophers were in the direct line, each tlie oldest son of his father, but the fiftli Christopher was the youngest son of the fourtli. He succeeded his father as a physician in New Concord, or Bozrali, wliere he died in 1821. His oldest son, tlie sixtli Christopher, settled in Hartford, where he died in 1834, and with him the direct line of the Christophers ends, other names in the family of the last-mentioned Christopher taking the place of the old heir loom. XXn. Simon Huntington. The title of Deacon became very early a familiar appendage to the name of Huntington. Out of twenty deacons of the first church, seven have been Huntingtons,* six of whom held the ofiice over thirty years each. In the line of Simon, the deaconship descended from father to son througli four successive generations, Simon, 1st, Simon, 2d, Ebenezer, and Simon, 3d, covering a period of 120 years. Deacon Barnabas Hunting- ton of Franklin was also a progenitor of deacons.! Other churches in the vicinity have been prone to select their ministering servants from the same cognomen. Near the close of tlie liist century there were six Deacon Huntingtons officiating at one period, in as many different parislies of Norwicli and the neigliboring towns. Simon Huntington, the proprietor, was luiited to Sarah, daughter of Joseph Clarke of Saybrook, in October, 1653. They lived together fifty- three years, and she survived him fifteen, dying in 1721, at the age of 88. Tliis was probably the earliest, but not the only one of the first thirty-five w'edded pairs, that could have celebrated the golden period of their con- nubial life, if at that day such festivals had been in vogue. Deacon Simon left an estate appraised at £275. The inventory of his books may be worth quoting as a specimen of what was doubtless a feir library for a layman in 1706. * Eight, if we include the first Christopher Huntiugton, who is usually placed on the list ; but there does not appear to be any contemporary evidence that he held the office. The statement is derived from minutes made by Dr. Lord, in which the first Christo- pher was probably confounded with the second. t " The old Franklin homestead was for a long period in the possession of deacons, and what is not a little remarkable, these deacons, each in bis day and generation, kept tavern under the sign of the Seven Stars, which shone with steady lustre for the ben- efit and bountiful cheer of wayfarers on the old Lebanon road." Speech of Hon. Asahel Huntington of Salem, Mass., at the Huntington Gathering at Norwich, Sejjt. 3, 1857. HISTOEY OF NORWICH. 185 "A great Bible 10s. Another great bible 8s. Rogers his seven treatises, 5s. A practical Catecise Is. 6c?. William Dyer, Is. Mr. Moody's Book 8c?. Thomas Hooker's Doubting Christian, 9<:/. New England Psalm Book, Is. Mr. Adams' Sar- mon. The bound book of Mr. Fitch and John Rogers 2s. The same unbound 8d. The day of doom 10c?." At the time of Deacon Simon's death, his six sons and three daughters were all heads of families. His sons-in-law were Solomon Tracy, Dea. Caleb Forbes of Preston, and Jose})h Backus. Four of his sons, Simon, Nathaniel, Daniel, and James, settled near their parents, in Norwich, though not all in one parish. Joseph went to Windham, and Samuel to Lebanon. The oldest son, Simon, born in Saybrook before the removal to Nor- wich, married Lydia Gager, Oct. 8, 1G83, and had four children. The oldest of these, bearing his own name, the third Simon in direct descent, was the person killed by the bite of a rattlesnake just after he became of age, as previously related in this work. This second Deacon Simon Huntington had two other sons, besides the one so suddenly removed, viz., Ebenezer and Joshua, and in the series descending from these are found several names of more than common dis- tinction. The last-named son was born Dec. 30, 1698, and is known in local tradition as Capt. Joshua. He was a noted merchant, beginning business at nineteen, and pursuing it for twenty-seven years, during which time it is said that lie traded more by sea and land than any other man in Norwich. In the prime of life, activity and usefulness, he took the yellow fever in New York, came home sick, and died the 27th of August, 1745, aged 47.* He was the father of Gen. Jabez Huntington, of whom more will be said hereafter. Among the Huntingtons of note in this and the neighboring towns, besides the clerks and deacons already mentioned, we might enumerate five or six judges of the common courts, five members of Congress, one of them President of the Continental Congress and Governor of the State, and six or seven who acquired the military rank of colonels and generals, one of them a brigadier-general in the army of the Revolution. Of the clergy, also, a considerable list of Huntingtons might be made without going out of New London county for their nativity.f The name has also been widely disseminated in other States besides Connecticut, and rendered honorable by the talents and virtues of those who have borne it. But it is not on this account wholly that we give it special prominence in these details, but rather for tliis reason, that the * His epitaph says, " Very justly lamented by the survivors." t The Genealogical Memoir of the Huntington Family, published by Rev. E. B. Huntington of Stamford, is a work of great interest and value. It embodies the results of years of patient research, and is clear, full, and almost exhaustive in its details. 186 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Huntingtons are the only family among the proprietors, with whom any connection has hitherto been traced with Norwich in England. As we have seen, Margaret Baret, the mother of Christopher and Simon Hunt- ington, appears to have been a native of Norwich, and it is not improbable that her children were also born there. XXIII. WiLLiAAi Hyde. "William Hide, or Hyde — the first mode of spelling being the most ancient — is found at Hartford before 1640, a resident and proprietor. The period of his emigration is not known. He removed to Saybrook, perhaps as early as 1648. His daughter Hester, who married John Post in 1652, probably came with her parents from the old world, but his son Samuel, born about 1636, may have been a native of Hartford. No other children are known. On his removal to Norwich, he sold his house and home-lot to Francis Bushnell, and other property to Robert Lay.* He died Jan. 6, 1681-2. His age is not known, but he was styled "old Goodman Hide" in 1679. His will was proved in the county court, June, 1682, and distribution ordered to the heirs of his son Samuel, and to his daughter Plester, wife of John Post. XXIV. Samuel Hyde. " The marriage of Samuel Hyde with Jane Lee was in June Anno Dom. 1659." — [Norwich Records.] Thomas Lee, an emigrant, coming from England with his family to settle in America, died on the passage. His wife, whose maiden name was Phebe Brown, with her three children, Thomas, Sarah, and Jane, completed the voyage, and are afterward found at Saybrook, or Lyme, where the relict married Greenfield Larrabee. Samuel Hyde's wife was the step-daughter of Larrabee. After the removal to Norwich, the younger Hyde appears to have formed at first but one family with his father, though he after\yard settled * The sales are registered at Saybrook, with the following receipt : I William Hide of Mohegan do acknowledge to have received of Robert Lay of Six Mile Island the full and just sum of forty pounds which was the first payment specified in the agreement made 25th day of January 1659 for all the lands I had at Potapauge. Witness my hand 5lh of May 1660. William C C Hide. his mark. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 187 at the West Farms. In August, IGGO, on the Hyde home-lot, in a newly erected habitation, standing upon the border of the Avilderness, with a heavy forest growth in the rear, a new member, a welcome addition to the settlement, made her appearance. This was Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Jane Hyde, — The first child horn of English 'parentage in Norwich. "We may imagine that this little God-gift was fostered with tender care, and regarded with peculiar interest and favor by the community, as a token of prosperous import, — the herald of a new generation, — the prom- ise and pledge of multiplied descendants. In due time this first-born daughter of the town married Richard Lord, and removed to the sea-coast. "Elizabeth the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Lord was born Oct 28, 1683." — [Lyme Records.] So thickly the generations crowd upon each other, — mother, daughter, and grand-daughtei", probal)ly born within the compass of forty-five years. Phebe, the second daughter of Samuel and Jane Hyde, bom in Janu- uary, 1663, married Matthew Griswold of Lyme. The two sisters were thus pleasantly settled in the old neighborhood of their mother, upon the border of the Sound. The Lees and Larrabees were at Giant's Neck, and the Gi'is wolds at Black Hall, — two of the most conspicuous and eligi- ble situations on that breezy portion of the coast. Samuel Hyde did not live to see the settlement of his daughter.s. He died in 1677, leaving seven children, the youngest an infiint, and all sons but the two daughters above mentioned. From various incidental refer- ences, it appears that his relict, Mrs. .Jane Hyde, married John Birchard. The five sons of Samuel Hyde were speedily multiplied into a numer- ous body of descendants. 1. Samuel married Elizabeth, daughter of John Calkins, Dec. 16, 1690. He lived first at West Farms, now Franklin, but removed to Windham, and afterward to Lebanon, where he died in 1742, aged 77. He was the grandfather of Capt. Walter Hyde, whose monumental inscription in the Lebanon cemetery states that he joined the American array in 1776, with an independent company of which he had command, and died at Greenwich, Sept. 18, 1776, aged 41. He was also the ancestor of Col. Elijah Hyde, a neighbor and friend of Gov. Trumbull, who conmianded a regiment of light horse during the war for liberty, and was on duty with the northern army at the surrender of Burgoyne ; and of Gen. Caleb Hyde, who at the period of the Revolu- tion was a sheriff in Berkshire county, Mass., but afterward settled in western New York. 188 HISTORY OF NORWICH. 2. John Hyde, the second son of the proprietor Samuel, married Expe- rience Abel. He lived upon a farm on Wawekus Hill. Though he him- self died at the age of 60, his relict lived to be near 90, and their family of nine children all lived to be heads of families, six of them ranging in age from 77 to 90 years at their decease. The longevity of this family is noticed as one illustration, out of many that might be brought, to show that life was not shortened by removal to a new country, but that the active, plain, frugal, and yet comfortable mode of living then prevalent, — the first hardships and hazards of a frontier life having passed away, — was favorable to health, strength, and long life. 3. William Hyde, the third son of the proprietor Samuel, inherited the homestead of his grandfather William, in the town-plot. The number of his days exceeded even those of his long-lived brothers. He died Aug. 8, 1759, in the 90th year of his age. His Avife was Ann, daughter of Richard Bushnell, and of their ten children, nine left descendants. William, their oldest son, born in 1702, was the first of the name of Hyde in this country to receive a collegiate education. He graduated at Yale in 1721, and entered immediately into a promising sphere of useful- ness in his native town, but was early removed by death.* Two other sons of the second William built houses by the side of their father, upon portions of the original Hyde home-lot. Richard Hyde, who built and occupied the stone house near his father, was a man in high local repute, as captain, justice, and judge. He was also popular as a social companion and a narrator of traditionary lore.f Jedidiah, the third son of William, 2d, became a Separatist in religion, and was ordained in 1746 as a minister of that denomination. Elisha, the fourth son of William, occupied the old homestead, and was the ftither of Elisha Hyde, Esq., third Mayor of Norwich city. 4 and 5. Thomas and Jabez, younger sons of Samuel the proprietor, settled at the West Farms, (Franklin,) where they died at the ages of 82 and 85 years. The late Judge Hyde of Norwich town, and Lewis Hyde of Yantic, are among the descendants of Jabez. Other branches of the same line are widely disseminated in western New York, Pennsylvania, and states yet father west. The five sons of the proprietor Samuel had forty children, of whom twenty-three were sons, and twenty-one married and reared families of children. This accounts for the rapidity with which the name spread * Hempstead's Diary has this notice : June 11, 1738. "Received news of the death of William Hide Jun. of Norwich aged 35. He had 150 convulsion fitts in two days. He was brought up at the College and hath been Captain and justice of the peace many years." t Elihu, second son of Richard, removed to Lebanon, N. H., and was one of the first magistrates of that town. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 189 through the country, — a rapidity that seems unexampled when considered in connection with the fact that all are derived from Samuel, whose first son was born in May, 1665. An enumeration made in 1779, showed upwards of twenty families of Hydes, numbering over 150 members, in the town-plot and western part of Norwich. And notwithstanding tlie removals to other parts of the country, the census of 1791 records thirteen families of tlie name in Franklin, and eight others in Norwich or its immediate vicinity.* XXV. Leffingwell. Thomas Leflfingwell, according to minutes preserved among his descend- ants, was a native of Croxhall in England. The period of his emigration has not been ascertained. In his testimony before the Court of Commis- sioners at Stonington in 1705, he says he was acquainted witli Uncas in the year 1637, and was knowing to the assistance rendered by the sachem to the English, then and ever after, during his life. According to his age as given in depositions, he must have been born about the year 1622, — therefore, at the time of the Pequot war, not more than fifteen or sixteen years of age.f The earliest notices of his name connect him v/ith Saybrook. Fi'om the Colonial records we learn that in March, 1650, a petition was pre- sented "from the inhabitants of Saybrook by Matthew Griswold and Tho: * Chancellor Walworth of Saratoga Springs is descended in equal degrees from Wil- liam Hyde and Thomas Tracy, through their sons, Samuel Hyde and Jolin Tracy, all of wliom were original proprietors of Norwich. Appliia Hyde, of the fifth generation from William, 1st, daughter of the Rev. Jedidiah Hyde, the Separatist minister, and his wife, Jerusha Tracy, of the fifth generation from Thomas, 1st, married in 1782, Benjamin Walworth, a native of Groton. They settled at Bozrah, then a part of Nor- wich, but made an independent town in 1786. lleuben Hyde Walworth, the third of tlieir ten children, was there born Oct. 26, 1788. The Hyde Genealogy, published by Chancellor Walworth, is a work of great value in the line of family history, embodying a vast amount of pedigree, and displaying clearness of perception and skill in arrangement, as well as unwearied perseverance and accuracy in research. It forms a grand memorial record of paternity and lineage, spreading far and wide, but taking the Nine-Milcs-Square of Norwich as the center from which it radiates. Such a work is a monument to perpetuate the name of the author, more lasting than statues of marble or pillars of granite. t A tradition has ol)tained in some brandies of the family, that Thomas Lcflingwell came to this country from Yorkshire, at fourteen years of age, but returned to England at twenty-one, and married there Marv White. When he emigrated a second time, he brought with him his youngest brother Stephen, fifteen years of age, leaving seven or eight other brothers in the old country. The author is unable to decide whether these traditions should be ranked as fable or fact. 190 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Leppijigwell."* The births of his children are also registered at Saybrook, but under the simple heading of " Children of Thomas Leffingwell," — the name of the mother not being mentioned. The list is as follows : "Eachell born 17 March 1648; Thomas 27 August 1649 ; Jonathan 6 Dec. 1650; Joseph 24 Dec. 1652 ; Mary 16 Dec. 1654 ; Nathaniel 11 Dec. 1656." It is probable also that Samuel Leffingwell, who married Anna Dickin- son Nov. 16, 1687, and died in 1691, was the son of Thomas, though his birth is not found recorded. Following Mr. Leffingwell to his new home in Norwich, we find him an active and influential member of the plantation. He was one of the first two deputies of the town to the General Coui't, in October, 1662; an officer of the first train-band and during Philip's war, lieutenant under Capt. Denison in his famous band of marauders, that swept so many times through Narragansett, and scoured the country to the sources of the Quin- ebaug. He lived to old age, but the record of his death does not give his years, and no memorial stone marks his grave. "Lieutenant Thomas Leffingwell died about 1710. Mrs. Mary Leffingwell died Feb. 6, 1711." The staff of the venerated lieutenant, reputed to have been brought with him from his native place, and bearing his initials on its silver head, is now in the possession of one of his descendants. Rev. Thomas Leffing- well Shipman of Jewett City, Conn. This memorial staff is interesting on the score of antiquity, but far more so from its association with the venerable men of successive generations to whom it has been a staff of support. It calls up from the misty past the image of the old soldier, or the deacon, on the Sabbath day, slowly marching up to his seat under the pulpit ; we see his white hair, and hear the steady sound of the staff brought down at every step. Thomas Leffingwell, Jun. and Mary Bushnell were married in Septem- ber, 1672, and might have celebrated their golden wedding in 1722, with a house-full of prosperous descendants gathered around them. The hus- band died March 5, 1723-4, leaving five daughters, all married to Bush- nells and Tracys, and three sons, Thomas, John, and Benajah. Mrs. Mary Leffingwell long survived her partner, as the epitaph on her grave-stone proves. * Col. Rec, 1, 205. Leppingwell and Lcppenwell often appear on the early Norwich records. It is suggestive of the supposed origin of the name, — Leaping-well, denoting a bubbling or boiling spring. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 191 IN MEMORY of an agccl nnrsing Mother of GOD'S New- eno'lish Israel, viz. Mrs. Mary Leffinp:well, wife to Ensign Thomas Lef- fingwell Gent" who died Sept. ye 2'' A. D. 1745. Aged 91 years. The inventory of Ensign Leffingwell in 1724 shows that he was richly furnished not only with the household comforts and conveniences of that era, but with articles of even luxury and elegance. He had furniture and hnen in abundance, wooden ware, and utensils of iron, tin, pewter, and silver.* Wearing apparel valued at £27. Wig, 20s. Walking-staff with silver head, 20s. Rapier with silver hilt and belt, £G. A French gun, £3. Silver watch, £5. 3 tankards, 2 dram-cups. 4 silver cups, one with two handles. Copper pennies and Erabians,t £6.18.7.- Total valuation of estate, £9793.9.11. It is doubtful whether, at that time, any other estate in the town equaled this in value. The third Thomas LefRngwell, son of the Ensign and born in 1674, is distinguished as Deacon Thomas. He mari-ied Lydia, daughter of Solo- mon Tracy, and died July 18, 1733. He had six children. His brothers, Capt. John and Benajah Leffingwell, had large families : the former, eight daughters and four sons ; the latter, eight sons and four daughters. Capt. John Leffingwell married, first, Sarah Abell, and sec- ond, Mary Hart of Farmington. The first wife is commemorated in the following epitaph : Here lyes ye Body of that Worthy, Virtuous and most injcneous and jentecl "Woman, Mrs Sara Leffingwell, who Dyed May ye 9th, 17.30. Aged 39 years. * In the inventory of Nathaniel Leffingwell at an earlier date, we find a castor hat, one coffee-cup, a heaker, a pair of campaign boots, &c. t An Arabian is supposed to have been a small gold coin. 192 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Benajah Leffingwell married Joanna Christophers of New London. Col. Christopher Leffingwell of the Revolutionary period was the third of his eight sons. Thomas Leffingwell, 4th, (son of Deacon Thomas,) married Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Loi'd, Jan. 23, 1729. He died in 1793, in the 90th year of his age. Thomas Leffingwell, 5th, born in 1732, died in December, 1814, aged 82. These five generations were in dii'ect succession, each the oldest son of the oldest son, but the lineage is here interrupted, as Thomas the 5th died unmarried. The Leffingwell tree has a multitude of branches. Samuel Leffingwell, who married Hannah Giffi^rd, March 2, 1714-15, w^as the progenitor of several large families. A district in the southern part of the township is known by the familiar designation of Leffingwell-town, from the predom- inance of the name in that neighborhood. In a field upon old Leffingwell land in this district there is a quiet village of the dead, where Leffingwells, Chapmans, Posts, and other names of the vicinity, are found. Here is the grave of Dea. Andrew Leffingwell, who died in 1803. He was the son of Samuel, and born Dec. 12, 1724. Some of the Leffingwells, who lived on farms, have the traditionary renoAvn of having been stalwart men, able horsemen, enterprising, robust, dread-nought kind of people. They would ride to Boston in a day, with a led horse for relief, and return on the morrow, unconscious of fatigue. One of them, it is said, performed the feat with a single horse, but the noble animal was sacrificed by the exploit, being found dead the next morning.* XXVL Olmstead, or Holmstead. Richard and John Olmstead w^ere kinsmen and wards of James Olm- stead, who came from England in 1G32,* and died at Hartford in Septem- ber, 1640.i * On one of these gallops to Boston, a spirited dog accompanied his master, but the next morning, when the fiimily arose, he was at home, whining at the threshold for admittance. It was afterward ascertained that at night, in Boston, he had been acci- dentally shut out of his master's lodging, upon which he turned immediately upon the track and followed the trail home, traveling the whole distance between nine o'clock at night and six in the morning. Such traditionary stories are usually exaggerative ; but even then they have a degree of interest, and are worth collecting, as examples of growth by repetition, and the mag- nifying power of common report. t Gen. Hist. Reg., 14, 301. X Conn. Col. Rec., 1, 447. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 193 John Olmsteacl married Elizabeth Marvin, and settled at Saybrook, where he was appointed leather-sealer in 1650. He is mentioned inci- dentally upon the Saybrook records in 1661, as "John Olmsted of Mohe- gan, shoemaker," which shows that he had removed to the new plantation. At this place, however, he appears as a doctor or chirurgeon, and was undoubtedly the first physician of the settlement, though the articles enu- merated in his inventory would imply that he still continued his practice with the last and lap-stone. For several years he was on the grand jviry of the county. He possessed a considerable estate, and was very precise respecting the date and bounds of his grants. Though the H. is uniformly given to his name by the Norwich recorders, it was not used by himself. The blazed trees and mere-stones by which he indicated the corners and limits of his lots, were marked I. 0.* He died Aug. 2, 1686; his age was about 60. No children are men- tioned. He left most of his estate to his wife, who made over to his two nephews at Norwalk a large tract of land (stated at 2,000 acres) owned by him in the new plantation at Windham. Several slaves that he pos- sessed were to receive their freedom at the death of his wife. Mrs. Olmstead died in 1689. Her will, made in October of that year, was contested by the relatives of her husband, but confii-med by the Gen- eral Court. She bequeathed £50 to the poor of Norwich, and £10 to Mr. Fitch; recognizing also by legacies Sergt. Richard Bushnell, "brother Adgate's four children," and the children of her husband's sister Newell, but left most of her real estate to her "friend and kinsman Samuel Lo- throp," whom she appoints executor. This was the second Samuel Lothrop, whose wife was Hannah Adgate. The word hinsman, as used in ancient records, has a wide range of meaning. Deacon Adgate's sec- ond wife was the sister of Mrs. Olmstead, but Plaunah, the wife of Samuel Lothrop, was the child of the first wife ; and this is the only relationship that in this instance has been traced. XXVII. Pease. The name of John Pease appears incidentally at New London in 1 650, and it may be conjectured that he was a seaman, then belonging to Boston or Martha's Vineyard.! It is probable that he resided for a time at Say- brook before joining the company of Norwich proprietors, and that he took * On County Court Records, when his inventory was exhibited, it was written Vm- fiteade. t There was a seaman in Bostoa of this name in 1656. Geo. & Hist. Reg., 9, 142. 13 194 HISTORY OF NORWICH. a family with him to the new settlement. His home-lot was at the west- ern limit of the town-plot, and bore the date of Nov., 1659. But in the course of a few years, his family, if he had one, his posses- sions and his character had all passed away. The Court Record for 1672 has the following item : "John Pease complained of by the townsmen of Norwich for living alone, for idle- ness, and not duly attending the worship of God. " This Court orders that said Townsmen do provide that Pease be entertained into some suitable family he paying for his board and accommodation, and that he employ himself in some lawful calling, which if he neglect or refuse to do, the townsmen may put him out to service in some approved family. Except he dispose of his accommo- dations and remove out of the town." Again, in 1682, we find that John Pease being in arrears for town and ministry rates, a levy was ordered on his estate. It is not necessary to infer from these notices that Pease was wholly a worthless vagrant. He may have been a lonely, disappointed man, — a recluse, an anchoret, world-disgusted and unsocial, — or a secret dissenter, cherishing unpopular tenets, and choosing therefore to keep out of the way of his neighbors. Persons with any of these characteristics found but little sympathy in the plantations at that day. In Norwich they were particularly rigid in their requirements, not only of accepted inhabitants, or voters, but also of common town-dwellers. Men were not allowed to live alone, but obliged to connect themselves with some household, to have some specific employment, to assist in supporting the institutions of the town, and to appear in the house of worship on the Sabbath. Nothing further is certainly known of John Pease. No settlement of estate is found ; he is not mentioned in any subsequent division of propri- etary commons ; but allusions made in 1 687 and later, seem to indicate that he was then living. A branch of the Yantic in the western part of the town, near the border of Lebanon, was called Pease's brook. At the mouth of Pease's brook was Pease's farm ; and here, about 1690, a corn- mill was established. It is not improbable that John Pease had retired to this ti'act of land, and originated these improvements. The spot, then so solitary, is now jubilant with machinery, — the seat of the manufacturing village of Bozrahville. Post. Stephen Post, who died at Saybrook Aug. 16, 1659, is supposed to have been the father of John, Thomas, and Abraham Post, and it is a plausible conjecture that Ellener Post, [Ilelener in coimty court records,] who died at that place Nov. 13, 1670, was the relict of Stephen and mother of his childi'en HISTORY OF NORWICH. 195 John and Thomas Post removed to Norwich. Abraham remained in Saybrook, where he was known by the title of Lieutenant, and died in 1G90. XXVIII. John Post. The marriage of John Post and Hester Hyde, "in the last of March, '52," and the births of four children, are found on record at Saybrook. Four other children are recorded at Norwich, and they had likewise a daugliter Mary, not registered at either place, born probably in 1GG2, — comprising in all, a family of two sons and seven daughters. Mrs. Hester Post died Nov. 13, 1703. Mr. John Post died Nov. 27, 1710, aged 84 years. The following inscription is still legible in the grave-yard at Norwich : H E A R E 1 LIES THEBO| D Y OF MR JO HN POST WHO DYED N O Vr 1 27. 1710. AGED 8 4 YEARS. Two of the daughters of John Post were united to inhabitants of New- London : Sarah married Capt. John Hough ; Lydia married, 1st, Abel Moore, — 2d, Joseph Harris. Two other daughters were married in Norwich : Margaret to Caleb Abel, and Mary to Nathaniel Rudd. The sons were John and Samuel. John, born at Saybrook, April 12, 1G57, married Sarah Reynolds, and died in 1G90, leaving two young childi-en, John and Sarah ; but they died without issue, and no descend- ants in this line remain. Samuel Post, born in Norwich, March 8, 1G68, married Ruth Lothrop, and had two sons, Samuel and Natlianiel. Samuel Post, 2d, born Dec. 22, 1G98, married Sarah Griswold of Guilford, and had an only son Sam- uel and several daughters. Samuel, 3d, born Feb. 12, 1736, was a gold- smith in New London, but after the Revolutionary war went south and has been no further traced. Nathaniel Post, son of Samuel, 1st, born in 1702, died in November, 1799, almost a centenarian. His wife, Abigail Birchard, died in 1792, 196 HISTORY OP NORWICH. in lier 89tli year. They had two sons, John and Jabez. The latter, born in 1730, inherited the family homestead, and planted the stupendous elm by which it is now overshadowed. He married, 1st, Martha, daughter of the Rev. Jedidiah Hyde, the Separatist minister, and had two sons, Jabez and Jedidiah, who, after the Revolution, settled at Newtown, N. J. By a second wife, Lucy, daughter of Richard Hyde, he had two other sons, Andrew and George Washington, who settled at Lebanon, N. H. He had also two daughters : 1st, Anne, who married Henry Blake, (publisher of a newspaper at Keene, N. H.,) and after his death, Thomas L. Thomas of Norwich ; 2d, Lucretia, who married Ehphalet Carew, and died at the residence of her daughter, on a portion of the old Post home-lot, where she was born, July 6, 1858, aged 90. Henrietta Blake, the only child of Henry and Anne Blake, married George D. Harris of Norwich. The late Hon. Thomas L. Harris, of Dlinois, was their son. He was born at Norwich, Oct. 29, 181 G; gradu- ated at Trinity College, Hartford, 1841 ; studied law with Gov. Toucey, and settled in Illinois. In 1846 he enlisted in the Mexican war, and was noted for his gallantry at the taking of Vera Cruz and the battle of Cerro Gordo. He was elected member of Congi'ess in 1848, and continued in office till his death, which took place at Springfield, 111., Nov. 24, 1858. His life, though short, was marked by varied and exciting events. XXIX. Thomas Post. No reference to the family of this proprietor has been found at Say- brook. His existence seems not to be recognized any where but in Nor- wich. From the records of this place we learn that he married Mary Andrews in January, 1656, and that she died at Norwich in March, 1661, .and was buried in a corner of her husband's home-lot, as heretofore related. She left an infant daughter, Sarah, afterward the wife of Thomas Vin- cent. Mr. Post married, 2d, Rebecca Bruen, daughter of Obadiah Bruen of New London, Sept. 2, 1663. He died in 1701, leaving two sons, Oba- diah and Joseph, and two daughters, Mary and Hannah. Obadiah died in 1703, without issue. The daughters died at the age of 70 and upward, unmarried. Joseph, bom in 1681, married Maiy Post of Saybrook, and died in 1749, leaving an only son, Joseph, and seven daughters. Thus, at the end of a century, the male line in this branch of the Post family again commenced with a unit. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 197 XXX. Read, (or Reed.) The marriage of Josiah Read to Grace, the daughter of William Hol- loway, took place at Marshfield in November, 16G6. At this time he had probably cleared his home-lot and prepared his domicile in Norwich. About the year 1G87, he removed from the town-plot to a farm "over Showtucket," and was probably the first permanent settler upon that gore of land which was then called the Crotch, but afterward Newent. He had a brother John, at thjit time living "near Pease's farm," within the present limits of Bozrah. It is probable that the brothers Josiah and John Read married sisters. The farm of William Holloway in Marshfield fell to his two daughters. It was sold, one half in 1G70, by "Josiah Reed of Norridge, in the Colony of Connecticut," as the inheritance of his wife Grace, and the other half in 1673, by "Hannah Read, formerly Holloway," whom we suppose to have been the wife of John. The only proof, however, is the coinci- dence of name. A third brother, Hezekiah Read, was considerably younger than the others. The father, whose Christian name has not been recovered, died in 1679, leaving Hezekiah a minor, who, in accordance with his own request, was committed by the court to the guardianship of his brothers, Josiah and John, "for his good education in the fear of God, good litera- ture, and some particular calling."! John and Hezekiah Read do not come again within the range of our history. It is probable that they removed fx*om the town, as in the next generation we find only five of the name enrolled as householders, and these were Josiah and his four sons, Josiah, Jr., William, John, and Jo- seph, — all of them "farmers in ye Crotch of ye Rivers." Josiah Read, the elder, died July 3, 1717. Mrs. Grace Read, his wife, died May 9, 1727. William Read died Aug. 13, 1727, leaving a wife, Mary, and an estate valued at £407. XXXI. Reynolds. In the lists that have been collected of emigrants to the western world in the days of the great Exodus, beginning with the departure of the Pil- grims from Holland, the name of John Reynolds is several times found. * Letter of Marcia Thomas of Marshfield. t A Joseph Read appears at New London about as early as Josiah and John, who may have been the father of the family. The mother of Hezekiah Read in 1680 was Ruth Percy. 198 HISTORY OF NORWICH. It appears in the sliipments for St. Christopher's,* for Virginia, and for New England, One of the name was made freeman in Massachusetts, May 6, 1635, and was probably the same that settled at Weymouth,! where he was liv- ing with a family in 1660. One went from Watertown to Wethersfield, and there settled before 1640. J Another of the same cognomen established himself at Stonington, Ct., and was accepted as an inhabitant in 1667. John and Jonathan Renalds were landholders in East Greenwich, Ct., in 1672.§ John Reynolds, the proprietor of Norwich, was a distinct person from these, but perhaps a son of John of Wethersfield. He was a wheelwright by occupation, and removed from that part of Saybrook which is now Lyme. His housing and laud were sold to Wolston Brockway, Dec. 3, 1659. The births of his children are recorded at Norwich, but without men- tioning the name of his wife. John, the oldest child, born in August, 1655, was killed by the Indians in Philip's war, as elsewhere related. Stephen, another son, died Dec. 19, 1687. John Reynolds, the proprietor, died July 22, 1702. His will, dated seven days previous, shows that his family then consisted of wife Sarah, only son Joseph, and four married daughters, viz., Sarah Post, Mary Lo- throp, Elizabeth Lymon, and Lydia Miller. He bequeathed his instru- ments of husbandry and wheelwright tools to his son, with all his housing and lands, subject only to the widow's dowry. His wife Sarah and son Joseph were named executors, and he adds, "I do make choice of my loving kinsman Ensign Thomas Leffingwell overseer to be helpful to them or either of them." Joseph Reynolds, the son, was born in March, 1660, shortly before the removal of the family to Norwich. He married Sarah Edgerton in 1688, and through his four sons, John, Joseph, Stephen, and Daniel, the name has been perpetuated in Norwich. John Reynolds of the third generation (son of Joseph) married Lydia Lord of Lyme, an admirable Christian woman who lived to the age of 92, and was more than forty years a widow. She died July 16, 1786. The tablet to "her memory bears an inscription so suggestive in its simplicity, that it reveals the whole excellence of her character by giving a single trait : " Here lies a Lover of Truth." * Embarked from Gravesend for St. Cliristopher's, April 3, 1635, in the Paul of London, John Reinolds, aged 23, — do. May 21, in the Matthew of London, Jo : Rei- nolds, aged 20. Gen. Hist. Reg., 14, 349, 551. t Ibid., 3, 71, 93. t Ibid., 13, 301. ■ S Iliiil-, 4, 62. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 199 XXXIL RoYCE. Jonathan Royce was one of the five sons of Robert Royce of New London, and probably the oklest, though no record of his birth has been found. He married Deborah, daughter of Hugh Calkins, in June, IGOO, according to the registry in Norwich, but at New London it is recorded March, 1G60-GL Allowing the latest date to be correct, the bride was barely 17 years of age, her birth being recorded at Gloucester, Mass., March 18, 164.3-4. This was a second hymeneal tie connecting the two families ; John Calkins of Norwich having taken for his partner Sarah Royce, the sister of Jonathan. Tlie Royce family was also connected by a double link with that of Samuel Lothrop ; Isaac Royce being united to Elizabeth Lothrop, and John Lothrop to Ruth Royce. These removed to "VYallingford. Jonathan Royce, the Norwich proprietor, died in 1G89. Nine of his ten children were living at that time. John, the oldest son, married Sarah Perlgo, Nov. 9, 1683, this being his 20th birth-day. He was an early settler in Windham. After the second generation, the name of Royce disappeared from the roll of inhabitants in Norwich. Robert Royce of Wallingtbrd, at his death, in 167G, left a small gratu- ity to each of the churches of New London, Norwich, and Wallingford, as a memorial of his "great affection and good-will" for the ministr}' and churches with which he and his family had been connected. XXXHL Smith. Nehemiah Smith was of Stratford, 1G4G, but removed to New^ Haven, and obtained a grant of land upon Oyster river for his accommodation in keeping sheep. He is occasionally called on the colonial records, "Sliep- herd Smith." Li 1652 he transferred his residence to New London, where his brother John had previously settled, and from thence came to Norwich in 1660, or soon afterward. In 1663 he is styled, "now of New Norridge." He appears to have had six or seven daughters, and one son ; but only four of the daughters can be traced into other households. Mary became the wife of Samuel Raymond; Elizabeth, of Josluia Raymond; Aim, of Thomas Bradford ; and another, (name uncertain,) of Joshua Abel. At New Haven, the birth and baptism of six of the children may be found on record, his wife Sarah being a member of the church at tliat place. At Norwich, in his old age, he had a wife Ann. 200 HISTOEY OF NORWICH. From an entry in the records of tlie county court in 1666, we learn his age: "Nehemiah Smith of Norwich declaring himself above 60 years of age and his brother John declaring the same at his earnest desire is freed from training." He died in 1G86. His only son, Nehemiah, born in 1646 at New Haven, settled in Groton, where he was generally designated, from the office that he held, Mr. Justice Smith. Edward Smith, a nephew of John and Nehemiah, married, June 7, 1G63, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Bliss of Norwich. He also settled in Groton, where he and his wife and his oldest son John, fifteen years of age, died on the 8th, 10th and 14th days of July, 1689, all victims of a fatal epidemic called the throat distemper. Another son, Obadiah, and seven daughters, were left orphans. Most of these found homes among their Norwich relatives. Obadiah Smith was chosen constable of the town in 1704, and it is the first time that the name of Smith, usually so prominent in our annals, is found attached to any office in Norwich. He was afterward captain of the train-band. The inscription upon his grave- stone is interesting on account of its rude simplicity. HERE LIES Ye BODY OF CAPt OBADIAH SMITH WHO DIED MAY 1 = 1 727 = AND IN ye 50H YEAR OF HIS AGE. NOW BETWEEN THESE CARVED STONS RICH TRESVER LIES DEER SMITH HIS BONES. XXXIV. Thomas Tract. Thomas Tracy, from Tewksbury in Gloucestershire, came to New England in April, 1636. His name was enrolled at Salem, Feb. 23, 1637. " Thomas Tracy, ship-carpenter, received an inhabitant, upon a certificate of divers of Watertown, and is to have five acres of land." He left the Bay for the new colony on the Connecticut, probably about 1640, and settled at Wethersfield, where he is supposed to have married HISTORY OP NORWICH. 201 -rtte.jddQHLJi£-E4wa¥4'M««5n in 1641. A few years later he removed to Saybrook, from whence, after a residence of twelve or fourteen years, he came to Norwich, bringing with him six sons and a daughter. Perhaps his wife also was then living, for neither the place nor period of her death has been ascertained. Two of his children, John and Thomas, were probably born in Wethersfield, and the others in Saybrook. Miriam, the daughter, was the middle member of the list, and at the time of the settlement about ten years of age, her brothers ranging above and below, from six to (perhaps) sixteen years. Mr. Tracy was evidently a man of talent and activity, skillful in the management of various kinds of business, upright and discreet. The confidence placed in him by his associates is manifested in the great num- ber of appointments which he received. His name is on the roll of the Legislature as representative from Norwich at twenty-seven sessions. The elections were semi-annual, and Mr. Tracy was chosen twenty-one times, beginning Oct. 9, 1662, and ending July 5, 1684. The others were extra sessions. In October, 1666, he was chosen ensign of the first train-band organized in Norwich, and in August, 1673, lieutenant of the New London County Dragoons, enlisted to fight against the Dutch and Indians. In 1678 he was appointed commissioner or justice of the peace. The second wife of Thomas Tracy was Martha, relict of John Bradford, whom he married in 1676. In the course of a few years he was again a widower, and married in 1 683, Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Foot, and relict, first of John Stoddard, and second of John Goodrich, both of Weth- ersfield. Mr. Tracy was her third husband, and she was his third wife. Lieut. Thomas Tracy died Nov. 7, 1685. His estate was prized at £560; he had about 5000 acres of land. The court ordered distribution as follows : to John, the oldest son, £120 ; to the other sons, and to Sergt. Thomas Waterman, each £70. In this distribution no mention is made of a widow ; and the inference is, that Mrs. Mary Tracy did not survive her husband. Late researches into the history of this family furnish evidence that Thomas Tracy was of honorable descent, and that his immediate ancestors for three generations had been distinguished for fidelity to the reformed religion, Richard Tracy, of Stanway, England, published a work deeply imbued with the spirit of Protestantism, on account of which he suffered nmch from persecution in the days of Queen Mary, though he escaped martyrdom. It is supposed that one of his sons, Nathaniel, living at Tewksbury, was the father of Thomas, and that the latter was born at that place in 1610.* * This is the result of an examination of the records of Gloucestershire, England, by tlic late F. P. Tracy of San Francisco, Cal. The evidence was such as to satLsfy hira 202 HISTORY OP NORWICH. No registration of the family of Thomas Tracy has been found. From the early appearance of his name at Salem, it is evident that his children were all born on this side of the ocean. In the settlement of his estate, the order in which they are mentioned, corresponding with other incidental testimony, gives the following series as their natural position : 1. John, born not earlier than 1642, nor Uxter than 164:4. 2. Thomas, (probably) 1646. 3. Jonathan, 1648. His age in 1698 was stated at 50. 4. Miriam, 1649 or 1650. She married Thomas Waterman in November, 1668. 5. Solomon, 1651. Aged 46 in 1697, and when he died, July 9, 1732, was in his 82d year. 6. Daniel, 1652 ; died June 29, 1728, aged 76. 7. Samuel; died Jan. 11, 1693, without issue, — his effects being assigned to his brothers and sisters. John Tracy so soon took his place among the inhabitants of Norwich, that he acquired the rank, influence, and all the privileges of a first pur- chaser, and as such is numbered as one of the Thirty-five. Thomas and Jonathan Ti'acy, second and third sons of Lieut. Thomas, settled upon the wild, unreclaimed lands on the east side of the Shetucket, then belonging to Norwich, but afterward included in Preston. Jonathan married, July 11, 1672, Mary, daughter of Francis Griswold. The wife of Thomas Tracy has not been traced. The brothers had each a lai'ge blessing of children, that were soon disseminated in the neighborhood, founding homes of their own, and assisting in the great work of clearing away forests and planting homes in the wilderness. The will of Thomas Tracy was executed April 6, 1721, but not proved till 1724. He probably died early in that year. His youngest son, Dea. Jedidiah Tracy of Preston, died June 8, 1779, in the 87th year of his age, his death being caused by a fall from his horse as he was riding to the mill. He had been deacon of the church for nearly fifty years, and was also a justice of the peace and representative of the town. He left, says a newspaper of the day, one hundred and thirty- seven descendants. Jonathan Tracy was the first town clerk of Preston, tlie first lieutenant, and the first justice of the peace. In an old grave-yard devoted to the Tracys, Forbes, and other early inhabitants of Preston, is a rough head- that Lieut. Thomas Tracy of Norwich was the son of Nathaniel of Tewksbury, who was the son of Richard, Esq., of Stanway, who was the son of Sir William, tlie ninth, of Toddington. Mr. Tracy had collected materials for a thorough historical registry of the descend- ants of the Lieutenant; but he died while on a political tour in western New York, Oct. 10, 1860, and the work for which he had made such ample preparation has not been pubUshed. HISTOEY OF NOEWICH. 203 stone, carved with the letters J. T. and the date 1711, which is supposed to point out his grave. The inventory of his estate was taken Feb. 12, 1712. Solomon Tracy was a physician, and the second in Norwich of whom we tind any notice, — John Olmstead being the first. He was united in marriage, Nov. 23, 1G7G, to Sarah, daughter of Simon Huntington. She died in 1G83, and he married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Bliss and relict of Thomas Sluman. INSCRIPTION UPON THE GRAVE-STONE OF DR. SOLOMON TRACY. IN THIS SPOT OF EARTH IS INTERRED Ye EARTHY PART OF Mr SOLOMON TRACY WHO DIED IVLY Ye 9H 1732. & IN YE 82D YEAR OF HIS AGE. THE DEAD IN S ILE NT LANGUAGE SAY TO LIVING THINKING READER HEARE O LOVING FRINDS DOE NOT DELAY BUT SPEEDILY FOR DETH PREPARE. Lydia, only daughter of Solomon Tracy, married the third Thomag Leffingwell. Simon Tracy, son of Solomon, married Mary Leffingwell. This last couple were united in 1708, and journeyed together far into the vale of years. Ahead-stone in the burial-ground informs us that "the pious, beloved, and very aged Mr. Simon Tracy, died 14th September, 1775, in the 96th year of his age." His wife died in her 89th year. Solomon Tracy, second and youngest son of Solomon, removed to Can- Vy^ terbury. Daniel, the fifth son of Lieut. Thomas Tracy, inherited the paternal homestead in the town-jjlot. lie was twice married; first, to Abigail Adgate, and second, to Hannah, relict of Thomas Bingham. After a long, honorable and useful life, he came to an untimely end, being instan- taneously killed by falling from the frame-work of a bridge that had just been suspended over Shetucket river. 204 HISTOEY OF NORWICH. The late Dr. Ebenezer Tracy of Micldletown, the Tracys of Scotland parish, (Windham,) and Major Thomas Tracy of Norwich, long of the firm of Avery & Tracy, who died in 1806, were descendants of Daniel Tracy. XXXV. John Tracy. The marriage of this young projirietor to Mary Winslow, June 10, 1670, is recorded at Duxbury, Mass. The binde was a daughter of Josiah Winslow the elder,* who was brother to Governor Edwai'd Winslow of Plymouth. John and Maiy Tracy had five children, — four sons and one daughter ; the latter married Nathaniel Backus. The oldest son, Josiah, died in infancy. The others, John, Joseph, and Winslow, all had families. Mr. John Tracy died Aug. 16, 1702. Mrs. Mary Tracy died July 30, 1721. Mr. Tracy's inventory specifies the homestead, valued at £130, and seventeen other parcels of land, comprising between three and four thou- sand acres. He had land at Yantiok, at Bradford's brook, Beaver brook, Lebanon, Little Lebanon, Wawecos hill, Potapaug, at Wenungatuck, (on the west side of the Quinebaug, above Plainfield,) at Tadmuck hill, (east of the Quinebaug,) and at Mashamagwatuck, in the Nipmuck country. The land at Wenungatuck was part of a large tract purchased of Owan- eco, sachem of Mohegan. In the division of the estate it fell to Nathan- iel Backus. John Tracy of the second generation was born in 1673; of the third, in 1702; of the fourth, in 1726; of the fifth, in 1755; of the sixth, in 1783. These six John Tracys were in the line of primogeniture, and all natives of Norwich except the first. Their partners in regolar succes- sion were Mary Winslow, Elizabeth Leffingwell, Margaret Hyde, Mar- garet Huntington, Esther Pride, and Susannah Hyde. The sixth in this line was the late John Tracy of Oxford, New York, who was born in that part of Norwich which is now Franklin, and was a man of acknowledged ability and integrity, devoting himself for many years to the service of the public as post-master, representative, judge, and for six years Lieutenant- Governor of New York. He died June 18, 1864. He leaves no son to continue the line. Dr. Elisha Tracy, a distinguished physician of Norwich of the Revo- lutionary era, was a son of Capt. Joseph Tracy, second son of John the proprietor. He was the father of the late Dr. Philemon Tracy, two of * It has been claimed that she was a daughter of John "Winslow and his wife, Mary Chilton of the Mayflower ; but this is a mistake. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 205 whose sons, Phineas L. and Albert H,, have been representatives in Congress from New York. Capts. Jared and Frederick Tracy, in the mercantile line, who have descendants in various parts of the Union, from New York to Missouri, were of the same lineage. Uriah Tracy of Litchfield, born at Norwich, "West Farms, in 1755, and U. S. Senator from 1796 till his death, was a descendant of Winslow Tracy, the youngest son of the first John. He died at Washington, July 19, 1807, and was the first person interred in the Congressional Cem- etery. XXXVI. Wade. The name of Robert Wade is found at Dorchester in 1G35 ; a person bearing the same name was admitted as a freeman at Hartford in 1G40 ; at a later period it is found among the inhabitants of Saybi'ook, and still later at Norwich. All these notices probably refer to one person. In August, 1657, Robert AVade was divorced from his wife by the Gen- eral Court at Hartford ; the act being recorded in the following terms : " Tills Court duely and seriously considering what evidence hath bene prsented to them by Robert Wade of Seabrooke in reference to his wiues vnworthy, sinfull, yea, unnaturall cariage towards him the said Robert, her husband, notwithstanding his con- stant and comendable care and indeauor to gaine fellowship w"^ her in the bond of mar- riage and that either where sliee is in England, or for her to liue w* him here in New England ; all w*^*" being slighted and rejected by her, disowning him and fellowship w"* hira in that solemne couenant of marriage betwene them and all this for neare fifteeno yeares : They doe hereby declare that Robert Wade is from this time free from Joane Wade his late wife and that former Couenant of marriage betwene them."* We assume that this was the Robert Wade that appeared a few years later among the proprietors of Norwich, with wife Susanna. His house-lot, between those of John and Thomas Post, was subse- quently transferred to Caleb Abell in exchange for a situation better adapted to farming. The inventory of Robert Wade was exhibited at the county court in June, 1682. He left a widow, son Robert, and three daughters, Susan- nah, Mary, and Elizabeth. Robert Wade the younger married in 1691, Abigail Royce, and is found shortly afterward among the planters at " 1641. Richard Hendy's wife was Hannah, daughter of John Elderkin' and it is probable that Daniel Comstock's wife, Paltiah, was another of the family, as he and Elderkin use the terms father and son in their trans- actions with each other as early as 1661. Elderkin married, in 1660 or before, Elizabeth, relict of William Gay- lord of Windsor.* Three sons and two daughters were the issue of this second marriage. (Fac-similo of his Signature in 1653.) ^kn^ ^Jy-er^^^r^ , * In an account of Daniel Lane of New London against Elderkin in 1660, there is a charge of "4 yds. of lase for his mother, 6d. per yd." This must have been his wife's mother. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 21T V. Lathrop. Samuel Lathrop, ox- Lothrop, as the name was then generally spelled) (with the pronunciation Lotrop,) was a son of the Rev. John Lothrop, who had preached in London to the first Independent or Congregational Church organized in England, as successor to Mr. Jacob, under whose ministry the church was formed. The congregation was broken up by ecclesiastical rigor, and Mr. Lothrop suffered an imprisonment of two years duration, from which he was released only on condition of his leav- ing the country. He came to America in 1634, and was the first minister both of Scituate and of Barnstable. Samuel was his second son, and probably about fourteen years of age when the family emigrated. His marriage is recorded at Barnstable, in his fatlfer's hand-writing : "My sonn Samuel and Elizabeth Scudder mar- ryed att my house, Nov. 28, 1644." Samuel Lothrop was a house-carpenter, and found occupation for a time in Boston, from whence he went to New London, then called Pequot, in the summer of 1648.* Just twenty years later he removed to Norwich, where, after a residence of more than forty years, he died, Feb. 29, 1700. (Autograph.) His nuncupative will, made five days before his decease, was witnessed by Rev. John Woodward and Dea. Simon Huntington, and proved in the Prerogative Court the succeeding April. He had nine children. John, the oldest, was probably born in the Bay State ; the others in New Lon- don. They were all by his first wife, of whose death there is no record. His second wife, whom he married at Plymouth in 1690, was Abigail, daughter of .John Doane.f She survived him, and lived to the great age of 103 years. On her hundredth birth-day a large audience assembled at her house, and a sermon was preached by the pastor of the cluirch. At this time she retained in a great degree the intelligence and vivacity of her earlier years. * The following passage occurs in a letter from the elder Winthrop of Bostoa to his son at Pequot, Aug. 14, 1648 : " Your neighbor Lothrop came not near me, as I expected, to advise about it ; but went away without taking leave. Only enquiring after him I sent my letters to the house where he wrought the day before his departure." Sav. Win., 2, 355, App. t This was her first marriage ; she was about 60 years of age. 218 HISTORY OF NORWICH INSCRIPTION UPON HER GRAVE-STONE. FOOT-STONE. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 219 At the time of her decease, the descendants of her husband amounted to 3G5. John Lothrop, the oldest son of Samuel, married Ruth Royce. Ehza- beth, the oldest daughter of Samuel, was united at the same time to Isaac Royce. This double marriage was solemnized in the court room at New Loudon, Dec. 15, 1669, by Daniel Wetherell, Commissioner, the presiding officer of the court. It was not uncommon for the bench and bar to be thus enlivened with a weddiu"; duriu"; the interludes of business. Incidental testimony leads to the conclusion that Nathaniel Royce sub- sequently married Sarah, the second daughter of Samuel Lothrop, forming a third nuptial link in the two families. These young people all went to Wallingford, and were early settlers in that plantation. Samuel Lothrop had three other sons, Samuel, Israel, and Joseph. Samuel was joined in wedlock, Nov., 1675, to Hannah Adgate. Israel Lothrop and Rebecca Bliss, Joseph Lothrop and Macy Scudder, were married the same day, April 8, 1686. These three brothers settled in Norwich. The Lothrops, or Lathrops,* who look back to Norwich for their ances- try, like the Iluntiugtons and Ilydes, have become so numerous that a mere outline of the branches, if it were possible to follow them in their numerous emigrations and connections, would occupy many pages. The name will frequently occur in this history, and only a few prominent per- sons can be noticed here. Colonel Simon Lothrop, third son of Samuel 2d and Hannah (Adgate) Lothrop, born in 1689, was a man of more than ordinary local renown. He commanded one of the Connecticut regiments in the successful expe- ditions against Annapolis and Louisburg, and was valued for his judgment in council as well as for his gallant bearing in the field. At one period he was left for a considerable time in the chief command of the fortress at Cape Breton. Col. Lothrop was of a prudent, thrifty disposition, fond of adding land to land, and house to house. There was a doggerel song that the soldiers used to sing after their return from Capertoon, that alludes to this pro- pensity. * The name appears to have been usually, if not invariably, written Lothrop, until about 1760, when Dr. Daniel Lothrop, havini;: spent some time in En<,flan(l, and while there having made special inquiry concerning his ancestors, became convinced that the original name was Lathrop. He therefore altered the spelling of his own -name, and the change was gradually adopted by other branches of the family. The old pronun- ciation, Lotrop, held its ground much longer, and is still occasionally heard. In this work the old spelling is retained in connection with the early families that wrote the name Lothrop, as it seemed desirable to use the form that appeared in coeval records ; but in later generations the modern spelling is employed. 220 HISTORY OP NOEWICH. Col. Lotrop he came on As bold as Alexander : He wa'n't afraid, nor yet ashamed, To be the .chief commander. Col. Lotrop was the man, His soldiers loved him dearly ; And with his sword and cannon great, He helped them late and early. Col. Lotrop, staunch and true. Was never known to baulk it ; And when he was engag'd in trade, He always tilled his pocket. Col. Lothrop died Jan. 25, 1775, aged 86. He was an upright man, zealous in religion, faithful in training up his family, and much respected and esteemed for his abilities and social virtues. His wife was a Sepa- ratist, and he carefully abstained from any interference with her predilec- tions, but was accustomed every Sunday to carry her in his chaise up to her meeting, half a mile beyond his own, — then return to his own place of worship, and after the service was over, go up town again after his wife. Col. Lothrop was the father of Simon and Elijah Lathrop, who were prominent inhabitants of the town, and for a long period proprietors of the mills at Norwich Falls. 17 Feb., 1745. The house of Samuel Lothrop Esq. of Norwich was burnt at night, and almost all its contents destroyed. The loss estimated at £2000 Old Tenor. [Bos- ton paper.] Israel, the third son of the proprietor Samuel, was the father of seven sons and three daughters. William, the second of these seven sons, born in 1688, was one of the old worthies of the town-plot. He lived to the age of ninety years, and had ten children, all of them sons. The young- est but one of this train was the Rev. John Lathrop, a distinguished min- . ister of Boston, but born at Norwich, May 6, 1739. After completing his education at Princeton, he became for a time an assistant to Mr. Wheelock in his Indian school at Lebanon, but in 1768 was ordained to the pastoral charge of the old North Church in Boston. This phurch having been demolished by the British while they had possession of Boston, the society united with the new Brick Church, and Mr. Lathrop became the pastor of the United Society. He published a variety of sermons, and died in 1816, aged seventy-five. Joseph Lothrop, the fourth and youngest son of the first Samuel, had a family of nine daughters, assisting largely in bringing the sexes in the Lothrop series to an even balance. He had also four sons, the yyungest HISTORY OP NORWICH. 22l of whom, Solomon, died at the age of twenty-seven, leaving an only son, Joseph, who has become extensively known as Rev. Joseph Lathrop, D. D. of West Springfield, Mass. He was born at the Lothrop farm upon the west bank of the Shetucket, Oct. 20, 1721. His mother was Martha, daughter of Dea. Joseph Perkins. Dr. Lathrop was the pastor of one church sixty-three years, and for a long period was regarded as the patriarch of the Congregational churches of New England. As a preacher he was remarkable for the variety of his illustrations and his improvement of daily occurrences. A large proportion of his sermons, which have been published in seven volumes, are upon anniversaries and striking events. He died Dec. 31, 1820, aged eighty-nine years. Hon. Samuel Lathrop, M. C. from Mass. from 1818 to 1826, was one of his sons. The following is the oldest Lothrop inscription that is extant and legible in the Norwich grave-yard : "Here Lyes Buried ye Body of Mr. Israeli Lothrup ye Husband of Mrs. Rcbekah Lothi-up, who lived a life of exemplary piuty & left ye Earth for Heaven March ye 28, 1733 ia ye 73d year of his age." CHAPTER XIIL Early Inhabitants. [Catalogue of inhabitants tliat came in after the first settlers, and appear as residents of the town-plot, or as grantees on the commons and outlands. The earliest date is given at which the name has been noticed, but in some instances the person may have been upon the ground for sev- eral previous years. This chapter is not designed to include those who settled east of the Shetucket, but the exact location of each new inhabitant can not always be ascertained. Adm. stands for admitted inhabitant by public vote.] AUe7i. Timothy Allen married Oct. 11, 1714, Rachel, daughter of Jo- seph Bushnell ; adm. 1715 ; removed subsequently to Windham. Allerton. Thomas Allerton had his cattle-mark registered in 1712. John Allerton was one of the selectmen in 1721. His wife was Eliza- beth, and he had nine children, the births ranging from 1713 to 1735. The name of Isaac appearing among them, suggests a connection with Isaac Allerton of Plymouth and New Haven,* but his antecedents have not been ascertained. Ames, Eames, Emms. Joseph Eames had a son Joseph, baptized April 2, 1710. He died in 1734. Three sons are brought to view in the set- tlement of the estate : Joseph, Ebenezer, and Josiah. The relict, Mary, married Daniel Palmeter. Andreivs, Andrus, Andross. Jeremiah Andrews adm. May 7, 1714. John Andrews, Sen., adm. 1716. These were probably sons of Francis Andrews, who died at Faii^field in 1663, and in his will enumerated nine children, among whom were John and Jeremiah. * Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. 27, p. 248. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 223 John Andrews, Jr., adm. 1716. John and Sarah, children of John Andross, Jr., were baptized July 5, 1713. David and Benjamin Andross appear also as inhabitants about 1715. Armstrong. Jonathan Armstrong settled before 1670 at Misquamicut, (Westerly,) where he had a stormy experience of several years' continu- ance amid the riots, inroads, writs and judgments that disturbed the de- bateable lands on the bordei'S of the two colonies, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In partial redress of his grievances, the Legislature of Connect- icut granted him in October, 1677, one hundi'ed acres of land near the bounds of Norwich.* Nathaniel Armstrong was a grantee of the town in 1679, and Benjamin in 1682. Benjamin Armstrong died Jan. 10, 1717-18, leaving four sons, Benja- min, John, Joseph, and Stephen, all of age. Benjamin married Sarah Raymond, and in 1703 was one of the patentees of Mansfield. Stephen settled in Windham. Joseph was a householder in 1716, John married in 1710, Anne Worth, and had a numerous family. Lebbeus Armstrong, a descendant of John, removed about 1770 to Bennington, Vt. Arnold. John Arnold was a land-holder, both by grant and purchase, in 1683. He removed a few years later to Windham. Benedict Arnold took the freeman's oath in 1739. Averi/, Jonathan, adm. 1724. Baker. Joseph Baker, an inhabitant before 1690, was received with his wife into the West Farms church in 1721. Nathaniel Baker, a resident in 1718. Ebenezer, adm. 1724. Bacon, .John: adm. 1713; wife Hannah received into the church and four children baptized in 1718. Badger. Nathaniel Badger, adm. 1721, probably came from Newbury. Daniel Badger married Sarah Roath, Oct. 22, 1719. The births of three children, Daniel, Gideon, and David, are recorded in Norwich. « • — — — — ^ * Conn. Col. Kec, 2, 324. f' 224 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Barrett, Ezekiel, 1711. Isaac, 1716. Barstow. Job, the son of John Barstow, born at Scituate, March 8, 1679, adm. at Norwich in 1708. He and his wife Rebecca, who was the daughter of Joseph Bushnell, were baptized and received into the church Aug. 9, 1709. In 1725 he was one of the selectmen. He had three sons: Jonathan, born in 1712; Ebenezer, in 1720; and Yet-once, July 17, 1722. Bates, William: cattle-mark registered 1678. Belden, Stephen: adm. 1720. Bell. Eobert Bell came from Ipswich about 1720. He appears to have been a physician, and had married at that place, Nov. 7, 1717, Abigail, relict of John Fillmore. He died Aug. 23, 1727, and his wife in Novem- ber of the same year. They left three children : Samuel, born in Ipswich, 1719 ; Benjamin and Deliverance, natives of Norwich. [This Robert Bell may have been a son of Robert of Hartford, as the latter had a son Robert born in 1680.*] Blackmore, Samuel: one of the Separatist party in 1748. Boom, or Bourn, George: a resident in 1726, and had a son George, baptized March 8, 1729. Broken. Ebenezer Brown, son of Capt. John Brown of Swanzey, and grandson of Major Mason, married Sarah, daughter of the second Samuel Hyde, Feb. 25, 1714. They removed to Lebanon, where he died in 1755. His relict long survived him, and died in Windham, March 1, 1797, aged ninety-nine years and two months. Burton, Samuel: a resident in 1719. Burley, Jonathan : adm. 1727 ; mar. March 30, 1730, Elizabeth White. * Savage's Gen. Diet. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 225 Capron, Walter : 1730. Carew. Thomas Carew married Sept. 10, 1724, Abigail, daughter of Daniel Ilmitington. Joseph Carew, brother of Thomas, married in 1731, Mary, daughter of the same, and died in 1747, leaving seven children ; estate, £2,847. . Palmer Carew was an inhabitant in 1730. Car2Jenfer, John: adm. 1723; probably son of William of Rehoboth. His wife, Sarah, was I'eceived into the church the same year. Carter, John: united with the church in 1722. Case. Moses Case, adm. Sept. 13, 1726. John, son of John Case, baptized in 1729. Cathcart, Eobert: an inhabitant in 1728. Chapman. Joseph Cliapman, probably son of William of New Lon- don, adm. 1715 ; died June 10, 1725. His wife, Marcy, died seven days previous. Eight cliildren ax'e recorded. Two of the sons, Moses and Daniel, are on the list of Separatists in 1748. Chappell, Caleb, son of George of New London, was resident in 1694, but removed to Windham. Cleveland. Isaac Cleveland, adm. 1709, was probably son of Moses of Woburn, who had a son Isaac, born May 11, 1669. Samuel and Josiah Cleveland, early settlers at Canterbury, appear to have been his brothers. In 1715, Elizabeth, wife of Clement Stratford, mariner, administered on the estate of her former husband, Isaac Cleveland. No mention is made of children. CooUdge, Samuel, a resident in 1694. 15 226 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Cole. "The inventory of Ambrose Cole of Norwich, deceased," was presented to the county court in 1690. Probably the family came from Scituate. Ootterel, Gershom : a resident in 1678. Crane. Jonathan Crane, probably from Killingworth, had land regis- tered in 1672, and mai-ried, Dec. 19, 1678, Deborah, daughter of Francis Griswold. He removed to "Windham, where he had a thousand acre right ; built the first mill in that plantation ; was one of the selectmen in 1692, and a patentee of the town in 1703. Crocker. Samuel Crocker settled at West Farms about 1700, and was one of the selectmen in 1722. He was probably son of Thomas of New London, and born at that place in 1677. He had four children, Samuel, •John, Jabez, and Hannah, baptized in 1709. Cross. Peter Cross had land recorded in 1672, and was a resident in 1698, but afterward removed to Windham. George Cross, a resident in 1719. Cullum, Benjamin : adm. 1715. Abigail, daughter of Benjamin and Abigail Cullum, baptized in 1718. Culver. The marriage of Edward and Sarah Culver is recorded Jan. 15, 1681 ; the births of seven children follow. Edward Culver was on the board of Listers in 1685. In 1698 he removed to Lebanon, and was living there in 1716. John Culver and his wife Sarah united with the church at Norwich in 1721. Cidverswell, Thomas, died Api-il 15, 1725. Dai'hy, Samuel, a resident in 1700. Davis. Ephraim Davis was on the roll of 1702. Thomas, Comfort and Joseph appear as inhabitants soon after 1712. Thomas had daughter Mercy baptized in 1711. HISTORY OP NORWICH, 227 Daynes^ or Deans. Abraham Daynes of North Yarmouth mar. Dec. 27, 1671, Sarah, daughter of WiUiam Peake. This marriage is recorded at New London, with the births of thi-ee children, Johanna, John, and Thomas. Three others are on record at Norwich, viz., Ebenezer, Sarah, and Ephraim. The sons are found among the inhabitants of tlie town in the next generation, but the name is more frequently written Deans. James and Oxenbridge Deans were young men in 1738. Dean. Nathaniel Dean, adni. Dec. 28, 1714; wife, Joanna, probably from Taunton. Seth Dean, 1739. Decker. Joseph Decker and wife Thankful were received into fellow- ship with the church in 1714, They removed to Windham. Denison, Capt. Robert, adm. 1718. His farm of 500 acres, conveyed to him by Owaneco, with the consent of the Legislature, in 1710, lay upon the border of Mashipaug or Gardner's lake, and was then supposed to faU within the Nine-miles-square. He began his inaprovements at this place in 1716, but when the bounds of the town were more accurately defined, the greater part of his farm, including his family residence, was found to lie within the limits of New London North Parish, and after 1720 his connection with Norwich ceased. Capt. Denisou died in 1737, and was interred in a cemetery prepared by himself on his farm, where a group of Denison graves, with granite curb-stones marked with initials and dates, still remain. His son, the second Capt. Robert Denison, was an officer in the French war, and removed to Nova Scotia. Dennis, John : a resident at the Landing in J 739. Dowd. The cattle-mark of Abraham Dowd was recorded in 1723. He was probably a son of John Dowd of Guilford, born in 1097. Edgecomhe,lL\\o\nvi^,hovn in New London, 1694, settled in Norwich before 1720, and there died Sept. 16, 1745. His first wife was Katherine Copp ; his second, Esther Post, who survived him but a few months. While on her way to New London, she was thrown from lier horse, severely wounded in the head, and carried to the house of Mr. "William Angel, where she lingered for a fortnight in great pain and distress. The 228 HISTORY OF NORWICH. 'whole neighborhood was moved by her sufferings, and several physicians hastened to her relief. Dr. Goddard came from New London, with Dr. Morrison, an army surgeon, just returned from Cape Breton, Dr. Worden from Franklin, and Dr. Porter from Wethersfield ; but surgical skill was exerted in vain. She died May 20, 1746, aged forty, and was interred at New London. The sons of Thomas Edgecombe by his first wife were Thomas, John, Jonathan, and Samuel. Thomas died in Norwich, April 39, 1755. John was a soldier in the expedition against Cape Breton, and there died after the surrender in 1746, at the age of twenty. Jonathan, a seaman, was taken by a Spanish privateer, Aug. 3, 1752 ; carried first to Campeachy, and from thence to Old Spain, where he was kept confined for several months, but at length picked the lock of his prison, escaped and reached a French port in safety. Here he found an English vessel, on board of which he worked his passage to England, but had scarcely touched the Island, when he fell into the hands of a press- gang and was enrolled on board of a man-of war. After a year's service he contrived to escape, and through various other adventures, finally reached home, Nov. 30, 1754. He afterward settled in Vermont. Samuel, the fourth son, was Deacon Samuel F.dgecombe of Groton, Ct., who died Aug. 14, 1795, aged 65. Fairhanhs, Samuel : a resident in 1722. Fales. Samuel Fales, adm. 1708; received into communion with the church in 1711 ; died 1733. He was son of Mr. James Fales of Ded- ham, and son-in-law to John Elderkin. His inventory included a more than ordinary number of religious books. It is probable that he was theological student. Fargo. Moses Fargo came from New London about 1690, and in 1694 obtained a grant of land "on the hill above the rock where his house stands." He was on the roll of 1702, and died about 1726. Name often wi-itten Firgo. Field. Verdict of a jury upon the body of Gregory Field: "Found dead in Shoutucket river in Norwicli, 29 April, 1710." HISTORY OF NORWICH. 229 Fillmore. John, son of Jolin Fillmoi-e, was born at Ipswich, March 18,' 1702. His father was a mariner, and died at sea about the year 1711. His mother's maiden name was Abigail Tilton. She married for her sec- ond husband, Robert Bell, and removed with him to Norwich West Farms, Her son, John Fillmore, returning from sea, was united Nov. 9, 1724, to Mary Spiller of I[)swi(^h, and on the 28th of the same month made a purchase of lands in Norwich, where he planted his hearth-stone and spent the remainder of his days. Some extraordinary.incidents are connected with his previous history. While out on a fishing voyage, he had been captux'ed by a noted pirate of the name of Phillips, and compelled to perform duty as the helmsman of the freebooting craft ; but after nine months of this odious service, he combined with several other prisoners that had been subsequently taken, and at a concerted signal, making a desperate attack upon their captors, they killed and threw overboard the captain and a number of his crew, disabled the rest, took possession of the vessel, and navigated her to Bos- ton, where they arrived May 3, 1724, and gave their prisoners up to justice. Three of them were executed in Boston, and three sent to Eng- . land, where they sufFei'ed at Execution Dock. The gun, sword, tobacco- box, buckles and rings of the captain of the corsair were awarded by the Court of Admiralty to young Fillmore, as spoils won by his valor and decision. A part of these articles are still preserved as relics by liis descendants.* He was subsequently known as Capt. John Fillmore of Norwich West Farms, — a man of probity, and a useful citizen, a member of the church, and captain of a military company. He was three times mari-ied, and his will mentions fourteen surviving children. He died Feb. 22, 1777, aged 75 years. Nathaniel, one of the sons of his second wife, (Dorcas Day of Pomfret,) born in 1740, married Hepzibah Wood, and settled at Bennington, Vt., when that part of the country was new and unsubdued. He served as a soldier in the French war and in tlie war for independence, and died at Bennington in 1814. His son, Nathaniel 2d, born in 1771, married Phebe Millard of Bennington, and he and his brothers, following the example of their ancestors, I'emoved into the wilderness, and settled in Western New York, where they became farmers, and in the course of time, clerks, teachers, justices, and members of the Assembly. This Na- thaniel 2d was the fatlier of Millard Fillmore, thirteenth President of the United States, who was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., Jan. 7, ISOCf * Sec Memoir by Ashbel Woodward, M. D., in Hist. & Gen. Keg., 11, 61. t President Fillmore, on account of the connection of his ancestry with Norwich, attended the Bi-centennial Celebration in 1859, and manifested a cordial interest in the proceedings. 230 HISTORY OP NORWICH. The descendants of Capt. John FiUmore emigrated not only to Ver- mont, but to Nova Scotia and other provinces, and have been widely scat- tered ; yet representatives of the name and family were left in Norwich and Franklin, where the lineage is still to be found, comprising descend- ants of the brave Capt. John and also of his brother Ebeuezer, who mar- ried Thankful Carrier in 1733. Ford, John: adm. 1722; married May 2G, 1729, Ann HoUoway. Fowler. Jonathan Fowler married Aug. 3, 1687, Elizabeth Reynolds. The widow Fowler is incidentally mentioned in 1098. Thomas Fowler of Lebanon, died in 1707. Fox. Isaac Fox, adm. 1721 ; Thomas, 1722. Frasier. Colin Frasier married in 1718, Sarah, daughter of Paul Wentworth. In January, 1724, Mrs. Frasier was arrested on the charge of killing an Indian woman in a fit of insanity. On the 24th of February, while imprisoned at New London, the unhappy woman, in another access of her malady, to v>'hich she was constitutionally subject, plunged a knife into her own throat, but the wound did not prove fatal. She was tried in March, and fully acquitted on the ground of distraction. French, John French, Senior, of the "West Farms, adm. 1724; died April 20, 1730, leaving sons, Abner, John, Joseph, and Samuel. John French, Jr., [Major John French] married Aug. 21, 1729, Phebe, daughter of Thomas Hyde. Gaylord, Josiah, lG7o. He was probably son of AVilliam of Windsor, and step-son of John Elderkin. He is on the roll of 1702 ; his "house at Pock-nuck" is mentioned in 1720. He died in 1727. Gibbons, John, 1719. "Hambleton Gibions," connected with a disturb- ance in the meetino-house, 1723. GooUn. Edward Gookin, adm. Sept. 13, 1726. He had four children baptized at dates ranging from February, 1723, to March, 1730. He was HISTORY OF NORWICH. 231 probably son of Daniel Gookin of Sliei-born, whose wife was a daughter of Edmund Quincy, and who had a son Edmund, born IMarch 31, 1688. Edmund of Norwich had wife Sarah, and two sons, Samuel and Daniel. The former has not been traced, but Daniel, with his parents and their three daughters, who lived to be aged spinsters, all sleep together in the town burial-crround. Gould, Nathaniel, 1730. Gorton. Benjamin Gorton, from Warwick, R. I., on the 20th of Sep- tember, 1717, purchased the valuable farm of Peter Mason near the Great Pond, or Mashipaug Lake, 500 acres, with dwelling-house and other build- ings, for £500. This farm was then supposed to lie within the bounds of Norwich, and he was for several years considered an inhabitant. He died in 1737. Gove, Samuel and Nathaniel, adm. 1723. Green, Robert of Peagscomsuck, 1696. Grut. Thomas Grist married Ann Birchard, Aug. 14, 1721 ; adm. 1726. Grover, Ebenezer, first mentioned about 1720. Hall. Thomas Hall, adm. 1701 ; probably came from Woburn. Thomas, Jr., adm. Dec. 21, 1712. Hamilton, Solomon, a resident in 1738. Hammond, Joseph, 1712. Caleb, married Nov. 21, 1723, Mary Brew- ster; adm. 1727. Elijah, adm. 1730. Isaac, of Norwich, bought a farm on Mohegan hill in 1734, for £660. Harrington. Isaac Harrington died 1727 ; left wife Sarah, and four child^-en, Isaac, Silvanus, James, and Patience. 232 HIS^ORYOPNORWICH. Harris. John Harris, adm. Dec. 21, 1712, died 1728^ left wife Susan- nah; other legatees, "brother Robert and his son John of Brookline, in New England." Gibson, son of Samuel Harris of New London, born 1694, settled in 1726 on a farm in New Concord, now Bozrah. His wife was Phebe, daughter of Capt. George Denison. He died in 1761. He was the father of Dr. Benjamin Harris of Preston. Hartshorn. David and Jonathan Hartshorn, brothers, from Reading, settled at the West Farms, and are on the roll of inhabitants in 1702. David was a physician ; selectman in 1709 ; built a saw-mill on Beaver brook in 1713 ; was one of the first deacons of the West Farms church; died Nov. 3, 1738, aged 81. He was a man of good report, and a valu- able citizen. His wife was Rebecca Batcheler. Jonathan Hartshorn, probably son of Jonathan above named, married in 1709, Lucy Hempsted of New London, and in 1726 removed with his family to Cecil county, Maryland. ] Hashins, or Hosldns. Richard and John were early residents. Rich- ard died in 1718, leaving nine children; estate, £1,257. John died in 1719, leaving seven children. Daniel, adm. Dec. 5, 1721, married Mehitable Badger. Hazen. Thomas Hazen, adm. Dec. 21, 1712. He and his wife were received to church membership by letter from the church in Bosford. John Hazen, adm. 1715. Joseph and Jacob also became residents near this time. Heath. John Heath came from Havei'hill. His wife, Hannah, was received into the church, and her son Josiah baptized, 1715. Hendrich, Isaac, a resident in 1721. Hill, Charles, a Separatist in 1748. Hodges, Ephraim, adm. 1729. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 233 Hough, John, 1678; son of William Hougli of New London, and there bom Oct. 17, lG5o. He was a house-builder, and much employed both in Norwich and New London, acquiring lands and houses in each place. He died at New London, Aug. 2G, 1715, suddeialy deprived of life by a fall from the scaffolding of a house on which he was at work. He was a large man, of a military turn, and active also in civil affairs, extensively known and highly esteemed. The sudden stroke that swept him into eternity, resounded through the country with starthng emphasis. The wife of Capt. Hough was Sarah Post of Norwich. He had a farm in New Concord Society, the land being an original grant from the town in payment for building a school-house. His youngest son, Jabez, born in 1702, inherited this form, and there died, Jan. 24, 1725, only seventeen days after his marriage Avith Anne Denison of New London. The farm was after this the homestead of his older brother John, and from him it went to his son Jabez, who married Pliebe Harris, who died at the age of 92, July 23, 1820. jHutchins. John Hutchins, adm. Dec. 20, 1715 ; a constable in 1726 and 1727. Thomas Hutchins, inn-keeper at Newent in 1733. Hutchinson, Joshua, adm. April 29, 1729. Jennings. Land granted to Jonathan Jennings in 1677. In 1684 he had other grants at Senemancutt and Sucksqutumscot. He removed to Windham, and there died June 27, 1733, in his 79th year. His son, Ebenezer, was the first male child of English parentage born in Wind- ham.* Jones, John, a resident in 1712 ; died 1749. Johnson. "Ten acres of land at Lebanon Valley," granted to John Johnson in 1677; also a grant at Westward hill. His cattle-mark was registered in 1683; he was a Lister in 1698. Isaac Johnson of Norwich died Jan. 7, 1708. Ensign AVilliam Johnson of Canterbury, who probably went from Nor- wich, died Feb. 23, 1713. Ebenezer Johnson of the West Farms, 1718, married Deborah Cham- pion. * Weaver's Ancient Windham. 234 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Kelly, Joseph, a resident in 1716. Thomas, adm. 1719. Probably both came from Newbury, Kennedy, Robert, a resident in 1730; hud wife Mary. Kimhall, Richard, 1722. King, Edward, a resident in 1699 : adm. 1701 ; died before 1726. Kingsbury. Joseph, from Haverhill, Mass., with his sons, Joseph, Jr., and Nathaniel, adm. 1710. The wife of the elder Joseph was Love Ayres, and of the younger, Ruth Denison, both of Haverhill. The wife of Nathaniel has not been ascertained. He had son John, born in 1710, and Nathaniel in 1711. Joseph Kingsbury, Sen. was one of the first deacons of the West Farms church, chosen in 1718. Joseph, Jr. w^as one of the eight pillars, and their wives, Love and Ruth Kingsbury, were among the earliest members received. Dea. Joseph Kingsbury died in 1741. Joseph Kingsbury, Jr. was an ensign in 1721, selectman in 1723, cap- tain of a company in 1726, chosen deacon in 1736, and died Dec. 1, 1757, aged 75. He had 13 children. Mrs. Ruth Kingsbury, relict of the second Deacon Joseph, died May 6, 1779, aged 93, leaving behind the remarkable number of 231 descendants, viz., 5 children, 61 of the next generation, 152 of the 4th, and 13 of the 5th. The homestead farm is still in possession of descendants of the same name. Andrew Kingsbury, an officer of the- Revolution, and subsequently, from 1793 to 1818, State Treasurer of Connecticut, was a descendant of Joseph, Jr., in the line of his son Ephraim. Kirhy, Richard, adm. 1721. Knowles, Thomas, adm. 1710. Knowlton, Joseph, accidentally killed, 1718 ; "no estate but two cows." Mary, daughter of Thomas Knowlton, a member of the church in 1709. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 235 Ladd. In 1709, Samuel Ladd, from [laverliill, Suffolk Co., Mass., purchased land of David -Hartshorn '"on the hill beyond Thomas Hide's farm." Adm. 1710. Nathaniel Ladd was selectman in 1721, but in 1729 had removed from the town. David Ladd, another early settler at the West Farms, married Mary Waters. His family and that of Capt. Jacob Hyde were linked together by a triple marriage of their children. The three brothers, Samuel, Ezekicl and Joseph Ladd, married the three sisters, Hannah, Ruth and Silence Hyde, both parties in the natural order of seniority, and each of the sisters at the age of 19 years. Lamh. Ebenezer Lamb married May 6, 1G90, Mary Armstrong. David, Isaac and John Lamb were residents about 1718. John died Aug. IG, 1727. Lawrence, Isaac, owned the church covenant in 1700 ; was adm. 1702. Isaac Lawi'cnce, Jun,, had four children baptized at dates from 1711 to 1718. Lee. Richard Lee, adm. 1705 ; died Aug. 7, 1713; left widow Sarah, and nine children : the oldest son Thomas 40 years of age, Richard 34 Joseph 32, and Benjamin 30. Loonier, Samuel, of the pai'ish of New Concord, adm. Sept. 13, 1726. Lord. Cyprian, a younger brother of Rev. Benjamin Lord, settled in Norwich about 1720, and married in 1725, Elizabeth Backus. Imw. The only person of this name found on the records is David, adm. 1709; died Feb. 10, 1710, aged 23. His estate was settled by Thomas Leffingwell. The low semicircular head-stone that marks his grave is one of the oldest in the town-plot cemetery. Lyon, Ebenezer, 1722. Marshall. "Abial Marshall of Norwich and Abiah Hough of New London were married 18 Nov. 1708." Their oldest son, the second Abia Marshall, died in Bozrah, Dec. 1, 1799. 236 HISTORY OP NORWICH 3Ieach. John Meach is on a list of 1698.^ Metcalf. Ebenezer Metcalf, from Dedham, married in 1702, Hannah, daughter of Joshua Abel of the West Farms, and had five children bap- tized, extending to 1711. He was on the roll of inhabitants in 1718, but removed to Lebanon, and there died Nov. 5, 1755, aged 76. He Avas a descendant of Michael Metcalf, who had lived at Norwich in England, but emigrated to this country with his wife and nine children in 1637, and settled at Dedham. Merrick. Stephen Merrick married Mercy Bangs, Dec. 28, 1671, he being 25 and she 20 years of age. Mercy and Apphia Bangs were twin daughters of Edward Bangs of Plymouth colony, and were married the same day, — Apphia probably to John Knowles.* Stephen Merrick came to Norwich about 1672. He was a constable in 1681, and appointed county marshal or sheriff in 1685. Moore. Grants of land were made to William Moore in 1677 and 1682. He had land also at Potapaug and "over the river at a place called Major's Pond." He married the relict of Thomas Harwood in August, 1677, and about twenty yeai's later removed to Windham. Morgan. Two of this name are found early at Norwich, and left fam- ilies there, — William and Peter. William Avas probably tua of WiUiam and Margaret (Avery) Morgan of Groton, (born 1697.) Peter was a son of John Rose-Morgan of New London, born in 1712. His wife was Elizabeth Whitmore of Middletown, and his house stood mider the hill upon the site afterwards built upon by Rev. Joseph Strong, and now the residence of D. F. Gulliver, M. D. Peter Morgan removed to the Great Plain. Moseley, or Maudsley. The eai'hest notice of this name is found in the bajitismal record : "Increase and Sarah, children of Increase Maudsley, bap. 6:9: 1715," that is, Nov. 6, 1715. Increase Moseley, the father, died in 1731. Increase, the son, born May 18, 1712, married in 1735, Deborah Tracy of Windham, and removed about 1740 to Woodbury, settling in that part t Gen. Diet., article Bangs. Merrick is there erroneously printed Hcrrick, and the date of the marriage 1670 instead of 1671. HISTORY OF NORAVICH. 237 of tlie town whieli is now Washington. He there sustained various offices of trust and honor, representing the town in the legislature for some fifteen successive years, but removed to Clarendon, Vt., in 1781, and there died May 2, 1795. His son, the third Increase Moseley in direct succession, probably born also in Norwich, settled in Southbury, and was a colonel of one of the Connecticut regiments during the Revolutionary Avar.* Rev. Peabody Moseley, son of the first Increase, was born at Norwich in 1724. He was a Baptist clergyman, but about the year 1780, joined the Shaker society of New Lebanon. Munsell, Elisha, 1720. Elisha, Jr., 1721. The latter was on the list of Separatists in 1748. iVbrm«H, James, adm. Dec. 20, 1715. He was captain of a vessel; kept also a shop of merchandize ; and in 1717 was licensed to keep a house of entertainment. He died June 28, 1743. Orws%, John, adm. Dec. 20,1715; died July 11, 1728. His relict, Susannah, died in 1752. Joseph, adm. 1720 ; wife Abigail united with the church in 1721. Palmeter, Daniel, adm. 1724. Pasmore. The inventory of Joseph Pasmore of Norwich was exhib- ited in 1711, comprising a Bible, psalm-book, sword, articles of apparel, and twelve acres of land. Pech, Benjamin, adm. 1700. The church record gives tlie names of eight children of "brother Benjamin Peck," that were baptized from 1703 to 1718. He died in 1742. Joseph, his oldest son, born in 170G, was father of the late Capt. Bela Peck of Norwich. The ancestor of this family was Henry Peck of New Haven, whose twin sons, Joseph and Benjamin, were born Sept. 6, 1647. * Cothren's History of Woodbui-y. 238 HISTOEY OP NORWICH. Pemher, John: adm. 1722; son of John and Agnes Pember of New- London. He married in 1716, Mary, daughter of Thomas Hyde, and settled at West Farms, where he died in 1783, aged 85. Pettis, Samuel, adm. 1727. Phillips, George, adm. 1726. Pierce, Jonathan and Ebenezer, adm. 1712. Pike. Elizabeth, wife of John Pike, baptized Aug. 5, 1711 ; son John baptized 1712, and other children onward to 1723. Pitcher. Samuel Pitcher, supposed to be a son of Andrew of Dor- chester, had son Benjamin baptized in Norwich, March 20, 1714. He was one of the selectmen in 1721, but in 1735 removed to Woodbury, Ct. A part of the family remained, and the name has been continued in the town to the present day. Polly. Matthew, 1719, probably from Woburn. Abigail, wife of Daniel Polly, died June 8, 1725. Prior, Joshua, a householder in 1733. Raymond. Samuel Eaymond of Norwich and Lydia Birchard of Leb- anon were united in mari'iage March 6, 1717. They had sons Samuel and Daniel, the former born Dec. 25, 1720. Richards, Nathaniel, an inhabitant in 1716. Andrew, adm. 1727. Roberts, Samuel, 1678, son of Hugh Roberts, an early settler in New London. He came to Norwich as a house-carpenter, in company with John Hough. These tw'o men were often associated in work, and called themselves near kinsmen, the mother of each being a daughter of Huo-h Calkins. The first school-house in Norwich, of wdiich we have any notice, HISTORY OF NORWICH. 239 was built by John Hough and Samuel Robert?, and paid for in land in 1683. They were the master-builders of many early houses in the town- plot, — the regular, substantial houses that followed the temporary habita- tioits of the first encampment. Samuel, son of Samuel Roberts, _ was born May 9, 1688. Bogers, Theophilus, 1720 ; a native of Lynn, Mass., and reputed to be a descendant of John Rogers, the Smithfield martyr. He had studied physic and surgery in Boston, and settled at Norwich in the practice of his profession. He died Sept 29, 1753. Two of his sons, Ezekiel and Theophilus, were physicians, and two others, Uriah and Col. Zabdiel, were conspicuous as active citizens and patriots of the Revolutionary period. Rood. Thomas Rood was an early settler vipon the outlands of the township. His wife, Sarah, died in March, 1668, and he in 1672. Nine children are recorded, the dates of birth ranging from 1649 to 1666, but the place of nativity is not given. Thomas, Micah, vSamuel and George Rood are on the roll of inhabit- ants in 1702. Micah obtained some local notoriety on account of a pe- culiar variety of apple that he brought to market, which was called from him the Mike apple, and has since been more extensively propagated. It is an early species, has a fair outside, an excellent flavor, and each indi- vidual apple exhibits somewhere in the pulp a red speck, like a tinge of fresh blood. Several fanciful legends have been contrived to account for this peculiarity. Micah Rood died in December, 1728, aged about 76. Rosehrough. In 1693, the proprietors granted to George Rosebrough, "three or four acres of land, where his house stands." No other reference to the name has been observed. Rudd. Jonathan and Natlianiel Rudd, brothers, came from Saybrook. The former settled east of the Shetncket, and the latter at the West Farms. It is probable that they were sons of that Jonathan Rudd who was married at Bride Brook in the winter of 1616-7. Nathaniel Rudd married, April 16, 1685, Mary, daughter of John Post. His homestead was in that part of the West Farms which is now Bozrah. He died in April, 1727, leaving an estate valued at £689. Daniel Rudd, one of the sons of Nathaniel, born in 1710, married for his second wife, (July 1, 174.5,) Mary Metcalf, a daughter of the Rev. Joseph Metcalf of Falmouth, Me. She had previously been living with 240 HISTORY OF NORWICH. her relatives in Lebanon, to whicli place she came from her far-off home, according to tradition, in a three-days' journey, riding on a pillion behind Capt. James Fitch. Her son, Daniel Rudd, Jr., born June 10, 1754, married Abigail Allen of Montville, who died Jan. 20, 1857, wanting only a few months of being 100 years of age. Lucy Rudd, one of the daugh- ters of this couple, married, first, Capt. Henry Caldwell of the U. S. Marines, and second, Major- General Henry Burbeck, an officer of the Revolutionary war and of that of 1812. General Burbeck died at New London, Oct. 2, 1848, aged 95. His relict, Mrs. Lucy Burbeck, is still living. It is a singular coincidence, occurring, it is presumed, very rarely in the history of families, that Mrs. Burbeck's father, Daniel Rudd, and her husband, Henry Burbeck, w^ere born on the same day, — June 10, 1754. Sabin : often upon early records written Sabiens. Isaac, adm. 1720. / Sluman. Thomas Sluman married, Dec, 1668, Sarah, daughter of Thomas Bliss; constable in 1680 ; died 1683, leaving a son Thomas and five daughters. His relict married Solomon Tracy. Thomas Sluman, 2d, was on the roll of 1702. Smallbent. Mark Smallbent died Dec. 26, 1696; left two young daughters: estate, £143. Spalding. Andrew, son of Philip Spalding, ,was baptized July 15, 1722. Starr. Samuel, son of Jonathan of Groton, married Ann, daughter of Capt. Caleb Bushnell, in 1727, and settled in Norwich. Stichney, Amos, 1725. Stoddard, Thomas, a resident in the parish of New Concord, 1708 ; pres- ent at a church meeting in 1714. HISTORY OP NORWICH 241 Story. Samuel Story and wife were received into the cliureli in 1722. They came undoubtedly from Ipswich. The inventory of his estate, taken in 1726, has among its items, "a wood-lot in Ipswich." Pie left a numer- ous family: five sons who were living are noticed in his will, the children of Ephraim deceased, and six married daughters, viz., Elizabeth Hidden, Mary Andrews, Dorothy Day, Hannah Nolten, Anna Proctor, and Mar- gai'et Choate. Swetland. John, son of John S wetland, was baptized in 1708; another son, Joseph, in 1710. The fomily. in all probability, dwelt near the west- ern bounds of the town, within the present area of Salem. Tenny, Joseph, adm. 1723. Todd, Thomas, died Aug. 29, 1727. He owned one-third of a sloop called the Norwich. His relict, Martha, married a Lathrop. Thomas, Ebenezer, adm. 1727. He owned lands in Duxbury, and was probably sou of Jeremiah Thomas of Marshfield, born Nov. 1, 1703. Eb- enezer, Simeon, and Thomas L. Thomas, active men of business during the latter part of the century, were his sons. He died Oct. IG, 1774. Tuhhs. Mary, wife of Joseph Tubbs, received adult baptism in 1718. Walker, Jonathan, adm. 1722. Warren, Robert, a resident in 1713 ; selectman in 1721. Way, John, adm. 1722. Welsh, John, adm. 1705 ; died 1728 : estate, £333 ; inventory presented by his son John. Wliite, Daniel, adm. April 30, 1723. He married Elizabeth Ensworth, June 10, 1723, and died Sept. 9, 1727, leaving a wife and three small children. Estate, £407. 16 242 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Whitaker, Jonathan, 1710. He married, in 1718, Abigail Lambert. Wightman, Daniel, 1727. Williams, Joseph, adm. 1702; Charles, of Preston, 1687. Willoughhy, John, 1718. Joseph, adm. Dec. 5, 1721. He afterwards purchased a farm in the North Parish of New London. Wood, Thomas, a resident in 1716. Ebenezer, adm. Dec. 2, 1718; married Mary Rudd, March 12, 1718. Woodworth, Isaac, adm. 1705 ; died April 1, 1714, leaving wife Lydia, and nine children between the ages of 8 and 27. Moses, adm. 1719. CHAPTER XIV. Settlers in Long Society, or East Norwich, afterwards included iw Preston. Some of the earliest grantees on the Shetueket river, below its junction with the Quinebaug, were Samuel Andrews, John Reynolds, Josiah Rock- well, and Robert Roath. These grants in some instances crossed the river and took in the land on both sides. Reynolds and Rockwell were at work upon their land on the eastern bank when attacked by the Indians in 1676; but it is not probable that any permanent habitations were reared on that side until after the conclusion of Philip's war. The Reynolds farm remained long in the possession of the family. A portion of it was sold to the Water Power Company in 1826 by persons to whom it had descended by regular inheritance. The district on the east side of the river comprised Long Society, or East Norwich ; but the grants made by the town were not wholly limited to this society. A considerable portion of Preston was held originally by the same tenure. Its earliest land-owners and inhabitants settled under the authority of Norwich and were admitted to the privileges of the town, included also in the same church bounds, as parishioners of Mr. Fitch. In all probability Greenfield Larrabee was the first settler in this region, — the first actual inhabitant of the town of Preston. Next to him we may reckon the sons of Norwich proprietors, — Thomas Tracy, Jun., Jonathan Tracy, Samuel Fitch, and Nathaniel Leffingwell, who were cultivating farms on that side of Shetucket river in 1680, or soon afterward. The lands east of the town line were claimed by Owaneco, and used by him and his clan for their roving, hunting, and planting grounds. The following entry is from the records of the General Court, at Hart- ford, May 10, 1679: " Whereas, Uncas his son hath damnified Tliomas Tracy, Jun., in his swine, and TJncas is willing to make him satisfaction for the same in land, this Court grants him liberty to receive of Uncas to the value of 100 acres of land for the said damage, if he see cause to grant it to him, provided it be not prejudicial to any plantation or former grant made by the Court. Lt. Thomas Tracy and Lt. Thomas Leffingwell are ap- pointed to lay out this grant to the said Thomas Tracy, Jun., according to this grant." 244 HISTOEY OF NORWICH. Thomas Tracy's farm east of the Shetucket was not far from Owaneco's claim, and it is not unhkely that the swine were lawfully slain in defence of his corn-fields. But this was an easy way of settling disputes; the Indians set but little value upon their lands, and the settlers were willing to be slightly "damnified," for the sake of the indemnity. In 1699 the farmers east of the Shetucket petitioned the town tliat they might be relieved from the ministry rates in Norwich, and pay to Preston. This was not granted, as the people at West Farms and in the crotch of the rivers were similarly situated, and the privilege could not be consist- ently granted to all. Amos.*' Hugh Amos probably came from Boston, where a person of his name was living in 1G66. He was propounded for freemanship at Norwich in May, 1671, but an earlier notice of him is the following: Sept. 26, 1670. "A committee of three persons, John Bradford, Hugh Calkins and Thomas Leffingwell are to agree with Hugh Amos to keep the ferry over Showtuckett river." This was after the privilege of keeping the ferry had been granted to Samuel Starr, and forfeited by him. " Hugh Amos and his neighbor Rockwell" are mentioned in 1678 as living near the ferry. Amos died in 1707, leaving an estate valued at £410, consisting princi- pally of housing and 570 acres of land. His children then living were John, Mary, wife of Benjamin Howard, Samuel (of Stonington), and Ann. Samuel Amos in 1685 obtained a deed of land lying "between Shunk- hungannuck hill and Conaytuck brook," of the sachem Owaneco. A handsome sheet of water called Lake Amos, in the south-east part of Preston, near the line of Noi'th Stonington, probably obtained its name from him. Ayer. .John and Joseph Ayer, or Ayers, emigrants probably from Ips- wich, Mass., settled at Preston and North Stonington as farmers. Joseph Ayer's farm was within the bounds of Norwich, East Society, and he was admitted an inhabitant in 1704. His will, dated at Norwich, Sept. 6, 1736, but not proved till 1747, mentions four children — Joseph, Timothy, Sarah Hazen, and Abigail, wife of Dennis Manough. Benjamin. Joseph Benjamin settled in Preston about 1690, and is supposed to have come from Barnstable. The inventory of his estate was * The list given in this chapter of early settlers does not cover the whole of Preston. It includes only those who settled in East Society under the authority of Norwich, and others whose names have been found in connection with the town at an early date. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 245 taken April 27, 1704. IIo left a widow Sarah, and children according to the inventory — "Joseph aged 30, John 22, Abigail, Jemima, Sarah, Mary and Marcy, all about 20." The appraisers of his estate were Thomas Stanton, Jonathan Tracy, and Samuel Lennerson, who were doubtless Lis neighbors." John Benjamin died Aug. 2, 17 IG. Belcher. William Belcher of Preston died Feb. 7, 1732. His will, dated Sept. 6, 1731, provides for wife IVIehitabel, son William, and brother Elijah ; also his mother and sister. His estate was valued at £2,298. Among his bequests was a wood-lot to his pastor, Mr. Hezekiah Lord. Billiiifis. William Billings is suj)posed to have been the oldest son of William Billings of Stonington, and born in that plantation about IGGo. In 1709 he is styled " Capt. William Billings of Preston." He had rights in the volunteer lands, probably derived from his father, who had fought against the Indians in Philip's war. He died in June, 1738.* He was the father of Rev. William Billings, who graduated at Yale in 1720, set- tled in the ministry at Windham, and died May 20, 1733, leaving an only son William, afterward known by the same style and title as his grand- father, viz., Capt. William Billings of Preston. This last-named Capt. William died Nov. 28, 1813, in the 88th year of his age, and was buried at Poquetannock. 'Branch. Peter Branch, probably son of John of Scituatc, had liis cat- . tie-mark registered at Norwich about 1G80. He died in 1713, leaving nine children, of ages from twenty-eight years down to seven. In settling the estate, it was decided that a division could not be made without preju- dice to the children, and testimony to that effect was presented to the coui't, signed by the following persons, who were doubtless fr(;eholders in the dis- trict at that time : John Ames, Isaac Morgan, Daniel Brewster, Ezekiel Parke, Caleb Forbes, David Roodc, John Freeman, Nathaniel Tracy, Joseph Freeman, Thomas Traty. James Morgan, Broivn, Tristram, adm. June 21, 171 G; the birth of Samuel, son of Ti-isti-nni and Mary, recorded the same year. ^^Trustram Brown and Aljigail Parke were married 28 Aug. 1722." This was probably a second marriage of the above. * Joshna Hempstead of New London, in his private Diary, says that Capt. Billings of Preston and Capt. Wm. Hyde of Norwicli were buried the same day, June 9, 1738. These were men of note in their respective towns. 246 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Cady, Nicholas, owned a mill in Preston, and there died in 1725 ; sup- posed to have come from Killinglj. Isaac Cadj died in 1730. Crtry, Joseph, had land granted to him in 1 687, " near Capt. Standish's farm." Clarlc. John Clark, carpenter, adra. 1702 ; died 1709, leaving a wife, Mary, and children, John, Thomas, Mary, Phebe, Isaac, and James, — all, or most of them, of mature age. Isaac, adm. 1714; selectman 1723. James Clark of Norwich died 1719. Gooli, Richard. A deed of gift, dated July 21, 1G80, is recorded, from Greenfield Larrabee to Richard Cooke of Stonington, of thirty acres of land "over Showtuckett, where my now dwelling is, provided he removes and dwells upon it." Richard Cooke accepted the conditions, was after- ward admitted an inhabitant, and had other lands granted by the town. He died in 1G95. His son Obed, born Feb. 1, 1681, was the father of Capt. James Cook of Preston, who died June 9, 1778, in the 62d year of his age. Eliphal, one of the daughters of Capt. Cook, married Oliver "Wood- worth, and died Jan. 25, 1842, aged 92, making but four generations from the settlement. Corning. This name is found early in the East Society. Josiah and Nehemiah Corning were born, the former in 1703, and the latter in 1710. Both are interred in the Long Society burial-ground. Danforth, Thomas, a land-owner in 1730, perhaps earlier. Davison. Peter and Thomas Davison were early inhabitants of the East Society, or Preston. They probably came from Stonington. Peter died in 170G; Thomas in 1724; and a second Thomas in 1741. Downer, Jonathan, adm. 1716. Samuel, adm. 1721. Andrew, a resident in 1723. Dr. Joshua Downer of Preston, born Aug. 6, 1735, was a son of Andrew. Doions. John Downs and Hannah Rockwell were married March 1, 1693-4. Tliey had five children baptized by Mr. Woodward in 1707. Joshua Downs of Norwich and Mercy Raymond of New London were married Feb. 12, 1729-30. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 247 Fitch. Mr. Samuel Fitch, son of tbe Rev. James, was one of the ear- host inhabitants east of the Shetucket. He died in 1725. His sons were Hezekiah, Jabez, and Benjamin. Tlie following inscription is from one of the oldest grave-stones in Long Society : IhERE LAIS THE I BODY OF DEACON BENJAMIN FITCH DIED OCT'R 19 1727 IN ye 37TH YEAR OF HIS AGE. . Forbes. Caleb Forbes had a land grant in 1G72, and was constable on the east side in 1685. His marriage with Sarah, daughter of John Gager, took place June 30, 1681. A deed from Owaneco, in his favor, of 110 acres of upland and meadow " south of Connoughtug brook," bears the date of Dec. 10, 1683. Deacon Caleb Forbes of Preston died Aug. 25, 1710. His estate was estimated at £625. He left a relict, Mary, and five children, Sarah, Caleb, Mary, John, and Elizabeth. Francis, David, adm. 1697." He was on the roll of inhabitants in 1702, and again in 1718, Vvith the title of Sergeant. Freeman, Joseph, of Preston, 1698. Sergeant Joseph Freeman's inventory was presented at the county court in 1706, and distribution of his estate ordered to his three sons, John, Ebenezer, and James. Gates, Stephen, an inhabitant of Preston in 1720. Thomas Gates died Oct. 24, 1726. Geer. The farm of George Geer was near the dividing line between New London and Norwich, east of the river, and was afterward included in Groton. He married in 1659, Sarah, daughter of John Allyn, His sons, Joseph and Jonathan, were reckoned as inhabitants of Preston in 1687. Giddings, Nathaniel, son of Natlianiel, born 1705; daughter Elizabeth baptized Sept. 19, 1715. 248 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Glover. John Glover, a grantee of 1680, is on the roll of inhabitants in 1702 and 1718. He married May 29, 1682, Hannah , the fam- ily name not given. Marcli, 1684. "Granted to Mr. Brewster and John Glover, two bits of land, near their own land, on the east side of Showtucket river." Haskell, Dyer, adm. Dec. 1, 1713. Roger, adm. 1716; Daniel, 1723. Roger and Daniel Haskell were brothers. The former died in 1727. The decease of Daniel and two sisters, Judith and Sarah, took place dur- ing the year 1730. Daniel left an estate of £850. In the last will and testament of Judith, several of the bequests are suggestive of the fashions of the day. " I give to brother Roger's daughter Zipporah, my Bible, my silk apron and pinner.^, and two ril)bons. I give to brother Fitch's daugh- ter Abigail my chince frock and stays with green covering," &e. A second Roger Haskell, who died in 1759, aged 67, and a third of the same name in 1791, have stones to their memory in the Long Society burial-ground. HewiL John He wit, member of Norwich church in 1726, had a son Solomon baptized March 30, 1729. Hillard, Joseph, 1738. Larrahee, Greenfield, from Saybrook, son of an original emigrant of the same name, married Alice, daughter of Thomas Parke, in March, 1673, and settled upon a farm east of the river, near his father-in-law. In this new location he prospered, acquired large lands, brought up a family of eight sons and daughters, and lived to be upwards of 90 years of age. He was born April 20, 1648, and died Feb. 3, 1739. Mainer, Zachariah, 1722. Mix, or Meehs. Thomas Meeks, son of Thomas of Ncav Haven, and there born in 1635, married June 30, 1677, Hannah, daughter of Rev. James Fitch. He settled upon a farm belonging to Mr. Fitch, east of the Shetucket. A tract of twenty acres, " where his house stands," was con- firmed to him July 16, 1680, as a free gift from Mr. Fitch to his daughter. They had nine children. Mr. Mix died July 30, 1706. His son Daniel was a selectman in 1725 and 1726. Morgan, Joseph, of Preston, son of James of New London and Groton, married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Parke, "sometime in April, 1670," says the record. He died April 5, 1704. He had one son, Joseph, and six daughters, who lived to maturity. Estate, £522. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 249 Parish, Samuel, a/lm. 171 fi; licnjamin, a little later: probably sons of Jobn of Stonington, who died in 1715. Parhe^ or Paries. The farm of Thomas Parke was so ambiguously sit- uated that it took a course of years to get it settled into an abiding position. In 1681 he was a collector of taxes for New London, and his son, Thomas Parke, Jr., a constable of the same town. In 1G86, the latter, without any removal of residence, was chosen constable for Norwich. A year later they were both included in the new town of Preston. Deacon Thomas Parke died July 30, 1709 ; his son, Tliomas Jr., had previously deceased. Robert Parke, second son of Deacon Thomas, married Rachel Leffing- well, Nov. 24, 1681. He also died before his father, (1707,) leaving a second wife, Mary, and ten children between the ages of nine months and twenty-three years. Robert Parke's homestead ftxrm was within the bounds of Groton ; he had also a farm at Pachaug. Capt, John Parke of Preston, another son of Deacon Thomas, and prob- ably the oldest, died in 1716. In the division of the estate, the widow Mary received that part of the farm "on which old deacon Thomas dwelt by the Great Pond." She afterward married Salmon Treat. Nathaniel Parks in 1683, was a neighbor of Josiah Rockwell. Richards. In 1713, Deacon John Richards of Preston asked for a confirmation of his land. William Richards, probably a brother of John, was also an early inhabitant of Preston. No connection between them and the Richards family of New London has been traced. William died in 1724 ; John in 1756. Both left descendants. Roath. Robert Roath married in October, 1668, Sarah Saxton, and in 1672 was living at Norwich, near tlie Shetueket ferry. In 1680 the road to Poquetannock was laid out, beginning at the house of Robert Roath, and running south through land of Owen Williams. Robert Roath had three sons, John, Daniel, and Pet(ir, who all became heads of families. RoUnson. Peter Robinson came from Martlia's Vineyard about 1 708 ; adm. 1712 ; had three children baptized by Mr. Woodward, (1711, 1713, 1714,) all daughters; removed to Windham, probably about 1720, and was one who assisted in forming the church in Scotland parish, 1735. Israel Robinson was a resident of Norwich in 1720. Rochioell. Josiah Rockwell settled at Norwich about 1670, and was slain by the Indians in January, 1676. His farm was on the eastern side of the Shetueket, near the road to Poquetannock. The parentage of Josiah Rockwell has not been determined by actual records, but presumptive evidence connects him with the family of William 250 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Rockwell who died at Windsor in 1640. Though only three sons of Wil- liam are found on record at Windsor, viz., John, Samuel, and Joseph, it is not improbable that Josiah was an older son by a previous marriage. He was at New London in 1G58, and remained there ten or twelve years. He then removed to Norwich, where one of William Rockwell's family — Ruth, wdfe of Christopher Huntington — had settled. Among his children we find the names of the three brothers of Windsor, Joseph, John, and Samuel, perpetuated ; and in the family of Samuel, at Windsoi', we find a Josiah. These are hints suggestive of a relationship. Josiah Rockwell had seven children, the births ranging from 1658 to 1676, inclusive. The oldest died in infancy. His marriage is not I'e- corded, and the name of his wife has not been traced. Rood. John, son of Thomas and Sarah Rood of Norwich, had a home- lot granted him in 1679, "on the other side of Showtucket river, near to his uncle Leffingwell's." He died in September, 1706, leaving a wife, Mary, and six children, — the oldest, John, aged 16, and the second, Zach- ariah, aged 14. The last mentioned was probably the venerable centena- rian whose grave-stone in the Preston burial-ground has the following interesting record : In Memory of Mr. Zachariah Kude ■who died Feb. 10th 1795. in the 103d year of his age. Here in the history of my age, Men who review my days, May read God's love in every page. In every line his praise. Rose. Thomas Rose was an early settler in the southern part of Pres- ton. His name acquired notoriety from the situation of his dwelling-house. A large oak-tree near the house was a noted boundary-mark between Nor- wich and New London, standing as a stately warder precisely at the south- east corner of Norwi«h. It was directly upon the line running east from the head of Poquetannock Cove to the bounds of Stonington, and is referred to in several surveys, acts, and patents. Thomas Rose married Hannah, daughter of Robert Allyn. Under the shadow of the great boundary-tree they both lived to a good old age. He died in 1743, leaving an estate valued at £2,498. His wife survived him^ and he left also a son Joseph, and six daughters. Another son, Thomas, died before his father, in 1733, leaving a family. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 251 liudd. Jonathan and Mercy Rudd were married Dec. 19, 1G7S, and probably settled in Norwich about that time. His land east of the She- tucket was held by a deed of purchase from Owaneco, dated Dec. 10, 1683, and consisted of 100 acres on Connoughtug brook, and 108 acres betwixt Shunkhungaiuiock hill and Norwich bounds. He api>ears also to have had other lands. He died in 1689, In the distribution of his estate, his wife received £60; the oldest son, Jonathan, £117 ; Nathaniel and Abigail, each £58, 10s. "At the desire of the widow, Joseph and Richard Bushnell, Na- thaniel Rudd, Thomas Tracy and Caleb Forbes were appointed overseers of the widow, children and estate." SjDi'cer. The first Peter Spicer was of New London in 1666, and died in 1695. The second Peter was of Norwich in 1702 and 1716. Samuel, adm. Dec. 20, 1715. Standish. Josiah (or Josias) Standish was a son of the renowned Miles Standish of Duxbury. His first wife, Mary, "dyed and was buried at Duxborough July 1, 1665."* His second wife is supposed to have been Sarah, daughter of Samuel Allen of Braintree.f The earliest notice we obtain of him in this neighborhood is from a deed of sale dated Feb. 5, 1686, from "John Parks of the new plantation, east of Norwich," (Preston,) to "Capt. Josiah Standish now in Norwich," of 150 acres of land "over Showtucket river upon the hill between Mr. Fitch's farm and Pocketannuck," — consideration, £22. Witnesses, Thomas Bradford and Simon Huntington, Jr. The same year he purchased a thousand-acre right in Windliam, near where Willimantic now stands. Capt. Standish died in 1690. The widow and son Miles were appointed administrators on his estate. We may assume that Samuel Standish, licensed to tan leather in Preston, 1706, Israel Standish of Preston, 1709, Josiah, who went from Preston, and was one of the first settlers of Staf- ford, 1719, and Lois, who married Hugh Calkins in 1706, were children of Capt. Josiah. Miles Standish of Preston died in 1728; left relict Elizabeth; estate appraised at £919.11.3. In his inventory arc articles that harmonize well with his name, — viz., gun, sword, belt, pouch, and bullets ; a Bible and Confession of Faith. Starkweather. John Starkweather was an early inhabitant. He died Aug. 21, 1703, leaving a widow and seven children between the ages of 12 and 26 years. * Hist, and Gen. Reg., 8, 192. t Ibid., 10, 225. 252 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Tyler. Hopestill Tyler, "an aged man, died in 1733. He left a wife, Mary, and four children, viz., Hannah Buswell, Daniel, James, and Hope- still. Estate, £813. In the inventory of his wardrobe is "a close bodied coat," valued at £4, 5s., a beaver hat, an orange-colored cloak, and a muff. Wedge, Thomas. Deborah, relict of Thomas Wedge, died in 1703, leaving seven children, viz., John, Mary, Joshua, Isaac, Deborah, David, and Deliverance. John Richards and .John Tracy witnessed her will. Joshua Avas on the roll of Norwich inhabitants in 1716. Wentworth. Paul Wentworth, a son of Elder William Wentworth of Dover, N. H., obtained from Owaneco, the Indian sachem, a lease of cer- tain lands in Mohegan, to which he removed with his family. He was dismissed, with his wife Katherine, from the church at Eowley, where he had lived, to the church at New London, June 29, 1707. But his name does not appear on the list of church-members at New London. His fai-m, though within the limits of the ecclesiastical parish, was at least ten miles from the church, and the intervening country was almost a wilder- ness. He afterward purchased lands of David Francis, in East Society, Norwich ; removed thither and was accepted as an inhabitant of the town Dec. 20, 1715. He had thirteen children, all born before he came to this colony, the dates ranging from 1G80 to 1700. He died in l7o0. Benjamin, his seventh son, married in 1726, Mehitable Carrier. Jared Wentworth, son of Benjamin and Mehitable, born in 1728, married Abi- gail AVilson of Ashford. The residence of this couple Avas in the western part of Norwich, near Bean Hill. One of their daughters, Zerviah, born April 12, 1767, was united Nov. 28, 1790, to Ezekiel Huntley. The only child of this union, Mrs. L. II. Sigourney, has acquired a literary fame second to that of no female in the country. Her numerous writings, in prose and verse, are all of a pure and elevated tone, calculated to charm, console and entertain all willing readers, and particularly to mould and invigorate the character of the young. Williams. Several of this name settled at an early date east of the river. Owen Williams is mentioned in 1669. He obtained a grant of land in 1070, "near Brewster's in the path that goes from Showtuck to Pocketan- nuck." He died in 1680, leaving a family. Joseph Williams, adm. 1702, and a vote passed that he be "entered as a whole share man respecting lands." John Williams, apparently an original emigrant, not connected with others of the name in this neighborhood, appears early in the next century amono- the inhabitants. According to family traditions, he came from 'CL/^. a. / HISTORY OF NORWICH. 253 "Wales, and was born in 1G80. His first wife was Hannah Knowlton.* His residence was at Poquetannock village, but within the bounds of Nor- wich, as is evident from his serving repeatedly as one of the selectmen of the town, in 1721, 1728, and afterward. He died early in the year 1742, leaving a widow Mary. His will provides for his only son Joseph, and sons-in-law, Nathaniel Giddings and James Geer. His estate comprised the homestead farm, a grist-mill, fulling-mill, a wharf and two warehouses at the Landing. Among his personal effects were five negroes, valued at £600. Total estate, £21,727. The following is a cotemporary notice of his death, Jan. 12, 1741-2 : " Capt. John Williams died at Pockatonnock of pleurisy after 7 days illness. He was a good commonwealth's man, traded much by sea and land with good success for many years, and acquired wholly by his own industry a great estate. lie was a very just dealer aged about 60 years. "t Brig. Gen. Joseph Williams of Norwich, one of the purchasers of the Connecticut Reserve, was a grandson of Capt. John. He died Oct. 3, 1800, aged 47. Witter, Ebenezer, of Preston ; died Jan. 31, 1711-12. He left a v/ife, Dorothy, and seven children, Joseph, Ebenezer, William, Elizabeth, Mary, Dorothy, Hannah. Estate, £729. Woodward, Daniel, of Preston, died in 1713; left wife Elizabeth, and twelve children from eleven to thirty -three years of age. Daniel Wood- ward, Jr., administered on the estate. In 1718 the proprietors of Norwich east of the Shetucket were enume- rated. The list includes only property-holders, who were voters and paid rates to the ministry. ' Benjamin Brewster. John Larrabee. • Jonathan Brewster. Daniel Leftingwell, John Clark. , Nathaniel Leffingwell. Obed Cook. Daniel IMix. John Downs. • James Mix. Mr. Samuel Fitch. Daniel Koath. David Francis. John Rockwell. John Glover. Joseph Rockwell. Matthew Huntington. Josiah Rockwell. Andrew Huntington. Samuel Rockwell. Greenfield Larrabee. John Williams. Nathaniel Larrabee. Joseph Williams. * History of the Williams Family, p. 322. t MS. Diary of Joshua Hempstead. 254 HISTORY OF NORWICH. To these were added : Mr. Worthington if he settle there. Isaac Huntington in right of Matthew Coy. And three half-share men, Hezekiah, Benjamin and Jabez Fitch. Preston, as an independent town, begins with the beginning of the year 1687. The petition of the inhabitants to the Legislature for in- corporation was in October, 1686, and signed by Thomas Parke, Sen., Thomas Parke Jun., Thomas and Jonathan Tracy, Hugh Amos, Jona- than Rudd, Caleb Forbes, John Amos, John Rude, Peter Branch, Jo- seph Morgan, Thomas Rose, Daniel BrcAvster, Nathaniel and John Parke, Charles Williams, Jonathan Gere, Edward Litell, and James Smith, — 19 persons.* At a special Court the next January, the petition was granted and the bounds stated. Its limits extended over what is now the southern part of Griswold, but the claim of Norwich east of the river was respected, and no part of Long Society included in the new town. The Plantation Act is recorded at Preston, signed by Robert Treat, Governor, and dated Jan. 15, 1686.t In this instrument fifteen persons are named, comprising the largest landholders, but several of them were not actual inhabitants. Hugh Amos. Thomas Parke. John Avery. John Plumbe. Tliomas Avery. Thomas Hose. Benjamin Brewster. Jonathan Rudd. Caleb Forbes. John Stanton. Capt. Samuel Mason. Jonathan Tracy. Ephraim Miner. Thomas Tracy. John Parke. The whole number of those who were embodied in the plantation, and agreed to assist in supporting a minister, was 31. Jonathan Tracy was the first Recorder. A quit-claim and confirmatory deed was obtained March 17, 1687, from the Mohegan sachem, of the new township, comprising a tract five * Conn. Col. Rec, 3, 220. t There is probably an error of a few days in this date. The Special Court met to confirm the grant and state the bounds, Jan. 26. See Conn. Col. Rec, 3, 222. • I HISTORY OF NORWICH. 255 miles in length between vStonington and Norwich. It purports to be from "Oaneco to Capt. James Fitch, Capt. Josiah Standish, Thomas Pai'ke, Sen., Jonathan Trasy, Thomas Trasy, Joseph Morgan, and all the rest of the inhabitants living in New Preson." Signed. Witnesses : John Morgan. John Stanton. The mark c.^o of John Uncas. The following instrument, signed by Owaneco, is dated Dec. 22, 1680: Whereas at a General Court in Hartford May 13, 1680, my father Uncas had liberty to dispose unto me his land upon Quinnabaug river and the Court at the same time granting rae liberty to dispose of it unto gentlemen among them, as I should see cause to do, and a good part thereof I have disposed of already, but finding that some through their great importunity and others taking advantage of me when I am in drink, by causing me to sign deeds, not only wronging myself, but may spoil it ever being a plantation — for these and other I'easons I make over all my right and title of any and of all my lands and meadows unto my loving friend James Fitch Jr. for him to dispose of as he shall see cause. CHAPTER XV. Newent, or between the Riveks, now Lisbon. The large tract of land lying between the crotch of the rivers She- tucket and Quinebaug, was acknowledged by the English to be a part of the Mohegan territory. At an early period it was inhabited by a band of Indians tributary to Uncas, called by the first settlers Showtuckets. The town of Norwich claimed this land as belonging to their commons. Feb. 25, 1669. " The towne having seriously taken into their consideration the condition of Awan- eco, the Sachem, being in hazard of the loss of his Sachemship for want of land to accommodate his subjects, for his reliefe herein the towne have seen cause to give unto the said Awaneco a parcell of land. Tliomas Tracy, Thomas LefBngwell and John Post are to lay out to him 200 or 300 acres at their discretion near Showtucket river, and abutting southerly on Qaeeuapaug river, secured also to his heirs and successors but not in their power to alienate any part of it." To this grant certain regulations were attached in regard to fencing and keeping cattle and swine. Notice was also given that all trespassing upon the inhabitants of Norwich must be satisfied according to English law, and the act concludes in this manner : " It is further engaged by Oweneco, that whereas as he hath received these lands by gift from the town of Norwich, the town does order that he shall forbear on the Sab" bath day from working, hunting, fishing, or any servile labor, and if any of his subjects be found guilty of this violation, they shall be liable to be punislied, and to these said, and above specified particulars, the said Oweneco doth bind and engage himself, his heirs and lawful successors." Consented to and subscribed by Owaneco, March 22, 1G69. Witnesses : James Fitch, John Mason, Jr. Mark of /^/ # *^'' Owenneko. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 257 On this grant the sachem gathered his special chm, probaljly some twenty or thirty families. An annual tribute of ten deer-skins was at first demanded of them, but the scarcity of deer in the vicinity rendered that regulation a dead letter. Moreover the village was soon broken up by the war with Philip, which called the sachem and his warriors to the field, and scattered the women and children among their neio-hbors. When the conflict was over, a i)art of this tract was assigned to the Indian fugitives, called Surrenderors, and in May, 1678, Mr. p^itch re- ported to the government that twenty-nine families of this class had settled upon it under the supervision of the English. By a deed of trust, Dec. 22, 1680, Owaneco assigned to James Fitch, Jr., the care and disposition of all his lands on Quinebaug river. A few years later, absolute deeds of sale of these and other tracts of land were executed by the sachem in favor of the same Capt. Fitch. In 1695, Owaneco and Capt. Samuel Mason, who, by his own choice and the authority of the government, had been appointed his trustee, requested that a committee of the town should be empowered to survey the 300 acre grant and fix its bounds. The next year, Capt. Fitch, being then proprietary clerk, recorded the whole grant to himself, as included in the large purchases he had made of Owaneco in 1684 and 1687. The town entered a formal protest against the claims of Capt. Fitch, particularly to the 300 acres at Quinebaug Falls, which had been guarantied to the Indians with a proviso that i*! should not be alienated. The course of Capt. Fitch in regard to these Indian purchases was dis- tasteful to the town, and no clear account can be given of the basis upon which the difficulty was settled. Apparently the town, after some mur- muring, acquiesced in the claim of Capt. Fitch to what was called the 1800 acre grant. Capt. Fitch sold this grant in 1604 and '95, to certain purchasers from Ipswich, Mass., viz., Joseph Safford, Richard Smith, Meshach Farley, Matthew Perkins, and Samuel Bishop. Joseph and Jacob Perkins, also of Ipswich, purchased a tract between the rivers in 1695, of John Fitch, and subsequently bought also a })art of the 1800 acre grant from the former purchasers. Settlements were immediately commenced, and in 1718, sixteen persons 3n the roll of accepted inhabitants were characterized as Farmers in ye Crotcli of ye Rivers. Samuel Bishop. Samuel Lothrop. Samuel Coy. jabcz Perkins. Eleazer Jewett. Joseph Perkins. David Knight. josiali Read. Daniel Longbottom. Josiah Read, Jr. 17 258 HISTORY OF N R AV I C H . Joseph Eead. Samuel EooiL John Eoad. Samuel Rood, Jiin. William Head. Henry Wallhridge. Samuel and John Bishop were early settlers in this district. They were probably brothers and sons or grandsons of Thomas Bishop of Ips- wich. Samuel married in 1706, Sarah Forbes. John, in 1718, married Mary Bingham. Samuel was adm. 1702, and John in 1710. Matthew Coy obtained a grant of land east of tlie Shetucket in 1685. His cattle-mark was registered still earlier. He was probably that Mat- thew Coy (son of Matthew) whose birth was recorded at Boston Sept. 5, 1656. Samuel Coy of Newent may have been a brother or a son of Matthew, but no such connection has been traced. He had a son Abraham baptized in 1719. Eleazer Jewett, Dec. 5, 1608, purchased of Messr?. Waterman and Bushnell, agents of the town, 75 acres of land near the Shetucket river. He is supposed to have come from Rowley, Mass. His son, the second Eleazer Jewett, died in 1747, at which time the father was still living. Tiie third of the name was the founder of Jewett City village. David Knight married, March 17, 1691-2, Sarah Backus. Land was granted him in 1700, for repairing the meeting-house and school-house. He died in 1744. Daniel Longbottom was an inhabitant in 1698, and was chosen one of the surveyors in 1702. HimsQlf, wife and six childi-en were baptized by Mr. Woodward in September, 1718. He died in 1729. Jabez and Joseph Perkins, adm. 1701, were sons of Jacob Perkins of Ipswich, and commenced their agricultural improvements between the rivei's in 1695, holding their land in common until 1720, when it was equally divided between them. Joseph died in 1726, and Jabez in 1742. They left large estates and thriving families. Josiah Read has been already noticed as one of the original pro})rietors of Norwich. His four sons are here enumerated with him as independent land-owners and accepted inhabitants. Samuel Rood was the son of Thomas and Sarah Rood, and born in 1666. In 1687 he became a householder, having his residence "below Showtuckett Falls." Henry Wallhridge was an accepted inhabitant in 1702. William is mentioned in 1719 ; Amos in 1721. ^ HISTORY OF NORWICH. 259 Rioliaitl Adams, though not on the \ht of 1718, was an early proprietor between the rivers. He pi'obablj came from Siulbury, and may have been the soldier of that name who was wounded in the great swamp fight with the Narragansetts, Dec. 19, 1075. His wife, Rebecca, was received into fidl communion by Mi*. Woodward in I70.S, and three of his cliildren baptized. He died Aug. 24, 1728. His will mentions ten children, among whom were four married daugliters, Hannah Bacon, Mary Baldwin, Abi- gail Brown, and Rebecca llaggitt. William Adams, perhaps brother of Richard, died in 1727. Eliashib Adams, of Pi'eston, died May 15, 1733. John SaflTord is mentioned as an inhabitant of Norwich in 1G98. John, Joseph and Solomon of the next generation were probal)ly his sons. John Lambert was an early resident in Newent Society. He died July 30, 1727. Another name found in this society at an early period is that of Burn- ham. Eleazar Burnham was recognized as an inhabitant in 1703. He was probably the son of Thomas, and born at Ipswich in September, 1678. He married Lydia Waterman, Nov. 20, 1708, and died in 1743. James Burnham, admitted as an inhabitant in 1710, married, in 1728, Elizabeth Hough, and died May 22, 17o7. Aaron Burnham, a seaman, first mentioned in 1718; cattle-mark en- rolled in 1720 ; died Aug. 18, 1727. His will was proved at Ipswich, Oct. 9 of that year. His wife was the sole legatee. Benjamin Burnham, adm. 172G, married April 20, 1727, Mary Kins- man. He died Oct. 15, 1737. These four persons came from Ipswich before 1720. The Kinsmans, Palmers and Stevenses were later emigrants, probably from the same place. The Lovetts came from Beverly ; the Rathbuns from Block Island ; and Tlioraas Crosby from Barnstable.* Robert Kinsman was admitted an inhabitant Dec. 5, 1721. lie was one of the selectmen in 1725 and 1728. The settlement of Newent was for many years obstructed by tlie diver- sity of claims arising from a confusion of grants and conveyances. In 1723 a committee was appointed "to enquire into and gain as good an understanding as they can come at respecting the Indians l;uid In the Crotch of Quinebaug and Showtucket rivers."t * Half-Century Sermon of Rev. Levi Nelson of Lisbon, 1854. t After this Indiiin reservation had been entirely cleared of native occupants, one of the English owners found at a certain time an old Indian woman, who had come from a distance, barking his birch trees and otherwise trespassing upon his grounds; and 260 HISTORY OF NORWICH. In 1725, the proprietors of the common and undivided land put an end to all controversy by giving a quit-claim deed to Capt. Jabez Perkins, Lt. Samuel Bishop, Mr. Joseph Perkins, and Mr. John SafFord, of all the Indian land in the crotch of the rivers, and of all contained in Major Fitch's 1800 acre grant, for the sum of £75, money in hand, paid to said proprietors, provided that the Indians should be allowed to remain and occupy the tract that had' been secured to them. To these purchasers and to those who should claim under them, the town confirmed the title of reversion. The Indians dwindled away, and in 1745 the descendants of Owaneco and other principal Mohegans, for the sum of £137, executed a quit-claim deed of the Indian reservation in favor of the English claim- ants. This instrument, which extinguished the last aboriginal claim to land in the nine-miles-square, was in substance as follows : Ann alias Cutoih, Betty Aucum widow, Wederaow daughter of Mahomet deceased, Ann, otherwise young Ben's wife, all of whom are descendants of Owaneco, late sachem of Mohegan, and the said young Ben or Ben Uncas Jr. and Daniel Pauganeek, all of Mohegan, for the consideration of 137 pounds in bills of credit — to Capt. Samuel Bishop, Joseph Perkins, Jacob Perkins, John Safford, Joseph SaflFord and Solomon Safford, to all of them in proportion as they now possess— do now relinquish all right and title to the tract of 300 acres more or less in Kewent, in the crotch of the rivers Quinebaug and Showtucket, called the Indian Land, abutting southeasterly on the Quinebaug. — April 9, 1745.* Witnesses, Isaac Huntington. Asa Worthington. upon remonstrating with her, was met with a fiery and indignant rejoinder. " This land yours !" she exclaimed. " How you get it? Indian land, all of it, — you white folks come here, — drive away poor Indian and steal his land, — that the way you get it ! " This no doubt expresses, in a homely way, the feeling of many of the aborigines, as from time to time they have relinquished their ancient seats to the whites, and retired into the wilderness. * Norwich Deeds. CHAPTER XVL MOHEGANS AND THEIR SaCHEMS. MaSON CONTROVERSY. It is a singular fact that while the Indian Sachems were conveying to the English large tracts of land, they were at the same time complaining of want of room for their own accommodation. The habits of the race made a large extent of territory necessary for their subsistence. They must have a different haunt for every varying season ; forests for hunting, thickets whei'e they could procure materials for mats, baskets, brooms, pails, bowls, and all the varieties of their rude manufacture, as well as corn-fields, and stations upon the sea-shore and river banks for fishing. In a general form they had ceded all their inheritance to the English, except the tract upon the river between Norwich and New London, where Uncas had his royal residence ; and here the fresh settlers were crowding upon them, and constraining them to adopt agricultural occupations and fixed habitations very repugnant to their roving habits. More than thirty deeds are recorded in the Norwich books, bearing the signatures of Uncas, Owaneco, or Joshua, conveying to various individuals tracts of land, most of them comprising hundreds of acres. Similar deeds are on record at New London. Often these Indian grants overlapped and covered others, leading to many disputes as to titles, and perplexities as to bounds, which entangled the rights and claims of the settlers in an inextricable maze. One is almost inclined to join in the declaration of Sir Edmund Andross, that he did not value an Indian deed any more than the scratch of a cat's paw. The following record shows that an amicable settlement of all differences with respect to land claiias and boundaries took place between the town and the aged chieftain of the Mohegans : Whereas Uncas, Saclicm of Mohegan, hath of late made application to the Town of Norwich for some Releife with Reference to a small Tract of Land wliich fell out to be within the bounds of the Town, on the south Bounds, over the Traiding Cove Brook. This Town, Considering of liis Request, and of him as an Old Friend, see Cause to Gratify kirn witli the said Land as a Gift to him and his heirs forever, and Whereas the s"* Uncas doth also Recon upon three pounds yet due to him as arrears of the ])aymcnt of the purchas of Norwich Township, though there is nothing apijeuring how the said money is due, neither by written nor any other Evidence — Yet notwithstanding the 262 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Town have Granted his desire as not willing to dissatiefie an Old Friend in such a small matter, and the said Uncas Also Declaring himself to be in some fears Eespect- ing his .Posterity, whether they may not be infringed of their Liberty of Fishing and making use of the Rivers and other Royalties by some English : that being the Reason why lie Gave place at the first that we should run the line of the Two miles on the East side of the Great River, Beginning at the River : We also satisfie him in this writing about it, that he and his successors shall from Time to Time, and at all times have full and free Liberty to make use of the Rivers and ponds, with other Royalties as abovesaid, not dcbaring Ourselves, and having thus done, we whose names are sub- scribed being appointed by the town of Norwich to treat with him the said Uncas upon the premises, or any thing Elce that might Conduce to mutual satisfaction , we asked him whether now he was fully satisfied as to the former, so Concerning any thing Elce depending between him and us, ami he hath declared himself: as witness by his hand that he is fully satisfied witli us concerning the premises, so Respecting all our Bounds and boundaries, and particularly Concerning the Running of the Line on the East side of the River, and Concerning the beginning of the said Line at the River, and the end of said Line to a Tree marked near the Dwellinghouse of Robert Allen : Dated in Norwich, September P', 1682 : The mark * K/ of UNCAS. Thomas Leffingwell. '\ William Backus. I Entered in Lib'' the second folio !»', John Birchard. [ October 18"^, 1682. John Tracy. J By me, Christopher Huntington, Recorder. The exact period of the decease of Uncas has not been ascertained. It is supposed to have occurred in the fall of 1683. The latest notice of him that has been discovered is the acknowledgment of a deed befoi'e Samuel IMason in June, 1 683, According to tradition, the last two or three years of his life were mostly dozed away, half stupid in his wigwam. It was very common for old Indians to wear out in that way, becoming physically inei't, sinking into indifference, and dying as it were for want of thought. An active mind undoubtedly assists largely in keeping the vital powers in motion. It is said that the English in passing through Mohegan, between Norwich and New London, would often turn aside to the royal wigwam of Uncas, in order to pay the chief a visit, and in these latter years of his life were wont to find him sitting at the door on a rude bench, sleeping in the sun ; sometimes with his head lolling on his breast, and sometimes bent forward upon his hands, leaning on a staff. It was difficult to rouse him any further than to elicit the guttural ugh ! waugh ! or perhaps a listless IJosh-ah-me ? How do you do ? or, Ty-an-noh ? How do you feel ? All accounts, Indian and English, agree that he was brought to Norwich and interred in a spot previously known as the burial-place of the Indian sachems. This spot, though not reserved for the Indians in the deed of HISTORY OF NORWICH. 263 the town, nor made sure to them afterwards, as far as is known, by any legal instrument, has ever since been used by them as the cemetery of their royal race ; and tliis right of sepulture has not only been conceded to them by the successive proprietors of the land, but several times ex- pressly recognized by the town. In the first division of the common lands, April, 1661, '■Hhe Indian Graves" was included in the grant to Thomas Tracy ; upon which the town, by way of exchange, gave him eight acres of pasture land in another place. And though the same spot was afterwards granted to P^lderkin, it was stipulated that the Indians should always be allowed to pass and repass up the cove and ravine to their burying-place, and to cut wood, if they chose, half-way up the side- hill. The following subsequent grants seem also to admit the Indian priv- ilege : Dec. 20, 1679. Given to Eicharcl Buslinell a small piece of land upon ye little plaine near the land of the Indians where the burying phice is, upon a deep valley that goeth down to goodman Elderkin's. Granted to Samuel Tracy (1690) six acres on the Little Plain, " by the Indian bury- ing place, abutting west on Indian land," and rnnuiiig south to the brow of the hill ami John Elderkin's laud. The Plain and the land around the Falls were regarded as peculiarly Indian land, probably on account of the vestiges left behind of former Indian occupation. We have ventured to fix the residence of that old Indian sachem who claimed the territory before the English came to Con- necticut, in this neighborhood. The savage loves the waterfall ; it diverts his loneliness. He settles in its neighborhood ; its roar is his music ; the smooth water below is the path I'or his canoe ; the fish at its feet are his food. Here he lays up his winter store, and the plains above are the fields for his corn.* Here then, perchance, stood the wigwams of that ancient tribe, and either by them or their immediate successors, the Mohegans, this spot was set apart for the burial-[>lace of their sachems. Here the father of Unca^^, with Uncas himself, and his sons, and his gi-andson Ciesar, and his great- grandsons, those nominal sachems, Ben and Sam Uncas, were gatliered. And in later days, from time to time, as the descendants of the old chief have melted away, the earth in this romantic cemetery has opened to receive their remains. * About the year 1830, the gardener of Mr. William C. Gilman, in turning up the soil, struck upon a considerable deposit, half a peek or more, of Indian arrow-heads, not only of quartz, but flint and other hard stones not indigenous to tiic region. This was on the high bank of the Cove below the Falls. On the Plain above, numerous arrow-heails have been gathered from time to time, and are still occasionally turned up by the spade or plough. 264 HISTORY OF NORWICH. But it has probably received its latest guest, and henceforth it is a sealed tomb. The race of the Sachems is extinct. The last feeble cur- rent of its blood has ceased to tlow. No one remains who has any claim to the coveted privilege of sleeping at the feet of Uncas and Owaneco. Owaneco died in 1710. The deeds signed by him, on record in Nor- Avich, New London, Preston, and some other towns, are numerous and of vast import ; comprising large farms and small farms, towns and districts, estimated often by miles. The condition expressed is frequently of this nature : " To my very good friend John Post, for the love and friendship received from him," 200 acres in 1685 ; to Israel Lothrop, "for kindnesses received and three coats in hand paid," 150 acres in 1695; "to Richard Bushnell, for kind and free entertainment for many years," 400 acres in 1699. Attawanhood, alias Joshua, the brother of Owaneco, was another noted land-grantee, but his deeds are less numerous than those of the elder chief. Titles in Colchester, Lebanon and Windham ai'e in most instances derived from Joshua Uncas, who was considered rather as a river chief, his prin- cipal haunts lying towards the Connecticut. The signatures or totems of these three sachems, affixed to the various deeds executed by them, display as much uniformity as is usually found in common hand-writing at different periods. The signatures of the deed of Norwich present a fair sample of each. Uncas in that instance drew only the arms and body of a man, with a stroke to represent, perhaps, the heart. He seems always 'to have subscribed the rude outline of a human figure, or the prominent parts of it. The totem of Owaneco is supposed to rep- resent a turkey. The head is turned to the right. Joshua's sign-manual is a slender four-legged animal, with a conspicuous tail, and the head to the left. It might be taken for a fox, rabbit, or woodchuck, but in all probability was designed by the sachem to represent the familiar chip- muck, or striped squirrel. Notwithstanding the title of Sachem, and the lordly idea attached to the disposing of such extensive regions as they were accustomed to convey to their friends, these chieftains were but little elevated, either in their habits or morals, above the common level of savages. Owaneco was in his youth a bold warrior, and an enterprising partizan. His exploits at the Nai'ra- gansett fort fight, and through the whole of Philip's war, obtained for him considerable renown. But in maturer years, destitute of the stimulus of war and the chase, he used to wander about with his blanket, metomp and sandals, his gun and his squaw, to beg in the neighboring towns, quartering himself in the kitchens and out-houses of his white acquaintances, and presenting to strangers, or those who could not well understand his imperfect English, a brief which had been written for him by Mr. Richard Bushnell. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 265 It was as follows : Oneco king, his queen dotb bring, To beg a little food ; As they go along, their friends among, To try how kind, how good. Some pork, some beef, for their relief, And if you can't spare bread, She'll thank you for pudding, as they go a gooding, And carry it on her head. The last line alludes to the Indian custom of bearing burdens in a sack upon the shoulders, supported by a bark strap called a metomp, passing across the forehead. After the death of Joshua, his son and heir, Abimilech Joshuason, claimed the greater part of what is now Lebanon. In 1693, he gave a power of attorney to Major James Fitch and Lieut. Thomas Leffingwell, to settle the bounds between his land and the towns of Norwich and Wind- ham. Toward the latter he claimed that the Willimantic river was the true boundary. In 171G, Ca3sar, who is styled "the Prince and Sachem of Mohegan," made several conveyances of land to individuals. One was to Capt. Rob- ert Denison ; another to Lieut. Benajah Bushnell, of two parcels, lying between Trading Cove brook and the south line of Norwich. Denison's purchase lay ''northward of Norwich purchase line and south of the bounds granted by the town to ye Mohegan Sachem." The title was allowed by the town, and all claim to the land released in 1720. Caesar was the youngest son of Owaneco, and died in December, 1722. He was succeeded by Ben Uncas, usually called Major Ben, a descendant of Uncas by an inferior wife. The exact date of the decease of Major Ben is ascertained from a private diary kept at New London. Feb. 11, 172.5. Ben Uncas, the king of the Mohegans, died yesterday. His son and successor, Ben Uncas 2d, had been brought up in the fam- ily of Capt. John Mason, and was the first of the sachems who discarded the old Indian customs, and adopted the dress and modes of living current among his neighbors, the English residents. He married Ann Mazzeen, a "•rand-dau"hter of Uncas in the female line. 266 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Mason Contkoversy. It seems to have been generally conceded by the English, that the ulte- rior right to dispose of land in this region belonged to Uncas. The Gov- ernor and Company, however, claimed that he transferred this right to them by a deed of Sept. 28, 1640. They asserted, moreover, that he had confirmed and ratified the surrender at a subsequent period through the agency of Capt. Mason. In 1659, before the settlement of Norwich, Mason had obtained of Uncas and his brother a general deed of all the lands belonging to them, not then actually occupied by the tribe. In this business, it vvas generally understood that he acted as the agent of the colony, and it was proved by the State Records that he formally surrendered his claim to the General Court, March 14, 1660.* The descendants of Mason denied the validity of this transaction, c • questioned its design, asserting that the conveyance made to their ancestor was with the intent to secure those lands to the Indians, by putting it out of their own power to convey them to others, that Mason received them as their trustee, and had passed over to the colony merely the right of jurisdiction, not the ownership of the lands. The Indian sachems were thus encouraged by the Masons and their party to regard themselves as the rightful owners of all the unsettled lands in this part of Connecticut. Out of these premises a long and troublesome dispute arose ; the case every year becoming more complicated and im- portant. The Masons and Mohegans became closely linked in a claim against the colony for the possession of large tracts of land, occupied by numerous settlers, and comprising the major portion of Colchester, Wind- ham, Mansfield, Hebron, and considerable tracts in some other towns. A vigorous and persevering effort, extending over a period of seventy yeai's, was made by Mason and his descendants to recover the possession of this territory for the Indians. The professed object of both parties was the benefit of the Indians, but the real controversy was between two classes of the English inhabitants, each actuated by political partizanship or pecuniary interest. Tiie Indians were little more than tools in the hands of their nominal friends, and would have gained but little if the case had been at the outset ostensibly decided in their favor. There was a rage among the white residents for specula- ting in Indian lands, and the natives would sell either drunk or sober, and often sold the same land several times over. Had it not been for the guardian care and restrictive legislation of the colony, they would have disposed of every foot of their inheritance before 1700, and reduced them- selves to the condition of landless, homeless vagrants. * Conn. Col. Rec, 1, 359. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 267 The citizens of Norwich entered into the Mason controversy with great warmth and zeal, most of them espousing the cause of the Indians, some doubtless from an honest opinion that they had been injured and defrauded, and others from interested motives. The case was often tried without being brought to an issue. Many persons put themselves to great incon- venience and expense in entertaining and clothing the Indians, and for- warding their cause, expecting to be remunerated when they should recover their rights. On the Indians themselves it had a very unhappy effect, puffing them up with hopes never to be realized, and leading them into courses of idleness, itineracy, and extravagance. Norwich suffered se- verely for her indiscretion, her streets and houses being often tilled with these exacting and troublesome guests. The case was first submitted to Conniiissioners chosen out of all the New England Colonies, and acting under the immediate authority of Queen Anne. This court was held at Stonington in 1705. Thomas Leffingwell of Norwich, a tried friend of the Indian Sachems, was one of the Commissioners, and from his intimate acquaintance with the affairs of the tribe, had great influence with the other members. The colony pro- tested against the authority of this court, and, refusing to appear before it, no defence was made. The decision, as might be expected, was against her, but no attempt was made by the English Government to enfore jjie decree. A subsequent investigation of this case, under the authority of the General Court, was made at Norwich, in the winter of 1717-18, and was pending at the time of the great snow-storm, famous over all New Eng- land, Feb. 17. The proceedings of the Commissioners, who met in the house of Richard Bushnell, Esq., were much impeded by the snow. For several days the members were scarcely able to get together. The next October a further committee was appointed by the Assembly, and directed to repair to Mohegan, to hear the grievances of the Indians, and to endeavor to settle all differences between them and their neighbors. These Commissioners, James Wadsworth, Esq., and Capt. John Hall, met at the house of Lieut. Joseph Bradford in Mohegan, ]\Iarch IG, 1720, for the purpose of marking out the boundary lines between the Indians and the towns of New London and Norwich.* They had another meeting at the same place in February, 1720-21, and were apparently very success- ful in settling the various claims and reconciling all parties. In conclu- * Joshua Hempstead of New London attended this meeting of the Conunissioncrs. As he went up, with the aid of two assistants he measured the road from New London to Norwich, through the Mohegan territory, and records the result in his diary. "From the Mill Dam in New London to Trading Cove brook where we ride over at ye end of Norwich plain is 9 mile and a half and 36 rods." The eighth mile, he says, "is in the falling ground a little beyond the Stone Tort." 268 HISTORY OF NORWICH. sion they laid out and sequestered to the use of the Indians between four and five thousand acres of good land, which was never to be alienated until the tribe became extinct. These proceedings were ratified by act of Assembly, May 11, 1721. In 1723, Capt. John Mason, third of that name in regular descent, stated to the General Court that the Commission of 1705 had cost him more than £600, which was a large proportion of his estate, and he asked for indemnification out of the Mohegan lands that had caused the contro- versy. Had he succeeded in this application, it might have put an end to the contest, but the court decided that he had no claims upon them for redress, and the struggle was renewed. The Masons again carried their complaints to England, and a Commission of Review was appointed by George 2d, to examine the proceedings of the Court at Stonington in 1705, and discarding all intermediate acts and decisions, to confirm or annul the decision of that Court. This Commission, consisting of the Lieut. Governor and Council of New York, and the Governor and Assistants of Rhode Island, convened at Norwich, May 24, 1738. The Commissioners not agreeing as to the course to be pursued, the members from New York, at the outset, entered a protest and withdrew. The remainder, after an examination of wit- nesses, reversed the decision of the court, and gave judgment in favor of the colony.* John and Samuel Mason, however, would not suffer the matter to rest here ; they presented a memorial to the King, alleging that the proceed- ings of the court were irregular, and in behalf of the Indians praying for a redress of grievances. Orders were therefore issued for a new Com- mission of Review. This second Court of Commissioners convened at Norwich, June 28, 1743, and the trial lasted seven weeks. The sessions commenced at the house of Simon Lathrop, Esq., but on the third day were adjourned to the meeting-house, where the remainder of the sitting was held. The town at this time literally overflowed with strangers, and no business of any kind was done, except what was connected with the pending contro- versy, and the necessary purposes of life. All the officei-s of government and distinguished men in the colony were present. The whole tribe of Mohegans was quartered upon the inhabitants, and hundreds of persons in the neighboring towns, who had lands at stake, came in from day to day, to hear the proceedings. The Lathrops, Huntingtons, Leffingwells, Tracys, and all the principal men in Norwich, were of the Indian party, * "June 5, 1738. The great Court of Commissioners at Norwich is over and the case is gone in favor of the Colony. The New York Counsellors, viz. Coll. Cortland and Mr. Hossmonden, deserted and drew off and the Gov. & Council of Rhode Island hath reversed the former judgment." Hempstead's Diary. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 269 and kept open house for John Uncas and his people. Ben Uncas was upheld by the State, and his party was rendei-ed respectable by the notice of all the officers of government. The rival sachems maintained consid- erable pomp and state while the trial continued, which was until the 17th of August. The decision was again in favor of the colony ; but the Masons apjjealed from the judgment to the King in council, and thenceforth all legal action upon the case was transferred to England. The final decision was not until 1707. Sir Fletcher Norton, then prime minister, advised that the English should be conciliated by a decision against the Indians. It was the prevalent opinion in England that the Mohegans had right on their side, but that it was not expedient to do them justice, and indeed not equitable, as the English had long possessed and improved the lands in question, and the Indians had dwindled away and did not need them. One of the Masons, however, remained long in England, prosecuting his claim ; obtained money upon it, sold out rights in it, ran in debt upon it, was at one time a prisoner in the Fleet, and never returned to his native country. The Revolutionary war soon afterwards broke out, the Mohe- gans found themselves at the mercy of the State, and never afterwards showed any disposition to renew their claims. Occom, the eloquent advo- cate and preacher ot this tribe, on hearing of the termination of this affair* writes thus to a friend : " The grand controversy which has subsisted between the colony of Conn, and the Mohegan Indians, above seventy years, is finally decided in favor of the colony. I am afraid the poor Indians will never stand a good chance with the English in their hind controversies, because they are very poor, they have no money. Money is almighty now-a-days, and the Indians have no learning, no wit, no cunning : the English have all." [MS. Letter of Occom.] (Autograph.) In this controversy, our sympathies are very naturally enlisted in favor of the Indians ; nevertheless, it does not appear that they were treated with any undue severity or injustice by the colony. Most of the settlers on the debatable lands, fairly purchased them, and had obtained deeds though not, perhaps, always of the lawful owners. And there is reason to believe that the Indians themselves would not have complained, had they not been instigated by others. This case may fairly be merged in 270 HISTORY OF NORWICH. the great question still pending and unsettled, whetlier a cizilized race has a right, under any circumstances, to take possession of a country inhab- ited by savages, and gradually dispossess the original proprietors.* * Materials for the history of the Mason Controversy are to be found in the Book of Proceedings of the several Commission Courts in this case, which was printed in Lon- don for the use of the King and Council in making their final decision, — a copy of which was sent to the Colony, and is preserved among the State Records at Hartford. It contains several interesting documents. Among them is one presented at the great Commission Court licld at Norwich in 1 743, by Ben Uncas 2d, who was then the chief Sachem of Mohegan. Being allowed to differ what he had to communicate, he came forward in person, with a Bible in his hand and a brazen crown in the shape of a hawk upon his head, and presented a writing, of which the following is the first part : " I am now in the 48th year of my age, and after the decease of my father, Ben Uncas, in 1725, was chosen and installed chief Sachem and have ever since remained in actual exercise of power, and as one evidence, I have here in Court, the Bible trans- lated into Indian, which was sent by Charles Second, King of England, unto the then chief Sachem and delivered successively at every instalment, and also a certain brass hawk, taken from a famous great Captain of the Narragansetts, our enemies, by one of my ancestors in a famous battle and victory over said Narragansetts, always delivered in like manner and kept as a memorial of the great battle and victory." CHAPTER XVII. Town Affairs. Justices' Courts. The annual expenditure of the town during the first century of its existence amounted to a very small sum. The heaviest items, unless on some extraordinary occasion, were for perambulating and stating bounds, laying out highways, plank for bridges, and the bounty on killing birds and snakes. Exclusive of this last item, the annual demands upon the treasury frequently fell below £10. The expenses arising out of the dif- ficulties that existed with neighboring towns, on account of boundaries, added some years greatly to this amount. There was an ever-open quar- rel respecting a tract of land south of the Norwich and north of the Nev/ London line, with the Indians or individual settlers. The disputes with Preston were still more perplexing and acrimonious. They commenced in 1695, and continued for nearly a century, being a constant source of litigation, trouble, and expense. Committees were appointed from year to year to settle the boundaiy-line between the tAVO towns, but it would not remain settled. In the year 1718 there was an access of bitterness and self interest on both sides, and the contention was severe. It is scarcely ( redible that a contest between friends and neighbors, merely for territo- rial jurisdiction, should have been so often renewed, and so long in wear- ing out. The hostility, however, as in most instances of the kind in our settlements, was not between individual inhabitants, but the towns in their collective capacity.* List of Town Derts. Dec. 30, 1718. To John Tracy for killing 4 snakes, . - - Th. Leffingwcll Jr. 6 do - Elislia Waterman 67 birds . . . - John Rood 24 do . - - Jabez Hide 5 snakes - . - . . Th. Bingham 4 snakes and drumming * In 172.3 the disputes respecting the town boundaries were carried to the Legislature for decision. Benajah Bushnell was the town agent in the business. lie v/as absent tvelve days, and charged the town .C2 10s. £ s. d. 8 1 2 9.ide, — Madam Trumbull, or a young daughter, for after 1770 he had two children : Joseph Trumbull, the young merchant, and Faith, the wife 326 HISTORY OP NORWICH. of Jedidiah Huntington, settled in Norwich. They had also other friends and relatives in the place, with whom visits were often exchanged. This Governor Trumbull was the original '^^ Brother Jonathan" — a name casually given by Washington, but which has become the familiar pass-word abroad for all Americans. The first druggist in Norwich, and probably the first in Connecticut who kept any general assortment of medicines for sale, was Dr. Daniel La- throp. This gentleman graduated at Yale in 1733, and soon afterward went to Europe, where he prosecuted his medical studies in London. On bis return, after an absence of several years, he brought with him a large quantity of medicines, as well as various other merchantable goods, and established himself in business in his native place. His shop was on the main street, near his family residence. Dr. Lathrop furnished a part of the surgical stores to the northern army in the French war. He often received orders from New York. His drugs were always of the best kind, well prepared, packed and forwarded in the neatest manner. This was the only apothecary's establishment on the route from New York to Boston, and of course Dr. Lathrop had a great run of custom, often filling orders sent from the distance of a hund- red miles in various directions. It is related that in 1749, when a malig- nant epidemic was prevailing in several of the western towns of the col- ony, the Rev. Mark Leavenworth, pastor of the church in Waterbury, incited by the suffering condition of many of his people for want of suit- able medicines to arrest the distemper, came to Norwich on horseback to obtain a supply, performing the journey hither and back in three days.* This fact alone is sufficient to show that no drug-store then existed either in New Haven or Hartford, and corroborates the statement often made by aged people in Norwich, that Dr. Lathrop's was the first establishment of the kind in the colony. Joshua Lathrop, a younger brother of Dr. Daniel, after graduating at Yale in 1743, became connected with him in business, and no mercantile firm in this vicinity had a more solid reputation than the brothers La- throp-t They imported not only medicines, but fruits, wines, Eui'opean and India goods, directly from England ; one of the firm, or a skillful agent, often crossing the ocean to select the stock. After a few years * Bronson's History of Waterbury, p. 325. t With Dr. Lathrop commenced the change of orthography in the name, wliich soon became universal among the descendants of the proprietor Samuel Lothrop. The new form will be henceforth used in this work, except when speaking of those early settlers that never wrote their names otherwise than with the o. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 327 they relinquished the trade in miscellanous merchandise, and confined themselves in a great measure to the drug business* Benedict Arnold, Jr., and Solomon Smith were apprentices to Dr. La- throp at the same pei-iod. Arnold subsequently set up the business in New Haven. Smith went to Hartford and established a drug-store in connection with Dr. Lathrop, who furnished the first stock. This was in 1757. The following is one of their advertisements : "Just imported from Loudon' in the last ship, via New York, and to be sold by Lothrop & Smith, at their store in King st. Hartford, Ct. — A large and universal assort- ment of medicines, genuine and of the best kind ; together with complete sets of Sur- geon's Capital and Pocket instruments ; very neat instruments for drawing teeth, metal mortars, small scales and weights ; all sorts of spice and choice Turkey figs ; a variety of painter's colours and many other articles. "t In 1776 the firm in Norwich was changed from Daniel & Joshua La- throp to Lathrops & Coit ; their nephew, Joseph Coit, Jr., having been associated with them in business. The younger partner died in 1779, in the 30th year of his age, and the former title was resumed.J The wife of Dr. Daniel Lathrop was Jerusha, daughter of Governor Talcot of Hartford. They had three promising sons, cut down like flowers of the field, almost at a single sweep of the scytlie, before the oldest had attained the age of four years. This was all their offspring, and the blow saddened though it did not embitter the feelings of this benevolent couple. Dr. Lathrop died in 1782. Madam Lathrop long survived him, and was regarded with universal esteem and veneration. Her death took place in 1806. The early childhood of a gifted daughter of Norwich, Mrs. L. H. Sigourney, was passed under the roof of this excellent lady. Having lost her own children, in their infancy, she lavished all her mater- nal affection and fostering care on this child of her heart, who repaid her tenderness with filial veneration, and has embalmed her memory in hal- lowed verse.§ * The invoice of drugs imported by them in one vessel was £8000. It is not prob- able however that they had supplies to this amount every year. t New London Summary, July 11, 1760. Dr. Sylvanus Gardiner of Boston also established a drug-store at Hartford, in con- nection with a junior partner, in May, 1757. The two firms were Lothrop & Smith, King St.; Gardiner & Jepson, Queen st. They appear to have been simultaneoua establishments, and neither can claim precedence of the other. t He left a wife and infant daughter ; the latter married Nathaniel Ilowland. ^ Ezekiel Huntley and Zerviah Wentworth, both of Norwich, were married Nov. 28, 1790. Lydia, their daughter and only child, was born Sept. 1, 1791, while her parents were living under the same roof witli Madam Lathrop. She was married to Charles Sigourney of Hartford, June 16, 1819. 328 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The will of Dr. Daniel Lathrop contained a bequest of £500 sterling to Yale College, £500 to the town of Norwich for the support of a free Grammar School, and £500 also to the First Ecclesiastical Society of the town to assist in supporting the ministry. Daniel and Joshua Lathrop were of the fourth generation of the name in Norwich, — sons of Thomas Lathrop, who died May 25, 1774, aged ninety-three. They had one sister, who married Joseph Coit of New London. Joseph and Lydia (Lathrop) Coit were the parents of Dr. Joseph Coit, before mentioned; of Thomas Coit, merchant of Norwich and Canterbury; of the late Daniel L. Coit of Norwich, and of the Hon. Joshua Coit of New London. They had also three daughters, who in due season were transferred to Norwich as the wives of William Hubbard, Chri stophe r Leffingwell, and Andrew Huntington. The removal of these daughters to Norwich, the native place of their mother, and the increasing hazards of the seaboard in those days of alarm and invasion, ultimately drew Mr. Coit and most of the family hither. Capt. Joseph Coit, the father, died at Norwich, 27th of April, 1787, in the ninetieth year of his age. Joshua, the youngest son, remained in New London, and was a member of Congress from the year 1793 to his death in 1798. Africans. The colored population of Norwich was more numerous than in most northern towns. It consisted partly of free blacks, accruing from previous occasional manumissions, and partly of persons still held in servitude and bought and sold as property. From bills of sale that are extant, and from the valuation made in inventories, we learn that in the early part of the century the price for slaves ranged from 60s. to £30. After this the value increased, and the best were rated at £100. The Rev. "William Hart of Saybrook in 1749 purchased a negro boy of Jabez Huntington of Norwich, for whom he paid £290, old tenor ; but this was a depreciated currency, probably not worth more than a fifth of its nom- inal value in silver coin. At a later period the price of a servant was considerably enhanced. Captains John and Matthew Perkins, of Hanover Society, had each what was called a house-full of slaves. The former, known as "big Cap- tain John," died in 17G1. His inventory enumerates his African servants, Tamar, Ziba, Jehu, Selah, &c., to the number of fifteen, the best valued at £50. Probably no larger number than this could be found in any one family in the county. Capt. Matthew Perkins was a large landholder, a man of energetic character, and like his brother, strong and powerful in frame. " He died HISTORY OF NORWICH. 329 [in 1773] from lockjaw caused by a bite on the thumb which he received from a young negro shive whom he was chastising for some fauU."* It was not until near the era of the Revolution tliat the reasonableness and equity of holding the African race in durance began to be questioned by the citizens. At length it was whispered about that it Avas inconsistent to complain of political oppression, and yet withhold from others the privi- leges to which they were entitled ; to fight for liberty, and yet refuse it to a portion of the human family. Communications on this subject, bold and even eloquent, appeared in the newspapers, of which one from the Norwich Packet will serve as a specimen : July 7, 1774. To all those who call themselves Sons of Liberty in America, Greet- ing : My Friends. We know in some good measure the inestimable value of liberty. But were we once deprived of her, she would then appear much more valuable tlian slie now appears. We also see her, standing as it were tiptoe on the highest bough ready for flight. Why is she departing? What is it that disturbs her repose '? Surely some- foul monster of hideous shape, and hateful kind, opposite in its nature to hers, with all its frightful appearances and properties, iron hands and leaden feet, formed to grijje and crush, hath intruded itself into her peaceful habitation and ejected her. Surely this must be the case, for we know oppositions cannot dwell together. Is it not time, liigh time to search for this Achan ? this disturber of Israel 1 High time, I say, to examine for the cause of those dark and gloomy appearances that cast a shade over our glory. And is not this it ? Are we not guilty of the same crime we impute to others 1 Of the same facts that we say are unjust, cruel, arbitrary, despotic, and without law, in others'? Paul argued in this manner : — " Thou therefore that teadiest another, teach- est thou not thyself ? Tliou that preachcst a man should not steal, dost ihou steal 1 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, througti breaking the law, dishonorest thou God 1 " And may we not use the same mode of argument and say — We that declare (and that with much warmth and zeal) it is unjust, cruel, barbarous, unconstitutional, and without law, to enslave, do we enslave 9 — Yes, verily we do ? A black cloud witness- eth a(jainsl us and our own mouths condemn us 1 How preposterous our conduct ! How vain and hypocritical our pretences ! Can we expect to be free, so long as we are de- termined to enslave 1 Honesty. Under the influence of this new phase of public opinion and individual responsibility, several persons voluntarily liberated their slaves and made them some compensation for former services. "Dec. 1774. Mr. Samuel Gagcr, of Norwich, from a conscientious regard to justice, has lately liberaf^d three faitliful slaves, and as a compensation for their services, leased them a very valuable farm on very moderate terms. Mr. Jonathan Avery also emau- cipated an able industrious negro man, from the same noble principle." An act' of the Legislature, prescribing tlie rules and regulations under which emancipation .sliould take place, was passed in 1777, and several * Perkins' Genealogy, Hist. & Gen. Reg., 14, 114. 330 HISTORY OF NORWICH. instances of liberation in accordance with the provisions of this statute* are on record at Norwich, — such as: "Liberty given by the Select men to Jabez Huntington Esq. to emancipate a negro man named Guy, Oct. 2, 1780." " Liberty to Col. Joshua Huntington to emancipate his negro servant, Bena, June 26, 1781." In 1784, the State passed an act for the gradual abolition of slavery; declaring all born after that period free at twenty-five years of age, and allowing masters to emancipate all between twenty-five and forty-five. In 1800, forty-seven slaves remained in the State. But in the year 1848, slavery had entirely disappeared, and was declared by the Legisla- ture extinct and forever abolished. But whether slaves or freemen, the Africans of Norwich have always been treated with forbearance and lenity. They have been particularly indulged in their annual elections and trainings. In former times, the ceremony of a mock election of a negro governor, created no little excite- ment in their ranks. The servants for the time being assumed the relative rank and condition of their masters, and were allowed to use the horses and many of the military trappings of their owners. Pi'ovisions, decora- tions, fruits and liquors were liberally surrendered to them. Great elec- tioneering prevailed, parties often ran high, stump harangues were made, and a vast deal of ceremony expended in counting the votes, proclaiming the result, and inducting the candidate into office, — the whole too often terminating in a drunken frolic, if not a fight. A very decent grave-stone in the public burial-ground bears this inscrip- tion : " In memory of Boston Trowtrow, Governor of the African tribe in this town, who died 1772, aged 66." After the death of this person, Sam HunHton was annually elected to this mock dignity for a much greater number of years than his honorable namesake and master, Samuel Huntington, Esq., filled the gubernatorial chair. It was amusing to see this sham dignitary after his election, riding * Capt. William Browne, a noted loyalist of Salem, Mass., connected with the Win- throp family of New London, was the proprietor of a large tract of land lying south of Colchester, which formed almost a parish of itself, and was called by the owner New Salem. It is now in the town of Salem, Ct. A portion of it under cultivation had been leased for a term of years, with nine slaves as laborers upon it. When this land was confiscated in 1779, on account of the toryism of the proprietor, the slaves peti- tioned the Legislature, through Benjamin Huntington, the administrator on contiscated estates, for their liberty. The petition was not granted, but the slaves had the benefit of the new laws regulating emancipation, and it is supposed that they were all set free sooner or later. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 381 through the town on one of his master's horses, adorned with plaited gear, his aids on each side, a la militaire, himself puffing and swelling with pom- posity, sitting bolt upright, and moving with a slow, majestic pace, as if the universe was looking on. When he mounted or dismounted, his aids flew to his assistance, holding his bridle, putting his feet into the stirrup, and bowing to the ground before him. The Great Mogul, in a triumphal procession, never assumed an air of more perfect self-importance than the negro Governor at such a time. We must not leave this subject without recording the name of Leh Quy, a native of Africa, and a trusty continental soldier. He served during three years of the war, and was one of the town's quota in 1780 and 1781. Amusements. Elections, training-days and thanksgivings were the cus- tomary holidays of New England ; and at these times various athletic exercises gave vent to the restless spirits of an active and energetic race. The sports of men and boys were of a boisterous character. Shooting at marks, horse-racing, wrestling, running, leaping, ball-playing, were favorite amusements. The annual Thanksgiving was a day of great hilarity, although its time- honored essential characteristic was a sermon. A peculiar adjunct of this festival in Norwich was a barrel bonfire. A lofty pole was erected, around which a pyramid of old barrels was arranged, — large at the platform, but a single barrel well tarred forming the apex. The burning of this pile constituted the revelry or triumphant part of the entertainment, and was considered by the young as indispensable to a finished Thanksgiving. When built upon the plain, the wliole valley was lighted up by the blaze, like a regal saloon : and when upon a height, tlie column of flame sent forth a flood of light over woods and vales, houses and streams below, producing a truly picturesque effect. No jovial excursions during the year wei'e so common as sleighing par- ties. The snow-season was expected to bring with it leisure and merri- ment. The sleighs were broad and roomy, with straight, perpendicular sides, and a sharp point ; the driver usually standing erect. Plaid wool- len coverlids performed the part of buffalo-robes. The place of enter- tainment was from five to fifteen miles from home ; several sleighs were often near together on the road ; passing each other, exchanging shouts, and light hilarious greetings, or perchance bandying snow-balls as they passed. In ante-revolutionary times, the half-way houses between Norwich and New London, — Raymond's, Bradford's, Ilaughton's, — were often the ter- minus of these excursions. In later days the Hyde tavern in Franklin 832 HISTORY OP NORWICH. was a chosen resort, and rhymes were made and sung in honor of its festivities. " What pleasure is greatest ? My fancy decides, A party select and a sleigh-ride to Hyde's." These pastimes were joyous, and often noisy and dashing, but seldom coarse or rude. Our New England towns have had no rowdy period ; no such boorish, half-barbaric season as is almost a necessity to the emigrants who push into the forests of the far West, and begin life as hunters and pioneers. In Norwich there was perhaps a tendency to the other extreme, — an epicurean fancy savoring of their English ancestry. Private parties on a hospitable scale were frequent, and references have been found to trlpe- suppers and turtle-entertainments where friends and neighbors were splen- didly regaled a hundred years ago.* Wedding festivities were usually continued through the day and eve- ning, and not unfrequently prolonged for two or three days. A news- paper has preserved the statistics of one of these hymeneal entertain- ments, and though the scene was not at Norwich, it was so near that we may be quite sure many of its upper class of fashion and distinction par- ticipated in the festival. " A great wedding dance took place at New London at the house of Nathaniel Shaw Esq. June 12, 1769, the day after the marriage of his son Daniel Shaw and Grace Coit; 92 gentlemen and ladies attended, and danced 92 jigs, 52 contra-dances, 45 minuets and 17 horn-pipes, and retired at 45 minutes past midnight." In that middle period between the strict Puritan times and the Revolu- tion, dancing was a common diversion of young people. Balls and mid- night revels were interdicted ; but neighborly dances, either with or with- out a fiddler, often a part of the company singing for the others to dance, — contra-dances, reels, or jigs, improvised on some oak floor in kitchen or hall, — ending in a treat of nuts, apples, and cider, — these were allowable pastimes for the winter evenings. Dancing also to a greater extent and with more elaborate di-play was permitted, as we have seen, at weddings and thanksgivings, doubtless also at other large and ceremonious entertainments, bnt without the objection- able accompaniment, except in very rare instances, of late hours. An ordination Zia//, strange as it may sound, was allowed in some places as a finale to the festivities on the occasion of settling a ministtr; but there is no proof that this enormity was ever perpetrated in Norwich. * An advertisement of a brown camlet riding-hood lost at a turtle fnloiainmtnt at Mr. Matthew Leffingwell's, appears in the Norwicii Packet, August, 1779. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 333 At the period immediately preceding the Revolution, social intercourse was on the most easy and delightful footing, in both divisions of the town. Visits were frequent, long, and familiar. The customs, in some re-pects, were the reverse of the present. The visit was made, and the visitors returned home by daylight. Instead of the lady giving out invitations to her guests, the guests sent word to the lady, (all the neighborhood joining together on such occasions,) that they would come and spend the after- noon with her. Fashions. The dress of that middle period can not be eulogized for its simplicity or economy. The wardi'obe of the higher circles was rich and extravagant, and among the females of all classes there was a passion for gathering and hoarding articles of attire beyond what was necessary for present use, or even for years ahead. It was an object of ambition to have a chest full of linen, a pillow-bier of stockings, and other articles in proportion laid by. In this connection we present a schedule of the wardrobe of "Widow Elizabeth "White of Norwich," as contained in the inventory of her effects, taken Aug. 16, 1757. She was a daughter of Samuel Bliss, and relict of Daniel White of Middletown. After the death of her husband in 1726 she returned to Norwich, and there died, July 2, 1757, aged 71. The items of jewelry, plate and apparel were circumstantially enumerated, but we give them in an abridged form. She had gowns of brown duroy, striped stuff, plaid stuff, black silk crape, calico, and blue camlet ; a scarlet cloak, blue cloak, satin-flowered mantle, and furbelow scarf ; a woollen petticoat with calico border ; a camlet riding-hood, long silk hood, velvet hood, white hoods trimmed with lace, a silk bonnet, and 19 caps; a cambrick laced handkerchief, silk do., linen do., 16 handkerchiefs in all; a muslin laced apron, flowered laced apron, green taffety apron, 14 aprons in all; a silver ribband, silver girdle and blue girdle ; 4 pieces of flowei-ed satin ; a parcel of crewel ; a women's fan : Turkey-worked chairs : A gold necklace ; death's head gold ring ; plain gold ring ; sett of gold sleeve-buttons ; gold locket ; silver hair peg ; silver cloak clasps ; a stone button set in silver : A large silver tankard ; a silver cup with two handles, do. with one handle, and a large silver spoon. At the period of this inventory there was still a certain homeliness and frugality appai*ent, even in the fashionable attire of the day. But in the next generation riclier goods were imported and more splendor was exhib- ited. The following is an illustrative instance: 334 HISTORY OP NORWICH. The daughters of General Jabez Huntington* were sent successively, at the ages of fourteen or fifteen years, to finish their education at a boarding school in Boston. The lady who kept the establishment was of high social standing, and made it a point of taking her pupils often into company, that their manners might be formed according to the prevailing codes of politeness and etiquette. Of course the wardrobe prepared for the young ladies was rich in articles of ornament and display. One of the daughters, who had been carefully fitted out with twelve silk gowns, had been but a short time in Boston, when her instructress wrote to her parents, requesting that another dress should be procured for her, made of a certain rich fabric that had recently been imported, in order that her appearance in society might be equal to her rank. A thirteenth robe of silk of the requisite pattern was therefore immediately procured and for- warded. Before the Revolution, wigs full and curled, for clergymen and other dignitaries, white and powdered, red cloaks or roquelaurs, and buckles or bows of ribbon at the knees and in the shoes, were worn by gentlemen. Even young boys were often arrayed in cocked hats, small clothes, and knee-buckles. On ceremonious occasions, if wigs were not worn, gentlemen had their hair craped, curled and powdered by barbers. A full dress for gentlemen was mostly made of silk, with trimmings of gold and silver lace, the waist- coat often richly embroidered. Ladies wore trains to their gowns, often quite long, and when they walked out they threw the end over the right arm. The foot, when prop- erly dressed, displayed a silk stocking, a sharp-toed slipper, often made of embroidered satin, and with' a high heel. At one period, sharply-gored gowns and cumbrous hoops were in fashion. Cushions stuffed with wool and covered with silk were used in dressing the head, the hair being neatly combed over the cushion.f This mode of dressing the hair made a calash necessary instead of a bonnet. This was large and wide, a vast receptacle for wind, and an awkward article of * Afterwards Mrs. Col. Chester of Wethersfield, and Mrs. Dr. Strong of Norwich ; the former born in 1757, the latter in 1760. t A rhymester of the day, describing his imaginary love as a lady of fashion, says : I mean she should wear A crape cushion for hair, I wish she might spell And read pretty well, That my billet she may not mistake ; And the skin of my dear Be as smooth and as clear As chalk-eating can cleverly make. HISTORY or NORWICH. 335 nttire, but often shrouding a health-beaming face in its depth, needing no other ornament than its own good-humored smile.* Women of mature age wore close linen caps. Parasols and umbrellas were unknown or of rare occurrence, but a fan nearly a foot and a half in length, and spreading like the train of a peacock, was often carried to keep off the sun, as well as to vivify the air. At one period, feathers were much worn upon the head, surmounting a high turban of gauze or muslin raised on wire and adorned also with rib- bons. The wits of Norwich called these young fashionists "the feathered race," and accused them of having their heads "martiahzed and cocka- tooned." A lady in full dress for great occasions displayed a rich brocade with open skirt and trail ; front skirt trimmed, an embroidered stomacher and full ruffles at the elbows. Hoods and scarfs were of silk. No sumptuary laws restrained the feminine taste for rich attire in this colony. The satirists of the day decried the prevailing extravagance in dress, just as they do at present. They adverted to the costly cloaks, the silk gowns, the powder-puffs and cardinals, the silk stockings and other expen- sive feet-trappings, and exclaimed, — Great is the prodigality of the times! They recalled the days of greater simplicity, when instead of the rich cloth roquelaur, even the magistrate and the colonel were satisfied with a cloak of brown camlet, lined with green baize, and the greatest lady in the land had her riding-hood also of camlet. As the great struggle for liberty gradually overshadowed the land, and the sacrifices necessary to consummate the revolution began to be appre- ciated, a decided change took place in regard to dress, amusements, and display. Women discarded all imported ornaments, and arrayed them- selves wholly in domestic goods. Fine wool- and choice flax were in higher estimation than silks and laces, and the hearts of patriots as well as the laudations of the poet were given to beauty in homespun garments. Gentlemen also that had been accustomed to appear in society in the daintiest costume, following the example first set by the women, discarded their shining stocks, their cambric ruffles, silk stockings, silver buckles, and other articles of foreign production, and went back to leather shoe-strings, cbecked handkerchiefs, and brown homespun cloth. * In a Norwich paper of 1780, the Calash and Cushion are thus covertly ridiculed: Hail, {jreat Calash ! o'erwhelraing veil. By all-indulf^ent heaven, To sallow nymphs and maidens stale, In sportive kindness given. Safe hid beneath thy circling sphere, Unseen by mortal eyes, The mingled heap of oil and hair And wool and powder lies. CHAPTER XXV. Ministers. Rev. Dr. Lord. Rev. Dr. Strong. Dr. Lord preached his half-centuiy sermon Nov. 29, 1767, from 2d Peter, 1 : 12-15. He was then seventy-four years of age, and in firm health and strength. In the fifty-fourth year of his ministry, he had begun to express a wish that a colleague should be provided for him, and this request being now reiterated, Mr. Joseph How was procured as an assistant. Mr. How was then a tutor in Yale College, but a licensed preacher, and possessed of very pleasing oratorical powers. He occupied the pulpit alternately with Dr. Lord during a portion of that year and the next. Li May, 1773, Mr. How accepted an invitation to settle as pastor of the South Church in Boston, and Dr. Lord was left without any regu- lar assistant until near the close of 1777, when a new effort was made, and Mr. Joseph Strong procured to act as colleague.* On the sixty-first anniversary of his ordination, he delivered a second retrospective discourse, which was printed and entitled : " The Aged Minister's Solemn Appeal to God and serious address to his people." In 1781, he favored the congregation with a sixty-fourth annivei'sary sermon, but it was not published. After this period, infirmity came fast upon him. In his eighty-seventh year his eye-sight failed him, and he preached ever afterwards extemporaneously. He however continued to write his discourses, keeping his place upon the paper with his left hand, and though the lines could not be very straight, and the words frequently ran over each other, his grand-daughter Caroline used to study it out, and then, read it over slowly and repeatedly to him, until it was sufficiently imprinted on his memory to enable him to deliver it with fluency from the pulpit. It was observed by his people that the sermons thus preached were some of his best; for generally Mr. Lord's style was diffuse and somewhat reduplicative, but the difficulty of writing when he had become blind led him to think longer and to condense his thoughts into as few words as possible. His reasoning powers were even at this age very little * Among the disbursements of the society is £3 paid Mr. Russell Hubbard for the expense of his journey up country to see Mr. Strong. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 337 impaired, and to use the language of one of his most intimate friends, "his meekness, humility, philanthropy and heavenly -mindedness were apparently increased, and he seemed to * Stand with his starry pinions on, Drcst for the flight, and ready to be gone.' "* He resumed his pastoral labors, at intervals, and being assisted up the pulpit stairs, graced the public worship, with his venerable presence, by the side of his young associate, almost without interruption until his death, which took place March 81, 1784, almost sixty-seven years after his ordi- nation. He was in the ninetieth year of his age. A contemporary notice of his death observes that his last appearance in the sacred desk "was on the Thanksgiving subsequent to the restoration of peace to America, — seemingly by a special Providence gratified in living to such a memorable pei'iod, which he had often expressed his wish to see." Dr. Lord was a small man, and in his latter days stooped much, yet his- appearance was pleasing and interesting. He had a vivid blue eye, keen, yet alluring, and a slow, impressive manner of speaking. His dress was neat. He wore a white wig, and showed conspicuous silver buckles at his knees and in his shoes. Though he lived to old age, his constitution was far from robust, and in his early years he was subject to pain and disease. Age, therefore, per-- sonified in him, looked still more aged, and no one could approach him without being struck with the reverend antiquity of his appearance. His intercourse with his people was like that of an affectionate father in his family. "I have lived (said he) in their hearts, and they in mine." In addition to a sickly frame, he had almost continual sickness in his family. His first wife, Ann, daughter of the Rev. Edward Taylor of Westfield, to whom he was married in 1720, was confined to the bed six- teen years, and eight years of that time was incapable of feeding herself; but these dispensations were all sanctified to this good man.f He found time to perform well all the regular duties of his ofiice, and in the course of his life published eighteen pamphlets, mostly single sermons, delivered on special occasions.]: One was an election sermon, 1751 ; two were anniversary, three funeral, and four ordination sermons. The others were on various subjects. * Funeral Sermon by Rev. James Cogswell of Windham. t Not the daughter of Mr. Taylor's first wife, Elizabeth Fitch, to whom the Dove love-letter was sent, but of Mr. Taylor's second wife, Euth Wyllis of Hartford. It is inscribed on I\Irs. Lord's grave-stone, that she died after an illness of sixteen years, July 5, 1748, in the 52d year of her age. Dr. Lord's second wife was Elizabeth, relict of Henry Tisdalo of Newport, 11. I. The third, Abigail Ilookcr of Hartford. His ■ children were all by the first wife. t See Spraguc's Am. Pulpit, Vol. 1, 299. 22 338 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Dr. Lord had some peculiarities, perhaps more distinctive of the minis- ters of that age than of him as an individuah His first prayer at morn- ing service on the Sabbath occupied the full run of the hour-glass at his side. He followed in his prayers the principal events that had transpired in his parish during the week, — deaths, accidents, storms, — and adverted to all public events of importance. In war time his supplications and thanksgivings were so particular and specific as to give the congregation the best information that had been received of the progress of affairs. Notes were sent up to the pulpit, not only in cases of sickness and death, but by persons departing on a journey or voyage, and also on returning from the same. Every thing in those days, either projected or accom- plished, seems to have been prayed over.* On the 18th of March, 1778, Mr. Joseph Strong was ordained as col- league pastor with Dr. Lord. The audience, gathered from all parts of the county, was unexampled in point of numbers, and the services were unusually solemn. Dr. Lord was eighty-four yeai's of age, venerated and beloved by all, but small and frail in appearance, while his colleague, in the full glow of youth and health, large and stoutly built, stood over him like a sheltering oak. The society committee were a stately group, hon- orable both for talents and piety. It consisted of Deacons Simon Tracy and Simon Huntington, Captain Chris topher Lefiingwell, Dudley Wood- bridge, Esq., and Samuel Huntington, President of the Provincial Con- gress. Others who had acted on the committee were Joshua Lathrop, Elijah Backus, and Dr. Elisha Tracy. Mr. Strong was the son of the Rev. Nathan Strong of Coventry. By his mother's side, he was descended from the Williams family, who were taken captives by the Indians at Deerfield, in the night of Feb. 28, 1704. The general circumstances of this tragedy are well known. The two little daughters of Mr. Williams who went into captivity with their father were named Eunice and Esther. The former was never redeemed, but being adopted into the family of a chief, she became attached to the Indian manners and customs, refused to return to her relatives, embraced the Roman Catholic religion, and married a chief named Roger Toroso, who resided at St. Johns, twenty miles from Montreal. Esther was ransomed and returned home with her father. She married the Rev. Mr. Meachum of Coventry, and one of her daughters became the wife of the Rev. Nathan Strong, who was ordained pastor of a Second Congregational Church in Coventry, in 1745, and was the father of the Rev. Nathan Strong, D. D., of Hartford, and the Rev. Joseph Strong, D. D., of Nor- wich. At the ordination of the latter, the sermon was preached by his * It is said that a petition was once sent up to the pulpit for public prayer in behalf of a man gone, going, or about to go on a journey to Boston. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 339 brother, and the charge given by his father. The text was from Isaiah, 52, 7. " How beautiful," &c. The scene was deeply affecting and im- pressive, particularly when the speaker turned to the young candidate and said: " My dear brother, — I may now address you by that endearing epithet in all its senses. We received our being, under God, from the same parents, were educated by the same nurturing kindness, have professed obedience to the same glorious Father in Heaven, and this day introduces you a brother laborer in the Lord's vineyard. Very pleasant hast thou been unto me, my brother, and never was my pleasure greater in beholding thee, than on this day's solemnities. Long may your feet be beautiful on these mountains of Zion ! The God of heaven bless and preserve thee." Nor was the emotion of the audience less intense, when the father of the candidate, in solemn and affecting terms, where deep feeling contended with ministerial gravity, invested him with the priest's office, and address- ing him as a dearly beloved son, charged him to take heed to the ministry which he had received, and to serve with his venerable colleague "as a son with a father, as a Timothy with Paul the aged." At the time of Mr. Strong's settlement, there were two seceding con- gregations in the society, considerably numerous, but they soon became extinct, and an uncommon degree of peace and unanimity existed in the society, during the whole of his prolonged ministry. Dr. Strong in person was above the middle size and stature, and he had a calm dignity of address which impressed every one with respect. This dignity, however, was blended with great kindness and courtesy, and his manners, far from inspiring awe, were gentle and attractive. In his latter years especially, it was delightful to listen to his conversation, flowing as it did in an easy, graceful stream, enlivened with anecdotes and enriched with sketches of character, curious incidents, and all the varied stores col- lected by an observant mind through long years of experience. In the pulpit he was remarkable for the fluency and impressive solem- nity of his prayers. The deep tones of his voice, combined with the devout humility of his address and the free flow of adoration and praise with which he approached the Father of spirits, would hush an audience into deep attention, and waft them, as it were, into tl>e immediate presence of the Most High. His sermons were short, and copiously illustrated with quotations from Scripture, but wanting perhaps in vigorous argument. All his ministrations, in fact, were of a soothing and serene nature, not penetrating and awakening. 340 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Fourth Meeting-House. This edifice was so long unfinished, meeting with so many obstructions in its ascent from the foundation to the belfry, that it is difiicult to date its beginning. Its history in brief would be — voted for in 1748, begun in 1753, completed about 1770, consumed to ashes in 1801. The site was at the corner of the Green, under the rocks where the present church stands. The following vote seems to indicate the date when this spot was selected to receive the new structure : 10 March, 1752. Voted that all incumbrances be removed from the west side of the Meeting House plain under the site of ye Great Rocks by ye Town street, that said land may be free for public use. The clearing was effected, and the street left open from the green to the printing-ofiice. This was public land, and the wall of granite rose up grand and imposing by the side of the road, with shrubs and creepers hano'ing over and jutting out of the crevices, and with no disfigurations of man around the base, except posts and sheds for the convenience of those who rode to meeting on the Sabbath. This fourth meeting-house of the society is said to have been a square building, with a front porch or platform. In Society meeting Nov. 2, 1770. Voted that a lead weight be attached to the front door of the meeting-house, that it may be more conveniently kept closed. The interior was furnished with pews, a space in front of the pulpit excepted, where were slips for aged people and strangers. Low benches were placed in the aisles for children. The front of the pulpit displayed in large letters the sacred motto :* HOLINESS BECOMETH GOd's HOUSE. 0# the Sabbath, the deacon, or some one of the church appointed in his place, lined the psalm, and the congregation sung in their seats, except a few leaders that stepped out in front of the pulpit and faced the audi- ence. When choirs Avere first introduced into the Norwich churches, which was not long before the Eevolution, many of the older people were disturbed at the innovation, and even shocked at the new tunes adopted, which, being sung with less quaver ar'^ drawl than formerly, seemed to them destitute of unction and saited ou.^ to the dance or drum-beat. A town clock was purchased in 1745, and placed in the belfry. Watts' version of the Psalms was introduced into the service in 1772, and at the * In 1790 the house was repaired and painted anew, and this motto omitted, which caused some dissatisfaction. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 341 same time a large pulpit Bible was purcliaseil. This was saved from the flames when the house was burnt in 1801. It is the London edition of 17G9, containing the Apochrypha, Historical Index, and the Liturgy of the Church of England. Dwight's edition of the Psalms was adopted in 1803. In 1792 the society voted, with only one dissenting voice, to pur- chase an organ. This was soon after an organ had been obtained for the Episcopal Church at the Landing ; but instrumental music in a Congre- gational service was then a rare if not an unknown accompaniment- Some difficulty occurred in procuring the instrument, and the project was dropped. An organ was not actually introduced into the service until 1818. Rates. The minister's rate was an element of discord in the society. The Separatists sounded loud and long upon this string. When therefore Dr. Daniel Lathrop in 1782 bequeathed the sum of £500, the interest of which was to be expended in the support of the ministry, the society determined to take this opportunity to cast off the odious system of rais- ing the minister's salary by rates, and establish a fund for that purpose, using the Latlirop legacy as a nucleus. A vote to this effect was passed April 10, 1783. A subscription paper was drawn up and committed to Mr. Jacob Witter, who volunteered his services for the occasion, and by personal visits and sohcitation he secured the sum of £2,088 from one hundred subscribers. Dr. Joshua Lathrop subscribed £150, Christopher Leffingwell £80, and eight others each £50 and £G0. The remainder was in smaller sums, but it was stated that all gave freely and even joy- fully according to their ability, in the hope of never hearing again of dis- traint and seizure for ministerial rates. Another step was to induce the pew-holders to relinquish their rights, so that the pews might be sold annually, and the avails applied to the same object. This was happily accomplished, except in the case of three individuals, who obstinately refused to give up their pews, averring that if they could not sit in the same place where they had hitherto sat, they would not go to meeting. This matter was, however, at length accommo- dated, the pews sold, and the fund advantageously employed ; so that a sum was annually raised sufficient to discharge all ecclesiastical expenses, and the minister's rate tax happily abolished. The first annual sale of pews was in 1791. Dx\ Strong's salary was never raised above the stipulated sum of $444. except for a very few years, when an annual gratuity was added to it, on account of the high price of provisions. The financial arrangements at his settlement throw some light on the currency of the day. The so«iety agreed to give him £300 as a settlement, in three annual payments of £100 each; a salary of £100 per annum for the first three years, and 342 HISTORY OP NORWICH. after that term, £133.6.8 per annum. This was to be proportioned to wheat at 6s. per bushel ; rye at 3s. 6c?. ; Indian corn at 3s. ; pork at S^d. per lb.; and the best grass-fed beef at 40s. per cwt. To this salary was added twenty five cords of wood annually, to be delivered at his door. The regulation of prices, in these tinaes of fluctuating currency, was a matter of no small perplexity. For the first payment of Mr. Strong's settlement, he received £1200 in bills of credit, as an equivalent for £100. In 1779, £2500 in bills was equal to £100 ; and in 1780 he received for his salary £7200 — 72 to 1 — being then the proportion between continental paper and silver money. Excise Money and Parsonage Land. A grant of money derived from the Excise duty was made by the Legislature to Chelsea Society in 1764, to assist in building their first meeting-house. This was regarded by the First Society as a species of favoritism. They claimed that a fair pro- portion of the excise tax gathered in the town belonged to them, and therefore in 1767, and again in 1769, they memorialized the Legislature for an appropriation of a sum similar to that which had been awarded to Chelsea for their use. This was not granted. Chelsea Society, on the other hand, laid claim to a share of the Parson- age land which had been purchased by the town at an early period for the benefit of the ministry. This was long a subject of dispute and litigation. The parsonage land included the site of the old hill-top church, the jail, and the whole range of buildings on the north-west side of the Green. The lessees paid a small ground rent to the society. In 1799, these lands were adjudicated to the First Society, and the occupants relinquished their claims, accepting in lieu thereof, leases for 999 years, at a penny per acre, if demanded. CHAPTER XXVI. Bridges and Feeshets. Norwich being surrounded and intersected with rivers aird brooks, and peculiarly exposed to accidents and injury from heavy rains and spring floods, the subject of bridges becomes unusually prominent in her history. Bridges of considerable magnitude over the Yantic, at the west end of the settlement, and near the plain, must have been coeval with the laying out of the town, and roads could not have been opened and ren- dered safe for traveling in any direction without spanning a multitude of small streams with some kind of stone-work, or with timber and plank, and these perhaps the next spring flood would sweep away. Consequently the work of building and repairing bridges was always beginning, ever going on, and never completed. The earlier bridges were built and kept in order by the inhabitants as highway work. In April, 1717, a petition was presented to the General Assembly "for assistance in building a cart bridge over Showtucket at the falls." It does not appear that any assistance was granted by lottery or otherwise, and it is probable that this first bridge over the Shetucket was built in the usual way, by a general turn-out of the inhabitants. The site of this bridge was just above the plafte where the Quinebaug and Shetucket unite. It connected Norwich pi'oper with Newent society, in the crotch of the rivers, and the road leading from it over Ox hill was the path by which the early inhabitants of Newent came on the Sabbath to attend religious services in the town-plot, crossing the river, before the bridge Avas built, on a scow or ferry-boat. A bridge has been maintained at this place or near it, from that time to the present, and known by the name of Lathrop's bridge, taking its desig- nation from the nearest prominent resident and landholder. In the freshet of February, 1727, four of the town bridges were swept away, and among them was this which crossed the Shetucket. The rebuilding of this bridge in 1728 was marked by a mournful casu- alty. It was the 28th of June. A large party of the inhabitants had assembled to assist' in raising the bridge, which was 20 feet high and about 250 feet in length. Just as they were putting together the upper 344 HISTORY OF NORWICH. work, a principal piece of timber whicli lay in the foundation of this upper work, being spliced, gave way at the joint, and falling, tripped up the dependent frame, which with its own weight careened and overset, break- ing down the pillars on which it rested. One hundred feet of the bridge fell, with forty men on it. The water was very low, and the people were precipitated upon the rocks in all directions. No one escaped without bruises and contusions ; twenty were severely wounded, and two killed. These two were Jonathan Gale of Canterbury, nineteen years of age, the only son of a widowed mother, who was killed instantly, — "a very hope- ful youth, the darling of the family," — and Mr. Daniel Tracy, son of Lieut. Thomas Tracy, and one of the last survivors of the old stock that came from Saybrook, who died the next day of his mortal wounds. An account of this calamity was published in a small pamphlet,* in which the writer compared the appearance of the dead and wounded, after their extrication from the ruins, to the aspect of a battle-field after a hot action. Messengers were sent abroad for aid, who spread through the town imperfect accounts of the sad event. Hundreds hastened to the spot with biers and teams, and all necessary appliances for relieving or removing the sufferers, and " men of skill for wounds and broken bones" were not slow in offering aid. " The men most consitlerably wounded [says the pamiDhlet account] are, Lieut. Samuel Butts, Samuel Lawrence, Josias Keed, Joseph Safford, Ambrose Blunt, Joseph Knight, John Bishop, Benjamin Knight, John Elderkin, Samuel Parrish, David Lamb, Ebenezer Harris, Nathaniel Walton, Josiah Bates, Solomon Lothrop, James Longbottom, Jacob Perkins, John Longbottom, Thomas Gates, Josias Molton. Some of these had their ribs, some their arms, and others their legs broken, besides other bones shivered and dislocated ; others had wounds, cuts and bruises in their heads, faces, bodies, arms, legs and feet, and some exceedingly bruised within. Some of them were at first taken out and laid by for dead, and the recovery of some for several days much doubted, but since they are all like to recover." * Entitled,— An Account of the Surprizing Events of Providence, which hapned at the Eaising of a Bridge in Norwich, June 28th, 1728. With some Affecting Remarks wove into the History. As also some practical Improvement thereof. Published at the Desire of some concerned therein, to the End it may be Preserved as a Profitable Remembrancer of the Danger and Deliverance of This Day. New London, Printed and Sold by T. Green, August 7th, 1728. HISTOEY OP NORWICH 345 Many hair-breadtli escapes occurred. Solomon Lathrop fell forty feet from the top of a needle post, and was pitched head foremost between two rocks, into a hole of deeper water than ordinary, and yet not killed. This Mr. Lathrop was father to the Rev. Joseph Lathrop of West Springiield, who was born about three years after this narrow escape of his parent. " Mr. Tracy [says the cotemporary narrative] was not a person concerned in the affair, only as he was a benefactor to it, and went out that day to carry the people some provision, and happened to be on the bridge, at that juncture of danger : a man that had been alwaj-s noted for an uncommon care to keep himself and others out of probable danger, and yet now himself insensibly falls into a fatal one. And very remarkable is it, that to keep his son at home this day, and so out of danger by that occasion, he chooseth to go himself on the forenamed errand, and is taken in the snare which he thought more probable to his son." THE GRAVE-STONE RECORD. [Head.] [Foot.] HERE LIES ye BODY OF MR. DANIEL TRACY . . . WHO DIED JVNE Ye 29 . . 1728 . .AGED 76 YEARS. MR. DANIEL TRACY. THIS WORTHY IN A GOOD OLD AGE DIED BY A FALL FROM A BRIDGE. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain how many times Lathrop's bridge has been rebuilt, or rather how many bridges have been erected at this point since J 717, when the first timbers were laid over the river. From intimations in the records we learn that a new and substan- tial bridge was built "over the Shetucket near Capt. Lathrop's," in 17G4.* Again in 1791 the town action shows that "a bridge was to be built at Mr. Zephaniah Lathrop's between Lisbon and Norwich : the river being there 212 feet wide at high water mark," and a rate was granted to cover the expense. Since the present century came in, this bridge was partially destroyed by the ice, Feb. 15, 1805 ; the shock coming so suddenly that a man crossing at that time was carried down the stream, and with difficulty res- cued from the current. Two years later, in the freshet of March 2, 1807, the bridge was entirely swept away. * 1768". It was ordered, that when a town meeting was to be warned, a writtea noti- fication should be set up on the Little Elm before Capt. Ebenezer Lathrop's door. 346 HISTORY OP NORWICH. A bridge built at this place in 1817, at an expense of $10,000, was destroyed March 6, 1823. At this time the tlood lifted it from the abut- ment and piers, and bore it along in position, unbroken, till it came to the rapids near the mouth of the river. It then separated into three parts, and glided with graceful ease into the Thames. In 1836, the Norwich and Worcester Railroad Company in crossing the Shetucket located their bridge upon the site of the old Lathrop bridge, which was then about to be once more rebuilt. An arrangement was made with the town, by which the latter consented to take up a new posi- tion for their bridge, a short distance higher up the river, the company paying all expenses over and above what would have been incurred by retaining the former site. The bridge erected at that time lasted well, wore out in the service, and was finally swept away, Feb. 9, 1857. A new one has since taken its place. In 1750, or near that period, the following bridges were maintained by the town : 1. Over Bradford's or Susquetomscot brook, on the road to Lebanon. 2. Great Pond brook, on the road to Colchester. 3. Pease's brook. These were the three branches of the Yantic. 4. At Bean Hill. 5. Quarter bridge. 6. The Court-House bridge. 7. No-man's Acre bridge. These four crossed the Yantic. 8. Beaver's brook, in West Farms Society. 9. Trading Cove brook, on the road to New London. ■ 10. Elderkin's bridge, on the road to Windham. 11. "Wood's bridge over Showtuckett, north of Pettipaug." This was afterward Lord's bridge, uniting Franklin with Lisbon. 12. Lovett's bridge. 13. Lathrop's bridge. The last four were over the Shetucket. 14. Johnson's bridge over the Quinebaug, on the road to Plainfield. 15. Pachaug bridge, east of the Quinebaug. These were all constructed and kept in order by rates and highway labor. Whiting's bridge, at the mouth of the Shetucket, was extant at this time, but was supported by toll. Lovett's bridge, mentioned above, was about three miles above Lathrop's, on the road from Norwich to Woodstock. In this vicinity, on the west side of the river, were the Leffingwell and Kirtland farms, and on the east the Lovetts were proprietors. These ancient bridges often took the name of the nearest resident landholder, and the large Lovett farm-house near the bridge, serving also as a house of entertainment for wayfarers, with its lofty shade-trees, its swinging sign, its inviting horse-sheds and other HISTORY OF NORWICH. 347 dependencies, had the appearance of a small hamlet. The name — Lov- ett's bridge — has since given place to that of Eagleville, a manufacturing establishment which has taken possession of the neighborhood, occupying, like most of our inland mills, a choice position in the midst of romantic scenery. The first bridge near the mouth of the Shetucket, uniting Chelsea Land- ing with Preston, was built by Capt. William Whiting,* who, for this pur- pose, in 1737, obtained a loan of £80 from the town treasury. It was designed to be a free bridge, and in order to enable the contractor to meet the payment of the loan, in Decemb(,n-, 1737, a subscription was opened in town meeting, and the sum of £85 15s.' pledged for his use. The number of contributors was eighty-three, and the sums varied from 5s. to £5. The highest on the list were Joshua Huntington, John Williams, Samuel and John Story, Isaac Clarke, and Samuel Backus, probably the men doing the most business at the time. Subsequent subscriptions raised the amount to £130, but the contractor stating that the bridge had cost £350, he was permitted to remunerate himself by a toll upon travelers. In 1744, after six years wear. Whiting's bridge having sagged so much as to be pi'onounced unsafe, was blocked up for a short period, and then repaired by Lieut. John Edgerton, who was recompensed by the toll for the space of three years. It continued in use till 1748, when it was again condemned. In 1751, after discussion of the subject in town meeting, " Voted, that the town will join witli Mr. John Edgerton in a memorial to the Gen- eral Assembly to grant a lottery for the making of a Great Bridge over the mouth of Shoutuckett, toll free." Joseph Tracy was appointed agent. The lottery was granted, and Edgerton's bridge built. It was 200 feet long, cost £4,000, old tenor, and notwithstanding its charter that it should h^free, permission to take toll was granted by the General Assembly. It was swept away by the freshets of 1762. * Three persons of the name of Whiting, residents of Norwich, were bridge-builders. Capt. William Whiting, who built the Shetucket bridge in 1737, was a son of the Rev. Samuel Whiting of Windham, and a resident in the north-west part of Norwich, now Bozrah. He was afterwards distinguished for his gallantry in the French wars upon the frontier. Dr. Dwight, in his travels, (Vol. 1, p. 497,) observes that the bridge at West Boston, erected in 1793, at a cost of $76,000, was built under the direction of "Major Whiting of Norwich." This was Ebenezer Whiting, father of the late Capt. Edward Whiting of Norwich, and a descendant of Col. William Whiting, an early inhabitant of Hartford, who was brother of the Rev. Samuel of Windham. Zenas Whiting of Norwich was known extensively as a bridge-builder. In 1794 he went to New Hampshire with a gang of twenty men, and built a bridge over the Pis- cataqua river. 348 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The next bridge at this place is sufficiently described in the following newspaper article : June 20, 1764. "Leffingwell's Bridge over Shetucket river at Norwich Landing is completed. It is 124 feet in length, and 28 feet above the water. Nothing is placed between the abutments, but the bridge is supported by Geometry work above and cal- culated to bear a weight of .500 tons. The work is by Mr. John Bliss, one of the most curious mechanics of the age. The bridge was raised in two days and no one hurt. The former bridge was 28 days in raising." \ This bridge retained its position, and the proprietor was allowed a por- tion of the toll for fourteen years. But in 1777 it was much injured by floods, and the town having purchased Leffingwell's remaining interest, united with Preston in petitioning the Legislature (May session, 1778,) for leave to raise money by lottery for the erection of a new bridge. The petition was granted. The managers of the lottery were Christopher Leffingwell, Jacob De Witt, William and Benjamin Coit, Jeremiah Halsey, and Roger Sterry — the two last, of Preston. Their advertisement states the lottery to have been granted in order "to prevent the incumbrance of a toll bridge, or a dangerous ferry, with one or other of which the public have been ham- pered for near a century past." The lottery was drawn the first Monday in March, 1779. Li the meantime the two towns could not agree upon the place where the bridge should stand. Committees were appointed, one after another, but they came to no decision. In 1780 the matter was referred to three well-known citizens, mutually respected and honored by the totvns, viz., Hon. Benjamin Huntington, Capt. Ebenezer Baldwin, and Elijah Lathrop, Esq., who reported that in their opinion the best and only convenient j^lace for a bridge was where the late one stood, that is, below the ferry and near the mouth of the river. Whereupon it was ordered that the bridge should be forthwith erected at that place. The building committee ap- pointed were John McLarran Breed, John Bliss, and Stephen Culver. The bridge, however, does not appear to have been built, and the select- men were charged to keep the ferry over the Shetucket under proper reg- ulation for the public convenience. In May, 1783, the town petitioned the Legislature for another lottery to raise £450, on the same plea as the former, "for building a bridge at the mouth of Shetucket river." The lottery was granted, and the bridge built in 1784. From the above data we are led to the conclusion that a bridge at this place was all the time being projected or being built, and lotteries were in progress to pay for it from 1777 to 1784, — or that two bridges were built in seven years, and the first swept away by some sudden, unrecorded calamity. It is most probable that there was but one bridge built. HISTOEY OF NORWICH. 349 Tlie abutments of the bridge were much injured by the freshet of 1788, but afttfr being repaired and strengthened, it continued to perform accept- able service till 1793, when it was again thoroughly repaired by Capt. Stephen Culver, who contracted to keep it in repair for four years. At the end of this period it was condemned. The stone bridge over Swallow-all brook in East Chelsea was rebuilt in 1795. Destroyed by the freshet of 1807, it was again reconstructed, and now lies beneath the street. In October, 1797, a joint committee of Norwich and Preston reported concerning a new bridge over the Shetucket. They had examined differ- ent positions in order to ascertain the most eligible place, and estimated the cost, if built near what was called the riding-way,* at $3,083 ; if built near Rufus Roath's, at $3,833 ; if near the mouth, where the bridge now stands, not more than $2,000. The bridge was built on the site of the former, and the expense liquidated by the avails of a lottery. This fifth bridge stood for twelve or thirteen years. In 1815, the town records allude to the ^'enormous expenses" to which the town had been for many years subject for the support of bridges. In 1813, a committee that had been appointed to decide whether "the Geometry Bridge at Chelsea" could be repaired, or a new one must be built, reported that the decay of the old structure rendered an entirely new bridge a matter of necessity. This led the way to a change of ope- rations. A petition was presented to the General Assembly for libei'ty to open a new highway and span the river in a more convenient and safe situation. To accomplish this purpose, the Norwich and Preston Bridge Company was incorporated in 1816, and the next year a toll-bridge erected nearly half a mile above the mouth of the river. A road leading • to it — East Main st. — was opened in 1817, and the public travel took this direction. The contractor for the bridge was Capt. John Lathrop of Windham, and the expense $10,000. It was supported by heavy stone piers, and withstood the rush of the spring floods for six years, but was not proof against the destructive freshet of March G, 1823. All the upper works Avere then carried away, but the company rebuilt on the same foundation at an expense of $5,000. In 1858 this bridge was sold by the company to the towns of Norwich and Preston for $7,500. Giddings' Bridge. This was a structure built in 1757, which crossed the Shetucket below the old riding- way, and about a mile from the mouth of the river. The undertakers were Nathaniel Giddings of Preston and Nathaniel Backus, Jr., of Norwich, who contracted to build "a cart bridge * There were two fords or riding-ways over the Shetucket. In 1780, one is called "the upper riding-way in Doctor Perkins's intervale." 350 HISTORY OF NOEWICH. over the river near the dwelling-house of Samuel Roath." The town voted to pay for the plank on condition that no toll should be demanded of the inhabitants of Norwich. These early bridges, being supported mainly by heaps of stones, and studs driven into the bed of the river, could offer but slight resistance to the crushing piles of ice that came down with the released waters in the time of floods. Giddings' bridge had a brief existence, and there is no record found of any other con- structed at that point in the river. Laurel Hill Bridge. In the year 1853, John W. Stedman, Thomas Robinson, John A. Rockwell, Henry Bill, Amos Davis, and others who had become interested in the purchase and settlement of Laurel Hill, subscribed among themselves for the erection of a free bridge over the Shetucket, and obtained an act of incorporation for that purpose. The bridge was built the same year, at an expense of $4,000. It spans the river at the old place, — the precise spot chosen by Whiting in 1737, and occupied by five successive bridges in former times. The proprietors also threw open a new road along the bank of the river toward Poquetannock, furnishing a drive of two or three miles with a varied and beautiful landscape spreading before the eye in its whole course. The bridge has since been repaired and covered, and was retained as private property until 1860, when the charter was relinquished and the bridge left to the public care. It was repaired in 1864. Greeneville Bridge. In 1854, Norwich and Preston united in building a bridge over the Shetucket at Greeneville, where the river had never been spanned before. It was 375 feet long, and 30 wide. The petition for it was signed by James D: Mo wry and 140 others. Greeneville then contained about 2,000 inhabitants. This bridge became conspicuously the victim of elemental fury. Shaken to pieces by the floods, and recon- structed in 1858, it was destroyed by fire July 29, 1862 ; damage estima- ted at $8,000. It has been rebuilt of iron, at the joint expense of the two towns, and was completed in October, 1863. It is 370 feet long, 17 feet wide, and cost, exclusive of the abutments, $10,000. The contractor was J. E. Truesdell of Springfield. In reviewing the history of these short-lived bridges, and observing the tendency of the smaller ones to swing aside at every flood and scatter themselves in fragments over the land, and of the lai'ger ones to embark on desperate voyages to the ocean, hurried onward by thronging blocks of HISTORY OF NORWICH. 361 ice or furious torrents, we might be tempted to think that Norwich stood pre-eminent, at the summit of misfortune in this respect. But that some of her neighbors share with her in the highest round of the ladder, may- be inferred from a communication received by the selectmen of Norwich from the town of Canterbury in 1780, in which they lament the great and unequal expense which they and several towns labor under, above other towns in the State, "by being obliged to build and maintain many great bridges over lai-ge rivers ; " and thej request a committee of conference to be appointed to consider of some mode of relief.* A committee was appointed, but there was no help found for the evil ; every town was obliged to attend to its own bridges, and the Legislature gave no relief but by lotteries. Wharf Bridge. The erection of a bridge over the cove, or mouth of the Yantic, so as to connect the point with the west side, was a project of considerable magnitude. It required a longer span than any bridge that bad been built in the eastern part of Connecticut. A proposition for such a bridge was brought before the public in 1767, by Mr. Gershom Breed. He seems to have originated the plan, and at last to have made it popular by his influence and exertions. The undertakers were Gershom Breed, Eleazar Waterman, and Jonathan Lester ; the builder, Christopher Reed. Objections were made to the erection, on the ground of danger from the high and precipitous hills on each side. The declivity on the east was particularly stony and abrupt, making the descent to the river more like a plunge than a regular progress. The natural features of the place have been so greatly altered by a long course of leveling and filling up, that we find it difficult to reproduce to the mind's eye those beetling cliffs that were here projected almost to the water's edge. It was argued also that the communication with the west side was not of sufficient impoi'tance to justify the undertaking. The town gave liberty for the bridge to be built, but, influenced by these objections, declined contributing to the expense. The undertakers nevertheless commenced operations, and the bridge was built in 1771. A small sum for partial indemnification was raised by lottery, the managers being Daniel Lathrop, William Hubbard, and Jedi- diah Huntington. * It was while engaged in repairing a bridge over the Quinebaug, between Canter- bury and Phiinfield, which had been partially destroyed in a severe freslkct, that the first David Nevins of Connecticut lost his life. He was standing on one of the cross beams of the bridge, giving directions to the workmen, and had his watch in his hand, which he had just taken out to see the time, when, losing his balance, he fell into the swollen stream, was swept down by the current, and drowned before he could be rescued. This was in the spring of 1757. 352 HISTOEY OF NORWICH. This bridge, though merely an experimental work, was found to be a great public convenience. A vast quantity of labor remained to be per- formed in the way of grading and preparing the roads that led to it. Numerous meetings were held, and plans discussed, which ended in a decision that the bridge should be enlarged, improved, strengthened against floods, and rendered passable for loaded teams. For this purpose, another lottery was granted by the Legislature in October, 1773, to raise £278 or $926 '■^for jinisMng and completing the great Wharf Bridge at Chelsea in NorwichP Managers, Joshua Lathrop, Rufus Lathrop, and Samuel Tracy. It was drawn in May, 1774.* The importance of this bridge has never since admitted of question. It is a thoroughfare which the public good requires to be always kept in a condition fit for service. Therefore the damages it has sustained by flood, fire, or the wear and tear of years, have always been speedily repaired, and it seems rather like one and the same bridge, than as it really is, and as all others of the town have been, — a succession of bridges. The highway near this bridge was originally a part of Mr. Breed's house-lot. The building of this bridge led to improvements in all the avenues connected with it. The highway below the Episcopal church was widened ; the road on the west side, running from the bridge to Sandy Beach, was improved ; and a new one opened from the Landing to the New London road. Freshets. The annual breaking up of the ice in the rivers is so often attended with a destructive overflow of the waters, that it is usually con- templated prospectively with some degree of apprehension. When the rains come, and the ice begins to crack, mills and bridges perchance may be swept away, meadow lands devastated, fences destroyed, and serious losses sustained. Some parts of the town are peculiarly exposed to such ravages. The narrow and winding outlet of the Shetucket, and the high banks that restrain it on the south, naturally tend to throw the accumula- ted swell of the river over the flat part of Chelsea. Only a few of the most remarkable spring floods can be here chronicled. Sept. 4, 1720. " The flood raised Norwich river to a prodigious height; stacks of hay floated down ; it carried away the bridge by the meeting house and much fence." [Hempstead's Diary.] * This lottery had 2,000 tickets at $2.50; highest prize, $3,000. Paper bills were received and paid out promiscuously with silver. The petition for the lottery was signed by eighty of the principal citizens. In looking over the list in 1837, sixty-five years after the signing, only one of the eighty was living, viz., Capt. David Nevins. He died in January, 1838, aged 91 years. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 353 The Boston News-Letter notices an extraordinary flood of the She- tucket at Norwich, 28th of February, 1729. The warehouses at the Landing were much injured, but the newspaper adds the comj^ensatory information, " there was fine bass-fishing after it," — twenty thousand bass having been taken in the river a little below tlie point. A thaw and freshet of unusual power and rapidity of action occurred Jan. IG, 1737. The Shctucket above its outlet being impeded by a solid bed of ice, the rushing flood was suddenly thrown back, and spreading over the low land, rose to twenty feet in ten minutes, sweeping off three warehouses with all their contents, and injuring several others. Blocks of ice were left in some instances on the roofs of buildings. In the spring of 1757, a severe flood committed great havoc with the bridges and other works of man exposed to its fury. Jan. 8, 1784, was distinguished by a yet greater and more sweeping freshet, which affected both the Yantic and the Shetucket. Several mills and bridges on the upper courses were swept away, and large quantities of lumber came floating down the streams. Happily there was but little ice in the Thames, to obstruct the downward flow, and Chelsea escaped inundation. A slaughter-house near the wharf bridge was swept off with all its contents, beef, hides, tallow, cooperage, and tools, and not a vestige left. The freshet of February, 1788, was destructive to the smaller bridges. Lovett's was entirely demolished, and many others so much injured as to make reconstruction necessaiy. The year 1789 was marked by a June freshet. For two days, the 10th and 11th of tliti month, the ruins were continuous and flood-like, causing a rapid rise in all the streams that feed the Thames. The Shetucket and Yantic, swollen by their impetuous tributaries, sweeping aside bridges, mills and dams, deluging corn-fields, and precipitating large rocks upon the meadows, came rushing down upon Norwich Landing, and lilted the river nearly to a level with its lower tier of roofs. This flood, however, was of brief dui-ation. The M'aters passed over with a furious swash, and then quietly subsided. Jan. 29, 1797, was marked by a peculiar freshet resulting from a Jan- uary thaw. The smaller rivers were broken up, and heavy blocks of ice sweeping downwards conmiitted great havoc in their course. The court- house bridge Avas so thoi'oughly broken up that only a heap of iVagments remained. It was compared to a wreck mad(; by thousands of hammers. After the present century came in, the first great flood was in 1807. Tlie rivers began to break up on Saturday night, Feb. 7th. The cracking of the vast blocks of ice was like the crash of thunder. The Shetucket rose eighteen or twenty feet. Lord's and Lathrop's bridges were swept away. On Sunday morning, fire was cried through the streets, and alarm 23 y 354 HISTORY OP NORWICH. bells were rung. For many years no such inundation had been known. The current swept over East Chelsea, and for a time gave it the appear- ance of a lake, with a few houses lifting their roofs above the waters. The flood rose so rapidly that several families were taken by surprise and imprisoned in their houses. They retreated to the upper stories, but when the water came within a few inches of the second floors, it was con- sidered unsafe for them to remain, and they were brought away in boats, into which they dropped from the windows.* From hill to hill, all Frank- lin and East Main street was an expanse of water. At the intersection of the streets, from the corner where now stands the Wauregan hotel to the opposite corner, a temporary embankment was raised with great celerity and good effect. It was composed of timbers, spars, rails, and wood, secured by heavy stones, and filled in with hay, straw, canvas, and any thing that would resist leakage ; and though the waters slightly trickled over this breastwork, it kept off the great volume of water until the river subsided, which was in the course of a few hours. From subsequent town acts and accounts, we obtain the result of bridge damage from this freshet. The stone bridge over Swallow-all brook, and Lathrop's bridge, were rebuilt ; Lovett's repaired ; Geometry bridge, abutments replaced ; Wharf bridge, Court-house and Quarter bridges X'epaired. In September, 1815, at the equinox, a most destructive gale of wind was experienced on the coast of New England. At Chelsea the tide rose to an unprecedented height. Several stores on the wharves were swept entirely away, and others injured. On the wharf bridge the depth of water was five or six feet; beating over it with such fury as to carry off the market and a store adjoining. The market drifted up the river and lodged on the east side of the cove, thirty or forty yards above the bridge. Tlie brig Mary and several sloops and schooners were driven ashore, knocking in the sides of stores, and lodging almost in the streets. A remarkable freshet occurred on the Gth of March, 1823, which was caused by a rain of twenty four hours continuance falling upon a deep snow. Six bridges over the Yantic were carried away, viz., three in Norwich, two in Bozrah, [at Col. Fitch's iron-Avorks and Bozrahville,] and one in Franklin. The oil-mill at Bean Hill was swept off, and the oil-mill and machine-shop near the Falls much injured. On the wharf bridge some of the buildings were shifted in their position, or partly turned round, and the Methodist chapel, Avhich stood on the bridge, was swept away entire, moving off majestically like a ship from her moorings, * Capt. Rockwell's family was removed in this way. By the gradual filling in of the street, the site of the ancieat Rockwell house is several feet higher thaa formerly. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 855 bowing to tlie waves and righting herself again, floating a mile down the river before any part of it was broken, and the frame keeping together, according to report, until it passed into the Sound. It had been decorated with evergreens for some previous festive occasion, and tliese ornaments had not been removed when it sailed so gallantly away. This incident of the wrecked church gave rise to many exaggerative and fanciful stories. The newspapers alleged that it bore off both pastor and flock, and that they were heard singing as they passed New London. They reported also that it had landed whole on one of the islands, and that services would be performed there in future. A schooner from Providence, then in the Sound, asserted that it came driving by them in the night with lights in it.* So great was the force of the water brought down by this flood, that the Yantic was considerably deepened in some places by the removal of large stones. One that weighed more than a ton, and which had been placed in the bed of the river many years before, to support a foot-bridge, was raised, carried up into a meadow, and thrown against a large tree. An oil-mill was swept off, with a considerable quantity of flax-seed in it. By the middle of May, several meadows adjoining the river were covered with young flax. March 11, 1835, ushered in a freshet similar to that of 1823, the water rising twelve or fifteen feet. The walls, sheds, and small buildings along the banks of the Shetucket were swept away like chaff. Lathrop's bridge was broken up ; a shanty used by workmen on the Norwich and Worces- ter Railroad was carried past the city Avithout breaking; another building in which some persons were collected was submerged nearly to the roof, and the occupants were taken from it by boats. Two horses which were carried away and were seen passing down the river, helplessly tossed about in the torrent, formed an impressive feature of the scene. Feb. 8, 1854, most of the wharves were submerged by the breaking up of the ice, and the basements of buildings near the river filled with water. Central wharf and the Junction railway were overflowed. At the freight depot of the New London and Norwich Railroad, the rails were covered to the depth of eighteen inches. On the 30th of April, the same year, a violent storm caused another inundation ; the currents of the Yantic and Shetucket struggling together, threw the water back, and the wharf bridge was partially destroyed. The 9th and 10th of February, 1857, were marked by a freshet which might be called the ILalf-century Flood, as occurring so near the anniver- sary of that of 1807. The destruction of property was greatest in the * This incident gave rise to a little poem, by Brainerd, called " The Captain." Though but a fragmentary production, it is very graphic and highly finished. 356 HISTORY OF NORWICH. last instance. The heavy timbers from Lord's and Lathrop's bridges came floating down with fearful power. In the flood of 1807 it was East Chelsea that was submerged, the rise of water being in the Shetucket and in Stony brook ; but in that of 1857, the water front of the city was swept over by the raging flood. The river below was blocked up by the ice, and the loosened streams meeting with this obstruction, were thrown back upon the wharves and buildings of Water street in a sudden deluge, which however performed its mission at once, and having opened a passage below, rapidly retreated. Census op Norwich, Jan. 1, J 774. Persons. Families. Dwelling-houses. First Society, West " Newent, - East, - New Concord, Chelsea, Hanover, - Eighth, Males under 10, Females »< - - Males between 10 and 20, Females " " Males between 20 and 70, Females " " Males above 70, Females « - - In 1779, number of families in First Society, 367 5 persons, 2184. In Chelsea, 129 families, 1111 persons. In 1775, Norwich ranked as the second town in the Grand List of the Colony : New Haven, £73,210.0.2. Norwich, £66,678.29.2. Farmington was third on the list, and only £101 less than Norwich. Hartford stood at £48,120.10. 1978 317 283 875 133 111 641 98 92 1100 76 69 932 146 130 1019 127 104 323 53 44 453 74 68 7321 1024 901 _ _ 1099 . . 1054 . . 916 . - 749 - - 1408 . - 1574 - - 78 _ . 94 CHAPTEE XXYII. First Newspaper, the Norwich Packet. In 1773, the first Newspaper was established in Norwich. The pro- prietors and printers were Alexander Robertson, James Robertson, and John Trumbull, under the firm of Robertsons & Trumbull. It had a flourishing head-piece inclosing the rude cut of a ship under full sail, and an imposing title, making pretensions to a wide circulation, as represented below in reduced size. OCTOBER, Mdcclxxiii. THE Vol. I. Number 3. AND CONNECTICUT, NEW-HAMPSHIRE & THE MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE-ISLAND WEEKLY ADVERTISER. From Thursday, Oct. 14, to Thursday, Oct. 21, 1773. Price, six shillings and eight pence per annum. The press was at first set up in an office ''at the foot of the Green, near the Court House," but in July, 1775, was removed to a new building " near the Meeting House," which from that time forth, for fifty years or more, was known as Trumbull's printing-office. 858 HISTORY OP NORWICH. At that eventful era, when the great struggle for liberty commenced, Norwich might be taken as a fair model of the best class of New England towns. The streets were lively with industry and enterprise, and the society was ahead of most others in educational facilities, literary culture, and the embellishments of domestic life. The memory of this period was long kept green in the hearts and minds of those inhabitants who lived into after generations. They looked back to it as to a golden age of hearty social enjoyment, where economy and hospitality went hand in hand, and stateliness harmonized with sim- plicity. It was a pex-iod when a moderate degree of prosperity satisfied desire, destroying anxiety for the future, without awakening the greed for superfluous wealth ; when apparel and furniture were gay and glittering, but not extravagant ; when few were so rich as not to be kept vigorous and bright by daily attention to business, and few were so poor as not to command a plentiful table ; when thought was expansive and bold in speculations concerning liberty, but had not yet deepened into solemn con- siderations of the rights of man. "We are not wholly dependent on tradition for vivid sketches of this great transition period. A community is photographed in its local papers, and a lively impression of the general affairs and domestic pursuits of the town may be gathered from the contemporary numbers of the Norwich Packet. As the early files of this paper are now very rare, a few excerpts relat- ing to local affairs may prove interesting. [1773.] Oct. 28. The season has been so very mild, that a mess of green peas was picked the last week in this town, spontaneously grown from seed produced this year. Dec. 13. The officers and soldiers who belonged to Gen. Lyman's regiment of Pro- vincials, and were at the taking of Havannah, are notified to meet at the house of Mr. John Durgie,* Innholder, in Norwich, to enquire why the last dividend of their prize money has not been paid, &c. Marriages were notified in such terms as these : Nov. 1773. Last Thursday evening, Mr. Mandator Tracy, an accomplished young gentleman, was married to the agreeable Caroline Bushnell, a young lady endowed with every qualification to make the connubial state happy. John Chester, Esq. of Wethersfield, to the amiable Miss Elizabeth Huntington, dau' of Col. Jabez Huntington. Deaths in this way : Feb. 17, 1774. On Friday last, departed this life at Pomcchoag, her saffron colored majesty, Ann Queen Dowager, of the Monahegan Indians, and yesterday her remains were interred in a manner suitable to her high rank, in the Indian burying ground at Chelsea. * The popular pronunciation of Durkee. '^^^ /^"^ HISTORY OF NORWICH. 859 Feb. 10, 1774. Yesterday, Mr. James Burnam, of this town, brou,e allowed to converse with him, except in the presence and hearing of a magistrate or a sheriff of tbe county where he should be confined, and in the English language, until further orders." Gov. Trumbull directed that he should be kept in custody at Norwich, in charge of Prosper Wetmore, sheriff of New London county. Here he was detained during the winter in strict and cheerless seclusion. Mr. Edgerton, the gaoler, was directed to build a higli picket fence around the prison, and even wdthin this inclosure Dr. Church was not permitted to walk but once a week, and then with the sheriff at his side. This was harsh discipline to a man accustomed to a luxurious, independent style of living. Dr. Church was a Boston physician of considerable literary abilify, who had written songs and delivered orations in favor of American liberty, and had been a member of tin? Provincial Congress in 1774. He was an associate of Warren and other [)atriots ; but in September, 1775, a letter written by him in cipher to his brother in Boston was intercepted and the contents found to be of a character so questionable that he was arrested and tried for holding a ti'casonable correspondence with the enemy. The letter, though it contained no positive treason, seemed to emanate from one who was feeling his way to treachery and dishonor. Dr. Church was kept in Norwich until the 27th of May, 1776, when by order of Congress he was sent to Watertown, Mass. About the same time he obtained permission to retire to the West Indies, but the vessel in which he embarked was never heard of afterwards. Norwich and some other towns in the eastern part of the State, remote from the sea-coast, were often chai'ged with the safe-keeping of tories and other prisoners of war. Items like the following may be gathered from newspapers and public records : 888 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Aug. 26, 1776. Last Saturday a number of gentlemen torics* were brought to 'New London and sent from hence to Norwich. — Ten persons arrested at New York and first imprisoned in Litchfield gaol hare been transferred to Norwich. Feb. 22, 1777. John L. C. Rome Esq. of New York, confined as a tory at Norwich,. Tsras released on his parole to return on request of the Covemor and Council. In August, 1776, the sheriff removed from New London to Prestore twenty persons arrested in Albany for toryism. They remained at Pres- ton for several months, and were allowed to live as they chose at their own expense, most of them paying for their board by their labor. The tory prisoners at Norwich were often distributed in private families and allowed their liberty within certain limits. In March, 1782, a company of sailors, eight or ten in number, that had been taken in an English privateer, and sent ?ip from New London for safe-keeping, broke out of jail in the night, and after lurking three or four ditys in the woods uncaught, succeeded in reaching New London, and by stealth got possession of a fine new coasting-sloop, just fitted for a voyage and fastened to one of the wharves, with which they escaped. ■ The large number of tories arrested during the earlier years of the war suggests one of the great trials that beset the patriot cause: secret enemies^ opponents at home, were like thorns in the side, or serpents in the bosom. They were often arrested, but seldom kept long in durance. After the detention of a few days or weeks, they were generally dismissed, on giv- ing bonds to return when called for, or upon taking oath not to bear arms ao-ainst the country or to aid and comfort the enemy in any way. In the summer of 1775, a battery or redoubt was built below the Land- ing on Waterman's Point. Benjamin Huntington and Ephraim- Bill were directors of the work, but the labor was mostly performed hj Capt. Lyon'a company of militia,! that had been sent to Norwich on an alarm of inva- sion from vessels prowling in Long Island Sound. When the work was completed, four six-pounders were brought from New London, and a reg- ular guard and watch kept. For further defence of the place, two wrought iron field-pieces and several other pieces of ordnance were mountedj, manned, and placed in the charge of Capt. Jacob DeWitt. William Lax established a manufactory of gun-carriages in town, and succeeded so well as to be employed by the State to furnish apparatus for * In the accounts of the State Pay Table there is a startling item of £658 10s. 2d., drawn by J. Huntington of Windham, /or nan and coffee, furnished to prisoners under his charge in August, 1777. This might lead us to conclude that either thtse gentlemen tories were very numerous, or that they were slightly luxurious in their habits and had uncommonly indulgent wardens. Bat it is probable that the amount is given in a de- preciated currency. t Capt. Ephraim Lyon of Col. Putnam's regiment. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 3S9 mticl-i of the cannon used by them. Elijah Backus, Esq., at his forges apon the Yantic, manufactured the eliip anchors used for the State's armed vessels, two of which weighed 1200 lbs. each. He afterwards engaged in the casting of cannon. Samuel Noyes made and repaired guns and bay- ■onets for the light-infantry. Capt. Ephraim Bill, of Norwich, was in the service of the State as a marine agent, and Capt. Jabez Perkins as contractor and dispenser of the public stores. The Governor and Council of Safety sometimes held their sessions in town. Norwich was admirably situated to serve as a port of refuge to which vessels could retiixi and discharge their cargoes in safety. In July, 1775, the brig Nancy, owned by Josiah Winslow, a well-known royalist of Bos- ton, having on board eighteen or nineteen thousand gallons of molasses, was forced by stress of weather into Stonington harbor. It was no sooner known at Norwich that she had anchored near the coast, than her capture was decreed. Witliout waiting for the State authority, but with the sanc- tion of the Committee of inspection, a spirited band of volunteers, in a large sloop commanded by Capt. Robert Niles, proceeded forthwith to -Stonington, Vvhere they took possession of the vessel, and brought her, with the cargo, round to Norwich. They then made report of the atiair to the Governor and Council, who approved of their proceedings, and ■sequest<3red the priee for the use of the State. The tory molasses, as it was called, proved a valuable acquisition. It was ■doled out to hospitals, and used as a medium of exchange for public pur- poses. Molasses was a commodity which could only be obtained by cap- ture, and the want of it was one of the home felt privations of the war.* The scarcity of sugar and molasses continued for several years. Va- .rious were the substitutes contrived. Corn-stalk molasses is no myth or icarieature, but a veritable resource of those trying times, and probably the best substitute that was brought into use. The stalks were cut when the ears of corn were just ripe for roasting or boiling, thrown into a mill, the juice pres&cd out and then boiled down until it became a tolerable syrup- It served at least to satisfy the natural craving of the appetite for saccha- rine matter, some portion of which in food seems to be requisite both for ^nourishment and delight. In October, 1775, another merchant vessel was seized under circum- •.fftances similar to those of the Nancy. She had a cargo of 8,000 bushels * By the side of this fact, arked at Norwich and New London, to finish the route by water. Gen. Washington accompanied one of the parties to Norwich, and met Gov. Trumbull by appointment at Col. Jedidiah Huntington's, where they dined together, and the General that evening resumed his route to New York, going down to New London by land. The inhabitants also had an opportunity of seeing La Fayette, Steuben, Pulaski, and other distinguished foreigners in our service. There were some who long I'emembered tlie appearance of the noble La Fayette, as he passed through the place on his way to Newport. He had been there before, and needed no guide ; his aids and a small body-guard were with him, and he rode up to the door of his friend. Col. Jedidiah Huntington, in a ([uick gallop. He wore; a blue military coat, but no vest and no stockings ; his boots being short, his leg was conse ^ueiitly left bare for a considerable space below the knee. The speed with wliich he was trav- eling, and the great heat of the weather, were sv ficient excuses for this negligence. He took some refreshment and hastened forward. At another period, he passed through with a detachment of 2,000 men 394 HISTORY OF NORWICH. under his command, and encamped them for one night upon the plain. In the morning, before their departure, he invited Mr. Strong, the pastor of the place, to pray with them, which he did, the troops being arranged in three sides of a hollow square. Nearly fifty years afterwards, Aug. 21, 1824, the venerable La Fayette again passed through Norwich. Some old people, who remembered him, embraced him and wept ; the General wept also. At one time during the war, the Duke de Lauzun's regiment of hussars was quartered in Lebanon, ten miles from Norwich. Col. Jedidiah Hunt- ington invited the officers to visit him, and prepared a handsome entertain- ment for them. They made a superb appearance as they drove into town, being young, tall, vivacious men, with handsome faces and a noble air, mounted upon horses bravely caparisoned. The two Dillons, brothers, one a major and the other a captain in the regiment, were particulai-ly distinguished for their fine forms and expressive features. One or both of these Dillons suffered death from the guillotine during the French Revolution. Lauzun was one of the most accomplished but unprincipled noblemen of his time. He was celebrated for his handsome person, his liberality, wit, bravery ; but more than all for his profligacy. He was born in 1747, inherited great wealth and high titles, and spent all -his early years in alternate scenes of dissipation and traveling. He engaged in no public enterprise till he came to America and took part in the Revolutionary contest. The motives which actuated this voluptuous nobleman to this undertaking are not understood ; very probably the thirst for adventure, and personal friendship for La Fayette. He had run the career of pleas- ure to such an extent that he was perhaps willing to pause awhile and restore the energy of his satiated taste. Certain it is, that he embarked in the cause of the Americans with ardor, bore privations with good tem- per, and made himself very popular by his hilarity and generous expend- iture. After Lauzun returned to Europe, he became intimate with Talleyrand ■ and accompanied him on a mission to England in 1792, where one of his familiar associates was the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV. On the death of his uncle, the Duke de Biron, he succeeded to the title, quar- reled with the court, and became a partizan of the Duke of Orleans, Afterwards he served against the Vendeans, but being accused of secretly favoring them, was condemned, and executed the last day of the year 1793. Such was the future s ormy career of tliis celebrated nobleman, who, as already mentioned, in *he midst of friends and subordinates, enjoyed the banquet made for him l^y Col. Huntington. After dinner the whole party went out into the yard in front of the house, and made the air ring with huzzas for Liberty ! Numerous loungers had gathered around the fence HISTORY OF NORWICH. 895 io get a sight of these interesting foreigners, with whom they conversed in very good Enghsh, and exhorted to live free, or die for Liberty. It is well known tliat during the Revolutionary war attempts were made to regulate the prices of articles by public statutes, in order to reduce the quantity of the circulating medium. In Connecticut, prices were fixed by the civil authorities of each town, in all cases not determined by acts of Assembly. April 7, 1777. Voted, strictly to adhere to the law of the State regidating the prices of llie necessaries of life; and we do resolve with cheerfulness to exert our best orideay- ours within our sphere, to support the honor of that good and salutary law. Dec. 29. Voted, that the town consider the articles of confederation and perpetual union proposed by the Continental Congress wise and salutary. 1778. Abstract of instructions to the representatives of the town : 1. To use their influence to hare taxes more equitable. 2. To have bills of credit called in. 3. Forfeited estates confiscated. 4. The yeas and nays on all important questions published. 5. Profane swearing punished by disability to sustain offices. Oct. 1. Voted, to present a memorial to the General Assembly, praying for a just and equitable system of taxation and rcpresentation. Extract from the memorial : " The Poll-tax your memorialists consider at the present day, an insupportable bur- den on the poor, while a great part of the growing estate of the rich is by law exempt from taxation. The present mode of representation is also objected to by your memo- rialists. They believe all who pay taxes and are of sober life and conversation, ought to have a voice in all public communities, where tlieir monies and properties are dis- posed of for public uses." It is not surprising that the subject of taxation should be one of exciting interest in a community who were annually paying 6rf., 9c/. and I'ld. on the pound for the use of the army. At one time in Connecticut, when the currency was at par, a rate of even 14(Z. was necessary to meet the exi- gencies of the treasury. The town afterwards presented another petition to the Assembly, the substance of which was, that every kind of i)ropcrty, and that only, should be the object of taxation. This general principle, they say, is in their view the only equitable one. Committees were sent to several neighbor- ing towns, to get their minds on the subject, and they at length resolved to publish, at the expense of the town, the prevalent views of the citizens on taxation, in the form of a letter to the freemen of the State, a copy of it to be sent to every town. In this letter the deficiencies of the existing system were ably pointed out. Sy6 HISTORY OF NORWICH. " By the present system, six of the poorest swine a year old are rated equal to £100 in cash at interest, and 30 sixch swine equal to a house of £1000. The meanest horse, «ven 30 years old, is on a par with the best in his prime. An acre of the best land is rated no higher than the poorest that is arable in the State. " Industry, which ought to be encouraged, is doubly taxed and that in a very capri- cious and vague manner." The objections against the poll-tax were these : " That it is a personal tax, and ought to be paid in personal service, that is, in de- fending the community ; that it is a double tax, the poor man paying for his poll, which is the substitute for his labor, and for the avails of his labor also; that it is im- politic, as tending to prevent early marriages, which promote industry, frugality, and every social virtue." The committee upon this memorial were some of the choice spirits of Norwich, — Benjamin Huntington, Dr. Theophilus Rogers, Dr. Elisha Tracy, Aaron Cleveland, Jonathan Huntington, and Nathaniel Niles. The document has strong points, but it is not known from which of the members it emanated. Again, three years later, (1781,) the town made another effort to obtain their favorite measures, — the abrogation of the poll-tax, and the extension of the right of suffi-age. The instructions given to the representatives embraced the following measures : That polls be struck out of the tax list, or rated low. That all who pay taxes be allowed to vote, if of good moral character. That debates in the House be open. That absentees be fined. That a regular constitution be formed. In October, 1780, a convention was held at Hartford to consider what measures should be taken in regard to trade and currency. The delegates from Norwich were Daniel Rodman and Solomon Satford ; the committee to draft their instructions, Elisha Lathrop, Christop her Letfi ngwell, and Aaron Cleveland. They were directed to urge the loaning of money to Congress to defray the public expenses and prevent the necessity of a further emission of paper money. In town meeting, June 24, 1780, — " Voted, that a committee of fifty able, judicious men be appointed to engage fifty able-bodied, effective men, required of this town to fill up our complement of the Con- tinental Army for three years, or during the war ; each member of the committee to procure one soldier, and pay him twenty silver dollars bounty, over and above the bounty given by the state, and pay him the same annually, as long as he continues iu the service ; also 40s. per month in silver money, or Indian corn at 3s. per bushel, fresh pork at 3d. per pound, and wheat at 6s. per bushel." The committee were not able to carry this vote into effect : the term of enlistment was too long ; nor were the men raised until by a subsequent HISTORY OP NORWICH. 397 vote the term of service was restricted to six months. In July of the same year, upon a requisition of the Governor, twenty-seven more men were enlisted for six months, to whom the same bounty and pay were given. The General Assembly had passed an act to arrange all the inhabitants of the State into classes, each class to raise so many recruits and furnish such and such clothing and other supplies. Norwich at first refused to enter upon this system, and remonstrated. With great reluctance, the measure was at last adopted by the inhabitants, and being found to accom- plish the end, was continued through the war, though it was never popular with them. After recovering from the first stunning blow of the Revolution, the inhabitants of Norwich were not only alert in turning their attention to various industrial pursuits, but engaged also in the brilliant chance game of privateei-ing. The war, therefore, while it exhausted the strength and resources of neighboring towns that lay exposed upon the sea-coast, acted like a spur to the enterprise of Norwich. New London at the mouth of the river was depressed in all her interests, kept in continual alarm, and finally, by the blazing torch of the enemy, almost swept from the face of the earth ; but Norwich, securely seated at the head of the river, defended by her hills and nourished by her valleys, planting and reaping without fear of invasion or loss, not only built new shops and dwelling-houses, and engaged with spirit and success in a variety of new manufactures, but entered into ship-building, and boldly sent out her vessels to bring in spoils from the ocean. In 1781 and 1782, the tovv'n was overflowing with merchandise, both tropical and European.* New mercantile fii-ms were established: Daniel Rodman, Samuel Woodbridge, Lynde McCurdy, and others, — and lavish varieties of fancy texture, as well as the substantial products of almost every climate, were offered for sale. The shelves and counters of the fashionable class of shoj)s displayed such articles as superfine broadcloths, men's silk hose, India silks, Damascus silks, taffetas, satins, Persians, and velvets, blonde lace, gauzes, and chintzes. These goods were mostly ob- tained by successful privateering. Another class of merchandise, generally of a cheaper kind, and not dealt in by honorable traders, but covertly offered for sale in various places, or distributed by peddlers, was obtained by secret and unlawful intercourse with the enemy. The coast of Connecticut being entirely girdled by Long Island and New York, and the British and tories having these wholly under their * In May, 1 782, a very large stock and great variety of European goods, imported ill the l)rigantiiic Firebrand from Amsterdam, was sold by auction at the store of Messrs. Zabdicl Rogers & Co., Bean Hill. S'Oi 98 HISTORY OP NORWICH* control, it was very difficult to prevent the secret intercourse and traiiic of the two parties through the Sound. In the later years of the war espe- cially, a corrupt, underhand, smuggling trade prevailed to a great extent, which was emboldened by the indifference or connivance of the local authorities, and stimulated by the readiness of people to purchase cheap goods without asking from whence they came. Remittances for these goods must be made in coin, therefore they were sold only for cash, which, finding its way back to the enemy's lines, impoverished the country. Thus the traffic operated against agriculture and manufactures, against honest labor and lawful trade. Moreover, it nullified the laws and brought them into contempt, A"-a!n:4 this illicit traffic a strong association was formed at Norwich in July, 1782. The company bound themselves by solemn pledges of life, fortune, and honor, to support the civil authority, to hold no intercoui'se, social or mercantile, with persons detected in evading the laws ; to furnish men and boats for keeping watch in suspected places, and to search out and break up all deposits of smuggled goods, — such goods to be seized, sold, and the avails devoted to charitable purposes. The vigorous manner in which this company began to carry out their principles caused great commotion in the ranks of the guilty parties. Suspected persons suddenly disappeared ; sales were postponed ; goods which before had been openly exposed, withdrew into cellars and meal- chests, or were concealed in barns under the hay, and in hollow trees, thickets, and ravines. Several seizures were made during the season, but the treaty of peace soon put an end to this clandestine traffic, and the association had but a brief existence. Its object, however, was creditable to the patriotism and efficiency of the inhabitants, and a list of ihe signers gives us the names of sixty-eight prominent men who were on the stage of life at the close of the war, and all within the bounds of the present town. Members of the Association against Illicit Trade,* alphabeticallt arranged. Samuel Abbot, Elijah Backus, Ephraim Bill, Jonathan Boardman, John M. Breed, Shubael Breed, Samuel Capron, Eliphalet Carew, Joseph Carew, Simeon Carew, Thomas Coit, William Coit, John Crary, Jacob DeWitt, Michael Dumont, Tliomas Fanning, Jabez Fitch, Joseph Gale, Joseph Howland, Andrew Huntington, Eliphalet Huntington, Jonathan Huntington, Joshua Huntington, Levi Huntington, Simeon Huntington, William Hubbard, Eussell Hubbard & Son. * Conn. Gazette, Vol. 19. HISTORY OF NORWICH 399 Ebenezer Jones, Joshua Lathrop, Kufus Latlirop, Christopher Lcffingwell, Benajah LcffingwcU, ^ i Jonathan Lester, ^iha Marvin, John Me Call, Lyndc McCurcly, Seth Miner, Thomas Mumford, -^Nathaniel Nilcs, Eobcrt Niles, Tiniothy Parker, / Asa Pcahody, Nathaniel P. Pcabody, Joseph Peck, Andrew Perkins, Jabez Perkins, Jabez Perkins, Jr, Joseph Perkins, Joseph Perkins, Jr. Erastus Perkins, Hezekiah Perkins, Levi Perkins, Daniel Rodman, Thcophihis Rogers, Zabdicl Rogers, Ransford Rose, Andrew Tracy, Jr. Mandator Trac}', Samuel Tracy, Asa Waterman, Jr. Samuel Wheat, Joseph Whitmarsh, Benajah Williams, Joseph Williams, Jacob Witter, Dudley Woodbridge, Samuel Woodbridge, Alexander Youngs. In January, 1781, the inhabitants were divided into forty classes, to raise forty soldiers, which was their quota for the Continental army; and again, into twenty classes for a State quota to serve at Horseneck and elsewhere. A list of persons in each class was made out, and each taxed in due proportion for the pay and fitting out of one recruit, whom they were to procure ; two shirts, two pairs of woollen stockings, shoes and mittens were requisite for every soldier ; arms and uniforms were fur- nished by the state or country. Each soldier's family was in the charge of a committee to see that they were supplied with the necessaries of life, for which the soldier's wages to a certain amount were pledged. The whole number of classes this year to procure clothing was G6. In 1782, only 33 classes were inquired. 1783. Instructions Avere given to the representatives to use their influ- ence with the Assembly to obtain a remonstrance against the five years' pay granted by Congress to the officers of the Continental army. The manifesto of the town on this subject was fiery, dictatorial, and extrava- gant. A few paragraphs will show in strong relief the characteristics of the people, — jealous of their rights, quick to take alarm, and sensitively watchful over their cherislied liberties. " Where is the free son of America that ever had it in idea when adopting the arti- cles of confederation to have pensions bestowed on those characters (if any such there be) whose virtue could not hold them in service without such rewards over and above the contract which first engaged them." "For a free people, just rising out of a threatening slaver}', into free shining pros- pects of a most glorious peace and independence, now to be taxed without their consent to support and maintain a large numl)cr of gentlemen as pensioners, in a time of univer- sal peace, is, in our view, unconstitutional and directly in opposition to the sentiment of the states at large, and was one great spoke in the wheel whicli moved at lirst our late struggle with our imperious and tyrannical foes." 400 HISTOEY OF NORWICH. Further instructions were given at the same time to the representatives to urge upon the Assembly the necessity of keeping a watchful eye upon the proceedings of Congress, to see that they did not exceed the powers vested in them, and to appoint a committee at every session to take into consideration the journals of Congress, and approve or disapprove, ap- plaud or censure the conduct of the delegates. At no period during the war were the people of Norwich alarmed with the fear of a direct invasion of the enemy, except at the time of the attack on New London, Sept. 6, 1781. It was then rumored that Arnold, in- flamed with hatred against the country he had betrayed, and cherishing a vengeful spirit towards his native town, had determined at all hazards to march thither and spread desolation through the homes of his .ancient friends and neighbors. Preparations were therefore made to receive him ; goods were packed, and women and children made ready for flight. The llery patriots of Norwich wished for nothing more than that he should attempt to march thither, as it would give them a long coveted opportunity of wreaking tlieir vengeance on the traitor. But the undertaking was too hazardous ; Arnold, if he had the will, was too prudent to attempt any thing but a sudden and transient attempt upon the sea-board. The last time that the militia were called out during the war, was in September, 1782. A detail of the circumstances will serve as a specimen of the harrassing alarms which liad previously often occurred. Benajah Letfingwell was then lieutenant-colonel of the twentieth regi- ment, and at seven o'clock in the morning an express reached him Avith the following order : ■J' To Major Leffingwell : I have certain intelligence that there is a large fleet in the Sound, designed for some part of the Main — would hereby request you without loss of time, to notify the regiment under your command to be ready to march at the short- est notice — also send expresses to New London immediately for further news, and con- tinue expresses as occasion may be. Your humble servant in the greatest haste, Samuel M'Clelland, Colonel. Wednesday morning, six o'clock. I have mucli more to say if I had time. I am on the road to Ncv^ London from Windham, where express came to me in the night. Before nine o'clock the Avhole regiment had been summoned to turn out with one oT two days' provisions, and be ready to march on hearing the alarm guns. The regiment upon the ground that day, as the returns of the orderly- book show, consisted of one field officer, thirty-five commissioned officers, and 758 men, in eleven companies, under the following captains : Joseph Carcw, Moses Stephens, Jonathan Waterman, Samuel Wheat, William Pride, Samuel Lovett, Isaac Johnson, Jabez Deraiug, Jacob DeWitt. Nathan Waterman, Abncr Ladd, HISTORY OF NORWICH. 401 Orders at last came for them to march ; they wore just ready to start, when the order was countermanded ; again an express arrived, saying that the fleet appeared to be bound in, and orders were issued to stand ready : one hour they heard that the enemy was making preparations for a descent ; the next, that the fleet was moving up the Sound. Finally, the hostile ships having explored Gardiner's Bay, flitted out of the Sound, and the mihtia, after two days of harrassing suspense, were dismissed to their homes. Concerning the manner in which the inhabitants testified their joy at the grand results of the seven years of war, — independence achieved, and the restoration of peace, — no published accounts have been found. Ac- cording to current reminiscences, the public rejoicings were boisterous and extravagant. The throng of people assembled on the Green was beyond all precedent, and great excesses were committed in the way of rioting and drinking. But these were the revelries of an excited multitude. The demonstra- tions of other classes were of a deeper, nobler character. An intelligent lady still living (1865) remembers the celebration as the great event of her childhood. She describes the crowd upon the Green ; their joyous greetings and congratulations ; the shaking of hands, waving of flags, firing, drumming, shouting, and the large bonfires at night. The following Sabbath the church was filled with a dense crowd, all in their best array, smiling and happy. The choir of singers appeai'ed with brilliant decorations, and sung an ode adapted to the occasion, in the tune of Worcester, of which the following was the opening stanza : Behold a radiant light ! And by divine command, Fair Peace, the child of Heaven, descends To this afflicted land. 26 CHAPTER XXXII. Marine Affairs. 1776-1783. In 1776, Connecticut ordered four row-galleys to be built. Three only were completed : the Shark, built at Norwich by Capt. Jonathan Lester ; the Crane, at East Haddam ; and the Whiting, at New Haven. Capt. Lester went to Philadelphia for the plan of the Shark. Her dimensions were, " sixty feet keel, eighteen feet beam, five feet hold, and four inches dead rising."* These galleys carried two pieces of ordnance, six or nine pounders, and fifty men (including officers), and were furnished with lances, poles, and hatchets. Tliey were all sent to New York soon after they were rigged and manned, at the request of General Washington, to be used on the Hud- son river. The Shark was at first commanded by Theophilus Stanton, but while in service at New York, by Capt. Roger Fanning. Capt. Lester had but just completed the Shark, when he i*eceived (July 2d) an order from Gov. Trumbull to hasten immediately with twenty-five carpenters to Crown Point, to build batteaux for the Lake, upon a requi- sition of Gen. Schuyler. Capt. Robert Niles of Norwich was a ship-master of experience in the merchant service before the war, and one of the earliest band of Revolu- tionary cruisers. In July, 1775, Benjamin Huntington of Norwich and John Deshon of New London were appointed agents of the colony to charter a fast-sailing vessel to go from place to place, carry inteUigenqe, convey stores, and watch the enemy. They purchased the schooner Brit- annia at Stonington for £200, and brought her into the Thames, where she was fitted and furnished with a crew ; her name changed to the Spy, and Capt. Niles appointed her commander., His commission from Gov. Trumbull was dated Aug 7, 1775. The Spy was about 50 tons burden, carried six 4-pounders, and usually about twenty menj but sometimes thirty.f But though small in size, the Spy was invaluable in the amount of service she performed. She conveyed intelligence, and transported stores * As master-builder, his pay was one Spanish dollar per day. t The pay of a seaman was from 40s. to 48s. per month. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 403 along the coast. She was sent to Maryland for flour, and to (he West Indies with hoops and staves to barter for island produce. Slie also took several rich prizes, among which was the Dolphin, a larger vessel than herself and more heavily armed, being of 80 tons burden, and to this Capt. Niles was for a short time transferred. In June, 1778, he was employed by the Government to carry to France an official copy of the ratified treaty with that kingdom, to perform which duty he again took command of the Spy. He arrived at Brest in twenty-one days, having passed undetected through a considerable British fleet that was cruising off the coast of France, in avoiding which he displayed the dexterity and vigilance of a thorough seaman. Six copies of the treaty were dispatched by different vessels, but this is supposed to have been the only one that reached its destination. Its arrival hastened the departure of recruits and stores that were preparing in France for the aid of the American cjiuse. The lieutenant of the Spy was Zebediah Smitli, and the last survivoi: of her crew was Capt. Benjamin Coit, who died at Norwic;h in 1841j>, aged eighty-three. He had enlisted in the naval service at the age c>f eighteen. Capt. Niles was a native of Groton ; bora in the year 173-ij, and diedj at Norwich in 1818.* Lieut. Smith was lost at sea in December, 1791. In the early part of the war, two other Norwich captains, Selh Hard- ing and Timothy Parker, by their seamanship and success reflected honor upon the Connecticut marine, Capt. Harding was successively in com- mand of the brig Defence, 14 guns, the Oliver Cromwell, 18, and the Confederacy, 32, all owned by the State. The Defence was built in 1776, at Hayden's ship-yard on the Connecti- cut river, under the superintendence of Capt. Harding and Bcnjaniin Huntington.- Capt. Ephi'aim Bill directed her rigging, and Elijah Backus forged her anchors. In her first trip out, 18th or 19th of June, 1776, she captured near the opening of Boston Bay, two British transports, a ship and a brig, the former with 210 soldiers, and the latter 112, belonging to Frazcr's Highland regiment. Col. Campbell was also among the prison- ers. In a subsequent cruise the same year, Capt. Harding took a mer- chant vessel, called the John, of 200 tons burden, with a valuable cargo of West India produce, and also a Guinea ship. Tlie Defence was afterward altered into a ship, and seems never again to have been very fortunate. Capt. Harding was transferred to tlie Oliver Cromwell, and in June, 1777, captured the brig JMedway, with stores; in July, the brigantine Honor, valued at £10,692 ; and in September, the * In 1856, Congress granted a pension to Miss Hannah Niles, the only burviving child of Capt. Robert Nilea. 404 HISTORY OF NORWICH. packet ship Weymouth, carrying 15 guns and a crew of 50 men. Capt. Parker, who had been Harding's first lieutenant, succeeded hira in the command of the Cromwell, and April 13, 1778, after a smart action, took the Admiral Keppel, an English letter-of-marque, mounting 18 sixes. Sevei'al of Capt. Pai'ker's men were wounded ; Capt. James Day, of the marines, mortally. The prize was sent into Boston, and sold at auction on the 8th of July for £22,320. In May, 1779, the Oliver Cromwell sailed from New London, and though absent only twelve days, took four prizes and brought in sixty prisoners. But running out again, June 1st, she encountered, June 5tb, off Sandy Hook, the British frigate Daphne, and after a sharp engage- ment of two hours, Capt. Parker seeing another vessel coming to the aid of the enemy, surrendered. He was soon exchanged, and reached home early in August, with forty-six of his men. The Governor Trumbull, a privateer carrying 18 or 20 guns, was built at Willett's ship-yard in 1777, for Howland & Coit. She was considered almost a model ship. Her first commander, Capt. Henry Billings, had been tested both for gallantry and skillful seamanship, as lieutenant of the armed brig Defence, and a cai-eer of brilliant success was anticipated for her. She sailed on her first cruise in November, 1778, and made several small captures, but early the next year went out under the command of Capt. Dudley Saltonstall, and meeting with the British frigate Venus, a vessel of greater size and efficiency, was obliged to surrender. Her cap- tors took her to the "West Indies, where she i*ecruited and was sent forth under a changed name and flag to prey upon her former friends. Before sailing, she was thus advertised in the Gazette, Nov. 17, 1778: " The fine new ship Governor Trumbull, Henry Billings commander, now lyinf^ in t'le harbor of New London, mounting 20 carriage guns, will sail in six days, &c. Ap- ply oil board, or to Rowland & Coit, Norwieh." Her capture was announced in the tory paper at New York. April 5, 1779. "The rebel frigate Trumbull is taken by the Venus and sent into St. Kitts." The Venus herself was originally an American ship called the Bmiker Hill, captured by the British, and her name changed. The Confederacy, a continental ship of 32 guns, was one of two frigate? ordered by Congress to be built in Connecticut, under the direction of the Governor and Council of Safety.* It was constructed at Norwich by Jedediah Willett, under the superintendence of Major Joshua Hunting- ton, who, as agent of the State, procured materials and workmen. Shf * The other was the Tnimbull, 28 guns, and built at Chatham in Connecticat river. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 405 was built chiefly oi tory-timler ; the oak for her keel having been brought from the confiscated land of William BroAvne, in Salem, Ct.; locust trees for her trunnels were felled from a lot in New London, owned by a Bos- ton royalist ; and planks from the confiscated groves of other refugees performed their part in fashioning her hull and laying her deck. She was launched Nov. 8, 1778, and towed down the river on the 30th to be rigged and recruited at New London.* Capt. Seth Harding was the first and only American commander of the Confederacy. She was ordered to France, carrying as passengers, Mr. Jay, the American minister, and Count de Gerard, a French envoy, but had not been long out when she encountered a furious gale, in which she rolled over, lost her masts, and though she righted again, was forced to steer for the nearest friendly port in the West Lidies, to refit. The following notice is from the Martinico Gazette of Dec. 1(^^, 1779: " The Continental Frigate Confederacy, 40 guns, Capt. Harding, came into our road. She left Pliiladolphia Oct. 27, destined for France, met with a gale on tlie hanks of Newfoundland,! lost her masts, had six feet of water in the hold, and arrived in the midst of perils. The Count de Gerard, late minister from the Court of France to the United States, and his Excellency John Jay, who goes to represent tlie States at the Court of Madrid, were on board. " They [the ambassadors] sailed from Martinico for France Nov. 28, in tlie French frigate L'Aurorc." / The Confederacy refitted at Martinico, and returned home. She was next sent to Cape Francois for clothing and other supplies for the army, and on the homeward voyage encountered two vessels of the enemy, a ship of the line and a frigate, to which she surrendered June 22, 1781. The British slightly changed her name, calling her the Confederate, and sent her to England as convoy to a fleet of transports, and with nearly 100 prisoners on board, consisting chiefly of the crews of two New Lon- don privateers which they had taken. 'Ihe privateering business not only kept the harbor of New London lively with its shifting scenes, but gave animation to all eastern Connecti- cut. Many spirited seamen were gathered from the banks of the Tliames and of its branches. Capt. Thomas Parke, Nathan Moore, Nathan Pe- * In the accounts of Joshua Huntington, the charges to the ship Confederacy amounted to .£29,369.18.10; commission upon this, .£1,453.9.10 : total, .£''.0,823.8.8. A number of Indians were among the workmen, who were all paid by the day, though at varying rates. Uncas, Ashpow, Quoclieets, Wyox and other Mohcgnn names ap- pear among tlic workmen and crew. " Nick the fiddler " was also one of the " Con- federacy people." t Cooper in his Naval History says that this disaster occurred east of Bermuda, — which is probably a mistake. Vol. 1, p. 195. 406 HISTORY OP NORWICH. ters, Jeremiah Halsey, Ransford Eose, took part in the contest by cruises at sea, as well as by campaigns on land. The most extensive shipping firm in Norwich was that of Rowland & Coit. Jabez and Hezekiah Perkins were among the earliest cruisers of the war. The latter made a successful voyage to Holland and France in the letter-of-marque sloop Maria, of six guns, owned by Rowland & Coit. Capt. William Wattles performed several gallant exploits in a small pri- vateer sloop belonging to Norwich, called the Phenix. In one of his expeditions he took a brig from Europe, with a valuable cargo, and sold the whole in Carolina before coming home. Unfortunately he was at last taken by the enemy and carried to Ralifax, where most of his men lan- guished and died in the terrible Mill-Island prison, victims of close con- finement and starvation. At a later period of the war, Capt. Wattles was in command of the privateer Comet, and in March, 1782, on a return voyage from the West Indies, was captured a second time by the enemy. He was however soon exchanged, and in July of that year sailed for Am- sterdam in "the remarkable fast sailing and every way complete Letter of Marque brigantine Thetis." This was a prize vessel, fitted out by Row- land & Coit, and sent on a trading voyage to the Texel. The privateering business was pre-eminently one of uncertainty and hazard ; strikingly varied Avith quick success and sudden reverse. Most of the adventurers from Norwich and New London were captured, impris- oned and exchanged during the war, and some of them more than once ; for no sooner were they released from bonds than they were ready for another chance, — acting ever upon the obstinate principle of vp and at them again. In the AVest India trade also, safe and remunerative voyages alternated with loss and capture. This trade resembled the continual running of a blockade. Several of the Norwich ship-masters fell with their craft into the hands of the enemy. Of these we can name Jabez and Hezekiah Perkins, Thomas King, Ebenezer Lester, William Loring, Jabez Lord, and Elisha Lathrop. We get a few gleams of these vicissitudes from old account-books and the weekly newspapers. Capt. Elisha Lathrop was one of those who kept afloat and had a liberal share of both good and bad fortune. In August, 1781, while in the privateer sloop Mercury, he was taken and carried into New York. In February, 1782, in a trading voyage to Virginia, he was captured and cai'ried to Charleston, which was then in possession of the enemy. His next voyage was to Guadaloupe, which he accomplished during the summer, and returned in safety Sept. 6th. On the 18th of October he sailed again, and the next announcement respecting him briefly states : " Capt. Elisha Lathrop in a brig from Norwich, bound to tho West Indies, is cap- tured and carried to Bermuda." HISTORY OF NORWICH. 407 A few other scattered marine items belonging to tliis period may here find a place. Capt. Davison left the river in a small coasting sloop, Nov. 13, 1781, bound to Boston. In rounding Cape Cod, he was blown off by strong northerly winds, driven out to sea, and after thirty-one days ai'rived at Guadaloupe ; his crew in a famishing state for want of provisions. He encountered upon the ocean neither friend nor foe ; sold his sloop well, and returned in a Boston brig. In April, 1782, Capt. Meech of Preston in a galley from Poquetannock slipped into Fire Island inlet on the Long Island coast, and captured three British coasters, one of which he engaged to ransom for £500 ; £i 50 being paid upon the spot and divided among the crew. But before the victors could get away with their spoil, several British galleys appeared off the inlet, retook the prizes, and to prevent the capture of their own galley, the Americans scuttled and sunk her, escaping themselves by land. The privateer brigs Young Cromwell and Favorite were principally owned in Norwich, and for three years, from 1779 to 1781, were very successful in their trips, and brought in numerous prizes. The Cromwell was successively commanded by Captains Wattles, Hillard, Buddington, Reed, and Cook. She carried ten 3-pounders and thirty-eight men, and with this force captured a tory privateer called the Success, which carried eight 4-pounders, one 12-pounder in the bow, and forty -five men. She brought in her last prize Nov. 1, 1781. In her next cruise she was taken and her crew thrown into the New York fatal prison-ship, where seven- teen of the number died of pestilential fever. In May, Capt. Cook escaped by dropping himself overboard during the night and swimming to the shore, from whence he made his way home in safety. A few weeks afterward he embarked in the schooner Turn-of-times on a trading voyage to Demerara, but w^as again captured, and carried to Bermuda. The brig Favorite was captured in September, 1781, by the British frigate Iris, and sent into New York. In January, 1782, Capt. Thomas King sailed for the "West Indies in a new sloop. On the voyage a tropical storm and a hostile vessel came bearing down upon him at the same time. In striving to escape the enemy he was upset by the hurricane, and his sloop left a total wreck. He and his men were taken off by the British, and carried prisoners to Antigua. Thomas Mumford was the chief owner of the noted brig Hancock, Peter Richards master. This was originally a prize vessel, called by its British owners The Whim. The ship Fortune, Henry Billings, commander, was built at Norwich in 1781. She lay at New London, neaidy ready to sail "for Hispaniola, France, and a cruise," when the town and shipping were burnt by Arnold. The Fortune and a few other vessels escaped up the river. 408 HISTORY OP NOKWICH. The following list of prize vessels sold at Norwich by auction during the latter part of the war, is collected from the newspapers of the day : July, 1779. Ship Otter of 200 tons, and sloop Lord Howe, 30 tons, with their ap- purtenances and cargoes. June 12, 1781. Ship Hunter, 200 tons, English built : bought by merchants in Mid- dletown, and immediately fitted at New London for a cruise ; she mounted eighteen siK-pounders. Brig Pontus, 90 tons, almost new. July 13. Brig Neptune, built in New Hampshire ; recaptured by the Young Crom- well; mounting 14 carriage guns. Brig Society, 150 tons; "well found and a fast sailer." Aug. 28. Ship Polly, 250 tons. Schooner Hazzard, 60 tons. Schooner Surprize, 70 tons. Schooner Lucy, 40 tons. Schooner Favorite, a Virginia pilot-boat, 20 tona. Brigantine Despatch, 120 tons. Oct. 4. Ship Achilles, British built, 270 tons. Ship Williamson, 300 tons. Oct. 30. Brigantine Peggy, captured by the Young Cromwell and the Samson, — British built. Nov. 22. Letter-of marque schooner Betsey, 80 tons, Virginia built, "lately cap- tured by the Young Cromwell." 1782, May 23. Sloop Polly, Virginia built, 70 tons; brigantine Alligator, 120 tons, and a small sloop, — all captured by the privateer Randolph. June 25. Brigantines William, copper-bottomed, 100 tons; Thetis, Virginia built, 100 tons ; Catharine and Mary, and a sloop of 30 tons. An advertisement from the Norwich Packet may be quoted in verifica- tion of the statement that the direct intercourse of the Norwich merchants with continental Europe was not wholly intermitted during the war. "The prime sailing Letter-of-Marque sloop Maria, Bermuda built, mounting six carriage guns, Hezekiah Perkins master, will sail in about three weeks for France or Holland. Any persons desirous of sending bills of exchange on France, may depend on having them negotiated in the best manner. Apply to said Perkins, on board his vessel at New London, or to Howland & Coit in Norwich." — Jan. 25, 1779. CHAPTER XXXIII. Abnold, the Traitor. Soldiers of the Revolution. Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold was bom Jan. 3, 1741. His parents had pre- viously lost a son of the same name, and of their six children, only Ben- edict and a daughter Hannah lived to maturity. Benedict Arnold, Sen., and his brother Oliver, were natives of Rhode Island, and coopers by trade, but became seamen, and as each had the title of Captain, it is inferred that they rose to the rank of ship-masters. They appear to have been honest, reputable citizens. Benedict took an interest in public affairs, serving occasionally in town offices, as collector, lister, surveyor, constable, and selectman. Soon after he came to Norwich, he married (Nov. 8, 1733,) the youth- ful widow of Absalom King , a woman of pleasing person and estimable character, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Lathrop) Waterman. The inscription upon her grave-stone commemorates his aflfectiouate remem- brance of her worth. In Memory of HANNAH the well beloved wife of Capt. BENEDICT ARNOLD and Daughter of Mr. John and Mrs. Elizabeth Waterman. She was a Pattern of Piety, Patience and Virtue, Who died Aug. 15, 1758, iJBtatis suae 52. Tradition allows that in this case the epitaph does not exaggerate the truth. "Benedict Arnold's mother," said one who had been connected with the family, "was a saint on earth, and is now a saint in heaven." The following is a literal copy (except in orthography) of a letter from her to her son Benedict, while he was at school in Canterbury : 410 HISTORY OF NORWICH. To Mr. Benedict Arnold at Canterbury. Norwich, April 12, 1754. Dear child. I received yours of the 1st instant, and was glad to hear that you was well ; pray, my dear, let your first concern be to make your peace with God, as it is of all concerns of the greatest importance. Keep a steady watch over your thoughts, words and actions. Be dut'ful upe- riors, obliging to equals, and affable to inferiors, if any such there be. Always choose that your companions be your betters, that by their good examples you may learn- From your affectionate mother, Hannah Arnold. P. S. I have sent you 50s. Your father put in 20 more. — use it prudently, as yoa are accountable to God and your father. Your father and aunt join with me in love and service to Mr. Cogswell and lady and yourself. Your sister is from home. It is lamentable to think that the son of such a mother, and the recip- ient of such wholesome instruction, should have become a proud, obstinate and unprincipled man ; leaving behind him a name and character infa- mous in the sight of his country, and spotted with violence, corruption and treason. Capt. Benedict Arnold, the father, died in 1761. The house in which Benedict was born stood about half way between the older part of the town and Chelsea society. It was demolished in October, 1853, but a few years before was in a good state of preservation, and exhibited in many parts, tokens of the mischievous boyhood of Ben- edict, in whittlings, brands and hatchet-cuts upon the beams, planks, and doors. The letters B. A. and B. Arnold were stamped upon it in various places. This house had a variety of occupants after the Arnolds left it. It was sold March 31, 1764, by Benedict Arnold of New Haven to Capt. Hugh Ledlie of Windham, (with the home-lot of five and a half acres,) for £700. Capt. Ledlie's wife fell into a state of deplorable insanity, which rendered confinement necessary, and this misfortune with its attend- ant circumstances, being probably exaggerated by rumor, obtained for the house a notorious and superstitious reputation. In the year 1775, Dea. William Philips, of Boston, the father of Lieut. Governor Philips, removed his family to Norwich, and occupied the Ar- nold house till after the British retired from Boston. Its next occupant was Mr. Malbone of Newport, who also came to .Norwich to seek a refuge from the bustle and violence of war. The misfortunes of this family and the seclusion in which they lived, rather added to the fearful character which the house had acquired. It was said that seven of the name, and all nearly connected, had died within the short period of eighteen months. About ten years before the family removed to Norwich, that is, in 1767, the brig Dolphin, of Newport, owned by one of the Malbones, and com- manded by another, took fire off Point Judith, as it was returning from Jamaica, and was entirely consumed. Such was the violence of the HISTORY OF NORWICH. 411 flames, and the rapidity of their -work, that all communication was cut off between the deck and cabin, and in the latter three ladies and two child- ren perished. Those on deck escaped in boats. This, and other misfor- tunes connected with the family, had made the name almost ominous of calamity. The house was afterwards occupied by Col. Moore from New York, the father of Eichard Channing Moore, the revered Bishop of Vir- ginia. The Moore family was large, and their dwelling had the reputa- tion of being the seat of hospitality and festive enjoyment. Col. Moore died at Norwich, .June 19, 1784 ; his remains were removed the next year to New York, and interred in Trinity church-yard. Two of the sons, John and Benjamin Moore, remained several years longer in Norwich ; the latter as a practitioner in physic. In 1790, John Moore was living in the Arnold house, and the census returns show that his family consisted of ten persons. He was then a prominent merchant of the place, but removed about 1793. The occupants of the Arnold house were so often changed, that public rumor ascribed it to the supernatural sounds and sights with which it was visited. After a short experience, the bewildered residents were glad to escape from the haunted premises. At length it was left tenantless for a short time, and then purchased and repaired by Uriah Tracy, of the firm of Tracy & Coit. The house had now a native occupant : the beams and rafters, the garden and groves, were apparently appeased. The spell was broken. Mr. Tracy remained in possession for a period of forty years, — not, however, without an alarm from the invisible world, though of a dif- ferent nature from the sights and sounds that had dismayed the former inhabitants. On a warm summer's day, Sept. 2, 1800, a thunderbolt descended upon the house, shattering the windows and the mirrors, and breaking a passage out through the Avail. This electric shock was per- haps necessary to purify it thoroughly from the Arnold taint.* To return from this digression respecting the Ai'nold house, to the Arnold family. No one of the name in Norwich seems to have been a common-place character, Benedict, when a boy, was bold, enterprising, ambitious, active as lightning, and with a ready wit always at command. In every kind of sport, especially if mischief was to be perpetrated, he was a dauntless ringleader, and as despotic among the boys as an absolute monarch. On a day of public rejoicing for some success over the French, * Mr. Tracy died in 1832, aged 79. His wife was a daughter of Amos Hallam of New London. She was a woman of quiet, amiable manners, and had been a favorite friend of the unfortunate Nathan Hale, but not, as has been reported, betrothed to him. The house of Mr. James L. Ripley stands near the site of the Arnold house. The old well and its suiToundings have not been altered, but remain as they were in the time of the Arnolds. 412 HISTOKT OP NORWICH. Arnold, then a mere stripling, took a field-piece, and in a frolic placed it on end, so that the mouth should point upright, poured into it a large quantity of powder, and actually dropped into the muzzle, from his hand^ a blazing firebrand. His activity saved him from a scorching, for though the flash streamed up within an inch of his face, he darted back and shouted huzza ! as loud as the best of the company. It is remembered also, that having, at the head of a gang of boys, seized and rolled away some valuable casks from a shop-yard, to aid in making the usual Thanks- giving bonfire, the casks were arrested on their way, by an ofiicer sent by the owner to recover them ; upon which young Arnold was so enraged that he stripped off his coat upon the spot, and dared the constable, a stout and grave man, to fight. At fourteen years of age he was apprenticed as a druggist to Doctors Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, and here he exhibited the same rash and fearless traits of character. A person who once remained in the shop with him during a tremendous thunder-storm, related afterwards, that at every peculiarly loud and stunning report, young Arnold would swing his hat and shout hurrah ! — adding occasionally some reckless or profane ex- clamation. Once during his apprenticeship he ran away, with the design of enhsting as a soldier in the British army ; but his friends succeeded in finding him, and induced him to return to his employment.* Miss Hannah Arnold, the sister of Benedict, was an accomplished lady, pleasing in her person, witty and affable. While the family still resided in Norwich, and of course when she was quite young, she became an object of interest and attention to a young foreigner, a transient resident of the place. His regard was reciprocated by the young lady ; but Ben- edict disliked the man, and after vainly endeavoring by milder means to break off the intimacy, he became outrageous, and vowed vengeance upon him if he ever again caught him in the house. After this the young peo- ple saw each other only by stealth, the lover timing his visits to the broth- er's absence. One evening, Benedict, who had been to New Haven, came home unexpectedly, and having entered the house without bustle, ascer- tained that the Frenchman was in the parlor with his sister. He instantly planted himself in front of the house with a loaded pistol, and commanded a servant to assail the door of the room in which they were, as if he would break it down. The young man, as Arnold expected, leaped out of the window ; the latter fired at him, but it being dark, missed his aim. * Some of the biographers of Arnold have asserted that Dr. Lathrop was so well satisfied with his services that at the close of his apprenticeship he presented him with a bonus of £500. This is a mistake. In Sparks' Biography of Arnold, it is said that Dr. Lemuel Hopkins was his fellow apprentice; this also is an error. It was Solomon Smith, and not Hopkins, that served with Arnold in the Lalhrop drug-store. HISTORY OF NORWICH 413 The youth escaped, but the next day left the place, choosing rather to relinquish the lady than to run any further risk of his life. Arnold after- wards met him at the Bay of Honduras, both having gone thither on a trading voyage. A challenge was given by one or the other, and promptly accepted. They fought, and the Frenchman was severely wounded. After leaving Dr. Lathrop, Arnold engaged in trade, and made several voyages to the "West Indies as supercargo of a vessel in which he was interested. He went also to London, and returning with an assortment of drugs, books, and other goods, established himself in the retail business at New Haven. The sign of his shop was found some years since in the garret of the house where he lived, and has been lodged in the museum of the city. It is painted black, lettered in white, and has both sides alike. B. ARNOLD, DRUGGIST, Book-Seller &c. FROM LONDON. Sibi Totique.* At New Haven he married a Miss Mansfield, a lady of good family, young, interesting, and accom{)lished, and as far as is known, his first love. He had, however, been a general favorite of the ladies, fond of their society, and floating in the gayest circles of the day. His wife died before the Revolution broke out, or about that time, leaving three child- ren, all sons. His sister. Miss Hannah Arnold, never married. She resided with her brother, and her attachment to him remained unshaken through all his reverses and disgrace. She was doubtless convinced that in breaking off her intercourse with the French stranger, he had been influenced by a regard to her interest and happiness. After the treason and exile of her brother, she had charge of his younger sons, and they found in her a faith- ful guide and friend. She died in 1803, at Montague, in Upper Canada. Arnold from his youth was a popular leader in martial exercises. He had attained the rank of captain in the militia, and when the news came of the battle at Lexington, he was one of the flrst in New Haven to arrange his business, gird on the sword, and hasten to Boston to offer his services to the country. * "For himself and for all." The first part, for himsplf, is pointedly appropriate. The motto has been rendered by a free translation, Wholly for himself. 414 HISTORY OF NORWICH. His character in private life, as sketched bj tradition in the place of his birth, — ostentatious, reckless, insincere and self-seeking, impetuous in act, and exaggerative in speech, — is vividly exemplified in a familiar note to Mrs. General Knox, which by some chance has been preserved. It was written before his second marriage, at a time when his proud aspirations were gratified by the favor with which he was received in fashionable circles. "Watertown, 4 March, 1777. Dear Madam : I have taken the liberty of Inclosing A Letter for the Heavenly Miss Deblois, wliich beg the favor of your delivering, with the Trunk of Gowns &c., which Mrs. Colburn promis'd me to Send to your House. I hope she will make no objec- tions against receiveing them. I made no doubt you will soon have the pleasure seeing the Charming Mrs. Emery, and have it in your power to give me some favour- able Intelligence. I shall remain Under the most Anxious Suspcncc untill I have the favour of a line from you, who (if I may Judge) will from your own experience, con- ceive the fond Anxiety, the Glowing hopes, and Chilling fears, that alternately possess the breast of Dear Madame, Your Obcd't & most Mrs. Knox, j Humble Serv't, Boston. J B. Arnold. It should excite but little surprise that an ambitious, extravagant man, with fiery passions and very little balance of moral principle, should betray his friends and plunge desperately into treason. In this case it might almost have been expected and foreseen. Yet the dark shades in Arnold's character have doubtless been exaggerated, and the sum of his misdeeds needlessly enlarged. For instance, it has often been said that at the burning of New London, he accepted the hospitality of a lady, who, trusting to a former friendly acquaintance with hira, ventured to remain in the invaded town, and that he ordered the flaming torch to be applied to the premises as he rose from the dinner-table. No such incident is known to have occurred. Arnold dined that day with some old shipping friends of tory proclivities, no lady being present, and though the house was afterwards burnt, it was by the spread of the flames from other quar- ters, and not by Arnold's order. Benedict Arnold died at Brampton, England, June 20, 1801, aged 60. His second wife was Margaret, daughter of Edward Shippen, Chief Jus- tice of Pennsylvania. She survived her husband, and died in London, Aug. 24, 1804, aged 44. Capt. Oliver Arnold, of Norwich, the uncle of Benedict, died in 1781. He had long been an invalid, and left his family with but little for their support. To these relatives Benedict was always liberal, and even after HISTORY OF NORWICH. 415 his exile, made them occasional remittances. The oldest son, Freegift, he assisted in obtaining a good classical education, and designed him for one of the professions ; but the young man joined himself to the Sons of Liberty, entered into the naval service, under Paul Jones, and after fighting bravely, came home with a ruined constitution, to languish and die. The other son, Oliver, had a peculiar talent for making extempora- neous rhymes, which seemed to flow from him without premeditation, in all the ease of common speech, so that his casual remarks and answers to questions would often run in a jingling measure. Many of these famiUar rhymes were formerly current in the neighborhood. They were mostly of a local and transient character. An example of more general interest, which has been often quoted, is the following. In a bookseller's shop in New Haven, Oliver Arnold was introduced to Joel Barlow, who had just then acquired considerable notoriety by the publication of an altered edition of Watts' Psalms and Hymns. Barlow asked for a specimen of his talent ; upon which the wandering poet indme- diately repeated the following stanza : "You've proved yourself a sinful crc'tur'; You 've murdered Watts, and spoilt the metre ; You 've tried the Word of God to alter, And for your pains deserve a halter." Oliver was also a sailor and a patriot, and cordially despised the course taken by his cousin Benedict, in betraying his country. In his habits he was roving and unsettled, absenting himself from home in long and vagrant rambles, from one of which he never returned. Ac- cording to report, he was found dead by the wayside on a road little fre- quented, in the northern part of New York. Three daughters of Capt. Oliver Arnold, sisters of Freegift and Oliver the rhymester, died aged, but unmarried, the last of the family in Nor- wich. The brothers Benedict and Oliver, with their wives, and six child- ren of the former and four of the latter, were interred near the center of the old burial-lot, but mostly without inscribed grave-stones. Gen. Jabez Huntington. \X The Committee or Council of Safety, appointed to aid the Governor in the recess of the Assembly, entered upon its duties in May, 1775. It consisted at first of nine persons, of whom three wei'c Huntingtons from Norwich, viz., Hon. Jabez Huntington, an assistant, or member of the upper house; Samuel Huntington, Judge of the Superior Court for New London county ; and Benjamin Huntington, Esq., a prominent lawyer, and then representative from Norwich. At the same time, another Jabea 416 HISTORY OP NORWICH. Huntington was sheriff of Windham county, and another Benjamin Hunt- ington was the town clerk in Norwich. Gen. Jabez Huntington was the son of Joshua, who has been heretofore mentioned as the first considerable merchant of Norwich, and the only one of his sons that left any posterity. He was born Aug. 2, 1719. His mother was Hannah, daughter of Jabez Perkins. He graduated at Yale College in 1741, and soon afterward entered largely into commercial pur- suits, securing a handsome fortune, principally by trade with the "West Indies. He commenced his patriotic career in 1750, when he was chosen to the Colonial Assembly. For several years he presided over the lower house as speaker, and afterwards was a member of the council. On the break- ing out of the Revolutionary war, he lost nearly half of his property, either by capture of his vessels, or from other circumstances connected with that calamitous period. In the early part of the war, he was an active member of the Council of Safety, one of the two Major-Generals of the militia, and after the death of General Wooster in May, 1777, he was aj)pointed sole Major- General of the State forces. This was an arduous position, demanding wisdom, integrity, and a mind fertile in expedients and resources. It required his constant attention, and although Gen. Huntington never took the field himself, in actual service, yet the exertions he made for his coun- try, connected with the exciting events of the day, and the pressure of private business, destroyed his health. He was obliged to retire from public affairs in 1779, and the last seven years of his life were passed under the gloomy shadow of real and imaginary suffering, mental and bodily. He died Oct 5, 1786. Gen. Huntington's first wife was Elizabeth Backus, sister of the Rev. Isaac Backus of Middleborough, Mass. His second wife was Hannah, daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Williams of Pomfret. He had five sons and two daughters, — the latter happily connected in marriage with Col. John Chester of Wethersfield, and Rev. Joseph Strong, colleague and successor of Dr. Lord in Norwich. His five sons settled around him, establish- ing their homesteads in his immediate vicinity ; though shortly after the death of his father, the oldest of them, Gen. Jedidiah, removed to New London.* * The house built by Jedidiah in 1780, was subsequently the residence of his brother Ebenezer. The other houses of the Huntington group are more ancient. One was the inherited homestead of the family. The next oldest was erected before 1740. The fine elms in its front were set out by Zachariah Huntington, who died in 1761 . Joshua Huntington, his son Zachariah, iiis grandson Andrew, and the late Wolcott Hunting, ton, comprising four generations, have successively occupied and died in this house. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 417 Gen. Jedidiah Huntington "Was born at Norwich in 1743, and graduated at Cambridge in 1763, on which occasion he pronounced the first Enghsh oration delivered in that college at commencement. Settling near his father in his native place, he engaged with him in mercantile pursuits, but soon became noted as one of the Sons of Liberty, and an active captain of the militia. He entered with spirit into all the measures of his townsmen in resisting oppression, and soon after the skirmish at Lexington, marched to Boston with seventy men, where he remained for most of the season on duty. He was afterwards appointed Colonel of the 8th Connecticut regiment, which was raised and drilled under his orders. This regiment was the best equipped of any in the colony, and was distinguished by a British uniform, the Governor and Council having appropriated to them a quan- tity of English red-coats taken in a prize vessel. John Douglas of Plain- field was lieutenant-colonel. In the summer of 1776, Col. Huntington's regiment was stationed with the main army in the vicinity of New York. In the battle of Long Island, Aug. 27th, his men fought with despei'ate bravery. After the action, six captains, six lieutenants, twenty-one sergeants, two drummers, and 126 i-ank and file, were missing.* Those who were taken prisoners endured great hardships, and few ever returned to their homes, most of them dying in the noted sugar-house and prison-ship at New York, of disease and starvation. In 1777, Col. Huntington was advanced to the post of Brigadier-Gen- eral, which office he held during the war, and at the close of it received the appointment of Major-General. After the war, he was constantly employed in civil affairs. On the decease of Prosper Wetmore, high sheriff" of New London county, in 1788, he was appointed his successor, and the same year had the office of State Treasurer conferred upon him. The manner in which this latter appointment was announced in the papei's, gives ti. rather pompous list of his honors : " Major General Huntington Esq. Vice President of the order of Cincinnati, High Sheriff for the county of New London, Judge of Probate for the district of Norwich, first Alderman of the city of Norwich, one of the Picpresentatives of the town in the State Legislature, and one of the State Electors, is now appointed by the General As- sembly Treasurer for the State of Connecticut." Most of these offices were soon relinquished for a new appointment Upon the organization of the custom-house system, under the Federal * Hiaman's Records of Rev. War, p. 89. 27 418 HISTORY OP NORWICH. government, Connecticut was arranged into three districts, New London, New Haven, and Fairfield. To the first of these districts, which included the commerce of Connecticut river and of the coast from thence eastwardly to Rhode Island, Gen. Huntington was appointed collector. He removed to New London, and entei-ed on the duties of his office August 11, 1789. From that time till his decease, almost thirty years, New London was his home. He held the ofiice under four successive Presidents, and died Sept. 25, 1818, aged 75. Agreeably to a direction contained in his will, his remains, which before the will was opened had been deposited in New London, were disinterred, carried to Norwich, and laid in the family tomb. Gen. Huntington was a man of small stature and sedate temperament, but of great energy, steadiness, and dignity ; very neat and precise in his personal appearance, and polished, though reserved, in his demeanor. He made a profession of religion at the age of twenty-three, and his conduct through life was that of a consistent Christian. He was a man of prayer, active in the promotion of religious objects, liberal in his charities, and a zealous friend of missions. He was one of the first members of the Amer- ican Boax'd of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and continued active in its concerns till his death. His last will commences with these words, "My soul has long been consecrated to my Creator, Redeemer and Com- forter." General Huntington was twice married. His first wife was Faith, the oldest daughter of the first Governor Trumbull. .She died Nov. 24, 1775, leaving an only child, the late Jabez Huntington, Esq., President of the Norwich Bank. By his second wife, Ann, daughter of Thomas Moore, he had seven children. Andrew Huntington, the second son of Gen. Jabez, served during the 'earlier stages of the war as an agent or commissary to provide clothing, arms and food for Connecticut regiments. He was afterwards engaged in merchandise and the manufacture of paper. Joshua, the third son of Gen. Jabez, threw himself into the volunteer ranks at the first boom of the Lexington alarm, and served as a soldier at the siege of Boston, and during the campaign of 1776 in New York and New Jersey. He was subsequently employed in the commissary depart- ment. Li the later years of the war he was the agent of Wadsworth & Carter of Hartford in supplying the French army at Newport with pro- visions. He had also the chai'ge of all prizes sent by the French navy to Connecticut, consigned to their agents, Wadsworth & Carter. His mili- tary rank at the close of the war was that of colonel. 4f '«,^ HISTORY OP NORWICH. 419 In 1789, lie was appointed county sheriff, and retained the office till his death in 1821. Col. Hup.tington had but one child, a daughter, who married Hon. Frederick Wolcott of Litchfield. Gen. Ebenezer Huntington. Ebenezer, the fourth son of Gen. Jabez, was a member of Yale College, and within two months of completing his course when the battle of Bunker Hjll was fought. He and other ardent young patriots of his class asked permission of President Daggett to leave the institution and enlist as vol- unteers in the army that was gathering at Boston. Being refused, they decamped in the night, hastened to AV^ethersfield, where there was a recruiting station, enrolled their names, and were soon on duty at the heights of Dorchester. Mr. Huntington was at first threatened by the College faculty with the loss of his degree, but ultimately, as he was under no previous censure, he was allowed to graduate with his class in 1775. In the army he rose by successive promotions to the rank of colonel, and took part in several of the most remarkable contests of the war. After his commission as captain of a company in October, 1776, he lived with the army, and was ever at his post in camp and field, losing no time in long furloughs for rest and recreation. Subsequent to the evacuation of New York, his regiment was stationed on the Hudson, at Fort Lee, Tarrytown, and Tappan Bay. In 1778 he was sent in command of a battalion to Rhode Island to operate against the British, who ihen lield possession of Newport. Pie afterwards joined the main army and partici- pated in several severe engagements with the enemy. At the siege of Yorktown, he served a part of the time as volunteer aid to Gen. Lincoln, and in that capacity witnessed the magnificent spectacle of the surrender of CornAvallis to the soldiers of liberty.* He remained on duty with the army till the troops were disbanded, having served through the whole war from April, 1775, to May, 1783. General Huntington retired from the army to the peaceful pursuits of merchandize. But his experience and tact in military evolutions and dis- cipline made it desirable that he should be retained in the home service. In 1792 he was appointed Major- General of the militia of the State, an office which he held more than thirty years, under six successive Gov- cnors. * In TrumbuH's historical picture of the surrender of Cornwallis, Gen. Huntington is rcprci-entcd in the group of American officers, his portrait having been taken by the artist from life. 420 HISTORY OP NORWICH. Li 1799 he was appointed by President Adams, at the recommendation of General Washington, a Brigadier-General in the United States army, raised upon the apprehension of a war with France. In 1810, and again in 1817, he was elected member of Congress. He died June 17, 1834, in the 80th year of his age. General Huntington was noted for his fine manly form, and military deportment. He was twice married. His first wife was Sarah Isham of Colchester ; his second, Maiy Lucretia, daughter of Gen. Samuel Mc- Clellan of "Woodstock. Zachariah, the fifth son of Gen. Jabez Huntington, was too young to take part in the Revolutionary contest, but he attained a high rank in the militia, and was endowed by nature with many soldier-like qualities, — a commanding person, a voice of great compass, firmness of purpose, and habits of great precision and accuracy. It is seldom that five such distinguished men as the brothers Hunting- ton appear in one family, all living to an age ranging from seventy to eighty-six years. Joseph Trumbull, Commissary. "When the war commenced, Norwich had on her roll of inhabitants no one of fairer promise or of more zealous devotion to the cause of liberty than Joseph Trumbull. He was the oldest son of Governor Trumbull, and born at Lebanon, March 11, 1737, but had been for twelve or fifteen years a resident in Norwich, taking an active part in the business, the municipal affairs and patriotic proceedings of the town. In 1775, he was appointed the first Commissary- General of the American army, an im- portant and honorable office, but bringing with it a crushing weight of perplexity, labor, and responsibility. He devoted himself with unremit- ting ardor to his duties, and was soon worn out by them. In July, 1778, he came from Philadelphia with a desponding heart and a broken consti- tution. His father and other friends gathered around him, and after a few days of rest, he was carefully removed from his home in Norwich to his father's house in Lebanon, where he died July 23d, aged 42. The hopes of his friends, who expected much from his talents and integrity, and whose affections were fondly fixed upon his person, were blasted by his untimely death. In the eulogy pronounced at his funeral, great praise is awarded to his abilities, his patriotism, and his moral worth, and it is added, "In all the winning and agreeable arts of hfe, he had no superior." These qualities account for the tender attachment of his friends, and the lamentations that were uttered on his death. HISTORY OF NORWICH, 421 Col. John Durkee. Could the life of this able and valiant soldier be written in detail, it would form a work of uncommon interest. Only the outlines can now be recovered, but they are of a nature that indicates a career full of adven- ture and a character deeply imbued with patriotic resolution. He was an actor in the French and Lidian wars, in the stamp-act excitement, in the Wyoming settlement and conflict with the Pennamites, and in many of the stirring scenes of the Revolution. John Durkee was a native of Windham, but settled early in life at Norwich. He served upon the frontier, against the French, in several distinct expeditions, and afterwards held the rank of major in the militia. He kept an inn, cultivated a farm, and was often engaged in public busi- ness. After the repeal of the stamp-act, he became interested in the pur- chase made by the Susquehannah Company in Pennsylvania, and was one of the forty pioneers sent out by the company in 17G9, to take possession of the Wyoming Valley. Robert Durkee was also of the coiu[iany, and the first fortress erected by these emigrants was called Fort Durkee. Against this scanty band of settlers, the Pennamites or Pennsylvania claimants of the valley soon appeared in considerable force, and an obsti- nate contest for the possession of the territory ensued. Major Durkee was at one time carried to Philadelphia as a prisoner, but Avhen released, returned to the scene of conflict. After a long and stormy experience, the Connecticut party so far prevailed as to keep possession of their set- tlements. Wilkesbarre — a name compounded from those of John Wilkes and Coh Barre, English politicians who had warmly espoused the American cause in the days of the stamp-act — was one of the towns founded by the Con- necticut emigrants. As Durkee had been a strenuous partizan on the side defended by these English orators, and was a leader of high author- ity in the Connecticut party, it is (piite probable that the town is indebted for its name to his suggestion and influence.* Major Durkee afterwards returned to Norwich, and the trouble with England deepening and gradually oversluidovving the land, he relinquished the idea of removing to the western wilderness. His brother Robert remained at Wyoming,! and was subsequently one of the victims of Indian barbarity in the fearful slaugliter of July 3, 1778. His name is on the commemorative monument in the Wyoming Valley. Major Durkee was promoted to the command of a regiment, and took part in the battles of Long Island, Harlem Heights, White Plains, Tren- * One of the nephews of Major Durkee had the ^iven name of Barre. t They were cousins and brothcrs-iu-law. llobert's wife was sister to Col. John. 422 HISTORY OF NORWICH. ton, and Monmouth. He was also witli Gen. Sullivan in the expedition against the Six Nations. But his health gradually failed, and in 1780 he resigned his command, and was succeeded by Lieut. Col. Thomas Grosve- nor of Pomfret. He died before the return of peace, May 29, 1782, in his 54th year. One of his sons, a youthful volunteer, aged 17 years, died in 1777, of wounds received in fighting for his country.* Col. Benjamin Tliroop was another gallant officer who served in the regular army. He enlisted as first lieutenant in April, 1775; was pro- moted by successive steps to the rank of colonel, and continued in the service to the end of the war. GoL Zahdiel Rogers, of the State militia, was often called out during the war. In 1775, his regiment was sent with others from the State to the city of New York. It was afterwards several times ordered to the western border line of Connecticut. In 1781 he was on duty at Rye and Horseneck. The brothers Christopher and Benajah Leffingwell, belonging to the State militia, were often summoned to~the sea-coast upon an alarm of invasion, or to take a turn in manning the forts and batteries. In 1777, Benajah Leffingwell, then captain of a company, performed a tour of duty in Rhode Island. Christopher Leffingwell was an early and active member of the com- mittee of correspondence, and eminently useful in rousing the spirit of the people, and in devising ways and means by which the common cause might be benefited. He was a grandson of the second Thomas Leffingwell of Norwich, and died Nov. 27, 1810, aged 76 years. His life through its whole length was active, useful, and prosperous. It falls to the lot of few men in pri- vate life to benefit a community so largely as Norwich was profited by the enterprise of Col. Leffingwell. Capt. David Nevins enlisted early in the contest for liberty, and lived long to witness its happy results. He was first employed as the confiden- tial messenger of the Norwich committee of correspondence, one of those voluntary patriotic agencies that managed the whole business of the Rev- olution in its earlier stages. His personal activity and daring spirit, com- * Out of twenty recruits tliat enlisted from Norwich in the company of Capt. Na- thaniel Webb of Windham, (Durkee's regiment,) from 1776 to 1778, engaging to serve during the war, only /our were over 20 years of age, Webb's Orderly Book. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 423 billed Avith trustworthiness and ardent participation in the popular cause, peculiarly fitted him for the work. But the battle of Lexington carried him from all minor employments into the army. He joined the 8th com- pany, Gth regiment, which was organized on Norwich Green in May, 1775, and was its color-bearer on Dorchester Heights, He remained with the army during the siege of Boston, the occupation of New York, and the retreat through the Jerseys, returning home in the winter of 1777. He did not, however, relinquish the service of his coun- try, but was several times again in the field upon various emergencies during the war. Capt. Nevins was born at Canterbury, Sept. 12, 1747, and died in New York, Jan. 21, 1888, aged 90. He had twelve children. The late Henry Nevins of Norwich, Russell H. and Eufus L. Nevins, brokers of New York, Samuel, James and Richard Nevins of Philadelphia, and Rev. William Nevins, installed pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Baltimore in 1820, were his sons. His wife was Mary, oldest daughter of Russell Hubbard.* Oajyl. Jedidiah Hyde, son of the Separatist minister, born in 1738, left his farm and family — a wife and eight children — to enlist among the first recruits in the cause of liberty. After the war he removed to Vermont, and about the year 1788 established himself at Hyde Park in that State? which place derives its name from him. He died in 1825. By two wives he had fifteen children, all of whom lived to enter the married state, and became heads of families. Capt. James Hyde, of Bean Hill, who married Martha Nevins, and Cajjl. James Hyde, of the West Farms, whose wife Avas Eunice Backus, were both engaged in the Revolutionary contest ; the former on the land, and the latter on the sea. Capt. Hyde of tlie army was a man noted for his gentleness and philanthropy, yet he enlisted early, fought bravely, and served to the end of the war. Great must have been the hatred of Brit- ish tyranny, that moved such a spirit to rush into the battle-field. He was afterward a Methodist local pi-eacher. * The mother of Capt. Nevins was a daughter of Col. Simon Lathrop, who fought at Louisburg in 1745. His father, whose name he perpetuated, was supposed to be of Scotch origin, but came from Massachusetts to Connecticut, married Mary Lathrop, and settled in Canterbury on a fiunn of 300 acres given her by her father. About ten years after iiis marriage, he was accidentally drowned in the Quincbaug river, as else- where in tliis work related. He left five children : Capt. David, above mentioned; Samuel and "Betsey, who died tmmarried ; Mary, wlio married Nathan Lord of Lord's Bridge, Lisbon ; and Martha, wife of Capt. James Ilyde of Norwich. 424 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Gapt. Jared Tracy served as a commissary during the siege of Boston, and subsequently fought the enemy upon the sea. After the war he went into the West India trade, and died at Demarara in 1790. William G. Tracy, an early and prominent settler at Whitestown, New York, was his son. Capt. Simeon Huntington commanded a company in Col. Huntington's regiment, and served through the first two campaigns of the war. He was a man of bold, adventurous spirit, and had taken a conspicuous part in resistance to the stamp act. He died in 1817, aged 77. Oapt. Elisha Prior, of Norwich, was in the garrison at Fort Griswold when it was stormed by the British, and received a severe wound. He died at Sag Harbor, Long Island, in 1817. Lieut. Andrew Griswold, of Durkee's regiment, was wounded at the battle of Germantown by a ball in the knee, and made a cripple for life. He lay for ten months in the hospital at Reading, Penn., and was after- ward only able to perform light service in camp and fortress. But he still clung to the army, and when the war closed, was at West Point. He died at Norwich in 1827, at the age of 72. Gapt. Richard Lamb, a native of Leicester, Mass., served during most of the war in the Connecticut militia, and was stationed at Danbury, and at Fishkill, N. Y. He belonged to a company of artificers, and recruited for this company at Norwich in September, 1777. After the conclusion of the war, he came to Norwich, married the sister of Lieut. Andrew Griswold, and became a permanent inhabitant of the place. He died in 1810. Gapt. Andrew Lathrop commanded a company in 1776, and was on duty in New York. The brothers Asa and Arimah Waterman took an active part in the war as soldiers, agents, and commissaries. Captains Asa Kingsbury and Ebenezer Hartshorn, John Ellis and Joshua Barker, all of the West Farms, were in the service for longer or shorter periods. Ebenezer and Simon Perlcins, not brothers, but both of the Newent fam- ily, were Revolutionary captains. Lieut. Nathaniel Kirtland, of Newent, was killed in battle Oct. 12, 1777. HISTOliY OF NORWICH. 425 Lieut. Charles Fanning has been already mentioned, but merits a more emphatic notice. He was an ensign of the 4th Connecticut battalion in 1776, was oft^n referred to as one of the town's quota during the war, and is on the roll of continental officers that served till the army was dis- banded. It would be a pleasing task to register the names and memorials of all those old soldiers and patriots of Norwich to whom later generations are so much indebted ; but after the most diligent gleaning, only a few indi- viduals can be named. The town covered a large area. It furnished a throng of volunteers at the opening of the war, and its I'egular quota afterwards. But we have no muster-roll of the men, and respecting many of the officers nothing is recovered beyond a casual reference in the rela- tion of incidental matters, or the record of a death.* The highest honor belongs to those who served during the whole war. The following have an undoubted claim to this distinction, as various pub- lic records and returns show that half-pay during life, and bounty hmdsj were awarded to them by the government on that account. Rev. John P^Uis, chaplain. Brig. Gen. Jedidiah Huntington. Lieut. Col. Ebenezer Huntington. Major Benjamin Throop. Lieut. Charles Fanning. " James Hyde. " Andrew Griswold. " Silas Goodell. " Jacob Kingsbury .f Preston was so near to Norwich, and its military companies were so often united with those of the latter, that the names of its prominent offi- cers slide easily into our histoi-y. Colonels .John Tyler and Samuel Mott, Majors Nathan Peters, Jeremiah Halsey and Edward Mott, Capts. Sam- uel Capron and Jacob Meech, were some of the patriots and soldiers from that town who bx'easted the first waters of the Revolution, and were often afterwards in the field during the war. Major Peters enlisted as an ensign in the company of Capt. Edward Mott, immediately after the battle of Lexington, and soon rose to the rank of captain. In 1777 he was ap[)ointed brigade-major in the Rhode Island carai)aigii under General Tyler, and performed several other tours of detached service during the war. * One of the last lingering soldiers of the old war, in the town plot, was Joshna Yeomans, who died Aug. 8, 1835, aged 83. t Saflel's Records of Rev. War. 426 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Happening to be at home on furlough in September, 1781, when the British made a descent upon New London, with characteristic ardor he rushed to the scene of action, and was tlie fii'st person who entered Groton Fort after it had been deserted and a train laid for its destruction by the British troops. Hovering in the vicinity, he scarcely waited for them to leave the premises before he cautiously entered the fort, and with water from the pump extinguished the train which had been laid to cause an explosion of the magazine. In five minutes more the whole would have been a heap of ruins, under which the dead and dying would, have been buried. Major Peters died in 1824, aged 79. Dr. Philip Turner of Norwich merits an honorable notice, as a surgeon of the Revolutionary period. He entered the Pi'ovincial army in 1758, when only twenty years of age, as an assistant surgeon, and served upon the northern frontier, against the French. He lost none of his patriotic ardor in after life, but offered his services to his country in 1775, and was with the army at Roxbury and in the arduous campaigns in New York and Pennsylvania. As a hospital surgeon, no man in the country stood before him. Gen. Jedidiah Huntington said of him : " Doctor Turner is blessed with a natural insight into wounds and a dexterity in treating them peculiar to himself." He retired from the service in 1778, returning to his former miscella- neous duties as a druggist, physician and surgeon. His skill as a surgical operator was so well understood that he was often summoned to manage critical cases, not only from points far back in the country, but from New York and Philadelphia. In the year 1800 he removed to New York, where he had charge of the goverisment hospitals, and there died in 1815. CHAPTER XXXIV. Inoculation. Division of thk Town. Review of West Farms, Pauti- PACG, New Concord, Newent, Hanover, and Long Societies. The eight societies into wliich the area of Norwich was divided, in the main drew well together, being usually harmonious in opinion on all the great questions of morality, liberty, and the public good. The violent disputes which at various periods have agitated the town, although some- times sectional, have more frequently resulted from clashing interests in regard to property, privilege, and partizanship. In 1760, a conflict was begun with respect to inocidation for the small pox, which came very near being interminable. Individuals had been agitating the question for many years, and it was now proposed to the town in this form, viz.: Will the town approve of Dr. Elisha Lord's pro- ceeding to inoculate for the small pox, under any regulations whatever? The vote was in the negative. The subject was resumed again and again, with the same result. The popular feeling was excited almost to violence whenever the faculty brought up the question. In 1773, Dr. Philip Turner and Dr. Jonathan Loomis opened a hos- pital for inoculation on an island in the Sound, off Stonington, but the inhabitants on the main-land strenuously opposing the system, and the hos- tility deepening, they were obliged to relinquish even this island project. In August, 1774, Dr. Loomis was arrested and committed to prison on the charge of having communicated the infection of small pox by inocula- tion to two persons in Stonington. He escaped from his cell after a few days confinement, and the Norwich jail-keeper, Sims J^^dgerton, advertised him and offei'ed a reward for his apprehension, as would have been done in tlie case of a notorious criminal. Dr. Elisha Tracy also, though well known in this part of the colony, for an honorable and skillful physician, was presented by the grand-jury as guilty of a cognizable offence in communicating the small pox to certain individuals by inoculation, and held to answer for the same before the county court in a bond of £60. Tliese facts sufllce to show the ignorance, prejudice and fierce excitement with which the great discovery of Jenner was greeted in this district. 428 \history op Norwich. Early in 1787, Drs. Elihu Marvin and Pliilemon Tracy made an effort to obtain permission to open a hospital somewhere in the purlieus of the town, to be under the control of the selectmen, but this was negatived in the ratio of two to one. A second effort was made the same year, with a result overwhelming in discouragement, — eight against them to one in their favor. These energetic physicians, though foiled in their appli«ation to the town authorities, persevered in their great object. They secured a beau- tiful and retired situation on the bank of the river, in that part of the Mohegan reservation known as Massapeag, and another on the Adgate farm, both in the town of Montviile, and at length brought their theory into successful practice : Jeremiah Rogers and David H. Jewett of Mont- viile being their associates. The tide had begun to turn, and in 1792 a special town meeting was warned to consider the subject, under the expectation tlmt a vote would be obtained to permit inoculation within the limits of the town. This hope was disappointed ; the opposition was vehement ; a majority were in favor of the motion, but the law required two-thirds of the voices present, and it was lost, — yeas 56, nays 35. The conflict continued three years longer. At a town meeting on the 8th of October, 1795, a full vote was given, granting liberty to Drs. Tracy and James W. Whiting to open a hospital for inoculation the following April, in such place and subject to such reg- ulations as the civil authority should deem proper. Accordingly, the next year, the house of John Allen, within a mile of tlie court-house, was occu- pied as a hospital, by permission of the selectmen, and after this there was no controversy on the subject. Division of the Town. The division of the town took place in 1786. This was accomplished in the most amicable manner, by mutual consultation and concurrence. A town meeting was convened, and drafts of two memorials to the General Assembly were presented : one by Nathaniel Kingsbury, asking that the three parishes of West Farms, New Concord and Pautipaug might be made a distinct town ; and the other by Joseph Perkins, that Newent, Hanover and a -pavt of Long Society might be made a distinct town. Against the first only one vote was given, and against the other not a single voice was raised. The representatives of the town were directed to lay the two memorials before the Assembly, and to state the amicable manner in which the affair had been managed. The General Committee appointed on the division consisted of four HISTORY OF NORWICH. 429 persons, viz., Capt. Ebenezer Baldwin, Deacon Joseph Bushnell," Samuel Lcffingwell, and Capt. Andrew Perkins. The repeated consuUations of this committee with committees of the various societies, resuUed in the formation of four towns instead of three. First Society and Chelsea, to constitute the town of Norwich ; Hanover and Newent, another town ; West and Eighth Societies, a third ; and New Concord a town by itself. East Society was to be annexed to Preston, — the middle waters of the Thames, Shetucket and Quinebaug constituting the eastern boundary-line of Norwich. These proceedings were readily sanctioned by the Legislature, and the three nev/ towns incorporated at the May session the same year, under the names of Lisbon, Franklin, and Bozrah. The old town continued to convene once a year, to settle accounts and adjust claims, until 1791, when they had their last meeting. In 18G1, the4own of Sprague, comprising a part of Lisbon and Frank- lin, was incorporated, and as the western part of both Preston and Gris- wold originally belonged to Norwich, there are now five whole towns and parts of two others within the limits of the nine-miles-square. The division of the town was undoubtedly a wise and salutary measure. But an liistorian who has hitherto considered the nine-miles-square as a beautiful whole, can not but sigh to see the integrity of his province de- stroyed, and may be allowed to linger awhile over those relinquished soci- eties which will henceforward have a distinct history of their own. Second Society : West Farms, or Franldin. The settlements in this society were almost coeval with those in the town-plot. Farms were here laid out to the first proprietors, and passed into the bands of their sons, who became actual residents. Hence the names of Lathrop, Hyde, Abel, Birchard, Tracy, Edgerton, Huntington, Waterman, are the earliest in Fi-anklin. But with the next generation new names are introduced. Armstrong, Hartshorn, Hazen, Johnson, Kingsbury, Ladd, Marshall, Met calf, Rudd, and others, appear before 1700, or soon after that period. The enlarged population and thriving condition of this part of the township in a short time rendered a separate ecclesiastical organization both desirable and easy of accomplisliment. A plea for it was presented to the town author- ities in 1710, but after conference on the subject it was then deferred. In 1716 we find this brief record of the division: " The West-farmers are freely allowed to become a Society." The church was organized Jon. 4, 1718, with eight members, viz., 430 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Henry Willes, David Hartshorn, Joseph Kingsbury, Sen., Joseph Kings- bury, Jr., Nathaniel Rudd, Thomas Hazen, Sanuifil Edgerton, and Samuel Ladd. Mr. Willes was ordained pastor of the church, Oct. 8th of the same year ; David Hartshorn and Joseph Kingsbury, Sen., were chosen deacons. Before the ordination took place, a house of worship was erected on Meeting-house Hill, 40 feet by 35, and 18 feet between joints. The frame of the edifice grew upon the hill, but the interior paneling, with " the pul- pit, seats and canopee," were relics of the old church in the town-plot. In 1721 this church was favored with a great revival, which raised the number of members to sixty-eight, the whole population of the society not then exceeding 400 persons. A halcyon period followed; but in 1745 the society became involved in a controversy, long and obstinate, which seems to have originated in a difference of opinion with respect to a new house of worship — where it should stand, how it should beiJbuilt, and what should be its form and size. The meeting-house was built, square and stately, on the site of the old one, but the troubled waters were not assuaged. A portion of the con- gregation withdrew, and in 1749 Mr. Willes was dismissed, after a min- istry of thirty-one years. He never settled elsewhere or changed his residence, but still continued to preach occasionally, and died in his old home, Sept. 9, 1758, aged 68.* His successor in office, Mr. John Ellis, a native of Cambridge, Mass., was ordained Sept. 6, 1753, in the face of a strong oppposition, not arising from personal dislike of the candidate, but a deep settled aversion to the ecclesiastical laws of the colony in regard to building meeting-houses and supporting ministers, — a dissent that led to a still further disruption of the society. On the first organization of Col. Jedidiah Huntington's patriotic regi- ment in 1776, Mr. Ellis was appointed its chaplain, and with the consent of his people went immediately into the army. In 1779, having decided to remain in the field, he asked and obtained a dismission from his charge at home, and continued in the service as chaplain till peace was established and the army disbanded. His name is on the roll of those who were enti- tled to half-pay during life, as having served to the end of the war,t — a rare if not a solitary instance of a chaplain who continued on duty in camp and field through the seven years of conflict. No church records are to be found of the ministry of Mr. Ellis, — an * Mr. Willes was a native of Windham, and graduated at Yale in 1715. His wife was Martha, daughter of John Kirtland of Saybrook. She survived him, and died in 1773. They had nine children. t Safiel's Kecords of Rev, War, p. 418. HISTORY OP NOIiWICH. 431 interval occurring of thirty-three years in which there is neither registry of admissions, baptisms, marriages, or death. In 1785, Mr. Ellis was installed over a chui-ch at Rehoboth, but at the end of ten years resigned his charge, and returned to Franklin, where he died Oct. 19, 1805, in the 79th year of his age.* Rev. Samuel Nott, tlie third minister of West Farms, was ordained March 13, 1782. The church then consisted of 72 members: 35 males and 37 females. His pastorate was of seventy years duration, and he performed its duties almost to the end. In him a feeble and sickly youth was gradually hardened into executive health and drawn out into a com- fortable if not vigorous old age. This v^as in great part due to the life- sustaining energy of an ever-active but equable flow of the mental facul- ties, and a natural cheeriness of disposition. Dr. Nott was born at Saybrook, Jan. 23, 1754, and died at Franklin, May 26, 1852, wanting four months of being 98. In a sermon preached on the 60th anniversary of his ordination, he stated that he had not dur- ing his pastorate been detained from his duties by indisposition but eleven Sabbaths, and five of these were in consequence of a slight injury upon his right hand. "My hand and life (he says) were for some time in great danger. The Kev. Wil- liam Woodbridge, a classmate and very particular friend, preached for me four Sab- baths, and on the fifth lay dead in my house, being suddenly called to give an account of his stewardship." The Rev. Mr. McEwen, in his funeral sermon on the death of Dr. Nott, said of him : "Until his 94th year his venerable form was always seen among his assembled brethren, and in their discussions and services unto that age he stood manfully in his lot." The ministry of the first three pastors of Franklin extended over a period of 134 years, including two vacant intervals of three years each. . Rev. Samuel Nott of Franklin, and Rev. Eliphalet Nott, D. D., of Union College, Schenectady, were brothers, and sons of Stephen Nott of Saybrook, who was a descendant of John Nott, one of the first settlers of Wethersfield. Their mother was Deborah Selden of Lyme. Rev. George J. Harrison was ordained colleague with Dr. Nott, March 13, 1849, and on Dr. Nott's death, became sole pastor. He was dismissed at his own request, in October, 1851. His successor, after a short inter- val, was Rev. Jared R. Avery. The present pastor is Rev. Franklin C. Jones, a son of Rev. E. C. Jones of Southbury, Ct. He was ordained Feb. 5, 1863. * " lie has no memorial to tell future generations where his body lies." Nott's Half Century Sermon. 432 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The meeting-house erected in 1745 stood upon the same elevated site occupied by its predecessor, commanding an extensive prospect of wood- lands and cultivated farms. For a hundred years it crowned and beauti- fied the hill, its altar-fires never going out until a third house of worship was prepared to continue the sacred services at the same place. A choice old picture is treasured in the memory of those who can recall to mind this ancient church and its surroundings as it appeared on the Sabbath in the days of the venerable Dr. Nott. Horses and vehicles of various sorts are assembled on the hill-top. Inside of the church all is sombre, plain and antique. The house is square, and the pews are square. There is an entrance in front and at either end, with aisles leading from each and crossing at the center. The pulpit is at the side. The pew- frames and gallery fronts resemble lace bobbins. The sound-board, bearing in large figures the date of 1745, the pulpit and pulpit-window are carved and painted in colors. The pulpit cushions are of gray velvet, with heavy black tassels, and when the wind comes in through the broken casements, they wave like a hearse pall. One must have seen it filled with its varied congregation, and surmounted with the thin and pallid face of its venerable pastor, and have heard his tremulous voice uttering the customary strains of exhortation and warning, in order to obtain the most striking impression of a country congregation of the genuine old Puritan stamp. But ninety years is an extended date for the old wooden structures of America, and in 1836 this primitive church gave place to a third sacred edifice built on the same site. This also was abandoned and removed in 1863, — a fourth church, in the modern style of architecture, having been completed near by, in a less bleak position, somewhat lower upon the hill. It is a neat and graceful building, calculated for an audience of about 300 people, and furnished with the first church-bell ever sounded on that ancient hill. A parsonage was the same year erected on the site that had been occupied by three successive sanctuaries of the soqiety. Pautipaug, or Eighth Society. The small company that broke away from the West Farms church between 1745 and 1750, formed a new organization, and in 1758 settled the Rev. Mr. Ives as their pastor. The society was not incorporated and legally accepted as a society until after the formation of the Seventh or Hanover Society, and therefore ranked as the Eighth, although a church upon the platform recognized by the government was established here earlier than at Hanover. These ecclesiastical societies were the districts, or legal sub'.livisions of towns in Connecticut, in its earlier days, when the HISTORY OF NORWICH. 433 people were all of one sect. The existence of other denominations ren- ders them obsolete. Mr. Ives removed to Munson, Mass. in 1770, and the history of the church sinks into oblivion. It does not appear that they had any other pastor, nor do we find any account of what became of the church or con- gregation. The Separatists organized a church in this society in 1747, and Thomas Denison was ordained as its pastor. It became extinct in about twelve years. In the early part of the present century, a free church was erected here by the voluntary contributions of individuals. Not only were the seats free, but the pulpit was open for all denominations of Christians to occupy. It was, however, generally improved by the Methodists. It is now dis- used, and the bell has been transferred to the Congregational church. When the two societies of West Farms and Pautipaug were united to form a town, the proposition to give it the name of Franklin is believed to have originated with Jacob Kingsbury, Esq. This gentleman was Inspector-General in the army of the United States, and served his coun- try faithfully both in the army and navy for a period of forty years. He was a descendant of Deacon Joseph Kingsbury, one of the first pillars of the West Farms church. At the commencement of the Revolution, he repaired to Roxbury, and entered the army as a volunteer, being then only eighteen years of age. He continued in the service until the close of the second war with the British, in 1815. He was a member of the old society of the Cincinnati. His death took place at Franklin, in 1837; he was then eighty-one years of age. One of his descendants, Lieut. Charles E. Kingsbury, a youth of eighteen, died at Fort Mellon, in East Florida, eleven days before him. So near together fall the green tree and the dry. Franklin was for a long period nearly stationary in its population, — or rathei", gradually decreasing from the effects of emigration. It was de- voted to fjxrming, and had no considerable village, and no manufacturing establishment except a woollen factory on Beaver Brook. The extent of the town was about five miles by four. POPULATION. 1810— llGl. 1840—1000. 1860—2358. 1830—1194. 1850— 895. Between 1856 and 1860, the village of Baltic sprung up like magic in the eastern part of Franklin, and has expanded into the flourishing town of Sprague. This new organization took off the north-eastern part of Franklin, assumed one-half of the town debt, and the charge of all the 28 434 HISTORY OF NOEWICH. poor, save one. A census was taken of the town after the separation, which gave the following result : 7G3 inhabitants, 178 electors, and 157 families. Neio Concord, or Fourth Society. The fourth ecclesiastical society was recognized by the Legislature in 1733. Permission had been given to the planters to form a parish by themselves in 1715, but being unable to support a minister, they were not regularly organized until eighteen years afterward, when they took the name of New- Concord, and were released from all obligation to support the ministry of the First Society, on condition of maintaining a gospel minister at least six months in the year. The northern part of the present town, — that part which lies in the bend of the Yantic, — was included in the West Farms parish, and the bounds betweeen the two societies were to be : the river, the hrooh that runs out of it, the Cranberry Pond, the Cranberry Pond brook, the great swamp^ the darh swamp, and the miry swamp. It might be difficult at the present day to run the line from these data. The church was organized and Rev. Benjamin Throop ordained the first pastor, Jan. 3, 1738-9. Mr. Throop was a native of Lebanon, and a graduate of Yale. He died Sept. 16, 1785, after an efficient pastorate of forty-six years, aged seventy-four. He left behind him the reputation of a scholar and a gentleman ; seasoning all his speech with a divine relish, yet genial, social, always diffusing good-humor, always thirsting for information, and ever ready to impart knowledge from his ample stores to others. Such gems seem to diffuse a brighter lustre when set in sober and secluded scenes. When Mr. Throop died, New-Concord was a parish in Norwich, but before another year had revolved it was an incorporated town by the name of Bozrah. It is not easy to determine why this quiet rural township should have been made the namesake of the haughty, woe-denounced and desolate city of Edom, — a name in singular contrast with its ancient peaceful and friendly cognomen of New-Concord. The Syrian Bozrah lay in the open plain, but this was eminently a woodland district amid the hills. The current story that the name originated in a jocose but irreverent applica- tion of Isaiah 63 : 1, to the agent of the society, who, when he appeared in the town meeting to plead for the separation, was conspicuous for his parti-colored garments, can not be seriously admitted. A pleasantry might have been thus perpetuated, but not a profanity. It is possible that the name was suggested by Mr. Throop on account HISTORY OF NORWICH. 435 of the original meaning of the word, which, according to Hebrician stu- dents, signifies a sheep-fold. Tliis, with some hititude of application, might be given to a farming town, or it might refer spiritually to an eccle- siastical parish. In one point of view, the designation was happily chosen. While most of our names, in defiance of taste and utility, have been repeated from county to county, and from state to state, causing embarrassment and con- fusion, and leading to innumerable mistakes, our pleasant Bozrah as yet stands alone in the Gazetteers of the new world. There is scarcely an- other only one to be found in the country, unless it be of Indian origin. The committee to manage the separation of the town in 1786 consisted of Benjamin Throop, Nehemiah Waterman, Esq., Asa Woodworth, and Jabez Hough. Its first representative was Capt. Isaac Huntington. Bozrah is four and a half miles long, and about four in breadth. Like other parts of the nine-miles-square, it consists of a succession of hills and valleys, some of them rocky and barren, others fair and fertile. "The Woody Vales of Bozrah ! " has been a familiar phrase in the vicinity, from its having been the chorus of a poem written by one of Bozrah's sentimental daughters. The second minister of the church was Rev. Jonathan Murdock, a native of Westbrook, and previously settled at Rye, N. Y. He was installed at Bozrah, Oct. 12, 1786, and died Jan. 16, 1813, aged sixty- eight. John Bates Murdock, a son of this excellent clergyman, graduated at Yale College in 1808, but afterward entered the army, and served during the war of 1812-15 ; at the close of Avhich he had the rank of brevet major. He died soon after the conclusion of peace, unmarried. Rev. Dr. James Murdock of New Haven, Professor of Ecclesiastical History, and the translator of the Syriac Testament into English, was a nephew of the Bozrah minister. The third minister of Bozrah, Rev. David Austin, was installed May 9, 1815. The old meeting-house where Tliroop and Murdock preached was then standing, but that same year a new house of worship was com- pleted.* Mr. Austin's dedication sermon was published. Rev. David Austin was a native of New Haven, born in 1760, and fitted by an accomplished education and foreign travel to become an orna- ment to society, as well as by ardent piety and a lively and florid elo- quence to be useful in the ministry. He married Lydia, daughter of Dr. Joshua Lathrop of Norwich, and settled as pastor of the church in Eliza- * The old church stood where is now the house of Rev. N. S. Hunt. The second was built about eight rods distant. Tiie present church, which is the third sacred edi- fice of the parish, owes its erection chiefly to the liberal aid afforded by tlie late Col Asa Fitch and his family. 436 HISTORY OF NORWICH. betlitown in 1788. The kindness of his heart and the suavity of Ms- manner endeared him to all who knew him, while his zeal in the perform- ai. gathered on an Episcopal basis, called St. George's Church. Its first and only Ejnscopal minister was Rev. Ammi Rogers, v/ho proved to be a man of blighted reputation, unworthy to preach the gospel. Whgii this became- known, his congregation fell away, and he left the place in 1818.t A Congregational society was organized in 1825, and the church was made over to them by the residuary proprietors of the building. This" church has had five ministers : Rev. Setli Bliss, ordained June 15, 1825. Rev. George Perkins, installed Aug. 8, 1832. Rev. William Wright, ordained Nov. 8, 1838. Rev. Thomas L. Shipman, installed April .5, 1843. Rev. Henry T. Cheevcr, installed May 29, 1856. Since 1861, they have had no settled pastor. * Mr. Wilson married Mr. Jewett's daughter. The late Increase Wilson of New- London was one of his sons. t New Year's Sermon by Rev. T. L. Shipman, 1856. 29 450 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Of these ministers, the Rev. Mr. Shipman is most familiarly associated with the history of the church. His pastorate of ten years was the long- est, and since his dismission, by residing in the place and officiating as pastor whenever vacancies occurred, he has almost doubled that term of service. Jewett City has also a flourishing Baptist church, which of late years has gathered within its sphere of influence a large proportion of the in- habitants of the village. The house of worship was dedicated in 1844. Two factories on a grand scale have of late years been added to Jewett City, greatly enhancing the population and importance of the place ; viz., the cotton-mill of John F. & W. Slater, and that of the Ashland Cotton Company. These mills, with others that are projected, and the large amount of water-power in the vicinity, yet unexpended, afford presumptive evidence that Jewett City will become one of the largest manufacturing villages in the State. In the burial-ground of the village, opened since the year 1 800, a slab of red sandstone points out the grave of the founder and gives an epitome of his history. In Memory of Mr. Eliezer Jewett, who Died Deer. 7, 1817, in the 87th year of his age. In April 1771 he began the settlement of this village, and from his persevering industry and active benevolence, it has derived its present importance. Its name will perpetuate his memory. Mr. JcAvett's ancestry has not been clearly ascertained. It is probable, liowever, that he was a native of Lisbon, and of the third or fourth gen- eration in descent from an ancestor of the same name who was an inhab- itant in 1702, and is supposed to have come from Rowley, Mass. CHAPTER XXXV. The Episcopal Church. Tradition is the only source from which any thing has been ascer- tained respecting the first rise of the Episcopal Church in Norwich. From this authority we learn that the first Church of England men in the place were Thomas Grist and Edmund Gookin, who were "allowed as inhabitants" in 1726. Mr. Grist, according to report, was born in England, but came early to this country, settled in Norwich, and married in 1721, Ann, daughter of Samuel Birchard. In 1734, Rev. Ebenezer Punderson, (a graduate of Yale College in 1726,) who had been four years settled over a Congregational churcli in North Groton, avowed his preference for the Church of England, and having obtained a dismission from his charge, crossed the Atlantic to be re-ordained. He returned with a commission from the Society for Prop- agating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and had Norwich, Groton and Hebron assigned to him as a missionary circuit. A small church was gathered at Poquetannock about the year 1738 by Mr. Punderson, who also held occasional services in Norwich, at the houses of Messrs. Gookin and Grist, the former living on Bean Hill,* and the latter not far from the Meeting-house Green. Gradually, and at first privately, a little band of ten or a dozen persons assembled on such occasions, to whom the ordinances of the Church were administered. In this part of the town they had no organized society, or house for worship, but the Gookin and Grist families, until their extinction, were faithful and devoted adherents to the Church. The society at Chelsea grew out of this beginning. When it came to the question of embodying in chui'ch estate and building a house of wor- ship, it was decided that the center should be at Chelsea. There is no * The Gookin honse was on the central plat of Bean Hill, " bounded southerly on the main road and easterly on the Green : " (now hclon<;ing to C C. Williams.) The last of the Gookin family in Norwich was an aneient spinster, Miss Anna Gookin, who held a life interest in the house for more than thirty years, and died in 1810, aged about eighty. 452 HISTORY OP NORWICH. record extant of the first organization of either the church or society. A piece of ground for the site of a church edifice was given by Capt. Bena- jah Bushnell, "at the north-east end of Waweequaw's hill, near the old Landing Place," and on the 7th of January, 1746-7, a meeting was held at the town-house, to decide matters relative to the erection of an edifice "for the service of Almighty God, according to the Liturgie of the Church of England, as by law established." The officers appointed at this meeting were : Rev. Mr. Punderson, Moderator. Capt. Benajah Bushnell, Treasurer. Capt. Isaac Clarke, ^ Mr. Thomas Grist, > Building Committee. Mr. Elisha Hide, ) The funds for building were raised by subscription ; 87 names being enrolled on the subscription list, and the sum obtained £678. The great- est amount by one individual was £50 by Andrew Galloway. The three gentlemen who formed the building committee subscribed £40 each. Mr. Punderson afterwards collected in Rhode Island, £138, and Capt. Bush- nell in Boston, £178. All this was probably Old Tenor money, or Bills of Credit, of reduced value. The land and the church, when erected, were conveyed by deed to the committee, in trust — " For the use of the ' Society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts,' and their successors forevermore, to be appropriated for an Episcopal church and church-yard for the benefit of an Episcopal minister and members of said church, and for no other use, intent or purpose whatsoever." This edifice stood upon the site now occupied by Christ Church. Ac- cording to tradition It was a substantial structure, but plain and unadorned, with neither porch nor spire, and a single granite block at the door for a threshold stone. It was completed in 1749. The number of pew-holders was twenty-eight ; they built their own pews and held them as their proper estate. The first church officers were : Capt. Benajah Bushnell, ) ^Tardem. Capt. Joseph Tracy, ) Capt. Isaac Clarke, \ Capt. Thomas Grist, > Vestrymen. Capt. Daniel Hall, ) Elisha Hide, Cleric of the. Church. Phineas Holdcn, Society Clerk. Mr. Punderson had the prime agency In forming this church, and was its first officiating clergyman ; but in 1751 he Avas transferred by the soci- ety in England to New Haven, to take charge of an Episcopal society in HISTORY OF NORWICH. 463 that place, and to perform missionary service in the neighboring parishes. He removed about ten years later to Rye, where he died.* His relict, Mrs. Hannah Punderson, died at Poquetannock in Groton, Feb. 23, 1792, in the 80th year of her age. She was interred at Norwich. The table- stone that covers her grave is directly in front of Christ Church, and bears the following record of her husband : " Rev. Ebenezer Punderson, Founder and first minister of this Parish, died in 1771, aged 63." After Mr. Punderson's departure, the Norwich chux'ch remained eleven years without a pastor, but was kept from extinction by the zeal of its members in holding lay services, and the occasional ministrations of Mr. Seabury of New London, and his successor, Mr. Gi'aves. In 1760, a subscription was raised in the society for Mr. John Beards- ley, "towards his inoculation and going to England for orders, that he may preach in the churches of England, at Norwich and Groton." An engage- ment was at the same time entered into with him, to pay the annual sum of £33 towards his support, when he should become their minister, which he did in the spring of 1763. The number of male communicants in the Chelsea church was at this time about twenty. The Groton church mentioned, is the one already alluded to in the vil- lage of Poquetannock. That village lies at the head of a creek or cove, which runs out of the Thames about four miles below the Landing. It was early settled, being considered a fine location for fishing, building sea- craft, and exporting wood and timber. A part of it lies in Groton, and it was within the bounds of that town that the Episcopal church was built. It has been generally dependent upon the Norwich church for the admin- istration of the ordinances, but has been sustained to the present time, and is the only church at Poquetannock ; no other denomination ever having gathered a church or built a house of worship in that village. Mr. Beardsley, after his return from England, officiated as pastor of the Norwich church about five years. He was then transferred by the society under whose auspices he labored, to Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In 1767, a lot of land for a glebe was given by Mrs. Zerviah Bushnell, relict of Capt. Benajah, and conveyed by deed to the Society for Propa- gating the Gospel in Foreign Parts.f On this lot a glebe-house or manse was erected. In 1768, an agreement was made with John Tyler, of Wallingford, Conn., by which £60 sterling money of Great Britain was advanced to * He had two sons, bom in Groton ; Ebenezer in 1735, Cyrus in 1737. t This deed was annulled by an act of the Legislature in 1835, and the glebe became private property. 454 HISTORY OP NORWICH. him, to defray the expenses of a voyage to England to receive ordination ; he, on his part, engaging to return and officiate as their priest, at a salary of £30 per annum. The money was raised by subscription, and the list contains eighty names. Mr. Tyler, after embracing the doctrines of the Church of England, had been prepared for holy orders under the instruction of Dr. Johnson of Stamford. He was ordained by the Bishop of London in June, 1768,* and the next year entered on his duties at Norwich, officiating also at Poquetannock every fourth Sunday. The parish record begun by Mr. Tyler is entitled, '■'•Notitia Parochialis of my mission at Norwich." The tirst child baptized by him was The- ophila, daughter of John and Delight Grist, Sept. 3, 1769. Soon after the settlement of Mr. Tyler, the great struggle for liberty commenced, and all other concerns were affected by it, swept as it were into the majestic current. Public opinion made it necessary for the Epis- copal clergy either to omit that part of their liturgy which contained prayers for the King and Parliament, or suspend their public service. Mr. Tyler and his people chose the latter course. Through all the Northern Colonies this was the test offered to Church- men — Will you drop the prayers for royalty ? But neither clergy nor people were in general prepared to yield the point. Many of the churches had originated under English patronage, and their pastors were on the footing of missionaries deriving their support from England. This bound them with a strong tie to the mother country, and they held out long in their loyalty. In the Southern States the Episcopalians almost uniformly took the patriotic side, and this was attributed mainly to the independence of the clergy. They did not, like those at the North, draw their support from the mother country. The church at Norwich was closed for three years, no entry being made on the records from April, 1776, to April, 1779. But it is remembered that during a part of this time at least, Mr. Tyler held a service in his own house. Various instances occurred of harsh language, and petty per- secution of churchmen, but no violent exhibitions of displeasure were made.f Mr. Tyler was prudent, quiet, and reserved. A part of his congregation cordially favored independence, and family influence like- wise operated in his favor; his father-in-law, Isaac Tracy, Esq., being deacon of the Congregational church, and an avowed patriot. * The original commission to exercise his office in America, executed by Richard (Herrick) Lord Bishop of London, June 29, 1768, is preserved by the family. t It is said that Mr. Grist, the Englishman, and his neighbor, Richard Hyde, Esq., had frequent and sharp disputes, but they never went further than a threatening shake of the fist and a final splutter, through fixed teeth, of You tory ! and You rebel I -?x^ed. ....; r^uttre.Se*'^'"^ OKDArerED HT TEE BISHOP OF LCNDOK, 1768 Rector Of CHRIST CHURCH.Norwcli.Conn.for 54 Years. HISTOEY OF NORWICH. 455 When the church was again opened, the pi'ayers for the King and Par- liament were omitted, but the congregation had dwindled to an audience of about twenty persons. Under the popular ministry of Mr. Tyler, however, the society gradually increased in numbers and influence. In 1780 the church was repaired, and a porch, bell and steeple added.* But the location was considered inconvenient, and in 1789 the society decided on removing to a more central position, A lot was proffered by Phineas Holden, near the east end of Main street, "opposite the house of Capt. Stephen Colver," and accepted by the parish. To this spot the old edifice, which had stood about forty years, was removed, and there enlarged and remodeled. The former owners of the pews relinquished their rights, the seats were sold, and the money applied to parochial uses. The new purchasers were thirty in number. The committee for removing and reconstructing the church were Major Ebenezer Whiting, Barzillai Davison, Benadam Denison, and James Christie. It was dedicated May 19, 1791, by the Rev. Dr. Seabury, Bishop of Connecticut, to the worship of God "according to the liturgy of the Church of England accommodated to the civil constitution of these Amer- ican States." • Ebenezer Whiting, I p^.„,^,„,. Ebenezer Huntington, ) Jabez Huntington, Societi/ Clerk. The designation of "Christ's Church in Chelsea" first appears on record in 1785. With the exception of the political jealousy during the Revolutionary contest, the Episcopalians and Congregutionalists of Norwich have never exhibited any acrimony against each other. On the contrary, social inter- course has been generally maintained, irrespective of denominational bounds, and the two sects have in many instances interchanged civilities, in a truly courteous and Christian spirit. At a very early period we find that the Episcopal church employed the Congregational collector to collect Mr. Tyler's rates. Invitations have sometimes been cordially given to the Episcopalians to celebrate their festivals in the larger edifices of the Congregationalists, wliich have been cheerfully accepted ; and in two instances at least, when the latter have been by sudden disasters deprived for a season of a place of worship, the doors of Christ's Church have been freely opened to them. One instance from the records may be given. * In January, 1786, Mr. John Wood, from White Haven, England, was ordained in this church by Rt. Rev. Samuel Seabury — first as deacon, and two days later as priest. He was appointed to labor in Hampton, Va. 456 HISTORY OP NORWICH. " At a legal meeting of the Episcopal Parish of Christ's Church, in Norwich, on "Wednesday, Feb. 19, 1794, Thomas Mumford, Moderator, " Voted, that this meeting, taking into consideration that the Presbyterian church iu this place, of which the Rev. Walter King is Pastor, are destitute of a convenient place in which to attend public worship, their meeting-house having been lately de- stroyed by fire, do consent to accommodate said Presbyterian society until Easter Monday, 1795, as follows : the ReV^ John Tyler, our present pastor, to perform divine service one half the day on each Sabbath, and the Rev. Walter King, pastor of said Presbyterian congregation, to perform divine service the other half of said Sabbath, alternately performing on the first part of the day." For this kind and considerate courtesy, the obliged party passed a vote of acknowledgment and thanks, which was inserted upon the records of both societies. The offer was accepted, and this amicable arrangement lasted for three months. Mr. Tyler died Jan. 20, 1823, in the 81st year of his age, after a pas- torate of 54 years. He was an interesting preacher ; his voice sweet and solemn, and his eloquence persuasive. The benevolence of his heart was manifested in daily acts of courtesy and charity to those around him. He studied medicine in order to benefit the poor, and to find out remedies for some of those peculiar diseases to which no common specifics seemed to apply. His pills, ointments, extracts and syrups obtained a great local celebrity. During the latter years of his life, he was so infirm as to need assistance in the performance of his functions. Rev. Peter J. Clark served as his assistant for two or three years, and was succeeded by the Rev. Seth B. Paddock, who, on the death of the venerable incumbent, became rector of the church. The age and long infirmity of Dr. Tyler had operated against the growth and efficiency of the parish, and when Mr. Paddock's pastorate commenced, the congrega- tion was small, and the sacred edifice itself in a decaying state. During his rectorship a new church was built and the influence of the society largely increased. In his farewell sermon, Mr. Paddock says : " Within the twenty-two and a half years of my ministry there have been connected with the parish 380 families. Of these I found in it less than 40. More than 150 now remain, and about 190 have become extinct or removed to other parts." Mr. Paddock resigned the pastorate in 1844, and took charge of an academy in Cheshire, Ct., at which place he died in 1851. He was a man of great integrity and piety; amiable in all the relations of life. Rectors of Christ Church since Mr. Paddock : Rev. William F. Morgan ; in office twelve years and a half, from Sep- .tember, 1844, to March, 1857. He then accepted a call to St. Thomas' \Church, New York. The parish at that time reported 206 families; 210 communicants. HISTOUY OF NORWICH. 457 Rev. J. Treadwell Walden ; in office six years. He resigned in March, 1863, in order to take charge of" St. Clement's Church, Philadelphia. Rev. David F. Banks, the present pastor. Two churches, both costly and imposing edifices, were erected by this society within the compass of twenty years — from 1828 to 1848. The first was during the rectorship of Mr. Paddock. It stands on a lot extend- ing from IMain to Church street, a few rods west of the former church,* The whole cost, including organ and furniture, was about $13,000. It was consecrated by the diocesan Bishop, Rev. Thomas C. Brownell, July 29, 1829. This has since changed its designation, and is now Trinity Church. -■'' In 18>1:6, during the rectorship of Mr. Morgan, the societ}'- decided to resume for church service, the old Bushnell site on Washington street, from which the church was removed sixty years previous, and which had since been used as a cemetery. On this spot, over the ashes of the dead, another church edifice, of an antique style of architecture, was erected at a cost of nearly $50,000. A tower separate from the church formed a part of the original plan, but this has never been built. The corner-stone was laid by Bishop Lee, of Delaware, Aug. 31, 1846, and the church consecrated in 1848. When the society removed to this new edifice, they carried their desig- nation, Christ Church, with them, and the house they left was for a short time cloi^ed. It was soon, however, re-opened as a chapel, or dependent upon Christ Church, but this arrangement was of short duration. In 1850, a new and independent parish was organized, the edifice purchased, and a second Episcopal church inaugurated, with the title of Trinity Church. Rectors: Rev. Edward O. Flagg, from May, 1849, to 1853. Rev. Benjamin H. Paddock, (a native of the town, and son of a former rector of Christ Church,) from August, 1853, to 1860. Rev. Joha V. Lewis, from 1860 to August, 1865, when he accepted a call to Washington, D. C. Mr. Tyler is the only rector of the Episcopal Church in Norwich who has died while in office. After the removal of the old church edifice from the Bushnell lot in 1790, the site being v/holly appropriated to interments, soon became seeded with the dead. Here the fathers that had founded the church were laid in their last resting-places. Here were gathered the remains * The old edifice was taken dowa and sold to an Episcopal association in Salem, Ct., to which phice it was removed and reconstructed about 1830. Services were held in it for a few years by Episcopalians and Methodists, but tiie congregation declined, and it was subsequently purchased by the town. Tlie spire, tower and pews were removed ; tlio building was appropriated to civil affairs, and is still extant as the town- house on Salem Green. 458 HISTORY OF NOEWICH. of Rev. John Tyler and his wife, Mrs. Hannah Tyler, and of Mrs. Han- nah Punderson, relict of the first minister. Here were buried Benajah Bushnell and wife ; Thomas Grist at the age of 82 ; Phineas Holden, 76, and his wife Zerviah, 85 ; the second Capt. Richard Bushnell, 74 ; his relict Prudence, 76, and his maiden daughter Hannah, 87. Others brought here at a later date, extinct under a burden of years, were Barziilai Davison, dying in 1828, aged 90; Solomon Hamilton, 1798, aged 87; Sarah, relict of Samuel Brown, 1795, in her 95th year; Lemuel Warren, " Clerk of Christ Church," 1812, aged 79, and near him his wife and three maiden daughters. As persons of some note resting in this cemeteiy, we may notice the two Malbones, Capt. Evan and Capt. Solomon, merchants who removed to Norwich from Newport during the Revolutionary war ; the former died in 1781, aged 73, and the latter in 1787, aged 76. The relict of Evan Malbone, and his only daughter, with her husband, Capt. Samuel Johnson, repose with them. The earliest date found is 1757, which appears on the stones commem- orative of Capt. John Culver, aged 60, and Thomas Griste, 25. Other names insci'ibed here, of persons respectable as citizens and heads of families, were these : Albertus Siraut Destoixches, a native of Bordeaux, died Dec. 17, 1796, aged 59. Bentley Faulkner, died in 1776, aged 42. Capt. Allen Ingraham, died in 1785, aged 42. Capt. William Wattles, died in 1787, aged 48. -' Capt. Solomon Whipple, died in 1787, aged 48. '/ Matthew Leffingwell, died in 1797, aged 59. Robert Lancaster, died in 1770, aged 76. Capt. William Davison, died in 1803, aged 40. Doctor Nathan Tisdale, died in 1830, aged 58. When the new church was built on the old site, the stones but not the relics of the dead were removed ; the edifice was erected over the sacred repository. The graves of the Rev. Mr. Tyler and his wife were just under the altar. The monumental stone of the former has this inscrip- tion : Here lie interred The earthly remains of The Rev. John Tyler, For 54 years Rector of Christ's Churcli in this City. Having faithfully fulfilled his ministry. He was ready to be dissolved and to be with Christ. His soul took its flight from this Vale of Misery Jan'y 20, 1823, in the 81st year of his ago. HISTORY OF NORWICH 459 Col. Samuel Tyler, in business at the Lantling for more tliaii sixty years, as a druggist, was the only son of Rector Tyler that lived to ma- turity. He died Sept. 20, 1854. CHURCHES RECAPITULATED. 1st. Built in 1749, on the Bushnell lot, at the base of Waweekus Hill, (now Washington street.) 2d. Reconstructed on the Holden lot, " opposite the house of Capt. Ste- phen Colver," Main street. The frame and other materials of the former church were removed and used in the building, which was therefoi*e both new and old. It was relinquished in 1829, taken down and removed. The Main street Congregational church was built on the site in 1844, but destroyed by fire in 1854. A free church has since been erected by the Methodists on the same ground, making three successive churches, of three different denominations, on the spot. 3d. "Built of stone, in 1828, on a lot extending from Main to Church street; relinquished to Trinity Church in 1850. 4th. Built of stone, in 1847, on the old Bushnell site, where the first church stood. Half-century ministers, settled fifty years or more over one congrega- tion within the orisrinal bounds of Norwich : James Fitch, 56 y ears. Benjamin Lord, D. D., 67 Joseph Strong, D. D., Andrew Lee, D. D., 56 64 u • Congregationj Levi Nelson, 51 Jabez Wight, 56 John Tyler, 54 Episcopalian. CHAPTER XXXVI. Sixth, or Chelsea Society ; now the Second. The Sixth Society was organized Nov. 29, 1751 : Capt. Jabez Dean, moderator of the meeting. Daniel Kingsbury was chosen Society Clerk. Capt. Dean, Eleazar Waterman, and Nathaniel Backus, Society and School Committee. Prosper Wetmoi-e chosen Collector, but excused, and Ebenezer Fitch substituted. Capt. Dean was commissioned to procure a minister, and directed to apply first to Mr. Elijah Lathrop of Windham. A regular service was not, however, commenced until April, 1752, when Mr. John Curtice was the officiating clergyman. He remained with the society to the close of the year, boarding at Mr. John Elderkin's tavern, and receiving for pay what was collected by voluntary contributions. The service was held in private houses, and the people were called together by the tap of the drum. Early in 1755, Mr. Ebenezer Cleveland was engaged to preach for a year, and paid by monthly contributions. The same year a funeral pall, bier and burying-ground were purchased. The latter was a well-wcoded lot, comprising an acre and a half, and the wood cut from it paid the whole expense. The purchase was made of Jonathan Bushnell, May 24, 1755. It has since been enlarged, and is still used as the society burial-ground. Though now girdled with the habitations of the living, it is a place of unusual interest, beautified with many appropriate monuments, hallowed by the remains of the good, the beautiful, and the beloved, and from the elevation of its site, overlooking in calm repose the turmoil of the city. In March, 1756, it was proposed to engage Mr. John Fuller to preach the gospel, " if he may be had ; " but there is no evidence that Mr. Fuller or any other minister was obtained, or that for three or four years after-* wards they had any regular Sabbath service. June 30, 1759. " At a society meeting it was voted to give llev. Nathaniel Whita- ker a call to settle in the work of the gospel ministry, provided he shall be regularly dismissed from his present charge, and provided he and those who shall form them- selves into a church shall agree in matters of faith and practice." HISTORY OF NORWICH. 461 Mr. Whitaker decided to accept this call. The salary was fixed at £100 per annum, with the pledge of a settlement of £100, when tlie gen- eral list of the society (exclusive of the lists of churchmen and those excused by law from paying ministerial rates) should amount to £G,000. These votes were ratified and confirmed on the last day of the year. Mr. Whitaker arrived with his family and goods, by water, April 12, 1760. A room for preaching had been prepared in the tavern kept by Samuel Trapp, (afterwards the well-known residence of Capt. Benjamin Coit,) and a bell to take the place of the Sabbath drum was suspended in the rear of the house, from a scaffolding erected upon a rock.* In organizing the church, some difficulties occurred. As a natural con- sequence of his antecedent connections, Mr. Whitaker was attached to the Presbyterian polity, and urged its adoption as the platform of the church. The articles drawn up by him were thoroughly Presbyterian, agreeing with those of the Church of Scotland, though several of the society vig- orously contended for the Congregational form. Tiie church record, which begins with that day, says : After many endeavours the church was feathered and formed by signing a Covenant and articles of faith under the direction of the Rev. Messrs. Jabez Wight and Benjamin Throop on the 24th day of July, 17G0. These signed : Nathaniel Whitaker, Isaiah Tiffany, Nathaniel Backus, Nathaniel Shipman, John Porter, Seth Alden.t Messrs. Backus and Shipman recorded their dissent from some of the articles, and it was mutually agreed to leave the whole matter to the decision of the installing council. This council, composed of ministers and delegates from eight neighboring churches, met the day previous to the installation and recommended that the Presbyterian plan should be laid aside, and no human form adopted at present, but that they should take the word of God for their rule and directory, in discipline and man- ners, as well a? faith, and not use any platforms of human composition for their assistance in understanding the word, until God should give them light in a more explicit manner. To this decision the church assented. Mr. Whitaker was installed Feb. 25, 1761. Dr. Lord of the First Society preached the sermon. Mr. Wheelock of Lebanon, Mr. Throop * Items of the Society expenditure : Jan. 1G71. To pay the freight of Mr. Whitakcr's family and goods from ye Jcrsies to this place in April last, £12. To Capt. Trap for ye use of his house 9 months to hold public worship in, £4:10, and 20s. for hanging and ringing the bell. Capt. Trapp was afterwards paid for his house £C per year. t Tifuiny was from the Lebanon church ; Porter from the church in Mansfield ; Backus and Shipman from the first aud Alden from the fourth church in Norwich. 462 HISTORY OF NORWICH. of the Fourth or New Concord society, and Mr. Hezekiah Lord of Pres- ton, took part in the services. At this time six oth^r persons, previously members of neighboring churches, united with the church, signing the articles in presence of the installing council. Jonathan Huntington, Jabez Dean, "William Capron, Eleazar Waterman, Caleb Whitney, Ebenezer Fitch. No church at this period had been built, and the installation services were held under the wide canopy of heaven. From a notice in the printed sermon of Dr. Lord, we learn that some passages were omitted in the delivery, out of compassion to the audience thus exposed to the wintry air "«'« the open field." It would be interesting to know the precise gath- ering-place. The reverend teacher mildly alludes to the controversy that had so long agitated the people, by expressing a wish that " Christ's little flock, his people in this place," would henceforth "agree to keep together in one Fold, without any more discord, or divided interests." The first appointment of church officers on record, is Dec. 30, 1763, when four elders were chosen to office, viz., Messrs. Jabez Dean, Nathan- iel Shipman, Isaiah Tiffany, and Jonathan Huntington. The subject of erecting a house of worship was discussed at a society meeting held at the house of William Davison in June, 1757, but no decision was made till Jan. 4, 1760, when two-thirds of all persons quali- fied to vote in the society were present, and the resolution passed to build a meeting-house. A lot eligibly situated was found, the county court gave their warranty to set up a stake on the spot, a building committee was appointed, and a plan of the house formed. It was to have sixty pews, which were to be sold at a price that would cover the whole expense of the building. But at this stage of the proceeding it was found that the lot was too small for the purpose, and the conmiittee gave notice that the adjoining proprietors, Samuel Bliss and Daniel Tracy, would not sell an inch. The project therefore, which seemed so feasible, fell through. The court ox'dered the stake to be removed, and Chelsea was left three and a half years longer without a regular house of worship. It was not easy to find a convenient site. The streets and buildings were closely packed along the narrow border of the headland, and the high ridges that frowned over them were partly forested, and everywhere rugged and pi-ecipitous. The perpendicular ascents had not yet been taught to glide into gentle slopes ; people had not begun to build above, and land below was scarce and costly. In 1763, a lot was purchased of Isaac Huntington at 70s. per square HISTORY OF NORWICH. 463 rod, and a meeting-house 37 feet by 41 erected on the spot. A memorial was presented to the General Assembly for assistance in the undertaking, and a sum of money (the income of the excise tax) was granted to the society from the public treasury. It appears that Capt. Trai)p was paid for the use of his house to the 12th of July, 1764, and it is probable that after that time the meeting-house, though then but a shell, was used for the Sabbath service. The bell was removed from its old position on the rock, and suspended from the limb of a large tree near the door. This church stood on a part of the area now occupied by Mansfield's block of brick buildings. It was completed in 17G6, and thirty-three pews marked out, besides one at the right of the pulpit for the minister. The basement was let out for mercantile purposes. The first year, seventeen spaces for pews were sold, each pew being expected to accommodate two families, which could easily be done, as most of the young people, above the age of children, were accustomed to sit in the galleries. It may be interesting at the present day to read a list of the pew-hold- ers, particularly to see who were associated in the same pew. No. 1. The Minister and his family. >^-2. Seth Harding and Williiim Rockwell. — - I 3. Sybile Crocker and Jonathan Lester. 7. Thomas Trapp, Jr., and Steplien Barker. 9. Jabez Dean and Elijah Lothrop. 10. John Tracy and Peter Lanman. 11. Joseph Trumbull and Jabez Perkins. 12. Ephraim Bill and Hugh Ledlie. 13. Ebenezer Fillmore, Jr., and Timothy Herrick. 1 4. William Coit and Simeon Carew. 18. Nathaniel Backus and Nathaniel Backus, Jr. 19. Abel Brewster and John Martin. 21. David Lamb and Moses Pierce. 23. j/Benajah Leffingwell and Ezra Backus. I'S. Benjamin Hiintington and Natlianiel Shipmaa. 26. Joseph Smith and Isaac Park. 27. Stephen Roath and Stephen Roatli, Jr. The omitted numbers were allotted to the space which remained unsold, until Mr. Judson's ordination. In the meantime, before the com[)letion of the meeting-house, a portion of Mr. Wliitaker's church became dissatisfied witli his ministry. They accus(;d him of stepping aside from his duty as a clergyman, to engage in trade, and in this line, of having aftenijtted to monopolize the vending of wine, raisins, &c., in the society. A council was called, before which these charges were laid, but no decision obtained. Whilv the matter was still agitated, the Connecticut Board of Correspondence for Indian Affairs nominated Mr. Whitaker to accompany Occom, the Mohegan preacher, on 464 HISTORY OP NORWICH. a mission to Europe, to solicit benefactions for the endowment of "Moor's Indian Charity School " at Lebanon, which was under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Wheelock. ^ When this project was laid before the society, they refused their con- sent to Mr. Whitaker's acceptance of the office. Another meeting was called, and the vote reconsidered, but with the same result. It is evident that while a few members were bent on compelling him to relinquish the pastorate,* the majority were sincerely attached to his ministrations, and unwilling to part with him. Two advisory councils were called, and it was at length proposed that Mr. Whitaker should be allowed to accept the agency without dissolving his relation to the church, but that he should relinquish his salary during his absence ; his people to have the privilege of settling another minister before his return, if they chose ; and if such an event took place, he was to be considered as dismissed. If he should return before the settlement of another minister, a council was to be con- vened to decide whether he should continue with them or be dismissed. This conciliatory proposition, which emanated from Dr. Lord of the First Society, was accepted. Jan. 9, 1766. The parties present at publishing this advice manifested their accept- ance thereof, and further signified it by signing, as follows : Nathaniel Whitaker, Thomas Trapp, Jr. Nathaniel Shipman, Joshua Prior, Abiel Cheney, Gershom Breed, / Gurdon Huntington, Lemuel Warren, Benjamin Dennis, ^ Benajah Leffingwell, Prosper Wetmore, Nathaniel Backus, Jr. Joseph Smith, George Dennis, *' Jonathan Huntington, Nathaniel Backus, William Coit, Caleb Whitney, Eleazar Waterman, Ebenezer Fitch, Peter Lanman. Jabez Dean, Joseph Trumbull, Mr. Whitaker wa"? a man of fine talents and prepossessing appearance. He had manifested great interest in the prosperity of Mr. Wheelock's Indian school at Lebanon, and in the welfare of the Mohegan Indians, his neighbors. On these accounts he had been selected as a proper person to accompany Mr. Occora on his mission. They carried with them a printed book containing recommendations, and an exposition of the state of Indian Missions in North America. Mr. Whitaker's recommendation from his church is as follows : The Church of Christ at Chelsey, in Norwich, in Conn : in New England, to all the Churches of Christ, and whomsoever it may concern, send greeting : Whereas it has pleased God in his Providence, to call our Reverend and worthy Pastor, Mr. Nathaniel Whitaker, from us for a sea?on, to go to Europe, to solicit char- ities for the Indian Charity School, under the care of the Rev. Mr. Ebenezer Wheelock, * The six aggrieved members were Nathaniel Backus, Sen. and Jun., Epiu-aim Bill, Prosper Wetmore, Peter Lanman, and William Coit. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 465 of Lebanon, and to promote Christian knowledge among the Indians on this conti- nent : We do unanimously recommend him, the said Mr. Whitaker and his services, to all the churches and people of God, of whatever denomination, and wheresoever he may come, as a faithful minister of Jesus Christ, whose praise is in the gospel through the churches ; earnestly requesting bi'othcrly kindness and charity may be extended towards him as occasion may require ; and that the grand and important cause in which he is engaged, may be forwarded and promoted by all the lovers of truth. Wishing grace, mercy and truth may be multiplied to you and the whole Israel of God, and desiring an interest in your prayers, we subscribe Yours in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, By order and in behalf ) Jonathan Huntington. said Church. ) IsAiAH Tiffany. NoKWiCH, Oct. 21, 1766. The delegates were eminently successful in tlieir mission, both in Eng- land and Scotland, and collected funds amounting nearly to ten thousand pounds sterling.* Some disagreement arose between Mr. "Whitaker and his Indian asso- ciate before they left England, and the latter in his confidential correspond- ence threw out hints that were calculated to excite suspicions of Mr. Whitaker's integrity. This distrust was, undoubtedly, without cause, orig- inating probably in misapprehension, or disagreement of opinion. The most inflexible of Mr. Whitaker's opponents at Chelsea never questioned his integrity, and the majority of his congregation adhered to him with strong and unwavering trust. During Mr. Whitaker's absence, his pulpit appears to have been most of the time vacant. Mr. Wales was at one time paid £9 for preaching, and Mr. Thatcher £18. No other supplies are recorded. The mission to Europe occupied about a year and a half. Mr. Whitaker's salary was * A Bible presented to Occom, while in England, according to tradition, by the king, is in the possession of Mrs. G. B. Ripley of Norwich. The following letter, written by Occom from London to his daughters at home, is a curious example of Mohegan ingenuity : My dear Mary and Esther — Perhaps you may query whether I am well : I came from home well, was by the way well, got over well, am received ut London well, and am treated extremely well, — yea, I am caress'd too well. And do you pray that I may be well ; and that I may do well, and in Time return Home well. And I hope you arc wcllj and wisli you well, and as I tiiink you begun well, so keep on well, that you may end well, and then all will be well. And so Farewell. zy^y^T^v^^ /Pcoi^^j^^ . 30 466 HISTORY OF NORWICH. re-commenced June 2, 1768, which was doubtless the day of his return to Norwich and resumption of his pastoral duties. A society meeting was held to determine if they would call a council of dismission, as agreed upon before his departure, and the majority decided in the negative. Very soon, however, the old grievances recurred, and at a society meet- ing Jan 3, 1769, it was put to vote — " Wliether ye society will agree with Rev. Nath'l Whitakcr D. D. and ye aggrieved members of the Society, in calling ye Council agreed upon Nov. 6, 1765, to convene at this 2)lace on ye 24th inst. " Resolved in ye affirmative." Before this council the church laid the charges brought by Mr. Whita- ker against the six aggrieved members, and the council, after considering all the matters of complaint and difficulty, advised dismission. This result Mr. Whitaker laid before the church and society respectively, and after enumerating the embarrassments that threatened his future usefulness, requested to be released from his pastoral office. Both assemblies were reluctant, and voted against his dismission, — the church unanimously, and the society 28 against 9. It was agreed, however, at Mr. Whitaker's request, that another council should be called, with the express under- standing that all parties would yield to its decision. This council also advised dismission, and accordingly the same day Mr. Whitaker was dis- missed, the church recording their unwilling consent in these terms : March 24, 1769. "Voted that the Chh. have always been and still are averse to a dismission of Rev. Dr. "Whitaker, as they do not see any sufficient reason for it, and earnestly desire his continuance and by no means desire to be understood to have the least hand in his removal,' yet they consent to the same and will submit to the result of Council." Mr. Whitaker was no common-place character. He had great quick- ness and force of mind. The ai'dor of his temperament and his ceaseless activity may sometimes have drawn him aside from his ministerial func- tions, or led him to take a position slightly antagonistic and controversial, but he had noble traits of character. His name is honorably connected with the foundation of Dartmouth College, and the degree of D. D. con- ferred upon him by the college in New Jersey shows that his ability and enterprise were appreciated by his cotemporaries. He was subsequently installed at Salem, Mass., and at Norridgewock, Me. ; being dismissed from the latter place in 1790, he went to Virginia, and there died.* * Mr. Whitaker brought with him to Norwich his wife, Sarah, and two young child- ren, James and Elizabeth. He had two daughters born in the place : Sarah, March 21, 1761, and Mary, March 27, 1764. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 467 Mr. Wliitaker's j^u^^licfitions amount to some eight or ten pamphlets, consisting of occasional sermons and tracts on passing events of a theo- logical type. Perhaps the eai-liest of these publications is " The Trial of the Spirits : A Sermon on 1 John iv. 1. Preached at Newent, in Norwich, March 17, 1762 ; and published at the Desire of those who heard it." (Printed in Providence : By William Goddard.) This was directed against the Neiv Lights, whose principles were then spreading in the churches, and particularly designed to counteract the teachings of those who "set up the Light within, and their own Spirits and Notions as the standard to which the Scripture must be brought." A void of two and a half years succeeded in the pastorate at Chelsea. Ml". Piuiderson Austin occupied the pulpit for nine months, but declined a settlement. Mr. Joseph Howe was spoken of as a desirable candidate, but his services were not procured. In May, 1771, Mr. Ephraim Judson of Woodbury, Conn., came among the people by invitation, and gave such general satisfaction that after a short experience of his ministry, he was called to the pastoral office by a vote entirely unanimous, and ordained Oct. 3d of that year. At this time the meeting-house was freshened and improved. The bell was removed, and erected upon the hill near the house of Mr. Lemuel Boswell. Ten new pews were built, and assigned as follows : No. 4. Hannah Wight and Joseph Kelley. 5. Jacob De Witt and John M'Larran Breed. 6. John and Peter Waterman. 8. Benjamin and George Dennis. 15. Caleb Whitney and Joshua Norman. 16. Daniel Kelley and William Capron. 17. Prosper Wetmore and Ebenezer Fitch. ,^ 20. David and Samuel Roath. 22. William Reed and Zephaniah Jennings. 24. Joseph Wight and Lemuel Bos well. The society voted to purchase the house and lot of Ezekiel Story at £120 for a settlement for Mr. Judson. This house was on the hill near the burial-ground. Mr. Judson began to occupy it in 1773. It was secured to him as his personal property, in case he should remain five years with the society. Mr. Judson was a man of pleasing aspect and dignified demeanor, tall and stately. He seldom used notes, and though he reasoned well, and often threw out striking remarks, his sermons were usually in the style of comrhon conversation, elucidated Avith comments tliat sometimes fell below the level of an intelligent audience and the dignity of the pulpit. For 468 HISTORY OF NORWICH. instance, in a sermon upon the Brazen Serpent, he repeatedly called it the Brass Snake. His expressions were sometimes very quaint and whim- sical. Preaching at one time on the excuses made by the guests who were invited to the wedding feast, he observed that one had bought five yoke of oxen, and civilly entreated to be excused : but the one who had married a wife replied absolutely, he could not come. Hence learn, said the preacher, that one woman can pull harder than Jive yoke of oxen. Mr. Judson once preached in the first society, a sermon particularly addressed to young women, which, contrary to his usual custom, was written out and elaborately finished in the style of Hervey's Meditations. To make it more impressive, he introduced a fictitious character of the name of Olar- inda, expatiated upon her wit and beauty, and the number of her admir- ers, followed her to the ball-room, and other scenes of gaiety, and then laid her upon a death-bed with all the pathos of a romance.* But these reminiscences apply to Mr. Judson only as a young man, during the first years of a long ministry. Preachers are generally recalled to mind by those salient points of character and habit that strike the pop- ular observation. Mr. Judson is therefore transmitted to us in the cos- tume of his eccentricities. He was nevertheless esteemed in his day for liigher qualities, — faithful performance of ministerial duty, and sincere patriotism. His delivery, usually slow and monotonous, on subjects con- nected with the liberties of the nation, would rise almost to enthusiasm. He took an early and active part in the Revolutionary struggle, and when offered a chaplaincy in the army, accepted the appointment with alaci'ity. This event and the consequent action of the society are thus registered : Aug. 14, 1776. Rev. Ephraim Judson having been appointed Chaplain in Col. Ward's regiment in the Continental service, generously proposes to relinquish his sal- ary during his absence, and asks leave to go. Permission granted. But his health was not equal to the arduous duties that devolved upon him. He was absent several months, and then returned an invalid ; and though he continued two years longer with his people, he seems never to have recovered his former health. Some of his habits that have been attributed to indolence, may have been forced upon him by physical infirmity. He would occasionally deliver his sermons in a sitting posture. He adopted also the Scotch custom of a recess in the middle of the ser- mon, to be occupied by the choir in singing, and it is said that in warm weather he would give out a psalm of eight or ten stanzas, long meter, and withdraw to a high rock just in the rear of the church, to enjoy the refreshing river-breeze during its performance. * For these and tother occasional illustrations of former persons and scenes, the author is indebted to the tenacious memory and conversational amenity of Eev. Dr. Strong of the First Society. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 469 111 October, 1778, lie asked a dismission from office, grounding his motion on these points: " Want of competent support, usefulness obstructed by infirm health, inability to study, negligence of the people in attending public worship, — some other minister may be more beneficial." The church and society appointed committees to converse with him and endeavor to smooth over these difficuUies. But he remained firm to his purpose, and they at length concurred with him in referring the matter to a council of the neighboring ministers. This council met Dec. 15, and after considering Mr. Judson's pleas, decided unanimously — " That there is an unavoidable necessity of Mr. Judson's removal, and [we] do accordingly dismiss him : — especially on account of his weak state of health, which will not admit of a sedentary life or close application to study ; together with an un- happy appearance of indift'ereucc to his administration. Yet we cannot but express our great satisfaction in finding the measure of mutual love and respect that subsists between Mr. Judson and his people. "We arc satisfied with Mr. Judson's ministerial character, hope for his better health and future usefulness in the ministry. And may it please God to raise up for this people another able and faithful minister." " We also find that the degree of exei-tion for Mr. Judson's support has been very considerable, considering the present public exigencies." Mr. Judson afterward preached for a short time at Canterbury, Conn., and was successively installed at Taunton and at Sheffield, Mass. He died at the latter place, Feb. 23, 1813, in his 76th year.* In 1781 a new bell was purchased, and a belfry built for its reception at the east end of the meeting-house. A vacancy in the pastorate, of eight years, followed the dismission of Mr. Judson, during which time the Sabbath service was but partially sus- tained. All public enterprises felt the paralyzing influence of the war, and stood in abeyance, waiting for better times. Among the temporary supplies of this period were Mr. Zebulon Ely and Mr. David Austin, both graduates of Yale, of the class of 1779, and then making their first experiments in the pulpit. Mr. Ely was afterward for forty years pastor of the Lebanon church, and Mr. Austin, after many vicissitudes of life and changes of opinion, became in 1815 pastor of the church in Bozrah. Various other names are found, of persons who sup- plied the pulpit during this long vacancy .f * Rev. Adonirara Judson, D. D., the celebrated missionary to the Burman Empire, was a nephew of IMr. Ephraim Judson. t Dec. 1782. Voted to pay the bill of Joseph Williams for boarding Messrs. Hide, Ellis, Cliase, and other preachers : also the bill of Mr. John M. Breed for boarding Mr. Mills while preaching. Sept. 7, 1786. Voted to pay the Committee for boarding the ministers since De- cember last. Minister's pay, 38s. per Sabbath. 470 HISTORY OF NORWICH. No single person was probably so serviceable in continuing the minis- trations at this period, as Mr. Nathaniel Niles, who was then a resident of Norwich, — a licensed preacher, but engaged likewise in other pursuits, and not desirous of a settlement. He had married the daughter of Elijah Lathrop, and remained in the town ten or twelve years, taking an active part in the patriotic movements of the day, and in all objects of public interest, and serving as representative to the General Assembly for the spring sessions of 1779, '80, and '81. He was moreover connected with his father-in-law in various manufacturing interests that were beneficial to the country. They had establishments for making chocolate, iron-wire, and cards. Mr. Niles was himself the inventor of a process for making iron-wire out of bar-iron, the machinery for which was here first put into operation. Notwithstanding his numerous engagements, he was commonly prepared on the Sunday with a well-studied though generally unwritten discoui'se, and willing to occupy any vacant pulpit, or to preach without a pulpit, in any school-house, hall, or private room, where his services Avere required. In Chelsea he officiated often during Mr. Judson's absence, and after his dismission, and for several years was the main reliance upon which the society fell back when other applications failed. He had the reputation of a metaphysical preacher, fond of doctrinal points, and shrewd in draw- ing lines of diff*erence. The natural bias of his mind seems to have led in that direction.* He was fearless, however, in denouncing popular sins, and earnest in calling upon all to repent. Two discourses delivered in this society, July 12, 1778, and afterwards written out and published at the request of the hearers, are doubtless fair specimens of the general tone of his preaching.f They are clear and forcible in statement, and fervid in appeal. In versatility of talent, Mr. Niles was one of the most remarkable men of his time. He had studied medicine, given some attention to law, and had taught a grammar school in New York, where Lindley Murray, after- ward an author of grammars, was his pupil. In theology he had been a student with Dr. Bellamy. His literary talents were above the common order, but in this line he is chiefly distinguished for a sapphic ode, called The American Hero. This poem first appeared in print in the Connecti- cut Gazette, Feb. 2, 1776, but dated Norwich, 1775. It had been circu- * It is related that when at College both he and his brotlicr Samuel were so con- spicuous for keenness and subtlety in argument, as to be familiarly distinguished by the titles of Botheration Primus and Botheration Secundus. Sprague's Am. Pulpit. t Printed by John Trumbull, 1779. The texts were Luke 8:18, and 6 : 46. This publication, and a sermon of Mr. Niles' entitled Tiie Remembrance of Christ, deliv- ered at Medway, Oct. 31, 1773, and printed in Boston, are omitted in Dr. Sprague's list of the publications of Mr. Niles, ia his American Pulpit. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 471 lated and sung in private and patriotic meetings, before it was printed, the nausic being composed by one of" the author's friends.* After the conchasion of the war, and the death of liis first wife, Mr. Niles removed into a wild part of Vermont, which lie lived to see trans- formed into farms and villages, glowing with fertility and comfort. His ministerial vocation was carried with him through life, thougli lie was never settled as a pastor, or even ordained, and refused, according to report, seventeen calls. In the town where he settled, he was tlie first white inhabitant and the first preacher ; holding meetings in his house for twelve years before a church could be built. He was also much employed in civil affairs ; was for many years a Judge of the Supreme Court, and Member of Congress from 1791 to 1795. Not by the title of Reverend, but as Judge Niles, he was commonly known. He died at "West Fairlee, Vt., Oct. 31, 1828, aged 88. The society had now been eight years without a pastor, when Mr. Walter King, of Wilbraham, Mass., came among them to preach as a candidate. His efficient ministrations aroused the church to a sense of their declension, and revived the dying interests of religion. The record says: " The Church by reason of many distressing trials being scattered and reduced ex- ceeding low, determine to renew their covenant and reorganize." Jonathan Huntington, Ebenezer Fitch, and twelve sisters, were all that remained of the former members. To these were added Mr. King from the church in New Haven, and seven others by profession of faith, form- ing a church of twenty-two members, of whom seven were men, viz. : Jonathan Huntington, Elijah Lathrop, Ebenezer Fitch, l^ Grover L'Hommcdieu, Walter King, Jonathan Frisby. Peter Lanman, The vote of the society calling Mr. King to the pastorate, stood thirty- five against one. He was ordained May 24, 1787. Sermon by Rev. Charles Backus. Salary £125 per annum, with 40s. added yearly till it amount to £135 per annum, and at that point to remain fixed. On the division of the town in 178G, only two Congregational societies were left in Norwich proper, which made an alteration of title necessary. Mr. King was therefore ordained over the Second Church instead of the Sixth. No office seems to have been more irksome than that of collecting the * This is supposed to have been Col. Absalom Peters, of Lebanon, who was at that time a young man giving lessons to the choirs in Norwich as a singing-master. 472 HISTORY OF NORWICH. ^ ministerial rates. In 1785, no less than nine persons were successively chosen to the office of collector, and each refused peremptorily to serve. An incumbent was at last procured by the offer of ten per cent, for col- lecting. In 1788, fifteen persons of the first distinction in the society agreed to take their chance by lot for the office, each engaging to serve if his name was drawn. Universalism. In the year 1779, a public debate on the subject of Universalism was held in the Congregational Church at Chelsea, between Mr. Niles and Mr. John Murray, which excited considerable interest at the time. The doctrine of universal salvation, connected with belief in the Trinity and a purification from sin by a limited degree of punishment in another state, ending in actual pardon and a final restoration to the favor of God, had at that period a eonsiderable number of advocates in Norwich, It was introduced into the town in the year 1772, by Mr, John Murray, the Eng- lish Universalist, or " Great Promulgator," as he was sometimes styled. He was first invited to preach in Norwich by Mr. Samuel Post, who, having been accidentally present when he delivered an address at Guil- ford, was charmed with his persuasive oratory. He preached first in the academic building at the foot of Bean Hill, and Mr. Gamaliel Reynolds, the principal exhorter among the Separatists, who held their meetings in that house, became his convert. To accommodate the throngs that came to hear him, the committee of the First Congregational Society permitted their meeting-house to be opened for his use, which Mr. Murray says was never afterward shut against him.* His first text in Norwich is said to have been the single word Shiloh — Genesis 49 : 10. But the sermon that excited the most discussion was founded upon the parable of the merchantman seeking goodly pearls. The merchant, he said, represented Christ, and the whole race of mankind were the pearls, whom Christ by the surrender of his life had purchased, and would keep eternally safe. After Mr. Murray's departure, the Rev. Dr. Lord, fearing, he said, that * The committee of this Society appear to have been almost indiscriminately libera in the loan of their church to itinerant preachers. Witness the following newspaper item of Nov. 14, 1793: " On Friday evening last, Mr. John Thayer, Catholic Missionary, delivered to a large audience at the Rev. Joseph Strong's meeting-house in this City, a learned and ingenious discourse in which he undertook to prove that the Catholick Church was the only true Church of Chi-ist. On Sunday evening following at the same place he de- livered a discourse on the propriety and true piety of invoking departed saints and the utility and efficacy of addressing prayers to them." HISTORY OF NORWICH. 473 some of his congregation had accepted the mistaken exposition of the "itinerant sti*anger," took an opportunity to elucidate the same text. The merchant he regarded as the representative of man, seelving happiness, but ignorant of the chief good ; when he finds Christ, the pearl of great price, he gives n]> the world and all its blandishments, and takes the Saviour for his everlasting portion.* Mr. Murray subsequently made several annual visits to Norwich, and was allowed to preach in all the churches, but at the Landing he usually occupied the pulpit of the Episcopal church, and it was popularly reported that the Rev. Mr. Tyler coincided with him in the main point that sepa- rated him from orthodoxy, — to wit, the final restoration of all mankind to holiness and consequent happiness. Mr. Murray, however, never claimed him as a disciple, but in his notes ranks him with those who had acted toward him the part of Christian friends. Mr. Niles, who was then the acting minister of the Congregational society in Chelsea, was disposed to examine and discuss the points at issue with Mr. Murray. A public debate was therefore held by the two cham- })ions, but with what result does not appear. The sermon of Mr. Niles on the text, "Take heed therefore how ye hear," preached in July, 1778, and published by request of the congregation, was doubtless designed to guard his hearers against the alluring, heart-pleasing doctrine that had been pro- claimed among them. Mr. Murray was a man of wit and humor, fluent in speaking, with the manners of a gentleman. He built up no society in Norwich, but he left an abundance of seed sown, the produce of which might be traced thi'ough the Avhole of that generation.! Many of those, however, who were drawn aside for a time by his fascinations, and entangled as it were in his silken net, ultimately regained their former stand-point. He died at Boston, Sept. 3, 1815, aged 744 In the old part of the town, the Separatist meetings gradually took the form of Universalism. They were held at first in the academy, but after- wards at the house of Mr. Ebenezer Grover. Mr. Reynolds, who acted * This discourse was delivered Sept. 27, 1772: printed by Green & Spooner, Nor- wicli, 1773. t A Univcrsalist Hymn-Book, published by subscription in 177G, has a list of nearly forty subscribers in Norwich. I Mr. Murray's wife, a very interesting woman, sometimes accompanied him in his visits to Norwich. Lodging at one time with a friend on Chelsea Plain, at breakfast the next morning the lady visitor was not to be found, and the husband could give no account of her. Soon afterward she came in, flushed with exercise, but with wet feet and dripping with dew. She had risen early, and with a child for a guide, had visited the Indian graves, copied inscriptions, explored the ravine to the falls, and wrought herself into a state of lively enthusiasm. Mrs. Murray was authoress of a serial work called the Gleaner, collected in 1798 and published in three volumes. 474 HISTORY OP NORWICH. as their minister without having received any regular ordination or ap- pointment to office, was a man of original strong sense, of powerful frame and imposing appearance, but untaught and .illiterate. Mr. Murray said of him, — " He is an honest soul, and we all love him, but he can not yet speak the language of heaven." At a later period Mr. Elhanan Winchester, who was born in the vicinity of Norwich and had many warm personal friends in the place, often came hither in his preaching tours, and was allowed the free use of the pulpits, Congregational and Episcopal. The persuasive eloquence of Mr. Win- chester, his unblemished life, and the affectionate simplicity of his man- ners, all operated in his favor. His knowledge of the Scriptures was so minute, and his memory so retentive and amenable to his will, that his friends were accustomed to say if the Bible were to be struck out of exist- ence, Mr. Winchester could replace it from memory. The last time that he preached in Norwich was in the pulpit of the First Society, Sept. 18, 1794. He died at Hartford in 1797. Winchester's Lectures on the Prophecies, embodying and explaining the principles he had disseminated in his sermons, were published at Nor- wich in 1794 and '95. The first two lectures wei'e printed by Trumbull, the remainder by Thomas Hubbard. Another work of a kindred bias in doctrine was printed at Norwich in 1796. This was "Calvinism Improved," by Rev. Joseph Huntington, D. D., a native of Norwich, and minister of Coventry, Ct. The work was not published until after the author's decease, but had then an exten- sive circulation. Still another work in the same direction, explanatory and defensive of the doctrine of Universal Salvation, was published at Norwich in the year 1815. It was entitled, "The Law and the Gospel clearly demonstrated in Six Sermons." This work was popularly attributed to the Rev. Mr. Tyler, but not acknowledged by him. These early developments of Universalism were of the Trinitarian school, and while agreeing with the current orthodoxy in various articles of belief, diverged from it on one important point. They represented the two doctrines of redemption and salvation as co-extensive and equally uni- versal. The question at issue was, How far the efficacy of divine grace extended? Were there any limits to it? Here was the gulf that sepa- rated them. CHAPTER XXXVII. The West India Trade. The Proclamation of Congress announcing a cessation of hostilities be- tween Great Britain and the United States, was published April 11, 1783. Christopher Leffingwell was the first naval officer of the port of Nor- wich, under the United States government. He was appointed in 1784. Thomas Coit, collector of the revenue. The commerce of Norwich shared in the general impulse that the peace gave to maritime pursuits. Her merchants and ship-masters hav- ing suffered less by the war than those of more exposed ports, were better prepared for action, and launched at once into the tide of adventure. Yet in reviewing the marine incidents connected with the place, it is not easy to keep the current distinct from the interests and ownerships of other towns that had the same port of entry, and in some instances vessels of similar capacity bearing the same names. Moreover, Norwich and New London were actually connected in various mercantile partnerships. The cargo of an incoming vessel was often distributed among the merchants of both places, and masters belong- ing to one port frequently shipped in vessels fitted out from the other. Neither the marine records nor the current newspapers were careful in their discriminations, and it is sometimes very difficult to assign items of intelligence to their right place. "While gathering up the memorials that relate to Norwich, and giving due honor to her merchants and seamen for their enterprise, we do not design to claim that they engrossed more than an honorable share of the industry and activity of the times.* The West India trade was an alluring path of adventure. The horses, cattle and alimentary produce of a thriving back country converged at Norwich and sought a market abroad. For the first ten or twelve years after the peace, it met with but few obstacles except those arising from tropical storms or tropical diseases. It was prosecuted with vigor, and was rich in its returns. * The commercial details of this and the following chapter have been gathered from the custom house records at New London, newspajjer files, and other contemporary documents. 476 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Most of the voyages of that day were undertaken in vessels of very light burden and small draft. A large proportion of the trade of New England was accomplished in sloops, schooners and brigs, from 35 to 70 or 100 tons burden. Ships, — that is, merchant vessels, ship-rigged, with three masts, — were generally from 100 to 200 tons burden, scarce equal- ing an ordinary brig of the present day.* Live-stock, provisions and lumber were the articles demanded for the West India market. Even flour was then an article of export rather than of import. Considerable wheat was raised in the eastern part of Con- necticut, where it is now a very uncertain crop, and less profitable than other grains. The Norwich vessels seldom took in their live-stock from the wharves. Sheep and swine might however be received directly from the land, or from light craft as they lay in the stream; but horses, oxen and cows were driven to New London, and there taken on board. It was rare for a vessel to cany her deck cargo down the river. The following table of the exports and imports of Norwich, from Jan. 1, 1788, to March 4, 1789, is taken from the report of the naval officer: ES £ rs. s. d. £ s. d. 549 horses, valuo, 12 GO 00 6588 00 00 205 mules, " 15 3075 205 horaed cattle, " 7 1435 321 sheep, " 10 160 10 566 hogs, 15 424 10 1,903 bbls. beef, 40 3806 1,774 " pork. 60 5322 25,000 lbs. butter, " 6 625 92,120 " cheese, " 4 1535 6 8 6,600 " ham, " 5 137 10 16,000 bu. grain, " 2 6 2000 175 M. hoops. 70 612 10 160 M. staves, " 80 640 14,600 lbs. hayseed, " 6 365 586 bbls. potash, " 5 2880 25,000 yds. homemade cloth, 2 2500 631 hlids. flaxseed. 40 1264 276 4 tons pressed hay, bbls. gingerbread. Total, 5 60 828 20 £34,218 6 8 * Six prominent trading vessels, in 1791, owned principally by Joseph Williams, and kept in the West India trade, were of the following tonnage : Ship Josephus, 228 tons. Schooner Nabby, 87 tons. Brig Enterpriser, 130 tons. Sloop Prosperity, 70 tons. Snow Federal, 110 tons. Sloop Negotiator, 70 tons. The Snow was thus described : " This vessel is all Federal ; hull, rigging, sails, and every material manufactured from the produce o6 America." HISTORY OF NORWICH. IMPORTS. £ s. d. European goods, valne - - 3909 1,500 hides, " 12s. - - 900 7,675 bu. salt, Is. 8d. - 639 11 8 112,625 galls, molasses. Is. Ad. - - 7540 18,300 " rum, 2s. Gd. - - 2287 10 1,271 lbs. bohea tea, 2s. - - 127 2 20,700 " coffee, Is. - - - 1045 417,200 " sugar. 8344 Total, £24,793 3 8 477 Shipping belonging to tlie port at this time : Twenty sloops, - - - - • 940 tons. Pive schooners, . - . - . 325 " Five brigs, .... - 545 " One ship, 200 " Total, - - - - 2010 " No custom-house records of the New London district, prior to the Revohition, are known to be extant. They were either carried away by Duncan Stewart, the last royal collector, in 177G, or more probably de- stroyed in the conflagration of the town in 1781. The first U. S. Col- lector under the Federal Constitution, appointed by General Washington, was General Jedidiah Huntington. The coast of Connecticut formed two districts, those of New Haven and New London. The New London district extended from Killingworth to Rhode Island, and included the commerce of the two rivers, Connecti- cut and Thames. General Huntington immediately relinquished his mer- cantile concerns in Norwich, and removed to New London, taking posses- sion of his office, as the record states with characteristic accm-acy, "August 11th, 1789, 7 o'clock, A. M."* The appointments made for Norwich were : — Benajah LeffingweU, guager; Joseph Gale, measurer and weigher. The regular packets at that time running from Norwich to New York were the Juno, llobert Niles; the Venus, Christopher Vaill; and the Lady Washington, Stephen Culver. The Norwich Packet, Benjamin Culver, plied regularly to Newport, and the Swallow, Zephaniah Jen- * The first vessel entered at the new cnstom-house was the brig Sally, Capt. Moses Tryon, which arrived that morning from Capo Francois with a cargo of molasses. She was owned by Jeremiah Wadsworth of Hartford. 4T8 HISTORY OF NORWICH. nings, to Boston. Several other coasting sloops kept the river lively ; among them were the Lark, Jonathan Roath ; and the Royal Oak, Tim- othy Parker. The first clearances from Norwich for a foreign port, under the new collector, August, 1789, were : Sloop Sally, Frederick Tracy, for Martinico. Sell. Friendship, Absalom Pride, for St. Martins. Sch. Nabby, Joseph Pierce, for do. The earliest entries of note were : Aug. Brig Neptune, Hezekiah Perkins, from Hispaniola. " Enterprise, Jerahmeel Williams, with 690 tubs of salt. The ship Josephus, Elisha Huntington, cleared for Demerara, Sept. 12, 1789. A memorandum of her lading will give a good idea of a West India cargo. Her live-stock consisted of 62 horses and mules, a few cows, a yoke of oxen, and a dozen sheep and swine. Of provisions she carried 4500 bunches of onions, 18 hhds. of potatoes, 86 boxes of cheese, 18 firkins of butter, nearly 80 hhds. of beef and pork, 30 kegs of crack- ers, 34 bbls. of bread, and 30 bbls. of flour. She had a large amount of brick and lumber, planks, clapboards, staves, joints, and spars ; 115 water hogsheads ; a lot of pai-lor furniture, such as mahogany tables, green chairs and sofas, and a few saddles and bridles. We are struck with astonishment at the quantity of live-stock carried even by the smaller vessels, or sloops, popularly called horse-jockeys, in these voyages. That same season, the Betsey, Jabez Lord, took out 35 horses, and the Nancy, John Fanning, 36. These were small sloops.* The brig Neptune, which cleared Oct. 1st for Hispaniola, carried 49 horses. The Enterpriser, Isaac Williams, sailing for Demarara, Nov. 2d, besides provisions, brick, and lumber, cari-ied 20 horses, 17 cattle, 9 mules, 20 sheep, 20 swine, 150 geese, and 100 tui-keys.f The return cargo consisted of rum, molasses, sugar, wine, pimento, peppei", limes, tamarinds, sweetmeats, aniseed, bags of coffee, bales of cotton, tobacco, indigo, and salt. The trade to the northern coast of South America, especially to Dutch Guiana, was lucrative, and the cargoes brought from thence paid a higher duty than others. As an example of the success and spirit with Avhich * Capt. Isaac Hull was for many years engaged in the West India trade, sailing from New London in the employ of Norwich and New London merchants. In one of his voyages in the ship Minerva, (1798,) he carried 98 oxen on his deck. t The Enterpriser on her return from this voyage was libeled by the government for importing goods not contained in her manifest, concealing and delivering them at Nor- wich without a permit, viz., 13 hhds. spirits, 10 bales cotton, 1 bbl. sugar, 1 cask cocoa. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 479 this line of trade was pi'osecuted, and the risks run, take a horse-jockey sloop of 90 tons hurden, called the Prosperity, fittted out hy Joseph Wil- liams. We first notice her on a voyage to Essequiho, in March, 1790, with 38 horses on her deck ; Jerahmeel Williams, master. From that time she continued the line for eight or nine years, avei'aging two voyages per year. At her entry in March, 1792, the duties on her cargo amounted to $2,446, and in October of the same year, to $2,747. In one of her trips, (1793,) she carried out 40 mules, 12 horses, 190 sheep, and 25 swine, besides the usual variety of other lading. In 1799, she was taken by one of the bel- ligerent cruisers, found to have contraband goods on board, condemned, and forfeited. The brig Enterpriser, Hezekiah Freeman, entering from Essequiho in April, 1793, with goods to Joseph WiUiams and other merchants, paid an import of $3,241 ; the highest of any single Norwich cargo before 1796. The ship-masters were generally part owners of vessel and cargo. A large proportion of the merchants had been sea-captains, and it was no uncommon thing for them to alternate between trading at home and trad- ing at sea, — leaving their business with a partner, and taking command of a vessel to the Islands or to Europe. The names of Backus, Coit, Fitch, Perkins, &c., were borne by pei'sons as familiar with the deck as the counter ; with the ports in tropical seas, as with the departments of busi- ness at home. In point of fact, it was necessary that the captain of a merchant vessel should not only be an able mariner, but practiced in trade ; for he generally carried no supercargo, and transacted all the busi- ness of the voyage himself. Ships owned and chartered from the New London district, during the year 1791 : 9 shijis, 1 barque, 1 snow, 65 brigantines, 32 schooners, 57 sloops. Horses, cattle and mules exported, 7,403. During the year preceding, 7,072. What proportion of these were from Norwich, we have not the means of ascertaining. American commerce began to meet with its first serious obstructions in 1793. Ten years of great prosperity had multiplied the merchant vessels till they literally swarmed in the usual routes of trade. From sixty to eighty American vessels were sometimes reported as lying at once in a single port in the West Indies ; Cape Francois, for instance. The richest part of St. Domingo belonged to the French, with the islands of Martin- ique and Guadaloupe, and the trade to these French colonies was im- mense. In 1793, nearly 1400 American vessels, with a tonnage of 160,- 000 tons, were engaged in it. The stern edicts of France and England, the two belligerent powers, fell upon this trade with crushing weight* 480 HISTORY OP NORWICH. American vessels were seized, now by one party and now by the other, carried into port, and there libeled and condemned, the government and the captors sharing the spoils. By far the greater part of these destruct- ive seizures were made by the British ; they obtained possession of Mar- tinique and Guadaloupe, and preyed upon American commerce without restraint, condemning every vessel from a French port that carried sugar, cotton, or coffee.* Capt. John Fanning, of the bi'ig Union, arrived from the West Indies July 10, 1793. He reported that 200 sail of American vessels had en- tered the harbor of Cape Fran9ois between the 19th and 23d of June. While Capt. Fanning was there, a terrific battle was fought between the races : whites, mulattoes and negroes struggling for the mastery. The town was plundered and burnt, and it was said that 5000 persons were massacred. Many took refuge in the mountains, and others on board the ships in the harbor. At this period great numbers of refugees from St. Domingo came to the States, seeking an asylum. Norwich had her share of these unfortunate exiles. In May, 1794, Congress laid an embargo of thirty days duration. A war with Great Britain was seriously apprehended, and a general spirit of arming in defence of the country prevailed. Pubhc meetings were held in all the larger towns and thriving sea-ports of the Union, and patri- otic resolutions carried by acclamation. At New London the public meet- ing was held March 19 th. In Norwich the merchants convened on the 18th of April at the house of Elijah Lathrop: Ebenezer Huntington in the chair ; Thomas Fanning, clerk ; and drafted a memorial to Congress, com- plaining of British depredations, and urging immediate retaliatory action. This memorial was forwarded to the House of Representatives. But the storm at this time blew over. The difficulties with England were temporarily settled in November, by Jay's treaty, and American commerce resumed its flourishing course. It was still subject to many vexatious impositions, — to the plundering of French privateers and im- pressment by British men-of-war, — yet still it prospered. In the West India trade, the most hazardous undertakings were frequently crowned with splendid success. This encouraged entei'prise and kept the track lively with adventures for a second period of ten years. Never was any business more exciting. The gain was alluring, but the hazards were great. When a vessel left port often a shuddering fear of the deadly fever of the tropics must have swept through the minds of parting friends. It is wonderful that in a line of trade attended by such dangers there * Jan. 14, 1794. Capt. Meech, arrived from Cape Nichola Mole, in the schooner Polly, reports that all the West India Islands are in possession of the British, except Cape Francois and Aux Cayes. Norwich Weekly Register. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 481 should have been no difficulty in obtaining seamen. Young men were eager for the chance ; a crew was always at hand ; the love of adventure was stronger than the fear of shipwreck and death, and one of the great parental trials of the day was that the boys of the family were persever- ingly bent on going to sea. If a vessel was deficient in her crew, it was only necessary to hang out a signal to that effect from mast-head, and applicants would soon appear to fill the vacancies. Two successful voyages in a year appears to have been the climax of good fortune in the West India trade. A few instances have been noticed of three entrances or three clearances during the year, but none of three whole voyages with full cargoes in and out. In 1791, the schooner Chloe, Jabez Lord, entered 7 March, 15 June, and 3 Oct. In 1793, the brig Union, John Fanning, entered 11 March, 11 July, and 7 Dec. The brig Minerva accomplished fourteen voyages in a little more than five years, from Feb., 1801, to the spring of 1806: four under Capt. John French, the last seven under Capt. Sangar. The sloop Negociator, James Munsell, sailed with a cargo for the "West Indies, June 10, 1798, and returned into port July oOth, having completed her voyage in fifty days. This was noticed at the time as an example of a voyage remarkably short and prosperous. The voyage to or from the islands usually occupied from twelve to thirty days; to or from Demerara, from twenty to forty. The sloop Swallow in 1788 was fifty days on her passage from New London to Demerara, having met with opposing winds and heavy storms. In 1795, a list of vessels and tonnage belonging to the place was made out in order to favor a petition forwarded to government for the establish- ment of a post-office in Chelsea. The following is a copy of this list, taken from a draft in the hand-writing of Joseph Howland, Esq., than whom no man was better acquainted with the mai'itime affiiirs of the place. "List of Shipping belonging to the port of Norwich, October 12, 1795. Ship Mercury, 280 tons. Brig i Sally, 60 tons, " Columbus, 200 " " Betsey, 90 " " Modesty, 240 " Schooner Polly, 90 " " Young Eagle, 200 « Allen, 85 " " George, 364 " " Elizabeth, 75 " " Portland, 220 " " Chloe, 75 " " Charlotte, 90 " " Washington 65 " Brig Union, 130 " Schr. Shetuckct, 70 " " Endeavor, 120 (C Robinson Crusoe, 120 " " Friendship, 120 " Schooner Beaver, 60 " " Betsey, 130 « " Jenny, 70 " " Charlcstown, 60 " Sloop Farmer, 85 " " Polly, 180 " " Crisis, 72 " " Sally. 180 " " Honor, 65 " 31 482 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Sloop "Willicim, 70 tons. Sloop Mary, 45 tons. " Prosperity, 90 " " Hercules, 70 " " Polly, 80 " " Juno, 55 " " Negotiater, 90 " " Hunter, 45 " " Friendship, 90 " " Patty, 35 " " Bud, 35 " " Nancy, 70 * " " I Betsey, 45 " " • , 65 " Total seven ships, nine brigs, nine schooners, seventeen sloops = forty- two. Total 4312 tons, of which only 210 tons is owned in the old Parish, and 4102 is owned in the port or what is called Chelsea. The above does not include a number of river packets, or four New York packets." "When this list was made out, the shipping interest of the port had not reached its maximum of prosperity. Though it had suffered from the annoyances of foreign powers, it was in a condition to bear losses without being crippled in its pursuits. For several years after 1795, the importa- tions increased in value, and larger vessels were employed. Heavy car- goes were brought in from Jeremie, Cape Francois, and Martinique. In four successive voyages of the ship Hope, in 1797 and '98, two in each year, three with Elijah Clark, master, and one with Sylvester Bill, bringing rum, molasses, &c., to Howland & Bill, J. Perkins, and B. Coit, the duties were from $7,000 to nearly $9,000 each. The cargoes of the ship Sally, at this period, were still more valuable, three in succes- sion paying an impost of more than $9,000 each. Probably the highest duty ever paid by Norwich merchants on a single cargo was in October, 1798, when the ship Sally, John L. Boswell, enter- ing from St. Domingo, was charged at the custom-house $12,121. After 1800 the trade of the port was less flourishing, yet from twenty to thirty brigs, schooners and coasting sloops or packets were generally kept in active service, and "West India cargoes continued to arrive. The three-masted schooner Urania, the brigs Antelope, Atalanta, Dove, Hope, and Harriet, made a series of voyages, with varying success, under John and Thomas Backus, Christopher Colver, George Gilbert, Oliver Fitch, Francis Smith, &c., with goods to Jesse Brown & Son, Peter Lanman, Jabez Perkins, Jabez Huntington, Dwight Eipley, Thomas Lathrop, and others. The hostile decrees of England and France, though directed mainly against each other, struck heavily upon neutral commerce. From 1803, onward for several years, English ships of war were so numerous in the West Indies that it was scarcely possible for a merchant vessel to enter a port (windward or leeward) without being overhauled. Moreover, French privateers were active ; from sixty to seventy American vessels were taken by them and carried into Cuba during the year 1804. They were lurking in retired places, or traversing the more open seas, and it was equally haz- ardous to seek a market at an island belonging to either of the belligerent HISTORY OP NORWICH. 483 powers, or at the Dutcli and ^Spanisll ports on the main. It was a com> mon remark that American commerce was made the prey of all nations. The risks were often accepted. The merchants, rather than have their vessels idle at the wharves, chose the hazardous alternative of keeping them afloat, and continued to send out their ventures. Advertisements like the following were however becoming rare : " The beautiful staunch ship Thames, Jonathan Lester, will take a freight of thirty horses, cattle or mules, and 400 barrels inboard. Apply to S. Woodbridgc or M. Ben- jamin. " Oct. 7, 1806. Dr. Dwight, in his travels, written in the early part of the century, says of Norwich : '' Within the last twenty years the trade has sutyered severely from several causes ; particularly from fires and French depredations. From the latter source no towu within my knowledge has experienced greater losses, in proportion to its trading cap- ital. Its commerce, however, is still considerable." In 1808 the embargo was in force, but during the months of May, June and July, hj special permission^ vessels v,'cre allowed to depart. Seven brigs and two schooners, belonging to Norwich, took advantage of this license, and cleared, all for Martinico. The trade of Norwich from this period rapidly declined. The mer- cantile interest ceased to be productive; many were impoverished by their risks ; the most sanguine were discouraged, and failures were fre- quent. The following is a sample of an issue less disastrous than that of many of the voyages undertaken at that time. Arrived in New York, May, 1810, the brig Sally, Bingley, of Norwich, 27 days from Antigua. She had been taken by the French, retaken by the English, carried into Antigua, paid one-eighth for salvage and costs, and was then allowed to return home. In 1811, cargoes of considerable value were brought into Norwich from Cayenne, Demerara, St. Michael, and St. Bartholomew ; in all there were eight or ten arrivals that year, but in 1812 only three entries arc found. 26 Feb. arr. sip. Windham, John Doane, from St. Bartiiolomew with goods to D. Ripley, J. H. Strong, T. M. and Joseph Huntington. 19 June, arr. sch. Harriet, Alexander Allyn ; goods to D. Lathrop, C. Eells, and Lyman Brewer. 25 June, arr. brig Park, Joseph Bingley, from Angustura; goods to D. Ripley, Au- gustus Perkins, &c. ---'' These were the last arrivals before the war, and with these the palmy days of the West India trade terminate. During the six or eight years that preceded the war of 1812, more than a thousand merchant vessels had been captured and carried into British HISTORY OF NORWICH. ports for adjudication, and either wholly confiscated or compelled to puf large sums for salvage or redemption. But the greatest indignity offered to Americans was the practice of impressment and search which the British claimed and maintained as a right. Many a fine American sailor was clutched and forced into invol*- untary service on board of a British war vessel in this way. Two instan- ces in which the Norwich marine was compelled to yield a victim to these arrogant demands will be briefly noticed. In 1797, Avery Tinker of Norwich was impressed from on board the merchant ship Etope. At a foreign port he contrived to escape, and ulti- mately obtained refuge in an American vessel, but on the passage home tvas accidentally knocked overboard and drowned. In 1798, Charles, son of Stephen Barker of Norwich, enlisted in the armed schooner Galiot, ryhich sailed from New York for some foreign port under Capt. Hudson. On the voyage the schooner was upset in a squall, and the people taken from the wreck by a New York brig bound to Cadiz. They found that port blockaded by an English squadron, the commander of which overhauled the American brig, and impressed the whole of the crew that had been shipwrecked, except Capt. Hudson, transferring them to the Edgar, 74. Several of these seamen were probably never heard from by their rel^ atives. Three years afterward the father of young Barker received a letter from him dated on board the Edgar in the Baltic Sea, June 8, 1801, This was shortly after the terrific battle of Copenhagen, of which the writer gave some details, but the burden of his epistle was, that the doc* uments necessary to pi'ocure his release should be sent to him, that he might return to his country and his friends. The papers were forwarded, and repeated applications afterward made in his behalf, but in vain. The names of vessels are very suggestive. Some of those that we fin(3 on the Norwich roll sound well, and are indicative of good taste. Such are, the Rising Sun, the Lady Washington, the Young Eagle, the Minervaj, the Ariel, the Lark, the Olive, and tlie Dove. Others less euphonious, — Chloe, Nabby, Patty, Peggy, Deborah, and the like,— were doubtless de- signed to commemorate familiar names in the families of the owners. The brig Little Joe, and the sloop Little Nat, refer to two young members of the Howland family. Tlie brig Josephns indicates that Joseph Wil- liams, a large ship-owner, was interested in its success. The brig Esse- quibo Packet, and the ship Stabroeck, point to the commercial intercourse with Dutch Guiana. Negotiator, Enterpriser, Regulator, give an impres- sion of stability in their owners. The ship "Three Friends" probably originated from the amicable relations of three owners, Coit, Lanman an«3 HISTORY OF NORWICH. 485 Huntington. The ship Eleven Sons, of this period, owned in New Lon- don, and the schooner Nine Sisters, belonging to Connecticut river, were probably founded on fact, perpetuating rare instances of household rela- tion. The schooner Turn-of-tinies, built during the Revolutionary war, indi- cated the desire of the people for the return of peace ; but unfortunately it was captured before that blessed Turn-of-times came. One of the flour- ishing light sloops of New London was aptly named the Nimble-Ninepence. This also fell a prey to the enemy. Capt. Christopher Colver is now the oldest ship-master in Norwich, and the only one whose voyages reach back to the last century. Capt. Sylvester Bill, of nearly equal age, who commanded the armed ship Hope in 1797, died at New York in 1861, aged 91 years. Capt. Colver is a native of New London, but came to Norwich in 1790, and became master of a ship in 1802. After the war with Great Britain, he went into the European carrying trade, sailing principally from south- ern ports, and was constantly engaged for nearly thirty years. In the course of his voyages he has visited all the noted West India ports, and those on the northern coast of South America ; the Western and Madeira Islands ; Tangier, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Alicant, St. Ubes, Lis- bon, Havre, Bayonne, London, Liverpool ; several Irish ports, and Arch- angel in the Arctic ocean. He now enjoys a green old age, furnishing occasional marine reports for the newspapers, and occupying 'the same house in Franklin street which he pureluised in November, 1800. June Stli, 1865, he celebrated his 90th birthdaj. CHAPTER XXXVIII. European and other Foreign Trade. It has been heretofore observed that the merchants before the war had made direct importations from England. Two or three times in a year, a vessel sent out from this western Thames would accomplish its mission and work its way back again with assorted goods and the freshest advices from London. It seems to have been a point of honor to maintain an open communication between these granite hill-sides and the old world. After the peace was well established, this trade was renewed, but with diminished enterprise. It never became of much note or importance ; yet a few notices respecting it having been collected, may be worth preserving as personal incidents connected with the history of the times. They will be introduced here as an episode from the rushing tide of traffic that after the Revolutionary war set with steady current toward the tropics. The small size of the vessels employed in the European trade, and the length of the voyages, contrasted with the majestic march over the deep of an ocean steamer at the present day, exhibits in strong relief the ad- vantage of steam in facilitating intercourse with Europe. Memoranda of European Voyages after the Peace of Versailles. The brig Hancock, Capt. Hezekiah Perkins, sailed for Amsterdam in April, 1783; left that port on her return, August 18, but meeting with a heavy gale, put back to Deal to repair damages, and came fr<5m thence in 48 days, arriving at New London Nov. 4. In 1784, the brig Ranger, Capt. Robert McKown, made a voyage to London, where she arrived Sgpt. 24. Outward passage, 44 days ; return, GO. In November of that year, Howland & Coit sent to London "the strong- built double-deck brigantine Little Joe, Gurdon Bill, master," In 1785, Capt. Bill made two voyages to Europe in the Centurion, a ship of 1 GO tons, which was afterwards sent to Richmond, and there sold in April, 1786. Capt. Timothy Parker made several trips to Europe in the brig Katli- ei'lne. June ID, 1788, he arrived from the Isle of May ; July 22, cleai'ed • HISTORY OF NORWICH. 487 for Dublin with n cargo of pot and pearl aslies, timber, &c., and arrived again after eight weeks passage, Nov. 15. Voyages to Liverpool were also made before the year 1790, by Capt. Robert Niles and Capt. John Howland. In 1791, the sloop Success, I. Glover, went on a trading adventure to Copenhagen. A list of several successive voyages made by Captain Pride in the brigs Charlotte and Friendship, will serve as a fair sample of the nature and amount of the Irish trade at this period. Brig Charlotte, Absalom Pride, Jr. 1791. Entered from Liverpool 3 Nov : duties on the cargo 464.04. 1792. Cleared for Dublin 10 January, with flax-seed, pearl-ash, timber, trunnels, 3| tons sassafras, and 20 lbs. sarsaparilla. Entered, 5 July, with goods to Uriah Tracy, Simeon Thomas, &c. Duties 1186.87. Cleared 1 1 Aug. for Dublin. Entered 17 Dec ; duties 577.74. 1793. Cleared for Dublin 21 Jan. with 600 lbs. myrtle wax, 20 cords of wood, pot- ash, &c. Entered from Liverpool 18 July; duties 432.57. 1794. Entered 10 Feb. after a passage home of 95 days. 1795. 25 March cleared for Dublin, brig Friendshii), A. Pride Jr. with potash, planks, hides, staves, trunnels and horn-tips. These notices of lading show what articles found a market in Great Britain. One invoice had among its items 419 tierces of sumach. In 1796 a small ship was built in Norwich for the Irish trade, called the Ceres. vShe was commanded by Roswell Roath, and her first voyage was unusually prosperous, being absent only a week over three months, and bringing in a valuable cargo. But in her second or third voyage she was taken 23 days out by a French armed vessel, carried into a French port, and both vessel and cargo condemned. The Young Eagle was another small ship employed in this trade. She is first noticed as arriving at New London in November, 1793, from Os- tend, Elias Lord, master. She came in again under the same commander June 2, 1794, in 53 days from Liverpool, and continued for two or three years longer in this line of trade, Jedidiah Perkins, master. In 1798 the Irish trade was prosecuted by the brig Neptune, Perkins; sloop Endeavor, James Ilarlowe ; and schooner Eliza, B. Freeman. The Nc[)tune in a return voyage was boarded, July 17, by a French privateer of 1 G guns, called the Tiger, and plundered of several bales of dry-goods and crates of crockery. Letters were opened, and other enormities com- mitted. She arrived Sept. 2d, 71 days from Liverpool, with nothing left of her cargo but salt. In June, 1799, the schooner Victory, Harlowe, from Liverpool, con- signed to Thomas Mumford and Jabez Perkins, paid a duty of $2798.40: 488 HISTORY OP NORWICH. a very large amount, as the charges then ranged on European goods. The schooner Mary, Solomon Stewart, came from Liverpool the same season, with goods to Alpheus Dunham, Lathrop & Eells, Ebenezer and Erastus Huntington, and others. July 15, 1800, arrived ship Three Friends, Wm. Coit, Jr., 64 days from Liverpool, Avith goods to Jabez Huntington, Peter Lanman, and others. In April, 1801, arrived schooner Eliza, Benajah LefRngwell, in 65 days from Liverpool. The brig Ceres, so called in remembrance of the lost ship of that name, was built at Norwich in 1804 for the L'ish trade, Roswell Roath, com- mander. Her first voyage was to Cork, from whence she arrived at New York with ten passengers, which was then considered a large company of emigrants, Jan. 25, 1805. She came a few days later to New London, and reported "a tedious passage of 100 days from Newry." Vessels going to Spain and Portugal carried chiefly provisions and sil- ver dollars ; bringing back wines, fruits, brandy, drugs, and silks. 21 Feb. 1794, arrived sloop Honor, William Pollard, from Cadiz, with goods con- signed to Joseph Howland; duties 159.06. Left at Cadiz, sch. Patty, Ames, of Nor- wich. 28 Oct. 1790, arrived brig Eecovery, John "Webb, from Lisbon with goods to Joseph Williams ; duties 500.07. 11 March, 1796, entered from the Isle of May, Portugal, ship Mercury, Hezekiah Perkins J duties 851.40. These examples are sufficient to serve as illustrations of this trade. The brigs Neptune, Atalanta and Despatch were engaged in it. Captains "Whiting, Loring and Boswell were popular commanders. The experience of Norwich ship-masters was often employed in the service of other ports. Li 1801, we find Capt. Rockwell at Amsterdam in the ship Commerce, and Roswell Roath at London in the Juliana, New York vessels. Capt. Tracy commanded the ship Eugenia in voyages to Bordeaux. Other instances might be mentioned, and they became more numerous in later years. A New England ship-master, when business at home failed, was sure to find honorable employment either at New York or in some of the southern ports. Moreover the merchants of Norwich, New London, and other ports in Connecticut, were largely interested in New York shipping, and the imports made by them directly were often received via New York. In planning a commei'cial adventure, it was not uncommon to combine a fishing voyage with European trade. It saved the drain of silver to pay for imported goods. A license for fishing and a foreign passport were obtained, and the vessel cleared for the cod-fisheries and a market. Sev- eral Norwich schooners entered into this line of traffic, particularly be- tween 1802 and 1808. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 489 The schooner Mechanic, Capt. Berry, arrived at New London March 5, 1805, in 92 days from Barcelona, with a cargo of brandy to N. How- land and J. Brown ; duties $2198.14. Capt. Berry sailed the next month for " Green Island and Europe," in the brig Dolphin. The Norwich Courier, May 1, 1805, gives notice that a fleet of five brigs and schooners had dropped down the river, bound to the Straits of Bellisle on fishing adventures, and that four others were nearly ready to follow. These were the brigs Hiram, Austin ; Iris, Chr. Stanton ; Dol- phin, Berry ; and the schooners Betsey, Loring ; Amelia, Fitch ; Thetis, Hall ; Chelsea, Doane ; Jane, Berry ; and the Mechanic. These nine vessels were afterward reported safe at Green Island, and a part of them visited the Mediterranean before returning home. In 1806, the schooner Jane, Berry, from the Straits of Belleisle, bound up the Mediterranean, was taken by the English, on pretence of her attempting to go into Cadiz, and sent into Gibraltar, where she was cleared and proceeded on her voyage ; arrived late in the season at Bos- ton, GO days from Alicant. The ship Walter, Lord, was also taken by the British and ordered into Gibraltar, but was retaken by the captain, and went into Cadiz, from whence she returned to New York in safety. June 6, 1806, arrived brig Dolphin, Farewell Coit, 60 days from Alge- siras, with goods to Jesse Brown, Jr., Levi Huntington, and E. Coit & Co., paying a duty of $6454.10, which Ave believe to be the highest duty assessed on any one consignment from Europe to Norwich merchants. The Dolphin cleared in May, 1807, Saxton Berry, master, for Green Island and Europe, with license to trade, and came from Alicant in De- cember with goods to Jesse Brown & Son. But this peculiar line of business soon declined. Other ports Avere more favorably situated for engaging in the fisheries, and the New Eng- land vessels were all more or less annoyed by British comj)etitors, and sometimes driven from the ground. The commercial interests of Norwich, in their long progress, have been impeded by so many sources of discouragement, that their continued pur- suit displays a more than ordinary spirit of enterprise in the community. Unsuccessful investments of talent and capital seem only to lead the way to greater exertions and a more active perseverance. In 1799, a company was formed for prosecuting the sealing and whaling business. They fitted out the ship Susannah, and gave the command to Capt. James Munsell, an enterprising young navigator, who had made several prosperous West India voyages. The Susannah sailed from New London Oct. 15, going out under convoy of the U. S. ship Connecticut. She spent the next summer in sealing upon the coast of Patagonia, but being at last driven out to sea by heavy gales, she went into the river 490 HISTORY OF NORWICH La Plata, and from thence to Rio Janeiro, where Capt. Munsell died of the small pox. The ship was subsequently wrecked on the coast of Bra- zil, and vessel and cargo totally lost. Charles Fitch, the supercargo, and most of the crew returned home in safety. The schooner Oneco, fitted out by the same company, sailed only a week later than the Susannah. She wintered at the Falkland Islands ; took 5000 skins on the coast of Patagonia, ran up the border of Chili to Valparaiso for supplies, and was there seized and confiscated by the Spanish authorities. The same company purchased the ship Miantonomo, and fitted her for whaling. She sailed 5th September, 1800, under Valentine Swain, Jr., clearing for Canton, with the design of whaling upon the north-west coast of North America, and circumnavigating the globe on the voyage home. She was at St. Mary's, Pacific ocean, in April, 1801, but afterward on the coast of Chili became involved in difficulties with the Spanish authorities, from which she was never extricated. The Mars, sent out by the same company, and commanded by another Captain Swain, met with a similar fate. These vessels, all nearly new, well fitted, and with officers and crews carefully selected, after clearing at the custom-house, never again appear in our records. Most of the seamen returned, Avorking from one point to another in various ways, but enduring many hardships before they reached home. In 1798, an attempt was made to establish a direct intercourse with the East Indies. The ship Pacific, Solomon Ingraham, was sent out for the purpose of purchasing goods at Calcutta. She cleared at New London, May 14, "for Madeira and a market," and merely touching at Madeira, arrived at Calcutta in 200 days. She took out no cargo. The East India trade was then arranged on a different basis from what it is at present. The homewai'd cargo, consisting chiefly of cotton goods, was paid for in current money. Spanish dollars were therefore carried out as the medium of exchange. Since that period, bales of cotton and bills on London have been used, and the goods imported are saltpetre, indigo, various gums and dyes, &c. Capt. Ingraham sailed from Calcutta on the homeward voyage, March 14, 1799. A few days out, even before leaving Bengal Bay, he was taken by a French privateer, a prize crew sent on board, and the vessel ordered to the Isle of France. Just before reaching that island, a British man-of-mar discovered her, and pursued so closely that the French commander ran the craft ashore, and escaped with his crew. The British took the cargo for their prey, and burnt the vessel. Capt. Ingraham and John Hamilton, supei'cargo of the Pacific, with several other Americans that had been taken and carried to Mauritius, HISTORY OF NORWICH. 491 left the island in a cartel for Boston to be exchangecl. The A'essel on Hearing the coast encountered a violent gale, and was wrecked upon Cape Cod. Happily no lives were lost, and Capt. Ingraham arrived in Nor- wich Dec. 24, 1799. We find him in 1800 advertising Chinese and India goods, — ]Madras long cloths, Pekin and sinchew silks, bandannas, santa- fours, and Nansouk muslins, — received by the Nancy, another East India ship, in which h3 had an interest. Capt. Ingraham afterwards made two or more voyages to the East in the ship Virginia, sailing from New York. He died at Madras, Aug. 15, 1805, in the 40tli year of his age. Two of the sons of Thomas Hubbard, proprietor of the Norwich Courier, were for a considerable period residents in the East Indies. Thomas, the oldest, went to Calcutta in the early part of the century, and obtained a situation as printer, in connection with Dr. Hunter, who was the government printer and director of the Hindostanee press in that city. After his return home, he went into the commission business at Richmond, Va., of the firm of Hubbard & Lyman, but continued his coi'respondence with the East, and made in all four voyages to Calcutta and two to Batavia. He died at the latter place in 1817, in the 35th year of his age. Amos H.* Hubbard, at a very early age, followed his brother to Cal- cutta, and arriving there just as the latter left for home, took the place vacated by him in the printing office Avith Dr. Hunter. When the island of Java was taken by the British in 1811, the government press was removed to Batavia, by order of Sir Thomas Stamford Eafiles, the Eng- lish Lieut. Governor. Mr. Hubbard went with it, and Dr. Hunter dying soon afterward, the jnanagement of the press devolved upon him. He continued in charge, and printed the "Java Government Gazette," till the island was restored to the Dutch, nearly five years. He returned to this country in 1817, in the ship America, which had been chartered in New York by his order and was furnished by him with its cargo. A limited amount of trade with European ports, Lisbon, Bilboa, Liver- pool, &c., was kept up until broken off by the second war with England. A few more items will be given as specimens. 25 Feb. 1807 : arrived brig Maria, Moses Hillard, 60 days from Lisbon. May 9 : cleared for Nanlz, brig Traveller, Walter Lester; arrived, ou tbc return voyage, 29 October, 46 days from Bilboa. Ill 1809, tbc ship Stabrocck, Charles Rockwell, made a voyage to Cork and Liver- pool. In Jan. 1810, arrived from Liverpool, brig Fox, John Parker, with salt, coal, crates of crockery, &c., consigned to Roger Huntington and E. & E. Huntington ; duties, * Capt. Ingraham married in 1798, Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew Perkins. His house in Norwich was on the Plain, next to that of Rev. Walter King. Ho left no children. His relict married Capt. John L. Boswcll, being his second wife. 492 HISTORY OF NORWICH. $342.73. The Tox cleared for Cadiz the next July, and returned in November, — 42 days passage. The Chelsea, Chr. Colver, sailed for Alicant in January, 1810, Asa Fitch, passen- ger. On the return voyage, arrived 17 July, 106 days from Alicant, and 87 from Cen- ter, with goods consigned to Peter Lanman, Erastus Coit & Co., and others. The Chelsea sailed again in October, bound to Cadiz, under Farewell Coit, Aug. 3, 1811, arrived brig Dove, Colver, 63 days from Liverpool, passenger Roger Huntington. The same year Capt. Walter Lester made a voyage to Lisbon in the schooner Betsey, and in April, 1812, the Clielsea, Jonathan Lester, cleared at the cus- tom house for the same port, returning safely in Jnly. After Goddard & Williams entered into the flouring business at Nor- wich. Falls, their principal correspondence was with Richmond and other southern ports, but they sent one vessel to Europe, viz., the Ann & Mary, Robert N.Avery, which cleared at New London in November, 1812, with a cargo of flour. These were the last undertakings before the war. The direct transit to Europe ceased, and no Norwich vessel was again fitted out for that coast till 1833, when the ship Boston was sent to Bremen by Lester & Co. It has been already noticed that the vessels employed in this trade were of comparatively small capacity and measurement. But at that period the vessels of the larger ports, New York and Boston, were on the same lina- ited scale, insignificant in size and equipment, compared with the princely merchantmen of the present day. In the advertisements of the old traders, we often find notices of goods received direct from London, Bristol, Dublin, and Liverpool. Examples : Feb. 17, 1785. Thomas Fanning has just imported direct from London and now opened for sale at his store opposite his dwelling-house between the Town and Land- ing an assortment of European and India goods. 1787. John Moore has Irish linens and chintzes just from Dublin for sale. 1792, Woodbridge & Snow have for sale "teas direct from China; fresh Bohea, Hyson and Hyson-skin." 1793. Joseph Howland has for sale "Manchester goods direct from the manufac- turers." 1800. Jabez Huntington & Co. advertise "salt, nails, crockery, and hardware, direct from Liverpool by the ship Three Friends." 1804. "Peter Lanman Jr. imports from England and keeps for sale, crown glass, liardware, &c," CHAPTER XXXm. Memoranda op Disasters. We have tluis far spoken of the trade of Norwich chiefly In respect to its amount and success. It may not be amiss to review the ground, and chronicle a few striking incidents tliat diversified the scene and gave it a dark side. In September, 1783, Capt. Azariah Hillard, who sailed from Norwich in August, encountered a hurricane at sea, by which his vessel was over-" set, and all on board perished except Joseph Pierce, the mate^ who clung to the wreck, and after a feai-ful experience^ was taken off and returned home in safety* In August, 1785, the sloop Lydia, Zachariah Bill, was wrecked in a gale near St. Martin's ; the vessel and cargo lost, and one man drowned. In the same gale, two other sloops belonging to Norwich, St. Mark, Capt. Rossiter, and the John, Capt. White, were driven out to sea, and suffered coii?;iderable damage. March 5, 1786, Capt. Henry Billings in the schooner Humbird was cast away at St. Eustatia ; vessel and most of the cargo lost. During the winter of 1787, the schooner Virgin, Alpheus Billings, out- Ivard bound, was cast away on the coast of Demarara ; vessel and cargo lost. In February, 1788, the brig Clarissa came in from Port-au-Prince} her master, William Loring, had died on the passage home, just as they came upon the coast. The vessel touched at Elizabeth Islands, and buried Capt. Loring at Tarpaulin Cove, "that very cold Tuesday," Feb- ruary 5 th. March 24th, Asa Waterman, homeward bound from Port-au-Prince in the brig Fanny, was wrecked in a fog upon Narragansett Beach. In November, the sloop Polly, C. Cook, was lost at Deer Island on the coast of Maine. The people and part of the lumber saved. August 22, 1788, the brig Narcissa arrived from the coast of Africa, Zachariah Bill late master. Four days from the African coast, Capt. Bill died, and Capt. Mortimer took command, returning home by Demarara and St. Eustatia. 494 HISTORY OP NORWICH. In 1789, disasters were numerous. The sloop Nancy, Elias Lord, lost her whole deck-load of stock in a gale. Capt. Hezekiah Perkins, in the brig Neptune, bound to Aux Cayes, lost his mainmast and thirty-six horses. In the same gale the ship Josephus, E. Huntington, lost main and mizzen mast and nearly fifty head of cattle. In December, advices were received that Capt. John Howland of the schooner Modesty (who sailed from New London the last of July) had died at sea, as also his mate, Robert Wattles , Thomas George, a seaman, and Mr. Joshua Pico, merchant of Norwich, who went out with Capt. Howland as a passenger, for his health. During the same season, the whole crew of the sloop Lively, of Norwich, with the exception of the master, Capt. Mortimer, died on the African coast, of the deadly malaria to which that region is subject. In January, 1790, the brig Friendship, John Pierce, bound to Aux Cayes, was wrecked on the Isle des Vaches, and totally lost. The sloop Negociator, Zebadiah Smith, sailed for Demarara, Dec. 7, 1790, and in lat. 37° long. 74° was struck by a heavy sea, which swept the captain, who stood at the helm, overboard. The accident occurred at midnight, while a furious gale was I'aging, and nothing could be done by the crew to save their unfortunate commander. The voyage was com- pleted under Nathaniel Barker,* In March, 1794, the sloop Harmony, of Norwich, was met with at sea, not far from St. Domingo, drifting about, half full of water, with no one on board, her sails gone, and what rigging remained, useless. Apparently her whole crew had perished. In March, 1795, the brig Nancy, Capt. John "Webb, with a full cargo of rum and sugar from Jamaica, after touching at New London and taking in several passengers, sailed on the 12th for New York, and that same night was cast away on Eaton's Neck, and vessel and cargo lost. The passengers escaped with ditficulty ; among them were Dr. Benjamin But- ler, a large owner in the vessel and cargo, and his sister, Mrs. Denison. The ship Speculator, J. S. Billings, bound to the West Indies, met with a gale, eighteen days out, in which she broached to, overset, and had all her stock swept away. By cutting away the mizzen mast, she righted and became manageable, but having lost her voyage, she returned into port Nov. 11th. In 1796, many heavy losses were sustained, both from hostile elements and foreign belligerents. In March, Park Benjamin, in the brig Nancy, lost forty-five mules overboard in a gale of wind. Moses Benjamin, in the schooner Beaver, lost nineteen horses and two men. On his return * In September, 1792, Capt. Isaac B. Durkee, in tlie sloop Betsey, belonging to Samuel Woodln-idge, sailed for Enstatia, and before arriving there, discovered that two of his crew, whom he had shipped at Jfew Loudon, were females. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 495 voyage, Capt. Park Benjamin, having a cargo valued at $50,000, was carried into Grenada, wliere he was obliged to pay largely to get cleared, and during the detention, lost his mate and all his people by putrid fever. The schooner Chloe, J. Lord, and the Crisis, Cyprian Cook, were over- hauled and plundered by the French ; the Lucy, Gilbert, carried into Gua- daloupe, and vessel and cargo condemned. Jan. 11, 1798, arrived schooner Fair Lady, Moses Benjamin, after a dreary passage of 83 days from Demarara. The schooner Sachem, Jer- emiah Harris, cleared at the custom-house in April, bound to the Mole, but before reaching her port, was stranded on the North Caicus and went to pieces. T\vo very striking disasters, in which not the suffering vessels, but those which came to the rescue, were from Norwich, may be allowed a place in our chronicle. April 6, 1795, the sloop Prosperity, Park Benjamin, arrived at New London, 25 days from Essequibo, bringing in also the sliip Polly, David Baldwin. The Polly was 90 days from Demarara. In March, during a furious gale, she lost rudder and sails, and was thrown on her beam ends, ■which shifted her cargo and stove several hogsheads of rum. She was afterwai-ds driven off the coast seven times, till at last she was met and towed in by Capt. Benjamin. Li November, 1795, the ship Columbus, Capt. Lathrop, sailed for Charleston. On the passage she fell in Avith a schooner from Port Dau- phin, bound to Boston, with only one living man on board ; the others, five in number, had died of fever, a few days after leaving port. Capt. Lathrop put two of his men on board, and the vessel arrived safely at New London, where she discharged a valuable cargo. When the British obtained possession of the French Islands in 1794, those American vessels that chanced to be in the harbors were seized and many of them condemned and forfeited. The property of American mer- chants on the land was likewise in various instances confiscated. From the letter of a ship-master, dated at St. Pierre, March 2, 1794, to his fam- ily in Norwich, we give a short extract : "I have lost all my property by the surrender of St. Pierre to the Eii.iirlish. I have not only lost my vessel and cargo, but my weaiinj,^ apparel, bedding, books, quadrant, and all the money I had to the amount of 1700 dollars. Our friend and neighbor Capt. Fred. Tracy has shared the same fate." At this time the British commanders on the "West India station received orders to seize, detain, and bring to legal adjudication all vessels laden with the produce of French colonies or engaged in carrying supplies to said colonies. This decree and the coincident activity of French priva- teers made almost a clean sweep of the shipping then abroad. Congress 496 HIS TORT OP NORWICH. at the same time laid an embargo upon vessels in port, and for a short space there was a lull in marine affairs. The West India trade, however, soon revived, and was pursued under great hazard and difficulty. Indig- nities were heaped upon American seamen, and often, when not wholly confiscated, the vessels were ransacked from stem to stern, and plundered of many valuable articles. Of the Norwich marine that suffered in this Way, we can only notice a few instances. Capt. Frederick Tracy, taken by the English and carried into Mont- eerrat, lost a valuable cargo by the decree of the Admiralty Court. Capt. Glover was condemned at St. Kitts. Capt. Gilbert, after being deprived of part of his lading, was released. The French privateers, slipping out of the island ports, and waylaying the customary paths of commerce, caught many a rich prize, — -the courts before which the captured vessels were carried, being sure to condemn the cargo as contraband. Capt. Sangar in the schooner Chloe was captured, and he and his peo- ple stripped of every article of value, even to the clothing on their per- sons. The captain himself was set ashore at Laguira, barefoot. The vessel was afterward released, but at a later period was again captured, Ebenezer Gooley, master, carried into Guadaloupe, and never apjjeared in our waters afterward. In February, 1797, Capt. Webb, in a voyage to Jeremie, was taken and carried into Petit Guave, where he was detained ninety days, a quar- ter of his cargo taken, and he lost all his crew by sickness, except one man. Capt. Isaac Hull, afterward the veteran hero of the frigate Constitution, but then a ship-master in the AVest India trade, was repeatedly arrested in his voyages by hostile cruisers. He was taken in May, 1797, in the ship Minerva of New London, and lost both vessel and cargo. He returned home, and in July started on another voyage in the schooner Beaver, of Norwich. He was again captured and carried into Porto Rico, where he was once more condemned. In March, the brig Betsey, J. Lord, was taken by the French, carried into Guadaloupe, tried and released ; afterward taken by the English, car- ried into Tortola, and a second time tried and released. The Sally, Capt. Boswell, bound to Jeremie, with nearly ninety head of Btock on board, was taken by the armed brig Pandure, of fourteen guns, the privateer firing a broadside before hailhig. She took out twenty-one men, nearly the whole crew, and putting eleven Frenchmen in their place, ordered the vessel to a French port. Eight days afterward she was taken by an English brig, carried into a neutral port, and there given up to Capt. Boswell, half her cargo being retained for salvage. The brig Hannah, Park Benjamin, was also twice taken in one voyage, and after some loss and detention, released. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 497 The ship Young Eagle (returning from Liverpool in August) sailed Sept. 19 for the West Indies, under Absalom Pride, with no contraband goods whatever on boai'd. She was however taken by a French priva- teer, carried into port and condemned, solely upon the plea of not being furnished with a role d'equipage, or registry of the crew. The vessel was however redeemed by Capt, Pride. The Charlotte, Alexander Morgan, in a homeward passage from Dem- arara, was overhauled by a privateer sloop of four guns from Guadaloupe, and stripped of every thing valuable, even to the charts, books, clothes and cash of the officers. The Lark, Gilbert, was boarded and searched by an English twenty-gun frigate, and released, but was afterward twice chased by French privateers, from whom she barely escaped. Li March, 1798, the schooner Polly, Smith, was taken by an English vessel near St. Bartholomew, robbed of a negro boy, forty shoats, and $200 in cash, and then released. The continuance of these depredations made it imperative for trading vessels either to be furnished with means for self-defence, or to hover under the wing of an armed escort. Early in 1798, the ships Hope, E. Clark, and Sally, Buswell, were respectively fitted with an armament of fifteen and twelve guns, for the purpose of protecting themselves and others. They dropped down to New London in May, and were soon joined by seven brigs and schooners from Norwich, under Captains Ben- jamin, L. P. W. Chester, Cook, Gilbert, Lord, Billings, and Winchester, and several other vessels of the New London district, making a respect- able West Lidia fleet that sailed under their convoy. Tropical fevers during this season were intensely virulent. Capt. Bos- well of the Sally lost eight of his crew. Joseph Lanman, second mate of the Hope, died at sea, after leaving the Mole, to return home. Tliese two vessels arrived the 1st of October, crowded with French passengers. The Mole was about to be evacuated, and possession taken by the African Gen- eral Touissant. A fleet of thirty American vessels left the islands, under convoy of the Hope and Sally. It was in August and September of the year 1798, that the yellow fever raged with such fatal severity at New London. All vessels coming up the river were required to lie at quarantine near Bushnell's Cove, under the direction of the Health Committee. In February, 1799, an action took place ofi" St. Kitts between a French and American frigate ; the Constellation, Commodore Truxton, captured LTnsurgente. A regular war with France was now seriously appre- hended, and forcible seizures were made on both sides. A few more instances of the loss sustained by Norwich adventurers will be given, though not always perhaps in the true order of sequence. From the injuries that fell to the share of one small poit, some estimate 32 498 HISTORY OP NORWICH. may be formed of the ravages perpetrated on the whole American coast, by the belligerent powers, out of fierce indignation at our neutrality. Most of the seizures were made upon the plea of having contraband goods on board. Horses, one of the most profitable articles sent to the West India market, were contraband. The schooner Commerce, Samuel Freeman, bound to Martinico, was taken by the privateer L'Esperance, within an hour's sail of her port, and a prize-master with four men put on board. Capt. Freeman with a part of his crew were left with them. Watching his opportunity, he rose upon his captors, and after an obstinate resistance, in which one man was killed and others wounded, succeeded in retaking the vessel. Capt. Freeman in the conflict received three severe flesh-wounds from a cutlass. Unfortu- nately the privateer discovered that the Commerce was altering her course, and gave chase, compelling the captain at last to run the vessel ashore, among the breakers on the east side of Dominique, where she went to pieces. In 1799, the West India fleet belonging to Norwich sailed in January. It consisted of the armed ships Hope, B. Coit, and Sally, John McCarty ; the ship General Lincoln, E. Lord, J. Kelly supercargo ; schooners Fair Lady, Benajah Leffingwell, Friendship, J. Wiiiiamn, Favorite, B. Paine ; sloops Ncgociator, Munsell, and Prosperity, J. W. Brewster. Other ves- sels that had sailed in December, and were then out, were the brig Bay- onne, Satterlee ; schooners Lark, Gilbert; Harriet, Webb; Jenny and Hannah, G. Bill ; Chloe, E. Cooley ; and sloops Despatch and Fai-mer. The Hope and Sally were bound to Barbadoes. They came home by Havana, with rich cargoes, and ai'rived safely, but the Sally had lost half her crew by sickness. The Hope sailed once more, in August, under Sylvester Bill, but on her return voyage was captured by a French pri- vateer. The Hope had fifteen guns, and the privateer only four, but the French conquered by stratagem. They had eighty men in their vessel, ■and dressing a part of them in women's apparel, decking the ship witli garlands, and filling the air with joyous songs and shouts, they deceived Capt. Bill, who, as they were near the land, took it for a coasting vessel with a pleasure party on board. He was boarded and his deck covered with armed men, before he had opportunity to make any resistance. The General Lincoln, only three days out of New London, in a heavy gale, lost her second mate, Elisha Reynolds, overboard, and had 50 head of stock swept away. She however pursued her voyage, and returned in May with goods consigned to G. L'Hommeiieu, John Converse, &c. The Fair Lady lost, by sickness, the mate, Oliver Barker, and two sea- men. The Favorite was arrested by a privateer on her outward voyage, and plundered of all her small stock, cabin stores, furniture, charts, and instru- HISTORY OF NORWICH. 499 ments, and tlien released. Capt. G. Bill's schooner and the sloo]i Pros- perity were both seized, cai'ricd into Gnadalou})e, condemned, and for- feited. 1800. The brig Harriot, Francis Smith, in a return voyage from Demarara, was taken and sent into Martinique, but having nothing con- traband on board, was liberated, and proceeded on her voyage. Before reaching the coast, she was taken by an English armed vessel and sent into St. Kitts, where she was tried by the court, released, and came from thence in 27 days. The schooner Fair Lady, J. "Williams, was taken by a French armed vessel called " Conquest of Italy." A prize crew were put on board, and she was ordered into a French port. Capt. Williams was detained on board the privateer, which was fortunately soon after captured by the Connecticut sloop-of-war, Capt. Ti-yon. The schooner Paragon, Jonathan Lester, captured by the French, was re-captured by the English and taken into an English port. After paying a salvage of one-third of her cargo, and all the costs, she was suffered to proceed on her voyage. Tiie brig Caroline, Harvey "Winchester, was taken, plundered, scuttled, and sunk. The crew were carried to St. Kitts, and there detained for some time as prisoners. Capt. Leffingwell in the ship Patty, while at Jamaica, had most of his crew prostrated with the yellow fever. Jedidiah Kelley, supercargo of the vessel, and Joshua Walworth, died before leaving the port. Ship Sally, McCarty, leaving Liverpool with a lading of salt, when just oif the harbor, went ashore near tlie Queen's Dock, and both vessel and cargo were lost, September, 1800. The brig William, Samuel Freeman, foundered at sea, Sept. 10, 1800. Her stock was swept overboard ; she was dismasted, lost her rudder, and in this situation the crew remained ten days, when they were taken off by a Spanish vessel and carried to the South American coast, one man only being lost, viz., William Roath. Capt. Freeman came home from the Bay of Honduras with Capt. Sparrow in the brig Despatch. Tlie wreck was found at sea by one of our vessels, towed into Newport, brought round to the West Chelsea ship-yard, and refitted for new service. The same season, Capt. Hezekiah Freeman, in the brig Ann, durin" a violent gale, had all his stock swept overboard, — in sailor language, sent down as a tribute to Davie Jones. The brig Favorite, Capt. Bruraley, was likewise dismasted. Capt. Gilbert, in the brig Three Sisters, foundered at sea and lost both vessel and cargo ; the crew clinging to the wreck, were at last relieved. Many such disasters occurred in the terrible hurricane season of Septem- ber, 1800, and similar incidents continue to stream along the current of 500 HISTORY OF NORWICH. West India trade from year to year. We can not follow the list with con- secutive detail, or anything like exhaustive accuracy. 1801. The new brig Resolution, Alpheus Billings, bound to Demarara, was taken 27 days out and sent to Guadaloupe. The captain and crew were detained several weeks, most of the time in prison, and then sent in a cartel to St. Kitts. They reached home in July. 1803. The bi-ig William lost while in the West Indies, Capt. George W. Palmer, master, Samuel Hyers, mate, and three seamen, by sickness. In July, 1804, four vessels from Norwich cleai'ed at the New London custom-house nearly at the same time : Brig William, John Brown. " Dove, John McGowty. " Fortune, Charles Billings. Schooner Betsey, Christopher Colver. They all sailed before the first of August, and were often within hailing distance or in sight of each other while on the voyage, and one afternoon three of these vessels, the William, Fortune, and Betsey, while sailing in the tropical seas, the air being calm and the ocean smooth, ran along side by side, and the crews called to each other and conversed from the hay- stacks on deck, where they were eating their supper. That very night a tremendous hurricane swept over those seas, and neither the William or the Fortune were ever heard from afterward ; the destruction being so complete that no memento of their fate was found. But of this hurricane, so narrow was its scope, the only influence that reached Capt. Colver was a magnificent billowy swell of the sea, rolhng him on and following him for two days.* A monumental inscription in the Chelsea burial-ground shows that the family of Capt. Alpheus Billings had a heavy share in the loss of the Fortune. This monument is erected to the Memory of Capt. Charles Billings aged 32 years, and James F. Billings aged 18 years, and Benjamin Billings aged 15 years. Sons of Capt. Alpheus and Mrs. Elizabeth Billings, and also of Mr. David Barber, a son-in-law aged 26 years. Who were lost at sea in September, 1 804, in the Brig Fortune. * These facts are derived from Capt. Colver, who, at the age of 90, in the possession of a o-ood deo-ree of health and mental vigor, is still to be seen almost daily, taking his accustomed walks and lingering upon the wharfiige by the river. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 501 Jan. 20, 1804, the sloop Ruby, Jonathan Roath, seven clays from Nor- tblk, was wrecked on Block Island. A tempestuous snow-storm raging at the time, and the weather extremely cold, the crew escaped with dilficulty. The next day the vessel went to pieces. Capt. Francis Smith had sailed for several years in the brig Hai-riot, meeting with all the varieties of good and bad fortune. His arrival from one of these voyages, when some apprehension prevailed that the brig was lost, is thus noticed in the Norwich Courier, April 11, 1804: " It is with pleasure wc announce the safe arrival of the brig Harriet, Capt. Smith, after a passage of 70 days from Demarara, having experienced very heavy gales of wind on the coast, which drove her off nine times and so much damaged her sails and rigging as to render them useless." Capt. Smith sailed again in June, and left Demarara on the return voyage Aug. 21st, but on the 5th of September encountered a heavy gale from the south and east, which increased to a hurricane. The next day, while lying to under bare poles, the brig was knocked on her beam ends, and the bowsprit and foremast swept off. By cutting away the mainmast the vessel i-ighted, and the crew succeeded in rigging a jury foremast and a bowsprit. But the sea running high, the vessel leaking, and the spars and rigging all expended, so that they could make no after sail, and meet- ing for several days only vessels in distress, they abandoned the wreck and took to the boats, and were fortunately relieved by a vessel that landed them in Virginia. The brig Ontario, (Henry Eldridge,) owned by Jesse Brown, Sen., in a homeward voyage from Martinique, was wrecked upon the Elizabeth Islands, March 9, 1805. The crew were saved, but the vessel, with its valuable cargo of sugar, cocoa and coffee, was lost. In the loss of men from marine pursuits, Norwich suffered less than New London and some other ports, yet her victims were neither few nor far between, as the following mortuary list of a single year, gathered at this distance of time from the scanty memorials extant, will testify:. Deaths at Sea during the year 1805. Isaac Loring, of the brig Despatch, at Demarara. Joseph Brewster, at the same place. Capt. Jeremiah Harris, aged 35, at Martinique. William, son of Jesse Brown, do. William, son of Elkanah Tisdale of Lebanon, do. Henry Loring, of brig Iris, drowned at Green Island. John Batty, aged 21, of sch. Mechanic, at sea. John Wedgo, aged 21, at sea. Jolm Gary, at sea. Ilezekiah, son of Capt. Daniel Mcech, of Preston, aged 22. Charles E. Trumbull, aged 24, at sea. 502 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Connected with the marine intelligence, during the latter part of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, frequent allusions are made to the civil conflicts that convulsed several of the islands, and particularly St. Domingo. The following is an instance : April 14, 1804, a ship from Cape Francois came into Long Island vSouud with 300 men, women and children on board, who had escaped with their lives and came as exiles to this country, leaving their homes to de- vastation. Capt. Frederick Tracy of Norwich was also on board. He had been for some years engaged in business at the Cape, and fled with the rest at the approach of the ruthless invader. The vessel went into New York. The most melancholy marine disasters are those which are shrouded in uncertainty. A vessel disappears, — it is heard from no more, and is sup- posed to have been ingulfed by the ocean, but no one returns to relate how and when the catastrophe happened. The hearts of friends are long ago- nized with alternate hope and dread, while imagination brings up dark pictures of a cruel death from pirates, a wreck upon desert islands, or a wearisome captivity in barbarous lands. Capt. Z. P. Burnham -was a ship-master of m^ny years experience, beginning with 1790. He had retired from the sea to mercantile pur- suits, but was persuaded to make one more voyage, and left the coast, bound for TenerifFe, March 10, 1810, after which no tidings of vessel or crew were ever received.* His fate seemed a duplicate of that of his uncle, whose name he bore, — Capt. Zebulon Perkins having perished before the Revolutionary war, in a similar way. The same darkness rests upon the fate of Capt. Elisha Leffingwell. He left New London for the Gulf of Mexico in October, 1825, and is supposed to have foundered at sea. He was 47 years of age. His eldest son perished with him, in his 15th year, * Capt. Burnham was about 44 years of age. His relict, the oklcst daughter of Elisha Hyde, Esq., second Mayor of the City, born Oct. 11, 1776, is still living, and resides with her son, Elisha Hyde Burnham, at Newstead, N. Y, She has been 65 vears a widow. CHAPTER XL. Emigration. We have already adverted to the emigration from New London county to Nova Scotia. A fair proportion of these settlers went from Norwich, but no list of names or families has been obtained. Several of the first proprietors of the townships of Canaan and Leba- non in New Hampshire were from Norwich and its neighborhood. Leb- anon was surveyed in 1761, by a party of seven or eight men who spent the winter there in a temporary hut reared in the wilderness, laying out farms and clearing the way for regular habitations. Lands in this north- ern province were at first purchased on speculation. Andrew Perkins, among others, obtained the title to large tracts in Canaan, Hanover, and Cardigan. These proprietors sold out in smaller sections or farms to actual settlers. Chapman, Harris, Hyde, Lathrop, Post, Tracy, and other names indigenous to the Nine-miles-squai*e, were transplanted to parts of New Hampshire and Vermont at various periods between 17 GO and 1800. Norwich in Vermont owes its name to the retrospective tenderness of some of these emigrants for their former home. Capt. Jedidiah Hyde gave name to Hyde Park in Vermont. Elisha Tracy, about the year 1790, was largely interested in the pur- chase and sale of lands in the neighborhood of Chelsea, Vt. Several families from Norwich removed thither, and probably gave the name of Chelsea to the place. Norwich in Massachusetts, settled a few years before the Kevolution, also testifies by its name to the original home of some of its most conspic- uous founders. The first Congregational minister was Rev. Stephen Tracy, a native of our Norwich. John Kirtland, a useful and infiuential member of the young community, went from Newent society. The Wyoming valley of Pennsylvania collected a quota of its early inhabitants from Norwich. This fine tract of land, twenty miles in length and three in breadth, with the noble Susquehanna winding through it was in ancient times the favorite seat of the Delaware tribe of Indians. Con- necticut claimed the jurisdiction, as it lay within the bounds of her orig- 604 HISTOEY OF NORWICH. inal charter, and the natives having become few and scattered, two com- panies were formed for the purchase, exploration and settlement of the country. The Susquehanna Company, which was organized at Windham in 1753,* consisted of several hundred subscribers. This Company made the Wyoming purchase of the Six Nations, at a council held at Albany in 1754. The Delaware Company purchased a tract east of this, extending to the Delaware river. The fii'st settlements at Wyoming were broken up and a part of the emigrants slaughtered by the Pennamites, or settlers under the claim of Pennsylvania. It is not known that any of these first adventui'ers were from Noi'wich. In 1768, five townships were laid out, and each granted to forty persons who engaged " to man their rights," that is, make actual settlements upon them. These were afterwards named Wilkesbarre, Hanover, Kingston, (at first called Forty-town,) Plymouth, and Pittston, comprising the heart of the valley. To settle these towns, a large emigration went from Con- necticut. Among the leading men were Zebulon Butler from Lyme, Na- than Denison from Stonington, and John Durkee from Norwich, — each accompanied by a party gathered from his neighborhood. These measures, so far as Norwich was interested, were the result of individual enterprise. The only allusion to the western lands, on the town records, is the following: Sept. 12, 1769. Voted to apply for a grant of 20 miles square of the Colony lands lying west of, and adjoining to, the Susquehannah Purchase with ample right to pur- chase the native right to said lands. — Samuel Huntington to act as agent. The pioneers to these western wilds encountered great obstacles, and were so repeatedly broken up, or harrassed by the Pennamites, that a few were discouraged and returned to their old homes, but the greater part remained firm at their posts, and at length obtained quiet possession of the country. The several Connecticut colonies thus established at Wyoming, were organized March 2, 1770, into one town, or district, called Westmoreland, and attached to Litchfield county. It remained for eight or nine years under the jurisdiction of Connecticut ; deriving its laws from the colony, and sending representatives to its assembly. Before 1775, it contained 2,000 inhabitants. On the monument in Wyoming, erected in memory of the victims of Indian and tory cruelty in the fatal attack of July 3, 1778, the names of Durkee, Ransom, Waterman, Avery, Crocker, Hammond, Marshall, * Miner's History of Wyoming. HISTORY OF NORAVICH. 505 Palmer, Reynolds, and others, indicate their origin, and remind us of our ancient towns-people.* The original proprietors of Warwick and Bedford in Pennsylvania were from Norwich. The former of these towns was surveyed by Zachariah Lathrop in 1773. The committee of the first and second Delaware purchases were Eben- ezer Baldwin, Jabez Fitch, Joseph Griswold, Isaac Tracy, Elisha Tracy, Nehemiah Waterman, and Dudley Woodbridge, all of Norwich. Azariah Lathrop was a large pi'oprietor of the township of Huntington, in the first Delaware purchase. The Wyoming settlements were devastated and almost destroyed dur- ing the Revolutionary war, and remained for a long period in a disturbed and hazardous condition. Various companies and different races of men struggled for several years with one another and with the wolves, pan- thers, and poisonous serpents, for the possession of this fertile valley. From 1795 to 1800, there existed in Connecticut a mania for emigra- tion. The reports of exploiters and the letters written home by pioneers, while they spoke of innumerable hardships and privations, only increased the thirst for adventure. Yet emigi-ation at this period was a serious undertaking, and friend bade adieu to friend with almost as much solem- nity as at the gates of another world. To say of one, " He has removed to the Susquehannah country," — "Started for Muskingum,"— " Gone to the Genesees," — were vague and mysterious announcements, almost equiv- alent to a departure for another planet. But still the romance of the en- terprise threw a veil over its discomforts. Elisha Hyde and Elisha Tracy were' largely interested in the Susque- hannah purchase, and made several visits to the country for the sale and survey of lands. Andrew Tracy, secretary of the Delaware Company, sold his farm and his mills and dwelling-house on Bean Hill, and removed in 1798. Other emigrants to Luzerne, of that early period, were Colonel Eleazar Blackman and John Robinson of Lebanon, Jabez Hyde of Frank- lin, and Andrew Beaumont of Bozrah. A considerable company went with Col. Ezekiel Hyde in 1799, and established themselves at Rindan on the Wyalusing. Enoch Reynolds opened the first assortment of goods at that place. He was afterward an officer of the Treasury Department at Washington. Lathrops, Birchards and otlier Norwich families settled upon the Wyalusing and at Ruby. Capt. Peleg Tracy and his brother Leonard, and Capt. Joseph Chap- man, a revolutionary patriot and ship-master, were men of note and influ- ence among the emigrants. Even th* women that belonged to these parties were sustained above fear and discouragement by a spirit of chivalric determination. Lydia * Peck's Wyoming, p. 385. 506 HISTOEY OP NORWICH. Chapman, a daughter of Capt. Joseph, went out in the year 1800, with her younger bi'Others, to join her father. She was the only female in a considerable party of emigrants, and was sixteen days on the journey, in the variable, damp, restless atmosphere of a February without snow. Not a murmur escaped her, and her noble patience and cheerful hope animated and sustained her companions. She afterwards married a Norwich emi- grant, G. W. Trott, a physician of Wilkesbarre.* Her brothers, Isaac A. and Edward Chapman, were men of more than common talent. Ed- ward, though he died young, had exhibited proofs of poetical genius. He is the author of the well-known song, — " Columbia's sliores are wild and wide." From this brief survey of the "Wyoming emigrants the name of Charles Miner must not be omitted. Born under the shadow of Meeting-house Hill, Feb. 1, 1780; the son of a revolutionary soldier, educated at the Lathrop school on the Plain ; social in disposition, with a vigorous, inquir- ing mind, he carried with him to Wyoming and ever retained a vivid im- pression of what Norv/ich was at the beginning of the century.y He learned the printer's trade with Col. Samuel Green in the Gazette office at New London, and after his settlement in Pennsylvania, united with his brother Asher, who had preceded him in emigrating to the "Wy- oming valley, in publishing the "Lucerne County Federalist." Thia paper, which they established in Wilkesbarre in 1801, was continued for thirteen years. Mr. Chas. Miner was afterward editor of "The Gleaner," and still later of the " Village Record," published at Westchester. The Gleaner was enriched with a series of discursive essays, " From the Desk of Poor Robert the Scribe," which came from Mr. Miner's pen. He is also the author of an interesting History of Wyoming, published at Phil- adelphia in 1845, and was a member of Congress from Westchester dis- trict from 1825 to 1829.1 Several parts of Ohio, even before 1790, were sprinkled over with names familiar to this neighborhood, viz., Adgate, Armstrong, Hartshorn, Kinsman, Kingsbury, LefRngwell, Perkins, Tracy. Marietta in her be- ginning obtained some of her most efficient settlers from Norwich. Dud- * The wife of the Hon. G. W. Woodward is their daughter and only child. t See Letter of Charles Miner in Appendix to Norwich Jubilee, for a graphic sketch of Norwich up-foivn. Mr. Miner visited Norwich in 1839, with his son. The old dwell- ing-house in which he had been reared was gone, but he went up the hill on the slope of which it had stood, saying he must look for the Brown Thrasher's nest that he left titer e. t While this work has been going through the press, his death has been p.nnounced. "Hon. Charles Miner died at Wilkesbarre, Oct. 26th, 1865, in the 8 6th year of his HISTORY OP NORWICH. 507 ley TVoodbridge went thither in 1788, and though afterward returning for a season, removed with his family in 1794.* Elijah Backus was another early inhabitant of note and influence, who went from Norwich. The beautiful town of Norwich in Chenango county, N, Y., is another place to which our Norwich between the rivers stood sponsor. Preston in the same county joins Norwich, and was originally a part of it, acting over again the old neighborhood of our Norwich and Preston. Oxford, also in Chenango county, derived some of its founders from the same fountain-head. Dr. Benjamin Butler in the year 1800 advertised twenty farms for sale within two or three miles of Oxford court-house. In May, 1798, a vessel sailed from Stonington for Albany, with families gathered from neighboring towns, that were on the way to found new homes in the Unadilla region. The pleasure and convenience of keeping up an intercourse between these emigrants to the West and the friends and possessions left behind, led to the inauguration of a peculiar species of vehicle, viz. : Hartshorn's Stage-wagon. This was a ponderous house-like machine on wheels, drawn by six horses, which made six or eight regular trips per year to Chemung, Ger- man Flats, &c., carrying passengers, letters, and freight. Its arrival at Franklin and Norwich was hailed with enthusiasm, as it was sure to bring intelligence from distant friends. The letters sent home were filled with interesting narratives of hardships endured and dangers encountered, with many a cheering episode relating to jovial parties and rural pas- times. f The Western Reserve, called also New Connecticut, was a territory belonging to the State of Connecticut, which lay on Lake Erie, west of Pennsylvania. It contained three millions of acres. The Fire-Lands, comprising the western portion of 500,000 acres, had been granted by the State to those towns in Connecticut which suffered from the torch of the enemy during the Revolutionary war. In 1786 the General Assembly passed an act to survey and dispose of the remainder of the territory. Hon. Benjamin Huntington of Norwich Avas one of the three commission- * He died at Marietta, in 1823, at the age of 76. His children were all natives of Norwich. Dudley, the oldest son, died at Marietta in 1853. The second son, Hon. Wm. Woodbridgo of Detroit, was Governor of Micliigan in 1839, and U. S. Senator from 1841 to 1847. t Tlie Norwich Packet published an account of a terrific combat between four men and a bear, which took place June 6th, 1797, at Norivkh, the \Uh township on the Una- dilla river. The four men were Doctor Dan Foote, Enoch Marvin and his son, and a hired man. Three of them were badly wounded, but the animal was finally conquered, and weighed when dressed, 260 lbs. 508 HISTORY OP NORWICH. ers appointed for this business. In 1795, it was sold to a Land. Company organized for this object, and under their management the whole three millions of acres, then an almost unbroken wilderness, was surveyed and distributed into townships and farms, and offered to settlers on easy terms. This territory now forms a tier of counties in the northei'n part of Ohio. The settlement commenced in 1796. General Joseph "Williams of Norwich was a prominent member of this Land Company. Daniel L. Coit, another of the original purchasers, devoted time, labor, means and influence to promote the settlement of the country, and made repeated visits thither, undismayed by the long and wearisome journey. Among the new towns founded, Williamsfield and Coitsville perpetuate the names of these patrons. Wheeler W. Williams, who went from Norwich, built in 1799, with his partner. Major Wyatt, the first grist-mill and saw-mill in the Western Reserve. A greater benefit could scarcely have been conferred upon this new country at that time. The towns of Norwich, Huntington, Kinsman and Kirtland, in this range of territory, indicate by their names the origin of some of their first settlers. Col. Simon Perkins of Lisbon, a Revolu- tionary officer, removed with his family to Warren, Ohio. The Hon. Samuel Huntington, one of the most distinguished of these emigrants to the Western Reserve, left Norwich with his family in May, 1801, and settled first at Cleveland, but afterwards at Painesville, where his children and descendants still reside. The new country found in him a useful and efficient magistrate. He was Colonel of the militia, Judge of the Supreme Court, and Governor of the State from 1808 to 1810. He held also a great variety of other offices, by which he promoted the public welfare, and merits the honor of being reckoned among the found- ers of Ohio. He died at Painesville, June 8, 1817, aged 49. The first settlements upon these wild lands were made by small bodies of emigrants, scattered at considerable distances from each other, some amid dense woods, and others near the Indian borders. Consequently they suffered much from the horrors of the wilderness, as well as for want of food and clothing. Wonderful were the accounts occasionally received concerning their hardships and adventures ; more thrilling even than the first experience of the early settlers at Wyoming.* Governor Hunting- ton, while riding through the woods, was attacked by a pack of wolves, * The following incident was related in a letter sent home by a family that had removed to the banks of the Muskingum, Two young women who had newly arrived in the settlement, were out gathering berries. They had never heard the war-whoop, and a young man who was their companion proposed to amuse them with a sample. He had no sooner uttered the terrible cry, than to their great consternation it was an- swered by another whoop, prolonged and loud, from a distant hill, and a moment after- ward by still another from the depth of the forest. The affrighted party hastened back to the protection of their fort. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 509 from which he only escaped by the fleetness of his horse. A party of young people gathering berries near the Muskingum, suddenly alarmed by sounds of the war-whoop rising from the thickets near them, retreated in wild dismay to the protection of their fort. A cabin was buried by the snow, and three days elapsed before the family was extricated. A boy kidnapped by the Indians, had become almost a man before he was re- leased. The tomahawk and scalping-knife, savage beasts and deadly ser- pents, figured largely in these tales. CHAPTER XLI. Miscellanies. Bean Hill. The Town Plot. Biographical Sketches. After the Revolutionary war, and onward into the next century, the Town-plot or First Society continued to be the center of influence and activity, resonant with the hum of business and the clamor of mechanical operations. Upon Bean Hill, Witter's and Hyde's taverns displayed their signs, and several flourishing stands of dry-goods and groceries, offered for sale by Daniel Rodman, Col. Rogers, Samuel Woodbridge, &c., kept the platform lively with shopping and social activity. Here also, in a bend of the Yantic, a saw-mill, grist-mill and oil-mill were grouped to- gether and known as Tracy's mills, but sold by the proprietor, Andrew Tracy, upon his removal to Pennsylvania in 1798, to Hyde & Hosmer. Capt. Joseph Hosmer, of this firm, died in 1805. Samuel Woodbridge was afterward of the firm of Woodbridge & SnoW) at the Landing. The old stand on Bean Hill, where he and his father-in- law, Col. Rogers, had traded, was advertised for sale several years later, with this brief recommendation, — Money has been made there, and can be again. Aaron Cleveland, a man of wonderful versatility of talent, was another noted dweller upon the hill. He carried on the hat business, but at the same time wrote poems, essays, lectures and sermons upon all the prom- inent subjects of the day, social, political, and religious. His speeches in public and his private harangues, his exhortations at meetings and his stirring articles in the newspapers, were always thrown in to swell the current in favor of religious truth and human freedom. The Hydes and Huntingtons of Bean Hill, with a sprinkling of Water- mans and Tracys, were sufficient of themselves to foi'm a community. Capt. James Hyde, born in 1707, had a family of five sons^nd one daugh- ter. One of the sons was the Rev. Simeon Hyde, who settled in the min- istry at Deerfield, N. J. The others, Ebenezer, James, Eliab, and Abial, with the daughter Abiah, who married Aaron Cleveland, occupied neigh- borino' homesteads, and are all well remembered by many now on the stage of life. The father lived to be 87, with these four sons quietly flourishing around him, — blameless men, and excellent citizens. None of them emi- grated ; all lived into the present century, and all lie buried in Norwich. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 611 The four Huntington brother?, sons of Dea. Simon, were also dwellerv's upon the hill, or on neighboring farms, and have a similar history. Far different has it been with the children of these grave householders. As they grew up to manhood, they took wing and flew away to other boweries, and the descendants are scattered from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. Erastus, the youngest of the Huntington brothers, had nine sons ; six of these removed to Cincinnati. The descendants of those energetic ship-masters, Jared and Frederick Tracy, in like manner, leaving Norwich in their youth, may be traced to many varied scenes of active business life : to Vermont, Utica, Whites- boro, Boston, New York, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Porto Rico. Capt. Arunah "Waterman and his three sons, Thomas, Azariah, and Joseph, removed with their families, about the year 1801, to Johnson, Vermont. Descendants of Ebenezer Thomas, (who came from Duxbury and set- tled in the town -plot about 1730,) may likewise be traced to far distant homes in the west and south.* Before leaving this district, we would notice that Miron Winslow opened a retail store on Bean Hill in June, 1811. This was the Rev. Dr. Winslow, missionary for forty-five years in Ceylon and Madras, who resided in Norv/ich a few years before entering into the service of Vm- American Board, and was here married to his first wife, Harriet W. La- throp, a native of the place, Jan. 11, 1819. The town green, with its meeting-house, court-house, post-ofSce, jail, flag-staff or liberty-tree, three taverns, and four or five stores, was the center where all the excitements of the town culminated. The principal traders were John Perit,t Gardner Carpenter, and Dudley Woodbridge.J: The last-mentioned, — " next door east of the meeting-house," — was suc- ceeded in 1793 by Carew & Huntington, the firm changing in 1800 to Joseph & C. P. Huntington. On or near the green were also two print- ing-offices, each with a book-shop and bindery annexed, and each issuing a weekly newspaper. One of these establishments (Hubbard's) was re- * Edward Thomas, a grandson of Ebenezer, bom at Norwich in 1793, has been for the last forty years a resident in Augnsta, Ga. t Mr. Perit came to Norwich in 1 771, and here his two sons, John 'SY. Pcrit, for manv rears a merchant of rhiladclphia, cngathe city," which was granted. The city limits since that period comprise Chelsea, Greeneville, and the Falls, with a section upon the river, extending to Trading Cove Brook. The town-house was erected in 1829, at an expense of $9,000. The upper story was fitted for a court-room, with offices attached, and in 1833 was ceded to the county for the use of the courts. The first court in this new building was in March, 1834, since which time the court sessions have been held exclusively at the Landing. The town-meetings contin- ued to be held alternately at the Town and Landhig till 1839, when a vote was carried with but little opposition, to x'estrict them henceforth to the city limits. The town and court-house was destroyed by fire April 11, 18G5. The books and records were saved. In the early period of the town's history, the Jail stood upon the east side of the Green, in the town-plot. In the time of the Eevolutionary ■war it was on the west side, under the brow of the hill, in the rear of the present brick school-house. Two buildings were worn out in tliis place, each having served about thirty years. The prison was then transferred to the south-east border of the Green, near the present post-office, where it continued till the courts were removed to Chelsea. The old building, vacant and worthless, w^s soon afterward burnt to the ground. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 673 A new prison, with an adjoining house for the keeper, was erected at Chelsea, upon the high ground overlooking the city. These were ceded to the county, but consumed by fire, after a l^ew years occupation, June 9, 1838. The fire originated in the cell of a prisoner confined for theft, and was kindled by him with a candle which he obtained from his wife. His design was merely to burn out the lock of his cell door, that he might effect his escape ; but before he could complete his work, the fire got beyond his control. The light was discovered, the alarm given, and all the inmates rescued ; but from the difficulty of obtaining water, nothing could be done to arrest the destructive element. The buildings were reconstructed on an enlarged plan, and though the taste which seated such an establishment in the most conspicuous part of the city may be questioned, yet the buildings themselves are pleasing objects in the perspective. Gag Companies. The introduction of gas as a medium for lighting the city was for sev- eral years embarrassed with conflicts of opinion, lawsuits, and vehement explosions of partizanship. The first company that was formed for this purpose erected their works and obtained from the common council cer- tain exclusive privileges for fifteen years. This company was incorpora- ted by the Legislature in 1853, under the title of the Norwich Gas Lio-ht Company ; Frederick W. Treadway, Superintendent. Shortly afterward, great complaints were made ; the light was said to be poor, the gas of bad odor, leakages were frequent, shade-trees in some places were destroyed, the company v/as accused of having violated their charter, and on the whole there was a growing disgust of monopolies. A large number of prominent citizens organized a new gas company under the joint-stock-corporation law, called the Norwich City Gas Company and a trial for mastery between the two parties commenced. The Gas Light obtained from the Superior Court an injunction against the City Gas, which was set aside by a subsequent decision, and suits, attachments collisions and tumultuary street assemblages followed in quick succession. In April, 1855, a city meeting was held in relation to these gas diffi- culties, which, after some discussion, passed a vote to adjourn without action, 176 to 131. This was regarded as a test vote in favor of the Joint Stock Company, which thereupon went to work with vigor, and on the 10th of May, two conspicuous buildings, the Wauregan Hotel and the Chelsea Paper Mill, at Greenevillc, were lighted from the Joint Stock reservoir. This company gradually obtained the patronage of the city. The {jublic excitement subsided. An arrangement satisfactory to both 574 HISTOET OP NORWICH. parties was made, the old gas-works were purchased by the City Gas party, and the two companies consolidated in November, 1858. TowvUs Poor. For several generations after the settlement of New England, society in point of wealth was without extremes. There were no overgrown for- tunes, neither was there any positive beggary. A transient vagabond and a foreign pauper made their appearance here and there, but poverty was not a grievance of the country, calling for a mendicant system. If any of the town's people through age or misfortune became destitute, the selectmen provided for them. For a century after the settlement of Norwich, only two or three in a year required assistance, and generally a few shillings covered the whole expense. At a later period, the poor were provided for by contract ; that is, placed under the care of those who would keep them the cheapest. This prac- tice, which is the same as putting them up at auction and selling them to the lowest bidder, is too revolting to be long endured by a benevolent and pi'osperous community. In 1767, a vote was passed to hire a convenient house for the poor, and to place them in it immediately. How soon this was accomplished is uncertain. It is not until after 1790 that we find the Town Alms-house situated upon Long or Ox Hill, and occupying a portion of the Hazen farm. This location was both inconvenient and expensive, and was ulti- mately exchanged for a lot at Chelsea, adjoining the site of the Episcopal Church, where a building was erected to which the town's poor were removed in the autumn of 1800. In 1795, the Legislature empowered the town to establish a work-house for idle persons and vagrants, to be used as a house of correction, instead of the jail, to which such culprits had hitherto been consigned. This was not done at that time, but after the alms-house at Chelsea was completed, a work-house was erected by the side of it, and went into operation in 1806. The first poor-house had been established on a lonely and bleak hill, and the second was even less eligibly situated. It was directly upon the street, allowing its forlorn residents to be the gazing-stock of the public. After a few years a favorable change was made. A third alms-house was erected, in a retired yet easily accessible position, upon tlie west side of the cove, and furnished with all the accessories of comfort and conven- ience that considei'ate benevolence could wish. This was 0})ened for the reception of the poor in 1819. The salary of the keeper was $150, and the physician's fees were not to exceed that amount. For a series of years, even till the flood of emigration and the war of the rebellion altered • HISTORY OP NORWICH. 675 the circumstances of the country, the number of inmates seldom exceeded thirty. A new building of brick, the fourth I'egular alms-house of the town, with larger and better accommodations, was erected in 1859, on the same lot as the preceding. The number of inmates in 1863 was 5G, — two of tliem over 90 years of age. According to the census of 1860, the number of persons, not in the alms-house, assisted by the town for the year ending June 1, 1860, was 53 native-born Americans; 210 of foreign birth. Since that period the number is more than trebled. For the year ending Sept. 1, 1865 : expenses of the alms-house, $6,- 217.74; of the poor out of the alms-house, $15,044. Laurel Hill. Going back to the year 1712, when the spot now covered by Norwich city was a wild, ungraded sheep-walk, we find the east side of the river bordered by high, precipitous banks, overshadowed with straggling trees, and dense with shrubs and vines, described in deeds as "the rockie land on ye east side of ye great river at the mouth of Showtuckct." Along the river, running down toward Brewster's Neck, were two farms ; the upper belonging to John Downs, and the lower to Joseph Elderkin. These farms, after several times changing owners, were purchased at dif- ferent periods, the upper by Jabez Perkins, and the lower by Nathaniel Backus. Capt. Perkins bought also the Fitch farm and other lands in the neighborhood. His wife was the daughter of Mr. Backus, and on the decease of the latter in 1787, the Elderkin farm fell to her by inheritance, which brought the eastern bank of the river for a considerable distance into the ownership of Capt. Perkins and his wife. The only child of this couple that lived to maturity was Mary, the wife of Capt. Edward Whit- ing, and the two children of this daughter dying without issue, the estate, agreeably to the will of Capt. Perkins, reverted in fee simple to their father, Capt. Whiting. The Indian name of this tract was Shipscattuck. In 1860 the road to Poquetannock was called the Shipscattuck path. The original grantees in this quarter were Robert Roath, Owen Williams, Josiah Rockwell, Ben- jamin Fitch, John Elderkin : these were Shipscattuck proprietors. At a later period the dwellings of Thomas Danforth and Michael Pepper were said to be at Shipscattuck. These grants were all in East or Long Society, which in 1786 was dis- severed from Norwich by legislative authority and annexed to Preston. Perkins and Whiting were the proprietors on this bank of the river for b7o HISTORY OP NORWICH. more than sixty years. A large proportion of the land was rugged and unproductive ; it was therefore but partially cleared and cultivated. After coming into the possession of Capt. Whiting, the only dwelling was a small farm-house pleasantly situated on the river, but with no road lead- ing to it except a pent-way through the woods. The farm-house has since expanded into the costly and eccentric villa of Sunny side. In 1845, the Norwich and Worcester Railroad Company laid their iron track along the border of the river, purchasing the privilege for a very moderate sum. With these exceptions this highland district lay almost in its natural state until 1850. But taste and enterprise were now ready to take pos- session of the hill. The northern portion of the tract, lying nearest the city, which consisted chiefly of rock-bound heights and tangled thickets, was purchased, Oct. 8, 1850, by three partners, John A. Rockwell, Thos. Robinson, and Henry Bill, with the express purpose of bringing it into notice as an eligible position for a suburban village. Under their direc- tion the land was surveyed, a street opened, and house-lots laid out, and the whole thrown open to purchasers. The name of Laurel Hill was bestov/ed upon it on account of the preponderance of that beautiful ever- green in its woods and on its sunny slopes. Other wild flowers were also abundant. The trailing arbutus, the scarlet columbine, the wild pink, and the purple gentian, were among its noted floral treasures. In 1853, two of the partners in the Laurel Hill purchase resigned their interest to the third, and since that period Mr. Bill has been successfully engaged in its improvement. He contributed largely to the construction of the free bridge over the Shetucket, established his own residence upon the hill, and has the satisfaction of seeing other pleasant homes and gar- dens gradually extending along the river-side, and changing the ancient "Rockie Hill at the mouth of Showtucket" into an elegant rural village. Laurel Hill now contains over thirty dwelling-houses ; has forty voters, and seventy-six pupils in the schools, — all the growth of ten or twelve years. In 1857, upon the petition of .John W. Stedman, S. T. Holbrook, and others of the inhabitants of Laurel Hill, this district was annexed by a State Act to the city of Norwich. This was only a return to its ancient allegiance, of a part of Long Society. The dividing line with Preston passes over the highest westerly summit of Tory Hill, in the range of Lanman's Chair. ' HISTORY OP NORWICH. 577 Otis Library, incorporated in 1851. This institution was founded by Joseph Otis, a retired merchant, who expended for the site, the erection of the building, its furniture, and the first purchase of books, about $10,500, and in his will left $6,500 to be funded for the future use of the library. The building Avas completed in 1850. The lower story contains the library, and the upper is appropriated to a pastor's study, toward the fur- nishing of which Mr. Otis gave $1,000. The library opened with 250 volumes and over 1,000 subscribers. Hamlin B. Buckingham has been the librarian from the commencement to the present time. The most important new works are purchased, and the best periodicals taken and preserved. In February, 1865, the num- ber of books reported was 6,666. Tickets for the year are one dollar each. The original board of trustees, nominated by the founder, were : George Perkins, William A. Buckingham, Rev. Alvan Bond, D. D., Robert Johnson, Worthington Hooker, M, D., Charles Johnson. J. G. W. Trumbull, The spare walls of the library are covered with about thirty portraits of citizens who were contemporary with Mr. Otis. These were painted by Alexander H. Emmons for Charles Johnson, Esq., President of the Norwich Bank, who, in ordering the work, had two motives in view, one to preserve the likeness of men honored and respected in the community, and the other to furnish subjects for an artist whom he wished to encour- age. Mr. Emmons is a self-taught portrait-painter, who has exercised his profession for more than forty years in Norwich, and has found constant employment. Joseph Otis was a native of Norwich, born in July, 1768, at Yantic, near what was then the Backus iron-works, now the site of the Williams woolen-mill. His parents were from Montville : the name of his mother, Lucy Haughton. He had the common advantages of school education, but at a very early age went into mercantile service at the Landing, and as soon as he reached maturity, entered into trade on his own account. He was successively in business at Charleston, New York, Norwich, Richmond, and again at New York, where by far the greater pai-t of his mercantile career was spent in the commission business. Ilis religious con- nection was with the Duane St. Presbyterian Church, where he ofiieiated for nearly twenty years as an elder. To all works of charity and Chris- tian benevolence he was a generous contributor, — the constant flow of his free-will offerings showing the largeness of his heart. 37 678 HISTORY OP NORWICH. In 1838, his health being infirm, he withdrew from business and re- moved to Norwich, which was thenceforward his home. His wife, who was a daughter of Levi Huntington, died in 1844, aged 72 years. They had been married 47 years. Mr. Otis died in April, 1854, in the 8Gth year of his age. He had no children. By his will he left about $30,000, which was a large proportion of his estate, to twelve different religious and educational institutions, in sums varying from $1,000 to $7,000. Rev. T. H. Skinner of New York, in a letter written after the death of Mr. Otis, says of him : " It was always refreshing to look on the face of Mr. Otis. It had a benign, friendly, affectionate aspect, even when his heart was sorrowful and when his sorrow expressed itself in tears. And his natural and gracious amiability was not a weakness, nor was weakness its associate. He was a man of sharp discrimination between true and false, good and evil, whether in things or persons." It was characteristic of Mr. Otis to support with regularity and con- stancy every enterprise to which he had contributed, if it continued to be worthy of patronage. No better illustration of this trait can be given than the fact that he was one of the original subscribers to the New York Commercial Advertiser, and continued to take it till his death, a pex-iod of fifty-seven years. Centenarians. In Dvvight's Travels an instance of longevity is recorded, of which we find no other account : "Ann Heifer, a widow at Norwich, Conn., died March 22d, 1758, in her 105th year." Abigail, the second wife of Samuel Lathrop, is an instance better known. On the completion of her century, Jan. 23, 1732, the Rev, Benjamin Lord preached a sermon in her room at the house of her son. Her death is thus noticed in the Weekly Journal, printed at Boston :* "Mrs. Abigail Lothrop died at Norwich Jan. 23, 1735, in her 104th year. Her father John Done and his wife came to Plymouth in 1630, and there she was born the next year. She lived single till 60 years old and then married Mr. John Lothrop [mistake for Samuel Lothrop] of Norwich, who lived ten years and then died. Mr. Lothrop's descendants at her decease were 365." An example of longevity that demands a more extended notice is that of Capt. Erastus Perkins. He was a descendant of Jabez Perkins, one * See representation of her grave-stone at p. 218. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 579 of the brothers that settled early at Newent. His father, the thu'd Jabe* in succession, married Anne, daughter of Ebenezer Lathrop, and settled in the town-plot, occupying a house in the street that runs along the side of Sentry Hill. About the year 1754, Mr. Perkins brought home one day from the woods two young elms, of a size that he could convenientlj bear upon his shoulder, and set them out in such positions that when grown they would throw their shade over a shop in which he worked. These are now the Coit elms, those broad-winged, stately twins that so majestically overshadow the residence of Daniel W. Coit, Esq. Erastus Perkins, the oldest son of Jabez and Anne, was born Feb. 17, 1752. He is the only person we can name with certainty, that was bom and passed his life in Norwich, who has attained to the age of a century. Doubtless other instances have occurred, but the names, dates and proofs have not been thoroughly tested and recorded, as in the case of Captain Perkins. He died Oct. 18, 1853, aged 101 years and 10 months. He had been three times married, and by his first wife (Anne Glover) had ten children, only two of whom survived him. In his will he leaves a legacy to Eras- tus Perkins Pooler, "the great-grandson of my son Jabez, deceased." Capt. Perkins had led a frugal, industrious life ; active, but not eager and bustling. He was a man of great equanimity of temper, seldom in the whole course of his life ruffled to anger. Each of his three wives had been heard to say that she never saw her husband out of temper. He was all his life accustomed to regular hours ; retiring to rest at the sound of the nine o'clock curfew bell, and rising soon after daylight. All his schooling was obtained at the Brick School-house on the Town Green, where he began with his spelling-book at five years of age. From the days of childhood to those of maturity he was in the family of Gen. Jabez Huntington, and was employed variously in domestic and mercan- tile concerns. Here the customary breakfast consisted of bean-porridge, hasty-pudding, johnny-cake, brown bread and milk, baked apples and milk, and similar dishes ; the dinner was of meat and vegetables cooked in the simplest manner, but bountiful in supply. The Sunday dinner wa.s an enormous Indian pudding dressed with molasses. The Saturday night supper was the customary baked pork and beans, and the brown loaf of the true mahogany color. His reminiscences reached back to the days of stamp-act excitement, from thence meandering down through the Revolution and the war of 1812. After the Revolution he was for many years a packet -master, run- ning a sloop with freight and passengers between Norwich and New York ; and hence came his title of captain. For twenty-three years he was Inspector of Customs, acting under the Collector of the New London district. 580 HISTORY OP NORWICH. On the day that he rounded his century, he received 165 visitors, con- versed with thera all in a quiet and affable manner ; recollected persons, faces, events, very readily ; related anecdotes, when any thing suggested them ; and had the appearance in mind and body of a man of 80 or 85. In his history and customary habits there were no marked peculiarities. He was neither abstemious nor luxurious in diet. He never drank tea nor coffee till he was about 18 years of age, but after that period habitu- ally made use of both in moderate quantities. His exercise was just what his business and domestic affairs made necessary, expending no surplusage in gymnastic feats or hilarious sports, though in his younger days joining heartily in the social enjoyments and merry-makings of his friends and neighbors. An equable temper and regular habits seem to have been the tracks over which the wheels of his life glided smoothly into longevity. Thus much it seemed desirable to state respecting that truly historical character, the prominent centenarian of the town. A sister of Mr. Perkins, Lydia, wife of Shubael Breed, died in April, 1861, in the 94th year of her age. " Sept. 23, 1800. Died at the Poor House, Jack, one of God's images in ebony, at the advanced age of 104 years." Norwich Courier. Simon T. Rudd is probably the oldest person now living in Norwich. He was born at Windham, Sept. 1, 1768. His mother was Mary Tracy, daughter of Dea. Simon Tracy of Norwich, whose name he bears. Newspapers. I. "The Norwich Packet," the first newspaper of the town, has already been largely noticed in this work. It was commenced in October, 1773, by Robertsons & Trumbull. The Robertsons withdrew in 1776, leaving the paper in the hands of the junior editor and printer, John Trumbull, in whose sole management it continued for twenty-six years. In February, 1802, the title was changed, and No. 1455 came out as The Connecticut Centinel, — "a name," said the editor, "more appropriate to the times ; the Centinel being designed to do the duty of a good soldier, in giving notice of approaching dangers." The motto indicated the political party to which it gave support: " Patrons and friends ; ye men of sterling worth, 'Tis you who call our grateful feelings forth : Firmly in Federal paths we still will tread, Nor heed the wasps that buzz around our head." Mr. Trumbull died Aug. 14, 1802. The paper was then issued for a year in the name of his widow, Mrs. Lucy Trumbull, and subsequently HISTORY OF NORWICH. 581 by his sons, Charles E. and Henry Trumbull. After a few years it was discontinued. II. "The Weekly Register" was first issued Nov. 29, 1790, by Eben- ezer Bushnell. Thomas Hubbard, the brother-in-law of Mr. Bushnell, appeared as joint publisher, June 7, 1791. In October, 1793, Bushnell retired from the paper, which was thenceforth conducted by Hubbard alone. The printing-office was '' 24 rods west of the meeting-house," and nearly opposite the press of Trumbull. Mr. Bushnell was a man of quick wit and varied information ; fluent •with his pen, and ready even at poetical composition.* He was a native of Windham, graduated at Yale in 1777, and settled at Norwich as an attorney. After leaving the Register, he entered into the paper-making business in connection with Andrew Huntington, but a few years later enlisted in the U. S. Navy, and was made purser of the ship Warren. He died while serving in that capacity, at Havana, in July or August, 1800, aged 43, "The Weekly Register" was continued for seven years. At the close of the year 1797, Mr. Hubbard removed to the Landing, closing up the Register, and proposing to issue a paper more particularly devoted to the commercial part of the town. III. This new weekly, "The Chelsea Courier," was first issued in February, 1798, and with slight variations in the title has been continued to the present time — a period of sixty-six years. Thomas Hubbard relin- quished the concern to his son, Russell Hubbard, Nov. 13, 1805 ; the transfer being accompanied with a change of heading to Norwich Courier, its present title. In February, 1817, Theophilus R. Marvin became a partner in the concern, and for a couple of years the paper was issued by Hubbard & Marvin, but it then reverted to Mr. Hubbard, whose last number bears the date of April 3, 1822. [Vol. 26, No. 22.] The Courier then passed into the hands of Robinson & Dunham, (Thomas Robinson and John Dunham,) who commenced a new series, April 10, 1822. Robinson retired from the firm in March, 1825, but the paper was continued by Mr. Dunham to September, 1842, — more than twenty years. * Several of Mr. Buslinell's poetical effusions were circulated in MS. after his de- cease. One of them, written on the coast of Cuba, was an apology for not joining his brother officers, during their rambles on the shore, in carving the names of dear ones at home on the rinds of trees. The sentiment was tender and refined, sliowing how his sensitive nature shrunk from the bare possibility that strangers with coarse feelings might u :er their rude jests over " my much loved Susan's name." 682 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The next editor of tlie Courier was Rev. Dorson E. Sykes, who, in March, 1843, added a tri-weekly to the issue, and continued to occupy the position of editor and proprietor for sixteen years and a half. He pub- lished his valedictory March 2, 1859. George B. Smith, a young printer from Springfield, having purchased the establishment, enlarged the weekly paper to a folio of eight pages, and instead of a tri-weekly, issued a handsome Daily Courier, No. 1, Dec. 1, 1858. Both papers were well printed, and highly creditable to the taste and enterprise of the editor. But he was met, almost at the outset, by financial embarrassments, and at the end of five months the Courier again reverted to Mr. Sykes, under whose supervision and control it continued till 1861, when the Daily Courier was dropped, and the Weekly Courier piblished in connection with the Morning Bulletin.* The Chelsea Courier being in point of fact a continuation of the Weekly Pegister, — with the same press, proprietor, and general character, — with nothing to mark the difference except change of name and locality, might be regarded without great impropriety as one individuality, having for its birthday Nov. 29, 1790. In this list, however, we have arranged them as distinct publications. IV. "The True Republican"* was the fourth newspaper issued in Nor- wich. Consider Sterry, .John Sterry and Epaphras Porter were tlie print- ers, editors and proprietors. It was devoted to the Jeffersonian system of policy, and was continued about three years, beginning in June, 1804. V. " The Native American " made its first appearance in February, 1812. It was published at Norwich Town by Samuel Webb, who had served an apprenticeship with the Trumbulls, and in 1811 set up a book- store and printing-press on Norwich Green. The press was afterwards removed to Windham, Mr. Webb's native place, and the paper issued from thence. VI. "The Norwich Republican" was commenced in September, 1828, by Boardman & Faulkner. The same year, a paper called the "Stoning- ton Telegraph" was issued at Stonington, John T. Adams editor.f In * Mr. Sykes, who edited the Courier for so long a period, removed to California, where he still resides. t Though entering upon public life as an Editor, and now a State Senator, Mr. Adams has devoted himself more assiduously to literature than to political affairs. He is the author of several tales of American life, published anonymously. One of these, TTie Lost Hunter, is a story of the last century, the scene of which is placed in Norwich and its neighborhood. It embodies some of the rich old legends of the place, and is interspersed with vivid descriptions of its varied scenery. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 583 1829 these two publications were united, and under the double title pub- lished at Norwich by Adams & Faulkner. The double title was soon relinquished, and the paper continued under its original name. In September, 1834, it went into the hands of Malzar Gardner, by whom it was published for eighteen months. A new series began April 15, 1835, under Whig management; Marcus B. Young publisher, and La Fayette S. Foster editor. It was discontinued in 1838. VII. "The Canal of Intelhgence," begun in May, 1826, by Levi Huntington Young, was continued about three years. VIII. "The Norwich Spectator," first issued in November, 1829, — Park Benjamin editor, and Marcus B. Young publisher. This was of short continuance. It was revived in 1842 by John G. Cooley, but soon ceased. IX. The "Norwich Free Press," commenced in February, 1830, by Marcus B. Young, but soon discontinued. X. "The Aurora" was first issued May 20, 1835, by J. Holbrook, who had previously published a paper at Brooklyn, (Windham county.) In July, 1838, it passed into the hands of Gad S. Gilbert, by whom it was published under the title of the "Norwich Aurora," which it still retains. Gilbert's connection with it terminated in May, 1842, and it was after- wards successively conducted by William Trench and Trench & Conklin. Since Aug. 8, 1844, it has been issued by John W. Stedman, as editor, proprietor, and printer. A Daily Aurora was connected with it for one year, viz., 1860. XI. " The Norwich News," published by William Faulkner from 1843 to 1848, inclusive. XIL "The Norwich Gleaner," commenced Jan. 1, 1845, by Benjamin F. Taylor. XIII. " The American Patriot," 1848 ; a temporary enterprise, advo- cating the claims of Gen. Taylor to the presidency. XIV. " The Norwich Tribune," a large, well-printed weekly, which began in January, 1852, E. S. Wells editor and proprietor, soon succeeded by Charles B. Piatt and Edmund C. Stedman.* It was discontinued in June, 1853. * Mr. Stedmaa was at this time about twenty years of age. He has since been con- 584 HISTORY OF NORWICH. XV. "The Examiner," published bj Andrew Stark; first number issued July 16, 1853. This paper was devoted especially to the advo- cacy of the Maine Law, the observance of the Sabbath, and the improve- ment of the Common Schools, and these subjects were under the editorial supervision of Revs. H. P. Arms, J. P. Gulliver, and J. A. Goodhue. An agricultural department was attended to by Rev. William Clift. It was continued over two years ; its valedictory was dated Nov, 16, 1855. The agricultural department was transferred to " The Homestead," a journal established by Mr. Stark at Hartford, when the Examiner was discontinued. XVI. " The State Guard," Andrew Stark publisher, began in January, 1855, and ceased in May, 1856. It was an organ of the party called the Native American, or familiarly the Know-Nothing party : advocating a revision of the naturalization laws, and opposing papal and other foreign influence. Its motto was " Liberty, Country, Home." I. H. Bromley was one of its editors. XVII. " The Weekly Reveille," issued by Walter S. Robinson ; only ten or twelve numbers printed. No. 1, Oct. 8, 1858. XVIII. " The Morning Bulletin," issued by an association formed for the special purpose of furnishing the city with a daily paper that should be enterprising in the collection of local details, and give the latest tele- graphic intelligence. The first number appeared Dec. 15, 1858 ; pub- lished by Manning, Perry & Co. — the Co. being understood to consist of Homer Bliss and the principal editor, I. H. Bromley. The Daily Courier and the Morning Bulletin were cotemporaneous, — making two Republican daily papers in the city. In January, 1861, the Weekly Courier and the Morning Bulletin were united, and the Daily Courier was discontinued. In 1862, Mr. Bromley, the editor, enlisted in the army, and went into the field as captain in the 18tli regiment. He was afterwards detailed to act as provost-marshal, and held this office to the close of the war, but through the whole continued in connection with the Bulletin, though not giving it his personal oversight. In 1865, he resumed his place as chief editor. nected with the New York Tribune and other city papers. He is the author of "Alice of Monmouth," a fine lyric poem, or " Idyl of the Great War," and various other poems : one of which, a satirical effusion, thrown like a lance at a passing event, and called " The Diamond Wedding," obtained a wide temporary circulation. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 685 Uncas and the Indian Graves. The ancient Indian Cemetery, heavily shadowed with a native growth of trees, is now little more than an inclosure for the Uncas Monument. During the summer of 1833, General Jackson, President of the United States, with a part of his Cabinet, made a tour through a portion of the Eastern States. The citizens of Norwich had long been desirous of erect- ing some memorial of respect for their " Old Friend," the INIohegan Sa- chem, and they suddenly decided to celebrate the visit of the President by connecting it with the interesting ceremony of laying the corner-stone of an Uncas monument. The Presidential party came from Hartford by land, arriving by the Essex turnpike in open coaches, with a brilliant escort of cavalry that had gone forth to meet them. Vice-President Van Buren, Gov. Edwards of Connecticut, Major Donelson, and Messrs. Cass, Woodbury and Poinsett, Secretaries of War, Navy and State, formed the party. They arrived at 3 o'clock P. M., paused a few moments at the Falls, and then advanced to the Cemetery, where a great assemblage of the inhabitants, military companies, bands of children with banners and mottoes, and a few scat- tered Indians from Mohegan, received the visitors with martial salutes and joyful acclamations. At the cemetery, where all stood with uncovered heads, N. L. Shipman> Esq., in behalf -of the Association, gave a brief sketch of the family of Uncas and the existing condition of the tribe. The President then moved the foundation-stone to its place. It was an interesting, suggestive cere- mony : a token of respect from the modern warrior to the ancient, — from the emigrant race to the aborigines. General Cass, in a short but elo- quent address to the multitude, observed that the earth afforded but few more striking spectacles than that of one hero doing homage at the tomb of another. The ceremony being concluded, the children sang a hymn, and the Presidential party passed away, pausing again at the Landing for refresh- ments, and embarking from thence in a steamer for New London. Though the corner-stone was thus auspiciously prepared, no funds had been obtained or plans matured for the erection of the monument. The ladies at length took hold of the work, and brought it to a successful issue. Embracing the opportunity of a political mass-meeting, which assembled at Norwich, Oct. 15, 1840, in honor of Harrison and Tyler, they prepared a refreshment fair, — with generous enthusiasm arranged and filled their tables, — took their station as saleswomen, and with the profits paid for the monument. 586 HISTORY OF NORWICH. It consists of a simple granite obelisk, with no inscription but the name, — UNCAS.* The raising of the shaft, and fixing it upon the foundation-stone, was the occasion of another festival. This was on the 4th of July, 1842, at which time William L. Stone of New York delivered an Histoi'ical Dis- course on the Life and Times of the Sachem.f Among the persons present in the tent where the address was delivered, were ten citizens of the place over 75 years of age : Erastus Perkins, 89. Ichabod Ward, 80. Samuel Avery, 88. Newcomb Kinney, 80. Seabury Brewster, 86. Benjamin Snow, 77. Christopher Vail, 82. Nathaniel Shipman, 76. Bela Peck, 82. Zachariah Huntington, 75. The whole space inclosed as the Uncas Cemetery, and probably the ground for some distance upon its border, is thickly seeded with Indian graves, though but very few inscribed stones or even hillocks remain. The only inscription of any particular interest is on the grave-stone of Samuel Uncas, one of the latest of the Uncas family that bore even the nominal title of Sachem, and who died not long before the Revolutionary war. An exact representation of the stone in its present ruinous state is given on the opposite page. It bears no date. The epitaph, written by Dr. Elisha Tracy, reads thus : SAMUEL UNCAS. For Beauty, wit, for Sterling sense, For temper mild, for Eliquence, For Courage Bold, for things wauregan. He was the Glory of Moheagon. Whose death has Caused great lamentation, Both in ye English and ye Indian Nation. * The Rev. Mr. Fitch, in 1675, wrote this name Unkus. Before the monument was completed, G. L. Perkins, Esq., who had charge of the undertaking, wrote letters to Noah Webster, the philologist, Thomas Day, Secretary of the State of Connecticut, and Col. Wm. L. Stone, a diligent investigator of Indian history, to inquire what they would consider the most eligible mode of spelling the name to be inscribed on the obe- lisk. They all concurred in recommending the modern orthography, — Uncas. t Published afterwards in a small duodecimo volume, entitled " Uncas and Mianto- aomoh." HISTORY OF NORWICH. 587 ~X The Bi- Centennial Celebration. The two hundredth anniversary of the town was celebrated by a mag- nificent festival of two days continuance, — occupying Wednesday and Thursday, 7th and 8th of September, 1859. The arrangements for this great jubilee had been planned with a wise forecast. A committee of preparation had been for a year in office ; invitations had been extensively circulated, and a general enthusiasm pre- vailed among the sons and daughters of Norwich and their descendants, far and near, to honor this interesting birthday. It was aptly termed the great Golden Wedding of the town, kept in remembrance of the hallowed union of the Puritan emigrant and his wilderness bride, two hundred years before. " Here where the tangled thicket grew, Where wolf and panther passed, An acorn from an English oak In the rude soil was cast." A vast fraternity, genial intercourse, cordial fellowship, and lavish ex- changes of thought and fact, were confidently expected, and seldom are joyful anticipations and enlarged plans so fully rcahzed. 588 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The weather seemed adapted to the occasion. The season in all its bearings harmonized with the festal robes and out-door encampments with which the inhabitants prepared their dear old homestead for the reception of its guests. A general glow of happiness pervaded every countenance. The absentees, the wanderers, the distant relatives, friends and neighbors assembled. It was a mighty gathering, but yet far more orderly and quiet than a customary militia muster, or political convention. It was an ovation, hilarious and triumphant, but not tumultuous. The devotional element was not perhaps sufficiently prevalent to chime with the princi- ples of "two hundred years ago," — but on the other hand, there was no bacchanal accompaniment, no rude disturbance to break the swell of a note of music or the sound of a speaker's voice, and it was said not a sol- itary case of inebriety was observed during the whole festival. The most conspicuous features of the celebration were these : The decoration of the streets and buildings, and the erection of a wide- winged tent upon the Parade. A grand procession, military and civic, half a mile in extent, that made the tour of the town, with banners, bands of music, and exhibitions of trades and professions, many of them in active operation. Two historical discourses of lasting value and interest. Two descriptive addresses of an oratorical character, — impressive and eloquent in a high degree. A dinner, with numerous toasts and speeches. A closing ball at the great tent on the town park or parade. The various exercises were interspersed and enlivened with original poetry and good singing. A descriptive poem by Anson G. Chester of Syracuse, N. Y., was one of the expected entertainments of the festival, but owing to the severe illness of the poet it was not delivered. It was estimated that at this celebration 1500 flags were spread upon the wind, — not only those of our own country, but the motley emblems of all nations. Several magnificent arches were erected at prominent points. A very tasteful arch in Franklin street represented two clasped hands, — 1659 and 1859, with the motto, "A Hearty Greeting." General David Young was the chief marshal of the ceremonies. Gov- ernor Buckingham presided in the assemblies. Ex-President Fillmore was the most distinguished guest. The Bi-Centennial Discourse was by Daniel C. Gilman ; the Discourse on the Life and Times of John Mason, by Hon. John A. Rockwell. The other addresses, or more properly ora- tions, were by Rt. Rev. Alfred Lee, Bishop of Delaware, and Doaald G. Mitchell. The speakers were all natives of the town, and had the same object in view, gratefully to commemorate the scenes and influences by which they had been nurtured. It was beautiful to see with what variety of touch HISTORY OF NORWICH. 589 they struck the key-note, producing with great diversity of tone, entire harmony. The faithful historic record, the biography of the founder, the chastened retrospect, and the graceful survey of the two centuries of the town's life, presented by the orators, each in his own characteristic style, converged upon the same theme — Norwich, our Home. Many interesting incidents were connected with this great festivity. The corner-stone of a monument to the memory of Mason, the Conqueror of the Pequots, was laid in Yantic Cemetery. A dinner was given by General Williams to the Mohegans, of which more than sixty of the remains of that tribe partook. Mrs. Wm. P. Greene, as a memorial of the celebration, presented a house and grounds to the Free Academy for the residence of the principal, valued at $7,000. Mr. Giles L'liomme- dieu, the oldest native-born American in the town, was then in his last illness, and the procession passed the house where he lay, in reverential silence. He died six days after the celebration, in the ninety -fourth year of his age. A history of the celebration, including the preliminary measures and a registry of the various committees, with the addresses, poems, hymns, speeches, and particulars of interest connected with the great festival, was published by John W. Stedman of Norwich, in a well-executed, attractive volume, entitled The Norwich Jubilee. The work was compiled, printed and published by Mr. Stedman ; the paper was manufactured at the Chel- sea Mill, and the whole book in its print, binding and illustrations is a Norwich production. As a memorial volume it is of enduring interest. Its contents are so comprehensive as to render it unnecessary to give in tliis history any thing more than the foregoing brief outline of the two grand Red Letter Days of the bi-centennial commemoration. The year 1859 was the bi-centennial anniversary of the signing of the purchase deed, and of the preliminary steps taken by the proprietors in laying out the town, but the anniversary of the actual settlement, when woman arrived upon the ground and homes were constituted, was more definitely the year 18G0. It is to be regretted that a prominent measure, often referred to by the speakers, and discussed in the committees, — supposed indeed to be deci- sively settled and pledged, — has since the two days of rejoicing been entirely overlooked. This is the erection of a monument to the memory of Major John Mason, which as yet has gone no further than tlie planting of the corner-stone. The Yantic Cemetery, where the corner-stone is laid, does not, however, seem to be the most appropriate place for the proposed monument. The beautiful elevation in the western part of the town, where his remains lie unhonored, unmistakably and imperatively claims the memorial. 690 HISTORY OP NORWICH. Missions and Missionaries. Norwich is justly entitled to the credit of having manifested a more than ordinary devotion to the cause of missions. This interest commenced with the Rev. Mr. Fitch, and the exertions made by him to teach and Christianize the Mohegans. It was coeval with the settlement, and seems never to have died out of the place. After Mr. Fitch, the Rev. Samuel Kirkland is doubtless the brightest exponent of this missionary spirit the town has produced. The welfare, temporal and spiritual, of the poor untutored tribes of the wilderness, appears to have been the inspiring object and main pursuit of Mr. Kirk- land's whole life. Having been well prepared for his work by an education at the Indian School of Dr. Wheelock in Lebanon, and the College of New Jersey, where he graduated in 1765, he cast in his lot among the Oneida Indians, and for a period of forty-four years acted as their pastor, teacher, friend and guardian, — ^living a part of the time among them, and always spending a large portion of each year with them, or in their immediate neighborhood. He was born in Newent Society, then a part of Norwich, Dec. 1 1741, and died on a farm given him by the Oneida tribe, near Clinton, N. Y., Feb. 28, 1808.* Rev. John Ellis, of West Farms, if a correct judgment can be formed from the scanty memorials left of him, was a man of energetic action, glowing with Christian enterprise. He took a lively interest in those pio- neer missions to the West that preceded the formation of the Connecticut Missionary Society, and was agent and treasurer of the General Associa- tion in New London county, as the following notice testifies : Whereas the General Association at their session in September, 1744, appointed me to receive the Monies that might be collected in the several Churches in New London County for executing a plan proposed of sending Missionaries to the infant settlements north and northwestward : These therefore are to desire said Monies may be sent in, it being necessary to transmit the same shortly to the Committee intrusted with the over- sight and prosecution of that truly Christian undertaking. John Ellis. Norwich, Feb. 2, 1775. The Connecticut Missionary Society was formed by the General Asso- ciation in May, 1798. Joshua Lathrop of Norwich, and Jedidiah Hunt- ington of New London, were among the original trustees, and each retained this connection during the remainder of his life. Societies in aid of this institution were formed by ladies both in the Town Plot and Chelsea in 179 9.t * Rev. John Thornton Kirkland, D. D., LL. D., President of Harvard College from 1800 to 1828, was his son. t "At the collection for the support of missionaries, made in Chelsea, last Sunday, HISTORY OP NORWICH. 591 The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was organized in September, 1810. In the spring of 1812, auxiliaries to this institution Avere formed in New London and in Norwich. The first pres- ident of the Norwich Society was Rev. Joseph Strong, D. D., and of the New London Society, Gen. Jedidiah Huntington, one of the corporate members of the Board. These two auxiliaries kept on their way with commendable constancy, with no failures or gaps in th.eir annual contribu- tions and reports, to the year 1850, when they were united into one body under the title of the Norwich and New London Foreign Missionary Society. This association includes all the towns in New London county, except Lyme. A semi-centennial anniversary, to commemorate the organ- ization of the two original branches, was held by the United Society at Norwich Town in October, 1862. The 23d anniversary of the A. B. C. F. M. was held at Norwich in September, 1842. At this meeting, 355 corporate and honorary members were present, with eight returned missionaries, and Mar Yohannan, the Nestorian Bishop, who was then on a visit to this country. The committee of arrangements consisted of Rev. Alvan Bond, D. D., Rev. H. P. Arms, Charles W. Rockwell, William C. Oilman, and F. A. Perkins. It was estimated that 600 persons from abroad attended the meeting, a large pro- portion of them clergymen. The number of persons, natives or established residents of the old town of Norwich, who have enlisted, fii'st and last, as missionaries of the cross, either to the Indians of our own country, or to the heathen of foreign lands, is comparatively large. The family of Charles Lathrop, Esq., is honorably distinguished in this line.* P^'our of his daughters were united to missionaries of the Ameri- can Board, and three of them died in the East Indies. The eldest, Mrs. Miron Winslow, (Harriet W. Lathrop,) left this country June 8, 1819, and lived to accomplish thirteen years of useful and interesting service in Ceylon. Mrs. Henry Cherry, (Charlotte H. Lathrop,) of the Madura mission, died in less than a year after her arrival in Hindostan. Rev. John M. S. Perry and his amiable partner, (Harriet J. Lathrop,) in less Major Joseph Williams liberally contributed the sum of ten dollars."^ Norwich Cou- rier, May 7, 1798. The special notice taken of this donation shows that giving for the support of missions was but just beginning to be considered a duty. Tlio contribution of the Ladies' Society of the Town-plot in May, 1801, was $37.37 ; of that of Chel- sea, $22.56. * Mr. Lathrop died Jan. 17, 1831, aged Gl. He had been Clerk of the Courts in New London County twenty-one years, and was a highly esteemed church officer. 592 HISTORY OF NORWICH. than two years after they reached the field of their labor in Ceylon, fell a sacrifice to the cholera within three days (»f each other. Rev. Samuel Hutchings and wife, (Elizabeth C. Lathrop,) after ten years of missionary labor in Ceylon, warned by the declining health of Mr. Hutchings to seek a colder climate, returned to this country in 1844. Rev. Samuel Nott and his wife, (Roxana Peck,) natives of Franklin, were members of the pioneer band of missionaries sent by the American Board to India in 1812. Meeting with insuperable obstacles to the suc- cess of their mission, arising from the opposition made to it by the British Government, both duty and expediency required them to relinquish the work, and they returned in 1815. Rev. James T. Dickinson resigned the ministry of the Second Congre- gational Church for the purpose of devoting himself to missionary service. He sailed for India, Aug. 20, 1835, and was stationed at Singapore, but that mission being relinquished by the American Board, he returned to this country after an absence of three or four years. Mrs. Eli Smith, (Sarah L. Huntington,) an interesting daughter of Norwich, died in Syria, Sept. 30, 1836, before the close of the third year of her missionary life. Rev. William Aitcheson, a youthful member of the Greeneville Con- gregational Church, was ordained as a missionary, Jan. 4, 1854, and sailed the next year for China. He entered with bright promise upon his work in that vast realm of heathenism, but died suddenly at Shanghai, August 16, 1859, aged 33. Rev. Erastus Wentworth, D. D., another messenger of the Good Tidings to the Chinese, is a native of Norwich, where the first eighteen years of his life were spent. He left the Professorship of Natural Sci- ence in Dickinson College, Carlisle, Penn., and went out in 1854, in con- nection with the mission of the Methodist Episcopal Society. His station was at Foo-chow, a city of half a million inhabitants, capital of the Fokien province. His wife, who was a grand-daughter of Charles Miner, (orig- inally of Norwich, but late of Wilkesbarre,) died soon after his arrival in China. He returned to this country in 1862. Rev. AVm. F. Arras, son of Rev. Dr. Arms of the First Church, went out on a mission to the Armenians of Asiatic Turkey, but returned after a short period, the mission having been relinquished by the Board. Mrs. Sarah J. Haskell, wife of Dr. Henri B. Haskell, a missionary physician connected with the mission to the Turkish dominions, is a dauo-hter of Patrick Brewster of Norwich Town. The failing health of Dr. Haskell obliged them to leave the mission and return home. He died at Norwich, Feb. 27, 1864, aged 33. But the veteran of the Norwich missionary band is Rev. William Tkacy, who embarked for the Madura mission Nov. 28, 1836, and is still HISTORY OF NORWICH. 593 a laborer in that wide and rugged field, rooting out Hindoo tares, and sowing the good seed of the Better Land. Mr, Tracy was born at Nor- wich, June 2, 1807. The General Association of Congregational Ministers of Connecticut celebrated its 150th anniversary at Norwich, in June, 1859. The meet- ings were held in the Second Church, Chelsea. The historical anniver- sary sermon was by Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D. It comprised a history of Congregationalism in Connecticut, from the settlement of the State to the oresent time.* Post Office. There was no post-office in Norwich before the Revolution. The New London office was the station for letter-delivery for all the eastern border of Connecticut, to Woodstock and Pomfret north, and from Guilford to Westerly inclusive, on the Sound. Papers and bundles were usually dis- tributed from house to house by post-riders, but letters requiring payment of postage often lay long before being claimed.! The Norwich post-office under the Federal Government was established in 1782. Dudley Woodbridge was the postmaster for the first eight years, and the office was " next door to the meeting-house." After him came William and Christopher Leffingwell, who kept the office at Leffingwell's corner. The mails were at this time twice a week by three stage-routes : ILartford by way of Windham, New Haven by way of New London, and Boston by way of Providence. The ancient rates of postage appear arbitrary and oppressive, when contrasted with the cheap postage of the present day. Letters advertised as lying in the post-office, about the year 1800, having the mail-charge appended, show that letters from various parts of the United States paid at that time according to distance, and that a single letter was often charge#**■ -agiavc-Ll L,-, i HISTORY OF NORWICH. 647 Presidents: 1, Ebenezer Huntington, 179G. 3, Jabez Huntington, 1823. 2, Simeon Breed, 1820. 4, Charles Johnson, 1848. Cashiers: 1, Hezekiah Perkins, 1796. 3, J. Newton Perkins, 1834. 2, Francis A. Perkins, 1825. 4, Charles Johnson, 1836. 5. Frank Johnson, 1848. Charles Johnson has been an officer of this bank for thirty years. Jed- idlah Huntington has been on the Board of Directors since 1826, — forty years. Of the original stockholdei-s, the one that lingered longest upon earth was Nathaniel McClellan, formerly of Pomfret, but lately of Nor- wich, who died Sept. 28, 1863, aged 86. Thames Bank, incorporated 1825: capital $200,000, increased in 1856 to $500,000, and in July, 1865, to $1,000,000. Organized as Thames National Bank, 1864. It has had three presidents : 1, William P. Greene, 1825. 2, Edward Whiting, 1844. 3, Franklin Nichols, elected in July, 1851. Cashiers: 1, Lyman Brewer, from 1825 to his death in June, 1857. 2, Charles Bard, elected in June, 1857, and still in office. Two of the original stockholders of this bank, Henry M. Wait of Lyme and Adam Larrabee, (then of Groton, but now of Windham,) are still living.' Mr. Wait was a director of the bank fifteen years.* Mr. Larra- bee is still a member of the board, having been recently chosen for the forty-first time. The rooms of this institution in the new bank building in Shetucket st. are considered superior in style and accommodation to those of any other banking house in the State. They are adorned with admirable life-like portraits of the first President and first Cashier. Qidnehaug Bank, incorporated 1832 : capital $500,000. First meeting of directors June 11, 1833. The first president, Charles W. Rockwell, in office three years, was followed successively by Wm. C. Oilman, John A. Rockwell, and F. A. Perkins, in short terms ; Samuel C. Morgan, 1843—1860; Lucius W. Carroll, to 1862; David Gallup of Plainfield, to 1864. In June, 1864, this bank, having purchased the title and privileges of a National Bank that had been organized the preceding year under the gen- ex*al banking act, dro[)ped the name Quiuebaug, and was reorganized as the First National Bank of Norwich. The capital remains the same. Lucius W. Carroll, president ; Lewis A. Hyde, cashier. Mr. Hyde had been cashier of the Quinebaug since 1832. * The Golden Wedding of Hon. Henry M. Wait, LL. D., formerly Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, was commcuioratcd at Lyme, Jan. 23, 1866. 648 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Merchants^ Bank, incorporated 1833 ; capital $200,000. Changed in June, 1865, to Merchants' National Bank. This bank has had two presidents and three cashiers. 1st president, William Williams, (25 years,) resigned Sept. 6, 1858 ; 2d, Henry B. Tracy, now in office. 1st cashier, Joseph Williams; 2d, Joel W. White; 3d, James M« Meech, since 1856. Shetuchet Bank, organized under the Free Banking Law of 1852 ; in- corporated 1855: capital, $100,000. Changed in 1864, to Shetucket National Bank. Charles Osgood, president. 1st cashier, D. O. Strong; 2d, John L. Devotion, since 1855. Uncas Bank, organized under the Free Banking Law of 1852 ; incor- porated 1855; capital, $300,000. Changed in 1864 to Uncas National Bank. James A. Hovey, president ; Edward H. Learned, cashier. In this bank there has been no change of officers. Second National ^a?i^, organized under the General Act in July, 1864. Capital, $100,000 ; since increased to $300,000. J. Hunt Adams, the first president, resigned in May, 1865, and was succeeded by David Smith. Chai'les P. Cogswell, cashier. The year 1857 was marked by a great financial crisis in American business. Norwich was seriously affected by it. The Pequot Bank, which had been incorporated, relinquished its charter. The Quinebaug and Uncas Banks, failing to redeem their bills, were thrown out by the Suffolk Bank, Boston. They were however taken at par in trade, and never lost their value as a medium of circulation. At the beginning of the next year, the banks were able to redeem their bills, and regained their former credit. The bank building in Shetucket street was erected in 1863, at a cost of $60,000. It stands on a solid ledge of rocks, with the precipitous river bank in its rear. It is built of brick, with a front of Dorchester free- stone, and is over fifty feet in height. It consists of three sections, belong- ing to the Chelsea Savings Bank, Thames National Bank, and Norwich Savings Society. It accommodates also the Quinebaug National Bank and the Thames Insurance and Norwich Fire Insurance Companies, renting also a number of private offices. During the years 1864 and 1865, the seven banks of Norwich were all arranged by their directors, under the Genei*al Banking Act of Congress, as National Banks. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 649 Norwich Savings Society. This was incorporated in May, 1824, upon the petition of twenty persons, by whom, according to the terms of the charter, twenty others were chosen, the whole constituting a Board of Trustees. Of these forty trustees, at the close of 1865 only two are on the stage of life, viz., George L. Perkins and David N. Bentley. Three of the first twenty petitioners died during the year 1865, viz., Joseph Wil- liams, John Breed, and Amos H. Hubbard, forty-one years after the char- ter grant. The deposits during tlie first year (to Oct. 1, 1826,) amounted to $20,000; in the first ten yeai-s, to $160,000; and in twelve years, to $226,000. The first president was Charles Rockwell,* who died in June, 1826, and was succeeded by Jabez Huntington. The late Francis A. Perkins was connected with this institution for a much longer time than any other officer. He was treasurer for the first ten years ; then president four years; and in 1848 again elected treasurer and secretary, which ofiices he retained till his death in March, 1863. He was succeeded by Benjamin Huntington, who is still in ofiice. Amount deposited to January, 1866, $4,553,580.40. Chelsea Savings Batik, incorporated May, 1858. Lorenzo Blackstone, president. Charles M. Coit, treasurer ; resigned in 1861, to enter the army. John B. "Ward chosen to supply his place ; four years in office. Chas. M. Coit re-appointed in July, 1865. Amount of deposits to January, 1866, $516,780.37. A third savings bank, with the title of Farmers and IMechanics' Savings Bank, was organized in 1854, capital $100,000, which was in operation a few years, but is now discontinued. Insurance Companies. Norwich Mutual Assurance. The charter for this company was granted on petition of Joshua Lathrop and others. The first meeting was held at the old court-house in Norwich Town, Dec. 29, 1794. Zachariah Huntington, secretary. This company has never had a president. Since 1844, Henry B. Tracy has been secretary and treasurer. For a long course of years, the capital announced from year to year was $6,666. The assets at the present time (close of 1865) are $8,979.95. * Father of Charles W. and John A. Rockwell. 650 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The Norwich Marine Insurance Co. was chartered in 1803 ; capital, $50,000. Joseph Howland, president ; Shubael Breed, cashier. The Fire hisurance Co. was organized in 1813. Ebenezer Huntington, treasurer ; Joseph WilHams, secretary. These two companies were consolidated by act of the Legislature in October, 1818, and incorporated as the Norwich Fire Insurance Company. Capital, $100,000 ; increased to $200,000. First president, Charles P. Huntington. Joseph "Williams, secretary from 1818 to 1855. Officers in 1865: Ebenezer Learned, president; J. L. Denison, secre- tary. Cash capital, $300,000. Assets, Feb. 1, 1866, $415,571.72. New London Co. Mutual Fire Insurance. Chartered in May, 1840 ; organized in July. Joseph Backus, president ; John DeWitt, secretary. Assets, Jan. 1, 1866, $32,869.13. Elijah A. Bill, president since 1859. John L. Devotion, secretary since 1853. TJiames Fire Insurance. Licorporated 1859 ; capital, $200,000. Amos W. Prentice, president ; B. B. Whittemore, secretary. Assets Jan. 1, 1866, $249,747.97. Norwich and Worcester R. R. Co. Chartered in 1832, with the title of Boston, Norwich and New London E. R. Co. ; capital, $1,000,000. In 1836, the corporate name was changed to Norwich and Worcester E. E. Co., and the capital has since been increased to $2,825,000. Officers since 1836: presidents — William C. Oilman, June, 1836 — 1 year. Charles W. Eockwell, « 1837—1 John A. Eockwell, « 1838—3 Charles W. Eockwell, " 1841—2 Dan Tyler, " 1843—2 John C. Holland, " 1845—3 Joel W. White, " 1848—9 Augustus Brewster, " 1857 — 1866. James T. Eichards, secretary and treasurer two years. George L. Pei'kins, treasurer since 1838, — 28 years. HISTORY OP NORWICH. . G51 Annual income of tlie road from 1840 to January, 1866:* 1840, Earnings less than Disbursements. 1841, Earnings, $151,926.94 1854, Earnings, $322,754.43 1842, (( 126,761.79 1855, a 304,236.33 1843, u 125,020.49 1856, a 132,745.92 1844, a 223,465.65 1857, ii 287,756.58 1845, a 204,308.45 1858, a 283,556.27 1846, a 241,909.55 1859, a 351,689.68 1847, a 234,895.59 1860, a 358,362.34 1848, a 218,073.30 1861, i( 288,512.22 1849, u 236,197.61 1862, a 353,664.90 1850, a 261,259.12 1863, i( 432,559.56 1851, a 270,049.37 1864, (I 631,728.19 1852, (C 267,561.70 1865, (( 714,059.83 1853, a 321,046.14 Steamboat Companies. The communication with New York by a line of steamboats has been sustained with but little interruption since its first inauguration in 1817. The merchants of Norwich and New London were mutually interested in the earlier boats, and united in forming the first incorporated companies. The Norwich and New London Steamboat Co. was organized in 1848, with a capital of S200,000 ; Henry B. Norton, president. This line ran their boats in connection with the Norwich and "Worcester Railroad ; the terminus being at Allyn's Point. Among the boats employed were the Cleopatra, Norwich, Worcester, and Connecticut. The Commonwealth was built for them in 1855, and sold in 1860, about which time the com- pany discontinued their operations, wound up their affairs, and was dis- solved. The Norwich and New York Transportation Company was organized under the General Act in 1860. Capital, $350,000. Capt. Joseph J. Comstock of New York was the first president, succeeded in 1863 by David Smith of Norwich. Augustus Brewster treasurer, and P. St. M. Andrews secretary, from the beginning. This company was formed for the purpose of facilitating the operations of the Norwich and "Worcester Railroad Co. by furnishing an advanta- geous connection with New York. It was indebted for its origin, organi- zation, and subsequent success, chiefly to the president of the railroad, * Furnished by G. L. Perkins, Es^., Treasurer of the Road. 652 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Mr. Brewster, who, as treasurer of the company, has been the general agent and efficient manager of the business from that time to March, 186G, when he resigned the office. This company have four fine steamers built expressly for their line, and named after the points of communication to which their business extends. The City of Boston made her first trip from New York, July 4, 1861 ; the City of New York eighteen days later, July 22. The first trip of the City of Norwich was July 19, 1862; of the City of New London, May 22, 1863. Gross jearnings of the company from July 1861, to Nov. 30, 1862, 16 months, - - $466,227 « 30, 1863, one year, - - - 416,243 « 30, 1864, « - - . 608,374 « 30, 1865, « . . _ 704,198 The system of transportation established by this company in connection with the railroads, is the most perfect that has ever been arranged upon this route through the Sound. By contract with the New London North- ern Railroad Co. an interchange of accommodations is effected ; the Rail- road Company using the boats of the Transportation Company for con- veyance to New York, and the latter making use of the advantages afforded by the commodious wharf and depot landing at New London. The Norwich and Worcester Railroad, by contract with the New Lon- don Northern R. R, Co., now run their express and passenger trains over the track of the latter on the west side of the Thames. This arrangement went into effect Oct. 1, 1861, and the terminus of the through business of the Norwich and Worcester R. R. Co. has since been at New London. Every year is adding importance to the navigation of the Thames, not only in regard to the interests of Norwich, but as an avenue to the man- ufacturing districts beyond Norwich. During a large part of the year, when the channel is unencumbered with ice, the river and the wharves are lively with business. Sloops and schooners are continually discharg- ing freight. Large quantities of iron, coal, cotton, wool, rags, «&;c., are required by the manufacturers in and around Norwich, and a still greater quantity is conveyed through the place to be distributed on the northern routes. The article of coal alone is of great importance, an immense amount passing up the river to be transported to Worcester and other points in the interior. Li 1855, Thomas T. Wetmore, a ship-builder from East Boston, com- menced work at Norwich, in the employ of J. M. Pluntington & Co. The first vessels were built near Shetucket bridge, and launched nearly HISTORY OF NORWICH. 653 under the bridge.* The work was then transferred to a point on the west side of the river, near where the Cold Spring Iron Works were situated. These iron-works were established by John Perit Huntington, at whose invitation Thomas Mitchell, an experienced artificer in iron, — originally from Birmingham, England, — came from Wareham, Mass., and took charge of the concern. This was in 1845 ; a rolling-mill was built, and has ever since continued in operation. The firm is now Mitchell, Broth- ers & Co.f The rolling-mill and the ship-yard were the beginning of the prosper- ous village of Thamesville, which forms the southern extremity of the city. In 18G3, another i-olling-mill with machinery of a different construction was established near the ship-yard. This belongs to a joint-stock company called the Thames Iron Works. Since the year 1860, eight steam-vessels have been launched from the Thamesville ship yard, viz., the Norwich, Trade-wind, Prometheus, Whirl- wind, Perit, Chase, and Hunter, — ranging in capacity from 400 to 700 tons. Three of these steamers, the Norwich, Prometheus, and Uncas, were sold to the U. S. Government, and were in the public service during the war. The Norwich was altered into a gunboat, and commissioned in Jan- uary, 18G2. She carried six 32-pounders and 100 men, and was eminently useful in the Gulf of Mexico. To the same company (J. Monroe Huntington and Theodore Raymond) belongs the credit of reviving the direct trade of the port with the West Indies. Their first undertaking in this line is noticed in the Norwich Courier, April 3, 1859. The schooner Ike Marvel, which arrived at this port yesterday morning from Porto Rico, with molasses, sugar, and rum, has brought the first cargo of this dcscriptiou which lias been landed here direct from the West Indies for over thirty years. This trade has since been pursued by the company with spirit and suc- cess. The exports consist of lumber, assorted articles, and some live-stock. The returns arc chiefly sugar and molasses. The high price of these arti- cles has made the business very profitable.! * Most of the ship-building at Norwich has been on the west side. Capt. Samuel Story, the master builder of former days, who built the whale-ships Connecticut and Chelsea, and many other large vessels, died May 3, 18G4, aged 84 years. t In this mill an unfortunate accident happened May 9, 1804. By some derangement of the machinery, Thomas Mitchell, Jr., was struck by an iron bar in the chest, and instantly killed. lie was 42 years of age. t On a freight consisting chiefly of molasses and sugar, entered in June, 1865, by the brig John R. Plater, belonging to this firm, the duty assessed at the custom-house, New London, was $0,688.72, — a sum indicative of a valuable cargo. 654 HISTORY OP NORWICH. The schooner Telegraph, Martin L. Rogers captain, was first employed in this trade in 1859, sailing May 9th of that year, and was kept after- wards constantly upon the line. On the ISlh of June, 18G4, she arrived from her twenty-fourth voyage, having nearly averaged five voyages per year, and usually bringing from 200 to 220 hhds. per voyage. This is a great advance over the old rate of navigation,— when two, or at most, three West India voyages consumed the whole year, — and illustrates in a vivid manner the progress of skill, science and tact in this department of busi- ness. This company have recently erected a ware-house at New London for the reception and storage of their West India goods. Vote of Norwich at the Presidential election, Nov. 4, 1856,-— For Fremont, 1,142 ; Buchanan, 810 ; Fillmore, 23 : total, 1,975. Votes cast Nov. 8, 1864,— For Lincoln, 1,376; for McClellan, 1,101 : total, 2,477. This was probably tlie largest vote ever cast in Norwich. Vote of Norwich in August, 1864, in reference to the amendment of the National Constitution, abolishing slavery, — Yeas, 753. Nays, 196. Vote in Octobfir, 1865, on the amendment of the State Constitution, so as to allow of negro sufii-age, — Yeas, 898. Nays, 617. Vote for Governor in April, 1863, — For Wm. A. Buckingham, 1,235; T. H. Seymour, 936: total, 2,171. In April, 1813, just 50 years before, the vote for Governor stood, — For John Cotton Smith, 126; Elijah Boardman, 112: total, 270. Vote in April, 1865, — For Wm. A. Buckingham, 1,284 ; Origen S. Seymour, 462. CHAPTER LI. NoRAVICH IN CONNECTION WITH THE "WaR FOR THE UnION. The fall of Fort Sumter and the call of the President for 75,000 men, — events that occurred successively on the 14tliand loth of April, 18G1, — ■ have made those days forever memorable in the history of our country. From a condition of outward repose, and amid the common routine of affairs, the whole nation was suddenly roused to a state of wild excitement. The startling fact, that ^oe were at war, ran through the country like the rush of a whirlwind. The spirited outbreak of the North in favor of the Union was spontaneous and universal. A strong line was immediately drawn between loyalty and secession, but all other party distinctions and political feuds seemed for the time obliterated. The nation was without soldiers, without munitions of war or military equipments, but an army leaped into existence, armed, equipped, and ready for action. A record of what was done in a single town to support the war for the Union, will duplicate the history of hundreds of other towns in New Eng- land. But there is a local interest in these side details of the great con- flict, which makes it an imperative duty that they should be registered. Personal incidents and minor details, that might find no place in general histories of the war, have a deep and enduring interest for towns and neighborhoods. Honor and grateful regard call- upon us to record the deeds of our volunteers, to perpetuate the names of the valiant, and to cherish the memory of those among them who fell in the service. A town history is incomplete without these memorials. The Governor of Connecticut when the war broke out was William A. Buckingham, a citizen of Norwich, who was then in the fourth year of his administration. He was well known as an earnest patriot and a staunch friend both of the Union and the National Government. This undoubt- edly quickened the action and added to the energy of the town measures. Large and enthusiastic meetings assembled almost spontaneously for the purpose of encouraging enlistments and pledging the efforts and resources of the community in support of the National Flag. The intense excite- ment that prevailed sought relief by demonstrations of loyalty in various modes. 656 HISTORY OP NORWICH. There was no flag-staff or liberty-pole of any note in or around Nor- wich. Suddenly the National Banner was flung to the breeze from every conspicuous point in the landscape. It was swung across Main street, between Apollo Hall and the Wauregan ; it was displayed from the tower of the First Congregational Chui'ch ; it fluttered among the groves of Washington street, rose high over Broadway and the Free Academy, and graced the rope-walk, the engine halls, the numerous factories, the school- houses, and several private residences. It was elevated at Greeneville, at the Falls, on the old Court-house, at the Town-plot, and at Yanticville. As these threw out their folds, other flags from all the suiTounding villages and towns of the old Nine-miles-square, — Bozrahville, Fitchville, Frank- lin, Sprague, Hanover, Jewett City, — rose and waved in unison. The highest of these standards was that which surmounted the Uncas engine- house at the Falls, — 182 feet. The Governoi-'s call for volunteers to fill the quota of Connecticut was issued April 16 th. In twenty-two days, fifty -four companies were raised in the State, offering their services for the three months, but as only three regiments were required, many of them were disbanded. The First Regiment C. V. was recruited in Hartford. Two young men of Norwich, E. K. Abbott and S. T. C. Merwin, hastened thither and en- rolled their names as privates in Rifle Co. A. This was the company that in just twelve hours from the opening of the roll, reported to the Adjutant- General, with a full complement of men and its officers chosen. Col. Daniel Tyler, a retired officer of the regular ai-my, residing at Norwich, was appointed Colonel of this regiment.* John L. Spalding, also of Norwich, was the Sergeant-Major. For the other two regiments, three companies were raised in the town, that went into service under Captains Frank S. Chester, Henry Peale, and Edward Harland. These officers, with their six lieutenants, and Lieut. Col. David Young of the 2d C. V., were all of Norwich. Twelve commissioned officers and 135 enlisted men are credited to the town for the three months service in the State accounts. The enlistments began April 18th. Capt. Chester's company left the city for the camp at New Haven, April 22d, and Capt. Peale's the 24th. These wei'e mustered into the 2d C. V. as companies A. and B. Capt. Harland's company left for Hartford the 29th, and was received into the 3d C. V. The whole community was moved when these first companies departed. Warfare was a new experience, and the nature of the contest excited * Colonel Tyler, now Brigadier-General, is a native of Brooklyn, Ct., and a gradu- ate of "West Point. He retired from the U. S. Army in 1832, and had been engaged as a civil engineer in superintending the construction of railroads. At a later period of the war, he commanded a division of the Army of the Mississippi. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 657 thrilling emotions. Throngs of citizens, young and old, accompanied them to the place of their embarkation, embracing them, and invoking blessings on them and their cause. The magnitude of the principles involved in the contest seemed to give a deep significance to every measure connected with it. In aid of these first enlistments, money was poured out like water. A large sum was raised by private subscription for bounties and equipments. The Thames Bank, following the example of other monied institutions of the State, tendered to the Governor a loan of $100,'000 for public use. A throng of ladies met for many successive days to prepare articles of cloth- ing convenient for the departing soldiers. On Saturday evening, April 20, a meeting was held at Breed Hall, where eloquent speeches were made and patriotic resolutions carried, while at the same time the galleries and adjoining offices were occupied by women busily employed in making garments for the volunteers. Nor did this work cease upon the Sabbath. Labor and prayer went together through tlie day. The following cotemporaneous notice gives a vivid idea of the scene, and shows the starting-point of a series of efforts for the health and com- fort of the soldier in field, camp, and hospital, which, under feminine agency, with the title of the Soldier's Aid Society, knew no intermission from that time to the close of the war. A Revoldtiosart Sabbath. — The 21st day of April was such a Sunday as the good town of Norwich never before saw. The beating of drums, the marching and drilling of military companies, the display of flags, and fluttering of bunting, the pres- ence of unusual crowds in all the streets, the hum of labor where the uniforms of vol- unteers were being made, the earnestness and enthusiasm that seemed to animate the multitude, and the eagerness of the people to luarn the latest intelligence by telegraph, all combined to make such a Sabbath as will long be remembered. All day long the Buckingham Rifles, Capt. Frank S. Chester, were engaged in drill and exercise, preparing themselves for the active duties of the service in which they have enlisted. About 350 ladies occupied Breed Hall and the offices below, engaged in making np the uniforms for the company. At the several churdies in the city, sermons appropriate to the times were preached. All the conversation was upon war topics. It was a Sunday such as we may have read . of in our Revolutionary history, but have never before seen. [Bulletin.] The three regiments left the Slate on the 10th, 14th and 22d of May. They were at first detained near Washington, and united in one command under Col. Tyler. They were afterward stationed along the outposts in Virginia, where they were engaged in guard duty, enlivened with scout- ing and skirmishing. In July they were ordered to Centerville, and from thence sent forward to meet the enemy, with whom they had their firo. encounter in a sharp skirmish at Blackburn's Ford. Three days after- ward, July 21st, they took part in the battle at Bull Run. 42 658 HISTORY OF NORWICH. In tills disastrous fight the casualties of the three regiments were six men killed and sixty wounded and missing. Of the Norwich volunteers, only one was killed, — David C. Case, who was struck by a cannon-ball, and died on the field. Corporal John B. Jennings, Charles A. Murray and David Rosenblatt, enlisted men from Norwich, were taken prisoners. Austin G. Monroe, a sergeant in Capt. Chester's company, had been previously captured. He was taken while out on a scouting excursion, with one companion, near Falls Church, Va., June 19th, and it was not known whether he was killed or captured till the next October, when his friends received a letter from him, dated in July from a Richmond prison. He endured a year's captivity before he was released. The three regiments completed their term of service and were dis- charged in August. Two of the enlisted men from Norwich had died in hospital of disease. The prisoners, Jennings, Monroe, and Murray, were exchanged and came home the next June.* Col. Tyler was commissioned as a Brigadier- General in March, 18G2. Fresh calls for volunteers were issued by the President, even before the return of the three months men, — May 4th for 300,000, and July 10th for 500,000. The reci-uiting service was kept lively, and the enlistments as yet were freely tendered. The civil and military authorities, public opinion and the spontaneous zeal of individuals, co-operated in favor of the measures of government. In town meeting, Oct. 7, 1861, the following resolutions passed, almost by acclamation : Resolved, That we extend our hearty thanks to our brave soldiers who have without distinction of party rallied to the defence of our glorious Union, and to the support of the Government in suppressing this causeless and most unnatural rebellion ; That we are proud of the noble position our State has assumed in common with the other loyal States, and we hereby pledge to the Government our aid and support, with every energy God has given us, until our flag shall float over every fort belonging to the Union, and over every State from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico ; That we are engaged in a contest as real and vital as the war of the Revolution, &e. Resolved, That the Town Clerk be requested to procure a record-book, and make as perfect a Roster as practicable of the companies of Captains Chester, Peale, Harland, Dennis, Ward, Maguire, Sawyer, Daniels, and such other companies from Norwich as have been or shall be hereafter mustered into the service of the Government to aid in suppressing this rebellion, &e. In 1862, additional calls for troops were made by the Government, — July 2d, 300,000 to serve for three years or the war ; and Aug. 4th, 300,- 000 for nine months. The quota of the town must be forthwith raised, * Monroe and Murray, in a month after their return, re-enlisted and went into Capt. Peale's company, 18th C. V., and were again taken prisoners at Winchester in June, 1863. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 659 and to, aid the progress of enlistment a grand rally was made in favor of the flag, the Union, the Government, and the vigorous prosecution of the war. The public meetings held at Breed Hal^ond the mass meetings in Franklin Square were remarkable for the resolute earnestness that pre- vailed. Many of the volunteers at this period seem to have entered their names on the roll in a spirit of spontaneous self-dedication, and others with an earnest sobriety indicative of deep-seated principle. It was creditable to human nature to iind such fervent love of country and attachment to the Union pervading all classes of society. Clerks came from the stores^ laborers from the farms, and operatives from the mills and workshops, with the same hearty alacrity. The course of business, as well as of thought and conversation, was turned into the channel of war. The armories and machine-shops of the town developed an astonishing activity and adaptedness to the production of hostile weapons. The sail-makers in their lofts were engaged in mak- ing tents. Many skillful hands assisted by nice machinery were kept at work upon uniforms and other mihtary equipments.* The highest point of enthusiasm was reached at a town meeting held on the 30th of August to consider the best means of raising the town's quota of 300,000 men for nine months. This was one of the most excit- ing and enthusiastic meetings ever convened in Norwich. The tenders made by individuals were on a noble scale of liberality. One after an- other, in a spirit of emulous zeal, such offers as these were made, — One hundred dollars to the first ten that enlist. The same to the second ten. Ten dollars to the first sixty. The same to the next twenty. One thousand dollars to the families of those that enlist. Five hundred to the same. One hundred to the same. Another hundred to the same, &c., &c. Some twenty or thirty offers of this kind were thus spontaneously made,, either at the moment, or added afterward by individuals not present at the meeting, raising a sum considerably above $20,000. In the public assemblies convened at this interesting period, it was not uncommon for individuals, moved by tlie stirring appeals of the speakers, or prompted by their own determined purpose, to come forth from the- audience, and with deep emotion offer themselves to their country. It was * James M. Nelson of Norwich contracted in 1862 to make 1000 military coats per month from January to June. He kept 200 hands and two dozen sewing-machines at work. Daniel Delanoy contracted to make a large number of tents for the Connecticutr regiments. 660 HISTORY OF NORWICH. thus that Captains Peale, Selden, Stanton, Iluntoon and others volunteered their services. Several of the early companies seemed to be raised with the swell of a flood, sweeping them into the ranks. Through the whole cdiitest there was no departure in the action of the town from the spirit of these early measures. But as the war went for- ward, demanding its hundreds of thousands of recruits, it became more and more difficult in Norwich, as in other towns, to raise the prescribed number. Volunteer enlistments were no longer to be expected. The material was exhausted ; there was no surplus on hand. Even in the peaceful pursuits of trade and agriculture, the incessant demands of the army led to a deficiency of laborers. But the draft or conscription authorized conditionally by the Govern- ment was not enforced in Norwich. A few individuals procured substi- tutes, but in general the quotas of the town, to answer the repeated calls of 18G3-4, were raised by the selectmen or by war committees, who by large bounties and strenuous exertions procured the requisite number. The State in 1863 made the liberal oSer of $300 to every person, white or colored, that should enlist before January, 1864. The town about the same time increased their bounty to $150. This being found insufficient, by a vote of Dec. 1, 1864, the whole business was entrusted to a war committee, who were to pay drafted persons, substitutes and volunteers on the quota of the town, such sums as should be considered necessary and expedient. This committee paid in some instances a very high bounty. The glow of enthusiasm had faded away. The war was a settled affair, and recruits Avere to be raised, as other business was transacted, upon pecuniary principles. Most of these later recruits differed, widely in character from the early enlisted men. Those were patriots, and these were hirelings. Very few of the latter were town residents. They were procured by agents from other places, and many of them after securing the bounty took the first opportunity to desert. Others among them made good soldiers. But these later enlistments represented the town, only as paid for by its funds and credited to its account in the State calendar. A brief sketch of the forces raised in Connecticut for the prosecution of the war, will give opportunity to point out how far Norwich participated in the great contest. Each town in this respect has a history of its own. The object in this outline will be to trace the officers and enlisted men from this one community only, in order to show in what lines of service they were engaged as members of the State regiments. The volunteers from the State, enlisting in 1861 and 1862, to serve for three years or during the war, were arranged in seventeen regiments, numbered from 4 to 21 inclusive. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 6G1 It was estimated that nearly two-thirds of the three months men re- enlistcd in the service. Many who had served as privates became officers in the new levies, the experience they had gained being of great advant- age in drilling the fresh recruits and preparing them for duty. The 4th C. V. was mustered at Hartford in June, 1861. The Major, Henry Birge, and Assistant Surgeon, Edwin Bentley, with eighteen or twenty members of different companies, were from Norwich. It was sent to Harrisburg, and associated with Gen. Patterson's troops. In Novem- ber, it was stationed at Fort Richardson, near Washington. In January, 1862, this regiment was changed from infantry to artillery, and re-organ- ized as 1st Conn. Heavy Artillery, under the management of Major Birge, who was appointed Colonel of the Artillery, but soon afterward transferred to the 13th Regiment of Infantry. The 5th C. V. was the regiment wliich Col. Colt proposed to adopt and equip. A very fine Irish company was raised in Norwich, with the ex- pectation of joining this regiment, called the Jackson Guards. They were thoroughly drilled by Col. Thomas C. Kingsley of Franklin, and chose for their Captain, Thomas Maguire. When Col. Colt threw up his interest in the regiment, the Jackson Guards, 88 in number, disbanded, but were afterward re-organized and accepted into the 1st New York Regiment of Artillery. Capt. Maguire was subsequently a Major in the New York service. William A. Berry, of this company, was promoted Captain, and after participating in many severe battles, and serving from his first enlist- ment in the three months campaign, full three years, was killed during the siege of Petersburg. He was succeeded by Capt. Thomas Scott, also of the Norwich company. In the 5th C. V., afterward under the command of Col. Warren W. Packer of Mystic, Norwich had no officers, and only a few enlisted men, less than twenty in aU. This regiment was mustered in July, 18G1, and was sent to Virginia, where they had many sharp conflicts with the enemy. Stonewall Jackson inquired of a prisoner how many 5th Connecticuts there were, since he heard of them on all sides. At the battle of Cedar Mount- ain, they lost 173, killed, wounded, and missing. Nine brave men fell in defending their colors ; among whom was Sergeant Alexander S. Avery, of Norwich, who died upon the battle-field, Aug. 9, 1862. In September, 1863, the 5th C. V. was transferred from the Army of the Potomac to that of the Cumberland. It was with Sherman in his long southern march. At the hard-fbuglit battle of Resaca, Ga., INIay 15, 1864, out of ten men belonging to Norwich, who had re-enlisted as vet- erans, four were reported among the wounded.* Of the 6th C. V. William G. Ely of Norwich was appointed Lieut. Colonel, but was soon transferred by promotion to the 18th. The Quar- • John G. Blake, Thomas W. Baird, Delano Carpenter, and Stephen Corcoran. 662 HISTORY OF NORWICH. master, J. V. B. Williams, and twelve enlisted Germans, were from Nor- wich. This regiment obtained honorable notice for its conspicuous gal- lantry in the fierce assaults upon the Morris Island batteries and Fort Wagner, near Charleston. In one of these attacks, its commander, Col. Chatfield, received his death wound. Alfred P. Rockwell, of Norwich, was appointed Colonel in June, 1864. He had previously served two years as Captain of the 1st Light Battery, C. v., and had been stationed on James Island and other parts of the Carolinian coast, co-operating in the siege of Charleston. The 7th C. V. received the first regular company of three years men that was recruited in Norwich. The Captain, John B. Dennis, and the Lieutenants, Theodore Burdick and Gorham Dennis, were town residents. Of the enlisted men, twenty-three were from Norwich, the remainder of the company from neighboring towns. Lieut. Burdick, subsequently pro- moted to the command of a company, was killed at Fort Wagner, July 11, 1863. The 7th C. V. was the first Union regiment that landed on the soil of South Carolina. They were in Wright's Brigade under Sherman, in the expedition against Beaufort, and after the bombardment and ruin of Fort Walker, when the troops disembarked, the 7 th Connecticut took the lead, landing in twenty-seven boats upon the beach below Hilton Head. This regiment afterward performed a vast amount of exhausting work at Tybee Island, preparatory to the reduction of Fort Pulaski. These labors were continued for four months without intermission. During the bombardment, the 7th Connecticut managed five out of the eleven batteries that fired upon the fort, and the flag of the captured fortress was sent to the Governor of Connecticut, as a token of the distinguished part the reg- iment had taken in its reduction.* Capt. Dennis of Norwich commanded one of the batteries. His brother, 2d Lieut. Gorham Dennis, was obliged to resign and return home, the drifting sands and bright sunshine of the place affecting his eyes, and threatening him with entire loss of sight-f This regiment in February, 1864, participated in the hazardous and exhausting march upon Olustee, Fla., and was afterward engaged upon the James River and in the trenches before Petersburg. On tlie first of June, while guarding the picket line, the regiment was attacked with great fury, several companies flanked, and 83 prisoners taken by the enemy. Capt. Dennis and 20 of his company were of the number. While Capt. Dennis was detained a prisoner, he was one of the Union soldiers sent to Charleston and placed within the range of the U. S. cannon * Conn. War Record, p. 32. t Four brothers Dennis, sons of Jared Dennis of Norwich Falls, were in the army during the war. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 663 in retaliation for the bombardment of the city, which was then in progress under Gen. Gillmore. In a letter published soon after his escape, he says: " On the 16th of August last, [1864,] I was one of 600 U. S. prisoners of war that arrived in the cit}' of Charleston to be phiced under lire of the U. S. batteries on Moon's Island ; 600 having arrived a few days before, and 600 a few days after, making in all 1800, all confined within one square, viz., Work-house, Marine Hospital, Jail, and Roper Hospital. Our condition was one of extreme wretchedness, very few having any money, and fewer still clothes to cover them." Capt. Dennis was afterward transferred to other places of confinement, and during his captivity was a tenant of six different prisons. The last was Richland Jail in Columbus, S. C, from which he attempted to escape with two other officers early in November, 1864. They obtained a small boat, and passing down the Congaree, concealed themselves by day, and pursued their course by night. But the second night, while enveloped in a thick fog, the boat struck a snag, and upset in deep, rapid water. After nearly perishing in the struggle for life, they succeeded in reaching the shore, but were discovered, recaptured, and sent back to Columbus. On the 24th of December, Capt. Dennis, with thirteen companions, made another attempt, which proved successful They obtained a flat-boat through the aid of friendly negroes, and in their passage down the river were guided and fed by others of the colored race, till at length they reached the ocean, where fortunately a gunboat was lying off shore, to which they made signals, and were taken on board.* In the 8th C. V. Norwich had a large interest. Edward Ilarland, one of the Captains of the three months service, was its Colonel ; Cliarles M. Coit, Adjutant; DeWitt C. Lathrop, Assistant Surgeon; and John E. Ward, Captain of Co. D, with James R. Moore and Charles A. Breed, Lieutenants. Nearly half of the enlisted men in Capt. Ward's company belonged in Norwich. This regiment was in Burnside's expedition to North Carolina. Col. Harland was soon placed in command of a brigade, and Capt. AVard by rapid promotion became Colonel of the regiment. Two of the Norwich officers, after a few months of efficient service, were numbered with the dead. Dr. DeWitt C. Lathrop died at Newborn in April, 1862, of illness caused by over-exertion in the duties of his office. Lieut. Breed, while engaged in important service on the Signal Corps, took the fever of the country, and expired in July. These men, languishing and perishing from disease, died for their country as truly as others on the battle-field. This regiment was in the battle's front at South Mountain and at An- tietam. In the last-named terrible fight they suffered severely. "We * Speech of Hon. L. F. S. Foster in the U. S. Senate, Jan. 25, 1865, published la the Daily Globe at Washington. 664 HISTORY OF NORWICH. faced the foe until half the regiment were shot down, and retired only when we were ordered."* In this battle the regiment was led by Capt. J. E. Ward, Col. Harland having charge of a brigade. It went into action about 400 strong, and lost 194, killed, wounded, and missing. Among the slain was Lieut. Marvin Wait of Norwich. His comrades afterward spoke with admiration of the "steadfast and courageous de- meanor" which this young man, scarcely above the age of boyhood, dis- played in the field of battle. When a ball from a rebel battery struck in the midst of his company, killing three, wounding others, covering the lieutenant himself with blood and earth, and creating some confusion in the ranks, he rushed to the front, closed up their lines, and cheered them on to the assault. He stood firm amid a shower of bullets, and when wounded in the arm, refused to retire, nor left his post until he had received three shots and was fainting with the loss of blood. He was then aided to a place considered safe, but received the last fatal shot while lying helpless on the ground. He was the first commissioned officer from Norwich, that fell in the war for the Union. His remains were tenderly conveyed to his parents, and laid in the quiet cemetery upon the Yantic, where the marble dedi- cated to his memory is inscribed with names that keep fresh the remem- brance of his valor : Roanohe Island, Fort Macon, South Mountain, An- tietam.'f In the campaign of 1863, the 8th Conn, was in Eastern Virginia. On the 19th of April, while stationed at Suffolk, Col. Ward, acting under orders from Gen. Getty, with 130 men from his own regiment, and 150 of the 89th N, Y. Vols, under Lieut. Col. England, went up the Nanse- mond and made a brilliant charge upon the Hill's Point battery, an annoy- ing post held by the enemy upon the river bank. The first man to leap from the gunboat to the shore and press forward to the attack was Capt. McCall of the 8th C. V.J The post was taken by storm ; the New York and the Connecticut soldiers planted their flags side by side upon the ram- parts ; the garrison was captured, and the cannon turned against their former owners in the shortest possible time. The official report says : " We were landed at Hill's Point, in the rear of Fort Hugcr, a little before sunset, * Conn. War Eecord, p. 11. t Forrest SpofFord, another of Capt. Ward's company, enlisting at the age of eighteen, lost his left arm in consequence of wounds received at Antietam, l)ut he remained in the service, and at Walthall Junction, in May, 1864, was slightly wounded in his right arm. He was earnestly desirous of re-enlisting as a veteran, but being rejected by the examining surgeon, served out his three years and was honorably discharged. t Conn. War Record, p. 12. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 665 immediately charged upon the works, and after a very short straggle, captured the fort, with five pieces of artillery, a large quantity of ammunition, and about 130 prisoners, including seven officers." This gallant exploit was alike honorable to Col. Ward and the brave men of his command. In the advance upon the enemy made by a part of Gen. Butler's army, May 7, 18G4, the 8th Conn, led the van, as a skirmishing force. A severe engagement took place, near the Walthall junction of the Richmond and Petersburg R. R., in which the regiment was exposed to a raking fire from artillery in the open field, and was at last compelled to retreat with a list of casualties amounting to 72. In this action Col. Ward was severely bruised with a shell, Capt. James R. Moore badly wounded, and Lieut. Alfred M. Goddard struck down by a fatal bullet while advancing in the battle's front and cheering on his men. Lieut. Goddard was a young man of noble character. The purest patri- otism, a deep conviction that he owed this service to his country, led him into the field. He had been absent for some time from his regiment, en- gaged on staff duty with Gen. Harland, but hastened to rejoin his com- mand when it was called into action, and fell in his first fight. He was conveyed to Fortress Monroe, and there died two days afterward. On the 16th of May, in a battle fought in the midst of an Egyptian fog, at Drury's Bluff, near Fort Darling, where the Union forces were again repulsed, the gallant Capt. John McCall of Norwich was shot through the heart, and died instantly. This young officer possessed all the prominent characteristics of a good soldier ; he was cool, steady, prompt, and skillfuh He had enlisted as a private, and obtained promotion by acknowledged merit. Lieut. Goddard and Capt. McCall were interred at Norwich, with an interval of one week between the funeral services. The city authorities? the military, and the public generally, vied with personal friends in honor- ing the remains of these heroic young men. They were of equal age, went from the same place, and were slain within ten days of each other, in the sanguinary conflicts upon the James river, martyrs to the same nobility of principle, — love for liberty and the Union. In this campaign, tlie 8th Conn., forming a part of the Army of Vir- ginia, could find of course no season of repose.* It was a crisis requiring incessant watchfulness and action. The actors described it as a daily bat- tle continuing for months, — a constant round of marching, fighting, sieging, doing picket duty, digging trenches and lying in them, unless startled by * " Tlie 8th Connecticut, one of the most heroic bands of men that ever marched beneath a battle-flag." Abbott's Ilistory of the War, 2 : 175. QQQ HISTORY OF NORWICH. mines, or called away by sudden attacks to more arduous service.* The regiment was reduced to little more than half its original strength. Col. Ward was placed in command of a brigade, and Capt. Charles M. Coit of Co. B. commanded the regiment through the sanguinary conflicts at Cold Harbor, the successful charge before Petersburg, and the months of heavy siege work that followed, but in an engagement at Fair Oaks, Oct. 28th, while acting as Assistant Adjutant-General, he was severely wounded in the chest, and recovering but slowly, retired from the service in May, 1865. The 9th C. V. was principally an Irish regiment. A company was recruited for it in Norwich, called the Sarsfield Guards. Silas W. Saw- yer was Captain, and between 20 and 30 of the enlisted men were resi- dents in the town. The regiment was mustered into service at Lowell, Mass., in November, 1861. The Sarsfield Guards were at first somewhat wild and unruly, and the petty trespasses of the company near Lowell made the warning cry of " Connecticut over the fence ! " a temporary watch-word ; but when well dz'illed they made excellent soldiers. This regiment was sent to New Orleans, and performed its three years of arduous duty in the regions bordering upon the Mississippi. It came home on veteran furlough in April, 1864, and was then sent into Vir- ginia. Capt. Addis E. Payne and Lieut. J. H. Lawler were from Nor- wich.! In the 10th regiment, as it went first into the army, Norwich had no representatives. George C. Ripley was afterward appointed Lieutenant, but detached to act upon the staff of Gen. Ferry. The 11th C. V. was mustered into service under Col. Thomas H. C. Kingsbury of Franklin, and was afterward commanded by Col. H. W. Kingsbury, who was killed at Antietam. A fine company called the Harland Rifles, recruited in Norwich and gathering 23 of the enlisted men from the town, went into this regiment, under Captain Daniels of Franklin. The 8th, 10th and 11th regiments were in Burnside's expedition against North Carolina. Col. Kingsbury and 500 of his men were on board the Voltigeur when she stranded on Cape Hatteras, and lay there twenty-three days before they could get ashore. In the renowned battle of Antietam, so destructive to human life, no single regiment was visited with such fearful slaughter as the 11th Con- * Report of Major Pratt. t In October, 1865, Lieut. Lawler, late of the 9th C. V., went to Ireland on a visit to his kindred. On arriving in Dublin, he was arrested by the British authorities on suspicion of being a secret agent of the Fenians. His revolver, army medals, &c., were taken as proofs of his hostile intentions. He was soon, however, released and his pis- tols and documents restored. [Norwich Aurora. HISTORY OF NORWICH. ^ 667 necticut. Besides losing its Colonel, it was nearly halved. Before tlie conflict its strength was 440 ; 97 were killed, and 102 wounded.* In less than two years this regiment was again deprived of its com- mander by the pitiless stroke of war. Col. Griffin A. Stedman, of Hart- ford, a brave and accomplished oflacer, was killed before Petersburg, Aug. 5, 1864. The commissioned officers from Norwich in the 11th C. V. were Capt. Joseph H. Nickerson, and Lieuts. G. W. Keables and James E. Fuller. In the 12th C. V. Norwich had but a few enlisted men, and only one commissioned officer that remained in the regiment, viz., Lieut. Dwight McCall of Yantic; but in the loth C. V. the town was largely repre- sented. Henry W. Birge, Colonel ; J. B. Bromley, Quartermaster ; N. A. Fisher, Assistant Surgeon ; G. ^Y. Whittlesey, Adjutant ; Captains Alfred Mitchell and James McCord ; Lieuts. J. C. Abbott, W. P. Miner, and R. A. Ripley, with nearly half a hundred enlisted men, were from Norwich. These two regiments, 12th and 13th, were sent to New Orleans, and employed in the departments of the Gulf and the Mississippi. The 13th was quartered at first in the custom-house, and was like a right hand to General Butler in preserving order and sustaining the honor of the Union flag. This regiment was remarkable not only for its fine appearance, neat equipments, and soldier-like regard to manners and eti- quette, but for prompt obedience of orders and faithful performance of duty. These regiments in their southern campaigns had a trying expei-ience of battles, sieges, skirmishes, fevers, and long marches. At Georgia Landing their first blood was shed. They were in sharp fights at Thibo- deaux, Labadierville, Camp Bissell, Irish Bend,t and Port Hudson. At Port Hudson, after the Union forces had been twice repulsed, Gen. Banks called upon the army for a storming party of 1,000 volunteers, to take the post or perish in the attempt. Col. Birge was the first officer to respond. He collected a roll of 1,02G volunteers,— 91 officers and 935 enlisted men, — and offered himself with them to the commanding General to make the attempt. Of this party, 242 were from the regiment of Col. Birge, (13th C. V.) and 45 from the 12th C. V. The others were gath- ered out of the forty or fifty regiments at that time composing the Union Army of the Mississippi. While this heroic band were preparing for * Four of the Norwich men in the comjiany of dipt. Daniels were slain : David M. Ford, J. C. IIolvvcll, H. M. Scholfield, and John W. Wood. t Capt. McCord of Norwich was higlily commended for bravery at Irish Bend. "While the 13th was encamped at Thibodeaux, Lieut. Andrew T. Johnson of Montville and Lieut. Wheeler of New Haven were killed by the explosion of a car loaded with am- munition. 668 HISTORY OF NORWICH. their hazardous task, the post was unexpectedly surrendered, and the service was not required. This, however, does not detract from the patri- otism and self-sacrifice implied in the offer, which history will record as a special instance of heroism and devotion to the Union cause. When the formal surrender of the fort took place, the storming party, led by Col. Birge and bearing the flag of the loth C. V., were the first that entered the works, and the garrison grounded their arms before them. In the 14th C. V. Norwich had several efficient officers and nearly 40 enlisted men. William H. Tubbs and James B. Coit were Captains ; Henry P. Goddard and James R. Nickels promoted to the same rank ; Morton F. Hale and Frederick Schalk, Lieutenants. This regiment has a martial record that places it high in the ranks of heroism. In the first four battles inscribed upon its banners, it was suc- cessively divided into nearly equal shares between those that suffered and those that escaped injury. The loss at Antietam was 156;* at Freder- icksburg, 120 out of 320 that went into battle; at Chancellorville, 70 out of 220; at Gettysburg, 66 out of 160. Notwithstanding its reduced ranks, this regiment at Gettysburg, in the final terrific charge, when the grand attack of Lee was repulsed, took five regimental battle-flags and over forty prisoners.! In the Virginia campaign of 1864, this regiment again met with severe losses, — taking part in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and others. Capt. Coit, promoted Major in October, 1863, was wounded in five different battles. Lieut. Schalk died of wounds received in the Wilderness. Capt. Nickels, severely wounded in the bat- tle at Ream's Station, languished and died in a hospital at Washington, — one of the purest, bravest spirits that the war numbered among its vic- tims. In the next three regiments Norwich had no local interest, but the 18th was regarded as peculiarly her own, or the home regiment. It was the first that was here mustered into service. The Fair Ground near the city was prepared for the camp, and a hickory flag-staff eighty feet high raised as the signal-post. The regiment consisted of five companies from Windham county, and five from New London county. The latter were all recruited in Norwich, and the costly banners of the regiment, National and State, were a gift from the ladies of the place. Of the commissioned officers, eighteen were from Norwich, viz., Wm. G. Ely, Colonel ; D. W. Hakes, Quartermaster ; C. M. Caileton, Sur- geon ; J. P. Rockwell, Sergeant-Major ; five Captains, — Davis, Bromley, Hakes, Peale, Knapp ; and nine Lieutenants, — 1st, Lindsay, Morrison, Merwin, Palmer, — 2d, Cowles, Francis, Higgins, Lilly, and Tiffany. Of * Report of Col. Morris. t Beport of Col. Ellis. . HISTORY OF NORWICH. 669 the enlisted men, 240 are credited to Norwich on the rolls of the Adjutant- General. Tlie regiment left Norwich Aug. 22, 1862. As they marched through the streets to the place of embarkation, flowers and evergreens were showered upon them, prayers and blessings followed them in the way. They were stationed for several months in and near Baltimore ; not indeed idle, but winning no laurels, and chafing somewhat at their inglo- rious ease. Capt. Peale was appointed Major of the regiment ; Capt. Bromley detailed to act as Provost-marshal ; Capts. Hakes and Knapp resigned, and were succeeded by their Lieutenants, F. A. Palmer and J. H. Morrison. Dr. Carleton relinquished the post of Surgeon on account of ill health. At the opening of the campaign of 1863, the 18th was placed at once in the front of danger, being assigned to Milroy's command, in Virginia, and stationed at or near Winchester, which was then an outpost against the inroads of the enemy. The three days of June, 1863, (13th, 14th, and loth,) were a severe ordeal to this regiment. The Confederate forces under Generals Ewell, Early, and Jackson, advanced against "Winchester, drove the Union de- tachments back upon the town, made attacks in different directions, and after several sharp contests, came suddenly upon the outworks of the main fort and took them by storm. The fight continuing, and General Milroy, who had previously sent off his artillery and wagons, finding himself in danger of being surrounded, spiked his guns and withdrew during the night with all his command. Four miles from Winchester, he was inter- cepted by a strong force of the enemy planted in the way with artillery, but after a desperate fight of two hours, succeeded in cutting his way through with the greater part of his army. Two regiments, 18th Conn, and 5th Maryland, being dissevered from the main body, after a fruitless resistance, were captured almost entire. Of the 18th C. V. GO were left dead upon the field, 90 more wounded, and 469 taken prisoners. In this last number Col. Ely and Lieut. Col. Nichols were included. Among the slain was the gallant Capt. Edward L. Porter, a fine scholar and an able officer, who enlisted at Norwich, though belonging to New London. He graduated at Yale College in 1857, and was both endowed by nature and prepared by culture to embel- lish society, extend the domain of science, and benefit mankind. The captured men were immediately sent forward to Richmond, except the wounded, who were left at Winchester in charge of J. D. Ripley, the hospital steward of the 18th, who, though himself wounded, dressed the wounds of thirty-six others before attending to his own hurt.* That part * Mr. Ripley was afterward released by a party of Uuioa soldiers who made a dash- 670 HISTOBY OF NORWICH. of the regiment which escaped capture, numbering about 200, assembled at Harrisburg under Major Peale. Most of the private soldiers that had been sent to Richmond, were after a few weeks paroled and exchanged, rejoining the regiment in October ; but the officers were confined for nine months in the Libby and Belle-island prisons, and not exchanged till the next March. Col. Ely was one of a party of Union officers that escaped from Libby in February, 1864, by tunneling, but was recaptured before reaching the Federal lines, and carried back to confinement. With its ranks partially restored, the 18th entered upon the campaign of 1864 in the Shenandoah Valley. It took part in the action at New- market, May 15th, and fought with conspicuous gallantry under General Hunter's command, at the severe battle of Piedmont, June 5th. Colonel Ely's report says : " The 18th Conn. Volunteers were on the right of Gen. Hunter's line of battle, its colors took the lead in the first charge, and floated defiant till we triumphed. All of the Color Guard were wounded except one, our banner riddled by miuie balls and can- non shot, and a loss of 127 in killed and wounded tells our story." Among the victims were Adjutant E. B. Culver, a brave and valued officer. Corporal J. T. Bradley, and pHvate William H. Hamilton, young men from Norwich who left good situations to devote themselves to the service of their country. Lieut. J. T. Maginnis of Co. E, after being released from his long captivity in Richmond, came home on a brief fur- louo-h, and had rejoined the regiment only a week before the battle. Faithful and gallant to the last, he fell at his post, mortally wounded, and died the next day.* The 18th was constantly engaged during this long campaign, either in toilsome journeys or severe battles ; marching upwards of 1,100 miles, and participating in six general engagements, — at Newmarket, Piedmont, Lynchburg, Snicker's Ford, the second battle of Winchester, and Berry- ville, all in Virginia. The regiment was finally mustered out of service at Harper's Ferry, June 27, 1865. It was then 550 strong, and had been three years in the field, but its ranks had been several times strengthened by recruits. Col. Ely had previously resigned, and the regiment was under the command of Lieut. Col. Peale, a veteran officer who had been upwards of four ing inroad upon the town. He rejoined his regiment at Harper's Ferry, and continued in the service to the close of the war, passing through all the dangers of captivity, the inarch, the camp, and the battle field, to meet death at last in an unexpected moment and in one of its most appalling forms. See ante, p. 638. * "In the deaths of Lieut. Maginnis and Adjutant Culver, the regiment lost two valuable ofiicers. In camp they inspired the soldiers to excel in a faithful and cheerful discharge of military duties, and on the battle-field encouraged the command by gallant examples." Col. Ely's report. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 671 years almost constantly in the field, having recruited a company imme- diately after the fall of Fort Sumter, and continued in active service till the army began to disband. In the 19th regiment, as originally organized, Norwich had no volun- teers, and in the 20th C. V., "the Buckingham Legion," the only name from the place on the original muster-roll is that of Charles J. Arms, Adjutant, who was transferred to the staff of Brig. Gen. Harland. The 21st C. V. was the second regiment that had its rendezvous at Norwich, going into camp at the Fair Ground side by side with the 18th. It left the city Sept. 11, 1862. Hiram B. Crosby, Major; J. H. Lee, Surgeon ; Lieuts. C. A. Brand and James Stanley, with about 30 enlisted men, were gathered from the town. The first commanders of this regi- ment, Col. Button and Lieut. Col. Burpee, both died in June, 1864, of wounds received in the hard-fought battles in Virginia, and Major Crosby was appointed to the command. The 21st was the last of the seventeen regiments raised on the calls of 1861-2, for three years service or during the war. But even before the departure of the 21st, the President's proclamation was out, issued Aug. 4, 1862, calling for 300,000 of the militia for nine months service. Con- sequently there was no cessation of the recruiting business. Seven regi- ments were raised in Connecticut in compliance with this demand, and numbered from 22 to 28 inclusive. The 26th C. V. was drawn from New London and Windham counties, and had its camp-ground at Norwich, where it was organized in August ; Thomas C. Kingsley of Franklin, Colonel. The terras of the proclama- tion authorized a draft; the quota of Norwich was 139. This number was raised by voluntary enlistment, and there was no necessity for a con- scription. On the rolls of the regiment as it went into service, 141 are credited to Norwich, viz., 16 commissioned officers and 125 enlisted men. The officers from Norwich were Joseph Selden, Lieut. Colonel ; Ste- phen B. Meach, Adjutant ; B. F. Tracy, Quartermaster ; Elisha Phinney, Asst. Surgeon ; Capts. Clarke Harrington, Samuel T. Huntoon, Loren A. Gallop, John L. Stanton, and seven 1st and 2d Lieutenants. Rev. N. T. Allen of Jewett City went as Chaplain. The regiment mustered 900 strong, and was accepted Nov. 1 0th, leav- ing Norwich the 14th. It was sent immediately to New Orleans, and from thence up the Mississippi, where it joined the army of Gen, Bank3 at the siege of Port Hudson, and participated in three sharp engagements before that nost, May 27th, and June 13tli and 14th. The first of these assaults upon the stronghold was maiked by great daring and fearful slaughter. The attack was made in four lines, of which the 26th Conn, formed one, and it was the first time that the regiment had been under the enemy's fire. The report says : 672 HISTORY OF NORWICH. "In advancing we encountered three high parallel fences, and in getting over them much confusion ensued, and before we could get into line the enemy opened upon us ■with shell, shot, grape and canister, mowing down our men by scores." The killed and wounded of the 26th amounted to 107. The gallant Captain John Stanton of Norwich was shot dead. Colonel Kingsley was seriously wounded, and the command of the regiment devolved on Lieut. Col. Selden. In the engagement of June 14th, Lieut. Jacobs of Norwich received a mortal wound. This I'egiment, though in the field but nine months, returned with a roll of only 550. It had suffered greatly from sickness ; 27 had died on the battle-field, or of wounds received in battle, but more than thrice that number of disease. Some were left behind in hospitals ; seven were buried in their long route homeward ; and one — Miles Bromley of Jewett City — expired on the boat just before reaching home. The returning soldiers were mustered out of service at the Fair Ground, Dec. 20, 1863.* Besides these regiments of Infantry, Connecticut raised in the first years of the war a Battalion of Cavalry, two companies of Light Bat- tery, and two regiments of Heavy Artillery. In the First Cavalry, Capts. Charles Farnsworth and Joab B. Rogers, with Lieuts. J. H. Kane and H. T. Phillips, were from Norwich. This battalion left the State in January, 1862. During the first year of service it was in the Mountain Department of Virginia, under Schenck, Fremont, and Milroy, continually engaged in reconnoitering and fighting, meeting with the hair-breadth escapes and participating in the dashing conflicts, that usually characterize border warfare. In April, 1863, Capt. Farnsworth while passing with a small detach- ment along a mountain path, was suddenly attacked by a concealed force, and received a severe shot-wound, the ball passing through his arm and side. At a later period of the war, when but partially recovered, he was taken prisoner near Harper's Ferry, and endured for eight months the dreary seclusion of a Richmond prison. The First Cavalry has a stirring and eventful history ; sweeping in its campaigns through Virginia and the Carolinas in many hazardous raids. It was changed from a battalion to a regiment, and out of its 1,650 recruits about 80 were credited to Norwich. Capt. Farnsworth, promoted Colonel, resigned in May, 1864. Capt. Rogers, who joined the battalion at its first muster in 1861, was honorably discharged, after nearly four years service, in February, 1865, Lieut. Kane, captured by the enemy in Wilson's raid, experienced for a few * Nov. 14, 1864, nearly 300 members of the 26th Regiment met at a social reunioa in Norwich: Col. Kingsley, chairman; Adj. Meech, secretary. An address was deliv- ered by Rev. N. T. Allen, who had been the chaplain of the regiment. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 673 months the discomforts of the Libby prison. Lieut. Phillips, pi'omoted Captain, and J. L. Richardson, Adjutant, came home with the regiment in August, 1865. On the rolls of the Connecticut Light Battery, the only name from Nor- wich is that of Alfred P. Rockwell, Captain of the 1st C. L. B. This company landed at Beaufort in Februaiy, 1862, and was stationed for two years at points of hazard and responsibility on the coast, co-operating in the siege of Charleston. It was afterward attached to Butler's command in the advance to Richmond. Capt. Rockwell was then transferred to the infantry service, and appointed Colonel of the 6th C. V. The two regiments of Heavy Artillery were organized out of the 4th and 19th regiments of Infantry. The change of the 4th to 1st H. A. was effected in January, 1862. Henry W, Birge, Major of the 4th, was soon transferred to the 13th Infontry as its Colonel. Several of the lieu- tenants of the 1st Artillery were from Norwich. Lieut. Edwin L. Tyler entered this regiment, but was transferred to the staff of General Tyler. Lieut. Bela P. Learned retained his connection with the regiment to the close of the wai", having performed likewise for nearly two years various complicated duties as a field officer on the staff of General Abbott. He left the army with the rank of Captain and brevet Major.* Of the recruits raised by Norwich during the later years of the war, 140 were assigned to the two regiments of Artillery. A fair proportion of these belonged to the town, and were good men and true, but many of the substitutes obtained abroad proved to be adepts in fraud and desperate deserters.f The 29th C. V. consisted wholly of colored troops with white commis-' sioned officers. This was raised in 1864, and sent to Annapolis, where it was joined to the Ninth Army Corps under General Burnside. Its roll numbered 1,005 officers and men, and it was regarded as a regiment of more than ordinary physical ability and moral excellence. The officers from Norwich were Captains David Torrance and Wm. J. Ross ; Lieuts. M. L. Leonard, Edward P. Rogers, and Ch. H. Carpenter, — transferred to this regiment from the 18th, with advanced rank. * " To Capt. Learned great credit is due for skillful and energetic performance of perplexing duties." Report of Gen. Abbott for 1864. t The following item illustrative of the golden opportunity offered to a faithful sub- stitute for making money, is from the Norwich Bulletin : "On the 6th of August, 1864, James W. Needham, a Canadian, enlisted at the Provost-Marshal's office in this city, as a substitute. He entered the 14th Regiment, was not absent from duty a single day, and was discharged July 10, 1865. He received as bounty $650, and as pay $192.20. On the 29th of July ho arrived in Norwich with the above sum in his pocket, less only $1.50 paid for rations on the journey from Wash- ington. He left for home a few days afterward." 43 674 HISTORY OF NORWICH. The 29th obtained an honorable record for gallant conduct in the trenches before Petersburg, and for bravely facing the foe in several attacks upon the enemy's lines in the campaign of 1864. This regiment having been accepted as a part of the U. S. C. T., the officers were com- missioned by the President. A li.~t of commissioned officers from Norwich in service during the war, compiled with care from official sources, gives the following result : General officers, three, viz., Tyler, Birge, and Harland. Colonels, 5 Adjutants, 8 Captains, 45 Lieut. Colonels, 7 Surgeons, 7 1st Lieutenants, 32 Majors, 8 Quartermasters, 4 2d " 18 Total, 'l37. [Norwich Bulletin, Oct. 31, 1865.] The above list is not confined to citizens of Norwich deriving their appointment from the State. It includes several natives of Norwich who have removed to other parts of the Union, and residents of the town who have received appointments from other States ; also several officers in colored regiments, or in other general service, commissioned by the United States. It includes Major Thomas Maguire, Capts. Berry and Scott, and Lieut. Brennan, who went from Norwich and joined the 2d N. Y. Artillery ; William T. Lusk, Lieut, in 79th N. Y. Vols, and A. A. G. on General Tyler's staff"; Frank S. Bond, Major U. S. V., on Tyler's staff" in the Ai-my of the Cumberland, and on the staff" of Rosecrans at Stone River, Chickamauga, and in the campaign against Price ; Henry Case, Colonel 169th Illinois,* and George R. Case, Captain La. Colored Troops, — both natives and former residents of Norwich ; Douglas R. Bushnell, Major 13th Illinois, killed at Chattanooga ; J. H. Piatt, of the Ohio Cavalry, Major by brevet U. S. A. ; Lieut. Col. Calvin Goddard, of Cleveland, Ohio, aid to General Rose- crans ; Captains Charles H. Rockwell and J. M. Huntington, U. S. V. ; Capt. John L. Spalding, of the 18th Mass. Vols. ; Lieut. P. Ludlow Hyde, 26th Iowa, killed at Arkansas post. * Col. Henry Case is a son of Dea. Samuel Case of Norwich Town. He graduated at Yale College in 1846, and has been successively engaged in the three departments of law, divinity, and arms, besides running at one time as a popular candidate for a seat in Congress. He practiced law for several years in Ohio ; was ordained in the First Congregational Church at Norwich, under the charge of Rev. Dr. Arms, July 31 1855, and returned to the West as a Home Missionary; but when the war broke out, entered the army, and was with General Sherman in his grand march through the ■Confederacy. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 675 These officers, though natives of the place, or of Norwich parentage, are not technically regarded as Connecticut volunteers. The officers fi'om Norwich commissioned by the State were about 110, but these were not all in the service at the same time. Many of them were appointed as successors to the others. It is not easy to determine the exact number of private soldiers or enlisted men that Norwich contributed from her actual population to the service of the country. The town had the raising of the quota under her own management from the commencement of the war to July, 1863, but after that period the recruiting business was conducted by the provost- marshal of the district. During the first two years, covering the original organization of the volunteer force of Connecticut, the enlistments were almost wholly of town residents, but after that period they were princi- pally substitutes and hired recruits. The following statements are supposed to be nearly accurate : For the three months service Norwich furnished 12 commissioned offi- cers and 136 enlisted men. For the 1st Cavalry and 1st Artillery regiments, 10 officers and 32 enlisted men. For the three years Infantry service, in the regiments from the 5 th to the 21st inclusive, 528 enlisted men. For the 26th regiment, nine months service, 126 enlisted men. Re-enlistment of veterans, 127. Hired recruits and substitutes procured in 1863 and '64, probably about 280.* Colored men, volunteers and substitutes, 60. Volunteers, or substitutes for enrolled men, mustered into the navy, from Norwich, 89. These 89 seamen were taken up at different places, but credited to the town. Several of them enlisting as volunteers, received honorable appoint- ments as clerks and paymasters, and others as commanding officers. In 1863, Warrington D. Roath and Robert B. Smith, volunteer lieutenants from Norwich, were in command, — the former of the Bignonia and the latter of the Nita, armed vessels of the fourth rate. Lewis G. Cook was acting master of the gunboat Octorora, 1 1 guns. John W. Bentley, Acting Master U. S. N., died at his residence in Norwich, May 27, 1864. He received an appointment in the navy soon after the war commenced, and had been for three years in active service. At the capture of Port Royal, he was in the Wabash, which was attached * Among the recruits enlisted at Norwich, under date of Feb. 1, 1864, are tlie follow- ing singular names : Kannoris Blosopolos and Michael Zamphiropolos. These were men from some remote part of Canada. They were assigned to the 13th Regiment, and the last-named appears on the list of wounded at Cedar Creek, Va., Oct. 19, 1864. 676 HISTORY OP NORWICH. to Dupont's command. He had just been placed in command of the Ban- shee, a captured blockade-runner, and was preparing to put to sea, when seized with his last illness, which in one week ended in death. Commodore Joseph Lanman, of the regular naval service, is a native of Norwich. His original entry has the date of Feb. 1, 1826, which gives him forty years of naval experience. Twenty-four years of this term is credited to him as sea-service ; the remainder occupied in shore duty or unemployed. He is now in command of the Minnesota, screw-steamer, 52 guns. The Soldiers' Aid Association of Norwich, embodying the gifts and labors of the feminine portion of the community, displayed an amount of volunteer contribution, both of funds and labor, truly munificent. The patriotism and self-denial which prompted these efforts never slackened, but carried them forward from year to year, with persevering energy, while the war continued. It was not so much in the character of Eliza- beth Frys or Florence Nightingales that this zeal was exhibited, — not particularly in visits to battle-fields and hospitals, as inspectors, assistants, and nurses, though instances of such benevolent action were not wholly wanting,* but rather in making garments, preparing grateful food, medi- cines, comforts and delicacies, corresponding and giving judicious coun- sels and cheering words, and in collecting books, papers, and a variety of refreshments to add to the well-being of the soldier. Such associations occupy the place of the Angel of Mercy, following the track of the Demon of War, and repairing in part his ravages. It is thus that families at home co-operate with soldiers in the field, and woman performs her part in sustaining the Union and delivering the oppressed. The ladies of the Soldiers' Aid dissolved their Association in January, 1866. The news of the surrender by General Lee of the grand Confederate Army reached Norwich at an early hour, Monday morning, April 10, 1865. At day-break, by order of the Mayor, guns were fired and the bells rung to spread the tidings abroad. It was a day of great rejoicing. People met in the streets with hearty greetings and congratulations. Nothing was left of the Confederacy but the army of Johnston and the * During the whole war, Dr. Claudius B. Webster and Mrs. Webster, from Nor- wich, gave their personal services to the sick and wounded soldiers of the Union army ; either stationed at hospitals, or following in the rear of a marching army. Dn Web- ster was an agent of the Sanitary Commission, and a part of the time agent for the Connecticut regiments in the Department of the Cumberland. HISTORY OF NOEWICH. 677 resistance of Mobile and Texas, and these were involved in the great surrender. The war was therefore suddenly at an end. Victory, union, peace and thanksgiving were now the glorious pass-words. At 12 o'clock an impromptu jubilee-meeting was held in Breed Hall, and the great event celebi'ated — not with tumult and noise, but with earn- est expressions of gratitude and praise. Cheering addresses were made, prayers offered, and hymns chanted and sung.* It was a day of triumph for the prospect of a restored Union, and of joyful hope for an emancipated race.t This exulting scene was destined to be followed by a speedy and terri- ble revulsion. At this period great events are crowded together in the history of our country. On Friday, April 14, the fourth anniversary of the surrender of F'ort Sumter to the Confederates, President Lincoln was assassinated. The news was received here, as elsewhere, with amazement, horror, and indignation, succeeded by the bitter agony of grief. Business for a time almost ceased, and a scene of universal mourn- ing was exhibited. Governor Buckingham, Senator Fostei", and several Other citizens immediately repaired to Washington. Mr. Foster, in virtue of his otfice as President, pro, tem., of the Senate, became the nominal Vice-President of the United States, and in case of the death of Mr. Johnson, President, until another could be chosen. Wednesday, the 19th, was the day of the Funeral Services in Wash- ington, and religious solemnities were held in accordance with them through the Union. At Norwich the bells were tolled, and guns fired every half hour ; flags lowered and banded with crape ; many private houses, and all public places, draped in mourning. At 12 o'clock, manu- factories, work-shops, and places of business were closed, and the churches opened for devotional exercises. The next Sunday, discourses adapted to the event were delivered in churches hung with heavy drapery, and listened to with that profound emotion which is usually excited only by personal bereavement. At the celebration of the 4th of July, 1865, the returned soldiers were regarded with special interest. They were a distinguishing feature that separated the 89th anniversary from all other commemorations of the day in Norwich. Generals Birge and Harland, natives of the town, were present. Groups of officers and veterans, that had served in various reg- — e . . ^ . — . . ■ : — > - * The whole congregation joined in singing "Coronation " and "America." t Jan. 2, 1863, by order of the Mayor, 100 guns were fired, and the church bells in the city rung for an hour, in honor of the President's Proclamation of Emancipation to the slaves in the seceding States. 678 HISTORY OP NORWICH. iments, some of them from other towns, appeared in the procession. The stoi'm-flag that had been used in the assault upon Port Hudson was borne through the streets. The 18th regiment having been recently mustered out of service, the companies belonging to Norwich returned home just in time to take part in these festivities. Lieut. Col. Peale, with about one hundred of his soldiery, arranged under their respective officers, formed an interesting part of the line. They bore with them their regimental standard, but after reaching the Plain, the Mayor of the City presented to Col. Peale the original flag, under which they were mustered three years before. This flag, when more than half the regiment was captured at Winchester, was torn from its staff by the standard-bearer, and con- cealed under his uniform until he was safe from pursuit.* In the long procession at this time were several carriages occupied by a band of venerable citizens of the place, aged 70 and upwards — Veterans of the War of 1812.t Another unique feature of the celebration was the appearance in the line of several Fenian Circles, from this and the neighboring towns. It was the first time that these organized bands had appeared in this vicinity in a public procession with distinctive badges. There seemed to be no special point of time at which the war closed. Opposition ceased ; the sounds of strife died away, and the discharged soldiers began to return. They were every where received with acclama- tions, and banquets were spread before them. There was weeping over widows and orphans, but generous applause for the men of a hundred battles. It was a pleasant circumstance that the disbanded soldiery retui-ned quietly to their old homes and pursuits, resuming, in most cases, their accus- tomed avocations, as if only a week, or a month, had intervened. The farmer returned to his field, the operative went back to his factory, the mechanic to his trade ; mercantile clerks, agents, and assistants in banks * Sergt. George Torrey, of North Woodstock, was the gallant soldier that saved the State Color of the 18th regiment, at Winchester, by wrapping it around his person, and escaping to our lines. — Conn. War Rec, p. 23. t Names and ages of eighteen veterans of the War of 1812, who were in the proces- sion July 4, 1 8G5, and formed themselves into an association to meet annually, choos- ing General Williams for their President : Isaac Bromley, 74, Charles Gale, 69. Elisha Mansfield, 70. Samuel Case, 74. Lewis Hyde, 72. John Nichols, 80. Dr. Eleazar Downing, 78. Capt. Wm. Kelly, 81, John Starkweather, 75. Eber Edwards, 74. James Rose Ledyard, 74. Joseph Tyler, 73. Benjamin Ford, 73. Frederick Lester, 72. Gen. Wm. Williams, 77. Othniel Gager, 71, Asa Manning, 70, Elkanah Williams, 82, HISTOEY OF NORWICH. 679 and insurance offices, returned to their desks, and were re-invested with their former responsibilities. In special instances, the General might be seen again busy with his law-books, the Colonel and the Captain again teaching school.* When the war commenced, General Birge was one of the Governor's Aids, and was actively engaged in raising and sending forth the three months men. He entered the service in June, 1861, and in September, 1863, received the appointment of Brigadier-General of Volunteers, in acknowledgment of his gallantry at the siege of Port Hudson. The next year he was breveted Major- General for services in Sheridan's cam- paign in the Shenandoah Valley, and in June, 1865, was appointed to the command of the Military District of Savannah. Gen. Banks, in his report of the Red River expedition, alluding to the Cane River fight, says — " General Birge, as in all actions in which he has been engaged, deserved and re- ceived the highest commendation." General Harland entered into the service upon the first call of the country, and rose rapidly through the degrees of Captain and Colonel, to the command of a division at Antietam. He was then appointed Briga- dier-General, and stationed in the Military District of North Carolina. His last fight was at Kinston, in that State, where he commanded a divis- ion under General Scholfield, in the repulse of the Confederate forces under General Bragg, in March, 1865. General Harland, Lieut. Colonels Peale and Hale, Captains Lilly, McCord, Merwin, Moore, Parker, Ross, Tiffiiny, and other officers and soldiers that were engaged in the first expedition of 1861, have the satis- faction, not only of seeing the war through, but of having been a part of it from the beginning to the end. Brig. Gen. Tyler resigned his command in 1864, and about the same time removed from Norwich to Red Bank, in New Jersey. Col. Wm. T. Aiken, of Norwich, held the office of Quartermaster Gen- eral of the State troops during the war.f *An amusing illustration of this recurrence to former pursuits was furnished by Lieut. Sweet, who, before the war, excited quite a sensation by walking across the Shetucket on a rope, and after returning from service, in August, 1865, advertised that he would repeat the same exploit. t Capt. Eleazar H. Ripley, of "Windham, enlisted at Norwich in the company of Capt. Harland, in May, 1861 ; went out again in the 8th regiment, and lost his left arm in battle, but was promoted Captain for meritorious service, and continued in the army till it was disbanded. CHAPTER LII. Necrology of the War in relation to Norwich. Alphabetical list of soldiers that fell in battle, or died of casualties and disease, consequent upon the war : William R. Allyn, aged 18, farmer, enlisted in 14th C. V., July, 1862 ; died March 9, 1863. (8 m. in service.)* Alexander S. Avery, sergeant 5th C. V., killed in battle at Cedar Moun- tain, Aug. 9, 1862. (1 y. 18 d.) Courtland G. Avery, corporal in Stanton's company, 26th C. V., died of fever near Port Hudson, June 24, 1863, aged about 30. He was a son of Alfred Avery, of Scotland, Ct., but for many years a resident in Norwich. Frederick W. Baker, 1st Conn. Cavalry, enlisted Jan. 12, and died Jan. 27, 1864 ; 15 days in the service. Charles H. Beckwith, book-binder ; served in the three months cam- paign ; enlisted again in the 18th C. V., and died Dec. 1, 1862, aged 22. (7 m.) Henry M. Beckwith, 1st Artillery, died in hospital, near Alexandria, Oct. 10, 1863. (1 y. 5 m.) Herbert E. Beckwith, clerk, 18 years of age, son of Elisha V. Beck- with, of Norwich; served 18 months in 10th C. V., and subsequently as corporal in 2d Mass. Heavy Artillery. He was taken prisoner at Plym- outh, N. C, confined 8 months at Andersonville, Ga., and Florence, Ala., where he suffered severely from the want of food and clothing — was paroled in an exhausted, dying condition, and landed at Annapolis, where he rallied a little at sight of the Union flag, but died six days afterward, Dec. 30, 1864, aged 21. At Andersonville, in that loathsome abode of lingering torture, this young man wrote in his diary, " At times, I fancy I hear the church bells in Norwich." William A. Berry, a young Englishman that had recently settled at Greeneville, aged about 22. He was one of the first to enlist in Capt. * The terms of service, in this chapter, are not always precisely accurate, but are given as near estimates of the time. HISTORY OF NORWICH. 681 Frank Chester's company of the Buckingham Rifles, the first company raised in Norwich, and was commissioned 2d Lieutenant. He joined afterward Capt. Maguirc's company of the 2d N. Y. Light Artillery. This regiment was long on garrison duty at Washington, where Lieut. Berry was promoted Captain. He was killed near Petersburg, June 5, 1864, and buried on the battle-field ; but his remains were afterward brought to Norwich, in charge of his comrade in arms, Capt. Thomas Scott, and interred in Yantic Cemetery, Nov. 3, 1864. A gallant soldier, faithful to his adopted country. (3 y. 2 m.) John Best, of Greeneville, 2d Conn. Heavy Artillery, enlisted recruit, Dec. 30, 1863 ; killed near Petersburg. David Black, aged 38, 13th C. V. ; killed at Georgia Landing, La., Oct. 27, 1862. (10 m.) Edward Blomley, of Greeneville, 8th C. V. ; captured in an engage- ment upon the Petersburg R. R., May 7, 18G4, and died at Anderson- ville, Oct. 3, aged 39. A re-enlisted veteran. Lemuel Bolman, fai-mer, aged 44, 12th C. V., died Aug. 22, 1863. (ly. 8 m.) Henry A. Bottomly, manufacturer at Yantic ; corporal in the company of Capt. Dennis, 7th C. V. He had re-enlisted as a veteran, and died during his veteran furlough, while on a visit with his family near Boston, March 13, 1864, aged 34, — of disease contracted in the service. He was brought to Norwich and interred in Yantic Cemetery. John T. Bradley, aged 19, corporal 18th C V., killed at Piedmont, June 5, 1864. (1 y. 10 m.) Cha7'les A. Breed, Lieutenant in Capt. Ward's company, 8th C. V. He died at Newport News, of typhoid fever, July 30, 1862. At the time of his death he was detailed for duty on the Signal Corps of Burnside's division. His remains were brought home in charge of his friend, Lieut. Wait, and the funeral services were held at the 2d Congregational Church, Aug. 2d. Lieut. Breed had served in the 3d regiment for three months, enlisted again for three years, and had been engaged in battle at Roanoke and Newbern. The Common Council and the City Guards attended his funeral with every mark of respect, and the officers of the 8th regiment bore testimony to his patriotism and social virtues, and sent their condo- lence to " his widowed mother who had given two sons to sustain the cause of constitutional liberty." Benry Brooks, gardener, aged 44, a native of Three Rivers, Canada East, but for a number of years resident in Norwich ; enlisted in 26tli C. v., died July 3, 1863, in hospital, of wounds received in the first charge upon Port Hudson, May 27th. Daniel H. Brown, mechanic, aged 43, 9th C. V., died at New Orleans, May 14, 1862. (7 m.) 682 HISTORY OF NORWICH. ^ David H. Brown, farmer, aged 23, 13th C. V., died May 15, 1864. A re-enlisted veteran. Charles E. Bur dick, 10th C. V., son of Evan Burdick, architect, died in the hospital at Newbern, N. C, Jan. 16, 1863, aged 19. (1 y. 3 m.) Horatio Burdick, of Greeneville, aged 30, 18th C. V., died at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Oct. 19, 1862. (3 m.) Theodore Burdick, 1st Lieutenant 7th C. V.; commissioned Captain, July 1, 1862; killed in action at Morris Island, July 11, 1863, aged 25. (1 y. 10 m.) Albert Burnett, mechanic, aged 24, 18th C. V., killed at Winchester, June 14, 1863. (10 m.) Daniel Carney, operative, of Greeneville, aged 18, 18th C. V., killed at Snicker's Ferry, July 18, 1864. (2 y.) Michael Carver, teamster, aged 18, corporal 1st Conn. Cavalry, killed while on picket duty at Stafford Court House, Va., January 3, 1863. (1 y. 2 m.) David C. Case, son of Deacon Samuel Case, of Norwich Town, 3d C. v., killed at Bull Run by a cannon-ball, and died in an hour, July 21, 1861, aged 26. He was the first soldier from Norwich killed in the war of the rebellion. Henry F. Champtin, 10th C. V., captured while on picket duty near St. Augustine, Fla., died at Andersonville, Aug. 11, 1864, aged 21. This young man was brought home with the Norwich dead, and interred with them in Yantic Cemetery, but enlisted at Sprague. Giles D. Chapman, farmer, aged 41, 26th C. V. He was sick when the regiment left Port Hudson, and died soon after reaching home, Aug. 19, 1863. Alfred S. Chappell, 18th C. V., carpenter, aged 37, died Sept. 17, 1863. (1 y. 2 m.) Michael Gorhett, mechanic, aged 25, 13th C. V., died of wounds and disease. May 25, 1863. (1 y. 5 m.) John Crawford, of Greeneville, aged 23, 18th C. V., a young man of estimable character, who died of wounds, at Winchester, July 2, 1863. (1 yO Byron Crocker, aged 18, 13th C. V., son of late Thomas Crocker, of Norwich. He was one of the party that volunteered to storm the fortifi- cations at Port Hudson with Gen. Birge, and died of wounds received, at Georgia Landing, July 15, 1864. (2^ y.) John Gullen, 21st C. V., died in hospital at Newbern, March 22, 1864, aged 38. (1 y. 8 m.) Enoch Benjamin Culver, 18th C. V., a native of New Yoi'k, but for several years a resident in Norwich. While the regiment was encamped at Baltimore, he was detailed and employed as a clerk at Gen. Schenck's HISTORY OP NORWICH. 683 head-quarters, and was not with the regiment at the time of its defeat and capture at Winchester, but rejoined the remnant that escaped, at Harper's Ferry, and was promoted Lieutenant and Adjutant. He was mortally wounded at Piedmont, June 5, and died the next day, aged 21. His re- mains were subsequently recovered and transmitted to his parents in New York. (2 y. nearly.) Alonzo S. Cushman, operative, aged 18, 11th C. V.; chosen corporal; mortally wounded at Swift Creek, Va., May 5, and died May 9, 1864. He had re-enlisted as a veteran. William Davis, 1st Conn. Cavalry, captured at Craig's Church, Va., May 5, 1864, and died at Andersonville, Aug. 30, aged 42. (4 m.) William L. Davis, carpenter, aged 21, 18th C. V., killed at Piedmont, Va., June 5, 1864. (1 y. 10 m.) John Delany, of Greeneville, paper-maker, aged 18, 18th C. V., killed at Snicker's Ferry, Va., July 18, 1864. (2 y.) Edward Dorey, operative, aged 26, 14th C. V. ; chosen corporal ; died of wounds received at Antietam, Oct. 8, 1862. (3|^ m.) Sylvanus Downer, 18th C. V. He had been Chief Engineer of the Fire Department in Norwich, was captured at Winchester, exchanged, rejoined his regiment, and was promoted color-sergeant. Afterward wounded at Piedmont, he was taken prisoner a second time, and died at Andersonville, Nov. 5, 1864, aged 44. (2 y. 3 m.) James Dugan, machinist, aged 19, 26th C. V., wounded in the hand at Port Hudson, and died of disease on board the steamer, in returning home, July 28, 1863. Thomas Dugan, 21st C. V. ; enlisted in August, 1862, and died at Andersonville. George F. Edgerton, aged 35, 26th C. V., died at Port Hudson, July 23, 1863 ; brought home and interred. Charles Tracy Fanning, clerk, aged 18, 18th C. V., mortally wounded at Piedmont, June 5, 1864. Remains interred at Norwich, Oct. 18, 1865. (1 y. 10 m.) Henry C. Fanning, aged 18, 8th C. V., died Oct. 28, 1862, of wounds received at Sharpsburg, Md. (13 m.) Theodore A. Fanning, painter, aged 24, 8th C. V., died of wounds re- ceived at Sharpsburg, Md., Oct. 19, 1862. Thomas Fillburne, stone-layer, aged 25, 7th C. V., killed at Drur/s Bluff, Va., May 16, 1864. (2^ y.) David M. Ford, of Greeneville, aged 20, llth C. V., killed at Sharps- burg, Md., Sept. 17, 1862. (10 ra.) Joseph Forstner, aged 37, corporal in Capt. Peale's company, 18th C. v., died Aug. 9, 1863. (1 y.) Walter 31. Fox, 2d Artillery, killed at Petersburg, June 22, 1864. (5 m.) 684 HISTORY OF NORWICH. Henry G. Gaskell, aged 33, son of Benjamin Gaskell, of Greeneville, 18th C. V. He was wounded at Piedmont, taken prisoner near Winches- ter, and kept long in barbai'ous captivity. When at length released, he was so reduced by exposure and starvation, that he died while en route to be exchanged at Danville, Va., Feb. 20, 1865. (2 y.) Alfred M. Goddard, Lieutenant 8th C. V., son of the late L. H. God- dard, of Norwich, a young man of distinguished enterprise, superior nat- ural endowments, and winning manners. He had been for several years at the Sandwich Islands, engaged as a commercial agent, participating in many varied pursuits, amid different races of men, and diversities of cli- mate. He had traversed the Pacific Ocean from the Arctic to the Antarctic latitudes ; had tarried for months at a time on the desolate island of McKean, with no companions but a few workmen and sailors ; had visited Mauritius, and taken the East Indian route homeward, by the Red Sea and Europe. Having closed his agency at the Islands, he came home for the last time in May, 1863, and entered the army in July. He was em- ployed for several months on the staff of General Harland, but joined his regiment at the siege of Petersburg, and was mortally wounded in the battle of May 7, 1864. This was Lieut. Goddard's first regular engage- ment, but his conduct was that of a veteran. While gallantly leading on his men, near the close of a day of hard fighting, he was struck to the ground, and though carefully taken from the field, and removed the next day to Fortress Moni'oe, where he received every attention that surgical skill and kindness could bestow, he died May 9th. He was 27 years of age ; a short life in years, but long if measured by personal worth, duties per- formed, and the experience of changing scenes and adventures. His gen- erous disposition, manly bearing, lively and affable manners, had particu- larly endeared him to his friends. Even when a boy, as son and bi'other, he had acted the part of a man, and the sacrifice of his young life fell like a heavy blow upon the hearts at home. (9^ m.) William H. Hamilton, student, aged 18, 18th C. V., killed at Piedmont, June 5, 1864, nearly 2 years in service. (1 y. 10 m.) William G. Hayward, mechanic, 18th C. V., captured at Winchester, was exchanged and rejoined his regiment ; captured again at Newmarket, Va., May 15, 1864, and died at Andersonville, Sept. 8, 1864, aged 34. (2 y. 1 m.) John G. Holwell, aged 40, 11th C V., killed at Sharpsburg, Sept. 17, 1862. (10 m.) Thomas D. Huntington, son of Benjamin Huntington, of Norwich Town, aged 19, 8th C. V.; enlisted Sept. 21, and went into camp at Hartford, was taken sick, returned home, and died Sept. 29, 1861, 8 days after being mustered into service. WiUiam HutcUns, aged 20, 11th C. V., died June 14, 1862. (7 m.) HISTORY OP NORWICH. 685 Hervey F. Jacobs, book-keeper, 2d Lieutenant, 26th C. V. Lieutenant Jacobs had resided about eight years in Norwich, in the family of his relative, L. W. Carroll, Esq. He was well educated, and at the opening of the war was preparing to enter into business with flattering prospects. Patriotism and a high sense of duty carried him into the army. In the second assault upon Port Hudson, June 14, 1863, he was detailed to the command of a company, and while leading on his men, was fatally wound- ed by the explosion of a 12-pounder spherical case shot (or shell) fired by the enemy. The same shot killed four men outright, and wounded sixteen others. He died of his wounds in the hospital at Baton Rouge, La., July 5,* aged 24. A companion who was with Lieut. Jacobs on the field of battle, says, " AYhen that dreadful shell came which killed and disabled twenty men, including himself, he was cheei'ing and encouraging his men, and pressing forward with the assurance of success. After he was wounded, the noble spirit that animated him was manifested by his refusing to be taken to the rear, until all the wounded about him had been removed.f Marquis L. Johnson, mechanic, aged 39, 13th C. V., enlisted in Janu- ary, 1862, was discharged in July, on account of infirm health, and died at sea, on his way home. (6 m.) Stephen T. Johnson, aged 39, 26th C. V., died in the hospital at Mound City, 111., Aug. 3, 1863. Thomas F. Jones, enlisted recruit, 18th C. V., killed at Winchester, June 15, 1863. (1 m.) James Kennely, 10th C. V. He enlisted as a recruit in January, 1864, and was killed at Petersburg the first of April. (2|- m.) John Kelly, aged 18, enlisted recruit, 9th C. V., died July 24, 1862. (8 m.) John Kerr, of Greeneville, aged 44, 18th C. V., wounded and taken prisoner at Winchester, exchanged, transferred to InvaUd Corps, and died of disease contracted in the service. David Lacy, 2d Artillery, enlisted recruit, killed at Cold Harbor, Va., June 1, 1864. (4 m.) Daniel Laird, student, aged 18, 13th C. V., killed at Winchester, Sept. 19,1864. (2y. 7 m.) De Witt C. Lathrop, physician, aged 42. Appointed 1st Assistant Sur- geon 8th C. V. Died at Newbern, April 18, 1862, a victim to over exer- * In the same hospital, two days later, died his brother, Wyman D. Jacobs, of the 50th Mass. regiment, aged 21. They were sons of Joseph E. Jacobs, of Thomp- son, Ct. t A discourse in memory of Liout. Jacobs was preached in the Central Baptist Church, after the remains were brought home, Nov. 1, 1863, by Kov. Samuel Graves, pastor of the church. 686 HISTORY OP NORWICH. » tion and extreme anxiety for the wounded men under his care. He was a man of great moral and professional worth, and his death was a heavy- loss to the service, as well as to his family, and the community at home. His remains were interred at Windham, where most of his professional life had been passed, and where a monument, erected by the members of his regiment, testifies to the affectionate esteem in which he was held by his comrades. (6^ m.) Patrick Lloyd, iron-worker, aged 25, 14th C.V., killed at Spotsylvania, May 11, 1864. (1 y. 10 m.) Henry JV. Loomis, seaman, aged 18, 21st C. V., mortally wounded Aug. 19, 1864. (2 y.) Edward P. Manning, Commissary Sergeant and 2d Lieutenant 26th C. v., a young man of unblemished character, a member of the Baptist Church, and one of whom his companions said, " He carried his religion with him into the army, and was as ready to fight under the banner of the Cross, as under the flag of his country." He served out the time of his enlistment, constantly on duty, acting at different times as Commissary, Quartermaster, Adjutant and Lieutenant, came home with his regiment, and died on the day it was mustered out of service, aged 28. Funeral services were held in Norwich, but the interment was at Putnam, where his parents reside. Patrick Maro, mechanic, aged 18, 10th C. V., killed at Newbern, N. C, March 14, 1862. (5^ m.) May B. Martin, of Greeneville, student, aged 18, 18th C. V., a well- educated, promising youth, died of wounds received at Winchester, July 2, 1863. (11 m.) Ronald McAllister, Jr., of Greeneville, farmer, 11th C. V., killed at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864. (His father, of the same name, served 14 months in the same regiment.) (2 y. 7 m.) John Mc Call, of Yantic village, aged 25, enlisted as a private in 8th C. v., Sept. 21, 1861 ; was chosen sergeant, and in Feb., 1863, promoted to a captaincy. He was in the North Carolina campaign under Burnside ; fought afterward at South Mountain, at Antietam, and in many other sanguinai'y engagements, always noted for bravery and skillful manage- ment. Li his third year's experience of marchings, fightings, wounds, and captivity, he was killed at Drury's Bluff, May 16, 1864. James McCracken, of Greeneville, boiler-maker, aged 28, 18th C. V., killed at Winchester, June 15, 1863. (10|- m.) James S. McDavid, 1st Conn. Cavalry, captured at Ashland station, June 1, 1864, and died at Andersonville, Aug. 21, aged 17 y., 9 m., 20 d. (7i m.) William Mc Knight, 12 th C. V., died at Brashear City, La., Aug. 17, 1863. (1 y. 8^ m.) HISTORY OF NORWICH. 687 Thomas Mc3Iahon, enlisted recruit, 18th C. V., killed at Piedmont, Va., June 5, 18G4 (G^ m.) Gilbert McMahon, 2d Conn. Artillery, killed at Piedmont, June 5, 1864. (5 m.) John McSooley, shoe-maker, aged 35, 9th C. V., died April 18, 1863. (ly.6m.) James Mc Vay, laborer, aged 43, 14th C. V., fell out of the ranks in the march to Autietam, and died of exhaustion, Sept. 9, 1862. Less than 2 months in service. John Meany, laborer, aged 35, 9th C. V., died Nov. 12, 1862. (13^ m.) Charles Meisser, a Gei'man, aged 24, 6th C. V., killed at Morris Island, July 18, 1863. (1 y. 9^ m.) , Jacob W. Miller, Jr., son of J. "W. Miller, of Norwich Town, aged 16, enlisted soon after the war commenced, in the Slst N. Y. V., which was recruited in New York City. He was with his regiment in the North Carolina campaign under Burnside ; in the army of the Potomac at South Mountain and Antietam ; in Grant's army at Vicksburg, and in the ad- vance to Richmond through the Wilderness. " In the conflict near Spot- sylvania, May 18, 1864, while in front of the fight, he was shot through the heart, and as his commanding officer wrote to his friends, died with his face to the enemy while advancing on their work. He had never been absent an hour from his post during his connection with the army, and was buried on the battle-field."* James Morningham, laborer, aged 33, 9th C. V., died July 21, 1862. (10 m.) Oramel M. Molt, farmer, aged 18, llth C. V. ; chosen corporal ; re-en- listed veteran in January, 1864, and was killed near Petersburg the fol- lowing May. (2 y. 8 m.) Peter Mulligan, operative, aged 44, 26th C. V. He returned with his regiment from Port Hudson, but in a sickly condition, and died before he was mustered out of service. James Murphy, laborer, aged 19, 9th C. V., died August 16, 1862. (10 ra.) Dennis Murphy, laborer, 21st C. V., died March 12, 1864. (1 y. 7 m.) James Ji. Nickels, a native of Maine,* who had resided several years in Norwich, employed as a clerk. He served in Capt. Harland's company of three months men ; enlisted again as a private in the 14th regiment. May, 1862 ; was chosen sergeant, and by successive promotions, made Captain before he was 21 years of age. He fought at Antietam, at Fred- ericksburg, at Chancellorsville, and in innumerable other less noted en- * Norwich Aurora. 688 HISTORY OF NORWICH. gagements ; passed unhurt through the terrible battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania ; led the regiment in a brilliant charge at Cold Harbor, for which he was complimented by the commanding officer, and served in front of Petersburg, till Aug. 27, 1864, when, in the sanguinary struggle at Ream's Station, he was wounded, and left by the retreating iSrmy on the field of battle. Here he was stripped by the rebels and left to die, but during the night, the adjutant of his regiment found him, and pro- cured his removal to the lines. He languished for six mouths, was several times thought out of danger, but his constitution was broken down, and he died in hospital at Washington, D. C, Feb. 20, 1865, aged 22. A pure-minded patriot, and as a soldier, intrepid and brave. The manly fortitude and cheerfulness with which he bore his long confinement, equaled in heroic endurance his conduct on the battle-field. Joseph H. Nickerson, sergeant 11th C. V. ; promoted Captain, Aug. 6, 1863. After participating in many hard-fought battles, and coming home with his regiment on their veteran furlough, his health failed, and he resigned in October, 1864. He was afterward appointed to office in the Provost-Marshal's Department, but died May 15, 1865, aged 23. He was honored with a military funeral, six discharged officers officiating as pall-bearers, and the Common Council attending in a body. (3 y.) Charles G. Noyes, student, aged 20, 18th C. V., wounded at Winchester, and died June 15, 1863. A young man of promising talents and correct deportment, the only child of his parents. Such bereavements show the intense cruelty of war. William T. V. Osborne, a conscript from Norwich, who died at the Knight Hospital in New Haven, Sept. 2, 1863. Brought home for inter- ment. Josiah L. D. Otis, physician, aged 41, enlisted in 14th C. V., company of Capt. J. B. Coit ; wounded at Fredericksburg, and died, after extreme suffering, at a hospital in Washington, Feb. 10, 1863. (6^ m.) James Parkerson, fireman, aged 27, 26th C. V., mortally wounded at Port Hudson, May 27, and died June 1, 1863. (9 m.) Charles H. Potter, machinist, aged 24, 9th C. V., died Aug. 10, 1862, at Baton Rouge, La. (9 m.) William Reynolds, aged 18, sergeant 13th C. V., mortally wounded at Cane River Creek, April 23, 1804. A veteran. (2 y. 4 m.) Frederick E. Schalk, aged 24. He served as a private soldier in the 3d regiment, and as sei'geant and lieutenant in the 14th. In one of the sharp engagements in the early part of 1864, when the army was ad- vancing into Virginia, he was severely wounded, and died in the hospital at Fredericksburg, May 6, 1864. The funeral services were held at Norwich, but he was interred at Lebanon, his native place, the Norwich HISTORY OF NORWICH. 689 Light Infantry escorting the remains thither, and firing a parting volley over his grave.* Henry M. Scholfield, a promising young man who enlisted in the 1st C. v., April 22, 1861, and afterward entered the 14th regiment. He died of wounds received at Antietam, Sept. 28, 1862. John Shea, 13th C. V., died July J 8, 1863. (1 y. 6 m.) William 31. Sherman, sergeant 26th C. V., died June 28, 1863, in hos- pital at New Orleans, of wounds received at Port Hudson, aged 25 years and 9 months. Funeral services at the Free Chui'ch, NorAvich. John Simpson, sergeant 9th C. V., aged 27, died at New Orleans, Oct. 9,1862. (ly.) James Souter, of Greeneville, clerk, aged 20, 11th C. V., killed at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864. (2 y. 7 m.) John L. Stanton, Captain Co. G, 26th C. V. A gallant soldier, killed in the first terrific assault upon Port Hudson, May 27, 1863, aged 44. 3Iyron W. Sterrett, aged 20, 26th C. V., missing after the attack upon Port Hudson, and never heard from afterward. Joseph Stokes, 2d C. V., died in hospital, July 25, 1861. Francis W. Taylor, manufacturer, aged 55, 18th C. V., severely wound- ed at Piedmont, June 5, 1864, died at Annapolis, Md., March 28, 1865, aged 57. (2 y. 8 m.) Nelson C. Thompson, operative, aged 21, 18th C. V., died June 30, 1863, of wounds received at Winchester. (11 m.) Eugene Tilden, enlisted in 1st Conn. Artillery, March 20, 1862, served through the Peninsula campaign, was discharged on account of disability in January, 1863, returned home, and died at his father's, April 23, aged 20. Edward F. Tisdale, aged 15, enlisted Nov., 1861, 9th C. V. ; discharged the next October on account of disability; enlisted in January, 1864, in 1st Conn. Cavalry ; was captured after his horse had been shot under him, and died at Andersonville, Sept. 23, 1864, aged 18. Richard Tomlinson, mechanic, aged 40, 26th C. V. Served till the regiment was mustered out, but died soon after reaching home, of disease contracted in the service. James Torrance, aged 20, sergeant in the 3d C. V., and also in the 13th, killed in a charge at Port Hudson, May 24, 1863. He was a young man of distinguislied bravery and moral worth, a native of Scotland, and brother of David Torrance, Colonel of the 29th (colored) regiment. * The Norwich Light Infiintry is a volunteer company of home guards, organized Feb. 17, 1862, consisting at first of 45 men, but increased to 60, S. R. Pariin, Captain. The company was accepted by the State as the nucleus of the 3d Regiment of State Militia, and Capt. Tarlin commissioned by the Governor. The presence of this com- pany has given additional interest to the mournful observances of many a soldier's funeral. 44 690 HISTORY OF NORWICH. William IT. Town, of Greeneville, mechanic, aged 29, 18tli C. V., died in hospital at Sandy Hook, Md., March 28, 1864. (1 y. 8 m.) Joseph A. Tracy, clerk, aged 18, enlisted as musician 18th C. V., wounded at Snicker's Ferry, July 18, 1864, and died in hospital at Sandy Hook, Md., Aug. 7, having been in the service two years to a day. John F. Treadway, corporal 1st Conn. Cavalry, son of F. W. Treadway, of Norwich City. He enlisted at New Haven, Jan. 4, 1864, and died in captivity at Andersonville, Aug. 3. Moses Tyler, aged 19, 14th C. V., captured at Morton's Ford, Feb. 7, and died in prison at Richmond, June 27, 1864. (1 y. 11 m.) Erastus Vergason, farmer, aged 27, 10th C. V., killed at Roanoke Island, Feb. 8, 1862. (4 m.) Ferdinand Volhier, carpenter, aged 36, 6th C. V., died Oct. 21, 1862. (13^ m.) Marvin Wait, son of John T. Wait, Esq., and when the war com- menced, a student in Union College, enlisted in the 8th C. V., Oct. 5, 1861. He was soon promoted to a Lieutenancy, and detached for service on the Signal Corps, in which capacity he was on duty in Burnside's flag- ship at the taking of Roanoke Island, and with General Parke at Fort Macon. In the reduction of Fort Macon, April 26, 1862, signals were used with such complete success as to afford a vivid illustration of the value of a system of signs in certain contingencies of war. Lieut. Andrews, of the 9th N. Y. V., and Lieut. Wait, occupied a sta- tion from which, by the aid of glasses, the movements of the enemy could be distinguished, and by signals from these officers the fire from the Union batteries was directed, rectified, and rendered accurate, with such effect that the fortress was soon surrendered.* Messrs. Andrews and Wait were highly commended for their service on this occasion. Subsequently, by order of Col. Myer, chief officer of the Signal Department, a Signal Bat- tle Flag, awarded to Lieut. Wait for gallantry and efficient service at Fort Macon, was sent to his father. Lieut. Wait rejoined his regiment at Fredericksburg, and at Antietam led his company in the gallant charge over the river upon the fortified posts at Sharpsburg. Here the advancing troops were outflanked and ex- posed to a destructive cross-fire of cannon and musketry. The first brig- ade was soon swept away ; the second, under Gen. Harland, to which the 8th Connecticut was attached, advanced to the rescue, but after fearful slaughter, was obliged also to retreat. " Lieut. Wait fell at his post while urging on his men into that terrible storm of shot and shell." * " After 12, M., every shot fired from our batteries, fell in or on the fort." At 4, P. M., the white flag appeared. — [Report of Lt. Andrews to the signal officer.] HISTORY OF NORWICH. 691 "Just before he was wounded, he was seen closing up the ranks of his company and dressing them in line, as deliberately as though on dress parade." Such is the testimony of his comrades who were with him in that terri- ble fight. Severely wounded and led to the rear, the fire from an advanc- ing body of the enemy enfiladed the spot where he lay, and gave him his death wound. Lieut. Wait wanted four months of being twenty years of age. He was an only son, and the centre of many fond anticipations. His coolness and self-possession in the midst of battle were remarkable in one so young. An officer to whose command he was temporarily attached while on the North Carolina coast, said of him, " I had the opportunity of seeing Lieut. "Wait under three most galling fires of the enemy, and when others older, both in years and time of service, were shrinking, he stood to his post like a veteran." General Harland commended him, not only for bravery and honor, but for the earnestness and zeal with which he labored to pre- pare himself for his various duties as a member of the Signal Corps and as a line officer. The funeral services were held at the 1st Congregational Church. Governor Buckingham, the Mayor and Common Council of the city, the field and line officers of the 26th regiment, the Norwich Light Infantry, and a great assemblage of citizens were in attendance.* Frederick S. Ward, aged 18, corporal 14th C. V., left mortally wounded on the field of battle at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862, sending by one of his comrades a last message of love and consolation to friends at home. This young man enlisted from Saybrook, and is credited on the quota of that town, but was a son of John B. Ward, late Treasurer of the Chelsea Savings Bank, Norwich. Georfje W. Ward, organist and music teacher, aged 26, 18th C. V. Ho was taken prisoner at Winchester, and confined successively at Bell Isle, Danville, and Andersonville, at which last station he died, Feb. 26, 1865, aged 29. His manly fortitude and genial temperament long sustained him, but continued hunger, confinement, and ill usage at length brought him to the grave, after he had been 21 months a prisoner. He had fine musical talents, was a steadfast patriot, and had many Avarm personal friends. Patrick Welden, aged 34, sergeant 9th C. V., died at New Orleans, Aug. 14, 1862. (10 m.) * The Portrait of Lieut. Wait appears in tliis work. He was the first commissioned officer from Norwich that fell in support of the Union cause. lie had displayed signal ability and heroism for one so young and unaccustomed to military duty, and we have therefore given a more extended account of his short but meritorious service. 692 HISTORY OF NORWICH. ^ Frank White, carpenter, aged 28, 6th C. V., missing at Fort Wagner, July 18, 1863, and supposed killed. (1 y. 10 m.) Daniel Wilbur, 18th C. V., accidentally shot while on guard duty, at Fort Howard, Md., January 5, 1863, aged 19. Interred at Norwich. (6 m.) Ja7nes Williams, of the Jackson Guards, Capt. Maguire, 2d N. Y. Ar- tillery, died in camp, at Alexandria, of typhoid fever, in Feb., 1862. He was an old resident of Norwich, and one of the first who enlisted for the war. His remains were brought to Norwich and interred Feb. 1 Gth. Joseph Winship, clerk, aged 21, 18th C. V. He was left at Winchester after the battle of June 16, 1863, to look after the sick and wounded; was taken prisoner, sent to Richmond ; transferred to Andersonville, Ga., and there died, April 5, 1864, aged 23 years and 6 months. He was an only child, and his death left the home of his parents desolate. John W. Wood, operative, aged 23, 11th C. V., died from wounds re- ceived at Sharpsburg, Sept., 1862. (9 m.) Henry P. Tarrington, aged 25, 14th C. V., died of wounds received at Antietam, Sept. 21, 1862. (3^ m.) COLOBED SOLDIERS. Job A. Davis, 29th C. V., enlisted Jan. 2, 1864, died in October, 1865. Funeral services at the Eureka Lodge Room of Colored Free Masons, and the remains taken to Jewett City for interment. James Gillson, 31st U. S. C. T., mustered Jan. 22, and died June 5, 1864. Chester H. Hallam, 24th R. I. Artillery, mustered July 18, 1863, died May 4, 1864.* The remains of nine Norwich soldiers, who died in dreary captivity, at Andersonville, Ga., were recovered and brought home in January, 1866. These were Edward Blomley, Sylvanus Downer, Edwai'd F. Tisdale, Henry F. Champlin, Wm. G. Hayward, Geo. W. Ward, William Davis, James S. McDavid, J. H. Winship. The city authorities awarded to them a public funeral and a burial spot in Yantic Cemetery. The commemorative services were held in Breed Hall. The coffins, placed on a funeral car and covered with the American * These were the only victims of the war, among the colored soldiers of the town, whose names the author has ascertained. Probably others should be added to the list. HISTORY OP NORWICH. 693 flag, were borne in solemn procession, by friends and citizens, societies and soldiery, to the place prepared for their reception. The number of fatherless children in town, made such by the war, is ninety-three. Some of them bear the names of Banney, Bresnahen, Col- lins, Gleason, Mc Garry, McNamara, Munroe, O'Donnell, and Sanders, showing that nine more names, at least, should be added to the foregoing list of the war's victims. NOTE. In reviewing this work, as the last pages go to press, a few passages are observed that belong to the class of Errata — not printer's errors, but mistakes inadvertently made by the writer. Such are the two following, which happily it is not too late to acknowl- edge and amend. P. 77, 18th line from the top, erase the sentence : " now deposited in the archives of the Bible Society." This is an error, the venerable book referred to being still in the possession of the Lathrop family. P. 527, 3d line from the bottom, the date of the Sabbath School should be 1816, and the place where it was first kept, the brick school- house. The Memoir of Mrs. Harriet "Winslow shows that the Sabbath School of the First Society had an interesting and auspicious commencement. Miss H. W. Lathrop, (afterward Mrs. Winslow, of the Cingalese Mission,) during a visit to New York, in March, 1816, witnessed the operation of the Sunday School institution in that city, and came home with the fire in her heart, which she spread among her friends and neighbors, and in the coux'se of a few weeks, a prosperous school of the same kind was in operation in this Society. Miss Lathrop and her friend. Miss M. Coit, were the first teachers. They began with a class of seven ; on the 2.3d of June, they rejoiced over " two new scholars," and before the close of July, the whole number that had been gathered in was forty-seven. An interesting feature of the school was a class of colored women, under the teaching of Miss Thomas. This school, and the one at the Landing, begun the previous year, had a common origin, — G. L. Perkins, and his associates in the work at Chelsea, having caught the inspiration, as Miss Lathrop did afterward, by visiting the Bethune Sunday Schools in New York. There was only this difference — in Mr. Mitchell's Society the first movers were young men, in that of Dr. Strong, young women. APPEE^DIX. In the foregoing work, (p. 585,) some account is given of the Uncas Monument erected in the old Indian Cemetery, in 1842. The expense of this monument was borne by the ladies of Norwich. It was wrought of Quincy granite, at the Massachu- setts State Prison, Charlestown, and coarsely cut, with the simple name of the Sachem engraved upon it, in large raised letters — the monument harmonizing in its structure with the stern and savage character it commemorated. The direction and superintendence of the monument was committed by the ladies to G. L. Perkins, Esq., who addressed a circular letter to several distinguished anti- quarians, requesting an expression of opinion in regard to the best mode of spelling the Sachem's name. Among the answers that he received were the following, which may be deemed worthy of preservation, not only on account of the distinction of the writers, but as exemplifying in one short name the confusiod and uncertainty that exists in Indian orthography. Haetfoed, August 17th, 1841. G. L. Perkins, Esq., Dear Sir: — Your note of the I4th inst., has been in my hands a day or two. I have, in the meantime, examined some of the old records and documents in the Sec- retary's oiBce. The result is according to your own experience and observation, viz., that the name is spelt varioushj. In an original letter from the llev. James Fitch, of Norwich, dated in 1G75, it is written Unkas. In the records, it is generally written Uncass, sometimes Uncasse, and "sometimes k is used instead of c. These variations do not materially affect the sound. The question of spelling is to be settled by those who spell. The Indians had nothing to do with it. The signature of the original Sachem was the outline of a long necked bird, or some- thing like it. Dr. Trumbull and Dr. Holmes both write the name Uncas, and this is probably as good authority as there is. The latter especially, is a remarkably correct antiquarian. The farther you go back, the greater diversity you will tind. I am sorry that I can furnish you with nothing more decisive. I am, with great regard. Your friend and ob't serv't, THOMAS DAY. 696 APPENDIX. New Haven, August 17 th, 1841. Dear Sie : In reply to your letter of the 14th inst., I should say that the better way for you to adopt in engraving the name of the Indian Sachem on the monument, is to follow Dr. Trumbull, who uniformly wrote Uncas. Dr. Trumbull is our historian, and his orthog- raphy was probably adopted in consequence of the Doctor's finding that to be the most common. Please to accept the respects of, Sir, your ob't serv't, NOAH WEBSTER. G. L. Perkins, Esq. New York, August 21st, 1841. Dear Sir : Your favor of the 14th was received by me a few days ago, at Saratoga. I embrace the earliest moment after my return to the city, to reply ; and yet I can do you but small service touching the subject of your inquiry. You appear to be in possession of most of the different names which the early writers assigned to Uncas ; and your opinion is as good, if not better, than mine, as to the orthography that ought to be selected for the proposed monumental inscription. You refer to a copy of a deed in which the chieftafin's name is written, On-kos. It has been thus printed in several of the early chronicles. In the earlier years of his career, after his acquaintance with the English Colonists he was sometimes called Poquim, or Poquiam, as well as Uncas. There were several ways of spelling that first name ; and I have now before me, in print, these variations, viz. : Poquin, Poquim, Poquime, Poquiam, Poquoiam. There is extant a document, or treaty, executed jointly by Uncas and Miantonomoh, on the 2d of September, 1638, to which the signature of the Mohegan Chief was affixed thus : — "Poquiam, alias Unkas." This last mode of spelling it — Unkas — was adopted by Gookin, and also by the Rev. Mr. Fitch, the first minister in Norwich, as you may see by a letter from Mr. Pitch to General Gookin, contained in vol. I, Mass. Historical Coll. Hubbard, who, as you know, wrote very early, spells it Uncas ; so also does Cotton Mather in the Magnalia Christi. This orthography has been followed by all, or nearly all, the later authors, Trum- bull, Bancroft, and others. You refer to the variations of the orthography found among the early writers, histo- rians, journalists, &c., &c., among whom you particularize Winthrop, as having writ- ten the name differently at difi'crent times. Such, undoubtedly, was the fact in all the Colonies. The Indians themselves had no written language ; and the early writers, having no guides, noted down the names as best they could, from the sounds given by Indian articulation. The names, moreover, were often so long, so crooked, and so uncouth, that the writers were often puzzlffrt at one time to remember how they had written them at another. Hence the almost inextricable confusion in the matter of spelling Indian names, both of persons and places. In this State, we are worse off than you are in New England, since we have to contend with the outlandish orthogra- phy manufactured by the Dutch, the French, and the English ! APPENDIX. 697 But I am writing quite too much. "Were it in my power to obliterate all the written and printed records in which the name of Uncas appears, and create a simple orthog- raphy for it, I think I should write it On-kos. To my eye and ear, it looks and sounds like better Indian when written thus. But under existing circumstances, I should accept the common orthography, and engrave it on the monument Uncas. Thus it is written in all our modern, and our best histories, and thus it will descend to posterity. I think it best, therefore, that the proposed inscription should conform to general usage. I am. Sir, Very truly yours, WILLIAM L. STONE. G. L. Perkins, Esq. The letter from Mr. Fitch to General Gookin, referred to by Col. Stone, was written from Norwich, Nov. 20, 1674, and contains the following interesting passage: " Since God hath called me to labour in this work among the Indians near to me, where indeed are the most considerable number of any in this colony, the first of my time was spent upon the Indians at Moheek [Mohegan] where Unkas and his son and Wanuho are sacliems. These at first carried it teachably and tractably ; until at length the sachems did discern that religion would not consist with a mere receiving of the word ; and that practical religion will throw down their heathenish idols, and tho sachems' tyrannical monarciiy, and then the sachems did not only go away but drew off their people, some by flatteries and others by threatenings ; and they would not suffer them to give so much as an outward attendance to the ministry of the word of God. But at this time some few did show a willingness to attend. Therefore I begaa meetings with them about one year and a half since." " And he that is chief among them, whose name is Weebax, hath learned so much that he is willing and able in some degree to be helpful in teaching and prayer to the others, on the Lord's day ; and this Weebax is of such a blameless conversation that his worst enemies and haters of religion cannot but speak well of his conversation ; and the same may be said concerning another, whose name is Tuhamon. Tiie number of these Indians is now increased to above thuty." II:TDEX OF l^AMES. Abbott, 378, 98 ; 535, 656, 67, 73. Abel, (Abell.) 66, 83, 4; 101, 2, 67, 68, 74, 88, 91, 6 ; 205, 9, 36, 78, 81, 7 ; 304, 6 ; 429, 38 1 606, 34. Adams, 139, 51, 70 ; 259, 376, 420, 513, 19, 37, 46, 82, 3 ; 614, 33, 48. Adgate, 53, 60, 1, 4, 8, 9 ; 73, 4 ; 84-6; 125,6,9,35,51,5,6,77, 93 ; 203, 13, 14, 19, 74, 81, 8 ; 383, 440, 50G, 33. Aiken, 679. Aitcheson, 438, 592. Alden, 461. V Allen, 222. 40, 51 ; 364, 428, 46 ; 515, 21, 44, 8, 64 ; 622, 38, 44, 71, 2. AUerton, 222. Allyn, 58. 9 ; 61, 6 ; 83, 7, 8 ; 114, 34. 5,56, 7, 74; 207,47,60,62; 439, 83 ; 038, 80. Almy, 642. Amei, (Eanie3,)162, 222, 45 | 488. Amherst, Gen., 313. Amos, 86, 97, 244, 54. Andrews, (Anaross,) 166, 96 ;222, 3, 41, 3 ; 651, 90. Andross, Sir Edmund, 167, 261. Angel, 227, 60. Apthorp, 371. Arms, 150, 528, 60, 84, 91, 2; 671, 4. Armstrong. 136, 223, 35; 304, 429, 606, 614, 22. Arnold, 69. <*3, 207. 23, 76 ; 306, 8,27; 4("j, 7, 9, 15. Asbury, GO'i. Aspinwall, 639. Au.'itin, 435, 6, 7, 67, 9, 89 ; 543, 60; 604. Avery, 41, 5 : 89, 110, 12, 57 ; 204, 23,36,54, 79; 329, 431, 4, 9; 492, 604, 12, 86; 661, 80. Ayer, (Ayers,) 234, 44 ; 309, 445, 538. Backus, 21, 63, 61, 2, 4, 6 ; 73, 4 ; 84-86, 9 ; 94, 7 ; 120, 5. 6, 32, 34-8, 43, 57-62, 5, 8 ; 204, 35, 58, 62, 72, 4, 5, 81, 5-7, 91, 2, 6 ; 305, 7, lO, 16, 19, 20-5, 38, 47, 9, 69, 75, 83, 6, 9, 98 ; 4(i3, 16, 23, 40, 60-4, 71, 9,fc2 ; 507, 11, 35, y, 64,60, 76; 606, 12,. 14, 15, 40, 2, 50. Bacon, 223, 59 ; 593, 622. Badger, 223, 32. Bailey, (Bayley,) 158, 515. Baird, 661. Baker, 159, 223, 615, 80. Baldwin, (Balding,) 61, 6; 74, 83-5; 128, 32, 62, 61-4. 72; 269, 79, 81 ; 348, 80 ; 429, 38, 95 ; 605, 43, 5, 58 ; 633. Ballou, 604. Bangs, 236. Banks, 467, 667, 71, 9. Banney, 693. Baral, 607. Barber, 500. Bard, 595, 647. Baret, 180, 1,6. Barker, 163, 359, 424, 63, 84, 94, 8; 634,6. Barlow, 78, 415. Barnes, (Barns,) 546, 614, 41. Barre, 374, 421. Barrel!, 637, 63; 612. Barret, (Barrett,) 130, 224, 83, 9 j 323 Barstow, 224. Barton, 224. Bartow, 620. Batchelder, 446. Batcheler, 232. Bates, 224, 344. Baxter, 440, 610. Bayard, 371. Beardsley, 463. Beatty, 602, 7. Beaumont, 505. Beckwith, 167, 680. Belcher, 245. Beldcn, (Belding,) 178, 224. Bell, 224, 9 ; 634. Bellamy, 161, 470, 516, 54 ; 626. Bellasiie, 613, 14. Benedict, 441, 528. Benjamin, 244, 5 ; 483, 494-7 ; 583. Bentley, 556, 602, 5, 41, 9, 61, 75. Berry, 489, 661, 74, 80. Best, 681. Bill, 305, 11, 50, 88, 9, 93 ; 403, 63, 4, 82, 6, 93, 8, 9 ; 646, 76 ; 660. Billings, 245, 310, 59 ; 404, 7, 93, 4, 7 ; 500, 35, 42, 65. Bingham, 62, 5 ; 83, 4, 6 ; 136, 68, 9, 62-0 ; 203, 68, 71, 9, 81, 99. Bingley, 483, 562. Birchard, 53, 61, 6 ; 73, 4 ; 82, 5, 7, 92 ; 128, 33-6, 51, 61, 6, 7, 72. 9, 87;206, 31, 8, 62, 8l! 429, 37, 51 ; 594. Birge, 661, 7, 8, 73, 4, 7, 9. Biron, duke de, 394. Bishop, 133, 257, 8, 60 ; 344, 439. Bissell, 153, 375, 80. Black, 681. Blake, 196, 661. Blackman, 505. Blackmore, 224. Blackstone, (549. Blinman, 171, 215. Bliss, 63, 61, 5, 8 ; 73, 4 ; 86, 99 ; 132, 69. 67, 8 ; 200, 3, 10, 19, 40; 278, 9, 81 ; 308, 33, 48; 449, 62 ; 529, 84 ; 621, 32. Blomley, 672, 81, 92. Blosopolis, 675. Blunt, ai4. Blythe, 272. Boardman, 398, 582, 654. Bolles. 292, 538, 606. Bolman, 681. Bond, 655, 7, 77, 91 ; 645, 74. Boorman, 613, 16. Borden, 206. Boswell, (Buswell,) 252,312, 467, 82, 8, 91, 6, 7 i 538, 53 ; 636. Botler, 52. Bottomly. 681. Bourne, 169. 206, 24. Bowers, 63, 61, 6 ; 86, 136, 68. Boyer, 626. Bradford, 62 4 ; 84, 6 ; 91, 128, 32, 9, 53, 69, 70, 99 ; 201, 6, 44, 51. 67, 84. Bradley, 670, 81. Bradstreet, 143. 7. Bniinerd. 148, 355. Braniin, 535. Branch, 245, 54. Bmnd, 623, 71. Breed, 310, 11, 12, 48, 50, 2 ; 367, 78, 98 ; 443, 9, 64, 7, 9 ; 620, 7, 38, 69, 80 ; 625-9, 40, 7-50, 63,91. Brennan, 674. Bre3nahen,693. Brewer, 4S3, 5.37, C05. 80, 40, 7. Brewster, 41, 4-6 ; 67, 9 ; 84, 6, 9 : 96. 106. 34, 6, 51, 69, 74, 82 ; 211-13, 31, 45, 8, 53,4; 382, 403, 9S; 501, 39, 66, 86, 92; 645, 50-2. Brimmer, 310. Brockwav, 198. Bromlev;499, 538, 84, 99 ; 600, 42, 67'-9, 72, 8. Brooks, 542, 681. Brown, 22, 107, 47, 86 ; 224, 46, 69 ; 325, 84 ; 458, 82, 9 ; 600, 1, 12, 13, 39 : 617, S>i, 46, 81, 2. Browne, 830, 405, 629. 700 INDEX OF NAMES Brownell. 457. Bruen, 74, 87, 196. Buchanan, 631, 54. Buckingham, 54, 149, 77; 44(5, 549,59, 77. 88; 630, 1, 40, 1, 54,6,77,91. Buddington, 407. Bulklev, 111. Bull, 63, 140, 70. Bunker, 566. Burbeck, 240. Burdick, 549, 662, 82. Burgess, 637. Burlev, 224. Burnett, 682. Burnham, 98, 207, 59 ; 359, 76 ; 443, 502, 36, 45 ; 614, 26. Burpee, 671. Burr, Aaron, 516. Burrows, 599. Bush, 558. Bushnell, 53, 68, 9 ; 83, 4, 6 93-5 ; 101, 25, 33, 51, 5, 86, 8 90, 3 ; 210, 1,3-15,22,4, 40, 51 8, 63-7, 71-3 ; 274, 7-9, 81, 6-8 96 ; 303-7, 58, 84 ; 429, 40, 52 3. 8, 60, 2, 81 ; 546, 7, 51, 94 608, 3i, 74. Butler, 384-6, 494, 504, 7, 15 ; 636,65,7. Butterfield, 51. Butts, 344. Cabot, 542. Cady, 246. Caldwell, 240. Caliph, 613. Calkins, (Caulkins,) 61. 6 ; 73, 4 ; 83, 4, 6 ; 99, 120, 32,' 62, 7, 8 ; 171-3, 6, 9, 87, 99 ; 211, 38, 44, 51, 81, 8 ; 309, 19, 21, 2. Campbell. 403. Oapron, 225, 398, 425, 62, 7. Carew, 19G. 225, 378, 84, 98 ; 400, 63; 611, '20; 630,6. Carleton, 668, 9. :.irney. 682. Carpenter, 225 J 84; 511, 34, 04, 93: 661.73. Carrier, 230, 52. Carroll, 621, 47, 85. Carter, 226. 418. Carver, 682. Cary. 246, 501, 50. Case, 225, 75, 97 ; 560, 97; 658, 74, 8, 82. Cass, 585. Cates, 136. Cathcart, 225. Challenge, 2'9. 3. Champion, 233. Chaniplin, 682, 93. Chapm.an. 53, 92, 177, 225, 321, 438, 503. 5, 6 t 628, 82. Chappell, 225, GS2-. . Charles, 157, 8 ; 521. Charltou, 560. Chase, 469. Chastellux. 518. Chattield, 662. Cheever, 449. Cheney, 464, 601. Cherry, 591. ChesebrouKh, 89, 161.312. Chester, 334, 58 ; 410, 97 ; 588, 656-8, 81. Child, .559. 6.32. Chilton, 204. Choate, 241. Chrisiie, 455. Christophers, 193. Church, 111, 387. Clark, 53, 177, 84 ; 246, 53, 78, 83 ; 347, 452, 6, 82, 92, 7 ; 538, 62,96; 601. Clay, 631. Clement, 311, 12 ; 620. Cleveland, 226, 363, 77, 84, 96 ; 460, 510, 20, 1, 44, 52, 60, 4. Chft, 584, 644. Clinton, 631. Cogswell, 337, 410. 648. Coit, 46, 69, 127, 38 ; 312, 13, 27, 8, 32, 48 ; 380, 1, 98 ; 403, 4, 6, 8, 11, 61, 3, 4, 75, 9 ; 482, 4, 6, 8, 92. 8 ; 508, 12, 20-2, 36, 43, 6 ; 548, 52, 3, 7, 9, 67, 79 ; 609, 23, 6, 37^0, 43, 6, 9, 63, 6, 8,93. Colburne, 310, 414. Cole, 226, 622. Collier, 372. ColUns, 693. Colt, 661. Colton, 657. Comstock, 167, 216, 651. Conklin, 583. Converse, 498, 614, 21. Cook, (Cooke.) 138, 246, 53, 72 ; 407. 93, 5, 7 ; 675. Cooley, 496, 8 ; 583,96. Coolidge, 225. Copely, ,521. Copp, 227. Corbett, 682. Corcoran, 661. Corning, 246, 392, 448, 632. Cortland, 268. Cotterei, 226. Cowles, 668. C.ixe, 521, 607. Coy. 254, 7, 8. Crane, 73, 136, 58, 77 ; 226. Crary, 898. Crawford, 682. Crosby, 259, 558, 671. Cro»?, 136, 226. Crocker, 226, 463, 504, 614, 82. Oryer, 437. Cullen, 582. CuUum, 226. Culvfr, fColver,) 110, 226, 91, 2 ; 314, 48, 9 ; 455. 8, 9, 77, 82, 5, 92 ; 500, 39, 40, 66, 9 ; 670, Culvers well, 226. Curtice, 460. Cushman, 683. T»,abol!, 543. l^aggett. 419. Dana, f.'jo, 7. Danforth, 246, 575. D.^uiels,a58, 666, 7. Darby, 226. Darrow, 371, 598, 607. Dart, 212. Davenport. 52, 279. ,316. Davis, 226, 91. 2 ; 350, 668, 83, 92. Davison, 246, 407, 55, 8. 62 ; 562, 8 ; 602, 8. Day, 229. 41 ; 404, 537, 86. Dayues, (Deans,) 227. Dean, 311, 460, 2, 3, 4. Doblois, 414. Decatur, 157. Decker, 227. Delauy, 683. Delanoy, 6,59. Deming, 400. Dennison, 89, 110, 12, 47, 8, 90 ; 227,32-4,65,86; 810, 18, 21, 86; 433, 5', 94; 504, 62; 601, 50. Denslow, 113. Dennis, 227, 378, 464, 7 ; 662, 3, 81. DePeyster, 616. Deshon, 288, 9 ; 402. Destouches, 458, 535. Devereux, 542. Devotion, 616, 95 ; 640, 6, 8, 50. DeWitt, 310, 48, 78, 88, 91, 8 ; 400, 67 ; 563, 94 ; 639, 50. DeWolfe, 207. Dickinson, 190, 555, 7, 92. Dillon, ,394. Dimmock, 556. Doane, 21(, 483, 9 ; 562, 6, 78. Dodge, 521, 44 ; 612, 16, 40. Donelson, 585. Dorey, 683. Dorr, 379, 80. Douglas, 417. Dow, 603. Dowd, 227. Downer, 246, 79 ; 683, 92. Downing, 678. Downs, 246, 53 ; 575. Driesbach, 22. Dugan, 683. Dumont, 398. Duneffiu, 273. Dunke, 63. Dutton, 671. Dunham, 485, 535, 81, 96; 630, 46. Durkie, 358. 61, 5, 7, 76, 7, 81, 2 ; 391, 421, 94 ; 504, 636. Dwight, 161. 483, 530, 78 ; 632. Dyer, 637, 42. Eaton, 637. Edgecomb, 227, 8. ^, Edgerion. 53, 61. ; 73, 4 ; 83-5 ; 132, 73, 98 ; 275, 81 ; 347, 87 ; 427, 9, 30 ; 534, 8, 62, 96 ; 683. Edmonds, 97. Edwards, 160, 315, 16 ; 585, 678. Eell,?, 483, 8 ; 512, 20 ; 609. Elderkin, 60, 8 : 72, 3 ; 85, 96, 119, 20, 0. 8; 32, 67, 78, ; 209, 15, 10, 28, SOj'fiS. 81,3, 7 ; 303, 4, 44 ; 400, 517. 75. Eldridge, .501. Elliott, 117, 63, 80 : 320, 568. Ellis, o7, 102, 378, bl ; 424, 5, 30, 1, ii9 ; 590. Elmore, 113. Elsingham, 102. Elting. 446, 615. Ely, 469, 601, 8, 9, 70. Emory, 126. Emmons, 577. England, Lt. Col., 664. Ellsworth, 241. Everest, 528. Everit, 636. Fairbanks, 228. Fairfax Sir Thomas, 140. Fales, 228, 72. F.anning, 310, 11, 84, 98 ; 402, 25, 49, 78, 80, 1, 2, 92 ; 612, 33, 4, 44, 53, 64, 71 ; 683. Fargo, 228, 304. Farley, 267. Farnsworth, 637, 72. Faulkner, 458, 582, 3. Fen wick, 51-3, 141. Ferry, 666. Fessenden, 558. Field, 228. Filburne, 683. Fillmore, 224, 9, 30, 80 ; 463, 539, 88 ; 624, 35, 42, 54. Fisk, 603. Fisher, 667. INDEX OP NAMES. 701 Fitch, 20, 1, 8 ; 52-6 ; 60-4, 9 ; 74. 6 ; 81, 3-S, 8, 9 ; 92, 5-9 ; 104-6, 9-11, 13-28, 34-9, 42-55, 62, 6, 70, 6. 93 ; 207, 11, 40-8, 53-60. 5, 81, 7-8, 99 ; 303, 5, 10-13, 37, 54, 61, 6, 7,'86, 98 ; 4a5, 7, 8, 48, 59, 60, 2, 4, 7, 71, 9, 82, 9, 90, 2 ; 505, 8. 75, 86, 90, 6, 17, 18. 38, 51, 60 ; 617, 27. 37, 9. Flagg, 457. Flint, 125, 6 : 367. Foote. 201, 507, 55. Forbes, 83, 174, 85 ; 202, 10, 45, 7, 51, 4, 8. Ford, 230, 667, 78, 83. Forsyth, (Forsey.) 280, 1. Forstner. 683. Fosdick, 372. Foster, 380, 583, 630, 2, 3, 63, 77. Fowler, 230. Fos, 230, 78 ; 683. Francis, 247, 52, 3 ; 668. Frasier, 2.3<\ Freeman, 245, 7 ; 3G0, 479, 87, 98, 9 ; 53ij Fremont, J. C, 631, 5-1, 72. French, 230, 4S1. Frisby, 471. 539. FuUer, 280, 322, 460, 594, 637, 67. Gage, Gen., 377- Gager, 62, 6 ; 74, 83, 1.30, 1, 56, 74, 5, 85 ; 247, 281, 329, 595, 678. Gale, .344, 81, 98 : 477, 678. Gallop, 108. 40, 75 ; 647, 71. Galloway, 4.52. Gardiner, 51, 227. Gardner. ,583. Gaskell, 684. Gates, 247, 92 ; 344. Gavitt, 538, 90, 9. Gaylord. 216, 30, 72. fl„.... Mjeares,) 156, 247, 534. George, 494. Gerard, Count de, 405. Getty. Gen . 004. Gibbons, 230. Giddings, 247, 53 ; 349, 448. Giflford, 59, 62. 3 : 83. 6 ; 130, 6, 72. 5, 6, 92 ;■ 277, 81, 7. Gilbert, 482, 95-9 : 565, 83. Qillson, 438, 692. Gilman, 26. 38. 68, 263, 538, 48, 57, 64, 88, 91 ; 609-13, 627, 44, 7,50. Gilmore, 567, C>f;3. Gleason, 447. 6t)3. Glover, 96, 248, 53 ; 487, 96 ; 579, 639. Goddard, 228. 371, 443, 67. 92 ; 5-35. 45, 64, 'J5 : 611, 12, 18, 26, 31, 2. 41, 65, 8, 74, 84. Goodell. 384, 425, 606. Goodhue, 584, 6Jl. Goodrich. 201. 541. Gookin, 117, 230, 1 ; 451. Gordon, 596, 040. Gortou, 32, 231. Gould. 230. Gove, 175, 230. Grace, 595- Graves. 4.53. 600. 1, 85. Gray, 289, 564. 642. Green, 159, 2.30', 301, 4, 74-6 : 506. Greene, 26, 312. 79 ; 621, 37, 49, 50, 2, 89 ; 611, 12, 13, 18, 19, 28, .30, 47. Greenman, 623 Gri^non. 283. .3. 8, 9. Griffln, 518, 607. Griffith, 542. Grist, 230, 4.51, 2, 4, 8. Griswold, 53, 61, 6 ; 73, 4 ; 84-6 ; 92, 9 ; 132, 51, 60, 76-8, 87, 0, 95 ; 202, 26, 81, 7 ; 321, 3, 4, 78, 83 ; 424, 5 ; 505, 18, 19, 26, 9 46 53. Gro'verJ 231, 80; 323, 4; 473, 541. Grosvenor, 422. Gulliver, 236, 549, 50, 9, 60, 84 ; 644. Ilaggitt, 259. Ilaile, 6.37. Uakes. 668, 9. Uale, 411, 41, 2 ; 545, 668, 79. Hall, 231, 67 ; 452, 89. Hallam, 411, 551, 626, 92. Ualsey, 283, 348, 81 ; 406, 25 ; 539 Hamilton, 231, 79 ; 458, 90 ; 670, 84. Hammond, 231, 504. f 71? Handy, (Hendy,) 62, 5 ; 143, 78, 216. Harding, 138, 325, 403, 4, 5, 63 j 6.39. Hardy, 564. Uarland, 22, 372, 512, 608, 56, 8, 63, 4, 74, 7, 9, 91. n.arIowe, 487. Hiirrington, 231, 556, 671. Harris, 195, 6 ; 232, 3 : 344, 61 : 495,501,3; 032. Harrison, 431, 585. Hart, 191, 328, 539, 46 ; 608, 26. Hartshorn, 93, 167, 210, 32. 5, 76 ; 367, 424. 9, 30 ; 506, 7 ; 634. Harvey, 448. Uarwood, 236. Haskell, 248, 448, 544. 92. Haskins, (Hoskius,) i:32. Hatch, 440, 599. Haughton. 91, 577. Havens, 500. Hawes, 555. Hayward. 684. 92. Hazard, 5-36. Hazen, 232, 44, 99 ; 429, 30, 45. Hfttth, 232. Hebard, 141, 643. Heifer, .578. Hempstead, 232, 45, 67, 74, Hendrick, 232. Herrick, 454, 63 ; 538, 98, 9. Hewit, 248. Hibbard, 603. Hidden, 241, 372. Hii^gin.'f, 6ti8. Hill, 147, 232, .323, 545. Hillard, 248, 407, 48, 91, 3. Hincklev. 545, 56. Hlscox, 601. Hitchcock, 555. Hobart, 148. Hodge.s. 232. Holbrook, 576, 83. Holden, 4,52, 5, 8 ; 619. Holdridge, 278. Holland, 278, 650. Hollowav, 197, 230. Holm, ,597. Holmes, 359. Holwell, (iii7, 684. Hooker, 123, 43, 9, 51 ; 337, 554, 7, 77 ; 637. Hooper, 621. Hopkins, 361, 412. Hosmer, 510, 56, % ; (HI. llossmondeu, 268. Uotham, 565. Hough, 93, 1.36, 71, 95 ; 233, 5, 8,9,59; 321,4-35.1 House, 046. Hovey, 648. How, 3.36. 79. Howard, 62, 6 ; 86. 108, 79 ; 244. Howe, 441,467, 633. Howland, 312, 27, 98; 404, 6. 8, 81-9, 92, 4 ; 538, 44, 53, 95 ; 6in, 38, 9. 46, 50. Hubbard, 33, 48, 160, 312. 28, 36, 51, 60, 74, 9, 80, 4; 98; 423, 74, 91 ; 511, 15. 21, m, 6, 49, 50, 1, 2. 66, 81 ; 612, 13, 19, 28, 49. Hudson. 484, 604. Hull, 314, 478, 96. Hunn, 529. Hunt. 391, 4.35, 7 ; 644. Iluntiey, 252, 327, 544, 7 ; 626. Hunter, 491, 670. Huntington, 25, .53, 60-8 : 73, 4 ; 83, 4-7 ; 96, 101, 20-9, 32-6, ,55, 7, 9, 63, 5, 9, 70, 4-86 ; 208-6, 17, 25, 50-4, 60, 2, 72-4, 9-83, 7,8; 304,5-8, 12,13,21,3,5, 8, 30, 4, 8, 47. 8. 51, 8, 65-7, 9, 71-84, 8, 91-8; 402-5, 15-20, 4-6, 9, 30, 5, 8, 40, 55, 62-5, 71, 4, 7, 8, 80-94 ; 504, 7, 8, 10-12, 15-18, 23, 6, 7, 36, 8, 41, 5, 52, 3,60,3,9,71,8,9,81,6,90-6; 606, 8, 12-15, 25, 30-2, 4, 9,40, 3, 6-9, ,50, 2, 3, 74, 84. (This name appears on about 180 pages.) Iluntoon, 660, 71. Hutchiugs, 592. Hutchins, 23:*, 99 ; 306, 684. Hutchinson. 233, 874, 5, 9. ~ Hutchison, 5,"j1. Hvde, 36, 53, 61, 5, 6, 8 ; 73, 84, 8;91, 101, 32, 6:166,72,86-9, 95,6; 2iM. 14, 24,.30, 5, S, 45, 71-81 ; 319. 21, 2, 4, 32, 67, 78, 83 ; 423, 5. 9, 40, .52, 4. 69 ; 502. 3, .5, 10, IS. 19, 44, 7.'8, .Vi.&y, 3, 4,71,93,4; 602,3,12,16,25. 6, 47. 74, 8. Hyers, 500. Ingcrsoll, 365, 6; 547. Ingrahaiii, 458, 90. 1; 536. Lsham. 420. Ives, 432, 3. Jacob, 217. Jacobs, 685. Jack.oon, (ien., 535. Jack.son, Stonewall, 661, 9. Jay, -i05 Jearson, 288. Jefferson, Thomas, 631. Jenks, 291. Jenner, 427. Jennings, 2;i3, 467, 77 ; 600, 58. Jop.3, 88, 91 ; 536, 7, 9. 45, 66, 63, 8, 75, 6, 88, 91, 5 ; 619, 27, 9, 31, 44, 7, 9, 50, 62, 8, 73, 4. Rodgers, 386. Rodman, 396, 7, 9 ; 510. Rogers, 125, 239, 90, 2 ; 310, 25, 59, 74, 8, 82, 3, 96, 7, 9 ; 422, 8, 49 ; 510, 11. 19, 35, 63, 98 ; 622, 3, as, 64, 72, 3. Rome, 388. Rood. (Rude,) 102, 239. 45, 50, 4, 8, 71, 2 ; 304. Rose, 59, 134, 56 ; 250, 4 ; 399, 406, 49. Rosebrough. 239. Rosevelt, 287. Rosenblatt, 658. Ross, 673, 9. RoBsiter, 493. Royce, 61, 6 ; 73, 4 ; 86, 132, 6, 72. 99 ; 205, 219. Rudd, 53. 164, 5, 95 ; 209, 39. 40, 2, 51, 4, 81, 4 ; 429, 30 ; 580, 640. Russ. 542. RusseU, 272, 607. Sabin, 240, 78 ; 323, 634. Safford, 25*, 9, 60 ; 344. 60. 96 ; 624. Salter, 437. SaltonstaU, 286, 377, 404. Sanders, 693. Sangar, 481, 96 ; 539. Satterlee, 498. Sawyer, 666, 658. Saxton, 249. Say & Seal, 51. Scarborough, 549. Schalk, 668, 88. Schenck, 672. Scholfield, 449, 664, 667. 79, 89. Schuyler, 402. Scott, ti61, 74. 81. Scudder, 173, 217. 19. Seabury, 4.53, 5 ; 524. Selden. 431, 524, 660, 71, 2. Seymour, 664, Sliaw, 306, 32 ; 553. Shea, G89. Sherman, 517, 661, 2, 89. Shipman, .37, 8: 190, 449, 50, 61-4 ; 560, 8, 85, 6 ; 608, 33. Shippen, 414. Sigourney, 252, 327, 544, 7 ; 626, 44. Simpson, 390, 689. Skinner, 578, 96. Slater, 449, 60 ; 537, 60 ; 020. Sluraan, 83, 168. 72 ; 203, 9, 10, 40. Smallbetit, 240. Smith, 01, 6 ; 86, 132. 68. 70. 99 ; 200, 10. 11. 54. 7. 81, 92. 8 ; 321, 7 ; 403, 12, 63, 4, 82, 94, 7, 9 ; 501. 41, 6, 50, 0, 82, 92 ; 620, 2, 48. 51, 4, 75. Snow, 492, .5tj3, 86 ; 640. Souter, 089. Spalding, 240, 518-20; 614, 36, 56,74. Sparrow, 499. Spofford, 664. Spencer, 159. Spicer, ijl, 619. Spiller, 229. Spooner, 361, 4, 84. Sprague, 446. 6. 70. Standish, 172, 246, 51, 5. Stanley. 671. Stanton, 87. 151, 245, 54, 6 ; 402, 49, 89 ; 558, 660, 71, 2, 89. Stark. 584. Starkweather, 251, 694, 678, Starr, 97, 240, 4 ; 384, 608 Stedman, 307, 50; 576, 83, 9; 632. 67. Steele, 170, 645. Stephens, (Stevens.) 22, 259, 383, 400. Sterrett, 689. Sterry, 22, 348, 514, 26, 43, 56, 86, 99 ; 644. Steuben, 393. Stewart, 477, 88. Sticknev,240. Stoddard, 137, 74 ; 201, 40, 86 ; 528. Stokes, 689. Stone. 123. 48 ; 444.586. Storrs. 558,640. Story, 241, 73; 321, 4, 47; 467, 538, 96, 8 ; 663. Stoughton, 180. Stratford, S25. Strong. 2m. .324, 34, 6, 8, 9, -i !, 2. 60, 94; 416, 37, 59, 68, •.■.. 83 ; 512, 25, 8, 44, 60, 91 ; 6 ; 1, 48, 93. Styles, 50. 155. Sullivan. 422. Swain, 490. Swan, 447, 601. Sweet. 679. Swetland. 241. Syke.«, 582. Sylvester, 173. Taft, 621. Taintor, 646. Talcott, 110-12, 16 ; 327, 84. Talleyrand, 394. Tarbox, 446. Taylor, 151. 3-5; 337, 555, ^.. : 622, 89. Teel, 535. Tennant, .316. Tenny, 241. Ttrrv, 527. TliBtcher, 405. Thayer, 472. Thomas, 196, 241, 383, 487, 511, 71,95; 637. 93. Thompson, 57. •>89. Throop. 318, 21, 81; 422, 5,34,5, 61 ; 608. Thurber, 622, 45. Tibbitts, 5<>4. Tiffany. .310, 461, 2. 5 ; 668, 79. Tilden, 6.-^9. Tiltou, 229. Tinker, 4H4. Tisdale, 337, 4.58, 501, 615, 36, 89, 92. ' > I I J Todd, 241. - Tomlinsou, 6,'»9, Tompkins, 617. Torrance. 67^, 89. Torrey, 678. Toucey, lOii. Touissant, 497, 525. Tousland, 53. 704 INDEX OP NAMES. Touzain, 636. Town, 690. Townsend, 884. Tozor, 635. Tracy, 27, 43. 53 8 ; 61, 2, 4, 6 ; 73, 83-9 ; 95, 100, 20. 6, 32-5, 51, 8-60, 9, 72, 7, 85, 91 ; 200-6, 236, 40, 43-5, 52, 4-6, 62, 3, 71-4, S3, 7, 8, 96 ; 304, 5. 7, 14, 21. .38. 44, 5, 52, 8, 67, 78, 82, 3, 96, 9 ; 411, 24, 7 ; 428, 9, 39, 40, 52, 4, 62, 3, 78, 87, 8, 95, 6 ; 502-6, 10 13, 19, 26, 44, 7, 63. 6, 80, 6, 92, 4 ; 615,32, 4-7,46;- 8, 9, 71, 90. Trapp, 280, 378, 461, 3, 4. Treadway, 673, 690. Treat, 107-10, 12, 35 ; 249, 54. Trench, 583. Trott, 506, G3-'i. , TruesdeU, a50. "^ Truman, 448. 619. Trumbull, 31, 5 7 ; 40. 3, 8 ; 60, 275, 312, 25, 6, 57, 63, 4, 73, 4, 80,3.4, 7, 91. 3; 402, 18-20, 49, 63, 4, 74 ; 501, 14, 77, 80, 96 ; 629, 32, 9, 46. Truxton. 497. Tryon, 477, 99. Tubbs, 241, 668. TuUy, 444. Turner. 66, 206, 74 ; 307, 13, 59, 81-4 ; 426, 7 ; 515, VI ; 636. Tuttle 4-39. Tyler, 2.52, 380, 2 : 425, 49. 53-9, 73, 4, 524. 5, 9, 38, 47, 53, 6, 63. S5 ; 638, 40, 2, 50, 6 1 657, 8, 73, 8, 9, 90. UreTine,288. \- •.'], 477, 531, 83 ; 605. Va^i Buren, 585. ^'ei 'asdu, 6?(i. T.-iMtt, 512, 13, 37. T U' -ent, 196, -V , ; iner, 690. V- .V klev, 206. V-.ide, 61, 6 ; 86. 102, .36 : 205. VVadsworth, 169; 267, 418, 77. U'ait, 6.33, 47, 64, 81, 90. W'^ilden, 457. U -do, 642. ^vvber, 241, 622. Wales, 465. Wallbridge, 258, 72. Waller, 53. Wallis, 62, 5. Walton, 344. Walworth, 189, 499. Ward, 468, 86 ; 649, 58, 63-6, 81, 91,2. Warham, 40, 1. Warner, 546. Warren, 241, 374, 5, 87 ; 458, 64 ; 536. Warwick, 51. . Washington, 382, 7, 91, 3 ; 402, 20, 77 ; 525, 38. ■\\"a.terhouse, 292. Waterman, 62, 5 ; 84, 6 ; 95, 100, 29, 34, 5, 57, 68 ; 201, 2, 6-8, .5S, 9, 71,5,9,80,97; 306," 10, 5i; 82, 3, 99 ; 400, 9, 24, 9, .35, 8.60,2,4,7,93; 505,10,11. Waters, 2a5. Wattles, 406, 7, 58, 94. Way, 241. Weaver, 93. Webb, 422, 88, 94, 6, 8 ; 582. Webster, 547, 86 ; 676. AVcdge, 2.52. 501. Welden, 69l. Weller, 611. Wellman, 179. Wells, 683. Welsh, 241. Wentworth, 2-30, 52, 80, 98 ; 327, 560, 92 ; 614. Wetherell, 87, 90, 219. Wetmore, 25, 311, 12, 87; 417, 60, 4, 7 ; 652. West, 598. Weston, 622. Wieat, 378, 82, 3, 99 ; 400, 634, 5- Wheatlev, 360. AVhee'.er. 278, 667. \Theelock, 182, 220, 316, 461, 4 ; 590. Wuipple, 458. Whitaker, 242. 460-7 ; 557. Whitcoi.ie, 605. White, 189, 224, 41; &33, 493, 541. 648, 50, 92. • Whitefield, 1.52, 321. Whiting, 149, 51: 292, 313, 15, 47, 50. 67, 86; 428, 55, 88; 535, 42 ; 66, 75, 6 ; 601, 47. I Whitman, 558. I Wliitmarsh, 399. Whitney, 305, 462, 4, 7. Whittemore, ( Whitmore, ) 236, 650. Whittle.sey, 607. Wight, .317, 82 ; 447, 8, 59. 61, 7. Wightmaii, 242. Wilber, 636. 692. Wilkes, 868, 421. Wiilard, 287. Willes, 274, 430. Willett, 404, 538, 95 ; 619. Williams, 242, 9, 52, 3, 4, 73, 91, 305. .38, 47, .59, 77, 81, 99 ; 416, 48, 51, '69, 76, 8, 9, 84, 8, 92, 8, 9 ; 508, 27, 3-3-6, 44-9, ,53, 64, 75,89,91,7; 604,11.15,30,3, 40-2, 6, 8, 9, 50. 62, 78, 92. Wilhama, Uoger, 44, 7-9, (8 ; 145, 52. Willoughby, 242, 321, 2 : 539, 66. Wilson, 252, 449. Winchester, 474. 97, 9 ; 524. . Winship, 280, 692. Winslow, 204, .389, 511, 91 ; 693. Winthrop, .30, 3, 5, 8 ; 41 3, 7, 8 ; 51, 97, 106, 7, 12, 42, 5, 64, 71, 4; 211. Wise, 286. Wiswall, 170. Witter, 253, 841, 78. 99 ; 510, 45. Woicott, 86, 419. 517. Wood, 229, 42 ; 455, 667, 92. ' Woodbridge, 160, .312, 38, 83, 97. 9 ; 431, 8.3, 92, 4 ; ,505. 7, 12, 19, 26,3 5,7,41,4,93; 632,40,6. Woodbury, 585. Woodward, 128, 62 ; 217, 46, 9, 53, 8, 9, 85, 6, 7 ; 304, 59 ; 506, 10, 11. Woodworth, 242, 6, 98 ; 435, 559. Wooster, 416. Wordeu. 6,-:i. WoT'.h, 223. Worthington. 2.:.' 60; 636. Wright, 449, 551, ou. Wyatt, 508. Wyllis, 77, 86, 114, 55 ; &37. Tarrington, 602. Yeomans. ■i25. Young, 58-3, 8, 95 : 656. Zsjnphiropolos, 075. NAMES OF INDIANS Abimeleeh,2e5. Apenannesuck, 279. Ashpow, 405. Attawanhood. 57, 8 ; 264. Caesar, 263, 5. Cauonchet, 110. Canonic\is, 33. Cutoih, 260. Mahomet, 260. Ma«zeeu, 265. Miantonomoh, 30 42, 5 ; 110, 117, 586. Nunrod, F6. Ninigret, 142. Occom, (Aukum,)49,2G0,9; 361, 463, 4, 5. Oknookertukogog, 373. Owaneco. (Oneco,)49, ,57-9, 105, 6. 15, .36, 7, 51, 66 ; 227, 43, 4, 7,51,2,5,6,7,60,1,4,5. Pasqviatuck, 29. Pauganeek, 260. Pessacus, 39, 42, 5. Philip, 63, 5, 6 ; 89, 105-7, 11-13, 23, 90. Quocheets, 405. Sassacus, 30. Seqtiassen, 31. Sunkesquaw, 111. Tantaquiesen, ( Tantaquidgln, ) 3;3, 42. Toroso, 338. Trowtrow, 330. Uncas, 28-46, 9 : 54-9 ; 73, 81, 105, 7, 9, 13-18, 45, 61, 89; 243. 56, 60-6 : 406, 585-7. Uncas, Ann, .358; Ben., 260, 3; .}ohn, 2,55, 65); Joshua, 107, 36 ; Josiah, 59, 137 . Samuel, 263,586, 7. Waweequaw, (Waweekus, Wte- quaw,) 57. 81, 452. Wedeuiow, 260. Woouanshun, 106. Wyox, 405. Zachary, 379.