USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > New Canaan > Historical address, delivered in the Congregational church, of New Canaan, Conn., July 4th, 1876 > Part 1
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Gc 974.602 N39s 1770105
M. I
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
V
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01149 1625
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1
Historical Address,
DELIVERED IN THE
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
NEW CANAAN, CONN.,
JULY 4th, 1876.
By Prof. Samuel St. John. .
WITH AN APPENDIX OF VALUABLE HISTORICAL INFORMATION COMPRISING A LIST OF THE TOWN CLERKS, THE SELECTMIEN, THE POSTMASTERS, THE REPRE- SENTATIVES, FROM THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN IN 1801. ALSO A LIST OF SOLDIERS WHO SERVED IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION, AND AN OBITUARY OF PROF. ST. JOHN. RESOLUTIONS. FTC.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHICAGO
1876 :
NEW CANAAN, CONN.
1.70105
Samuel de dobio.
84646 .8 F
St. John, Samuel, 1513-1876. - Historical address, delivered in the Congregational ch arri .. of New Canaan, Conn., July 4th, 1876. By Prof. Samuel S :. John. With an appendix .. Also a list of soldiers who served in the war for the Union, and an obituary of Prof. St. John, resolutions, etc. Now Canaan, Conn. 1576. 64 D. front. (por:) :2. 201.
SHELF CARD
1. Now Canaan, Conn .- Hist. 2. Fourth of July orations. -
Library of Congress
F104.N5382
2891
PREFACE.
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SOMETIME in the month of March last, several gen- tlemen addressed the following letter to Professor St. Jomm :
DEAR SIR:
The undersigned, your neighbors and friends, firmly believing there are many incidents connected with the organization and history of our town and its inhabitants, that deserve to be gathered up and preserved in some permanent form, and that this Centennial year of our Country's History is pre-eminently the time for it to be done ; and, furthermore, that you are of all others, the proper person to perform this duty, do earnestly ask you to under- take the task, and deliver the same in a public address on the 4th of July next, or at any other time if more convenient to yourself, with a view to its publication afterwards.
Very Respectfully,
WATTS COMSTOCK. STEPHEN HOYT, EBENEZER J. RICHARDS, SANT'L. K. LOCKWOOD, JAMES M. CARROLL, A. S. COMSTOCK,
and others.
The above letter was first suggested by the Presi- dent's proclamation which wasissued previously, recom- mending that some suitable history be written of cach town in the United States during the Centennial year.
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And at the session of the Legislature of our own State, in May, the following resolution was adopted :
Resolved by this Assembly, That the people of the several towns in this State, be earnestly recommended to make immediate ar- rangements for, and to properly celebrate the coming Centennial Fourth of July in their several towns, and to take action at that ' time in regard to the preparation of statistics of revolutionary and Centennial History, as suggested in the Governor's Message.
No man more truly desired that these suggestions should be carried out, so far as New Canaan was concern- ed, than Prof. St. John, but with that modesty so char- acteristic of the man, for some time he hesitated to under- take the matter himself, for fear he should be interfer- ing with the prerogative of some other man or men, and only after the most positive assurance that no other name but his had been suggested by anybody, and that no other person would attempt the duty if he would consent, he gave his promise to comply.
How well and faithfully he performed that duty, the unanimous approval of the multitude who thronged around him on the day of its delivery, and the contents of the following pages fully attest.
It was to him most emphatically a labor of love : his devotion to the best interests of his native town was unbounded, and the manner in which he has attested that love during the last twenty years of his life, is known and read of all men.
He has given fully and bountifully of his best intellec- tual efforts for our instruction and mental delight, he has given as freely and bountifully of his time and sub- stance to promote our material interests, by night and by
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day, in season and out of season, at the expense of life and health even. he has most truly " done what he could."
It would be hard to find any man who has more truly exemplified the life of Him, who while on earth. "went about doing good."
May we emulate his virtues and treasure his memo- ry as a sacred shrine.
ADDRESS.
FELLOW CITIZENS :
In accordance with the recommendation of our Na- tional and State authorities, we are assembled to cele- brate the anniversary of our Nation's birth ; and also to garner up the scattered memorials of our early local history. Of memorable events, few awaken a more lively curiosity than the origin of communities. Whence we sprung, at what period, under what circumstances, and for what object, are inquiries so natural that they rise almost spontaneously in our minds ; and scarcely less so in the humblest than in the most exalted of so- ciety. They are intimately connected with our charac- ter, our hopes and our destiny. Nor is this strong pro- pensity of our nature attributable to the indulgence of mere personal vanity. It has a nobler origin ; it is closely interwoven with that reverence and affection, with which we regard our parents and the patriarchs of our own times ; with that gratitude with which we follow the benefactors of our race, and with that sympathy which links our fate with that of past and future gener- ations. Let us strive then, to gather up the fragments
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of our local history, as records or tradition have preser- ved them, and extract from remote events that instrue- tion which the vicissitudes of human life is ever press- ing home upon us. The toils and trials incident to in- fant settlements, the slow progress of even successful ' efforts ; the patience, fortitude and sagacity by which obstacles are overcome, the causes which quicken or retard their growth, these all tend to instruct the wise and warn the rash and improvident.
Trumbull, in his History of Connectiont. (Vol. I. page 115. ) says that in 1640. "Mr. Ludlow made a purchase of the eastern part of Norwalk :" " Capt. Patrick bought the middle part of the town," and that "a few families seem to have planted themselves in the town abont the time of these purchases." The name Norwalk is that of the Indians -- " Norwalk Indians "- from whom Mr. Ludlow made the purchase, and the land is described as lying between the two rivers, the one called the Norwalk and the other the Soakatnek. In prononneing it, the "w" was probably silent. as in Warwick, in England, at the present day, and the old people in on boyhood, retained the ancient promincia- tion, "Norruck." The first town records date from 1653. and are complete from that time. There appears to be no complete list of original settlers. but a " Table of Estates of Lands and Accomodations." in 1655, con- tains many family names which have still representa-
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tives among us, as Abbot, Benedict, Bowton, Fitch, Hanford, Keeler, Richards, Sention, (St John.) Smith. Taylor, etc.
The original title to the land was derived from the Indians, by three distinct deeds, which are given in full, together with fac-similes of the marks of the Indians, as their signatures, in " Hall's Ancient Historical Record of Norwalk," published in 1847. The first deed was given 26th of February, 1640, and is as follows, " An agreement between the Indians of Norwalk and Roger Ludlow. It is agreed that the Indians of Norwalk, for. and in consideration of eight fathom of wampum, six coates, tenn hatchets, ten hoes, tenn knives, tem scissors, tenn jewes-harps, tenn fathom Tobackoe, three kettles of sixe hands about, tenn looking glasses, have granted all the lands, meadows, pasturings, trees, what- soever there is, and grounds, between the two rivers. the one called Norwalk, the other Soakatuck, to the middle of said rivers, from the sea. a day's walk into the country, to the said Roger Ludlow, his heirs or assigns for ever-and that no Indian or other shall challenge or claim any ground within the said rivers or limits, nor disturb the said Roger, his heirs or assigns within the precincts aforesaid. In witness whereof, the parties thereunto have interchangeably sett their hands. Roger Ludlow, Tomakergo. Tokaneke. Mahachemo. Adam Prosewamenos."
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This deed was recorded in the book of Deeds of Nor- walk, in the year 1672. A second deed dated 20th of April, 1640, for similar consideration of wampum, hatch- etts, hoes, glasses, pipes, knives, drills and needles, con- veyed to Daniel Patrick. the title from three Indians, owners, "the lands lying on the west side of Norwalk river as far up in the country as an Indian can go in a day, from sun-rising to sun-setting-and for the peace- able possession of which Mahacemill doth promise and undertake to silence all opposers of the purchase. And finally, Runekingheage, and fifteen other Indians, by in- denture made 15th February, 1651, conveyed to Richard Web and thirteen others, planters of Norwalk, for the use and behalfe of said town, for the consideration of thirty fathom of wampin, 10 kettles, 15 coates, 10 payr of stockings, 10 knives, 10 hookes. 20 pipes, 10 muckes, 10 needles, all their lands known by the name of Runckingheage, Rooaton, bounded on the east by land purchased of Capt. Patrick, on the west by the brook called Pampaskeshanke, on the north, the Moe- hakes country, and on the south by the sea." This conveyance covered the site of New Canaan, except what was derived from Stamford. Subsequently the title of Capt. Patrick of Greenwich, to the lands on the west side of Norwalk river, was, on the Ist of July, 1650, confirmed to him by the surviving Indians, orig- inal proprietors of the land. This was in consequence
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of the non-payment of part of the original considera- tion, the receipt of which, in full, was now acknowl- edged. On the 13th April, 1654, Mr. Roger Ludlow, of Fairfield, who had made the first purchase of the Indians, assigned to Nathaniel Eli and the rest of the inhabitants of Norwalk all his title, interest and claim to the plantation of Norwalk and every part thereof.
The township of Stamford was purchased, July Ist, 1640, for the white settlers, of the Indians, for consider- ations similar to those given by the proprietors of Nor- walk, and embraced a tract of land, extending from the Rowalton. (Five Mile River) to the Myanos, and running back into the country 16 miles. This cov- ered what is now Stamford, Darien, a part of New Ca- naan, Poundridge, North Castle and Bedford. In this tract were traces of four distinct tribes or clans. In the west, Myano, deemed the most savage of all ; farther east was Wascussue. Sagamore of Shippan, and still further east was Pianickin, the Sagamore of Roaton, who was also one of the grantors to the Norwalk pur- chasers. North of these was Ponus, Sagamore of To- qnams, who had received from his ancestors the wooded hills and vales stretching far away to the northward until they merge in the forests, which even the red men did not claim. Stamford was called Rippowam. . and the harbor Toquam. Still later, about 1700, these grants of land to the English were confirmed in an in-
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strument attested by fifteen Indians' signatures. The Stamford Indians seem, however, to have caused consider- able annoyance and anxiety to the white settlers, in con- sequence, probably, of the provocations offered the Indi- ans by the Dutch traders, who resided not far west of ' Stamford. The Norwalk Indians appear to have been remiss in laying out the northern bounds of their con- veyance, twelve miles from the sea, and required some additional stimulus, by way of proffer of four addition- al coats when that should have been performed. A considerable number of Indians continued to reside in Norwalk, and were subject to the town authorities, ex- hibiting the characteristic lack of industry and thrift belonging to the race, but neither the records nor tra- dition impute to them any savage conduct. Rev. Mr. Hanford, the first minister of Norwalk, appears to have evoked the kindly regards of at least one of their mi- ber, for in 1690, "Winnipauk," Indian Sagamore of Norwalk, conveyed by deed, his " Island lying against Rowerton," containing twenty acres which he affirms he had never by deed of gift or sale made over to any, "but now by this my deed, I do give it freely to my beloved friend Thomas Hanford. senior minister of Nor- walk, to possess and improve, to him and his heirs for ever."
At the time of the earliest settlements in what is now New Canaan, the Indians had almost entirely disap-
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peared from this part of the country. In the burying ground near to the old meeting-house vere two graves marked by plain headstones, which tradition assigned to Indians. These, together with the " Indian Rocks," (nearly two miles north of us, ) in which are excavations used by the tribes for pounding their corn, are the only relics-(so far as I can learn) of the forest races who onee dwelt here. They have perished. The small-pox desolated whole tribes of them in New England. but a mightier power, a moral contagion, which the touch of the white man seems to communicate, has betrayed them into a lingering ruin. The feeble remnants of these pow- erful tribes driven beyond the Mississippi, are crossing the flanks of the Rocky Mountains. They have but one more remove to make, that is to the burial-place of their race. It is a consolation to us to know. that our imme- diate ancestors did not forcibly displace the Indians, but respecting their claim to the soil, purchased the lands. for what was then considered an adequate consideration.
The settlement of Stamford by the English was be- gun in 1640, by a company of men who had become dissatisfied with their circumstances at Wethersfield. Ct., and by advice of Rev. Mr. Davenport, obtained from the New Haven Colony the tract of land (before described) lying west of Norwalk, which the Colony through their agent, Capt. Nathaniel Turner, had just purchased from the Indians. The list of pioneers at
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the end of 1642 embraces 59 names, heads of families, among which we recognize several which were repro- sented by the early settlers of New Canaan. In the first company of 28, who came to Stamford, we find " Matthew Mitchell," the ancestor of Rev. Justus Mitchell, who was pastor of the Congregational Church in New Canaan, from 1783 to his death in 1806.
The Stamford settlement was under the jurisdiction of the New Haven Colony, whose Capital was New Ha- ven where their General Court, or Legislature, was held, and to which Stamford sent Representatives. This Colony was a rival of the Connecticut Colony whose capital was Hartford. The people of Stamford were dissatisfied with the New Haven government from an early period, and continued to have dissensions among themselves respecting the two jurisdictions, but in 1644 the New Haven Colony submitted, accepted the Char- ter, and acknowledged the supremacy of the Connecti- cut government. There appears to have been at one time, a serious difference between the people of Stam- ford and Norwalk respecting the town boundary at Five Mile River, due probably to vagueness in the convey- ance of the Indian Pianiekin. In the town meeting at Norwalk, August 26, 1666, it was voted and agreed, " that such men of our inhabitants as do go to eut hay ou the other side, Five Mile River, the town will stand by them in the action to defend them and to.bear an equal
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proportion of the damage they shall sustain on that account ; and if they shall be affronted by Stamford men the town will take as speedy a course as they can to prosecute them by law, to recover their just rights touching their lands in controversy ; and also they have chosen and deputed Mr. Thomas Fitch to go with the said men, when they go to cut or fetch away, to make answer for and in behalf of the town and the rest to be silent." Two years later they directed their Rep- resentatives in the Legislature to endeavor to have their differences settled and to notify the Stamford people of their intentions. This does not appear to have been successful. But in June 1670, the town of Norwalk "voted and agreed that Mr. Fitch and Lieut. Omstead and Daniel Kellogg, are chosen a committee to go to Stamford to treat with the inhabitants there, to see if they and we can come to a loving and neighborly , issue and agreement about the division of bounds be- twixt them and us, and the said committee is to make these propositions to the men of Stamford, either to divide betwixt Five Mile River and Pine Brook, that is to say, in the middle between both, or else to divide in the middle between Saketuk river and the bounds between Stamford and Greenwich."
The earliest settlers were prone to seek their resi- dences along the coasts, hence Norwalk and Stamford sites along the Sound shore were first taken up. As
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population increased and new homes were to be made. the settlers naturally followed the water courses pre- senting the more sheltered and accessible situations. Hence from Norwalk, the settlements were along the slopes on either side of the Rowalton or Five Mile River, parallel to the course taken by the settlers of Wilton and Ridgefield along the Norwalk river. Among the earliest built houses in New Canaan, were a cluster on " Clapboard Hills." One of those is still standing, the residence of Mr. James Tournier. Two others in that immediate vicinity have been destroyed by fire within the recollection of many of ns. At Canoe-hill also were several of the older honses. Following more closely the western slope of the river, a cluster of houses was built on the upper part of Haines' Ridge, among which were the old residences of Col. Enoch St. John, Elnathan Lock- wood, Mr. Moses Comstock, Mr. Uriah Reed, and Mr. Aaron Comstock. Three of these have been demolish- ed, one so remodeled as not to appear like an old house. while one remains essentially unchanged in aspect.
The settlers from Stamford, followed similarly the course of the Noroton river, as also, still farther west, that of Mill River. A single style of architecture was almost universal, not only here, but throughont New England, in those days. The house was of two stories in front, presenting two eligible chambers, while the
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rear roof sloped off' to the height of seven or eight feet from the ground. A massive stone chimney was in the center, with its huge fire-place, admitting back-logs and fore-sticks four feet long, and still furnishing warming room within its jambs for all the children. Here was the ponderous crane with its assortment of traumnels of varying lengths for pots and kettles, the iron andirons. tongs and peel with its handle four feet long, termina- ting in a large hemispherical knob ; (this was used for cleaning out the coals from the brick oven which occupied a part of the deep recesses of the old chimney :) the spider, the skillett, the griddle ; all over the open fire. No prosaic, economical cooking-stove or range had yet made its appearance. The rooms of these old time houses were ranged around the chimney. The keeping room and parlor, on either side, in front, the latter with its beaufet displaying the glittering pew- ter plates and platters, and a slender assortment of china cups and saucers; the kitchen in the rear- with bed rooms on either side-the hall in front, with winding stairs leading to chambers above ; these all communi- cated by doors, so that on festal occasions, in families moulded not according to the strietest seet ofthe Puritans, this arrangement furnished ample scope for merry games and dancing. But I must leave the garret, with its fes- toons of dried apples and peaches, its bunches of bone- set, may-weed and other medicinal herbs, its revolu-
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tionary guns, bayonets and swords, to the tender recol- lections of the more mature, and the lively imagination of the younger of my auditors or history will be sacri- ficed to topography and domestic economy.
To return to our settlers of New Canaan, whom we ' have traced to their abodes here ; they had gradually spread through the valleys and over the ridges, and in- creased to such a degree, that they felt the want of some organization for the development of their social and public relations. This led to the incorporation of " Ca- naan Parish." The first notice of it on the Stamford Records, is dated December 8th, 1730, when "John Bouton and others, ask liberty of moving out of town. to join with a part of Norwalk in order to be a socie- ty." The town voted in the negative. Still. the next year, we find the town of Stamford appointing John Bouton and Ebenezer Seelye, tything men, for the new Society and designating their field of service Canaan parish. Two years after, ." the town agree that there shall be a committee chosen to agree with those men that have land lying where it may be thought needful for a highway for the conveniency of Canaan parish to go to meeting." Of the twenty-four members constituting the first church, eleven were from Stamford, and two of these. John Bouton and Thomas Talmadge were its first deacons. There seems to have been no objection to the new parish on the part of Norwalk. April 3d.
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1732, the proprietors " by major vote, grant to the In- habitants of Canaan parish all the commaon land where their meeting-house standeth." The parish was incor- porated by the Legislature in 1731. The first Society's meeting was held July 1st, 1731, and the record of their aets is complete, in' legible handwriting and in good preservation. The next year there were forty- seven members, thirty on the Norwalk and seventeen on the Stamford side. The first question discussed by them, was the expediency of building a meeting-house for the public worship of God. Decided in the affirm- ative, twenty-four to one. They were unable to agree upon the place where the building should be erected- and they appointed a suitable person to represent them in the general court to be held in October. to request the Hon. Assembly to appoint a committee to fix a place for the house. It was decided that the house should be built at the lower end of Haines' Ridge, the house to be thirty feet square, and of a height suitable for one tier of galleries. A building committee was ap- pointed who were either to let out the work, "by the great," or hire men by the day. They levied a tax of ten pence on the pound in the List. Then follows a list of members with their assessments. In February 1732, they appointed a Committee to make application to the Rev. Elders of the county for advice and direc- tion in order to the calling and settlement of a minister.
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They were directed to Rev. John Eells, of Milford, who preached among them nine months on probation, and in June, 1733, was settled among them as their minis- ter, residing on Clapboard Hills. After this time, the Society's meetings were devoted to such business as de- volves upon it at the present day, with several items which are now managed by the town, such as taking charge of the schools, laying out highways, etc. Their meetings were commonly warned to be held at "sm two hours high at night." Clocks and watches were probably not common, and we find an appropriation of two shillings-nine pence to buy an hour-glass. At this time, all inhabitants of the parish were members, and were taxed for its support ; it is not strange that some should have been restive and sought release. One member petitioned the legislature to that effect, but met there a committee from the Society, who success- fully opposed the petition. They assessed themselves as high as nineteen pence on the pound and collected it by "stress." if necessary. The building of the meet- ing-house was a severe draught on their slender re- sources. As the expenses of the Society were defraved by tax, the seats were common property, but the Socie- ty was accustomed to "seat the meeting house." as it was termed, according to " rate and dignity." By vote. they gave Rev. Mr. Eells the seat next to the pulpit. on the woman's side. Similar seating of the meeting
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houses, appear in the records of Stamford and Norwalk. It was the custom to appoint some person to "set the psalm." And in 1739 they voted to "sing by rule, or that which is called the new way in the congregation." Huntington says, "this change from the old to the new way of singing had been introduced in 1721. The eight or nine tunes brought over by the pioneers "had become barbarously perverted," and the Rev. Thomas Walter, of Roxbury, Mass., composer, in that year pub- lished, " The Grounds and Rules of Music Explained, or an Introduction to the Art of Singing by Note." The book contained twenty-four tunes harmonized in three parts.
After six years " experience " (as it was termed) with Mr. Eells, some began to be dissatisfied, and in 1740. the Society appointed a committee to acquaint Mr. Eells and see if he would give his consent to have a vote tried to see who is easy and who is aneasy, with him. The test showed twenty-four uneasy. In 1741, Mr. Fells, was dismissed. Tradition assigns to him, ability, learning and piety, together with certain eccentricities deemed inconsistent in a minister of the Gospel. He continued to reside here until his death, in 1785. The Society proceeded promptly to fill his place. The Rev. Robert Silliman was ordained February, 1742. During his ministry, there was such increase in the Congrega- tion as to require an addition to the meeting-house.
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