USA > Connecticut > New London County > Lebanon > Early Lebanon. An historical address delivered in Lebanon, Conn. > Part 4
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FIVE MILE PURCHASE IN 1692.
other colonies. In this right, Lebanon chose Wm. Clark, who took his seat in the next session, May, 1705, of the General Assembly at Hartford.
It was in this custom in New England, that the great " war cry of the Revolution ", had its roots and nerves. "No Taxation without Representation ", rang out as the popular key note every where, when the mother government of England attempted to tax them without any representation in Parliament. But it is not strange that this popular cry had so little effect upon the British rulers. They had but little acquaint- ance with our local customs from which it sprang, and from which it derived its peculiar potency. It was a new cry to them, in which they could see but little reason, and they considered it, and treated it, as only an empty and senseless clamor, set up merely to screen, what they deemed, the unruly spirit of an un- justifiable and uncalled for rebellion.
NOTE-C.
FIVE MILE PURCHASE IN 1692.
The Mohegan lands lying northerly from the New London settlements, and extending up into Windham and Tolland counties, were claimed and held jointly by Uncas and his two sons, Owaneco and Attawanhood alias Joshua. The grant of land to Norwich in 1659, was made and signed by all three of these, as grant-
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EARLY LEBANON -APPENDIX.
ors. Upon the death of Attawanhood, his claim to these lands fell to his son and heir, Abimeleck ; and though it does not appear that any actual division of these lands was ever made between these Indian chiefs, yet they had practically each selected a par- ticular range or territory, over which they claimed and exercised a more special and individual right to make grants. These ranges, however, had no well defined boundaries or extent, and the grants frequently over- lapped and conflicted with each other. The special range claimed by Attawanhood, and afterwards by his son Abimeleck, extended over Colchester, Lebanon, and Windham, and most of the early grants in Colchester and Windham, and many in Lebanon, were made by Attawanhood, alias Joshua, or by his son Abimeleck.
The " five mile purchase " in Lebanon, was made in 1692 from Owaneco, by Samuel Mason of Ston- ington, Benjn Brewster of Norwich, John Stanton of Stonington, and John Burchard of Norwich ; and the deed, bearing date Sept. 6, 1692, is signed by Owaneco alone. This grant was stoutly contested, by Abimeleck and others holding under him, on the ground that Owaneco had no right to make grants in this territory ; and the parties becoming involved in perplexing law suits, appealed to the General Assembly for an adjust- ment of their claims. But the Assembly looked with disfavor upon these large land grants, which the In- dian sachems and chiefs had made to favored friends and land speculators, as being against good public policy. They thought it wiser and better, that the lands should be kept free and unsequestered ; and open to the purchase of actual settlers, in such quantities 1
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53
FIVE MILE PURCHASE IN 1692.
as they might need for their own use. To gain the favor of the Assembly by conforming to this policy, and thereby to secure the title of their purchase, Mason, Brewster, Stanton, and Burchard, by their deed dated Jan. 4, 1700, conveyed the whole of it, in fee, to fifty- one persons, including themselves, for the sole use and benefit of the grantees and their heirs and assigns, as proprietors in common.
But still litigation was continued by Abimeleck and others, claiming under him, and the progress of the settlement was impeded thereby until 1705, when, on application by the inhabitants of Lebanon, the Gen- eral Assembly, at the May session, approved and con- firmed the deed of Owaneco to Mason and others, dated Sept. 6, 1692, and also the deed of Mason and others to the fifty-one grantees, dated Jan. 4, 1700; and vested the title, forever, in the said fifty-one grant- ees and their heirs and assigns, as proprietors in com- mon .* And this, of course, ended all further litiga- tion, and put the controversy to its final rest. The fifty-one grantees, named in the deed of Mason and others, dated in 1700, are as follows (Mason having probably died between 1700 and 1705, his right was vested in his heirs), viz. :
Samuel Masons heirs, Dan! Masons heirs,
John Burchard, Senr,
Hezekiah Mason,
James Buttolph,
John Burchard, Junr, Jabez Hide,
Jedidiah Strong,
John Stanton,
Thomas Hunt,
Benjamin Brewster,
Caleb Chappel,
Joseph Parsons,
William Clark,
Daniel Clark, Sen',
John Woodward, Jun',
* Hoadly's "Colonial Records, 1687 to 1706," pp. 513-516. 1
5*
,
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EARLY
LEBANON -APPENDIX.
John Brown,
John Morgan,
John Dewey, Micha Mudge, Josiah Dewey, Sent,
Samuel Fitch, John Mason, John Calkin, John Baldwin,
Nathan' Dewey,
John Woodward, Senr,
Sam' Huntington,
Richard Lyman, Senr, Sam' Hutchinson, Joseph Marsh,
Joseph Bradford,
Exercise Connant,
Joseph Thomas,
John Avery,
John Webster,
John Burroughs,
Joseph Pumery,
Nath' Fitch,
Josiah Dewey, Jun', John Gillett,
George Webster,
Thomas Root,
Edward Culver,
Stephen Lee,
James Dean,
John Hutchinson,
Richard Bushnell, Thomas Adgate,
Joseph Burchard.
It is a curious fact that nearly a third of these christian names are John ; and that more than half of them commence with the letter J. Fortunately the town was already named, or it might have been called Johnstown.
NOTE-D.
INDIAN SCHOOL.
NOTE .- The main incidents of the following note are found `in the Indian Papers in the archives of the State, and of the Connecticut Historical Society at Hartford ; McClure's life of Wheelock ; Allen's Biographical Dictionary ; Wheelock's letter of Dec. 6, 1762, to the Marquis of Lothian ; De Forest's History of the Indians of Connecticut, and other authentic sources.
Joseph Fitch,
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INDIAN SCHOOL.
There was also another school existing here in Lebanon, from 1743 until 1768, of far wider influence and renown than the Nathan Tisdale School referred to (p. 22), and which, on its removal to New Hamp- shire, was there established and incorporated as Dart- mouth College ; that well-known institution deriving its first inception, its birth and origin, and its original and special purposes and objects from this town.
In 1735, Eleazer Wheelock, a clergyman of fine talents, of earnest character, and of devoted piety, was settled over the second congregational church in the north part of the town of Lebanon. Like many other ministers of the day, and afterwards, he had several young men in his family, whom he taught the higher branches of English, and in the classics.
In Dec. 1743, a young Mohegan Indian, about twenty years of age, whose name has since become more famous than that of any other of the tribe, un- less perhaps the first Uncas, applied to Mr. Wheelock for admission among his scholars. Samson Occom, was born in 1723 at Mohegan, and grew up in the pa- gan faith, and the rude and savage customs of his tribe. During the great religious awakening of 1739 -'40, he had become convinced of the truth of chris- tianity, and deeply alarmed for his own lost condition. For six months he groaned in the gloom of his dark- ness; but then light broke into his soul, and he was seized with an irresistible impulse to carry this great light to his benighted race, and to become a teacher to his lost brethren ; and with his heart swelling with this impulse, he now stood before Wheelock, asking to be instructed for this great work.
It was not in the heart of Wheelock to resist this
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EARLY LEBANON -APPENDIX.
appeal, and he at once admitted him to his school and family, with open arms, and in the spirit of his mis- sion. Occum had already learned the letters of the alphabet, and could spell out a few words, and such was his zeal and devotion to study, that in four years he was fitted to enter college ; but his health had been so impaired by intense application, and lacking also the means, he never entered. Leaving school, he re- turned to his tribe ; preaching and teaching salvation through Christ alone, with power and effect : support- ing himself, meantime, like the rest of his tribe, by hunting and fishing, and the rude Indian arts of mak- ing baskets and other Indian utensils, and occasionally teaching small Indian schools; but during all this time, still pursuing his own studies in theology and Bible literature.
.
In this mission he visited other tribes. In 1748, he went over to Long Island, and spent several years there among the Montauk, the Skenecock, and other tribes, preaching and teaching with great success. At one time a great revival occurred under his labors there, during which many Indians were converted. In 1759, Aug. 29, he was ordained by the Suffolk Presbytery of Long Island, and was ever after re- garded as a regular member of that ecclesiastical body.
The case of Occom, and its instructive results, at- tracted wide attention from the first start, and Mr. Wheelock determined to open his school to other Indian youths who desired to engage in, and be fitted for the same work, and in a short time it became exclusively an " Indian School " for missionary pur-
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INDIAN SCHOOL.
poses ; so that by 1762, he had more than twenty Indian students, preparing for the conversion of their coun- trymen.
This new movement attracted the earnest attention of the leading clergymen and christian philanthro- pists throughout all New England and the northern colonies. To all who looked with anxiety for the conversion and civilization of the aboriginees of this part of North America, this school was long consid- ered the brightest and most promising ground of hope. Notes of encouragement came pouring in from vari- ous sources throughout all the New England colonies, from minister's councils, from churches, and from eminent leaders and philanthropists, with money contributions, cheering on the movement, and all aiming to increase the numbers in training, and to give to the school a wider sweep in its influence. Probably no school in this or any other land or age, ever awakened so wide-spread and intense an interest, or seemed freighted with such a precious and hopeful mission, as did then, this little parochial school, kept in the obscure parsonage of a country minister.
In 1765 a general conference of the friends of the school was held, at which it was determined to send Samson Occom to England, to show to our English brethren there, what christianity had done for him, and what it could do for the natives of North Amer- ica, and that Rev. Nath'l Whitaker of Norwich should go with him, to enlist co-operation in the cause, and to solicit contributions in its aid. Occom was then forty-three years old, well educated, and spoke Eng- lish clear, and fluently. His features and complexion
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EARLY LEBANON -APPENDIX.
bore every mark of his race, but he was easy and natural in social manners; frank and cordial, but modest in conversation ; and his deportment in the pulpit was such as to command deep attention and respect. He could preach extemporaneously and well, but usually wrote his sermons. Such, then, was this son of the forest, and such his sublime mission to the English mother land : to convert the natives of a Pa- gan continent, to christianity and civilization, through the ministry of pagan converts of their own race.
His appearance in England produced an extraordi- nary sensation ; and he preached with great applause, in London, and other principal cities of Great Britain, and Scotland, to crowded audiences. From the 16th of Feb. 1766, to the 22d of July 1767, he delivered between three and four hundred sermons ; many of them in the presence of the king and the royal family, and the great nobles of the land. Large contributions were taken up after each of these discourses ; the king himself gave 200 pounds, and in the whole enterprise, 7,000 pounds sterling, were collected in England, and about 3,000 in Scotland .*
This success resulted in transferring Wheelock's Indian School to New Hampshire, which it was thought would be a better place for an Indian Semi- nary, as being more retired and less exposed to dis- turbing influences, than the more thickly settled colony of Connecticut. It was then incorporated as Dart- mouth College (taking its name from the pious and noble Earl of Dartmouth, whom Occom's mission in
* McClare's Life of Wheelock, p. 16-17, and De Forest's His- tory Connecticut Indians, p. 459.
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INDIAN SCHOOL.
England had warmly enlisted in the cause), for the special object and purpose of educating and training Indian youths for the ministry and missionary work of their race; but after the death of Eleazer Whee- lock, its founder and President, and especially after the death of his son, John Wheelock, who succeeded him as President, its original and distinctive charac- ter, as an Indian Seminary, gradually changed until it became, as it still remains, assimilated in character and purpose, with the other colleges of the country ; and so the glowing dream, the fervid zeal, and the sanguine hopes and expectations of its great-souled founders, faded away ..
In 1771, a Mohegan Indian, named Moses Paul, was tried at New London and condemned to death for the murder, in a drunken brawl, of Moses Clark. A large assembly of English and Indians collected to witness the execution. At the request of the prisoner, Sam- son Occom was appointed by the authorities, to preach a funeral sermon in the presence of the poor wretch, as was the custom of the time, just before he was launched into eternity. Upon his own coffin, in front of the pulpit, sat the doomed man. Next around him were seated his brethren of the Mohegan tribe ; the audience filling the rest of the church ; a great crowd surrounding it, and a military company acting as guard.
The sermon is still preserved in the library of the Connecticut Historical Society at Hartford [Pamph- let No. 225] ; the text from Romans vi, 23.
" For the wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 1
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EARLY LEBANON-APPENDIX.
It is not eloquent : it is not grand oratory ; but it is something higher than eloquence ; and in its sad and solemn moaning over the degraded and lost condition of his race, in their pagan darkness ; their wickedness; the awful consequences of drunkenness, their besetting sin ;- it has all the moving power and pathos of a He- brew wail.
The first part of the discourse dwells at length upon the peculiar meaning and significance of the term death, as used in the text; its endless and eter- nal character, and was addressed to the audience at large ; and rising, with the vastness of the idea, he ex- claimed ! "Eternity ! Oh Eternity ! Who can meas- ure it ? Who can count the years thereof ? Arithmetic fails ! The thoughts of men and angels are drowned in it! How shall we describe eternity ? To what shall we compare it ? Were a fly to carry off one particle of this globe, to such a distance that it would take 10,000 years to go and return for another, and so continue till he had carried off, particle by particle, once in 10,000 years, the whole of this globe, and placed it in that distant space, just as it is now here ; after all this, Eternity would remain the same unex- hausted duration ! And this eternal death, must be the certain portion of all impenitent sinners, be they who they may-Negroes, Indians, English, or what nation-soever-honorable, or ignoble-great or small -rich or poor-bond or free-all who die in their sins must go to hell together: for the wages of sin is death."
He next addressed the doomed prisoner upon his coffin, pointed out to him the enormity of his crime, and how by drunkenness, and by despising the warn- 1
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INDIAN SCHOOL.
ings and counsels of christian teachers, he had been led to it ; explained to him the way of salvation, urg- ing him with pathos and, earnest energy, at once to accept it, and like the dying thief upon the cross beside the crucified Saviour, to throw himself upon the mercy of that same Saviour, and so, even at the elev- enth hour, escape eternal death.
He then turned to the Mohegans present-" My poor kindred," he exclaimed, " you see the woful con- sequences of sin by seeing this, our poor miserable countryman, now before us, who is to die for his sins and his great crime-and it was especially the sin of drunkenness, that brought this destruction and untimely death upon him. There is a dreadful woe, denounced from the Almighty against drunkards ; and it is this sin, this abominable, this beastly sin of drunkenness, that has stript us of every desirable comfort in this life. By this sin we have no name, or credit, in the world ; for this sin we are despised ; and it is right and just, for we despise ourselves. By this sin, we. have no comfortable houses, nor anything comfortable in our houses, neither food, nor raiment, nor decent utensils ; we go about with ragged and dirty clothing, and almost naked ; most of the time half starved and obliged to pick up and eat such food as we can find. And our poor children, suffering every day ; often cry- ing for food, and we have nothing for them, and in the cold winter, shivering and crying, pinched with cold. All this comes from the love of strong drink. And this is not all the misery and evil we bring upon ourselves by this sin, for when we are intoxicated with strong drink, we drown our rational powers, by
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EARLY LEBANON -APPENDIX.
which we are distinguished from the brute creation ; we unman ourselves. and sink not only to a level with the beasts of the field, but seven degrees beneath them ; yea, we bring ourselves to a level with the devils ; and I don't know but we make ourselves worse than the devils, for I never heard of a drunken devil."
He closed his discourse with a fervid exhortation to his Mohegan brethren, to break off from their sins, and especially from their besetting sin of drunken- ness, by a gospel repentance ; to "take warning by the doleful sight now before us," and from the dread- ful judgments that have befallen poor drunkards. " You that have been careless all your day, now awake to righteousness and be concerned for your never dying souls." Fight against all sin, and espec- ially against your besetting sin, "and above all things believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall have eternal life ; and when you come to die, your souls will be received into heaven, there to be with the Lord Jesus and all the saints in glory ; which God in his infinite mercy grant through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen."
In 1786, he gathered a few Mohegans, and several other Indians from other tribes in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Long Island, and went with them to Oneida County, N. Y., and there formed the nucleus of the clan afterwards known as the Brothertown tribe, among the "Six Nations." He continued as their minister, acting also as a missionary among the Six Nations, until his death, which occurred in July, 1792; more than 300 Indians following him, mournfully and tearfully to the grave.
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INDIAN SCHOOL.
Another young Mohegan, Joseph Johnson. educa- ted in Wheelock's school, became also a preacher of great power and influence. He was sent early as a missionary to the " Six Nations " of New York, and afterwards co-operated with Occom in the establish- ment there of the Brothertown clan. At the breaking out of the War of the Revolution, the six nations, a powerful and warlike Indian confederacy, were at first much inclined to favor the English side, and to become the allies of the British forces of Canada, and to this end were strongly tempted by the insidious wiles of British emissaries, backed by the glittering display, and lavish use, of British gold.
Against this danger, both Johnson and Occom exerted the whole weight of their great moral powers, and their wide influence ; the former especially appeal- ing for help, in averting this impending danger, to Gov. Trumbull and other friends here : and to the As- sembly. His zeal, and patriotic efforts, attracted the attention of Gen. Washington, and while at Cam- bridge, directing the siege of Boston, he wrote him a letter with his own hand, dated 20th Feb. 1776, thank- ing him for his patriotic and important services ; and in closing he says, " Tell the Indians that we do not ask them to take up the hatchet for us, unless they choose it ; we only desire that they will not fight against us. We want that the chain of friendship should always remain bright between our friends, the Six Nations, and us, We recommend you to them, and hope by spreading the truths of the gospel among them, it will always keep the chain bright."*
* Allen's Biographical Dictionary-Art. Jos. Johnson. 1
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EARLY LEBANON -APPENDIX.
NOTE-E.
.
FRENCH TROOPS AT LEBANON-A DESERTER SHOT.
Count Rochambeau was at Lebanon about the first of June, 1781, with his five sparkling regiments of Bourbonnois, on their march from Newport, R. I., to join the American army on the Hudson ; and camped in Lebanon about three weeks. The Duke de Lauzun, with his legion of 500 mounted Hussars, was also quartered here from about Dec. 1, 1780 to June 23, '81, a period of 7 months. Their barracks were on the slope of the hill west of the Trumbull house and near the rivulet above the pond. A gay June for Lebanon was that, when these six brilliant French regiments, with their martial bands and gorgeous banners, were daily displayed on this spacious and lovely village green. Gen. Washington himself, re- viewed Lauzun's Legion here, on the 5th of March, of that year, and highly complimented them and their commander on their appearance and discipline. He spent three days in Lebanon at that time, in a long and close conference with Gov. Trumbull ; and it is believed that this conference related to the plan of the southern campaign, which resulted in the surrender of Corn- wallis and his army, and led to the final termination of the war; and that this confidential disclosure of that plan, was one of the first which was made to any one, and was most heartily approved and encouraged by promises of efficient support, by Gov. Trumbull.
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DESERTER SHOT.
This plan was afterwards confidentially considered and perfected, at a Joint Council of the American and French chief commanders, held at the " Webb House " in Wethersfield. on the 21st and 22d of May following .*
DESERTER SHOT.
While Lauzun's Legion of Hussars were quartered in Lebanon, in the winter of 1781, some depredations by his troop were committed upon the poultry, pigs, and sheep of the inhabitants, one of the latter being taken from the fold of even good old Parson Williams. When these complaints reached the ears of the Duke, in view of the fact, that the people of the whole town had vied with each other in extending the most cordial hospitalities, and furnishing the most abundant supplies to this whole corps, their chivalrous commander was deeply mortified, and resolved on its summary sup- pression. A few of the suspected hussars, from fear of consequences, deserted from camp and fled into the country. One of the more prominent of these was soon after re-captured and brought into camp. about nightfall. A court martial was immediately ordered, by which the soldier was tried that same evening, convicted of desertion, and sentenced to be shot, and was shot, at sunrise the next morning in the presence of the whole corps, who were ordered out to witness the execution. This summary example effectually ended all further depredations.
* Gen. Washington enters in his Diary, dated at Wethersfield, May 20, 1781: " Had a good deal of private conversation with Gov. Trumbull, who gave it to me as his opinion, that, if any important offensive operations should be undertaken, he had little doubt of obtaining men and provisions adequate to our wants." 6* )
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EARLY LEBANON -APPENDIX.
It is this legend, that an ingenious writer of ro- mance has quite recently seized upon, as the founda- tion of a very fairly written sensational story of love and mystery, about this deserter and a mythical Pru- dence Strong, which was published in the New York Sun, and extensively copied by other papers.
MRS. ANNA HYDE AND THE ASSASSIN.
The story of the encounter between Mrs. Anna Hyde, the worthy housekeeper of Gov. Trumbull, and a suspected assassin of the Governor, is well supported by authentic tradition. One evening this good woman was greatly alarmed at the sudden entrance of an unknown man, in the guise of a mendicant, who stoutly persisted in seeing the Gov. then ill and in bed. She knew, that to have gained entrance to the house, the man must have eluded the sentinels on guard. She well knew, what all knew, that a price had been set upon the Governor's head by British authority ; that he had often been threatened with assassination, by malignant tories and their emissaries ; and he re- cords in his own diary, that once, while at Newton, a malignant there said "he would kill him, as quick as he would a rattlesnake"; and believing that the purpose of the intruder was the assassination of the Governor, the brave lady, at once, seizing the large kitchen shovel in one hand, and the tongs in the other, made such a vigorous onslaught upon him, that he fled for safety and escaped, in the dark, from capture.
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