USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > History of the colony of New Haven to its absorption into Connecticut > Part 40
USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > History of the colony of New Haven to its absorption into Connecticut > Part 40
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APPENDIX V
as, in time, by the blessing of God upon good endeavors, may be fitted for public service in church and commonwealth, for the upholding and promoting of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in these parts of the earth, according to the true and sincere desire and ends of the aforesaid Worthy Donor in his said last will and testament mentioned and expressed. And because I stand under an engagement to attend the will of the said donor deceased, that his ends may be attained in the dispose of his said legacy, if the said committee or their suc- cessors shall find the said ends by this grant not attained at New Haven, and that the said grammar or collegiate school hereby endowed and provided for, should be dissolved and wholly cease, I do obtest them by the will of the dead, which no man may alter, and by the trust committed to me and them, whereof we must give our account to the great Judge of all, that this gift of the said Edward Hopkins, Esquire, de- ceased, be by them the said committee wholly transferred and disposed of elsewhere, where the said ends may be attained. But if the true ends of the testator and of this settlement be attained at New Haven, I stand firm to the place in this my grant, reserving nevertheless to myself in all cases, matters, and things respecting the laying out or improvement of the said estate, as aforesaid, for the said school, full power of a negative voice whilst it shall please God to continue my living and abiding in this country, or any part of it, to hinder and prevent any act or acts, thing or things, to be acted or done in or about the premises, to the detriment of the said estate, or contrary to the said trust to me committed and hereby transferred to the said committee and their successors aforesaid, upon this further condition, that the rent, profit, and improvement of the Oyster- shell Field, containing by estimation forty acres, more or less, formerly separated and reserved for the use and benefit of a college at New Haven, and also one other field commonly called Mrs. Eldred's lot, containing by estimation three acres
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more or less, be to the use of the said school at New Haven forever settled, ratified, and confirmed by the said town accord- ingly. And to prevent any further re-interruption which this settlement by me made may meet with by reason of a former grant of the abovesaid sum or sums of money and estate for encouragement of a colony school at New Haven, made by a memorandum in writing under my hand, containing sundry particulars to that purpose, and bearing date the fourth day of the fourth month, 1660, the same being registered in the records of the then General Court, and by the said Court at the time approved and accepted, as by the said records, page 260, doth appear, I therefore, the said John Davenport, in regard that the said Court by their act bearing date the 5th of November, 1662, for sundry reasons therein alleged, did lay down and discharge the said school, and withdraw the yearly exhibition by them formerly allowed, whereby (the said school being so dissolved) the said grant by me made became null and void: I do therefore hereby declare the same to be null and void accordingly, any thing in the said writing or memorandum to the contrary notwithstanding. And the grant herein made of the premises to be good against the same, and against all or any other pretences whatsoever, according to my true intent and meaning herein before declared and expressed. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the eighteenth day of the second month, commonly called April, one thousand six hundred, sixty and eight.
JOHN DAVENPORT, Senior. L. S.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the Reverend Mr. John Davenport, senior, as his act and deed, in the presence of
BENJAMIN LING, JOHN HODSON.
This is a true record of the original examined by me.
JAMES BISHOP, Recorder.
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APPENDIX VI.
NEW HAVEN'S REMONSTRANCE.
T HE Remonstrance or Declaration sent to the General Assembly of Connecticut Colony from this Court is as follows : -
GENTLEMEN, - The professed grounds and ends of your and our coming into these parts are not unknown, being plainly ex- pressed in the prologue to that solemn confederation entered into by the four colonies of New England, printed and published to the world, namely: to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity with peace, for which we left our dear native country and were willing to undergo the difficulties we have since met with in this wilderness, yet fresh in our remembrance ; being the only ends we still pursue, having hitherto found by experience so much of the presence of God with us, and of his goodness and compas- sion towards us in so doing for these many years. Yet, consid- ering how unanswerable our returns have been to God, how unfruitful, unthankful, and unholy under so much means of grace and such liberties, we cannot but lament the same, judge ourselves and justify God, should he now at last (after so long patience towards us) bring desolating judgments upon us, and make us drink of the dregs of that cup of indignation he hath put into the hands of his people in other parts of the world, or suffer such contentions (in just displeasure) to arise among us as may hasten our calamity and increase our woe, which we pray the Lord in mercy to prevent. And, whereas, in the
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pursuance of said ends, and upon other religious and civil considerations, as the security of the interest of each colony within its self in ways of righteousness and peace, and all and every of the said colonies from the Indians and other enemies, they did judge it to be their bounden duty for mutual strength and helpfulness for the future in all their said concernments, to enter into a consociation among themselves, thereupon fully agreed and concluded by and between the parties or jurisdic- tions in divers and sundry articles, and at last ratified as a per- petual confederation by their several subscriptions, whereunto we conceive ourselves bound to adhere, until with satisfaction to our judgments and consciences we see our duty, with like unanimous consent of the confederates, orderly to recede, leav- ing the issue unto the most wise and righteous God.
As for the Patent upon your petition granted to you by his Majesty, as Connecticut Colony, so far, and in that sense, we object not against it, much less against his Majesty's act in so doing, the same being a real encouragement to other of his subjects to obtain the like favour upon their humble petition to his Royal Highness in the protection of their persons and pur- chased rights and interests, is also a ground of hope to us. But, if the line of your Patent doth circumscribe this Colony by your contrivement, without our cognizance or consent, or regard to the said confederation on your parts, we have and must still testify against it, as not consistent (in our judgment) with brotherly love, righteousness and peace. And that this Col- ony (for so long time a confederate jurisdiction, distinct from yours and the other colonies) is taken in under the administra- tion of the said Patent in your hands, and so its form being dissolved, and distinction ceasing, there being no one line or letter in the Patent expressing his Majesty's pleasure that way, although it is your sense of it, yet we cannot so apprehend, of which we having already given our grounds at large in writing, we shall not need to say much more, nor have we met with
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any argumentative or rational convictions from you, nor do we yet see cause to be of another mind. As for your proceedings upon pretence of the Patent towards us, or rather against us, in taking sundry inhabitants of this Colony under your protection and government, who (as you say) offered themselves, from which a good conscience and the obligation under which most of them stood to this Colony should have restrained them, without the consent of the body of this Colony first had, and in concur- rence with them, upon mature deliberation and conviction of duty yet wanting, we cannot but again testify against as disorderly in them, and which admission on your parts we conceive your Christian prudence might have easily suspended, for prevention of that great offence to the consciences of your confederate breth- ren and those sad consequences which have followed, disturbing the peace of our towns, destroying our comforts, and hazard of our lives and liberties by their frequent threats and unsufferable provocations, hath been and is with us a matter of complaint both to God and man ; especially when we consider that thus you admitted them, and put power into their hands, before you had made any overture to us or had any treaty with us about so weighty a business, as if you were in haste to make us misera- ble, as indeed in these things we are at this day.
And seeing upon the answer returned to your propositions made by you afterwards of joining with you in your govern- ments, finding ourselves so already dismembered, and the weighty grounds and reasons we then presented to you, we could not prevail so far with you as to procure a respite of your further proceedings until Mr. Winthrop's return from England, or the grant of any time that way, which was thought but rea- sonable by some of yourselves, and the like seldom denied in war to very enemies, we saw it then high time and necessary (fearing these beginnings) to appeal unto his Majesty, and so we did, concluding according to the law of appeals in all cases and among all nations, that the same (upon your allegiance to
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his Majesty) would have obliged you to forbear all further pro- cess in this business, for our own parts resolving (notwithstand- ing all that we had formerly suffered) to. sit down patient under the same, waiting upon God for the issue of our said appeal.
But seeing that notwithstanding all that we had presented to you by word and writing, notwithstanding our appeal to his Majesty, notwithstanding all that we have suffered (by means of that power you had set up, viz., a constable at Stamford), of which informations have been given you, yet you have gone further to place a constable at Guilford, in like manner, over a party there, to the further disturbance of our peace and quiet, a narrative whereof, and of the provocations and wrongs we have met with at Stamford, we have received, attested to us by divers witnesses, honest men, we cannot but on behalf of our appeal to his Majesty, whose honor is highly concerned therein, and of our just rights, but (as men exceedingly afflicted and grieved) testify in the sight of God, angels, and men, against these things ; our end therein being not to provoke or further any offence, but rather, as a discharge of duty on our parts as brethren and Christian confederates, to call upon you to take some effectual course to ease and right us in a due redress of the grievances you have caused by these proceedings, such, and that after you had complimented us with large offers of patent privileges, with desire of a treaty with us for union of our colonies. And you know as your good words were kindly accepted, so your motion was fairly answered by our commit- tee, that in regard we were under an appeal to his Majesty, that being limited by our freemen not to conclude any thing for altering our distinct colony state and government without their consent and without the approbation of the other con- federate colonies, they were not in present capacity so to treat ; but did little suspect such a design on foot against us, the effect whereof quickly appeared at Guilford before mentioned. But we shall say no more at this time, only to tell you, whatever we
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suffer by your means, we pray the Lord would help us to choose it rather than to sin against our consciences, hoping the right- eous God will in due time look upon our affliction, and incline his Majesty's heart to favor our righteous cause.
Subscribed in the name and by order of the General Court of New Haven Colony. ₱ JAMES BISHOP, Secretary.
NEW HAVEN, May 6, 1663.
APPENDIX VII.
NEW HAVEN'S CASE STATED.
[ To the honored John Winthrop, Esq., Governor, or to the honored Major Mason, Deputy Governor of Connecticut Colony, to be communicated to the honored the General Assembly for the said Colony.]
HONORED AND BELOVED IN THE LORD, -We, the General Court of New Haven Colony, being sensible of the wrongs which this Colony hath lately suffered by your unjust pretences and encroachments upon our just and proper rights, have unanimously consented, though with grief of heart, being com- pelled thereunto, to declare unto you and unto all whom the knowledge thereof may concern, what yourselves do or may know to be true, as followeth,
I. That the first beginners of these plantations by the sea- side in these western parts of New England, being engaged to sundry friends in London and in other places about London, (who purposed to plant, some with them in the same town, and others as near to them as they might,) to provide for themselves some convenient places by the sea-side, arrived at Boston in the Massachusetts (having a special right in their Patent, two of them being joint purchasers of it with others, and one of them a patentee and one of the assistants chosen for the New Eng- land Company in London,) where they abode all the winter following, but not finding there a place suitable for their pur- pose, were persuaded to view these parts, which those that viewed approved, and before their removal, finding that no
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English were planted in any place from the fort (called Say- brook) to the Dutch, purposed to purchase of the Indians, the natural proprietors of those lands, that whole tract of land by the sea-coast for themselves and those that should come to them, which they also signified to their friends at Hartford in Connecticut Colony, and desired that some fit men from thence might be employed in that business, at their proper cost and charges who wrote to them. Unto which letter having received a satisfying answer, they acquainted the court of magistrates of Massachusetts Colony with their purpose to remove and the grounds of it, and with their consent began a plantation in a place situated by the sea, called by the Indians Quillipiac, which they did purchase of the Indians the true proprietors thereof, for themselves and their posterity, and have quietly possessed the same about six and twenty years, and have buried great estates in buildings, fencings, clearing the ground, and in all sorts of husbandry, without any help from Connecticut or dependence upon them. And by voluntary consent among themselves they settled a civil court and government among themselves, upon such fundamentals as were established in Massachusetts by allowance of their patent, whereof the then governor of the Bay, the Right Worshipful Mr. Winthrop sent us a copy to improve for our best advantage. These funda- mentals all the inhabitants of the said Quillipiac approved, and bound themselves to submit unto and maintain, and chose Theophilus Eaton, Esq .; to be their governor, with as good right as Connecticut settled their government among them- selves and continued it above- twenty years without any patent.
2. That when the help of Mr. Eaton our governor and some others from Quillipiac was desired for ending of a contro- versy at Wethersfield, a town in Connecticut Colony ; it being judged necessary for peace that one party should remove their [371] dwellings, upon equal satisfying terms proposed, the governor, magistrates, etc., of Connecticut offered for their part
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that if the party that would remove should find a fit place to plant in upon the river, Connecticut would grant it to them ; and the governor of Quillipiac, (now called New Haven) and the rest there joined with him and promised that if they should find a fit place for themselves by the sea-side, New Haven would grant it to them, which accordingly New Haven per- formed, and so the town of Stamford began and became a member of New Haven Colony, and so continueth unto this day. Thus in a public assembly in Connecticut was the dis- tinct right of Connecticut upon the river and of New Haven by the sea-side declared with consent of the governor, magis- trates, ministers and better sort of the people of Connecticut at that time.
3. That sundry other townships by the sea-side, and South- hold on Long Island (being settled in their inheritances by right of purchase of their Indian proprietors,) did voluntarily join themselves to New Haven to be all under one jurisdiction, by a firm engagement to the fundamentals formerly settled in New Haven, whereupon it was called New Haven Colony. The general court being thus constituted, chose the said Theophilus Eaton, Esq. ; a man of singular wisdom, godliness and experi- ence to be the governor of New Haven Colony, and they chose a competent number of magistrates and other officers for the several towns. Mr. Eaton so well managed that great trust that he was chosen governor every year while he lived. All this time Connecticut never questioned what was done at New Haven, nor pretended any right to it, or to any of the towns belonging to this colony, nor objected against our being a distinct colony.
4. That when the Dutch claimed a right to New Haven and all along the coast by the sea side, it being reported they would set up the prince of Orange's arms, the governor of New Haven to prevent that, caused the king of England's arms to be fairly cut in wood and set upon a post in the highway by the
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sea-side, to vindicate the right of the English, without consult- ing Connecticut, or seeking their concurrence therein.
5. That in the year 1643, upon weighty considerations, an union of four distinct colonies was agreed upon by all New England (except Rhode Island) in their several general courts, and was established by a most solemn confederation, whereby they bound themselves mutually to preserve unto each colony its entire jurisdiction within itself respectively, and to avoid the putting of two into one by any act of their own without consent of the commissioners from the four united colonies, which were from that time and still are called and known by the title of the four United Colonies of New England; of these colonies New Haven was and is one. And in this solemn confederation Connecticut joined with the rest and with us.
6. That in the year 1644, the General Court for New Haven Colony, then sitting in the town of New Haven, agreed unani- mously to send to England for a Patent, and in the year 1645, committed the procuring of it to Mr. Gregson, one of our ma- gistrates, who entered upon his voyage in January that year from New Haven, furnished with some beaver in order thereunto as we suppose, but by the providence of God, the ship and all the passengers and goods were lost at sea in their passage toward England, to our great [loss] and the frustration of that design for that time ; after which the troubles in England put a stop to our proceedings therein. This was done with the consent and desire of Connecticut to concur with New Haven therein ; whereby the difference of times and of men's spirits in them may be discovered, for then the magistrates of Connecticut with consent of their General Court knowing our purposes, desired to join with New Haven. in procuring that patent for common privileges to both in their distinct jurisdictions, and left it to Mr Eaton's wisdom to have the patent framed accordingly. But now they seek to procure a patent without the concurrence of New Haven, and contrary to our minds
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expressed before this patent was sent for, and to their own promise, and to the terms of the confederation ; and without sufficient warrant from their patent they have invaded our right, and seek to involve New Haven under Connecticut juris- diction.
7. That in the year 1646, when the commissioners first met at New Haven, Kieft, the then Dutch governor, by letters ex- postulated with the commissioners, by what warrant they met at New Haven without his consent, seeing it and all by the sea- coast belonged to his principals in Holland, and to the Lords the States General. The answer to that letter was framed by Mr. Eaton, governor of New Haven and then president of the commission, approved by all the commissioners, and sent in their names, with their consent, to the then Dutch governor, who never replied thereunto.
8. That this colony in the reign of the late King Charles the first, received a letter from the committee of Lords and Com- mons for foreign plantations, then sitting at Westminster, which letter was delivered to our governor Mr. Eaton, for freeing the several distinct colonies of New England from molestations by the appealing of troublesome spirits unto England, whereby they declared that they had dismissed all causes depending before them from New England, and that they advised all inhabitants to submit to their respective governments there established, and to acquiesce when their causes shall be there heard and determined ; as it is to be seen more largely ex- pressed in the original, which we have subscribed,
Your assured friends,
PEMBROOK,
MANCHESTER, WARWICK,
W. SAY & SEAL, FR. DACRE, etc, DENBIGH.
In this order they subscribed their names with their own hands, which we have to show, and they inscribed or directed this letter,
الــ
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To our worthy friends, the governor and assistants of the plantations of New Haven, in New England.
Whereby you may clearly see that the right honorable the earl of Warwick and the lord viscount Say and Seal (lately one of his majesty's that now is, King Charles the second his most honorable privy council, as also the right honorable earl of Manchester still is,) had no purpose, after New Haven Colony situated by the sea-side was settled to be a distinct government, that it should be put under the patent for Connecticut, whereof they had only framed a copy, before any house was erected by the sea-side from the fort to the Dutch, which yet was not signed and sealed by the last king for a patent, nor had you any patent till your agent Mr. Winthrop procured it about two years since.
9. That in the year 1650, when the commissioners for the four United Colonies of New England met at Hartford, the now Dutch governor being then and there present, Mr. Eaton, the then governor of New Haven Colony, complained of the Dutch governor's encroaching upon our colony of New Haven, by taking under his jurisdiction a township beyond Stamford, called Greenwich. All the commissioners (as well for Con- necticut as for the other colonies) concluded that Greenwich and four miles beyond it belongs to New Haven jurisdiction, whereunto the Dutch governor then yielded, and restored it to New Haven Colony. Thus were our bounds westward settled by consent of all.
10. That when the honored governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop, Esq., had consented to undertake a voyage for Eng- land to procure a patent for Connecticut, in the [year] 1661, a friend warned him by letter not to have his hand in so un- righteous an act, as so far to extend the line of their patent that the colony of New Haven should be involved within it. For answer thereunto, he was pleased to certify that friend in
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two letters which he wrote from two several places before his departure, that no such thing was intended, but rather the con- trary, and that the magistrates had agreed and expressed in the presence of some ministers, that if their line should reach us, (which they knew not, the copy being in England,) yet New Haven Colony should be at full liberty to join with them or not. This agreement, so attested, made us secure, who else could have procured a patent for ourselves, within our own known bounds, according to purchase, without doing any wrong to Connecticut in their just bounds and limits.
II. That notwithstanding all the premises, in the year 1662, when you had received your patent under his majesty's hand and seal, contrary to your promise and solemn confederation and to common equity, at your first general assembly (which yet could not be called general without us, if we were under your patent, seeing none of us were by you called thereunto,) you agreed among yourselves to treat with New Haven Colony about union, by your commissioners chosen for that end, within two or three days after that assembly was dissolved, but before the ending of that session you made an unrighteous breach in our colony, by taking under your patent some of ours from Stamford, and from Guilford, and from Southhold, contrary to your engagements to New Haven Colony, and without our con- sent or knowledge. This being thus done, some sent from you to treat with us showed some of ours your patent, which being read, they declared to yours that New Haven Colony is not at all mentioned in your patent, and gave you some reasons why they believed that the king did not intend to put this colony under Connecticut without our desire or knowledge ; and they added that you took a preposterous course in first dismembering this colony, and after that treating with it about union, which is as if one man purposing to treat with another about union first cut off from him an arm and a leg and an ear, then to treat with him about union. Reverend Mr. Stone also, the teacher
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