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126
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
It seems strange to think of Connecticut as a slave- holding State, but such was the case in colonial times. There are men still living who met in their childhood with persons who had seen a cargo of slaves placed in the old jail at Middletown, and afterwards sold at auction. At the time of the Revolution, several prominent citizens in this thriving village of about one hundred families were sea- captains engaged in the slave-trade. This business was very profitable for many years. Vessels going out to the West Indies carried horses, hoops, grain, and other articles, and on the return trips brought cargoes of Guinea negroes. They seem to have been treated kindly, as a rule ; and the characteristics that mark the race to-day were prominent then.
Captive Indians, as well as negroes, were held for service in families ; and the colonial authorities enjoined a strict care in the training and religious instruction of these bond-ser- vants. Soon after the Revolution, steps were taken to bring about a gradual emancipation of slaves on the ground that it was not profitable to keep them. The conscience of the people evidently was not troubled in those days over the "sin of slavery.2
1 THE almanac of Dr. Andrew Elliott discloses the fact that in thirty-two years he received twenty-nine hundred pairs of gloves at funerals, weddings, and bap- tisms: of these he sold about six hun- dred and forty dollars' worth.
2 ADVERTISEMENTS like the follow- ing were frequent after the publication of newspapers began : " Wanted to pur- chase immediately. Two Negro or Mu-
latto Boys or men, from 14 to 24 years of age. Inquire of the printers, New Haven, May 9, 1779." " TO BE SOLD, a Mulatto Slave, about 21 years old, is healthy, strong, and active; well ac- quainted with all kinds of farming busi- ness, and can work at shoemaker's trade. For further particulars, inquire of Ed- ward Barker, of Branford, or the Printers hereof."
127
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.
CHAPTER XXII. THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE PEOPLE. - SABBATH OBSERVANCE. - SOCIAL PLEASURES.
THE story of Connecticut in colonial days would be incom- plete indeed that did not make mention of the religious life of the people and their observance of the sabbath. The men and women who laid the foundations of our com- monwealth were exiles from the land of their birth for con- science' sake. "Freedom to worship God" was the joy and privilege of hearts that sought above all else to know and do His will.
In a rude building of logs, often but a barn, the early settlers gathered on sabbath morning at the beat of a drum or the sound of a horn ; for nearly a hundred years passed away before bells were in general use. As soon as the peo- ple were able to do so, they built churches with the square tunnel roof, which, still later, were improved by the addition of a steeple. For many years, especially in the outlying towns, savages lurked near the villages ; and Sunday, when all were gathered in the church, was a time of peculiar dan- ger. The minister at the desk was often armed, all the men in the congregation were armed, and sentinels were posted at the doors, while others kept watch outside.
After this danger passed, the physical discomforts suffered by these earnest and devout worshippers were many. There was no way provided for heating the churches, and the doors were thrown open to let in the sun. Ministers often preached in their overcoats, with a muffler about the neck, and mittens
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
upon their hands. In severe winter weather the women car- ried heated stones in their muffs, and, later, little hand-stoves ; while the men drew bags over their feet to keep them warm. The exercises were lengthy, continuing sometimes for hours. As better churches were built, pews took the place of the hard benches.
The seating of the congregation was a matter of great importance. Below the pulpit sat the elders and deacons : while in the body of the church, the men were ranged on one side, and the women on the other, according to age, rank, and social condition. In the back seats or in the gallery were placed the children or negroes ; and " behind all the tithing- - men, with long staves tipped with brass, with which they rapped unmercifully the heads of slumbering or disorderly men or boys ; while for delinquents of the fair sex, they con- tented themselves with brushing their faces with a hare's foot appended to the rod. Strict discipline was always ob- served, and any tendency to fall asleep was promptly checked." 1
In singing, the verses were given out by a leader, a line at a time, and chanted by the whole congregation, who did not know half a dozen different tunes. This singing " by rule," says a historian of those days, " sounded like five hundred different tunes roared out at the same time." This system of organized discord met with resistance ; and a reform was begun about 1700, to substitute singing by note for singing by rule, but this led to a prolonged struggle. As late as 1773, when the new singing was introduced into the church in Harwinton, Litchfield County, one of the deacons arose, and left the church, crying, " Popery ! Popery !"
Because "the evening and the morning were the first day," they commenced their observance of the Lord's Day on Saturday at sunset.2 At this hour the busy housekeeper had arranged to lay aside all work, and a peculiar quiet reigned throughout the community and every home. Family
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SABBATH OBSERVANCE.
worship was generally followed by the religious instruction of children and servants. On sabbath morning every one went to church. Families living at a distance came pre- pared to spend the entire day. The elders and children rode on horseback, and the young people walked. In summer
1
MEETING-HOUSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
weather, it was a common custom for them, as a matter of economy, to go barefoot until near the church, when they would put on the shoes and stockings they had carried in their hands.
Many of those who resided at a distance, spent the inter- mission between the services in what were called " sabbath-
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
day houses." 3 These houses were small log or frame structures, having a single or double room with a fireplace, and furnished with a bench, a few chairs, and a table. Here the family and other friends gathered to eat their lunch, and warm their chilled hands and feet.
Days of public fasting and prayer were frequent, and family worship was a part of the home life. Strict discipline was enforced in all that pertained to the social and public affairs of the community. Respect for parental authority was universal, and the rules of a strict morality were en- forced in the conduct of business. In New Haven a certain John Meigs, a currier and tanner, put such poor leather on the market, that he was brought into court to be punished for his offence. In giving judgment, the court said, " In a single pair of shoes, several evils appear ; such as contempt of court, continued unrighteousness, and other similar evils ; and how many shoes he had made and sold of such faulty materials, and so loaded with evils, the court say they know not." The cobbler soon after left the colony.
We should gain a very wrong impression of the old times, if we thought of our Puritan ancestors as always wearing long faces, never smiling, or enjoying innocent pastimes. On the contrary, their social life was marked by many fes- tive days. Six times in a year the whole military force of the plantation was called out. These general training-days brought together the old people, women and children, as spectators of the military exercises and athletic games that followed. "The enjoyment which they experienced in watch- ing the manœuvres of the soldiers, and the games of cudgel, backsword, fencing, running, leaping, wrestling, stool-ball, ninepins, and quoits, was enhanced by sharing the spectacle with the multitude, meeting old friends, and making ac- quaintance with persons of congenial spirit." Election days were times of general gathering. "On these days the pil- lion was fastened behind the saddle ; and the good wife rode
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SOCIAL PLEASURES.
with her good man to the seat of government, to truck some of the yarn she had been spinning, for ribbons and other foreign goods, as well as to gather up the gossip of the year. On such occasions a store of cake was provided beforehand, and 'election-cake' is consequently one of the institutions received from our fathers " (Atwater).
Thanksgiving was the great festal day of the year. In its general features and spirit, it is observed now very much as in colonial times. It was the day when children and grand- children gathered in the old homestead with joy- ous greetings. The table fairly groaned be- neath the good things that had been provided by the noble mothers and daughters, who had reason to be proud of their skill in preparing all kinds of appetizing dishes. The male mem- bers of the family were A PORTRAIT WHICH BELONGED TO THE EATON FAMILY. faithful in their attend- ance upon the service of public worship in the morning, but the rest of the day was filled with home festivities.
The gift of corn was especially remembered. The injunc- tion of an old Puritan minister was common. " Of all other things on the table you may eat, but of the Indian pudding you must eat." It was of this dish that Joel Barlow, the famous Connecticut poet, wrote these lines : -
" Ye Alps audacious, through the heavens that rise To cramp the day, and hide me from the skies, I sing not you. A softer theme I choose, A virgin theme, unconscious of the muse, But fruitful, rich, well suited to inspire The purest frenzy of poetic fire.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
I sing the sweets I know, the charms I feel, My morning incense, and my evening meal, The sweets of Hasty Pudding."
1 SLEEPING IN CHURCH was evi- dently a besetting sin in those days, when a large part of the congregation were accustomed to an active outdoor life, that must have made it very difficult for them to sit through the long-drawn- out services without physical drowsiness. But their consciences were tender re- garding the reverence and attention that was due the service of the Lord's house. Cotton Mather, in his account of the death of Thomas Hooker, says, "Some of his most observant hearers noticed an astonishing cloud in his congregation, the last Lord's Day of his public minis- try, when he administered the Lord's supper among them; and a most un- accountable heaviness and sleepiness, even of the most watchful Christians of the place, not unlike the drowsiness of the disciples, when our Lord was going to die, for which one of the elders re- buked them. When those devout people afterwards perceived that this was the last sermon and sacrament wherein they were to have the presence of their pas tor with them, 'tis inexpressible how much they bewailed their inattentive- ness to his farewell dispensations; and some of them could enjoy no peace in their own souls, until they had obtained leave of the elders to confess before the whole congregation, with many tears, that inadvertency."
2 THIS CUSTOM was observed until within the memory of those now living. Dr. Bushnell, in his Age of Homespun, tells a story of his boyhood, when he was refused a load of apples which he had gone to buy on Saturday, because the good neighbor, on consulting the sun, thought he would not be able to measure and load the fruit before the strict sabbath began.
3 SABBATH-DAY HOUSES. Dr. W. C.
Fowler, in his History of Durham, gives this entertaining description of these unique structures : " These houses were from twenty to twenty-five feet in length, and from ten to twelve feet in breadth, and one story high, with a chimney in the middle, dividing the whole space into two rooms, with a partition between them, for the use of two families, who united in buliding the house. The fur- niture consisted of a few chairs, a table, plates and dishes, some iron utensil, it may be, for warming food which had been cooked. Besides the Bible, there was sometimes a book on experimental religion, like Baxter's Saints' Rest, or Allein's Alarm. On the morning of the sabbath, the mother of the family, with provident care, put up her store of comforts for the dinner, substantial or slight fare, as most convenient, a bottle of cider almost of course. The family then set off from their home in a large two-horse sleigh, or on saddles "and pillions. They stopped at the sabbath- day house, kindled a blazing fire, and then went forth to shiver in the cold during the morning services. At noon they hurried back to their warm room. After they had taken their meal, and by turns drunk from the pewter mug, thanks were returned. Then the ser- mon came under review, from the notes taken by the father of the family; or a chapter was read from the Bible, or a paragraph from some favorite author, the services concluding with prayer or singing. After again visiting the sanc- tuary, the family would return to the sabbath-day house, if the cold was severe, before they sought their home. The fire was then extinguished, the door was locked, and the house remained undis- turbed during the week."
133
THE EVOLUTION OF THE TOWNS.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE TOWNS.
TN number, the men and women who laid the foundations L of the Connecticut and New-Haven colonies were less than the emigrants that are now landed at Castle Garden twice or thrice a week by some steamer from Liverpool or Hamburg. We have, however, seen that these early settlers were providentially the pioneers of one of the most remark- able emigrations that history records. The story of this emi- gration carries us back to England, and the struggle for civil and religious freedom that culminated in the Revolution of 1642.
For ten years after the landing of the Pilgrims, the emi- gration exclusively confined to Massachusetts was small. About 1630 the tide increased, and it is estimated that within the next ten years about twenty thousand persons came to New England. At the breaking out of the Revolu- tion, that gave ascendency to Puritan power in England, the emigration almost entirely ceased.
After the first companies came, and settled in the Connec- ticut valley, and in the neighborhood of New Haven, they received but few accessions by emigration. The growth of the population of Connecticut, for nearly two hundred years, was from this parent stock. The result is, that, even now, almost every child in the State, whose ancestors were living in Connecticut in the early part of this century, may trace its ancestry back to some one in the little handful of people who settled the New-Haven and Connecticut colonies.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
The growth of the tree illustrates the historic development of the Commonwealth. The two colonies, whose life was soon united, may represent the trunk, and the half-dozen towns that formed them the first branches, of the sturdy sap- ling. As the growth of the tree develops fresh buds, and they form new branches, so the advancing and vigorous life of the early colonial towns put forth new shoots as the years passed by.
Let us select the history of two or three towns, in differ- ent parts of the State, to illustrate this process of evolution.
The beautiful valley that lies a few miles west of Hartford early attracted attention, and in 1640 some of the leading families that had come in Mr. Hooker's company commenced a settlement upon the meadows bordering the Tunxis River. The land was purchased of the Indians, and divided among the eighty-four proprietors. The town was incorporated in 1645 under the name of Farmington, and was about fifteen miles square. Since this period seven new towns have been taken from this territory, - Southington, Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, Avon, Plainville, and New Britain, within whose limits has sprung up the busy and prosperous city of the same name.
In 1657 some of the inhabitants from Farmington, on a hunting excursion, wandered away from home as far as the Naugatuck Valley. They here discovered what they thought was a mine of black-lead. They purchased the right from the Indians to work it, and the deed they received included the land within eight miles of the hill from which the lead was to be taken. This territory covered the present town- ships of Plymouth, Harwinton, Thomaston, Litchfield, and other towns. The mine did not prove a profitable invest- ment, and no settlement was made in the Naugatuck Valley until sixteen years had passed away. In 1673 the meadow- lands at Mattatuck (Waterbury) attracted the attention of some of the inhabitants of Farmington, and they asked the
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THE EVOLUTION OF THE TOWNS.
Assembly to appoint a committee to view them, and report upon the expediency of locating a plantation there. The committee reported that they thought Mattatuck could sustain a population of thirty families.
Sundry citizens were appointed to regulate and establish the settlement ; but the breaking out of King Philip's war retarded the work, and it was not until 1677 that the pro- prietors came with their families. The first site, known to this day as the " Town Plot," was laid out on the ridge of the hill, about a mile west of the present city of Waterbury. A building-lot of eight acres was given to each settler. The labor of drawing the hay from the meadows up the steep hill soon decided them to build in the valley ; and they chose the location now covered with the homes and busy industries of the beautiful and thriving city of Waterbury, with its thirty thousand inhabitants. The early settlers looked upon the river as only " an obstruction and peril." A recent local historian quaintly says, " In the result, Mattatuck, like most of the manufacturing towns of New England, has been saved, as was Noah and his family, ' by water' rather than by land."
The families that first made their home in Waterbury suf- fered very much for want of a grist-mill. They had to carry all of their corn to Farmington, a distance of twenty miles, to be ground. The committee appointed by the State granted thirty acres of land to whoever would build and keep up a mill. These terms were accepted by Stephen Hopkins of Hartford, who built a mill, in 1680, on Mill River, where one has stood until the present day. This matter of securing mill privileges caused a great deal of trouble to the frontier towns. The first householders of Woodbury had no flour or meal except what they could get from Stratford, where they formerly lived. Even on wedding occasions, the principal dishes at the dinner were bean-porridge for soup, bread made of pounded corn, and an enormous plate of pork and
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
beans. The first set of mill-stones brought into the place, about 1674, were so small that they were carried from Strat- ford on the back of a horse.
The story of the settlement of the charming valley in which lie the villages of Woodbury and Southbury, gives another reason that sometimes led to the founding of new towns. For a long time, there had been a bitter dispute in the church at Stratford, over what was known as the "Halfway Cove- nant " system of church membership. Each party chose a pastor, and an effort was made to keep peace by dividing the services of the Lord's Day between them ; but this plan did not work well. Governor Winthrop finally advised the weaker party, with their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Walker, to choose a tract of land, and make a new plantation. This was in 1672. Thirteen years before this, an exploring party, visiting the valley of the Pomperaug, were solicited by some Derby Indians to purchase the adjoining country.
The deed given at the time of purchase covered a terri- tory as large as Litchfield County. No use was made of the land until Mr. Walker's party decided to settle in the valley. At the May Assembly, in 1672, " liberty to erect a planta- tion at Pomperoage " was granted.
The original signers to the covenant to found a new town at Woodbury were but seventeen. Before they left Strat- ford, they adopted articles of agreement. Only as many persons were to be admitted to the plantation as could be comfortably accommodated. All public expenses, civil and religious, were to be borne in proportion to their home-lots, the largest of which was twenty-five acres, and the smallest ten. A large tract of land was set apart for the preaching of the gospel, and also " a parsell of land for ye Incouriging a Schoole, yt learning may not be neglected to children."
The first shelter of the settlers was made of evergreen trees ; but by the time the cold weather set in, they had built rude log huts. Before the winter was over, their supply
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THE EVOLUTION OF THE TOWNS.
of food gave out ; and some of the men went to Stratford, a distance of thirty miles, with hand-sleds, and drew them home laden with provisions. In 1674 the town received the name of Woodbury.
Another illustration of the way new settlements sprung up takes us into the eastern part of the State. In 1675, Joshua, the son of Uncas, the famous Mohegan sachem, by his last will, gave to Captain John Mason, and fifteen others, the tract containing the town of Windham, from which Mans- field and Canterbury were also afterwards set off. In May, 1686, the main street of Windham was laid out, and lots surveyed for the proprietors. The first person who dug a cellar, and, with the help of his servant, raised a house, was Lieutenant John Cates. He held a commission under Cromwell ; and when Charles II. came to the throne, he fled to this country for safety. He first landed in Virginia ; but from fear of capture, he came to Norwich, and then sought this retired spot. Windham was made a county-seat in 1726.
The formation of new towns continued until most of the land within the bounds of the State was taken up. That much of this real estate was considered of little value, is illustrated in the disposal that was made of the territory now included in the town of East Lyme. This tract was first re- served for the Indians ; but in time the Legislature granted a petition giving it to New London and Lyme, but without determining a dividing line.
New London proposed to take three miles in width, and leave one to Lyme. Lyme made a similar proposal to New London. Rather than be to the trouble of going to Hart- ford with their dispute, they agreed to settle their title to the land in controversy, by a wrestling-match between two champions to be chosen by each for this purpose. The victory turned in favor of Lyme, and that town held the controverted tract until the town of East Lyme was formed.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
During the past fifty years, as the centres of population have increased, the old towns have been divided and sub- divided, as in the case of Saybrook, from which Essex, Chester, Westbrook, and Old Saybrook have been set off since 1836.
1714.]
PERIOD OF THE LAST FRENCH WARS.
139
CHAPTER XXIV. 1714-1748.
PERIOD OF THE LAST FRENCH WARS.
THE condition of society in Connecticut at this period was T
exceptionally happy and prosperous. The prayer of her people seemed realized, " that peace and unity might be con- tinued among them, and that they might have the blessings of the God of peace upon them." Habits of frugality and industry were joined with rectitude of character, and devout religious life and feeling. The affairs of the Commonwealth were wisely and economically conducted by tried and faith- ful men. Thoughtful care was taken of the unfortunate poor, of soldiers who had returned from captivity, and of others suffering from mental and physical disabilities.
To describe the condition of Connecticut in these years, as Bancroft has said, " is but to enumerate the blessings of self- government, as exercised by a community of thoughtful freeholders, who have neither a nobility nor a populace. How dearly it remembered the parent island, is told by the English names of its towns. Could Charles II. have looked back upon earth, and seen what security his gift of a charter had conferred, he might have gloried in an act which re- deemed his life from the charge of having been unproductive of public happiness. In a proclamation, Connecticut, under its great seal, told the world that its days under the charter were ' halcyon days of peace.' Time, as it advances, may unfold scenes of more wealth and wider action, but not of more contentment and purity."
140
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. [1714, '21.
Intelligence having been received of the death of the Queen and the accession of the Elector of Hanover (George I.) to the English throne, Connecticut at once sent an ad- dress of congratulation to the new king. The prosperity of these days is seen in the rapid growth of the towns and the increase of population.1 The occupation of the people was mostly agricultural, but there was considerable shipbuilding at different points along the Sound. Hartford, Wethers- field, and Middletown on the river; and Stonington, New London, New Haven, and other towns on the coast, - had
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