USA > Connecticut > New London County > Norwich > The Norwich jubilee. A report of the celebration at Norwich, Connecticut, on the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of the town, September 7th and 8th, 1859. With an appendix, containing historical documents of local interest > Part 4
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47
-
OCCASIONAL HYMN.
that we may receive the award of good and faithful servants. These thanksgivings we render, and these favors we ask, through the mediation and atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
The hymn composed by Mrs. Sigourney expressly for the occa- sion, was then sung by the choir :---
HYMN.
Tune-OLD HUNDRED.
We praise the God who guides our feet Back to this sacred spot of earth- With filial gratitude to greet Our mother, on her day of birth.
We praise Him for these cultured glades, Redeem'd from thorns and savage sway-
For rock, and stream, and woven shades, That charm'd our childhood's cloudless day.
We praise Him for the happy homes- The prosperous marts that thronging rise- . The peaceful academic domes- The church-spires pointing to the skies.
We praise Him for the righteous dead, Who have their course so nobly spent,
And o'er their race rich luster shed, When through Heaven's open gate they went.
We praise Him for the wondrous change The last two hundred years have wrought-
For His blest gospel's glorious range Of faith and hope and holy thought.
And as the past with joy is bright, So may the unborn future prove-
And wrap thee in new robes of light, Sweet land ! the mother of our love.
A
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE,
DELIVERED IN
NORWICH, CONNECTICUT,
Sept. 7, 1859,
AT THE
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.
BY DANIEL COIT GILMAN,
LIBRARIAN OF YALE COLLEGE.
7
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
In the preparation of this discourse, I have constantly referred to the valuable history of Norwich, published by Miss Caulkins in 1845, regretting that I could not avail myself of her later investigations, which it is understood will soon be made public. In the period prior to 1690, the colonial records of Connecticut, edited with rare skill by J. H. Trumbull, Esq., and printed under the patronage of the state, have thrown much light upon the history of the Nine Miles Square. But I have by no means been contented with the study of these and other printed volumes. The records of the town and of the first church have been frequently consulted, and also the original documents which were collected by Dr. Benjamin Trumbull while writing the history of Connecticut, and are now deposited in the library of Yale College. Many other manuscripts, collected by my father, Mr. William C. Gilman, during his residence in Norwich, and some pertaining to the time of the revolution, which have hitherto been re- tained in the families of the original owners, have also been placed in my hands I can not but hope, therefore, that the publication of this address will call atten- tion to important facts which have thus far escaped observation.
The limits of this note do not permit me to mention the names of numerous friends who have encouraged these researches, but many of them are spoken of in the subsequent pages, and none of them are forgotten.
It was proposed to append to this discourse, biographies of prominent citizens of the town from its settlement until now, and materials had been collected for nearly two hundred such sketches; but the enterprise of the publisher in issuing immediately a report of the celebration, makes it necessary to defer the com- plete execution of this plan.
May I be allowed to add that whatever interest I have in the history of Nor- wich is inherited. While it is pleasant for me to trace, on my mother's side, a descent from several of the original settlers of the town, my father's enthusi- asm in historical inquiries is associated with my earliest recollections, and has constantly aided my recent investigations.
D. C. G.
YALE COLLEGE, NEW HAVEN, September 14th, 1859.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
The President .- I take pleasure in introducing another of the sons of Norwich ; the orator of the day, Mr. Daniel C. Gilman.
Mr. Gilman then delivered the following address.
GENTLEMEN AND LADIES-SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF NORWICH :-
We are met to review in one brief hour the record of two hun- dred years. The task assigned to me, though simple, is not easy, and your sympathy with the theme must excuse the incomplete- ness of the story I shall tell. The preacher, the orators and the poet appointed to address you, leave me the humble office of a chronicler; and I therefore make no apology for dwelling chiefly upon facts, assured that others will present those poetical, patriotic and religious reflections, which this occasion appropriately calls forth.
We need to summon on this day of jubilee all our own recol- lections of the past, and what our fathers have told us of the days gone by; we need to gather the fragments of history we have learned from the genealogical tree, the old trunk of letters, the time worn records of town, society and church, the family Bible and the moss covered tombstone; we need to combine all this with what we have read in the printed page, especially in that of our honored and accomplished historian; and we must then put forth the utmost powers of our imagination to picture the settlement, the establishment, and the development of a town which, like children, we cherish as our home.
52
THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
Two hundred years ago, at this golden harvest time, a band of sturdy pioneers, accustomed in their younger days to the comforts of an old and highly civilized country, coming here from the infant settlement of Saybrook, had traversed with the rude Indians as their guides, this beautiful Mohegan plain; they had climbed Wawequa's hill; had traced the Shetucket and the Yantic, from their confluence in the Pequot, far into the back country ; had admired the waterfalls, never so wild and picturesque as then ; had estimated their power for grist mills and saw mills ; had examined the forests, fisheries and soil; and were ready to return to the other side of the Connecticut, like the spies from beyond the Jordan, having "seen the land, what it was, and the people that dwelt therein, whether they were strong or weak, few or many," and saying with Caleb, "Let us go up at once and possess it."
This survey of the land of promise, in advance of the colony, is the auspicious event which we have chosen to commemorate. But it is not the time of our earliest acquaintance with what we now call Norwich. The settlers at New Haven and in Connecti- cut, as well as the knowing ones in places more remote, were long before familiar with this region as the battle ground of two power- ful tribes of Indians, the Narragansetts and Mohegans. The very plain on which we stand, yielding as the plow-share and the spade upheave the sod, tomahawks and arrow-heads, by scores if not by hundreds, bears witness to this day of those fierce conflicts which once darkened the skies with the arrows of death .*
Our information of this period is of course meager, but the history of civilization in Norwich would be indeed deficient, with- out some reference in its preface at least, to the darker days which went before.
The Mohegans, from whom our fathers bought this nine miles square,t several score of whose descendants are our neighbors to this day, were originally a part of the Pequot tribe, and were of the same race with the Mohicans of the Hudson, the last of whose warriors has been so fitly commemorated by the great novelist of America. It has even been conjectured that the Pequots had
* For many years the writer has received from Mr. Angel Stead what he terms "a crop of arrow-heads," gathered annually in his gardening on the plain between the landing and up-town.
t See note A.
53
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
immigrated to this eastern part of Connecticut at a period not very much earlier than the time when the white men came here.
To the east of the Pequots and Mohegans (whose domains be- fore their separation extended over a wide territory upon both banks of what is now the river Thames) were the Narragansetts, around the bay which still perpetuates their name, and toward the west were the Niantics, both tribes of one stock, and both hostile to the Pequots, whose hunting and fishing grounds lay between them.
Uncas, the chief of the Mohegans when the white men came here, was a descendant, according to his own statement, of the royal Pequot family, and by marrying in 1626, the daughter of Sassacus, the sachem, had allied himself still more closely to the ruling powers. But notwithstanding this, or more likely because of this relation, Uncas rebelled against the chief of the Pequots, and remained in open hostility to his kinsmen until they were crushed as a nation a few years after. The adherents of Un- cas, occupying the right bank of the river, appear to have as- sumed their original designation, the Mohegans, while the follow- ers of Sassacus retained the name of Pequots, and probably their " seat of empire" on the left bank of the winding stream to which their name was long applied.
When the English undertook the famous expedition to punish the Pequots for their alleged atrocities, Roger Williams succeeded in enlisting the aid of the Narragansetts, and major Mason that of the Mohegans, so that about this period two naturally hostile tribes were at peace with one another and united against their common enemy. By the bold expedition which destroyed the Pequot fort in May, 1637, the war was concluded, for the foe was almost if not quite exterminated. A threefold treaty was soon afterward signed at Hartford, in which the English, the Narra- gansetts and the Mohegans were parties. The two Indian tribes were to keep the tomahawk buried, and refer their troubles to the English. For a time they observed the letter if not the spirit of the contract, but at length Miantonomoh, the Narragansett chief, and Uncas, the Mohegan, grew jealous of one another. Each strove to enlist the sympathy of the whites; but Uncas was the more successful, and, as a natural consequence, the difficulties between the rival sachems increased and open war broke out.
54
THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
From the many rumors, traditions and allusions which have come to us from those days, it would require more legal skill than I possess, to deduce "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." But there are a few incidents of this protracted war, the details of which have, at least, been so often repeated, that they seem authentic, and demand from us a passing mention .* The first to which I allude is the battle between Uncas and Miantono- moh, on the great plain some two miles west of where we stand. The Mohegan sachem challenged the leader of his foes to fight him singly, but the challenge was declined, the host of the Narragansetts soon afterward routed, and their proud chieftain taken prisoner in his flight. Even for those savage days, this was a bloody battle. Miantonomoh was kept a prisoner for a time. At last, his doom was sealed by the English, who, after various doubts and long deliberations, decided (whether wisely or unwisely is still a matter of dispute) that he should be put to death by his conqueror. Tradition says that he met his fate on the Sachem's plain where he had been captured, and where a block of granite, replacing the loose pile of stones which the Indians threw together, still reminds us of his lamentable fate. Uncas is said to have gratified his revenge by tasting the flesh of his slaughtered victim, pronouncing it the sweetest morsel he had ever eaten.t
Another incident, free from this barbarous character, relates to the war at a later period. Uncas was besieged in his fort, on the bank of the Thames, nearly opposite Poquetannock. His pro- visions were almost exhausted, and destruction seemed inevitable. At length lieut. Thomas Leffingwell, and others, who had learned the perilous condition of the Mohegans, secretly brought the longed for corn, and so recruited the besieged army that they succeeded in repelling their enemies, and ever afterward remembered with gratitude this timely assistance. There can be little question that such generous relief cemented the friendship of Uncas for the whites, and saved the companions of Leffingwell in after days from many a hostile attack.
The rocks where the welcome interview is said to have taken place between the sachem and his friend, are still known as the chair of Uncas.
At another time, (perhaps just after the battle on the great plain, to which allusion has been made,) we are told that the
* See note B.
t See note C.
55
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
Narragansetts were so pressed by the Mohegans, that either in rash courage, or excessive fear, they plunged from the lofty cliff at the west of the Yantic falls, and were lost in the abyss.
But these stirring incidents which tradition perpetuates, should be reviewed by the muse of romance, rather than of history. It is probable that we have the facts in outline, though we have the outlines only. Legends enough are extant to celebrate each hill and plain in Norwich. Wawequa's hill, Fort hill, Little Fort hill, Sachem's plain, Trading cove, the Indian burying ground, each has its plaintive yet its pleasing story. Would that some skillful hand would weave the scattered threads, and do for Nor- wich what Cooper has so aptly done for another portion of our country !
I am forbidden to dwell longer on this period or to delineate in full the eventful life of Uncas, by the recollection of that interest- ing discourse which the author of the "Life of Brandt" delivered when the Uncas monument was erected .* . Besides, the character of the sachem is now very generally appreciated as it deserves. The common opinion is not far from right, that he was about equally removed from the savage and the saint. Long ago, Cotton Mather called him "an obstinate infidel," although John Mason had said he was "a great friend and did us much service." Each had reason to make his assertion. The truth is, that being natu- rally a man of decided qualities, both good and bad, he learned new virtues as well as vices by his intercourse with the English.
When king Charles the First sent his red faced, well beloved cousin, "a Bible, to show him the way to heaven, and a sword, to defend him from his enemies," Uncas valued the latter gift much more than he did the former. But I am happy to bring forward one new fact to show that he was not at all times indifferent to the other present. It has often been stated that Uncas uniformly op- posed the introduction of Christianity among the people of his tribe. Within a few days past an original document has come to light which bears important testimony on this interesting ques- tion.t It is nothing less than a bond in which, under his own
* See Note D.
t The original document is owned by J. Carson Brevoort, Esq., of Brooklyn, N. Y. I am indebted to the Rev. Dr. Waddington, of London, for calling my attention to the paper, and for making the fac simile copy which was shown to the audience.
56
THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
signature, the sachem promises to attend the ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Fitch, whensoever and wheresoever he may choose to appoint. This paper is so remarkable that I shall take the liberty of reading it in full. If we can not call it the sachem's creed or confession of faith, it is at least his covenant.
Be it known to all men and in special to the Authority of The Colony of Conecticott That I Uncass sachim of the Munheags, now resident in Pame- chaug doe by these presents firmly engage and binde my selfe, that I will from time to time and at all times hereafter, in a constant way and manner attend upon Mr. James Fitch Minister of Norwich, at all such seasons as he shall ap- point for preaching to and praying with the Indians either at my now residence, or wheresoever els he shall appoint for that holy service, and further I doe faithfully promis to Command all my people to attend the same, in a constant way and solemn manner at all such times as shall be sett by the sayd Mr. James Fitch minister, alsoe I promis that I will not by any wayes or meanes what soe ever, either privatly or openly use any plots or contriveances by words or ac- tions to affright or discourage any of my people or others, from attending the Good work aforesayd, upon penalty of suffering the most grevious punishment that can be inflicted upon me, and Lastly I promis to encourage all my people by all Good wayes and meanes I can, in the due observance of such directions and instructions, as shall be presented to them by the sayd Mr. James Fitch aforesayd, and to the truth hereof this seaventh day of June in the year one thoussand six hundred seventy and three I have hereunto set my hand or mark.
Wittnesed by us
mark
John Tallcott, Tho : Stanton, Ser. Samuell Mason.
The * of Uncass.
of Uncass.
Let us look with charity, my friends, upon this promise, remem- bering that every man, red face and pale face alike, is accepted " according to that which he hath, and not according to that which he hath not."
Descendants of Uncas, whose fathers bade our fathers welcome to their wigwams and their hunting grounds, we welcome you to this our jubilee .* Yet our joy is not without its sorrow when we see that you have lost what we have gained, that your numbers are few, and your sachems gone. Be assured for your comfort that the Great Spirit himself has ordered that every race, like every man, should act his part and die. But grateful remembrance shall live, and until yonder shaft of granite shall have crumbled
* A score or two of the Mohegans were seated near the speaker. See Note E.
57
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
to the dust, until our race shall be no more, succeeding genera- tions shall be taught that Uncas was the white man's friend.
When we turn from the Indian history to that of the English, our information for several years continues to be likewise frag- mentary and unsatisfactory. The original records of Saybrook have disappeared, and almost every clue is lost to the circumstances which attended the removal of the colony to the east. The earli- est entry on the public records of Norwich is dated December 11th, 1660. The name of Norwich first appears on the colony books at Hartford, so far as I am informed, in October, 1661. The papers of an early date respecting the first church have wholly perished. You therefore can not expect, in this part of the story, that I shall add to your present knowledge; and I can only repeat, in a new form, the items which have been often told before. May we not learn from the losses, of which we are now sensible, the importance of securing, for those who come after us, copies of what yet re- main-the torn and almost illegible papers now gradually decaying in the town clerk's office ?
Most gladly to-day would we summon before us one of the ori- ginal proprietors who succeeded, in 1660, to these domains of the Indians, and made Norwich of Mohegan. Were such our privi- lege, I am sure that with one voice we should call on major John Mason, renowned at the time of the settlement of this town, as the hero of the Pequot war, and honored as the actual deputy governor of the colony of Connecticut .* Picture him before you now, my hearers; his manly form unbent by age, his eye un- dimmed, his active manner still evincing readiness to plan and will to execute; while his lofty brow and composed countenance as clearly indicate the man of prudent counsel., Ask him what you desire to know of his companions in the settlement of Norwich.
With your own exploits, most worshipful governor, we are all familiar. They form a stirring chapter in the history of New Eng- land, which we teach in our common schools. We have heard of your bravery, under Fairfax in the old world, over Uncas in the new. We honor your wisdom as a statesman not less than your boldness as a warrior. To-morrow we shall celebrate your fame.t
* See Note F.
+ On the day following this address, a discourse, commemorative of major Mason, was pronounced by the Hon. John A. Rockwell.
8
58
THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
To-day, let us hear of your comrades. Were they men of char- acter ?
Indeed they were, the major would reply, as brave a company as ever trod the wilderness. Nearly all were born in England, and came in early life to this new country. They had landed in various ports, and many of them had resided in Hartford till we formed a colony in the fort at the mouth of Connecticut river. Many others joined us while we were in Saybrook. At length, in the spirit of true pilgrims, having no abiding city, they listened to my story of the beauty of these hills and plains, and the charm- ing valleys extending in every direction, and joined by men of kindred sentiments from New London and elsewhere, they came with joy into this promised land. They were all puritans, hearty friends of civil and religious liberty ; and more than that, they were honest Christians, fearing God and loving man. They made no high pretensions. Some of them, I know, could boast of pedi- grees as good as any in the land; but they counted little upon that. Some of them were of humble origin; but they were not despised for that. We valued men least for what their fathers were, and most for what themselves were worth.
And had you not found in Saybrook the freedom which you sought ?
Yes, Saybrook was a good home-I love to remember it. A finer river nowhere flows; more abundant and better fisheries need not be sought ; and our little fort, to some of us, at least, was hallowed by many a sacred recollection. But we left because this spot was so much better. I had been a traveler. In boyhood I had seen fair scenes in England; a youth, I had crossed the channel, and had trod the fertile Netherlands; a man, I had traversed New England ; but I had never found a better place for settlement. The rivers, though not large, were sufficient for our trade, and an admi- rable harbor was not far distant. The back country was produc- tive. Uncas urged us to come, and assured us of his friendship. Saybrook and Hartford and Windsor were all good, but Norwich was the place for a beautiful and tranquil home.
Did you call this region Norwich before removing here ?
Yes ; its position on the river reminded some of us of the Nor- wich which we had known in England, (the same where John
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
Robinson lived,) although we did not expect that its high preemi- nence in manufactures would ever be rivaled by the simple home- spun of our feeble settlement .*
It was also the early residence, I believe, of the Huntingtons, who joined us in Saybrook. Besides-though this was said more in sport than in earnest-governor Winthrop's home at the mouth of the Thames had been called New London, and why should we not commemorate the second town in England by the designation of New Norwich.
Will you tell us how you came from Saybrook hither ?
Having bought a tract of nine miles square and secured it by a formal deed, we surveyed our lands in 1659, and left a few men here during the winter. Early in the spring of 1660 our company came in shallops, stopping over night at New London that some of the party might visit the site of the Pequot fort, and enjoy the beautiful prospect from its summit. Next day, we sailed up the Thames. As we passed the chair of Uncas, a company of Mohe- gans, with the old sachem at their head, joined us, in their birch canoes, and came with us up the cove to the landing near the falls. On our way thence to the plot chosen for our future homes, we passed near the Indian burying ground. Uncas charged us, I re- member, to keep it sacred for ever, and I gave him a promise which I hope will never be forgotten.
How many were with you, major Mason, in the company ?
Indeed, we were too busy to count.+ I believe we first divided the land among some five-and-thirty full grown men, and as most of them were married, and had families, we may have been some five or six score in all. But though I can not say how many indi- viduals were in our company, I can tell you almost, if not quite, every name. First, of course, I must mention our worthy pastor, Rev. James Fitch, first in all good words and works. Then I hardly know what order to follow.
Lieut. Thomas Tracy witnessed with me the Indian deed, and afterward held almost all our civil offices. Lieut. Thomas Lef- fingwell was as brave a soldier as we had, and secured our pur- chase by the relief he furnished Uncas. Thomas Adgate and
* See Note G.
t See Note H.
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THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
Hugh Caulkins were our deacons, ordained as such in Saybrook. Simon Huntington succeeded one of them in that sacred office. His brother, Christopher, who was one of our two earliest select- men, married Ruth Rockwell, and her eldest son was the first born boy in Norwich. Old goodman Bradford was a selectman for the west end, and goodman Hyde was always a wise counselor. Thomas Post, poor man, was the most unfortunate of our band, for he lost his wife soon after we came here, the earliest victim death demanded. Then there were the two brothers Backus, lieut. William and Stephen, excellent men. Baldwin, and good- man Gager, ensign Waterman, Bliss, and Allyn, and Bingham, and Bowers, and Edgerton, were all original proprietors, and so was lieutenant Griswold, one of the most active of our company. Of course we had a Smith, and beside there were Olmstead, Pease, Howard, Reynolds, Read, and Royce. John Birchard, I mention last, but he was by no means last in the estimation of the colony, being townsman and constable, and the first commissioner of the peace.
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