USA > Connecticut > New London County > New London > History of New London, Connecticut, From the First Survey of the Coast in 1612 to 1852 > Part 26
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Jarvis Mudge and Thomas Doxey.
Mention has already been made of the decease of these two per- sons in the year 1652, the first deaths in the plantation. Jarvis Mudge had married at Wethersfield, in 1649, the relict of Abraham Elsing. . His wife had two daughters by her former husband, and Mr. Mudge left two sons, Moses and Micah ; but of ages unknown, and it cannot therefore be decided whether they were the children of this or some former wife. Moses Mudge, in 1696, was of Sharon, and Micah, in 1698, of Lebanon. Thomas Doxey left a son Thomas, who in 1673, sold some estate that had belonged to his father, "with consent of my mother, Katherine, wife of Daniel Lane." No other child is mentioned. The removal of Daniel Lane, after a few years, to Long Island, carried the whole family from New London.
Walter Harris, died November 6th, 1654.
A vessel called the William and Francis, came to America in 1632, bringing among its passengers, Walter Harris,1 who settled in Weymouth, where he remained about twenty years, and then came to Pequot Harbor. On his first application for a house-lot, he is styled of Dorchester, which makes it probable that his last temporary abiding place had been in that town. He had two sons, Gabriel and Thomas. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Fry,2 survived him less than three months ; one inventory and settlement of estate sufficed for both.
The nuncupative will of Mrs. Harris will be given at large, omit- ting only the customary formula at the commencement. It is one of the oldest wills extant in the county, and is rich in allusions to cos- tume and furniture. From a clause in this will it may be inferred that Thomas Harris had been betrothed to Rebecca, daughter of Obadiah Bruen. This young man, according to tradition, had been sent to England to recover some property that had fallen to the fam-
1 Savage, (MS.)
2 See will of William Fry, in Hist. and Gen. Reg., vol. 2, p. 385.
23*
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
ily, and was supposed to have been lost at sea, as he was never heard of afterward.
" The last Will and Testament of Mary Harries, taken from her owne mouth this 19th of Jan., 1655.
" I give to my eldest daughter, Sarah Lane, the bigest brass pan, and to her daughter Mary, a silver spoone. And to her daughter Sarah, the bigest pewter dish and one silken riben. Likewise I give to her daughter Mary, a pewter candlesticke.
" I give to my daughter, Mary Lawrence, my blew mohere peticote and my straw hatt and a fether boulster. And to her eldest sonne I give a silver spoone. To her second sonne a silver whissle. I give more to my daughter Mary, my next brasst pann and a thrum cushion. And to her yongest sonne I give a pewter bassen.
" I give to my yongest daughter, Elizabeth Weekes, a peece of red broad cloth, being about two yards, alsoe a damask livery cloth, a gold ring, a silver spoone, a fether bed and a boulster. Alsoe, I give to my daughter Elizabeth, my best hatt, my gowne, a brass kettle, and a woolen jacket for her husband. Alsoe, I give to my daughter Elizabeth, thirty shillings, alsoe a red whittle,1 a white apron and a new white neck-cloth. Alsoe, I give to my three daughters aforesaid, a quarter part to each of them, of the dyaper table cloth and tenn shillings apeece.
" I give to my sister Migges, a red peticoat, a cloth jacket, a silke hud, a quoife,2 a cross-cloth, and a neck-cloth.
"I give to my cosen Calib Rawlyns ten shillinges.
" I give to my two cosens, Mary and Elizabeth ffry, each of them five shil- linges.
" I give to Mary Barnet a red stuff wascote.
" I give to my daughter, Elizabeth, my great chiest. To my daughter, Mary, a ciffer3 and a white neck-cloth. To my sister, Hannah Rawlin, my best cross cloth. To my brother, Rawlin, a lased band. To my two kinswomen, Elizabeth Hubbard and Mary Steevens, five shillinges a peece.
" I give to my brother, Migges, his three youngest children, two shillinges sixe pence a peece.
" I give to my sonne Thomas, ten shillinges, if he doe come home or be alive.
" I give to Rebekah Bruen, a pynt pott of pewter, a new petticoate and was- cote wch she is to spin herselfe ; alsoe an old byble, and a hatt wch was my sonn Thomas his hatt.
" I give to my sonne Gabriell, my house, land, cattle and swine, with all other goodes reall and psonall in Pequet or any other place, and doe make him my sole executor to this my will. Witness my hand,
" Witness hearunto,
" John Winthrop,
" Obadiah Bruen,
" Willm Nyccolls."4
The mark of @ MARY HARRIES.
1 A kind of short cloak. 2 A cap.
3 Some kind of cap or head-dress. Quoif and ciffer are from the French coiffe and coiffure.
4 New London Records, lib. 3.
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
The Harris family ranked in point of comfort and accommoda- tions with the well-to-do portion of the community. They had a bet- ter supply of pewter than is found in many early inventories, and such articles of convenience as a gridiron, chopping-knife, brewing tub, smoothing-iron, "four silver spoons and two cushions." The house consisted of a front-room, lean-to, shop-room and two chambers.
Gabriel Harris died in 1684; Elizabeth, his relict, August 17th, 1702.
The inventory of Gabriel Harris, compared with that of his father, illustrates the rapid march of improvement in the plantation. The homestead, consisting of a new house, orchard, cider-mill and smith's shop, valued together at £200, was assigned to Thomas, the eldest son, for his double portion. The inheritance of the other children, six in number, was £100 each. Among the wearing apparel are:
" A broad-cloth coat with red lining.
" Two Castors, [beaver hats.]
"A white serge coat : a Kersey coat.
" A serge coat and doublet : a wash-leather doublet.
" Two red wescotes- a stuff coat and breeches.
" Four looms and tackling : a silk loom.
" An Indian maid-servant, valued at £15.
" Three Canoes," &c.
Thomas Harris, oldest son of Gabriel, died in Barbadoes, June 9th, 1691, leaving an estate estimated at £927. His relict, Mary, (a daughter of Daniel Wetherell,) married George Denison, grandson of George the first, of Stonington. His only child, Mary, born Nov. 4th, 1690, was regarded as the richest heiress in the settlement. About 1712, she became the wife of Walter Butler.
Peter Collins, died in May or June, 1655.
He is generally styled Mr. Collins. His will and inventory are almost all that is known of him. Apparently he had no family and lived alone. He distributes his effects, appraised at £57, among his neighbors and friends ; the house and land to Richard Poole. The simplicity of the age is shown in the small number of articles with which he accomplished his house-keeping: a bed and one pillow ; a blanket, a sheet and a green coverlet; one chair, three forms, two barrels, three brass kettles, one iron pot, one frying-pan, a butter-tub and a quart pot. These were all the accommodations sufficiently important to be noticed, of a man who seems to have been respected
.
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
and respectable,-who had house and lands and three cows ; a val- uable article at that period-with some other stock. The milk-keel- ers, trenchers, and wooden spoons, whittled out, or bought of Indians, were probably considered of too little value to be appraised.
Robert Isbell, died about 1655.
He may have been the Robert Isabell who had land granted him in Salem 1637.' He left, relict Ann, (who married William Nich- olls,) and two children Eleazar and Hannah. Eleazar married Nov. 1st, 1668, Elizabeth French and removed to Killingworth, where he died, 1677.
Hannah Isbell married first Thomas Stedman, August 6th, 1668, and second John Fox, both of New London.
Robert Hempstead, died in June, 1655.
The following memorandum is appended to his will :
" The ages of my 3 children.
Mary Hempsted was borne March 26th, 1647.
Joshua Hempsted my sonne was borne June 16, 1649.
Hannah Hempsted was borne April 11, 1652.
This I Robert Hempsted testifie under my hand."
The name of Robert Hempstead has not been traced in New Eng- land previous to its appearance on our records. It is probable that when he came to Pequot with Winthrop in 1645, he had recently arrived in the country and was a young, unmarried man. A report has obtained currency that he was a knight and entitled to the ad- dress of Sir. This idea is not countenanced by anything that ap- pears on record. It originated probably from the rude handwriting of the recorder, in which an unskillful reader might easily mistake the title of Mr. for that of Sir.
In regard to Mary Hempstead, the first-born of New London, we may allow fancy, so long as she does not falsify history, to fill up the brief outline that we find on record, with warm and vivid pictures. We may call her the first fair flower that sprang out of the dreary wilderness ; the blessed token that families would be multiplied on these desolate shores, and homes made cheerful and happy with the presence of' children. We may think of her as beautiful and good ;
1 Felt's History of Salem, p. 169.
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'HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
pure like the lily ; fresh and blooming like the rose : yet not a crea- ture of romance, too etherial for earthly fellowship, floating a few years through bower and hall, and then exhaled to Eden-but a noble-hearted, much-enduring woman; prudent, cheerful and reli- gious ; working diligently with her hands, living to a goodly age, and rearing to maturity a family of ten children, two sons and eight daughters, an apt and beautiful symbol for the young country.
Mary Hempstead was united in marriage with Robert Douglas, Sept. 28th, 1665. She had eleven children, one of whom died in infancy. Having lived to see the other ten all settled in families of their own, she fell asleep, December 26th, 1711. Her husband was gathered by her side January 15th, 1715-6.
. Hannah Hempstead married first, Abel Moore, and second, Sam- uel Waller. Joanna, the relict of Robert Hempstead, married An- drew Lester. Joshua, the only son of Robert Hempstead, married Elizabeth, daughter of Greenfield Larrabee. This couple had a family of eight daughters and an only son, Joshua, who was born Sept. 1st, 1678, and with him the male line of the family again com- mences. This person-Joshua Hempstead, 2d-took an active part in the affairs of the town for a period of fifty years, reckoning from 1708. The "Hempstead Diary," repeatedly quoted in this history, was a private journal kept by him, from the year 1711 to his death in 1758. A portion of the manuscript has been lost, but the larger part is still preserved. Its contents are chiefly of a personal and domestic character, but it contains brief notices of town affairs and references to the public transactions of the country.
Its author was a remarkable man-one that might serve to repre- sent, or at least illustrate, the age, country and society in which he lived. The diversity of his occupations marks a custom of the day : he was at once farmer, surveyor, house and ship carpenter, attorney, stone-cutter, sailor and trader. He generally held three or four town offices ; was justice of the peace, judge of probate, executor of vari- ous wills, overseer to widows, guardian to orphans, member of all committees, every body's helper and adviser, and cousin to half of the community. Of the Winthrop family he was a friend and con- fidential agent, managing their business concerns whenever the head of the family was absent.
The original homestead of Robert Hempstead remains in the pos- session of one branch of his descendants. The house now standing on the spot, is undoubtedly the most ancient building in New London. It is nevertheless a house of the second generation from the settle-
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
ment. The first houses, rude and hastily built, passed away with the first generation. The age of the Hempstead house is determined by the Hempstead diary. The writer occupied the dwelling, and writ- ing in 1743, says it had been built sixty-five years.
Other items from the diary that may be interesting in this con- nection are the following.
" April 26, 1729 my aunt Waller died, aged 77, youngest daughter of my grand-father Hempstead and born near this house, in the old one built by my grandfather."
" Mary, wife of Robert Douglas was my father's eldest sister and born in New London in Jan: 1646-7,-the first child of English parents born in this town." (Mistake in the month, compared with the date in her father's will.)
21 Jan: 1738-9-Cut down one half of the great yellow apple tree, east from the house, which was planted by my grandfather 90 years agone.
William Roberts, died in April or May, 1657.
Little is known of him. He had been in the service of Mr. Stan- ton and had settled but recently in Pequot. He lived alone ; in half a house owned in partnership with George Harwood, to whose wife and son he left his whole property, which was valued at only £26. A bear-skin and a chest are mentioned in the inventory, but no bed, table or chair. He had two cows and some other stock, plenty of land, decent apparel, a razor, a pewter porringer, three spoons and a glass bottle; but nothing else except tubs, trays, bags, and Indian baskets. This may be regarded as the inventory of a hermit of the woods-a settler of the simplest class, who had built a lodge in the thicket, on the outskirts of the plantation. .
William Bartlett, died in 1658.
This person is sometimes called a ship-wright ; and again a sea- man. He was a lame man, engaged in the boating trade along the coast of the Sound. A deed is recorded, executed by him in March, 1658, but he soon after appears to us for the last time at Southold, L. I., in company with George Tongue, William Cooley, and his brother Rob- ert Bartlett. He there traded with a Dutchman named Sanders Len- nison, of whom he purchased a quantity of rum, in value £7, 10s., and paid for it in " wompum and inions." In 1664 Lennison brought an action against Bartlett's estate for this sum, affirming that it had never been paid. From the depositions in this case and other cir- cumstances, it is inferred that Bartlett died on the voyage, or soon
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
after reaching home. The date is not mentioned. He had probably no children, as his property passed into the hands of his widow and his brother Robert. In 1664 the former assigns all her interest in the estate to the latter in consideration of a " maintenance for six years past by his industrious care," and his engagement to provide for her future wants.1 This intimates that she had been a widow during that time.
John Coit, died August 29th, 1659.
Mrs. Mary Coit died Jan. 2d, 1676, aged eighty. This may be regarded as almost a solitary instance of protracted widowhood for that day-our ancestors, at whatever age bereaved, having been much addicted to second and even third and fourth marriages. If the age of Mr. Coit equaled that of his wife, they were more advanced in years than most of the early settlers of the town; a couple-to be ranked with Jonathan Brewster and wife and Walter Harris and wife-for whose birth we look back into the shadow of the six- teenth century. The will of John Coit (Aug. 1st, 1659) provides for his son Joseph and two daughters, Mary and Martha ; but he re- fers to four other children, two sons and two daughters absent from him, and leaves them a trifling legacy "in case they be living."
Of these four absent children, the only one that has been identified is John Coit the younger, who came to the plantation with his father in 1651 and had a house-lot laid out to him, but soon returned to Gloucester, where he fixed his residence. The other three children had perhaps been left in England. The two young daughters at New London, married John Stevens and Hugh Mould. Joseph, the youngest son of John Coit, is the ancestor of all the Connecticut stock of Coits, and perhaps of all who bear the name in the United States.2 He married (July 13th, 1667) Martha, daughter of Wil- liam Harris, of Windsor or Wethersfield-was chosen deacon of the church about 1680, and died March 27th, 1704.3 Joseph the second son of Joseph and Martha Coit, was the first native of New London
1 In the above instrument she is called Susan Bartlett, but elsewhere Sarah. Her age, given in 1662, was seventy.
2 An emigrant from New London planted the name in Saco, Maine, before the Revo- lution; others have since carried it to New York and the Western States.
3 Neither the date of his birth, nor his age at the time of his decease, has been as- certained.
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
that received a collegiate education. His name is on the first list of graduates of the seminary founded at Saybrook, which was the germ that expanded into Yale College ; he took also a degree at Harvard University in 1704. Plainfield honors him as her first minister ; and . his descendants are supposed to be more numerous than any other branch of the family.
Jonathan Brewster, died in 1661.1
No probate papers relating to his estate have been found ; but bills of sale are recorded, dated in 1658, conveying all his property in the town plot, and his house and land at Poquetannuck,2 with his mov- ables, cattle and swine-" to wit 4 oxen, 12 cows, 8 yearlings and 20 swine," to his son, Benjamin Brewster, and his son-in-law John Picket. Feb. 14th, 1661-2, Mr. Picket relinquishes his interest in the assignment to his brother-in-law, stipulating only
"That my mother-in-law, Mrs. Brewster, the late wife of my father Mr. Jonathan Brewster, shall have a full and competent means out of his estate during her life, from the said B. B. at her own dispose freely and fully to com- mand at her own pleasure."
The same trustees, Brewster and Picket, also conveyed certain lands to their sisters Grace and Hannah, but in the settlement of the estate, no allusion is made to other children.
Mrs. Lucretia Brewster, the wife of Jonathan, was evidently a woman of note and respectability among her compeers. She has always the prefix of honor (Mrs. or Mistress) and is usually present- ed to view in some useful capacity-an attendant upon the sick and dying as nurse, doctress, or midwife-or a witness to wills and other important transactions. She was one of the first band of pilgrims that arrived at Plymouth in the Mayflower, December, 1620, being a member of the family of her father-in-law, elder William Brewster, and having one child, William, with her.3 Her husband came over in the Fortune, which arrived Nov. 10th, 1621.4
1 He was living in March, 1660-1. See Col. Rec., vol. 1, p. 362.
2 The orthography of this name is variable; that used in the text is perhaps the most prevalent, but Pocketannuck is nearest the pronunciation."
3 Shurtleff's list in Hist. and Gen. Reg., vol. 1, p. 50.
4 Davis on Morton's Memorial p. 378.
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
Jonathan Brewster settled first in Duxbury and was several times representative from that place. Subsequently he engaged in the coasting trade, and was master and probably owner of a small vessel plying from Plymouth along the coast to Virginia. In this way he became acquainted with Pequot Harbor, and entered the river to trade with the natives. In the spring of 1649 we find him over- whelmed with pecuniary disasters. Mr. Williams of Providence gives this notice of his misfortunes to Mr. Winthrop :
" Sir (though Mr. Brewster write me not word of it) yet in private I am bold to tell you that I hear it hath pleased God greatly to afflict him in the thorns of this life : He was intended for Virginia, his creditors in the Bay came to Ports- mouth and unhung his rudder, carried him to the Bay where he was forced to make over house, land, cattle, and part with all to his chest. Oh how sweet is a dry morsel and an handful, with quietness from earth and Heaven."1
At the time of this misfortune, Mr. Brewster was purposing a change of residence and probably removed to Mr. Winthrop's planta- tion as soon as he could arrange his affairs with his creditors. He was " Clarke of the Towne of Pequitt" in Sept., 1649. Part of his family came with him; but several children remained behind. He had two sons, William and Jonathan, on the military roll in Dux- bury, in 1643 ; the latter only sixteen years of age.2 William was in the Narragansett war of 1645, after which his name is not found on the old colony records.3 Jonathan disappears from Duxbury about 1649, and it may be assumed that these two sons died without issue. Two daughters are traced in the old colony-Lucretia mentioned at the early date of 1627,4 and Mary, who married John Turner of Situate.
At New London we find one son and four daughters.
Benjamin, married, 1659, Anna Dart, and settled at Brewster's Neck, on the farm of his father.
Elizabeth, married, first, Peter Bradley, and second, Christopher Christo- phers. She was aged forty-two in 1680.
Ruth, married John Picket, probably about 1652.
Grace, married, August 4th, 1659, Daniel Wetherell.
Hannah, married, Dec. 25th, 1664, Samuel Starr. She was aged thirty- seven in 1680.
1 Mass. Hist. Coll., 2d series, vol. 9, p. 281.
2 Marcia Thomas, of Marshfield, (MS.)
3 Ut supra. 4 Ut supra. 24
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
Ezekiel Turner, a grandson of Mr. Brewster, from Situate, set- tled in New London, about the year 1675.
Richard Poole, died April 26th, 1662.1
No grant to this person is on record, nor does he appear on any list of inhabitants, but his name is often mentioned. He is some- times called Mr. Poole, and after his death is referred to as old Poole. He lived alone, near the union of what are now Ashcraft and Wil- liams Streets. His estate, estimated at about £58, he left wholly to the wife and children of George Tongue.
Peter Bradley,2 died in June, 1662.
The wife of Bradley was Elizabeth, daughter of Jonathan Brews- ter, but of the marriage, no record has been found. He was a mar- iner, and after his settlement in New London, plied a sloop or sail- boat through the Sound. His death is supposed to have occurred while absent on a cruise, as in the list of his effects is mentioned- " His boat and sea-clothing inventoried at Flushen." Between the families of Bradley and Christophers, three intermarriages took place.
Children of Peter and Elizabeth Bradley.
1. Elizabeth, b. March 16th, 1654-5. in. Sept. 22d, 1570, Thomas Dymond.
2. Peter b. Sept. 7th, 1658, m. Mary Christophers, May 9th, 1678.
3. Lucretia b. 1660. m. Jan. 16th, 1681-2, Richard Christophers. Eliza- beth, relict of Peter Bradley, m. Christopher Christophers."
Peter Bradley, 2d, and his brother-in-law, Thomas Dymond, both died in 1687, as did also their father-in-law, Christopher Christophers. Bradley deceased August 1st, eight days after Mr. Christophers ; leaving but one child, Christopher, born July 11th, 1679. The county court summarily settled the estate, giving to the widow, £300, and to the son, £590. Mary, relict of Peter Bradley, married Thomas Youngs, of Southold, and this event in the end transplanted the Bradley family to Long Island.
The Bradley lot, originally John Gallop's, lying east side of the Town Street, between the present State and Federal, and sloping
1 Walter Palmer probably died about the same period, in Stonington. The probate action on his will was 11th of May. Savage, (MS.)
2 This name, on the records, is frequently written Brawley; and sometimes Brad- ley, alias Brawley.
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
down to the marsh, where is now Water Street, was appraised in the inventory of Peter Bradley, 1st, at only £30. The Bradley house was near the north end, with a lane to it from the Town Street. In more recent times it was known as the Shackmaple house. North of it, and originally a piece of the lot, was the homestead of Daniel Wetherell, (where is now the Pool property.) Some other small portions were sold by Peter Bradley, 2d, but after his death it re- mained unimproved and integral, until 1730, when it was sold by Jonathan Bradley, of Southold, son of Christopher, deceased, to Dan- iel Tuthill, for £500. It was then called eight acres. Tuthill had it laid out in streets and blocks, and subdivided into small house-lots, which were put immediately into the market. There are now nearly two hundred buildings on this lot.
Thomas Dymond, who married Elizabeth Bradley, was a mariner from Fairfield, and probably brother of John Dymond, heretofore mentioned. He was a constable in 1679. His children were, Eliz- abeth, born 1672 ; Thomas, 1675; Moses, 1677 ; Ruth, 1680; John, 1686. The name and family passed away from New London. The house and wharf of Thomas Dymond, on Bream Cove, were pur- chased in 1702, by Benjamin Starr. The Dymond heirs continued to be proprietors of the Inner Commons till 1719.
William Redfield,1 died in 1662.
The earliest notice of him is in a deed of gift from Jonathan Brewster, of " ten acres of arable land at Monhegan, whereon the said Redfyne hath built a house," (May 29th, 1654.) He had a son James, who in April, 1662, bound himself apprentice to Hugh Rob- erts, tanner, with consent, he says, of father and mother. Gershom Bulkley and Lucretia Brewster were witnesses of the indenture, being then probably in attendance upon the dying father. The widow Rebecca Redfield is often mentioned. She had two daughters, Re- becca, wife of Thomas Roach, and Judith, wife of Alexander Pygan. Thomas Bayley married, (Jan. 10th, 1655-6,) Lydia, daughter of James Redfield. It is probable that this was a sister of William.
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