USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > East Haven > History of East Haven > Part 2
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Although he was not one of the seven pillars of the New Haven church, he was a zealous member of it and an ardent believer of Rev. Mr. Davenport's views. His family consisted of one son and five
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History of East Haven.
daughters. The son and eldest daughter returned and lived in England. One of his descendants, William Gregson, of London, England, gave to Trinity Church, New Haven, his homestead at the corner of Chapel and Church Streets. After many difficulties, they secured this property and built their first church upon it. He was lost at sea in 1647. As the loss of Mr. Gregson was a calamity to the early settlement of East Haven, I conclude that the following account may be introduced into this work with propriety. It is a singular affair and will be amusing to many readers. I insert it here without any comment, leaving every reader to form their own judgment con- cerning it. As Mr. Gregson was the first settler, it may not be inappropriate to give this account in connection with his biography. It is from the pen of Rev. James Pierpont, pastor of the church at New Haven, settled there July 2, 1685, to Dr. Mather, who requested him to sent the account :
"Reverend and Dear Sir-
"In compliance with your desires, I now give you the relation of that apparition of a ship in the air, which I have received from the most credible, judicious, and curious surviv- ing observers of it.
"In the year 1647, besides much other lading, a far more rich treasure of passengers (five or six of which were persons of chief note and worth in New Haven) put themselves on board a new ship, built at Rhode-Island, of about 150 tons; but so walty [crank] that the master (Lamberton) often said she would prove their grave. In the month of January, cutting their way through much ice, on which they were accom- panied with the Rev. Mr. Davenport, besides many other friends, with many fears, as well as prayers and tears, they set sail. Mr. Davenport, in prayer, with an observable empha-
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Settlement of the Town.
sis, used these words, Lord, if it be thy pleasure, to bury these dear friends in the bottom of the sea, they are thine, save them! The spring following, no tidings of these friends arrived with the ships from England; New Haven's heart began to fail her; this put the godly people on much prayer, both public and private, that the Lord would (if it was his pleasure) let them hear what he had done with these our friends, and prepare them with a suitable submission to his Holy Will. In June next ensuing, a great thunder storm arose out of the north-west; after which, (the hemisphere being serene) about an hour before sun-set, a SHIP, of like dimensions with the aforesaid, with her canvass and colours abroad, (though the wind northerly,) appeared in the air, coming up from our harbour's mouth, which lyes southward of the towne, seemingly with her sails filled under a fresh gale, holding her course north, and continuing under observa- tion, sailing against the wind, for the space of half an hour.
"Many were drawn to behold this great work of God; yea, the very children cryed out, There's a brave ship !- At length, crowding up as far as there is usually water sufficient for such a vessel and so near some of the spectators as that they imagined a man might hurl a stone on board her, her main top seemed to be blown off, but left hanging in the shrouds; then her missen top; then all her masting seemed to be blown away by the board; quickly after the hulk brought into a careen, she overset, and so vanished into a smoky cloud, which in sometime dissipated, leaving as everywhere else, a clear air. The admiring spectators could distinguish the several colours of each part, the principal rigging and such proportions, as caused not only the generality of persons to say, This was the mould of their ship, and thus was her tragic end; but Mr. Davenport also in public declared to this effect That God had condescended, for the quieting of their afflicted spirits, this extraordinary account of the sovereign disposal of those for whom so many fervent prayers were made continually.
"Thus I am, Sir, Your humble servant,
"JAMES PIERPONT."
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History of East Haven.
As people of the present day are not at all given to the supernatural, it may not be amiss to say that this might have been a case of mirage, an optical illusion arising from an unequal refraction in the lower strata of the atmosphere, which causes objects at a distance to appear as in the air floating over the sea. On the Straits of Messina in Italy it is said to often occur.
JASPER CRAYNE, 1639.
Mr. Jasper Crayne had his lot and house on the east side of the Green. Jasper Crayne sold his farm of sixteen acres to Matthew Moulthrop September 7, 1652, but he had removed to Totoket (now Branford) in 1644. There is a tradition that he built on the site now occupied by Mr. H. Walter Chidsey; that he said, "he would build the best house on the east side, which would surprise them all." A corner cupboard of good workmanship now stands in Mrs. Chidsey's dining room, which was taken out of the old house by her father, the late Edwin S. Bradley.
Mr. Crayne was one of the wealthy men of the col- ony; if he built this house, he failed to finish off the second story, which was never done through all the succeeding ownerships. He seems to have been an energetic, active man, but of a restless turn, somewhat captious withal. At one time he was interested in the Iron Works, as overseer or agent. His house in New Haven was on Elm street, where St. Thomas's Church now stands. He was prominent in the coun- cils of New Haven, one of its magistrates, and deputy to the General Court. He was surveyor, and laid out much of the town plot, located grants and settled dis-
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Settlement of the Town.
puted titles. In 1666 he signed the compact to move from Branford to Newark, New Jersey. At the time of the union of New Haven Colony with that of Con- necticut all the towns under the jurisdiction of New Haven were satisfied, except Branford. Rev. Mr. Pierson and almost his whole church and congre- gation were so displeased that they soon removed to Newark, where Mr. Crayne became very active and influential in state and church till his death in October, 1681. His sons, like their father, were honored and useful, and nearly all the Craynes in that state can trace their pedigree to Jasper Crayne.
WILLIAM TUTTLE, 1639.
William Tuttle was another of the most important of the first settlers. It appears from the passenger list of the ship Planter that three distinct Tuttle families came over together. John settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, Richard in Boston, and William in New Haven. There is some discrepancy about spelling the name, as "Tout- tle or Tuttle"; then again his sons are called "Tuthill." This latter spelling has led many to suppose the Tut- hills of Southold, Long Island, and other places, were of William Tuttle's family, which is an error. The Long Island Tuthills were a separate and distinct family, descended from Henry Tuthill of Tharston, Norfolk County, England; while Devonshire was the source of the New England Tuttles, and ever since the settlement in America the name has been spelled Tuttle. According to the Tuttle coat of arms granted to William Tuttle, October 24, 1591, the name was originally Tothill, and the crest, which was always added after the shield was granted and was commem-
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History of East Haven.
orative of some special act or office of the family, shows the last part of the name by the hill, upon which the dove with the olive branch in its beak stands. It is considered one of the most beautiful crests in heraldry.
In 1640 we find Mr. Tuttle everywhere called and described by the title of "Mr." Palfrey in his "History of New England" says: "There was great exactness in the application of both official and conventional titles. Only a small number of persons of the best con- dition ( always including ministers and their wives ) had Mr. or Mrs. prefixed to their names; others being called Goodman, and sometimes Brother or Neighbor, for a man, and Goodwife, or Goody, for a woman." Hollister's "History of Connecticut" says: "To be called Mr. or have one's name recorded by the Sec- retary with that prefix 200 years ago was a certain index of the rank of the individual as respects birth, education and good moral character. There were scores of men of good family, and in honorable sta- tions, who still did not possess all the requisite qualities of Mr. College graduates were sometimes called Sir.
In 1640 we find his first official act was in the capac- ity of commissioner, to decide an equivalent to those who had received inferior meadow lands. In this brief sketch we could not follow him in all his different transactions and offices from year to year till his death ; suffice it to say that in all his different offices and numerous public duties, of watchings, trainings, arbi- trations between contending settlers, disputed bounda- ries of farms and towns, adjusting differences of contending neighbors, road commissioner, constable, and juror, he was a man of courage, enterprise, intelli-
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Settlement of the Town.
gence, probity and piety, a just man whose counsels were sought and judgments respected. He was largely engaged in buying and selling lands and we know not what besides. The colonial records give us an idea of the diversity of his activities and occupations, and also that he was equal socially to any of the colonists, that he lived in a manner befitting his condition, and carefully provided for his children the means of start- ing in life.
Mr. Tuttle was the father of eight sons and four daughters. Two sons died unmarried; the ten other children married and, with their descendants, furnish material for a genealogy of seven hundred and fifty- four pages. His numerous descendants are found in all the various professions and occupations of life. At this time of writing, October, 1907, one of his descendants, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, who was consecrated bishop May 1, 1867, when only thirty years of age, is the senior and presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in its triennial conven- tion in session at Richmond, Virginia. Scores of ministers and all other professions bear the name. Only one son settled in East Haven, and now the name is very sparingly represented; but there are many bearing other names through whose veins courses the Tuttle blood. Perhaps the Hughes family, par- ticularly one branch, has more than any others not bearing the name, as the Tuttles and Hughes married and intermarried.
BENJAMIN LINGE, 1639.
Benjamin Linge is recorded as a first settler at Stoney river. It is doubtful if he ever built in East Haven,
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History of East Haven.
as he had no family excepting his wife. His house was at the corner of College and Grove streets. Dr. Stiles, in his "History of the Judges," gives an account of Col. John Dixwell, one of the regicides, who con- demned to death King Charles I of England and, on the restoration of the crown to his son, Charles II, fled to America. "Colonel Dixwell put up with two sedate old people who had no children. Mr. Linge at his death requested Dixwell to assist his wife, and his wife to be kind to Dixwell. Mr. Linge left all his property, which was inventoried at £900, to his wife, and Dixwell assisted in settling the estate, and after- wards, not knowing any better way of assisting, mar- ried her."
Colonel Dixwell, to avoid detection, passed under the name of James Davids. Another record of Dr. Stiles says: "James Davids and Joanna Linge, widow of Benjamin, were married Nov. 3d, 1673. She died between Nov. 15th & 26th, same year, leaving her homestead to him." Colonel Dixwell, alias James Davids, married Bathsheba Howe, October 23, 1677. A son by this marriage settled as a goldsmith in Bos- ton, whose descendants erected the monument, enclosed with an iron fence, back of Center Church, New Haven. This account of Dixwell may seem foreign to the subject of East Haven history, which it is; but as this rehash of its early times is written by request, bits of history connected with the biography of persons and events, although not directly connected with the subject, will be introduced, with the desire of furnish- ing something instructive and interesting. Therefore the digression is considered pardonable.
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Settlement of the Town.
WILLIAM ANDREWS, 1639.
The first of this name to come to America was William Andrews, a native of Hampshire, England, and a carpenter by occupation. He was one of the fifty-three persons who shipped with Capt. William Cooper, on the James, of London, from Hampton, England, in April, 1635, and landed in Boston, where he was made a freeman the same year. He came to New Haven with Rev. Mr. Davenport in 1638, and in 1639 was chosen one of the twelve men to form the first church, which was constituted August 22, 1639; although he was not elected out of that number as one of the seven pillars, he was received as one of the members into fellowship as a member of other approved churches.
Mr. Andrews was a carpenter, and seems to have been a master builder, as he contracted in 1639 to build the first meetinghouse. He let out some parts of the work to others, who sublet to still other parties, who failed to make the roof of the tower and turret to keep out wet, whereupon a question arose, which the court advised them to consult together for settlement.
Military discipline was very early established in New Haven Colony, and only church members could become military officers, and when once appointed the mention of the title was never omitted, either in writing or Speaking to or of the person, as it was considered a high honor. In 1642 the number of persons subject to military duty was two hundred seventeen, divided into four squadrons, each commanded by a sergeant, and William Andrews was appointed a sergeant. In
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History of East Haven.
1644 a bridge was built over Stoney river, on the road to Totoket, by William Andrews, for which he charged the town of New Haven £3. 8s. 9d., and it was com- mented upon as being a fine piece of work. In 1651 it was finally agreed and ordered that William Andrews and others "shall have the neck of land by the sea-side, beyond the Cove, and all the meadows belonging to it below the Island with a rock upon it." In 1660 New Haven Colony, wishing to set out the bounds between itself and Connecticut Colony with lasting marks, appointed a committee for this work of which William Andrews was a member. In seating the meet- inghouse he occupied the fifth seat from the pulpit, an honorable position.
His sons died young, except Nathan, who was born in Boston in 1638, and removed to Wallingford in 1670. His house and home were on Main Street, where he owned land. William Andrews died March 4, 1676. His son Nathan had two sons, Daniel and Jonathan, and it is inferred that the present East Haven Andrews family descended from one of them. There was a Timothy who married Rachel Adkins. They came from Wallingford. As the name of Nathan has been kept up in successive generations to the present day, there is no doubt but that he was their ancestor. There was another Andrews family that came from Woodbridge. There were also two Nathans in this branch; the elder one died in 1776 in the prison ship, in the war of the Revolution, aged 21 ; the younger one fell from a mast in 1798 and died, aged 19.
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Settlement of the Town.
MATTHIAS HITCHCOCK, 1639.
Matthias Hitchcock signed the plantation covenant in 1639. Estate, £50; land in first division, 10 acres ; 2 in the neck; 5 meadow, 20 in 2d division. All that I find recorded of him is the above (from Atwater's "New Haven Colony"). December 3, 1651, Matthias Hitchcock's name appears on the list of those who "shall have the neck of land by the sea-side beyond the Cove," etc. The Hitchcock family sold their part, and all died or removed from East Haven. There is, however, quite a long line of descendants down to 1760, and record of the death of Deacon Daniel Hitchcock in 1761, also that of his widow in the same year.
EDWARD PATTERSON, 1639.
Edward Patterson was also a plantation signer in 1639. Estate £40. Atwater says: "The name does not occur after 1646." Thomas Smith married the daughter and only child of Edward Patterson, so he became possessor of his share, which introduces Thomas Smith to East Haven in 1662. From him all the Smiths of the town are descended. Edward Pat- terson died October 31, 1669.
JOHN COOPER, 1639.
John Cooper was also one of the founders in 1639. He seems to have been a man of affairs, as he was employed as agent and sent to Massachusetts for secur- ing recruits from that colony to settle in Delaware, a scheme and plan of the New Haven Colony which ended disastrously; also in 1660 he was appointed
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History of East Hoven.
a committee "to provide a house for the schoolmaster and a schoolhouse, and therein to use their best endeavors and discretion, whether to buy or build, so as may answer the end, yet with good husbandry for the town as may be." (Atwater.) In 1645 he, with others, petitioned for land at Solitary Cove, which was not granted. He was one of the overseers and agents for the Iron Works in East Haven. He died November 23, 1689.
JOHN POTTER, 1639.
John Potter seems to have been a busy man in the colony. His occupation seems to have been a black- smith, as he is first recorded in 1651 as obtaining 20 acres in the fresh meadows, then in 1662 as obtain- ing a piece of land on which to build his blacksmith shop. In 1680 he became interested in the Iron Works, but did not carry it on as was contemplated when he bought the farm [which eventually was owned by Jared Bradley], but in the year 1692 he and Thomas Pinion petitioned New Haven for liberty to build a Bloomary on the first spring or brook towards Foxon. We find him of a committee to treat with Branford as to land and line and finish it in 1682. Next year he was appointed one of the number to revise the village records; in 1683 he was chosen to assist in laying out the lots in the 3d division of lands; in 1686 one of three to buy Stable Point, at the lower ferry, to build housing for their horses when they went to New Haven. He died in December, 1707, and left quite a line of descendants, all of whom were worthy citizens, but the name has been extinct for many years in East Haven.
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Settlement of the Town.
RICHARD BERKLEY, 1639.
Atwater and Savage spell the name Beckley. Sergt. Richard Berkley, with others, petitioned for land beyond Solitary Cove in 1645, but their petition was not granted. In 1651 Richard Berkley renewed the application for himself, but the town refused to grant him the land because other men had applied for it. On December 3, 1651, the application was again renewed and it was finally "agreed and ordered that William Andrews, Richard Berkley, Matthias Hitchcock, Edward Patterson and Edward Hitchcock shall have the neck of land by the sea-side, beyond the Cove, and all the meadows belonging to it below the Island with a rock upon it. They are to have the neck entirely to themselves by paying to the Town one penny an acre for 500 acres for every rate, and for their meadows as other men do." This was the settlement at South End. It has been stated that the Rev. Nicholas Street often called it "the garden of his parish." By 1689 these men had sold their lands, so that nearly the whole of South End was owned by James Dennison, John Thompson and Thomas Smith, the latter inherit- ing his through his wife, who was the only child of Edward Patterson. The Thompsons and Smiths have held possession of the land until the passing genera- tion. Richard Berkley moved to Wethersfield in 1668.
JARVIS BOYKIM, 1639.
Jarvis Boykim, a carpenter by trade, who first came to Charlestown with one servant in 1635-6 from Char- rington, in Kent, England, and removed to New Haven with the Davenport company, was one of the signers
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History of East Haven.
of the colony constitution in 1639. He had resided in Charlestown, Massachusetts, some time before coming to New Haven, but no further account is recorded of him.
We now have given all the information available, at the present time of the very early settlers of East Haven, which we will style "Thirty-niners," because they signed the colony constitution at that time. Some others signed in 1639, but did not come to East Haven till a later date than the above mentioned.
On the 7th of March, 1644, the colony constitution was revised and enlarged, and then were added the names of Matthew Rowe and John Tuthill; and in July following, Alling Ball, Edmund Tooly, Thomas Robinson, Sr. and Jr., William Holt, Thomas Barnes, and Edward Hitchcock; and in August, Peter Mal- lory and Nicholas Augur. On the 4th of April, 1654, George Pardee, John Potter, Jr., and in May, Matthew Moulthrop, Jr., were added. February 7, 1657, John Davenport, Jr., Jonathan Tuthill and John Thompson subscribed; May 1, 1660, Nathaniel Boykim and Thomas Tuttle.
MATTHEW ROWE, 1644.
Matthew Rowe's death is the first one recorded of the early settlers. He left two sons, John and Stephen. From them have descended quite a long line. Next to the Brown farm, Matthew Rowe, Jr., had his farm. This Matthew was a grandson of the settler. The lots about Dragon Point between the Davenport and Ferry farms were laid out, but lay dormant several years. The transaction relative to that subject stands thus on record :
-
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Settlement of the Town.
February 13, 1670, "the town by vote granted that those that have land on the east side, about Dragon point, shall have liberty to lay their lots together, and to begin at which end they please. And the townsmen are hereby appointed to settle it with them both in respect to convenient highway, and also how far their lots shall run in length from the river." In 1703 these lots were occupied, and Matthew Rowe, Jr., had his farm there. This may be called the settlement of Fair Haven.
The term Dragon (which will hereafter be called Fair Haven) was so called from a sandy point of that name about forty rods below the bridge, on the eastern side of the river. The tradition is that at the time of the first settlement of New Haven this point was a place of resort for seals, who lay here and basked themselves in the sun. At that early period these animals were called dragons, hence the name Dragon Point.
The Rowe family has always been characterized for its enterprise, activity and intelligence, and has gener- ally led in business matters and mercantile pursuits of the place. One line produced a succession of deacons for several generations.
ALLING BALL, 1644.
In 1649, "It was ordered that Mr. Davenport, pastor of the Church, shall have his meadow, and the upland for his second division, both together on the East side of the East-River, where himself shall choose, with all the conveniency the place can afford for a farme, together with the natural bounds of the place, whether by creeks or otherwise." He accordingly laid out a
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History of East Haven.
tract of land about a mile square and containing about 600 acres above the point. In 1650 Alling Ball became his farmer, and was exempted from military service while he continued in Mr. Davenport's employment. Probably those of the name of Ball descended from this early settler.
WILLIAM HOLT, 1644.
William Holt, born in England in 1610, came to New Haven as early as 1644, where he signed the con- stitution of the colony in that year, but removed to Wallingford about 1675. His death occurred in 1683. His line of descent seems to be John, Joseph, Daniel, who apparently was the first Holt born in East Haven in 1711. Mr. Holt was one of the prominent men of the town and took much interest in public affairs. He died June 11, 1756.
Dan Holt, son of Daniel, born in East Haven in 1744, was a lieutenant in a company that went to the assistance of New York during its occupancy by the British in 1776. He died in 1829. Philemon Holt, son of Daniel, born in 1775, was a very prominent man, of rare business capacity and integrity. He filled all of the various town offices, from time to time, and represented his town in the state legislature four terms. The name is now extinct in East Haven.
THOMAS BARNES, 1644.
Thomas Barnes signed the colony constitution in 1644. He and his brother Daniel settled on the plain south of Muddy river. His son Thomas seems to have been the founder of the Barnes family in North Haven.
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Settlement of the Town.
The name is now nearly, if not quite, extinct on East Haven soil, but all the different branches of the Barnes family trace their origin to Thomas of New Haven, 1644.
PETER MALLORY, 1644.
Peter Mallory signed the plantation covenant in 1644. It is a matter of regret that no record of this family has been found, but it is presumed all the New Haven and Fair Haven families descended from this follower of Rev. Mr. Davenport.
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