USA > Connecticut > New London County > New London > History of New London, Connecticut, From the First Survey of the Coast in 1612 to 1852 > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
It was due to the reputation of individuals, to the town and to the colony, that the whole affair should have been thoroughly investiga- ted. Governor Wolcott' was censured for not showing more activity
1 According to Trumbull, the unpopularity growing out of this affair, lost Wolcott nis election the next year. A political ballad of rather later date, (probably never printed) has this verse:
" Who next succeeded to the helm Was stately smoking Roger:
The same to Cape Breton had been, But was no seaman or soldier. During his cruise a Spanish Snow Fired on him a broad-side, Sir,
He received a wound by a golden ball, And of that wound he died, Sir."
465
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
in behalf of the foreigners ; Col. Saltonstall for not having safely kept the treasure ; the town authorities for not preventing the rob- bery, and Mr. Hull for taking no better care of property intrusted to him. The country was agitated with rumors that enhanced the value of the effects embezzled, and increased the numbers of the guilty.
That the foreigners had been robbed was too evident to be dispu- ted; and suspicion very naturally fell upon the watchmen appointed to guard the treasure. Among those who had been on guard at Col. Saltonstall's, were four young men upon whom rumor fixed-and it was soon whispered around that they had been furtively traced in the hush of night, to the recesses of Cedar Swamp, in the rear of the town, and there, upon a knoll of dry ground, they had been seen di- viding, by lantern-light, a shining heap of gold. These men were arrested, together with a fifth person, supposed to be a receiver and confederate. An examination took place before the magistrates, and one of the men turning evidence for the prosecution, related the whole affair. He stated that they were on guard at Col. Salton- stall's ; that the treasure was kept in a vault or inner cellar, between strong stone walls; but the weather being inclement, the guard were allowed to take shelter in an outer cellar, where beer was provided for their refreshment. The contiguity to so much gold, fired them to possess it, and yielding to the temptation, they laboriously dug under the partition of the stone-wall, and with ropes and hooks con- trived to extract a box in which was about an equal amount in bulk, of gold and silver-the silver in dollars, and the gold chiefly in doub- loons-a thousand of the former, and five times that value of the lat- ter. Having obtained the treasure, they hastened to Cedar Swamp, and digging a hole upon Griffing's Island,1 they poured out the gold and buried it, and hurrying back with the box, filled it with stones and gravel, and replaced it in the vault from which it had been ab- stracted, carefully filling up the hole, and obliterating all traces of their criminal night work. Afterward, at their leisure, they exhumed their gold and divided it, each concealing his portion in some place unknown to the others.
This was not the only robbery said to be committed upon the un- fortunate Spaniards. During the night of December 16th, 1753, Sloan's warehouse was broken open, and several ceroons of indigo
1 A name given to a knoll of upland in the heart of Cedar Swamp.
466
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
abstracted. That part of the cargo that had been shipped, was also found to be diminished ; indigo and bags of dollars had been carried off while the vessel lay at the wharf. Such were the tales dissemina- ted by rumor, but they were undoubtedly much exaggerated. It is probable that the thefts were all petty, except that at the Saltonstall cellar. Three other persons, however, were arrested and impris- oned. But early in the spring, before any trial of the culprits had taken place, they escaped from confinement and fled. It appears that the whole company were kept in one apartment, and iron crows being furnished them from without, in the night of March 11th, 1754, they broke down the door of the jail, and making directly for the river, seized the first boat they found, and rowed out of the harbor without being pursued. They were eight in number, but this in- cluded one or two that had been arrested on other charges. What became of them afterward is not known. No vigorous attempts were made either to retake the fugitives, or recover the treasure. Unfor- tunately many persons had loose notions concerning the fraud and dishonesty of the act. It was Spanish property, in custody of an officer of the king's customs : at the worst the king would have to pay for it; it was but cheating the king, that is to say, the revenue, which was no worse than smuggling, and many were guilty of that, who passed for honest men. By this delusive mode of arguing, the culprits who had carried off the ingots of the Spanish sovereign, were shielded from the obloquy and punishment they merited.
The Spanish commander had not failed to transmit to his sovereign an account of the difficulties in which he was involved ; and in con- sequence, a complaint was carried from the court of Madrid to that of St. James, against the colony of Connecticut and the king's officers at New London. A ship of war, the Triton, of forty guns, was imme- diately sent by the British ministry, with dispatches to the province, and orders to remain in or near the harbor, and render assistance if necessary. The Triton arrived in port early in November ; a Span- ish merchant came also as agent from his court with full power to act in the premises. The General Assembly likewise issued a com- mission to Jonathan Trumbull and Roger Wolcott, to repair to New London, investigate the whole affair and bring it to a just issue. By the united endeavors of all these parties, the matter was somehow ac- commodated, but the result is all that is known of their action. The remaining cargo of the St. Joseph was stowed on board of a vessel provided by the Spaniards, in charge of Don Miguel de St. Juan,
467
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
which left New London during the first week in January, 1755.1 The commissioners having seen all accounts settled, left New Lon- don on the 9th ; the Spanish agent took passage in the Triton, Capt. Whitford, which left the harbor on the 25th of the same month. It was scarcely to be expected that this affair would here terminate. Future trouble to the colony, arising out of it, was apprehended. Nations have sometimes plunged into war on slighter grounds ; yet it seems to have been overlooked and forgotten by the powers on the other side of the ocean. New London as a town had nothing to do with this affair, and its records do not contain a single reference to it. It was regarded as belonging to the admiralty, and business of that description, being usually contested between the colony and the cus- tom-house, there was but a slight chance of its being well managed.
The specie thus fraudulently obtained from the Spaniards, came forth very gradually from its hiding-places, and crept into circulation. Some of it buried in swamps and outlands, may have been irrecover- ably lost. Some Spanish dollars were at one time dug up at low water mark in Water Street, that were supposed to have belonged to the St. Joseph. A stone pitcher filled with doubloons, was found several years afterward, by two negro lads, in Cape Ann Lane. While engaged in ferreting out a rabbit, they threw down a part of the wall, and found the golden prize secreted below. This had prob- ably been the portion of one of the four young men who had gone into exile. The two lads very judiciously lodged their treasure in the hands of a friend, who purchased their freedom with a portion of it, and divided the remainder with exact justice between them. It did them no good, however ; they spent it in dissipation, and acquired by it habits of idleness and improvidence. Such chance treasures are seldom beneficial to the finder.
Other deposits of the Spanish money are said to have been found, by one and another, who, however, kept their good luck as secret as possible. It was only discovered, or inferred from circumstances. If a poor man rather suddenly became possessed of funds for which his neighbors could not account, was able to purchase land or build a house, the readiest supposition was that he had found a box of Span- ish dollars or a bag of doubloons.
1 The whole history of this affair is placed by Trumbull under the running date of 1753. As above stated the Spaniards came into the harbor in November, 1752, and the town and colony were kept in a state of tumultuous agitation, until they departed in January, 1755.
468
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
The indigo of the St. Joseph is said to have been carried into the country and sold by peddlers. Stories were circulated of a white mare that was led about from place to place far into the interior, with its sides blue with the indigo that had sifted through the pan- niers. The burlesque and romantic incidents growing out of this affair, ought not to blunt our conviction of the turpitude of the rob- bery. Every generous mind must regret that a company of foreign- ers, coming hither in distress, and throwing themselves upon our hospitality for aid and protection, should have been thus wantonly plundered.
November 21st, 1753, Sarah Bramble was executed in a cross highway that leads out of the main road to Norwich, about two miles north of the town plot. This path has ever since been known as Gallows Lane. It is a rugged, wild and dreary road, even at the present day. The fearful machine was erected in the highest part of the road, and all the hills and ledges around must have been covered with the spectators. It was computed that 10,000 assembled on this occasion ; some of them probably came twenty or thirty miles to witness this repulsive exhibition. The gloom of the weather added another dismal feature to the scene, a drizzly rain continuing most of the day.
This is the only public execution of any white person that ever took place in New London. The crime of the unhappy woman was the murder of her infant illegitimate child, on the day of its birth. It was committed in April, 1752, and she was tried by the superior court the next September. But the jury disagreeing in their ver- dict, she was kept imprisoned another year, and sentenced October 3d, 1753. She declined hearing the sermon intended for her benefit, which was preached by Rev. Mr. Jewett, before the execution.
The year 1755 was marked by another rupture between England and France. The Hempstead diary mentions (April 1st) the arri- val of Governor Shirley and suite, on their way to Virginia, to meet General Braddock. Recruiting officers were about that time busy in the place, and soldiers were sent off under Capt. Henry Babcock, to join the army of the frontier. The news of Braddock's defeat was brought by a special post, bound to the eastward, July 22d, and ac- counts of the battle at Lake St. Sacrament, (now called Lake George,) arrived September 16th. In March, 1756, Colonel Wash-
469
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
ington was twice in town, tarrying a night, both in going and return- ing from Boston.
" March 8th. Colonel Washington is returned from Boston and gone to Long Island, in Powers' sloop ; he had also two boats to carry six horses and his retinue, all bound to Virginia. He hath been to advise with Governor Shirley, or to be directed by him, as he is chief general of the American forces." [Hempstead.]
Two days after the transient visit of Washington, we find the in- habitants assembled in town meeting to discuss the oft-recurring question of fortifying the harbor. It was resolved to present a me- morial on the subject to the General Assembly. The colonial treas- ury, however, was not sufficiently replenished to allow of the neces- sary disbursements, and no aid was obtained from this source. The next spring, (March 8th, 1757,) a vote was passed to apply to the Right Honorable John, Earl of Loudon, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in America. A memo- rial was accordingly drafted, representing the defenseless state of the town and harbor, entreating him to afford such aid as he should judge meet, and soliciting his kind offices in stating their case to his ma- jesty. It is probable that this memorial was not presented.
It may be thought that these applications to powers abroad ; the high-toned remonstrances and threatened appeals to the king, which occur in the course of our history, display an overweening self-im- portance on the part of the inhabitants. But some apology may be found in the imminence of their danger, and what appeared to them the apathy of the home administration, in regard to their case. The town was not, perhaps, a favorite in the colony : unlike others, it always had a populace; it frequently voted wrong; harbored foreign- ers ; was often boisterous and contentious ; manners were too free ; actions too impulsive : in short, it had less of the Puritan stamp than any other place in Connecticut.
Coincident with the action respecting the memorial to Lord Lou- don, the case of " the French people," was discussed. The selectmen were desired to find accommodations for them at some distance from town, and to see that they were kept at some suitable employment. These persons were the French neutrals, that had been dispossessed of their homes in Nova Scotia, and were scattered in small and lonely bands all over New England. A vessel with 300 on board came into New London harbor, January 21st, 1756. Another vessel, thronged with these unhappy exiles, that had sailed from Halifax early in the
40
·
470
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
year, and being blown off the coast, took shelter in Antigua, came from thence under convoy of a man-of-war, and arrived in port May 22d. Many in this last vessel were sick and dying of the small-pox.
Probably more of these neutrals were disembarked at New Lon- don than at any other port in New England. A special Assembly convened by the governor, January 21st, 1756, to dispose of these foreigners, distributed the 400, then on hand, among all the towns in the colony, according to their list. The regular proportion of New London was but twelve, yet many others afterward gathered here. Some of the neutrals were subsequently returned to their former homes. In 1767, Capt. Richard Leffingwell sailed from New Lon- don with 240, to be reconveyed to their country.
The clearing of Nova Scotia from the French, opened the way for the introduction of English colonists. Between this period and the Revolution, the tide of emigration set thitherward from New Eng- land, and particularly from Connecticut. Menis, Amherst, Dublin and other towns in that province, received a large proportion of their first planters from New London county.
The campaigns of 1756 and 1757 demanded yet more and more soldiers from New England. The diary so often quoted contains some allusions to the war, which will serve to show how far New London was interested in the enlistments and in the privateering business to which the war gave life.
May 10th, 1756. " I was at Col. Lee's1 to take leave of some of my neigh- bors who are going in the expedition to Crown Point ; only thirty marched off ; they are waiting for arms from Boston."
May 16th. " Two sloops are transporting Boston soldiers to Albany."
May 30th. " It is sickly at the camp at Fort Edward."
November 1st. " Training of the first and second companies, to enlist ten men, five out of each company, and a large subscription made, to be equally divided between them."
May 15th, 1757. " Capt. Leet2 came in from a six months' cruise ; no prize."
June 12th. " Capt. David Mumford, in a New London privateer, fell down to Harbor's Mouth."
June 17th. " A prize schooner taken by David Mumford3, from the French, in latitude 33º arrived."
1 This was Col. Stephen Lee, of Lyme, but at that time resident in New London, where he had married Mary, relict of John Picket.
2 Capt. Daniel Leet, originally from Guilford. He married Mehitabel Savell, of New London. Miss Sally Leet, the venerable daughter of this couple, is yet living, and though nearly 100 years of age, appears still to enjoy life.
3 From the newspapers of that day it is ascertained that Capt. Mumford was after- ward taken by the French, and carried in to Martinico.
471
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
August 8th. " This morning before sunrise, a post came in from the Gov- ernor and informs that Fort William Henry was invaded on Wednesday last, with 11,000 French and Indians, thirty cannon and some mortars, 4,500 Cana- dians, as many Indians, and 2,000 regulars."1
August 11th. " One quarter of the whole militia of the town marched for Albany, to defend the country ; Jonathan Latimer, captain ; John Rogers, lieutenant."
August 14th. " The melancholy news is confirmed of the loss of our upper fort at the Lake George or Sacrament."
April 5th, 1758. " The first and second companies in arms to enlist soldiers for the expedition against Canada."
June 10th. " Jonathan Latimer, Jr., and his company of soldiers entered on board a sloop at Gardiner's wharf, (to sail for Albany.) A French prize schooner is brought in by two privateers of Providence; seventy-five tons, ten guns and seventy-five men."
The 18th of August, 1758, was distinguished in New London by a great and general rejoicing, on account of the surrender of Cape Bre- ton to the English. More than 200 guns were fired from the fort, and the vessels in the harbor. The next day the festivities were continued, and in the midst of the general joy, Capt. James Gardiner, was accidentally killed .? He was loading a cannon at the Harbor's Mouth battery, and while putting in a second charge, the piece went off, and laid him dead upon the spot.
We have already adverted to the first printer in the colony of Con- necticut, Thomas Short, who died in 1712. The governor and com- pany invited Timothy Green, of Cambridge, to take his place. He accepted the offer and came with his family to New London about the year 1714. This was a valuable accession to the society of the town. Green was a benevolent and religious man, and was soon chosen deacon in the church. He was also a most agreeable com- panion, on account of a native fund of humor and pleasantry always at his command. This,is said to be a prevailing trait in the Green family. The house and printing-office of Deacon Green were in the upper part of Main Street.3 He died May 5th, 1757, aged seventy- eight.
Deacon Green had five sons. Jonas, one of the oldest, and born before the family came to New London, settled in Maryland, and
1 An instance of the exaggeration of rumor. Montcalm's army is estimated by his- torians at 8,000 or 9,000.
2 Capt. Gardiner had been out during the war 'cruising against the French, in a snow called the Lark. He was of the Newport family of Gardiners, and his wife Anne Robinson, of New London.
3 On or near the spot where is now the dwelling-house of Nathaniel Saltonstall.
472
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
was the second printer of that colony, reviving, in 1745, the Mary- land Gazette, which had been first printed by William Parke. Tim- othy settled first as a printer in Boston, in partnership with Knee- land. Nathaniel and John, lived and died in New London, leaving no male posterity. Samuel, on arriving at maturity, was associated with his father in the printing business, but died before him, in May, 1752, leaving a family of nine children, three of them sons. Imme- diately after this event, Timothy Green, from Boston, removed to New London and took charge of the business, instructing the sons of his deceased brother Samuel in his art. These three sons all became printers. Timothy, the second, settled in New London, and estab- lished the second newspaper in the colony,1 the New London Sum- mary, a small weekly half-sheet, first issued August 8th, 1758, and continued for five years and two months.
The publication of the Summary covers a period, which those his- torians who are admirers of military glory would call a shining page in the annals of the English colonier. Louisburg, Quebec, Montreal, taken ; all the French dominion on the northern frontier reduced, and a series of brilliant successes in the West Indies, in which the colonial troops had an honorable participation, mark this era. Enlist- ments were the order of the day ; a band of volunteers from New London county were with the armament that effected the conquest of Martinico; a still larger number joined in the expedition against Havanna. But the colonies were exhausted by efforts of this nature, and were still further perplexed and impoverished by the illiberal restrictions laid by the mother country upon their trade.
New London suffered largely in this line of calamity. Her ves- sels, bound to the West Indies, before they could arrive at their port, were seized by British cruisers lying in wait, and sent into Jamaica, New Providence, or some other port for trial. Under pretense that they were engaged in what was called the flag of truce trade, mean- ing an unlawful commerce with the king's enemies, many vessels and their cargoes were condemned and confiscated. Bankruptcies were the consequence. With New London, it was one of those stagnant and depressed periods to which all seaports are liable, and which
1 The first newspaper in Connecticut was the Connecticut Gazette, commenced in New Haven Jan. 1st, 1755, by Parker and Holt-discontinued in 1767, and succeeded by the Connecticut Journal, established by Thomas and Samuel Green, the other sons of Samuel, of New London, deceased. Thomas had previously established the third newspaper of the colony, the Connecticut Courant, in Hartford, 1764. See Thomas' History of Printing.
473
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
they will continue to experience while the rivalry and wars of na- tions exist. Not only fortunes were cut down, but families were thinned. In tracing the lines of genealogy, we find groups of names that can be traced no further than maturity. The records do not · tell of their children ; their graves are not found in our burial-places. All we know is that they disappear from their places, and a knowl- edge of the history of the times leads us to suppose that they fell miserable victims to those terrific expeditions, to the north or the south, which often came for their deadly tribute, drawing life-blood from the heart of the country.
September 8th, 1760, Montreal surrendered to Gen. Amherst ; the entire reduction of Canada was involved in the capitulation. This event was celebrated at New London, September 22d. The bells were rung ; the guns of the battery, and smaller pieces in other parts of the town, thundered forth their joy, and in the evening there was a general illumination of the houses. Oct. 30th was celebrated as a day of public thanksgiving, in honor of this event, both in Mas- sashusetts and Connecticut. The sermon at New London, preached by Rev. Wm. Adams, was published.
The interests of America were then more intimately connected with European politics than at the present time. The successes of the Prussian monarch gave general satisfaction. The victory over Mar- shal Daun, November 3d, was celebrated by a public rejoicing in New London, in the early part of January, when the news of the event was received.
Feb. 2d, 1761, George III. was proclaimed. No. 132 of the Sum- mary, contains an account of the festivities of the day. "The civil officers, officers of the customs and admiralty, ministers of the gospel and every gentleman in town whose health would allow of his being abroad," assembled. The proclamation was read by the high sheriff, and assented to, "with sincerity of heart and voice, by every one present." The whole company dined together. "The health of his majesty, and may he live long and reign happily over us," was drank with a royal salute of twenty-one guns. Other toasts, heartily echoed, were-the glorious king of Prussia; Mr. Pitt; General Amherst ; and success to the grand expedition. At night, sky-rockets went up, and bonfires illumined the town.
The king's birth-day appears to have been, for several years after this period, duly and heartily celebrated, sometimes by a public din- ner, and at others, by private entertainments. Perhaps the last time that the waning popularity of the sovereign elicited this demonstra-
40*
474
HISTORY OF NEW LONDON.
tion of loyalty, was June 4th, 1767. On that day, Col. Harry Bab- cock, of Westerly, gave a great dinner at his residence to various gentlemen from the neighboring towns. A field-piece, planted in his garden, responded to the toasts as they were drank.
A very popular mode of raising money at this period, was by lotte- ries. Churches and bridges were erected, streets repaired, and other public works were carried on by lottery ; and sometimes individuals largely indebted, were authorized to satisfy their creditors in the same way. Conspicuous instances of this mode of settling an involved es- tate, occurred in New London, in the cases of Robert Sloan and Matthew Stewart, merchants, who had suffered severely from the war, their vessels being cut off by French privateers. The Legisla- ture granted a lottery to the trustees of Mr. Sloan's estate in 1758, and to those of Mr. Stewart in 1759. Four extensive farms belong- ing to the latter, were thus converted into money. They were sur- veyed into fifty-four lots, and appraised at £9,698. The lottery con- sisted of these fifty-four land prizes, and two thousand money prizes of forty-eight shillings each. Tickets twenty-four shillings.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.