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Gc 974.6 T56i 1770056
M. T
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01147 3649
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/inoldeconnecticu00todd
IN
OLDE CONNECTICUT
BEING A RECORD OF QUAINT, CURIOUS AND ROMANTIC HAPPENINGS THERE IN COLONIE TIMES AND LATER
BY CHARLES BURR TODD
Author of "The True Aaron Burr," "The History of Redding Connecticut "
INSITV
VERBVM
IACO .
THE GRAFTON PRESS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
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1770056
THE GRAFTON HISTORICAL SERIES Edited by HENRY R. STILES, A.M., M.D.
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The Grafton Historical Series Edited by Henry R. Stiles, A.M., M.D.
In Olde Connecticut By Charles Burr Todd 12mo. Cloth, $1.25 net (postage 10c.)
Historic Hadley By Alice Morehouse Walker 12mo. Cloth, illustrated, $1.00 net (postage 10c.)
King Philip's War By George W. Ellis and John E. Morris 12mo. Cloth, illustrated, $2.00 net (postage 15c.)
In Press In Olde Massachusetts By Charles Burr Todd 12mo. Cloth, $1.25 net
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Photo by R. B. Ludington.
NEWGATE PRISON, EAST GRANBY
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Todd, Charles Burr, 1849-
F 846 . 88 In olde Connecticut; being a record of quaint, curious and romantic happenings there in colonie times and later, by Charles Burr Todd ... New York, The Grafton press (1906, x p., 1 1., 244 p. 20cm. ( Half-title: The Grafton historical series; ed. by H. It. Stiles)
"First printing, June, 1906; second SHELF CORD Printing, November, 1906. "
1. Connecticut-Hist. I. Title.
6-19924
Library of Congress.,
F95.T63
I .. ..
anti
F 846.88
Copyright, 1906, BY THE GRAFTON PRESS.
First printing, June, 1906. Second printing, November, 1906.
198321
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Editor's Introduction to the Series
The "return to the soil" of the well-to-do, which has been one of the most noteworthy ten- dencies of American life during the last decade, has been accompanied, naturally enough, by an increased interest in old ways and days, old houses, old china, old furniture and old fabrics. The in- evitable result of this American renaissance has been a growing desire to know the humorous, pathetic and dramatic legends, traditions and his- torical incidents which are associated with them, in order to put them, so to speak, into their proper setting.
The episodes, legends and traditions which the more formal historians, for the most part, have considered beneath their notice are hidden away in letters, diaries, journals and scrapbooks ; docu- ments in files of old newspapers, the logbooks of vessels, the entries in family Bibles, the inscrip- tions in moss-grown cemeteries and the records of town meetings. They are to be found for the searching in the dark corners of garrets and the secret drawers of old secretaries. They are to be gleaned from the confidences of the local anti- quarian, the recollections of the proverbial " old-
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Introduction
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est inhabitant," the chatter of the good wives at the village sewing-circle, the " yarnings " of the worthies of the village grocery store, and from the - speeches and the sallies of the " Old Home Week Reunion." To collect and combine into a coher- ent whole these varied historical data is the pur- pose of the series of which this book is the initial volume.
It will attempt an adequate presentation of the picturesque in American history. It will rehabil- itate the life of our ancestors with a vividness rivalling that of the historical novel, and with a fidelity to fact of which the former is, in the very nature of the case, incapable. By so doing it will give body to our sentiment for the fact, provide an effective background for our Americanism and add a welcome perspective to our patriotism. It will aid us powerfully as a nation to assign a rea- son for the faith that is in us.
The main-travelled road is all well enough in its way for the person whose sole aim is to reach a given destination with the greatest possible ex- pedition ; but it is only by forsaking the main- travelled road, now and then, for the bypaths of the meadows, the .pastures and the woods, that one may hope to become intimately acquainted
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Introduction
with all the resources and beauties of the region through which it leads. The byways of history are vastly more charming than its highways and every whit as significant in the last analysis.
" The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner."
HENRY REED STILES, A.M., M.D.
HILL-VIEW, NEW YORK.
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FOREWORD
T the sons and daughters of Connecticut who love her history and traditions this little book is dedicated. Many of the uncon- sidered trifles, curious episodes, bits of quaint and curious lore here brought together were dug out of mines never before explored by the literary craftsman. They were first printed in various respectable journals such as Lippincott's Maga- zine, The Youth's Companion, The Magazine of American History, The New York Evening Post, etc., but are now for the first time collected and issued in book form.
C. B. T. REDDING, CONN., February 6, 1906.
CONTENTS
I THE HISTORIC BURR MANSION AT
FAIRFIELD
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II THE BURNING OF FAIRFIELD
BY
THE BRITISH
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III WHALEBOAT
PRIVATEERSMEN
OF
THE REVOLUTION
21
IV SAYBROOK AND GUILFORD
52
V KILLINGWORTH AND ITS BIRDS
61
VI NEW LONDON, AN OLD TIME SEAPORT
70
VII GROTON AND MYSTIC
98
VIII FISHER'S ISLAND
115
IX THE FROGS OF WINDHAM
. 128
X LEBANON, THE HOME OF JONATHAN
TRUMBULL
. 133
XI MOUNT TOM, A HAUNTED HILL
. 142
XII A REVOLUTIONARY NEWGATE
. 153
XIII CONNECTICUT'S DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE
. 177
XIV ANCIENT LITCHFIELD
. 186
XV MINING IN CONNECTICUT
.
. 196
XVI THE PEQUOT INDIANS
·
. 208
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x Table of Contents
XVII GREENFIELD HILL, A ONCE FAMOUS VILLAGE . 217 XVIII THE BEGINNINGS OF A GREAT
RAILROAD
. 225
XIX THE PROBATE JUDGE AND THE
TOWN CLERK
. 235
IN OLDE CONNECTICUT
IN OLDE CONNECTICUT
CHAPTER I
THE HISTORIC BURR MANSION AT FAIRFIELD
I HAVE dwelt for some weeks near the site of the old Burr mansion house in this beautiful Connecticut village, and in these few days have become all that the most zealous antiquary could require. I have passed whole days in delving amid the musty records of the town and parish religiously preserved in the vaults of the town hall. I have held frequent chats with ancient gentlemen whose recollections extend beyond the Revolution to the palmy days of this village, and I have enjoyed the friendship and confidence of the Oldest Inhabitant, whose reminiscences go back to the founding of the village itself, which occurred soon after the pious and utter extermina- tion of the bloodthirsty Pequots in a neighboring swamp. Most freely have been placed before me
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In Olde Connecticut
family papers and legends sacredly preserved, and the result is a mass of materials, legendary and historic, which the public, if it has the least flavor of antiquity in its composition, will be interested in knowing, and which I shall impart as freely, if not as gracefully, as it was delivered.
Every New England village with any preten- sions at all to antiquity has its ancient mansion house about which local traditions cluster, and whose very walls are permeated with the subtle aroma of the past. Fairfield was no exception to this rule, and its Burr mansion house has as good a title to historic fame, perhaps, as any of the oldtime dwellings of Middlesex.
Tradition says that it was built about 1700 by Chief Justice Peter Burr, one of the earliest graduates of Harvard, Chief Justice of Connecti- cut, and who once lacked but a few votes of be- coming its Governor. The house stood some- what back from the village main street on a slight eminence beneath a canopy of elms, and, with its dormer windows, its projecting gables and ivy-covered wings, presented quite the ap- pearance of a manorial structure, the effect of which was increased on entering its wide hall with its heavy oaken stairway, or in wandering
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Historic Burr Mansion at Fairfield
about its chambers with their lofty walls, tiled fireplaces and heavy oak panelings.
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At the time of the Revolution, the period to which our recollections are limited, this mansion was owned by Thaddeus Burr, Esq., a grandson of Judge Peter Burr, a gentleman of culture and ample estate, and who like many of the colonial gentry exercised an ample hospitality.
The ancient chronicles record with pride that General Washington in his journeyings from New York to Boston was his frequent guest. Franklin, Lafayette, Otis, Samuel Adams, Quincy, Watson, Governor Tryon, Dr. Dwight, the poet Barlow, are on the house's bead-roll of famous guests. There Trumbull and Copley dreamed and painted, the latter doing full length portraits of his host and hostess which are still preserved in the family. Governor Hancock was married there, his foster mother, Madam Hancock, died there. Colonel Aaron Burr passed many of his youthful days there as the guest of his cousin (not uncle as Parton has it), Thaddeus Burr.
This fact is recorded by the old chroniclers with special pride, nor was it difficult to discover the reason. Burr's family was of the bluest blood of New England and had been seated in Fairfield
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In Olde Connecticut
for generations. His father, the Rev. Aaron Burr, the famous divine and real founder of Princeton College, was a native of Fairfield, Judge Peter Burr, before mentioned, was his granduncle. Colonel Andrew Burr, who led the Connecticut regiment in the brilliant attack on Louisbourg in 1745, was a cousin, and his family for genera- tions had filled the various offices of state from deacon in the Puritan churches to magistrates, deputies and judges of the courts. Nor can one of those imbued in the ancient traditions of the village be made to admit that Burr was any other than a bitterly persecuted man, who, as has been said, suffered the fate of those who come into the world a hundred years before their time, and who was crushed by bigots, by the Federalists whom his defection to democrary had incensed, and by the powerful Virginia clique which his election to the Presidency had raised up against him.
To this mansion of historic fame, in May, 1775, came Miss Dorothy Quincy, daughter of Edmund Quincy of Boston, who had moved for three years as the belle of the polite circles of that town, and who was now the affianced bride of Governor John Hancock. A few weeks before she had
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Historic Burr Mansion at Fairfield
witnessed the battle of Lexington from the cham- ber window of the house where she was visiting, spiritedly refusing Governor Hancock's command to return to Boston and, after the battle, had fled with Hancock and Samuel Adams to the protec- tion of her father's old friend in Fairfield, Thad- deus Burr. She was accompanied, we learn, by a chaperone in the person of Madam Hancock, widow of Thomas Hancock, the great Boston merchant, and uncle and foster father of John Hancock. The beauty, wit, grace and dignity of this lady the gossips never weary of descanting on, and it is plainly to be seen that they regard her residence in their village as an event which added measurably to its historic fame.
Some two or three days after Miss Dolly's advent, a young cavalier rode into the village from the West and alighted at the old mansion house. He was dressed in the height of fashion. His sword clanked in its scabbard at his side, and the village critics observed that he rode with the style and bearing of a prince; this cavalier was Aaron Burr, then a youth of twenty years, in the first flush and beauty of manhood, who had come on a visit to his favorite kinsman Thaddeus Burr. When the young people were presented in the
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In Olde Connecticut
parlors of the mansion house that evening, it is said their surprise and pleasure were mutual, and it is more than hinted by the gossips that conse- quences destructive of Governor Hancock's peace of mind might have ensued had not the sage counsels of the elders prevailed over youthful passion and folly. It is at least true that Miss Dolly wrote a letter to a bosom friend not long after in which she spoke of Burr as a handsome young man with a pretty fortune, and complained of the extreme caution of her aunt who would not allow them to pass a moment alone in each other's society. It has been said of Aaron Burr, with hundreds of other unkind things, that he never refused a flirtation, yet his conduct on this occa- sion was honorable in the extreme. Whether it was, as cousin Thaddeus is said to have hinted, that he could not afford to have so powerful a man as Governor Hancock for his enemy, or whether, as is more probable, thoughts of war filled his mind to the exclusion of those of love, certain it is that on this occasion he fled from temptation and, making a hasty departure from the mansion house, he set off for Litchfield where he entered upon his legal studies with his brother- in-law Judge Tappan Reeve. Nor did he re-
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Historic Burr Mansion at Fairfield
visit the mansion house that summer except briefly in July when with his friend Ogden he passed through the town on his way to the con- tinental camp before Boston. Miss Dorothy, however, passed the stirring days of that eventful summer in the ancient village whiling away the time as best she might. She rode, she sang, she boated; she accompanied the young people to their "feasts of shells," on the neighboring beaches; she conducted harmless flirtations with the village youths, her aunt having relaxed her vigilance after Burr's departure; she wrote letters to her Boston intimates, some of which still re- main, and every fortnight the lumbering mail coach brought her a packet from Philadelphia, addressed in the sturdy, upright and downright ' characters of John Hancock; for that worthy, after a brief stay in the village, had gone on with Adams and others to hold the first continental Congress in Philadelphia. One of these letters was shown me, having been preserved as a most precious relic. It is addressed to "My Dear Dolly" and is superscribed "For Miss Dorothy Quincy at the house of Thaddeus Burr in Fair- field." It was a cold, formal, unloverlike epistle, and from the nature of girls was no doubt very
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In Olde Connecticut
unsatisfactory to the fair one for whom it was intended.
In this way the summer days passed, and when the autumn purple and gold began to gather on the Fairfield elms a grand wedding was celebrated in the old mansion house-no less an affair than the marriage of Governor John Hancock, Presi- dent of the Continental Congress, to Miss Dorothy Quincy, daughter of Edmund Quincy of Boston. One can but admire the thoroughness of detail, the nicety of finish, the old-fashioned enthu- siasm, with which the village chroniclers describe the event. We see Governor Hancock, attended by a retinue of distinguished men-gentlemen, delegates, and others returning to their homes- ride up from the West, followed shortly after by a more glittering train from the East with pranc- ing steeds and costly equipage and attended by gay cavaliers on horseback-the friends of the bride. There is Edmund Quincy, and there are Edmund Quincy's friends of Boston, grave, sober men and matrons of high degree, with gallant young cavaliers attending on stately maidens- near and dear friends of Miss Dolly, and all of the bluest blood of that ancient town. To swell this train of beauty and worth Hartford and New
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Historic Burr Mansion at Fairfield
Haven, even then the seats of a cultured and re- fined society, had contributed their quota; and it is even said that later in the day the Governor and his staff added the grace of their presence to the festive scene.
At nightfall, when the mansion was brilliantly illuminated, the mild radiance of the lamps beamed on a courtly throng, and on costumes that would have made their wearers presentable at the court of King George himself. Indeed, at this period of their narrative the chroniclers grow a little wearisome detailing so minutely as they do the elaborate toilets of the ladies, the coiffures sprinkled with diamond dust, the long-waisted gowns, the shimmer of silks and satins, the rib- bons, laces and ruffles, the priceless gems that gleamed on shapely wrists and snowy shoulders.
Nor were the gentlemen forgotten, for just as minutely were described the glossy queues, the plum-colored coats and velvet small-clothes, the white silk stockings, the elaborate ruffles at wrist and throat, which formed the costumes of the male portion of that august assemblage.
In the midst of this grand array, before Par- son Andrew Eliot of the Fairfield church, the stern-browed Governor and the blushing Dorothy
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. In Olde Connecticut
plighted their mutual vows after the simple ritual of the Puritan faith.
With the blessing of Parson Eliot the old chronicler closes his account of the wedding, but it is said that the merrymaking was only kept up until the morning, and that the next day the whole bridal train set out for Boston, leaving the old mansion to its wonted composure and quiet. This was the last merrymaking ever held within its walls.
During the four years of war which followed it was the scene of many secret conclaves of the patriot leaders, and in the British descent on Fairfield in 1779 the house was burned in the general conflagration of the village-a very partic- ular account of which, by the way, is given in the "Travels" of the venerable Dr. Dwight.
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CHAPTER II
THE BURNING OF FAIRFIELD BY THE BRITISH
TN 1879 Fairfield celebrated in a fitting man- ner the centennial anniversary of the burn- ing of the settlement by the British on the seventh . and eighth of July, 1779. To Governor Tryon belongs the inception and success of that enter- prise, and on him the stigma of the disgraceful deed will ever rest. Tryon, it may not be gen- erally known, had a special grudge against Con- necticut, the sturdy little colony having opposed and thwarted him in a variety of ways. Her dragoons had scattered the types of his newspaper organ through the streets of New York; her "Sons of Liberty " had plotted against him even in his own city, and she had treated with contempt his proclamations inviting her to return to her alle- giance, even printing them in her gazettes as speci- mens of the Governor's pleasant humor. When an expedition was fitted out to humble her it was natural that a man like the Governor should be
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In Olde Connecticut
selected as the director of its movements. Rea- sons also existed for making Fairfield a special object of attack. The village had always wielded great political influence, which it had steadily exerted in favor of rebellion; one of her sons, General Silliman, was then in command of one of Washington's brigades; another, Colonel Abra- ham Gould, had fallen two years before in the skirmish at Ridgefield, a rebel in arms; Mr. Thad- deus Burr, a resident enjoying great prominence in the colony, was then publishing addresses inciting the people to resistance, and there were a score of families in the town who were among the most bitter and influential foes of the British Crown.
One who depends upon the historians for his knowledge of the attack will find it dismissed with only a meager notice, but from a private letter written by the Rev. Andrew Eliot of the church at Fairfield, who was an eyewitness of the scene, a very clear and circumstantial account of the outrage may be gleaned. Mr. Eliot was a son of the celebrated Rev. Andrew Eliot, so long pastor of the Old North Church of Boston; he was an able divine and good man; it would be hard to find a more interesting bit of history than his simple, yet vivid narrative of the burning of
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Burning of Fairfield by the British
Fairfield. The letter containing it is addressed to his brother, the Rev. John Eliot, in Boston, and is dated at Fairfield seven days after the events narrated occurred. It is given below al- most entire :-
"It was in the beginning of wheat harvest, a season of exceeding labor and festivity; a season which promised the greatest plenty that has been known for many years within the memory of man. Never did our fields bear so numerous a load, never were our prospects with regard to sustenance so bright.
"The British fleet and army with the American refugees that had possessed and plundered New Haven set sail from that distressed place on the sixth about four o'clock. Next morning the ap- proach of the fleet was announced by the firing of a small gun we have on Grover's Hill, contigu- ous to the Sound. They seemed, however, to be passing by and at about seven o'clock we with pleasure beheld them all to the westward of us steering, as we thought, for New York. A very thick fog came over, which entirely deprived us of a sight of them until between the hours of nine and ten o'clock when the mist clearing away we beheld the whole fleet under our western shore,
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In Olde Connecticut
and some of them close in under Kensie's Point. They presently came to anchor and lay until four in the afternoon when they began to land their "troops a little to the eastward of Kensie's Point at a place called the Pines. From thence the troops marched along the beach until they came to a lane opposite the center of the town, through which they proceeded, and in about one hour paraded in three divisions on the green, between the meetinghouse and courthouse. From there they detached guards and, dividing into small parties, proceeded to their infernal business. Their commanding officers were Sir George Col- lier by sea and Generals Tryon and Garth by land.
"The approach of the fleet was so sudden that but few men could be collected, though alarm guns were fired immediately on the dissipation of the fog.
"There was no thought of opposing their land- ing as our forces were nothing to theirs; our little party, however, posted themselves so as to annoy them to the best advantage. The town was al- most cleared of inhabitants; a few women, some of whom were of the most respectable families and characters, tarried with a view of saving their
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Burning of Fairfield by the British
property. They imagined that their sex and character would avail to such a purpose; they put some confidence in the generosity of an enemy who were once famed for generosity and polite- ness, and thought that kind treatment and sub- missive behavior would secure them against harsh treatment and rough usage. Alas! they were miserably mistaken, and bitterly repented their confidence and presumption.
"The Hessians were first let loose for rapine and plunder; they entered houses, attacking the persons of Whigs and Tories indiscriminately; breaking open desks, trunks and closets, and taking away everything of value. They robbed the women of their buckles, rings, bonnets, aprons and handkerchiefs; they abused them with the foulest and most profane language, and threat- ened their lives without the least regard to their earnest cries and entreaties; looking-glasses, china, and all kinds of furniture were soon dashed to pieces. Another party that came on were the American refugees, who, in revenge for their confiscated estates, carried on the same direful business. They were not, however, so abusive to the women as the former party, but appeared very furious against the town and country. The
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In Olde Connecticut
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Britons by what I could learn were least invet- erate; some of the officers seemed to pity the misfortunes of the country, but in excuse said they had no other way to regain their authority over us. Individuals among the British troops were, however, exceedingly abusive, especially to women. Some were forced to submit to the most indelicate and rough treatment in defence of their virtue, and now bear the bruises of horrid conflict.
"About an hour before sunset the conflagra- tion began at the house of Mr. Isaac Jennings, which was consumed with the neighboring build- ings. In the evening the house of Elijah Abell, Esq., Sheriff of the county, was consumed with a few others, and in the night several buildings on the main street. General Tryon was in various parts of the town plot, with the good women beg- ging and entreating him to save their houses. Mr. Sayre, the Church of England missionary, joined with them in these entreaties. He begged the General to spare the town, but was denied. He then begged that some few houses might be spared as a shelter for those who could procure habitations nowhere else; this was denied also. At length Mr. Tryon consented to save the houses
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Burning of Fairfield by the British
of Mr. Burr and of the writer of this epistle; both had been plundered long ere this. He said likewise that the houses for public worship should be spared. He was far from being in good tem- per while in the town. General Garth, at the other end of the town, treated the inhabitants with as much humanity as his errand would admit. ... All the town from the bridge by Colonel Gould's to the Mill River, a few houses excepted, was a heap of ruins.
"About eight o'clock next morning the enemy sounded a retreat. We had some satisfaction amidst our sorrow and distress to see that the meetinghouse and a few other buildings re- mained, but the rear guard composed of banditti, the vilest ever let loose among men, set fire to everything that General Tryon had left, the large and elegant meetinghouse, the minister's house, Mr. Burr's and several other houses that had received protection. They tore the protec- tion to pieces, damned Tryon, abused the women most shamefully, and then ran off in a most dis- graceful manner. Happily our people came in and extinguished the flames in several houses, so that we are not entirely destitute. The rear guard which behaved in so scandalous a manner
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