USA > Connecticut > New London County > Montville > History of Montville, Connecticut, formerly the North parish of New London from 1640 to 1896 > Part 1
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Lib tis
Lewis S. Conant
OSTON UNIVERSIT
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LEARNING . VIRTUE . PIETY
BOSTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BEQUEST OF EMMA L. CONANT IN MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND Lewis S. Conant 1951
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1
HISTORY
OF
Montville, Connecticut
FORMERLY
THE NORTH PARISH OF NEW LONDON
FROM
1640 to 1896
COMPILED AND ARRANGED BY HENRY A. BAKER
HARTFORD, CONN. Press of Che Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company 1896
COPYRIGHT, by BY HENRY A. BAKER.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
CHAPTER.
I. Introduction. . 1
II. History of Uncas and Mohegan, · Sassacus, 66
1
Rev. Samson Occum, 66
III. History of the North Parish of New London, 70
94
Pensioners of the Revolution, . 98
War of 1812,
99
IV. Genealogies of the Early Settlers,
. 100
Rev. Abishai Alden, 600 603
Rev. Lorenzo Dow,
V. Industrial History of Montville, Manufacturing Industries,
615
VI. Ecclesiastical History,.
VII. Statistical Record, . 636 680
VIII. Raymond Library,
St. John's Church,
IX. Enlistments in the late Civil War,
691 693 695
X. Post-Offices,
701 Physicians, 704
APPENDIX : Joseph Chapman, 708: William Walden, 708; Elisha B. Baker, 710; David Gardner and John Gustin, 711; Joseph Willoughby, 712: William Prince, 712: Richard Church, 713; Whiting & Noyes, 714; Nelson & Rogers, 716; Dudley Williams, 717; French Spoliation, 717; William Brown, 719.
621
List of Persons who served in the War of the Revolution,
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Frontispiece.
CYNTHA HOSCOTT HOUSE, .
To face page 59
SAMSON OCCUM HOUSE,
67
NATHAN COMSTOCK HOUSE,
143
ALEXANDER BAKER HOUSE,
66
157
OLIVER BAKER HOUSE,
165
THOS. ROGER'S HOUSE, VINCENT'S MILL, COCHEGAN ROCK "
198
BROWNING HOUSE,
6.
228
TURNER HOUSE, .
251
VALLET HOUSE, .
NATHAN SMITH HOUSE,
66
66
304
LATIMER'S MILL,
314
EZEKIEL FOX HOUSE,
315
LATIMER HOUSE, CHESTERFIELD,
320
WATERFALL AT LATIMER'S MILL,
324
ELISHA HOLMES HOUSE, .
327
DOLBEARE HOUSE, MOHEGAN,
. .
342
NATHANIEL BRADFORD HOUSE,
391
JOSEPH BRADFORD HOUSE,
. 4
394 430
ELISHA H. PALMER (Portrait),
441
GEORGE WILLIAMS HOUSE,
465
OLD ELDER PALMER HOUSE,
485
HOUGHTON TAVERN, .
.6
486
JOSEPH CHURCH HOUSE,
..
505
MERCY (SANDS) RAYMOND HOUSE,
16
575
JOHN RAYMOND HOUSE,
582
DANIEL F. RAYMOND HOUSE,
584
LORENZO DOW HOUSE,
16
604
LORENZO DOW (Portrait ),
..
614
PALMER BROTHERS' MILL,
435, 627
CARMICHAEL ROBERTSON ( Portrait ),
628
ROCKLAND MILL,
629
HENRY A. BAKER,
TOWN FARM HOUSE - SAMUEL ALLEN'S RESIDENCE 1720, "
261 302
MRS. CAROLINE (CHESTER) SMITH,
vi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
BANK PAPER MILL, .
. To face page 631
CHESTERFIELD CHURCHES,
662
BAPTIST CHURCHI,
66 663
MOHEGAN CHAPEL,
.. 667
METHODIST CHURCHI, UNCASVILLE,
..
676
RAYMOND LIBRARY, .
692
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH,
694
PREFACE.
No one, except those who have had experience in this line of work, can have any proportionate idea of the amount of labor and patience required to prepare a work of this character, es- pecially in that part of it which contains the genealogies of a multitude of families, many of which are very obscure in the matter of dates, and the record of names.
If a thorough investigation and research is to be made, with dates of births, marriages, deaths, and other events in detail, which is requisite for a full and complete record, many perplexing embarrassments are encountered, which give the compiler no little anxiety.
In compiling this work much time has been spent in investigation and research. The records of this town and the adjoining towns have been thoroughly searched, and every information possible to be obtained from the oldest in- habitants sought.
Much aid has been obtained from the history of New London, written by its gifted anthor, Miss Frances Manwar- ing Caulkins, by which many of the carly settlers in the North Parish of New London, now Montville, have been ascertained. and their history determined. In the his- tory of the Mohegan tribe of Indians, a large part of the earli- est history of these Indians was obtained from the " History of the Indians of Connecticut," by John W. DeForest, who had very studiously gathered the historic facts from various documents of both public and private record. In the compila- tion of the town's history, it has been my aim to gather from its records such points of local interest as would most interest the present inhabitants of the town, and to preserve the same to its future generations.
viii
PREFACE.
The illustrations contained in this work are a selection of the oldest and most historic residences now standing, and its portraits are those of the older residents, who have long since passed off the stage of activity.
Much care has been taken to avoid as many errors as pos- sible in the compilation of the family genealogies, but, un- doubtedly, some will be found. It is impossible to get every (late correct, there being so many discrepancies in the records of dates and names.
To the present generation of the sons and daughters of this historic town, this History of Montville, which their enterprise and that of their ancestors has done so much to honor, is respectfully dedicated by the author.
CHAPTER. I.
Two hundred and fifty years ago the territory now com- prising the town of Montville was a savage wilderness, entirely possessed by a race supposed to have been of Asiatic origin, and may have been, as some historie writers think, descend- ants from some of the ten lost tribes of Israel.
Their religion was a system of paganism without idolatry, their government rude and founded solely upon custom, their character ferocious, but streaks of virtuous action were upon occasions manifested, their mode of life, roving and unsettled, dependent almost wholly for subsistence upon hunting and fishing. Their utmost ingenuity of art had no proper con- ception of the implements of husbandry.
Much of the field work was doubtless performed with- their hands, and the only implements the natives of the soil seem to have had were spades rudely constructed of wood or stone, or of a large shell fastened to a stick. With these rude implements they turned up the soil and dropped in their seed.
There are a few still remaining that bear the tints of that savage and ferocious race that once roamed over this territory of ours, but now how unlike them. They have outgrown their native barbarous condition and become refined by con- tact with civilization. Though their ancestors were rude in manner and ferocious and warlike in character, there are many passages in their history which are instructive, and some touching and pathetic.
Had the aborigines of this land remained unmolested and unvisited by Europeans till the present day they would now have been as rude, as poor, as warlike, as disdainful of labor, and in every way as uncivilized as when the white man first explored the river Thames and sailed along its virgin shores.
1
2
HISTORY OF MONTVILLE.
This country would still have been covered with forests and unimproved fields, the streams unoccupied, except for fish- ing and game. Tracks of wild beasts would be found where now extends the hard roadway, trodden by thousands of human feet. The ferocious bear would be seen coming out of the hollow tree, upon the site of which now crowds of youth are emerging from the hall of learning. This land which now rejoices and blossoms as the rose would still have been a wilderness and solitary.
If one was to stand upon some of the highest ridges which overlook this town and take a survey of the landscape, listen to the rippling streams coursing and meandering through these valleys made subservient to man's interest in turning the wheel, the spindle, the loom, and the various kinds of machinery of modern invention, and then glance the eye over the hills and glens which meet it on every side, where now the hum of industry is heard and the voice of the white man and the civilized Indian awake their echoes, where farms and schools, industry and thrift, civilization and Christianity, home of comfort and social enjoyment, the merry laugh of the school girl and boy returning from their studies, attest the presence of the more intelligence and civilized race, he would be amazed and wonder at the change that has come over this region of the country in the last two centuries.
These hills and these valleys were then the abode of the untutored Indian; these forests filled with wild beasts and wild animals of various kinds, some of them beasts of prey and others suitable for food for the hunter. Here were the wild cats, wolves, and foxes, whose furs rendered them an object of the chase. Here were various species of birds and fowl, both in the forest and open fields.
A continuous forest, with but here and there an open space for planting grounds, overspread nearly the whole landscape, adorning these hills with its verdure, darkening these valleys with its thick foliage and bending gracefully over the margin of the silvery streams, where the wild birds amid their
3
HISTORY OF MONTVILLE.
leafy bowers sung their carols only to the wild beasts and wild inan.
Paths led meandering through these forests, marked only by the footprints of the red man and the wild beast, leading sometimes along the margin of some rippling stream or on through some open plain and up the declivity of some woody hill, then down through the rocky glen; not paths of iron such as those over which the iron horse now flies, nor were they the graded road for the swift horse and polished carriage, but paths along which the wild beasts and the wild man alike traveled in single file.
Here nature was in its rudest dress, hill and glen, forest tree and cragged roek, the murmuring stream and mirrowed lake, every attempt at improvement by the untutored occupants had only marred their native beauty. The homes, the rude cabin here built, the paths here opened, the soil here disturbed, all attempts at change made, only begun and ended in forest homes and blinded paths.
The utmost of all that Indian art and industry could do scarcely detracted any of nature's gracefulness. Nor had the waters of the beautiful Thames yet felt the keel of civ- ilized commerce or had borne upon its bosom the paper shell of Harvard and Yale. The rude bark or dugout canoe had been the only means of transport over the bosom of this " great river."
Nor had the sharp erack of the hunter's rifle, nor the booming of modern artillery ever yet disturbed these solitudes, though instead the twang of the stringed bow and the whizzing flint-headed arrow had often brought to the ground the eagle or the fish-hawk as they stood perched upon the tall, mast-like forest tree on the " mountain ", or cut short the fleet-footed deer in his race over the open field, or the prowling wolf in his search for prey.
CHAPTER II.
It is claimed by historians that the Pequots and Mohegans were apparently of the same race with the Mohicans or Mohi- canders who lived on the banks of the Hudson. Not long previous to 1600, it is supposed that these tribes resided among their relations, and the probability is that they voluntarily separated from the parent tribe on account of the want of room to support so large a population of hunters. Migrating towards the east, they perhaps moved along the middle of southern part of Massachusetts until they crossed the Connecticut river and then took a southern course and came upon the sea shore. All the traditions of the Indians agree in the assertion that they migrated from the north a short time previous to the arrival of the English in this part of the country.
Upon the arrival of the Pequots or Mohegans in this part of the country, they found themselves in possession of a large extent of country and just adapted to their needs, a large traet of hunting ground and abundance of shell, sea, and river fish, but at the same time surrounded by hostile tribes, who pro- tested against the invasion. The Pequots, being possessed of a bold and venturons spirit, were not easily intimidated by their enemies. They carried terror and trembling among the ad- jacent tribes with whom they were often in deadly conflict. The names of some of the early sachems of the Pequot tribe have been preserved in a genealogy of the Uncas family as it was made out by Uneas himself in 1679. The first whose name is mentioned was Tamaquashad, who probably lived about the time when the Pequots first established themselves in what is now Connecticut. The next in succession was Muck- qunt-do-was, who lived in a place called Awenmbucks, situated in the heart of the Pequot country. He had two children,
5
HISTORY OF MONTVILLE.
Woipequand, who became sachem after his father's death, and a daughter called after her mother, Meek-un-ump, who was married to Oweneco the father of Uncas. Woipequand mar- ried a daughter of Wekousn, chief sachem of the Narragan- setts, and when he died, was succeeded by his son Wopigwooit.
Wopigwooit had a son Sassacus, the most famous of the Pequot sachens. About ten years previous to the war of the Pequots with the English, which was about 1626, Uncas, the son of Oweneco, married a daughter of Sassacus, thus connecting himself more closely with the royal line. This double connection of Uncas with the royal blood of his tribe afterwards contributed to the downfall of his native tribe and resulting in the raising of Uncas himself to independent power. It is a recorded fact that Uncas became one of the most re- markable characters in the history of the Indian tribes of Connecticut. It seems probable that on the death of Wopig- wooit, Uncas laid claim to the sachemship, claiming his title on his own descent and also that of his wife. At all events, some difficulty arose, and Uncas was in open hostility with the chieftain, his father-in-law, Sassacus. The great body of the Pequot natives remained faithful to their chief and the re- bellious sagamore was by them expelled from the country. Uncas fled to the Narragansetts, but after remaining with that tribe awhile, he sent a humble message to the Pequot chief, begging permission to return to his native tribe. His request was granted only on condition of his submission and future good conduct. Uncas of course promised to accede to their requirements and was therefore received back. Again he was accused of treachery, found guilty, and again had to fly for security. On a further promise of loyalty he was again par- doned and allowed to return. Once more for the same cause he was banished. In all these attempts to secede and es- tablish an independent tribe, he had failed, but as soon as the English had commenced their settlement on the Connecti- eut river, Uncas and his hand were joined by a number of Connecticut river Indians, probably from about Windsor and
6
HISTORY OF MONTVILLE.
Hartford, and found himself at the head of some seventy war- riors. With this band he probably returned to the Pequot territory, lying on the west bank of the Thames river, now included in the boundaries of Montville and the north part of Waterford, and assumed the title of Mohegoneah. On this territory was the ancient burying place of the Pequot sachems. With this bold and treacherous act on the part of Uncas, Sassa- ens was greatly exasperated, and it is not to be supposed that Sassacus, the descendant and representative of that race of heroes whose graves were thus polluted by the foot of one who had made himself an alien and rebel to his tribe, would long remain quiet. The Pequots having failed to make a satisfactory treaty with the English who had restored the Connecticut river Indians to their rightful territory and had sided with and sheltered Uncas, was too much for the proud Sassacus and his advisors to endure, so he resolved to extirpate the English by means the most diabolical and inhuman that Indian sagacity could contrive. We shall now see of how much use Uncas made himself to the English settlers and how deeply he revenged his past misfortunes upon his countrymen. Smarting with disappointment and mortified pride, and with a desire for vengeance, this seceder from the Pequots now comes to Hartford at the head of his small band of followers, to offer his aid to the colonists. Very soon after, an offensive war was commenced against the Pequots. The necessary sup- plies were voted by the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonists, and John Mason, who had been lately stationed at Saybrook, was fixed upon as commander-in-chief of the forces.
On the 20th of May, 1637, Mason at the head of ninety Englishmen and seventy Indians under Uncas embarked at Hartford on board a pink, a pennace, and a shallop, and began to drop down the river. The water was low, the vessels often got aground, and at their own request the Indian allies were set on shore to proceed to Saybrook by land. On their way through the forest they fell in with thirty or forty of the enemy and killed seven of them with no loss to themselves, except one
7
HISTORY OF MONTVILLE.
man wounded. The two parties arrived at Saybrook, when the English were delighted by hearing of the exploits of Uncas, which they looked upon as a sure pledge of his fidelity.
Lieutenant Lion Gardner, who was the commander of the fort at Saybrook, was, however, suspicious of him, and said to Mason, " How dare you trust the Mohegans who have but a year come from the enemy ?" " We are forced to trust him," replied the captain, " for we want them to guide us." Gardner was still unsatisfied, and calling Uncas to him he said, " You say you will help Captain Mason, but I will first see it, therefore send twenty men to Bass river, for there went last night six Indians there in a canoe. Fetch them dead or alive, and you shall go with Mason, else you shall not." Uncas did as he was required, his warriors found the enemy, killed four of them and took another prisoner. This Indian prisoner it appears had been a bold and cunning savage, and now in his extremity he showed neither fear nor sorrow, but dared his captors to do their worst. The Mohegans requested permission to torture him and the English made no attempt to save a man who had often assisted in the torture of their own countrymen. Their mode of execution was of a most torturing character. One of the captive's legs was tied to a post, a rope was fastened to the other and twenty warriors pulled him asunder.
The Pegnots, under their chief Sassacus, had become bold and hostile to the settlers. Much depredation had been com- mitted by members of the tribe, cattle had been taken, crops destroyed, and even children had been taken captives. A war was determined upon and waged against them with a determina- tion on the part of the English settlers either to subdue them or exterminate them. A severe struggle followed, which close was hastened by the capture of their forts on Pequot Hill in Groton, and the destruction of the same by setting it on fire, by which means many of the Pequot warriors, their women and children, perished. Their chief, Sassacus, was soon forced to flee for safety and took refuge in the country of the Mohawks,
8
HISTORY OF MONTVILLE.
but he did not, however, avoid his fate. The Mohawks, moved, it was reported, by a bribe from the Narragansetts, per- haps also by a desire of gratifying the English, fell upon him by surprise and killed him, and the scalps of Sassacus, one of his brothers, and five others were sent to Connecticut to convince the English of the certain death of their brave enemy. This great and nearly decisive victory was on the night of the 26th of May, 1637. In this severe conflict, Uncas took an impor- tant part, as did also the Narragansetts. The day before the encounter, as they were nearing the enemy's forts, many of the Narragansetts who had joined the expedition began to ex- hibit the fear in which they held the Pequots, and turned back toward their homes, and others appeared to be in such fear that Captain Mason, who led the expedition, called Uncas to him and asked him what he thought the Indians would do. The brave sachem replied, " The Narragansetts will all leave you, but as for myself, I will never leave you." For which expression and for some other speeches made previously by Uncas, said Mason in his account of the war, " I shall never forget him; indeed, he was a great friend, and did us good service."
Their last unavailing struggle was in a large swamp in the present town of Fairfield, whither the main body of the Pequots had taken refuge. This body of men, women, and children, numbering several hundred souls, headed by Sassacus, fled their own country and traveled slowly westward along the southern boundary of Connecticut, crossed the Connecticut river, and were overtaken by the English forces in Fairfield swamp. At the close of the swamp fight, it was calculated that seven hundred Pequots had been killed or captured, among whom were thirteen sagamores of their nation, the others of which it was reported there were thirteen probably perished with their chieftain by the hands of the Mohawks. Broken and dispirited, the Pequots now became an easy prey to their enemies, and the Mohegans and Narragansetts continually brought their heads or hands into the English settlement.
9
HISTORY OF MONTVILLE.
While the persecution of the scattered Pequots dragged on, Uncas, in July, 1638, with a number of his warriors made a visit to Boston, and was admitted before the council of the colony. As a present to the governor he laid down twenty fathoms of wampum. He was told that the governor would not accept it until he had made certain explanations, and gave satisfaction concerning the Pequots whom he had received among his own tribe and now harbored them. Uncas was somewhat perplexed. He was aware of the rock upon which Sassacus had been wrecked, and was determined not to bring down upon himself the indignation of the English, and at the same time he did not wish to part with any of his followers. He at once denied that he had any Pequot with him or had harbored any of the defeated tribe, and most positively af- firmed that all the company then present with him were true Mohegans. As the Pequots and Mohegans were until lately all of the same people it was very difficult, if not impossible when mingled together, for the colonists to distinguish them. The strong protestation of Uncas and his evident willingness to conciliate with the colonists softened the displeasure of the council and his present was therefore accepted. This gave him courage. Placing his hand on his heart, and addressing the governor, said, " This heart is not mine, it is yours. I have no men; they are all yours. Whatever you command of me I will do it. I will never believe any Indian's word against the English. If any Indian shall kill an Englishman I will put him to death, even if he be dear to me."
The spirit exhibited in this address to the governor was faithfully carried out by Uncas as long as he lived. Devoted to his own interest, he found that he advanced that interest by manifesting great devotion to the colonists. His faithfulness to them was not because in his heart he loved them, but be- cause of the gains he expected to receive by appearing to be their special friends. It is said that Uneas in person was a man of large frame and great physical strength. His courage was never doubted, for it was too often displayed. He ap-
10
HISTORY OF MONTVILLE.
peared to set little value upon the glory of conquest in war, compared with the advantages it brought him in the matter of booty and new subjects, and a wider range of fields. His nature, judging from his continnous acts, was selfish, jealous, and tyrannical, his ambition was grasping, but often con- cealed by the appearance of magnanimity. The overthrow of the Pequots relieved the English colonists from a very troublesome barrier to the peaceful prosecution of their settle- ments in Connecticut. After their defeat many new emi- grants came over from England, and the white settlers began to flow into the newly-opened field in considerable numbers. This whole land was now open for peaceable settlement. The Indian set little value on the land, but much upon the imple- ments and ornaments which the white man could offer them. They willingly exchanged the one for the other, and probably thought that they were the greatest gainers by the transaction.
A tripartite treaty, dated October 1, 1638, was entered into by John Haynes, Roger Ludlow, and Edward Hopkins for the English of Connecticut, by Miantinomoh on behalf of the sachems of the Narragansetts, and Uncas on the part of himself and the sagamores under him. There was to be perpetual peace between the parties, all former provocations and animosities were to be buried forever. The first trans- actions of importance between Uncas and Connecticut after the treaty, was an agreement drawn up and signed on the 28th day of September, 1640. The nature of this agreement was vagne, and many years afterwards was made the ground of a long and expensive law suit between the Mohegans and the colony. After the overthrow of the Pequots, and Uncas had quietly settled upon his newly-achieved possessions along the westward bank of the " Great River," afterwards the Thames, he, by that crafty and ambitious nature which was sure to be developed when the advantage seemed to favor, laid claim to the sovereignty of the country lately held by the Pequots, on the ground of his connection with the royal family of the tribe. He however yielded to the English that tract along the sea-
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