USA > Connecticut > New London County > Norwich > A historical discourse delivered in Norwich, Connecticut, September 7, 1859, at the bi-centennial celebration of the settlement of the town > Part 5
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One fact only is to be regretted, as we scrutinize the list. It does not increase as the years roll on,
* See note S.
t Including three elected professors, who did not accept.
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. in proportion to the increase in the population of the town. Can it be that the boys of the present day regard an education as less important to them than it was to their fathers ?
Norwich has not only sent students to college ; four institutions at least - Williams, Hamilton, Water- ville, and Columbian - may claim as their founders natives of this place.
Yale College is even more indebted to Norwich. Before it was chartered by the State, Major James Fitch (another son of Reverend James) gave to the new collegiate school a farm of 637 acres of land, and offered the glass and nails for a house. The following is his proposal : *
" MAJ.R FITCH'S GENEROSITY PROPOSED 1701."
In that it hath pleased ye Lord our God as a token for Good To us and children after us to put it into the hearts of his faithfull ministers to take soe great paines, and be at soe considerable charge for setting up of a Coledgeat Schoole amongst us and now for farther promoating, of this God pleas- ing worke I humbly freely and heartily offer, on demand to provid glass for a house and if people doe not come up to offer what is reasonable and needfull, that I will then provid nails of all sorts : to be used in building a house and hall: 2ly I give a farme, 637 Acrs of land and when I come home I will send ye draft and laying out to Mr. Dan1
* Copied from the original document in the Treasurer's office, Yale College.
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Taylor that he may make such a Deed proper in such a case the farme I value at 150€ I will allsoe take some pains to put it in a way of yearely profit: 30€ charge I hope will bring 20£ p yeare in a lit- tle time. JAMES FITCHI.
Newhaven Octobr 16 1701.
It was this noble gift which insured at that time the establishment of the now venerable institution. Not many years after, Dr. Daniel Lathrop, beside a large donation to the public school of his native place, gave £500 to the college, without limitations; and within the memory of most of those now pres- ent, Dr. Alfred E. Perkins, impressed with the thought that "a true university in these days is a collection of books," gave a fund of $10,000 to the college library in New Haven, thus perpetuating his name in grateful remembrance, and exerting an in- fluence which will increase till the college and the country are no more. These three citizens of Nor- wich, "to the manor born," have thus given to Yale College the largest donations which, at each success- ive time, its treasury had received from any indi- vidual ; and their example has been followed by many others, giving in proportion to their means. One name, which 1 do not venture to mention in this presence, will be commemorated at future celebrations as a benefactor of the higher educational institutions, beyond any one of all the liberal donors to whom reference has been made.
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I am compelled to draw these sketches to a close ; but enough, I trust, has already been said to show that the history of the town is a record of patient enterprise, unfailing patriotism, and religious faith, that we may well be proud of our ancestry and birth-place, and well be thankful to the God of our fathers for his increasing blessings.
If there be one in this assembly who inquires the use of this protracted story, let me assure him that by the joyful recital of our fathers' virtues we incite ourselves and our children to like exploits of valor and trust. Some of us, now and then, have heard Connecticut decried! Be assured that it is only ignorance and jealousy which assail her past reputation, while it is a knowledge of her true character which will strengthen the affection of her sons and weaken the power of unjust critics. What you know to be true of Norwich, is true, in some degree, of all Connecticut. A State which has Haynes, and Winthrop, and Eaton, and Mason, as its civil founders; Hooker, and Davenport, and Fitch, as its religious pillars ; Trumbull, and Sherman, and Williams, and Silliman, and Huntington, as its lead- ers in the struggle for civil liberty, should never fail of the filial reverence, the honest pride, the faithful and willing service of every son.
In conclusion, let us remember and rejoice that the foundations of our native town were laid with
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forethought by brave, intelligent and religious men : that the right to the soil was acquired by purchase. and the former owners conciliated as perpetual friends; that our fathers were free from intoleranen and bigotry, and were ready to argue or to fight in defense of civil and religious liberty; that they were industrious on the farm and enterprising in busi- ness; that they preserved the golden mean between conservatism and radicalism, being loyal to the king till endurance ceased to be a virtue, and then heart- ily devoted to the independence of America; that in the great conflict of the revolution, they sacri- ficed their fortunes and exposed their lives, with a spirit of patriotism rarely equaled and never sur- passed ; and that their intelligence, thrift and virtue have secured to their children, under the blessing of Providence, prosperity and happiness at home, rep- utation, honor and influence abroad.
Long live the town of Norwich ! and when the last of us shall lie beneath the sod, when the deeds of the present shall furnish the materials of history. may it be the lot of a future chronicler, scanning the memorials of our day, to record with truth that we were worthy of the precious heritage which we now enjoy.
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NOTES.
NOTE A.
INDIAN DEED OF NORWICH.
The following is a copy of the deed as recorded in Hartford. The original document is not known to be in existence :
DEED.
Know All men that Onkos, Owaneco and Attawanhood, Sachems of Monheag, have bargained, sold and passed over, and doe by these pres- ents, bargain, sell and pass over unto the Towne and Inhabitants of Nor- wich, nine miles square of lands, lying and being at Monheag and the parties thereunto adjoining with all ponds, rivers, woods, quarries, mines, with all Royalties, privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging. to them the sayd Inhabitants of Norwich, their heirs and successors forever, the sayd lands are to be bounded as followeth, viz., to the southward on the west side [of ] the Great River commonly called Monheag River, the line is to begin at the Brooke falling into the head of the Trading Cove, and soe to run west norwest seven miles ; from thence the line is to run nor-noreast nine miles ; and on the East side the foresayd River to the southward, the line is to joyne with London Bounds as it is now layed out, and soe to run east Two miles from the foresayd River, and so from thence the line is to run nor-noreast nine miles, and from thence to Run nor-norwest nine miles to meet with the western line. In consideration whereof the sd Onkos, Owaneco, and Attawanhood doe acknowledg to have received of the parties aforesayd, the full [and just] sum of seventy pounds, and doe promise and engage ourselves, heirs and successours to warrant the sayd Bargain and sale to the aforesayd parties, their heirs and successours and them to defend from all claims or molestation fron
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any whatsoever. In witness whereof wee have hereunto set our hands this sixth day of June Anno 1659.
ONKAS,
his
marke.
OWANEKO, his marke.
ATTAWANHOOD,
his marke.
Witness hereunto, John Mason, Thomas Tracy.
Transcribed out of ye origanell and examined and recorded this 20th of August, 1663, př me JOHN ALLYN, Sec'y.
NOTE B. EARLY INDIAN HISTORY.
Dr. Trumbull, in his History of Connecticut, (i, 132) quotes "a manuscript of Mr. Hyde, of Norwich," as his authority, in part, for the account of the battles of Uneas and Miantonomoh. Col. Stone, (Uncas and Miantonomoh) refers to the same paper as " a traditionary letter written by Rev. Richard Hyde in 1769." Miss Caulkins rightly refers to the author (Hist. Norwich, p. 20) as " Richard Hyde, esq., a gentle- man who throughout his life was in the habit of frequent intercourse with the Mohegans, and whose house was one of the favorite resorts of wan- derers from that tribe."
The letter to which these and other writers refer has lately been found among the Trumbull mauscripts of Yale College. It reads as follows : -
Sir: Please to Except of the Following to be Communicated with what you have already Reed by the Hand of Reverª Mr. Lord Relative to the Tribe of the Mohegen Indians If you think the same may be worth Notice : the following Facts being Communicated to me from some of the antient Fathers of this Town who were Contempory with Uncas the grand Saga- more or Sachem of sª Tribe. (viz) that Before the Settlement of sd Norwich the sachem of ye Narragansit Tribe Had a Personel Quaril with Uneass and Proclamed warr with the Mohegs: and Marched with an army of Nine Hun- dred Fighting Men equipt with Bows and arrows and hatchetts : Uncas he Informed by Spies of their March towards his Seat : Uncas Called his War- riors together about Six Hundred Stout hardy Men Light of foot and Skills In the use of ye Bow and upon a Conference Uncas Told his Men that it woud Not Do to Lett ye Narrigansitts Come to their Town but they must go and meet them : accordingly they marched & about three Miles on a Large
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l'hain the armys Meet & both Halted within Bow Shot: a Parly was Sounded & [ ] Uncas Proposed a Conference with the Narrigansitt Sachem who agreed & being Meet Uneas Saith to his Anemy Words to this Effect, you have Got a Number of Brave men with you & So have I: and it a Pitty that Such Brave men Shod be Killd for a Quaril Between you and I only Come Like a Man as you Portend to be and we will fight it out If you Kill me my men Shall be yours but if I Kill you your men Shall be mine : upon which ye Narrigansit Sachem Replyd my men Came to fight & they shall fight (when having before told his Men: that if: his Enemy Shod Refuse to fight him he woud Fall Down : and then they ware to Dis- charde their artillry on Them & Forse Right on them as Fast as they could, and: uneas falling Down as he Proposed his men Sent a large Shower of arrows at them & fell Right on Like Lyons and Put ye Narrigansetts to flight The Mohegs Killing a Number on the Spot: and Pursued the rest Driving Some Down Ledges of Rocks those of uncas' men most forward Pass- ing by the Narrigansitt Sachem Twight him back to give uncas opportunity to take him himself and in the Pursuit at a Place Now Calld Sachems Plain uncas took him by the Shoulder he then Sett Down (Noing Uncas) uncas then Gave a hoop & his men Returnd to him and in a Councel then Held twas Concluded by them that Uncas with a Gard Shod Carry sd Sachem to Hartford to the Governor and Magistrats (it being before ye Charter) & advise what they Shod Do with him: and being Carrid to Hartford and Presented to ye Governor &c : he ye sd uncas was told by them yt as there was No war with ye English and Narrigansits it was not Proper for them to Intermedle in the affair and advised him to take his own way accordingly they Brote Sª Narrigansitt Sachem Back to the Same Spot of Ground where he was took : where Uncas Killed him and Cut out a Large Piece of his Shoulder Rosted & Eat it; & sd uncas Said it was the Sweetest meel he Ever Eat : it made him have Strong Hart then they Bury him and made a Pillar which I have Seen but a few years Since : and Such Regard hath ye Eng- lish had for sd Uncas & Tribe who ware always fast Friend: that when sd Uncas & Tribe ware attacked by a Potent Enemy & Blockd up in their fort on a hill by the Side the great River and almost Starved to Death: Lieu: Thos Leffingwell Capt Benj Brewster of sd Norwich and others Se- cretly Carred them Provision in the Night Seasons. upon which the Enimy Raised the Seige : upon which sd Uncas Gave Sundrie Donations of Land &: Continued to be a fast Friend to ye English to the time of his Death & Some years afterward & Before ye Narrigansitt warr in ye year 1675 : Uncas being thin chief the Narrigansitt Sachen Sent an Imbasador with a Large Present of Wampam to Ingage Uncas and his Tribe to Joyn with him to Distroy ye English Egle Eyed uneas having Reed : the Message & Presents : Returnd for answer Go to your Master & Tell him: that I will go to Nor- wich & advise with Major John Mason and Mr Fitch If they advise me to
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Joyn your Master I will and In the war that hapned Soon after Sd Tribe assisted ye English against them till they ware Subdued.
Norwich october 9th 1769
RICHP HIDE.
To the Revd Benj Trumble at New Haven.
NOTE C.
1. SITE OF MIANTONOMOH'S CAPTURE.
The plain near Greeneville, where Miantonomoh was captured, has long been known as "the Sachem's Plain." Tradition long asserted that this was not only the site of his capture, but also of his execution and burial. Miss Caulkins defended this opinion in her History of Nor- wich, and so did the late Professor Kingsley of Yale College, in an arti- cle in the New Englander, vol. i., p. 226. Hon. James Savage, the learned editor of Winthrop's New England, has disputed the tradition with great force (Savage's Winthrop, vol. ii., p. 162). Miss Caulkins has acknowledged a change in her own opinions in a note, from which I am permitted in this place to quote.
"Of all the legends and traditions connected with our country, I have been most reluctant to relinquish that which placed the grave of Mianto- nomoh on Sachem's Plain. It was pleasant to think that we knew where the chieftain lay, and that we had it in our power to make some amends, as it were, for the unjust sentence of our fathers, by heaping honors upon his tomb. But it seems to be a plain question at issue be- tween authentic cotemporary records and traditions first committed to writing in 1769, which was 126 years after the event. As a votary of history, therefore, I cannot hesitate to place myself upon this side of his- toric truth, at the same time sadly remembering that the remains of the murdered Sachem were left in some unknown place, and in all probability with no friendly turf or tumulus to cover them, a prey to vultures and beasts of the forest."
"The Sachem's plain, however, the place of his capture, is still the place where he is to be honored and mourned."
The supposed site of Miantonomoh's capture, was once marked by a pile of loose stones. These having disappeared, a few years ago a
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memorial block was erected, under circumstances thus alluded to by Col. Stone :
"On the anniversary of American Independence, in 1841, the inhab- itants of the neighboring village of Greeneville paraded upon the plain, and erected on the spot where the chieftain fell and was buried, a neat granite monument, bearing the simple and appropriate inscription in cap- itals : - MIANTONOMOH. 1643.
"The monument consists of a single oblong block of stone, about eight feet by five, and perhaps five in thickness -resting upon a little mound raised for that purpose. An address was delivered on the occasion, by Mr. Wm. C. Gilman, of Norwich."
2. MIANTINOMOH -OR MIÁNTONNÓMY ?
The pronunciation of the name of the Narragansett Sachem has called forth the following note from J. II. Trumbull, Esq., of Hartford, which we quote from the Historical Magazine, July, 1858. New York : C. B. Richardson.
" There is sufficient authority for accenting the penultimate syllable of this name, but I can discover none for marking the vowel of that syllable as long, nor for the pronunciation which this marking indicates. A care- ful collation of the various forms in which the name was presented by early writers, leads to the conclusion that Me-anto-nom'-y more nearly expresses the original sound - the stress falling on the consonant of the penult, and the short vowel having no determinate character, o, i, and e having all been employed by contemporary writers to represent it.
" Callender (1739) adopts the form Miantonomy, and says that ' in all the manuscripts' the name is spelled Myantonomy, or Miantonome, or Miantonomu, and ' is so pronounced by the people, who take the sound by tradition, and not from the books, with the accent on the last syllable but one.' (R. I. Hist. Coll. iv. 57). President Stiles, in 1761, marked the pronunciation, Meantinome, on the authority of Francis Willet, Esq., of Narragansett (MS. Itinerary ). These are the earliest authorities I have met with, for the accent. Neither of them authorizes the use of the long vowel. A comparison of the following early forms of the name will show that the vowel of the penult can hardly be represented by a long o, and y more nearly than oh indicates the sound of the last syllable.
" In the earliest deeds to Coddington and Roger Williams (as recorded),
Hoold' IniTomtom
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we have Miantunnome and Miantunnomi. In others, from Roger Williams, Miantonomi, Miantounomi, Miantonome, Miantenomy. Oli the Connecticut records (i. 32), the name first appears in 1639. as Antinemo ; on those of Massachusetts (ii. 23, 27), as Mean- tonomo, and Meantonomah, in 1642. The MS. Records of the Com- missioners of the U. Colonies for 1643 and 1644, present not less than eight forms of the name - Maantonimo, Meantonimoe, Meantinomie. Meantinomie, Meantinome, Maantinomie, Miantonimoe, and Meantoni- mie. The ' Relation of the Indian Plot' (1642) has Maantonemno. John Stanton, an accomplished interpreter, writes in 1678, Meantinomy. To these might be added some eight or ten other variations, from old writers, and twice or three times as many from modern authors. Mr. Potter, in his history of Narragansett (R. I. Hist. Coll. iii. 172) gives ' Meantonomy or Miantonimo (accented on the penultimate).' Mr. Savage in the notes and index to Winthrop, writes Miantunnomoh, ad- hering to the same form in the text, except in one instance, where it is Miantonomoh. Dr. Holmes, in the Annals, adopted this latter form : Dr. Trumbull (Hist. of Conn.), Meantonimoh.
" It will be observed that, in all the early variations, the only constant vowel is the a of the second syllable, whence I infer that it was strongly accented ; that the accented vowel of the penult was represented (often by the same writer ) by e, i, or o, indifferently, and therefore not likely to have had the marked sound of o long ; and that the final syllable was varied as a, e, ie, œ, i, o, oh, ah, y, and y, and is hardly to be represented by the modern form oh, as the equivalent of o.
" The name was perhaps compounded of wauntam, or wauontam, a wise man, a counsellor, and numwæ (numau) full with the definite ar- ticle m' prefixed -' The one who is full of wisdom,' or counsel. If this derivation be correct, the penultimate vowel was necessarily short."
J. H. T.
3. UNCAS.
A granite obelisk, bearing the simple inscription UNCAS, was erected in Norwich, on the grave of the Mohegan chieftain, July 4, 1842. Col. William L. Stone, of New York, delivered an address at that time. which was printed in a pocket volume, entitled " Uncas and Mianto- nomoh," (New York, 1842, 18mo.) This discourse, and the notes appended to it, contain many interesting and important facts relating to the Indian history of Norwich. A newspaper sheet which was pub-
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lished on the same occasion, entitled "The Uncas Monument," gives the inscriptions on the monuments in the Sachem's burying ground, and many other details, which would otherwise have perished, it is probable, before this time. " The Mohegan Extra," is the name of another broad sheet sold at Mohegan, when an effort was made by means of a Ladies' Fair, to raise the funds for repairing the Mohegan chapel.
In addition to Colonel Stone's discourse on Uneas, the valuable " History of the Indians of Connecticut," by J. W. DeForest, Esq., of New Haven, should be read by those who are interested in this early period of our history.
The original letter or obligation of Uncas, quoted in the Address, is in the possession of J. Carson Brevoort, Esq., of Brooklyn, N. Y., who has kindly permitted it to be printed here. Rev. Dr. J. Waddington, of London, first called my attention to this remarkable paper, and made a fac-simile copy of it, which was shown at the celebration.
4. PRESENT CONDITION OF THE MOHEGANS.
At the last session of the Connecticut legislature, (May, 1859,) a committee, (Messrs. B. M. Gay, HI. C. Deming and J. Halsey,) was appointed to inquire into the condition of the Mohegans, and report to the legislature whether a sale of their reserved lands would be expedient.
From the facts then elicited, it appears that there are now in the tribe one hundred and two persons, though all of them are not of pure Indian blood. A considerable portion of the reservation made in 1790 to the tribe, by the State, and distributed among the families then living, has reverted to the tribe in common. It was proposed that this common land should be sold for the benefit of the tribe, but the legislature refused to grant the power, and a committee consisting of Gov. Buckingham, Senator Foster and Hon. J. 1. Hovey, was appointed to inquire what course should be pursued, and report to the next legislature.
Divine service is regularly maintained in the chapel at Mohegan, and a Sabbath School is kept up chiefly by the efforts of Gen. Wmn. Williams.
NOTE D.
THE NAME NORWICH.
It will be remembered that in the Indian deed of June 6, 1659, the settlers in Mohegan are spoken of as the " inhabitants of Norwich." It
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seems probable that the name was selected because to some of the inhal itants, the site of the new town suggested the old. In Miss Caulkins', History the Huntingtons are said to have come from Norwich, but I have found no carlier authority for this statement than a letter of Rev. Joseph Huntington, D. D., of Coventry, (who died in 1794,) which is printed without date in Rev. D. Huntington's " Memories, etc., of an Octogenary," Cambridge, 1857. Those who are interested in the con- nection of old England with New England, may be glad to see the fol- lowing extract from Blomfield's Hist. of Norwich, where, (after speaking of the attempt of some to find " Norwicus in the name of Ordovices. a people far enough distant from hence,") he says we owe the rise of the city as well as its name to the Saxons, " North-wic, signifying no more than a northern situation, on a winding river ; and because they usu- ally placed castles at such situations, the word wic indeed was used for a castle, so that NORWICH may signify the northern castle at the winding of the river, it being north of the ancient station at Castor."
With this may be compared the following passage from the " Beauties of England and Wales," (vol. xi., p. 113. London, 1810.) "The city chiefly occupies the top and sides of a gentle hill ; which runs par- allel with the river Wensum on its western side, and terminates at a sudden bend of it. At this turn, and near that termination, a castle, or military station, appears to been established at an early period ; and as the people congregated around it for personal security, or private advan- tage, they gradually formed, and augmented the town. . Of Norwich, in its present state, it has been said that it stands upon more ground, comparatively with its population, than any city in the kingdom, the buildings being generally interspersed with gardens, which latter circumstance has given rise to its appellation of a 'city in un orchard.' The shape or plan is irregular, approaching that of a cor- nucopia, or bent cone."
We may presume that the Shetucket, running into the Thames, seemed to correspond to the Wensum, and that the rocky battlements of Wawe- qua's hill, (Savin hill, or Academy hill, ) " on its western side," " at a sudden bend of it," suggested the castle - North-wie.
For an account of Norwich, England, at a period not very remote from the settlement of Norwich, Conn., the reader is referred to Macau- lay's history of England, vol. i., chap. 3.
In reference to the pronunciation of the name, one of the reporters at the recent celebration, (N. Y. Times, Sept. 9,) made the following
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amusing observation : - " All are welcome to come and attend the cele- bration, but there is a 'shibboleth ' by which the veritable descendants of the town can infallibly be recognized, if the committee of arrangements are at all in doubt as to whether applicants are entitled to their hospi- talities. Only entrap the doubtful individual into pronouncing the word Norwich, and the mystery is solved. If he says Norridge, as though he came within a single letter of saying porridge, the fact is demonstrated that he is to the manor born, but let him be so unlucky as to tack on the · wich ' to the first syllable, and he is at once voted a foreigner."
NOTE E.
MAJOR JOHN MASON.
The main events in the life of Mason may be easily derived from any history of New England or Connecticut. His biography was written by Rev. George E. Ellis, D. D., now professor in the divinity school at Cambridge, in 1844, and was published in the third volume of the second series of Sparks's American Biography. To that elaborate memoir, and the interesting address of Mr. Rockwell, the reader is referred for an account of " the Miles Standish of Connecticut."
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