USA > Connecticut > New London County > New London > History of New London, Connecticut, From the First Survey of the Coast in 1612 to 1852 > Part 25
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" To Jonathan Hall pr himself and sloop for ye gunns £3.
" To widow Mary Haris for 15 gls rum and 61b sugar when the guns were fetcht, £1. 2s. 10d.
" To John Richards for searching ye gunns" &c.
The same year bounty money was claimed for killing twenty-four wolves-of which number Lieut. James Avery killed nine, and John Morgan five.1 In the accounts of this year we obtain the first inti-
1 Mr. Wetherell notes, July 30th, 1695: "Paid an Indian for killing a wolf this morning up by Mr. Wheeler's four shillings cash."
·
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
259
mation of a town's poor. Various expenses are paid for Mr. Loyden, a name that appears no where else in the town's history, and Capt. Morgan is remunerated for "keeping doctor Marret 14 weekes-7s. pr. weeke."
By act of Assembly, May 13th, 1703, an addition was made to the bounds of New London, of a tract between the north bounds of the town and the southern bounds of Norwich, extending from the north- east boundary line of Lyme to Trading Cove, and by the cove to the Great River.
This included the Indian lands or Mohegan reservation, which had long been claimed by the town, but not legally included in their bounds.
" Patent of New London sanctioned by the Governor and Company, 14. Oct. 1704.
" To all persons to whom these presents shall come,-The Governor and Com- pany of her Majesty's Colony of Connecticut in General Court assembled send greeting :- Whereas we the said Gov" and Compy by virtue of Letters Patent to us granted by his Royal Majy Charles the Second of England &c. king, bearing date the 23d day of April, in the 14th year of his reign, A. D. 1663, have formerly by certain acts and grants passed in Gen. Assembly given and granted to
John Winthrop Esq.
George Geares
Waite Winthrop Esq.
Thomas Bolles
Daniel Wetherell Esq.
Benjamin Shapley
Richard Christophers Esq.
John Edgecombe
Mr. Nehemiah Smith
Jonathan Prentis
Capt. James Morgan
Peter Harris
John Allyn
Samuel Avery
William Douglas Joseph Latham Capt. John Avery David Calkins
Robert Lattimore
Lawrence Codner
John Turrell
Capt. John Prentis
Peter Strickland
Lievt John Hough John Stubbin John Keeney
John Plumbe Samuel Rogers Jun : John Fox
Robert Douglas
Samuel Beebee
John Burrows Samuel Fish
Oliver Manwaring
Thomas Crocker
John Coit George Chappell
Samuel Rogers Sent
Joseph Miner
John Rogers Sen"
John Beckwith
Philip Bill
James Rogers John Lewis Daniel Stubbin
Thomas Starr
John Davie
Richard Dart
John Richards
Stephen Prentis
260
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
James Morgan Jun :
Peter Crary
Charles Hill
Joshua Wheeler
Joshua Hempsted
Richard Williams
Jonas Greene
Richard Morgan
Joseph Truman
Abel More
Thomas Way
Adam Picket
Jeremiah Chapman
James Avery
Thomas Bayley
John Daniels
Daniel Comstock
Christopher Darrow
Joshua Baker
Andrew Lester
John Wickwire
John Chapel
Benjamin Atwell
Daniel Lester
Thomas Williams Samuel Waller
Samuel Rogers (Joseph's son)
with divers other persons and to their Heirs or Assigns or such as shall legally succeed or represent them, or either of them forever, a just and legal propriety in a certain tract of land now commonly called and known by the name of New London, lying and being within the Colony aforesaid, to us by the said Letters Patent granted to be disposed of as in the said Letters Patent is direct- ed, and bounded as hereafter followeth, and the said John Winthrop, Waite Winthrop, &c .- [here the names are all repeated]-with such other persons as are at this present time by virtue of the aforesaid acts and grants proprietors of the said tract of land, having made application to us for a more ample con- firmation of their propriety in the said tract of land which they are now in pos- session of, by a good and sufficient instrument signed and sealed with the seal of this Corporation, therefore Know Ye, that the said Govr and Compy in Gen1 Court assembled, by virtue of the aforesaid Letters Patent and for divers good causes and considerations pursuant to the end of said Letters Pattent, us hereunto moving, Have given, granted and confirmed and by these presents do further fully, clearly and amply, give grant and confirm to the aforesaid John Winthrop Esq. Waite Winthrop Esq. Daniel Wetherell Esq. Richard Christo- phers Esq. Mr. Nehemiah Smith, Capt. James Morgan, with all the other above named persons, and all other persons at this present time proprietors with them of the said tract of land, now being in their full and peaceable possession and seisin, and to their Heirs and Assigns or such as shall legally succeed or represent them or either of them forever, the aforesaid tract of land commonly called and known by the name of New London, lying in the colony afore- said, and bounded as followeth-that is to say,-on the West by a ditch and two heaps of stones on the west side of Nayhantick Bay, on the land formerly called The Soldier's Farm, about 40 rods eastward of the house of Mr. Thomas Bradford, and from thence North by a line that goes three rods to ye west of ye falls in Nayhantick river and from thence North to a black oak tree 8 miles from the ditch aforesaid, which tree hath a heap of stones about it, and is marked on the west side WE, and on ye east side IP, being an antient bound mark between New London and Lyme, and from that tree East half a mile and 16 rods to a black oak tree with a heap of stones about it, marked with the let- ter L and from thence north to the northeast corner of the bounds of the town of Lyme and from the said .N. E. corner bounds of Lyme upon a straight line
261
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
to the Southwest corner of the south bounds of the town of Norwich :- On ye North by the south bounds of the aforesaid Norwich, as the said bounds are Stated from the aforesaid S. W corner down to a Cove commonly called Trad- ing Cove, and from thence by the sd Cove to ye Great River, commonly called New London river and from the place where ye said Cove joins to the said river by a line crossing the river obliquely eastward to the mouth of a Cove commonly called Paukatannuk Cove, and from thence by the said Paukatan- nuk to the head thereof, and from thence upon a direct line to an oak tree marked and standing near the dwelling house of Thomas Rose, which tree is ye S. E. corner of the bounds of ye aforesaid Norwich, and from thence by an East line to the bounds of the town of Stonington, which line divides betwixt New London and Preston .- On the east by a line which runneth south from the place where the above mentioned north bounds of New London aforesaid meets with the said bounds of Stonington till it comes to the place where the Pond by Lanthorn Hill empties itself into the Brook, and from thence by ye main stream of sd brook till it falls into ye river called Mistick River and from thence by ye said Mistick River till it falls into the Sea or Sound to ye north of Fisher's Island :- On the South by the Sea or Sound from the mouth of the aforesaid Mistick River to the west side of Nayhantick Bay to the aforesaid ditch and two heaps of stones about it .- Together with all and singular the Messuages, Tenements, meadowes, pastures, commons, woods, underwoods, waters, fishings, small islands or islets, and hereditaments whatsoever, being parcel belonging or anyways appertaining to the tract aforesaid, and do hereby grant and confirm to the said Proprietors, their Heirs, or Assigns, or such as shall legally succeed or represent them, his or their several particular respective proprieties in ye said premises given and confirmed according to such allot- ments or divisions as they the said present Proprietors have already made, or shall hereafter make of the same-
" To have and to hold the said tract of land with the premises aforesaid, to them the said John Winthrop Esq, Waite Winthrop Esq, Daniel Witherell Esq, Richard Christophers Esq, Mr. Nehemiah Smith, Capt. James Morgan, and all ye rest of the above mentioned persons, and all other the present Pro- prietors of ye said tract and premises, their Heirs or Assigns, or such as shall legally succeed and represent them forever, as a good, sure, right, full, perfect, absolute and lawful estate in fee simple, and according to ye aforesaid Letters Patent after the most free tenor of her Majestys Manor of East-Greenwich in the County of Kent,-
" To the sole, only and proper use and behoof of the said John Winthrop Esq, with all the above named persons and all others the present Proprietors of said tract and premises, their Heirs and Assigns, or such as shall legally succeed and represent them forever, as a good, sure, rightful estate in manner as afore- said,-Reserving only to hier present Majesty, our sovereign Lady Ann of Eng- land &c. Queen, and her successors forever one fifth part of all gold or silver mines or ore that hath been or shall be found within the premises so granted and confirmed.
"Always provided that whatsoever land within the aforesaid tract which for- merly did and now doth belong unto, and is the just and proper right of Uncas late Sachem of Mohegan, or Owaneco his son or any other Indian Sachem whatsoever, and hath not yet been lawfully purchased of the said Sachems, or
262
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
acquired by the English, doth and shall still remain ye right and property of ye said Indian Sachems or their Heirs, and shall not be entered upon, or im- proved, or claimed as property by the aforesaid persons to whom the said tract is hereby confirmed, or any of them by virtue of this instrument, nor shall any- thing herein contained be at any time deemed, taken or constructed to the preju- dice of any of the said Sachems or their Heirs right to the said land within the said tract aforesaid which hath not yet been sold or alienated by them, but their said right shall be and remain good and free to them to all intents and purposes in the Law, and the said land which they have right in aforesaid shall be and remain as free for their own proper occupation and improvement as if it had not been included in the bounds of the aforesaid New London, as specified in this instrument-
" And further, we the said Gov" and Compy ye aforesaid tract of land and premises and every part and parcel thereof hereby granted and confirmed to the said John Winthrop, Waite Winthrop, Daniel Wetherell &c .- [here all the names are again repeated]-and the rest of the present proprietors thereof, their Heirs and Assigns, or such as shall legally succeed and represent them to their own proper use and uses in the manner and under the limitation above ex- pressed against us and all and every other person or persons lawfully claiming by, from or under us, shall and will warrant and forever defend by these presents --
" In witness whereof we have ordered the present instrument to be signed by the Deputy Gov" of this Corporation and by ye Secretary of the same as also that the seal of this Corporation be affixed hereunto this 14th day of October in ye third year of her Majs Reign A. D. 1704.
" ELEAZER KIMBERLY Secy "
" ROBERT TREAT Dep. Gov".
Though only seventy-seven names are registered in the patent, the whole number of full-grown men having a right in the town was perhaps at that time one hundred and sixty or one hundred and seventy. A man might have three or four sons of mature age, yet generally in the patent, only the father, or the father and eldest son were mentioned. Other names were also omitted which ought to have been enrolled, and which were added to the list of patentees afterward. These were Lieut. John Beeby, Thomas, son of Sergt. Thomas Beeby, Samuel Fox, Samuel Chapman, William Gibson, Nicholas and Amos Hallam, Sampson Haughton, Jonathan Haynes, William Hatch, Alexander Pygan, Joshua Raymond and Hon. Gur- don Saltonstall.
" 13 Decr 1703.
" Voted, that the Town Patent, be forthwith drawn upon parchment and that all the freeliolders of this town who are desirous to have their names en- tered therein, shall bring them to the Moderator within a month."
This vote was never carried into effect.
263
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
The commons of the town were a source of great agitation and discord. The inhabitants could not agree upon a principle according to which they should be divided. One party would have had them distributed equally to the whole body of voters; another, with Gov- ernor Saltonstall at the head, was for restricting them to proprietors. The contention was protracted and acrimonious.
In 1724, the proprietors were regularly enrolled, and henceforward held their meetings distinct from the freeholders. Divisions of land were limited to patentees, and no person was a patentee, who was not a lawful proprietor before the date of the patent, May 10th, 1703.
The whole commonage was arranged in three great divisions :
1. The inner or grass commons, in and near the town.
2. The middle or wood commons.
3. Outside commons ; included in the north parish, and divided from the town by " a line running from New London N. W. corner tree, to white rock in Mohegan River."
The first meeting of the proprietors was held Jan. 21st, 1723-4; John Richards clerk, who held the office till near the period of his death in 1765. No meeting is entered on record between April 15th, 1740, and March 5th, 1762. Later than this they occurred generally at intervals of four or five years.
It has been heretofore observed, that the river border of the town, in the line of Water and Bank Streets, had been left unappropria- ted-a common belonging to the town. On the bank a few lots were sold in 1714, but afterward resumed, and the whole, with reser- vations here and there of a common way to the water, were disposed of between 1722 and 1724. Each lot was about three rods in breadth upon the water, and the average price £3. The proceeds of the sales were appropriated to the building of a house for town meet- ings and the accommodation of the courts.
This court-house, the first in the eastern part of Connecticut, stood at the south-east corner of the meeting-house square, or green, front- ing west. It was raised April 20th, 1724. The length was forty- eight feet ; half as wide, and twenty feet between joints : the builder John Hough ; the cost £48. When finished, the arms and ammu- nition of the town were lodged in the garret, and " Solomon Coit was chosen to keep the town magazine gratis." This house, with repairs, continued in use till 1767.
264
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
New Inhabitants that appear between 1670 and 1700.
[The exact period of settlement can not always be obtained ; many of the dates are merely an approximation to the time of arrival. By the phrase east of the river, the present towns of Groton and Ledyard are indicated ; by the North Parish, Montville; and by Nahantick, Jordan and Great Neck, Water- ford.]
Ames, John and David ; probably brothers, and it is conjectured from Ando- ver, Mass .- settled east of the river about 1696. The name is often written Eams and Emms.
Ashby, Anthony ; at Mystic 1688, and perhaps earlier.
Baker, Joshua ; from Boston, not long after 1670.
Blake, Jeremiah ; bought land in July, 1681-on the list of 1638, &c.
Bodington, or Buddington, Walter ; east of the river in 1679.
Brookes, Henry ; living at Nahantick in 1699.
Bucknall or Buckland, Samuel ; cattle-mark recorded in 1674. He married, (1) the widow of Matthew Beckwith, Sen .; (2) the widow of Philip Bill, Sen.
Bulkley, Dr. Charles; son of Rev. Gershom-licensed by the Co. Court to practice physic, and settled in the town 1687.
Butler, Thomas and John ; before 1690, and perhaps much earlier.
Button, Peter ; in the North Parish, probably before 1700.
Camp, William ; in the Jordan District, before 1690.
Cannon, Robert ; accepted as an inhabitant in town meeting, 1678.
Carder, Richard ; east of the river, about 1700.
Carpenter, David ; at Nahantick ferry, 1680.
Chandler, John; licensed to keep a house of entertainment, 1698.
Cherry, John ; a transient inhabitant about 1680.
Crary, Peter ; east of the river ; cattle-mark is recorded in 1680.
Darrow, George; between 1675 and 1680.
Davis, Andrew ; east of the river about 1680.
Davie, John ; bought farm at Pequonuck, (Groton,) 1692.
Denison, George; son of John of Stonington ; of New London, 1694.
Dennis, George; from Long Island, about 1680.
Dodge, Israel; on a farm in the North Parish, 1694.
Ellis, Christopher ; admitted inhabitant 1682.
Edgecombe, John ; about 1673.
Fargo, Moses; house lot granted 1680.
Fountain, Aaron ; son-in-law of Samuel Beeby. His house on the Great Neck is mentioned in 1683.
Foote, Pasco; 1678-son-in-law of Edward Stallion.
Fosdick, Samuel ; from Charlestown, Mass., 1680.
Fox, two brothers, Samuel and John, about 1675.
Gibson, Roger, and his son William ; living on the Great Neck in 1680.
Gilbert, Samuel, in North Parish ; on a list subscribing for the ministry of New London, in 1688.
Green, Jonas ; probably of the Cambridge family of Greens-commanded a coasting vessel, and fixed liis residence in New London, in 1694, lived on Mill Cove, in a house sold by his descendants to John Colfax.
Hackley, Peter ; erected a fulling-mill at Jordan, 1694.
265
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
Hall, Jonathan ; in 1676 or 1677, he exchanged his accommodations in New Haven, for those of John Stevens in New London.
Halsey, William ; 1689.
Harvey, John ; at Nahantick, 1682.
Hatch, William; about 1690.
Hawke, or Hawkes, John ; a serge-maker, 1698.
Haynes, Josiah ; at Pequonuck, (Groton,) 1696.
Holloway, Jacob ; about 1700.
Holmes, Thomas; he had wife, Lucretia. Their son John was born March 11th, 1686.
Holt, Nathaniel ; 1673.
Hubbard, Hugh; about 1670; from Derbyshire, Eng.
Hubbell, Ebenezer; from Stratfield, Fairfield Co., after 1690.
Hurlbut, Stephen ; about 1695, probably from Windsor.
Hutchinson, George; about 1680. His wife Margaret, obtained a divorce from him in 1686, on the plea of three years' absence and desertion.
Jennings, Richard ; from Barbadoes, 1677.
Johnson, Thomas and Charles ; before 1690.
Jones, Thomas ; 1677, probably from Gloucester, Mass.
Leach, or Leech, Thomas ; about 1680.
Leeds, John ; from Kent Co., Eng., 1674.
Loomer, Stephen ; 1687.
Mayhew, John ; from Devonshire, Eng., 1676.
Maynard, Zachariah ; " formerly living at Marlborough ;" settled east of the river, beyond Robert Allyn, 1697.
McCarty, Owen ; 1693.
Minter, Tobias ; son of Ezer, of Newfoundland, married 1672, died 1673.
Minter, Tristram ; his relict in 1674 married Joshua Baker.
Mitchel, or Mighill, Thomas; a ship-wright, had his building-yard in 1696, near the Fort land.
Mortimer, Thomas ; often Maltimore; a constable in 1680.
Munsell, or Munson, Thomas ; on the Great Neck, 1683.
Mynard, or Maynard, William ; about 1690, from Hampshire, Eng. Nest, Joseph ; 1678.
Pember, Thomas ; 1686.
Pemberton, Joseph ; from Westerly, after 1680.
Pendall, William; mariner and ship-wright, 1676.
Persey, Robert ; a transient inhabitant ; bought a house 1678, sold it 1679. Plimpton, Robert ; 1681.
Plumbe, John ; before 1680.
Potts, William ; from Newcastle, Eng., 1678; married a daughter of James Avery ; was constable east of the river 1684.
Rice, Gershom; east of the river, before 1700.
Rose-Morgan, Richard ; 1683.
Russell, Daniel, 1675. Satterly, Benedict ; after 1680.
Seabury, John; east of the river before 1700.
Scarritt, Richard, 1695.
Singleton, Richard; east of the river ; cattle-mark recorded 1686.
23
266
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
Springer, Dennis ; land granted him east of the river in 1696.
Steer, Richard ; 1690.
Strickland, Peter ; probably about 1670.
Swaddel, William; east of the river ; cattle-mark 1689.
Thorne, William ; from Dorsetshire, Eng. He married in 1676, Lydia, relict of Thomas Bayley. East of the river.
Turner, Ezekiel ; son of John, of Situate, 1678.
Walker, Richard ; 1695.
Walworth, William; east of the river, about 1690.
Way, Thomas ; about 1687.
Weeks, John ; east of the river before 1700 ; probably from Portsmouth, N. H. Wickwire, John ; 1676.
Willett, James; accepted inhabitant, 1681. He was from Swanzea, and bought the farm of Wm. Meades, east of the river.
Willett, John ; 1682.
Williams, Thomas; 1670.
Williams, John; east of the river ; his name is on the ministry subscription list of 1688.
Willoughby, William ; about 1697.
Young, Thomas ; from Southold, 1693, married Mary, relict of Peter Brad- ley, 2d.
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CHAPTER XIX.
OBITUARIES OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
TAKING our position on the high ground at the beginning of a new century, let us pause and review the band of early settlers, who sit- ting down among these barren rocks, erected these buildings, planted these gardens, manned these decks, and from Sabbath to Sabbath led their children up these winding paths to worship God in that single church-that decent and comely building, plain in appearance, but beautified by praise, which sate on the hill-top, side by side with the lowly mansions of the dead. From those silent chambers let us evoke the shades of the fathers, and record some few fragments of their history, not irrecoverably buried with them in the darkness of oblivion.
There is an interest lingering about these early dead which belongs to no later race. The minutest details seem vivid and important. A death in that small community was a great event. The magis- trate, the minister, and the fathers of the town, came to the bed of the dying to witness his testament and gather up his last words. It was soon known to every individual of the plantation that one of their number had been cut down. All were eager once more to gaze upon the face they had known so well; they flocked to the funeral; the near neighbors and coevals of the dead bore him on their shoulders to the grave; the whole community with solemn step and downcast eyes, followed him to his long home.
Riding at funerals was not then in vogue; and a hearse was un- known. A horse litter may in some cases have been used; but the usual mode of carrying the dead was on a shoulder bier. In this way persons were sometimes brought into town for interment even from a distance of five or six miles. Frequent rests or halts were made, and the bearers often changed. These funeral customs con- tinued down to the period of the Revolution.
268
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
Our ancestors do not often appear to us in all the homeliness of their true portraiture. Imagination colors the truth, and we over- look the simplicity of their attire and the poverty of their accommo- dations. Estates before 1700 were small; conveniences few, and the stock of furniture and garments extremely limited. Many of the large estates of modern times have been built up from very small beginnings.
Each man was in a great measure his own mechanic and artisan, and he wrought with imperfect tools. Most of these toools were made of Taunton iron ; a coarse bog ore, which could produce only a dull edge, and was easily broken. The value of iron may be in- ferred from the fact that old iron was of sufficient importance to be estimated among movables. In the early inventories very few chairs are mentioned. Stools, benches and forms, took their place; joint- stools came next, and still later, many families were provided with the high-backed settle, a cumbersome piece of furniture, but of great com- fort in a farmer's kitchen. A broad box-like cupboard, with shelves above, where the pewter was arranged, and called the dresser, was another appendage of the kitchen. The houses were cheaply, rudely built, with many apertures for the entrance of wind and frost ; the outside door frequently opening directly into the family room, where the fire-place was wide enough to admit an eight feet log, and had a draught almost equal to a constant bellows. The most finished tim- bers in the house, even those that protruded as sills and cross-beams in the best rooms, were hatchet-hacked, and the wainscoting unplaned.
One of the first objects with every thrifty householder, was to get apple-trees in growth. Most of the homesteads consisted of a house, garden and orchard. Cider was the most common beverage of the country. Some beer was drank. They had no tea nor coffee, and at first very little sugar or molasses. When the trade with Barba- does commenced, which was about 1660, sugar and molasses became common. The latter was often distilled after importation. Broth, porridge, hasty-pudding, johnny-cake and samp, were articles of daily consumption. They had no potatoes, but beans and pumpkins in great abundance.
Of the first-comers, 1650 or before, John Stebbins, George Chap- pel, Thomas Parke, Thomas Roach, and three of the Beeby broth- ers, lived into the eighteenth century : Thomas Beeby, the other brother, died but a short time previous. John Gager was living, but in another settlement. Alexander Pygan, Oliver Manwaring, and some others who had settled in the town before 1660, were yet upon
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON. 269
the stage of life. The deaths that strew the way, are thinly scattered, showing that life and health were here as secure from disease, except- ing only one or two seasons of epidemic sickness, as in the most favored portions of New England.
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