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HISTORIC LEBANON
Highlights of an Historic Town
REV. ROBERT G. ARMSTRONG, D.D.
GG 974.602 48a
Gc 974.602 L48a 1206085
M. L.
8 4.50
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01151 3378
HISTORIC LEBANON
Highlights of an Historic Town
WAR OFFICE Built shortly after 1720. (Courtesy of Connecticut Circle)
REV. ROBERT G. ARMSTRONG, D.D. Pastor of the First Congregational Church Lebanon, Connecticut.
Published by the FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Lebanon, Connecticut
1
Copyright 1950 by The Board of Trustees of the First Congregational Church Lebanon, Conn.
All rights reserved
Ingalls Printing Co. Danielson, Conn.
DEDICATION
1206085
This book is dedicated on the TWO HUNDRED AND FIF- TIETH ANNIVERSARY of the First Congregational Church and of the Town of Lebanon to the nine men, who, by forming them- selves into a church body, and by calling and settling a minister, according to the laws of the Colony of Connecticut, made possible the legal establishment of the Town of Lebanon in 1700.
JOSIAH DEWEY WILLIAM HOLTON JEDEDIAH STRONG JOHN HUTCHINSON MICAH MUDGE THOMAS HUNT JOHN BALDWIN WILLIAM CLARK JOHN CALKINS
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CONTENTS
PAGE
Dedication
3
Preface
5
Chapter One
6
The Early Days of Lebanon
Chapter Two
15
The Early Ministry
Chapter Three 21
The Story of The Meeting House
Chapter Four
28
Governor Jonathan Trumbull
Chapter Five
40
John Trumbull: Patriot, Artist, Architect
Chapter Six
48
William Williams: Signer of The Declaration of Independence
Chapter Seven 55
Dr. William Beaumont: Backwoods Physiologist
Chapter Eight 62
Two Famous Lebanon Schools
Chapter Nine
69
Governor Buckingham: Christian Statesman
Chapter Ten 76
Conclusion
Acknowledgments 80
(Courtesy of Connecticut Circle)
THE ORIGINAL TRUMBULL HOMESTEAD Built about 1710
This beautiful old home, now known as "Redwood", was the original Trumbull dwelling at Lebanon, Captain Joseph Trum- bull, father of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, having moved here from Suffield about that time.
During the winter of 1780-81, the officers of the French Army in cantonment here, were his guests and maintained their head- quarters where many military and social functions were held in their honor.
Here in 1710 was born Jonathan Trumbull. Here in later years lived David Trumbull, third son of the Governor. In 1782 in this house was born Joseph, son of David, who became Governor of Connecticut in 1849-50.
There is a unique story of the return to this, her home, of one of the Trumbull daughters with her new born child, at a time when the French officers were living there. It is said that they received her, all drawn up in a circle, that they passed the child around the circle, each one kissing the child, and thereupon left the house, turning it over to the daughter.
(From Connecticut Circle)
PREFACE
This little volume by no means pretends to be a history of the historic town of Lebanon, Connecticut, only a series of sketches of some of the highlights of a glorious past. Some day, it is to be hoped, a definitive history of the town will be written. Such a his- tory should be a study, not only of the great personalities the town has produced, but of the social, political, economic, and religious developments which have taken place in its life-time. In 1925 Dr. J. L. Hypes, of the University of Connecticut, made a careful socio- logical study of the town which was exceedingly comprehensive. A similar study made now would show the changes that have taken place in the past quarter of a century and which are now taking place, changing a purely rural town into a suburban-rural com- munity. Push these studies back to the very beginnings and one would have a fascinating account of stability absorbing change. Some day, we hope, some Foundation will make such a work pos- sible.
Chapter 1 THE EARLY DAYS OF LEBANON
The early settlers of Lebanon owed much to the friendliness of the Pequot Indians. Not only did they give or cede lands they claimed to own, but, so far as the record goes, there was never any serious trouble from the Indians. There was a sort of an alliance of friendship between Uncas, chief of the Pequots, and the whites who had settled in the wilderness. This alliance grew out of the display of bravery and power of the English when they destroyed the Pequot fort at Mystic under the valiant leadership of Major Mason, in 1637. Uncas saw that if he could enlist the English on his side he would have little to fear from other hostile Indian tribes with which he was having trouble. So he gave his lands to white settlers, and to the colony of Connecticut, reserving only certain rights and privileges. Most of the section we now know as Leb- anon was called by the Indians Po-que-chan-need.
Because of the services Major John Mason had rendered the colony in his leadership against the hostile Indians, the General Assembly gave him the right to choose five hundred acres of land from any unoccupied territory at that time. He selected his five hundred acres in what is now known as the Goshen section of the town of Lebanon.
In 1666 Major Mason's son-in-law, Rev. James Fitch, the first pastor in Norwich, was given one hundred and twenty acres of land adjacent to the tract owned by his father-in-law. Later, Owen- eco, son and successor of Uncas, added a tract five or more miles long and a mile wide. Evidently the Rev. Mr. Fitch had done some favors for Chief Oweneco.
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Oweneco may have had a shady title to all the lands he was giving away, but he continued his generosity in 1692 to four more proprietors, as they were then called, Captain Samuel Mason and Captain John Stanton of Stonington, and Captain Benjamin Brew- ster and Mr. John Burchard of Norwich. To them he gave, for a consideration, a five mile tract adjoining the Mason and Fitch tracts.
In 1700 a tract was purchased from the Indians by William Clark of Saybrook and Josiah Dewey of Northampton, Massachu- setts, which included what is now the northern part of the town including what was later set off from Lebanon to become the town of Columbia. There were two other sections, one called the gore, and the other the mile and a quarter propriety.
The titles to these lands were not too clear. An Indian by the name of Abimeleck bitterly contested the right of Oweneco to dis- pose of lands which he claimed were his. Instead of going to war, however, they went to court, and appealed to the General Assembly of the colony to settle their claims. The General Assembly, per- haps mindful of the evils of the landed gentry of old England, looked with disfavor on such large grants of land. Wisely the mem- bers wanted settlers who owned and worked their own land. This led Mason, Brewster, Stanton and Burchard to convey their hold- ings to fifty-one persons, including themselves, as proprietors in common. The litigation was not finally settled until 1705 when the General Assembly, in compliance with an application from the inhabitants of Lebanon, confirmed the original deeds and vested the title in the name of the fifty-one proprietors.
The land along "the street" was divided into home lots of twenty acres each. Back of these home lots were second and third lots, also lots in other parts of the town. Each owner of a home lot, it seems, was to have access to water, either a stream running through the home and adjacent lots or by having a lot that bordered upon a stream. The assignment of the land was by lot, hence the term "lot".
The common, one of the most attractive features of Lebanon today, was originally a dense alder swamp. The homes were built on higher ground on each side of this swamp. The swamp was owned by the original proprietors. In 1809 this common was threatened. The selectmen were empowered at the annual town meeting "to sell to adjoining proprietors all such land in the high
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way as is not necessary for the accommodation of the public." "Jan. 31, 1810, the town instructed the select men to dispose of the land they had surveyed between the two meeting houses, - which they thought not necessary for public travel." The common, as we know it now, was to go the way of commercialization.
But the heirs of the original proprietors were not asleep. They duly warned all prospective purchasers in a notice of protest: "And we would caution any, if any there be, willing to purchase any of sd land, not to proceed; for their title will surely be contested." These heirs quoted the opinions of their former clerk and mod- erator, the late Governor Trumbull, that the right of the pro- prietors could never be taken away. "Feb. 19, 1810, at a special meeting, the town voted to rescind the votes passed at its former meeting, respecting selling and disposing of certain portions of land in the highways. And this was the sole business done at the meet- ing."
Nathaniel H. Morgan, in 1880, added this footnote to an account about the common. "The present title to this common, or village green, still exists, unquestionably, as I think, in the legal heirs, and assigns of the fifty-one proprietors and their present living rep- resentatives; and not in the town, nor in the adjoining proprietors; but subject, by dedication and usage, to a paramount right in the public at large, to its perpetual use and enjoyment, as a public park or common." This, presumably, is still true, for so far as the present town clerk, Miss Sarah Abell, knows, there never has been a transfer of the rights to the common made to the town.
It was at the October session of the General Assembly, in 1697, that the town formally received its name. "Ordered by this Court that the new plantation situate to the westward of Norwich bounds shall be called Lebanon." The name came from the fact of a great swamp of cedars within the plantation which, to the Biblically minded early settlers recalled "the cedars of Lebanon".
In 1699 steps were taken towards establishing the settlement as a recognized town. The General Assembly was petitioned to settle certain boundary disputes and to grant the right of the settlers to the privileges of such a town. To this petition the answer came back: "Free liberty is by this Assembly given to the town of Lebanon to embody themselves in church estate there, and also to call and settle an orthodoxe minister to dispense the ordinances of God to them, they proceeding therein with the consent of neighbour
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churches as the lawe in such cases doth direct." Then was added: "This Assembly doth grant to the inhabitants of the town of Leb- anon all such immunities, privileges, and powers as generally other towns within this colony have, and doe enjoy."
It was necessary in those days to have a church and a minister before the town could function. No man could be a voter who was not a member of the church. As related elsewhere, the church was formally organized and reorganized on November 27, 1700.
Not for five years did the town send duly elected representatives to the General Assembly. The town was poor. No tax was laid upon it during that period of time by the colony. When, however, a tax was laid, the town sent one representative immediately to the General Assembly where he was duly accredited and recognized without question. The principle was clear and definite, "no tax- ation without representation", a principle that was paramount in the dispute with England a few years later.
Mr. William Clark was the first deputy sent to the General As- sembly for the May session in 1705. Mr. Samuel Huntington was the deputy sent for the October session of that same year. At that time the town of Lebanon had a grand list amounting to £3,736. There were ninety taxable citizens. In 1706 the grand list increased and the town sent two deputies, Ensign John Sprague, and Mr. Wil- liam Clark. To this day Lebanon is entitled to two representatives to sit in the General Assembly.
The growth of the town was slow at first. It was still pretty much of a wilderness where wolves abounded, where game was plentiful. In 1730 there began a rapid gain in population and wealth. In 1756 Lebanon had a population of 3,171 whites and 103 blacks, only five towns having a larger population. Hartford had at that time a population of only 3,027. In 1774, the year before the battle of Lexington, the town had a population of 3,960, of which 119 were blacks, the largest population in the history of the town. After 1774 the population steadily decreased due largely to the migrations to the western lands, especially Ohio, after the war.
A large part of the credit for the prosperity of Lebanon in these early days goes to Captain Joseph Trumbull, who came to the town in 1704 from Suffield. He was a man of energy, initiative, and finan- cial ability. Starting with little or nothing, he became a planter and trader. Soon he owned ships which carried products to dis- tant lands. Twice a year a large fair was held on the common for
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the sale of merchandise which his ships brought back. Buyers came from long distances. He traded with Liverpool, London, Bristol, Hamburg, and the West Indies, as well as sending his ships coast- wise.
Lebanon at this time was a busy place. All trades were carried on. Cloth, leather, boots and shoes, saddles and harnesses, axes, hoes, scythes, barrels, and many other products were turned out. The numerous streams turned many mill wheels. In addition to what was produced in Lebanon, neighboring towns sent in their products to be shipped by Joseph Trumbull to distant places.
Nor was Lebanon self-centered. Though the town was never threatened by the Indians, other towns in the colony and in New England were. Lebanon responded to every call for help to put down the Indian uprisings. Mr. Jedediah Strong, one of the orig- inal settlers, was killed near Albany on one of the numerous ex- peditions against the Indians. Lebanon men marched to the de- fense of the frontier towns in Massachusetts following the Deerfield massacre. Lebanon men took part in an expedition against Canada in 1709 in Queen Ann's war. Lebanon men responded to the call for aid from the mother country, England, in the Spanish War of 1739; in the war with France when the supposedly impregnable fortress at Louisburg, Cape Breton Island, was taken; in the French and Indian wars which began in 1755 and ended in 1763 with the conquest of the whole of Canada. It is said that the drums used at the Battle of Bunker Hill were the same which had been used at the capture of Louisburg.
Then came "the time that tried men's souls". The oppression of England was becoming more and more obnoxious to the col- onists, who, after all, were still Englishmen. The selectmen of Bos- ton sent out a letter expressing their thoughts on the heavy and ruinous duties being imposed, and calling for some concerted ac- tion on the part of all the colonies. Lebanon was in full sympathy with the contents of that letter. Following the Boston Massacre, which occurred March 5, 1770, a meeting of all freemen was held in Lebanon on April 9, 1770. A note-worthy resolution was passed which stated:
"The inhabitants of the Town of Lebanon in full Town meet- ing assembled, this 9th. day of April, 1770, - now and ever im- pressed with the deepest and most affectionate Loyalty to his ex- cellent Majesty, George the 3d, the rightful king and sovereign of
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Great Britain, and of the English American Colonies, - and also being most tenderly attached to and tenacious of the precious Rights and Liberties to which, as English subjects, we are by birth and by the British constitution entitled, and which have also been dearly earned by the treasures and blood of our fore-fathers, and transmitted as their most valuable Legacy to us their children: In these circumstances, we view with the most sincere grief, con- cern, and anxiety the sufferings and distresses to which this country is subjected and exposed, - in consequence of measures planned by a few artful, designing men, unhappily of too much influence; and adopted by the Parliament of Great Britain; - the action and ten- dency of which is to deprive these Colonies of their free and happy constitutions, and reduce them to a state of bondage; - Measures which as the event will more fully show, - equally hurtful and pernicious to the British nation; - particularly as we deplore the unhappy fate of the town of Boston, in being so long subjected to a grievous imposition of a standing army quartered upon them, - induced by the false and malicious representations of the late gov- ernor Hutchinson and others of odious and detestable memory; - which, though they have not been able, agreeable to the designs of our enemies, to awe the inhabitants or the country into a tame sur- render of these liberties, - have been the authors of a great variety of Evils and Distresses to that most loyal people, and lately (the 5th. of March last) of the barbarous Murder of a number of the inhabi- tants of that Town. But in the midst of these calamities, we have occasion to rejoice in the union and harmony which continues to prevail throughout the American Colonies, and in their firm and fixed attachment to the principles of Loyalty and Liberty; - and Do hereby declare our high approbation and grateful acknowledge- ment of the generous self-denying and truly Patriotic spirit and Conduct of the respectable Merchants throughout the Colonies, - in refusing to import British manufactures into this distracted and impoverished country, until it shall be relieved of these Bur- dens and Grievances, - of which we so justly complain; and while we esteem and respect those who have made so generous and noble a sacrifice, as true friends and lovers of their Country, We also ab- hor and detest the Principles and Conduct of the Few, who from sordid motives, have refused to come into so salutary a measure, and Do hereby declare and Resolve that they and their merchandise shall be treated by us with the contempt and Neglect, which their
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unworthy Behavior most justly deserves: and We do further Declare and Resolve, that we will to the utmost of our Power incourage, countenance, and promote all kinds of useful manufactures in the country and among ourselves, - to the end that we may soon be able, by a proper use of the Bounties of Providence in the rich pro- duction of the American soil, to furnish ourselves with the neces- saries and comforts of life, - without any longer depending for them on the Mother country; - who are also putting it out of our power, and seem to have forgotten her relation; and to prefer the hazard of obtaining from us the forced and unnatural submission of slaves, - to the certain, durable, free, cheerful, and immensely advantageous Dependence and subjection of Children."
These were strong words and sacrificial resolutions made by free Lebanon men. The resolution was attested by William Williams, clerk, later to be one of the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- dence. He was a staunch patriot, son of a staunch patriot, the Rev. Doctor Solomon Williams, who possibly wrote much of the resolu- tion. William Williams gave generously of his substance for the cause of the Colonies. When asked when he expected to get his pay, he replied, "If independence should be established, he should get his pay, if not, the loss would be of no account to him."
At another meeting in August of the same year delegates were chosen to attend a convention of merchants and others to be held in New Haven to consider proper measures to implement a "non- Importation Agreement." Again the town passed a strong and vig- orous resolution upholding the rights of free Englishmen in the Colonies and condemning those, especially in New York, who thought more of their wealth than they did of their rights as free men and Englishmen. The resolution further pledged full com- pliance with the purposes and spirit of the "non-Importation Agree- ment." This is the more significant because of the vast interests of the Trumbull family. By all standards of many of the merchant class of that day they should have been Tories. It is to their eter- nal credit that they placed freedom and right above selfish interests. Lebanon was no place for Tories with the Williamses and the Trumbulls around.
On the day that the infamous Boston Port Bill took effect, June 1, 1774, Lebanon shared with other towns in the colonies in a day of mourning. Church bells were tolled all day; the town house was draped in black; business ceased; a solemn meeting was
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(Courtesy of Connecticut Circle)
HOME OF CAPTAIN CLARK The oldest house in Lebanon (1708)
When the first shot of the Revolution was fired at Lexington, Governor Trumbull dispatched Captain James Clark and 160 men to join with the Continental forces. They arrived at Boston in 72 hours and fought with distinction at Bunker Hill.
(From Connecticut Circle)
TOUS
(Courtesy of Connecticut Circle)
CONNECTICUT INFANTRYMAN - 1775
This uniform was adopted in 1775 with the beginning of Rev- oluuonary hostilities. It was, however, along toward the end of the war before finances enabled the Revolutionary soldiers to ap- pear in these uniforms in any great degree.
In the background is shown the salt-box house of Captain James Clark, (the oldest house in Lebanon built 1708) who led the first company, consisting of 160 men, from Lebanon to Bunker Hill, marching there in 72 hours.
(From Connecticut Circle)
held. Undoubtedly the venerable Dr. Solomon Williams spoke with patriotic fervor. The words quoted in the Hartford Courant of that time have the ring of his voice. He said:
"Gentlemen, the occasion of our meeting is interesting and solemn. I hope we are met together with dispositions suitable to the occasion. We are now, my brethren, to determine whether we will tamely submit to every act of cruel oppression, or indignantly reject, and with manly resolution, remonstrate to every instance of unjust power, by whatever hand attempted. Persuaded, you cannot hesitate one moment in the choice of the alternative, I will propose the following Resolutions.
'That we do all at this time heartily sympathize with our breth- ren of Boston in the scenes of distress which this day opens upon them.
'That we view with the utmost indignation, the cruel act of un- just power which introduces this distress.
'That we consider them as suffering under the hand of minis- terial vengence for their noble exertions in the cause of liberty, the common cause of all America.
'And, That we are heartily willing and desirous to unite our little powers, in whatever general measure shall be thought best for the security and permanency of the just rights and privileges of our country. Being determined as far as we are able, to stand fast in the liberties wherein God made us free, and at the same time. would unite our ardent supplications to our Almighty Helper. the Great Father of the distressed, that American Councils may be directed by His wisdom, to these measures, that shall be most con- ductive to the desired end.' "
Events moved rapidly towards the inevitable war. The attack of the British on Concord and Lexington stirred Lebanon to in- stant action. Men sprang to arms ready to march at a moment's notice. In three days a company of men under Captain Clark marched the ninety miles to Boston to participate in the Battle of Bunker Hill. When the monument at Bunker Hill was dedicated by Lafayette in 1825, Clark was one of the forty survivors present. It is said that when Lafayette heard of Captain Clark's forced march, he, in true French style, kissed him, and said to him, "You was made of goode stoof." Such was the calibre of Lebanon men of those days. They were made of good stuff.
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Governor Jonathan Trumbull was to suffer a deep loss as a re- sult of the Battle of Bunker Hill. His daughter Faith had married Colonel, later General, Jedediah Huntington, of Norwich. She went with him to the camp in Cambridge from which she could witness something of the battle. The shock of it was too much for her sensitive nature, her mind broke, and soon after she died.
No definite record is available of the number of men Lebanon sent into the army during the American Revolution. It has been estimated that there were periods when as many as five hundred men were in service from Lebanon at one time. This would mean that there was a man in service for every eight inhabitants of the town, a notable record.
The story of the remarkable achievements of the town in help- ing to supply the needs of the armies, of Washington's staunch faith in Governor Jonathan Trumbull, of his own family, of Leb- anon's contributions during the Civil War, will be found in sub- sequent sketches.
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Chapter 2 THE EARLY MINISTRY
These Connecticut hills and valleys were settled by men who had a deep faith in God and who were seeking to establish homes where they could worship Him according to their own consciences. Rev. Thomas Hooker led his little flock out of Massachusetts into Connecticut to found, not only the city of Hartford, but the Colony of Connecticut. Religion was of paramount importance. No com- munity could ask to be set off as a separate town with its privileges and responsibilities until it could support a minister, which meant, of course, a church. A church with a minister had to precede the forming of a town.
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