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the university of connecticut
hbl, stx F 104.L5A9 1901a
History of the town of Ledyard, 16
3 9153 00551917 0
F/104/15/A9/190la
-
The Congregational Church and Soldiers' Monument, Meeting House Hill.
HISTORY
OF THE
TOWN OF LEDYARD
1650 -- 1900.
BY REV. JOHN AVERY.
NOYES & DAVIS: PRESS OF THE BULLETIN CO., NORWICH, CONN. 1901.
F 104 L5 A9 1901a
Entered according to Act of Congress with the Librarian at Washington, by Ledyard Bill, 1901.
Reprinted 1972 Under the Auspices of The Ledyard Historic District Commission and The Ledyard Historical Society
The Franklin Press, Inc. Norwich, Connecticut
UNION ABEL 3
Preface.
AT the annual meeting of the Bill Library Association, held in Ledyard, Aug. 30, 1899, the writer read a paper on the Pequot Indians. It prompted Ledyard Bill, who was present, to suggest the preparation of a History of the Town of Ledyard, Mr. Bill offering to publish it, also to assist in its preparation. After a few months delay-during which the proposal was duly con- sidered-the work was begun, and the result is here given.
To the many friends who have rendered assistance the un- dersigned tenders hearty thanks. Some have written portions of the work in full ; many have furnished facts and statistics that have been wrought into it. All has been done so cheerfully and thoroughly as greatly to relieve the difficulties and discourage- ments of the work.
Norwich, Conn., 1901.
J. A.
Table of Contents.
CHAPTER I. Early History of the Town, etc.
CHAPTER II. History of the Congregational Church and Society. CHAPTER III. History of the St. James' Episcopal Church.
CHAPTER IV. History of the Separatist Church.
CHAPTER V.
History of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
CHAPTER VI.
History of the Baptist Church.
CHAPTER VII.
History of the Rogerene Quakers.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Revolutionary War-1775-1783.
CHAPTER IX.
The Second War with England-1812-15.
CHAPTER X. The Civil War of 1861-5.
5
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI.
Family Histories and Genealogies.
CHAPTER XII.
Biographical Sketches.
CHAPTER XIII.
History of the Bill Library.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Pequot Indians.
CHAPTER XV.
The Norwich & Worcester Railroad.
APPENDIX.
Memorial of Separatists of Preston, North Groton, Norwich and Stonington to the General Assembly of Connecticut, October, 175I.
Order to Sheriff Respecting Preston Separatists.
Order for the Lay Out of the Principal Highway Leading from Centre Groton to Preston Town Line in 1723.
Names of School Teachers, Sixth School District. Letter of Samuel Capron to Col. Benadam Gallup.
Letter of John Quincy Adams to Norman B. Brown.
Committee Appointed to Perambulate Line Between Groton and Preston.
List of Probate Judges.
Roll of the Fallen, on Soldiers' Monument. Catalogue of Deaths-1713-1854.
List of Illustrations.
Page.
Allyn, Israel
I7I
Allyn, Lt. Stanton 165
Avery, Rev. Frederick D.
177
Avery, Henry W.
175
Avery House, The
73
Avery, Rev. John
41
Bill, Charles
II2
Bill, Gurdon
106
Bill, Hon. Henry
183
Bill, Hon. Richard
104
Bill, Rev. William, D. D.
102
Billings, Capt. James A.
186
Brewster, Hon. John
188
Congregational Church,
Frontispiece
Cook, Rev. Nehemiah B.
37
Cook, Lt. William T.
192
Cutting, Rev. Charles
39
Episcopal Church, The St. James'
46
Fanning, George
I20
Fort Decatur, .
82
Gallup, Dea. Erastus 203
Gallup, Henry H.
202
Gallup Homestead, The
I2I
Gallup, Isaac
197
7
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
Gallup, Rev. James A. 205
Gallup, Maj. Jacob L. 196
Gallup, Dea. Russell 204
Gallup, Dea. N. Sands 206
Gale's Ferry R. R. Depot, 266
Geer, Capt. Nathaniel B. 209
Geer, James L. . 129
Hurlburt, Rev. Ralph 55
Kinmouth, Rev. Albert E. 43
Latham, Thomas 14I
Larrabee, Capt. Adam 214
Larrabee, Hon. Henry 219
Larrabee, Capt. Nathan F. 218
Larrabee, Gov. William 215
Library, The Bill 243
Methodist Episcopal Church, The
53
Norman, Stephen H.
223
Parsonage, The Bill
40
Peckham, Rev. Stephen H.
58
Plan of Fort Griswold, . 76
Spicer, Capt. Edmund .
227
Spicer, John S.
228
160
Stoddard, Ebenezer Stoddard, Guy C. 229
Tuttle, Rev. Timothy 35
Williams, Denison B. 161
Williams, Hon. Elias Hewitt. 239
Winthrop, Gov. John, Jr. . 18
CHAPTER I. The Town of Ledyard.
THE town of Ledyard, formerly the North Society of Groton, and earlier still a part of the town of New London, is situated in the south-eastern central part of New London County, and is bounded on the north by Preston, on the east by Stonington and North Stonington, on the south by Groton, and on the west by the Thames river, which separates it from Montville and Waterford. In form it is nearly square, and the distance from the northern boundary line to the southern is about six miles ; the distance from the eastern to the western, an average of about seven miles. The surface is rough and uneven, and much of it better adapted to grazing than to tillage. Yet the soil is fertile, and, when thoroughly subdued, gives good returns for the labor bestowed upon it.
Near the north-east corner of the town-just over the line in North Stonington-is Lantern Hill, well-known as the first land seen by mariners approaching our coast. Some of them have spoken of it as looking, when it first comes into view, much like a round-crowned hat resting upon the ocean as far away as the eye can reach. It is a famous resort for picnic parties and others seeking a wide outlook upon greatly varied and charming scenery.
In the south-west corner of the town is a tract of land-some thirty acres or more-which belongs to the United States Govern- ment, being a part of the Navy Yard established there upon the deep waters of the Thames about 1881.
There are large deposits of granite in different parts of the town; and some of them have been utilized, to a considerable extent, for building purposes. This is especially true of those located near the Thames river.
Iron ore is found in some places, though not in sufficient
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
quantities to render it specially valuable. In one granite quarry in the northern central part of the town-on land belonging to the heirs of the late Israel Allyn-an ore was discovered some years since which was thought by a man who had worked in silver mines, to be silver ore. A specimen of it was sent to Prof. E. S. Dana, of Yale College, who pronounced it non-magnetic iron.
A deposit of kaoline, located on Avery Hill, in the west part of the town, was worked some years since by the company that was then engaged in working the large silex mine near Lantern Hill. But while the silex proved to be remarkably fine in quality and well-nigh exhaustless in quantity, this was far from being the case with the kaoline; and the working of it was presently abandoned. Gold and silver, also nickel and copper, are found in a broad belt of granite which passes under the farm of Mr. Courtland Lamb in the south part of the town; whether the percentage of metal in the granite is sufficient to pay for working has not yet been determined.
The territory now covered by the town originally abounded in forests made up of oak, chestnut, ash, walnut, birch, maple, poplar, whitewood, cedar and other varieties of trees. These forests were largely cleared away by the first settlers and their immediate successors. But they were fast growing up, and ap- proaching their old-time proportions again, until a dozen or fifteen years ago the steam saw-mills came in, and have since greatly reduced the territory covered by them and done much damage to the beauty of many landscapes. There are several large cedar swamps in the town. One of them, near Lantern Hill, is nearly a mile in diameter ; another in the west part of the town about the same size. These swamps abound in cedars, pines, hemlocks, and have furnished, in years gone by, large quantities of valuable lumber-used both in house-building and ship-building. During the latter part of the eighteenth century -from a time previous to the Revolutionary War-and on into the nineteenth century up to the War of 1812-15, a large trade with the West Indies, with various South American and Euro- pean ports, and even with more distant countries, was carried on
II
THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
from Norwich and New London ; and the vessels engaged in this trade were mostly built in the last-named places. No small part of the timber used in building them was obtained from the forests of (North Groton) Ledyard. This was especially true of the spars, many of which were taken from "Mast Swamp," as it was called, in the west part of the town. During the first part of the nineteenth century, when the whaling business was largely car- ried on from New London much of the best material used in the construction of whale-boats was obtained in the cedar swamps of (North Groton) Ledyard. The underbrush growing among the evergreen trees in these swamps are often rhododendrons, which, in the season of their blooming early in the month of July, often attract large numbers of admiring spectators. Perhaps of all the deciduous trees native to the town, the most interesting and beautiful is the tulip tree. It may be found in the central por- tions along the principal highway from the ancient home of Peter Gallup to the present parsonage. A friend of the writer says that more than half a century ago he used, on Sunday mornings in summer, to stop under the shade of one of these fragrant trees at the foot of Newton's hill and rest before proceeding to church. This tree is now destroyed, but its progeny still exist.
The evergreen swamps, with their surroundings, often present, in the early autumn, scenes which are admired by every beholder. The swamp itself, in the valley, retains its rich, deep green. The adjoining hill-sides, covered as they are with a great variety of trees, such as oak, chestnut, maple, birch, beech, assume almost every variety of color. In some places there is dark brown-in others, bright crimson-in some, rich golden hues-in others, light yellow approaching to whiteness. And all these varied colors are so charmingly mingled with each other that the com- bined effect of them is, in the highest degree, pleasing. A lover of nature, who, from some neighboring hill-top, had beheld one of these beautiful views, penned the following :
"Autumn forests, so bright and so gay,
Decked with green, brown, crimson and gold,
Invite us among them to stay,
And gaze on their beauties untold."
I2
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
During the early years of the occupancy of the territory by white settlers wild animals abounded in the forests. If bears were here to begin with they left at an early date. The same is true of the deer, though, in recent years, under the protection of law, a representative of the species has occasionally made a journey through the regions which were once perhaps inhabited by his ancestors. Wolves were numerous, and they stayed for. a good many years. Beavers were plenty in early colonial days, but long ago migrated to regions remote from civilization. But foxes, raccoons, woodchucks, skunks, minks, muskrats, rabbits and squirrels are still on the ground; and these together with such game-birds as partridges, quails and woodcocks attract con- siderable numbers of hunters at certain seasons. Venomous rep- tiles were abundant in the early history of the region ; so much so as to be a serious annoyance to the settlers. Red-snakes oc- cupied the section near Lantern Hill; and rattle-snakes, that on and around Candle-wood Hill. A story has come down to us, illustrating the manner in which our ancestors dealt with these uncomfortable occupants of the Candle-wood territory. An old Indian, resident in the neighborhood, offered, for a price which he named, to inaugurate a war of extermination against the venomous reptiles. His price was accepted, a bargain was made, and, after some preliminary preparations, he entered upon his work. The first important thing which he set himself to do was, to capture, without killing, one of the harmful creatures against which the war was to be waged. He accordingly concealed him- self near the entrance to the clefts in the rocks which they in- habited. After several days of patient watching he discovered a large rattle-snake lying quietly in the sun off quite a distance from his den. He approached him as noiselessly as possible, placed a crotched stick over his neck, and held him fast to.the ground. He then called for help, which, being not far away, was soon present. His assistant took his place in holding the snake firmly in his place. He himself meantime proceeded to the performance of other parts of the plan which he had marked out. With a pointed knife he made a hole through the skin on the back of the snake, and into it slipped a strong cord which he
'13
THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
tied firmly around the snake's body. To this cord he attached a powder horn filled with powder-its nozzle closed with a punk- wood stopple reaching well down into the powder. He then set fire to the outer end of the stopple, and after it had begun to burn freely, he headed the snake toward his hole and let him go. He soon disappeared under the rocks dragging the powder-horn with its burning stopple behind him. A signal was then given for the neighborhood to assemble; and men and boys from far and near, armed with guns and clubs and stones, were promptly upon the ground. In due time the ignited stopple of the powder- horn burned down to the powder, and there was a tremendous explosion, by which rocks and stones were thrown in all direc- tions, and some of the snakes with them. Others, in their fright, left their quarters and attempted to escape, but were everywhere met and dispatched by the men and boys who were waiting to receive them. From this time onward dwellers in the Candle- wood district were not often seriously annoyed by rattle-snakes.
But there were larger creatures than snakes that were troublesome in by-gone generations. Miss Caulkins quotes from the New London Records, "That upon Mond., the 16th day of Jan., 1709-10, being a very cold day, upon the report of a kennel of wolves, mortal enemies to our sheep and all our other creatures, was lodged and lay in ambuscade in the Cedar Swamp, waiting there for an opportunity to devour the harmless sheep; upon information whereof, about thirty of our valiant men, well disciplined in arms and special conduct, assembled themselves and with great courage beset and surrounded the enemies in the said swamp, and shot down three of the brutish enemies, and brought their heads through the town in great triumph."
Remarking upon this Record, Miss Caulkins says-"For thirty years after the date referred to in the above Record, a wolf- hunt was a customary annual sport. From ten to forty persons usually engaged in it, who surrounded and beat up some swamp in the neighborhood. Mill-pond Swamp and Cedar Swamp were frequently scoured for wolves in Nov., or the latter part of Oct. George, son of John Richards, had a bounty of £ II for
14
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
wolves killed in the year 1717. The bounty had been raised to twenty shillings per head. The bounty for killing a wild-cat was three shillings. It was not till 1714 that any enactment was made to encourage the killing of foxes. At that time a bounty was offered of three shillings for a grown fox; with whelps, four shillings ; a whelp, one shilling." (History of N. L., 404-5).
The town contains a large number of excellent springs of water. They are found in almost every part of it-sometimes breaking out by the sides of rocks or at the roots of trees- sometimes bubbling up through sand or gravel in open fields, and flowing off through woods or meadows, and uniting with similar rivulets coming from different directions to form rush- ing streams. These springs generally send forth water of superior quality ; and not a few of them are never-failing-the dryest seasons do not fully check their flow.
The waters from the north part of the town empty into Poquetanuck River and Poquetanuck Cove, and thence find their way to the Thames River and Long Island Sound. Those in the west part flow directly into the Thames. Those in the eastern, central and southern portions find their way through the ponds near Lantern Hill and other channels into the Mystic River, and all at length into the Sound. The numerous spring brooks in the town are favorite resorts for trout ; and considera- ble numbers of them are caught by fishermen "when the law is off." In the ponds on the east border, pickerel, perch, pumpkin- seeds, bullheads and shiners are sometimes taken in considerable numbers. In the Thames River shad and alewives were formerly very abundant ; but since the dam at Greeneville was built they have left. Some of the varieties of fish which remain are striped bass, blue-fish, flat-fish, weak-fish and smelts; oysters and crabs are also found in the river, and clams upon its shores.
On the streams which run through the town or skirt its borders are water privileges which were perhaps more largely utilized formerly than they have been in recent years-some industries which called them into use being no longer prosecuted. The carding machines, the fulling mills, the cloth dressing es- tablishments-so common a hundred years ago-are no longer
15
THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
needed. The place of the cloth which was made from wool sheared from sheep raised on the home-farm, spun and wove in the family, and fulled and dressed at a neighboring mill, is now supplied by that made at the great manufacturing establishments, built up by the sides of our rivers, where styles of goods are made, far superior to those of the olden time, and by processes which, for rapidity and excellence of workmanship, put to shame all the old-time ways of doing such things. So the leather that was made at the neighborhood tannery from hides taken from animals butchered by the farmer upon his own premises, and by some neighboring shoe-maker made into boots and shoes for the use of the family, is no longer needed, as ready-made shoes, far superior to those of former times, are everywhere sold at reason- able prices ; and nobody cares to go back to the old-fashioned ways in matters of this sort.
Still the local water-powers are to some extent useful. The grist-mill is still running, to provide corn-meal and rye-meal for the lovers of old-fashioned rye and Indian bread, and provender for the feeding of animals, especially those that are being fattened for market. Saw-mills and shingle-mills, too, still supply por- tions of the lumber used in building.
Agriculturally, the town of Ledyard has been compared to a pumpkin ; the best part of it being on the outside. And it is true that the farms upon the out-skirts are, as a rule, more easily tilled than those in the central portion, yet, perhaps, no more productive.
The crops cultivated by the farmers are quite various. The principal cereals are corn, rye, buckwheat and oats ; the vegeta- bles, potatoes and turnips ; the fruits, apples, pears and peaches ; and the small fruits, strawberries and raspberries. It is interest- ing to note just here that Indian corn was a new thing to our ancestors, and that the Indians themselves showed them how to cultivate and prepare it for food. The strawberry, fifty or sixty years ago, was known chiefly as a wild fruit-of small size, and very limited in quantity. It is now one of the most valuable crops cultivated in the town. Many of the larger farmers rely upon it more than upon any other one thing. In the height of
16
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
the season from some single farms have been shipped from 2,000 to 6,000 baskets a day. They have been sold in nearly all the cities and villages of Eastern Connecticut; and not a few have gone to Worcester and other places in Massachusetts. The peach crop, which was once very abundant, and then, by reason of disease in the trees, diminished in quantity till it was almost an entire failure, has been greatly revived in recent years. Large quantities of this delicious fruit are raised, which command ready sales at remunerative prices. A good many of the farmers rely largely upon the products of their dairies. Others fatten for the market, beef, pork, mutton and veal. Others raise and sell large numbers of turkeys, chickens, geese and ducks. And many depend very much upon eggs, the demand for which is so great that it is seldom fully supplied. Finally, it may be said that of all the towns in Eastern Connecticut, this town excels in the growth and cultivation of the small fruits and their cash value probably exceeds that of any other of its products, so that it has come about that the central portion of the town yields more of profit to the farmer than the out-skirts where nature was original - ly far more kind to agriculture in general.
Wheat was largely cultivated in former years. But, after a while, the crop began to suffer from the ravages of the weevil and from unfavorable seasons. At length the great wheat-fields of the West, with the modern facilities for transportation, ren- dered it more advantageous to the farmer to buy his wheat-flour than attempt to cultivate such an uncertain crop.
Flax was much relied upon in the olden time. The cloth made from it was entirely a home product. The plant was grown and rotted and broken and hetcheled and spun and wove into strong cloth by the family themselves. And this cloth was used for towels and sheets and shirts and summer jackets, vests and pantaloons, and a great many other purposes. All this has passed away, and linen and cotton goods, from raw materials raised in other parts of the country, and manufactured by processes widely different from those which prevailed in the days of home-spun, have come, and come, doubtless, to stay.
The silk culture, which was carried on in a good many fami-
17
THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
lies, sixty to eighty years ago, and was quite a source of profit to them, has been abandoned; and the trees from whose leaves the worms were fed-the white mulberry and the multicaulis- have nearly disappeared. Silk, in its raw state, is now obtained in lands' where labor is much cheaper than it is here; and is manufactured in large establishments where the art is carried to a high degree of perfection. There are establishments of this sort in Norwich, Preston side, New London and near Hartford.
The earliest occupants of the territory, which makes up the town of Ledyard, were, so far as known, the Pequot Indians- some account of whom is given in another place. Their succes- sors, who are now upon the ground, are largely the descendants of English Puritans, who came to this country during the first half of the seventeenth century. Some of them were in the first company of emigrants, who landed upon Plymouth Rock, Dec. 21, 1620. Others came at later dates-a good many between 1620 and 1640. The majority of them settled first in eastern Massachusetts, but moved to Connecticut about 1650-some a year or two earlier; a larger number several years later, and settled at New London and Groton and Stonington-the two last named towns being at that time parts of New London.
A few pioneer settlers found their way up the Thames River into what is now Ledyard within a few years after the settlement . of New London. There were not a great many, however, that did this till near 1700. In the years that immediately preceded and followed this date a considerable number of families-made up largely of the grand-children of the first settlers at New Lon- don-located permanently within the present boundaries of Ledyard. Thus four at least of the grand-children of James Avery (who moved from Gloucester, Mass., about 1649 or 50, settled in New London, and later, about 1700, moved to Poquonnoc), settled on Avery Hill near Poquetanuck Cove. Among the earliest settlers were those at Allyn's Point.
John Winthrop, Jr., left Massachusetts Bay and sailed to the Thames River and up that river, and located in that part of Groton, now Ledyard, and known later as Allyn's Point. Win- throp brought with him quite a number of the original settlers, 2
18
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.
and came with the authority of the Bay Colony at Boston. He gave the name of Groton to the territory in honor of the name of "Groton manor" of England, from whence he came. He subse- quently became the Governor of the Connecticut Colony and was a man highly respected and much honored.
"Other early settlers in the region were Robert Allyn, Philip Bill, Jonathan Brewster, William Chapman, Edward Culver, Silas
Gov. JOHN WINTHROP, JR.
Deane, Edmund Fanning, George Geer, John Hurlbutt, William Maynard, Benadam Gallup, Isaac Lamb, Robert Park, Peter Spicer, Ralph Stoddard, Ezekiel Turner and William Williams." -Miss Caulkins.
Those who were church members retained their church con- nections in Groton for quite a number of years. Religious serv- ices, however, were held from time to time in their homes. In due time they began to move in the matter of establishing a Church in the region where they resided.
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