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 With an appendix, containing historical documents of local interest 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 6
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* Hist. of Conn. ii, 157.
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and her son Isaac, who afterward became a distinguished baptist minister, and is well known as the author of a history of New England, chiefly devoted to ecclesiastical affairs .* Some of the private papers of Rev. Dr. Lord, which have recently been dis- covered, and are carefully preserved by his successor, the Rev. Mr. Arms, contain minute details in respect to the action of the church at this time. Not only are the records of the meetings full, but the formal citations of the delinquent members are preserved with the indorsements of the brethren by whom they were returned. Regular church meetings for purposes of discipline were held at frequent intervals. Every separating brother and sister appears to have been privately warned of his error, and (unless he renounced it) to have been cited to appear before the church. There, in solemn assembly, the reasons of each one's separation were de- liberately heard, and a minute of them made. They were after- ward, one by one, discussed by the brethren, and a vote taken in respect to their sufficiency. The half-way covenant was clearly one of the stumbling blocks of the seceders.
This sad controversy continued about ten years from 1745, but was most serious during the first two. Several churches were established, but none of them were long continued. "Most of the members," says Miss Caulkins, "returned to their ancient home and were received with cordiality. Among these was the vener- able deacon Griswold. It created considerable emotion in the meeting house, when, for the first time after his secession, his gray locks were seen in the old man's seat." We can now see the cause of these difficulties, and the permanent good which came from them. The revival was only the occasion which brought out a hostility long existing to the rigorous exactments of the statutes of the state, in respect to ecclesiastical affairs and the maintenance of the established order. The repeal, in 1743, of " the act for the relief of sober consciences," and the consequent proceedings of the legislature, intensified this opposition. "At the same time," says Dr. Trumbull, "the severe and extraordinary act of the colony, enforcing the constitution by law, which never was designed and was undoubtedly inconsistent with the right of conscience, gave further ground of disaffection to the constitution, and of separation from the standing churches."
* See Hovey's Life of Isaac Backus, Boston, 1858.
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There can be no doubt that the whole movement of the sepa- rates, while it may be characterized as revolutionary, and perhaps fanatical, led throughout the state to a recognition of the principles of civil and religious liberty in which we all rejoice. Those who differ from the existing churches now, have all the freedom they desire. That point has been settled for ever. But it should not be supposed that the separates caused our present freedom ; they were only the occasion, as we have said, of changes in the laws. Such changes would certainly have been made if these exciting movements had not provoked them. The germ lay farther back than the days of the little congregation in the Grover house ;* even farther back than the early separation of the puritans in the days of non-conformity. It was at least as old as Luther.
Important as these ecclesiastical discussions undoubtedly were, they did not occupy our fathers to the exclusion of politics and business.
The development of trade-even commerce with foreign coun- tries, of which "up town" was the emporium ; the subsequent and consequent growth of Chelsea, or the landing; the difficulties which arose in respect to building a bridge across the cove; the long pro- tracted Mohegan controversy; the organization of new ecclesias- tical societies ; the beginnings of Bozrah, Lisbon and Franklin ; the manumission of slaves; the mission of Samson Occum and the Rev. Mr. Whitaker to England, in connection with the estab- lishment of the Indian school of Dr. Wheelock; the part which Norwich took in the French war; the " non-importation agree- ment;" the reception of the stamp act; the famous meeting at Peck's tavern, of which to-morrow (remember "Wilkes and the eighth of September") will be the anniversary; and the other ex- citing events which were a prelude to the war of independence, are all topics in the unraveling of which an antiquary of the present day would find especial pleasure.t
It is the period on which the lamp of personal recollection first casts for us a ray of light. Those who are now our " oldest inhab- itants," born some ninety years ago, must remember many who were active in political and mercantile affairs in the middle of the
* This house, once noted for the separate meetings which were held in it, still stands on the road to Bean Hill, one of the oldest buildings in town. t See Note M.
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last century. The time is thus distant enough to charm us with fas- cinating enigmas-near enough to reward with a full revelation, the patient and diligent inquirer. As a whole, we may distinguish it as a period of growth, of new and varied phases of enterprise, and of general prosperity, as well as of earnest discussion and decided action in regard to the very foundations of civil liberty. But lest the bell which still announces nine o'clock to the residents of the old town plot-long may the custom last !- should interrupt our story, we must hasten forward to events more interesting to a large assembly-the interest which our fathers took in the Ameri- can revolution.
In that important struggle, Connecticut performed a part which can not be too much extolled. Providence had ordered that in the most of her territory, she should be spared the horrors of actual bloodshed. But her labors for the common cause of independence were surpassed by none of the colonies. Her contributions in men and money were beyond those of any of the other states except Massachusetts, and in proportion to the inhabitants were larger even than those of the old bay state. She well deserved the desig- nation of "the provision state," and the name of her patriot gov- ernor has fitly become a sobriquet of the nation.
The history of Norwich, during the whole period of the Ameri- can revolution, presents, in many respects, a miniature view of the history of the state and of the country. There were several cir- cumstances, however, which unitedly gave it an importance equaled by no other town in Connecticut, except, perhaps, the capitals. On the bank of a large river, several miles from the sound, it was not exposed, like New London, to the attack of a hostile fleet, nor too far inland, like Lebanon, to be a store place for the army. It was on the highway between Boston and New York, convenient to the residence of the governor, Trumbull, sur- rounded by a productive farming country, and inhabited by men of wealth, sagacity and patriotism.
Credit enough has never been bestowed upon our Norwich fa- thers for the part they took in the war. Hundreds of letters, nev- er printed, some of them hid in garrets for the last half century, have passed under my examination within the past few weeks, and I rise from their perusal amazed at the circumstantial record
10
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they present of the diligent exertions and the patriotic sacrifices which were made by our fathers in this town to secure the bless- ings we enjoy.
One family is especially identified with the history of those days-I refer, of course, to the Huntingtons. Foremost among them in the early stages of the war stood general Jabez Hunt- ington, the incidents of whose life are worthy of grateful re- membrance at this time. A descendant in the fourth generation of deacon Simon Huntington, one of the original proprietors of the town, he added new luster to a name even then distin- guished in the history of Norwich. He was the son of Joshua Huntington, and was born in August, 1719. After graduating at Yale college, in 1741, in company with governor Livingston, of New Jersey, Rev. Dr. Samuel Hopkins, and other distinguished men, he returned to Norwich and entered upon commercial pur- suits. The trade of Norwich, as we shall see in another connec- tion, was then remarkably extended, and among the successful merchants, none stood higher, and none acquired a handsomer for- tune than he. In 1750 he was chosen to represent this town in the general assembly, and for several years afterward he was either a member of the lower house, over which he often presided, or was one of the assistants. While attending the semi-annual meetings of the legislature, he would write home to his son, Joshua Huntington, particular directions in respect to the farm and store, always closing his letters with a devout petition for the blessing of divine providence on all his family. When governor Fitch, in 1765, presented to his council the stamp act, and pro- posed that they should administer to him the oath, which would require the execution of that obnoxious measure, Jabez Hunting- ton, with his cousin Hezekiah, the other member from Norwich; voted, with a majority of the council, to do no such thing, and (when four of the councilors proceeded to administer the oath) in- dignantly left the chamber. In 1774, he was chosen moderator of the meeting in which Norwich declared itself in favor of liberty. When hostilities commenced in 1775, he was appointed one of the committee of safety to aid the governor by counsel when the legis- lature was not in session, and in this arduous post he remained during most of the war. In December, 1776, he was appointed
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one of the two major generals of the militia of Connecticut,* and on the death of his senior, general Wooster, he was appointed, in May, 1777, sole major general, and was authorized, without or- ders from the governor and council, to call out the militia for the defense of this and neighboring states.
Toward the close of the war, his health broke down under the pressure of his losses and labors, and after remaining some years a severe sufferer, he died October 5th, 1786, aged 67. In 1741, he had made a public profession of religion, and his whole course in life evinced the sincerity of his faith.
A large part of the papers of general Jabez Huntington have unfortunately perished. From those which are preserved we are able to see that his correspondence was very wide and important. His sons wrote to him by every opportunity, from the various camps in which they were stationed, giving him, with the confi- dence of children, minute details respecting men and measures. His replies were equally frequent. In them all are evinced his patriotic and religious spirit. Washington, Lafayette, Hancock, and other such men, occasionally addressed him, and the influential patriots of his own state-Trumbull, Sherman, Williams, and Samuel Huntington-were in continual correspondence with him.
The merit of general Huntington does not consist alone in his self-consecration to the cause of American freedom. He was the father of five sons and two daughters, all of whom were early imbued with his own patriotic spirit. It was clear that if he en- gaged in the opening conflict, his property and theirs would be seriously diminished, and perhaps entirely confiscated. Chiefly solicitous in regard to their interests, he assembled them, one day, to advise what course should be pursued. He laid before them the great interests at stake, both public and personal. Should the colonial arms be victorious, private prosperity might be sacrificed in the struggle, but American liberty would be secure. Should the British forces triumph, no one could foretell the ignominy and suffering to which, as rebellious subjects, they would certainly be exposed.
* The rank of which may best be understood by mentioning that the briga- diers, appointed at the same time, were such distinguished men as Dyer, Wads- worth, Salstonstall, Oliver Wolcott, and Gold S. Silliman.
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Accustomed, in all his ways, to ask for guidance from above, he called upon his family to bow with him in prayer. We can not doubt that the petitions which arose from that family altar were humble and devout, and that the God of battles listened to his cry.
At length, having first consulted his wife, he called upon his children in turn, beginning with his eldest, and asked for their opinions. They answered with one voice, daughter and son alike. That voice was for liberty ! Nobly did their after course redeem the pledge thus sacredly given, to devote both purse and sword to the interests of their country. Four of the sons-Jedediah, An- drew, Joshua, and Ebenezer-and their brother-in-law, colonel Chester, soon entered the army-one of the brothers being too young for such service, while the other brother-in-law (Dr. Strong) not detained by the duty of his calling, fulfilled his sacred office by acting as a chaplain in the army. This band of brothers were found in service from the time of the earliest entrenchments on Bunker's Hill to the decisive victory on the plains of Yorktown. If the annals of the revolution record the names of any family which contributed more to that great struggle, I have yet to learn it.
Associated with general Jabez Huntington, in counsel and action, were two younger men, bearing the same surname, although be- longing to different branches of this wide-spread family.
One of those to whom I refer, was the Hon. Benjamin Hunting- ton, (sometimes familiarly known as "Judge Ben,") a native of this town and a graduate of Yale college in the class of 1761. He early entered upon the practice of law in this place, bringing to his chosen profession so much of talent and energy that he soon rose to the foremost rank. For many years he avoided public life, but in 1775 he was appointed one of the council of safety for Connecticut, and his interest in the common cause did not permit him to decline that responsible and arduous post.
In 1781 he was chosen to represent the state in the continental congress, which he did until 1784. He was re-appointed in 1787; and in 1789, when the present form of government was established, he was one of the representatives of Connecticut in the first United States congress. As a member of both houses of the state legis- lature, as judge of the supreme court, and as the first mayor of the
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city of Norwich, he evinced the same wisdom and public spirit which had been displayed in the councils of the nation.
A third member of this family, remotely connected with the two just named, had the rare privilege, as we now esteem it, of signing his name to the declaration of independence. Although born in Windham, he was a descendant of one of the original proprietors of this town, and removed here in 1760, to pursue the practice of law. After representing the town for four years in the general assembly, he was appointed king's attorney, and continued so for several years. In 1774 he was an associate judge of the supreme court. At the opening of the war, he also was appointed one of the council of safety for the state. In 1775, he was chosen a member of the continental congress, which, on the fourth of July, in the following year, declared the colonies free. I have before me the original letter in which he briefly announces this important trans- action to his townsman, general Jabez; but there is a still more interesting letter, addressed to the same person, by the honorable William Williams, likewise one of the signers of the declaration, from which, as it has never been printed, I quote a few lines, to show the estimate which he placed on the services of his col- league :-
" PHILADELPHIA, September 30th, 1776.
HONORED AND DEAR SIR :- * * *
* *
* *
If our assembly rechose their Delegates, I hope they will be guided by Wisdom and Prudence. I must say that Mr Sherman, from his early acquaintance, his good sense, Judgment, steadiness and inflexible Integrity, has acquired much Respect, and is an ex- ceeding valuable member; and so is Mr Huntington, truly ju- dicious, upright and worthy the Trust. In spight of that awful contempt of Religion and Goodness too visible, &c., Integrity and Virtue do and will command Respect. For my part I neither expect nor wish to remain here-the Burden is exceeding great. But in this critical time the acquaintance the others have with the run and connection of affairs, is very usefull. It is of very great Importance that whoever attend here should be men of Upright- ness and Integrity, inflexibly resolved to pursue and serve the great cause, insensible to motives of ambition, interest and any other applause than that of a good Conscience."
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With such a character, it is not surprising that Mr. Huntington was chosen, in 1779, to be the president of congress, and that he was re-chosen in 1780. After this time he resumed his seat upon the bench in Connecticut, till he was again sent to congress in 1783. In the next year he was chosen lieutenant governor and appointed chief justice of the state, and two years afterward, on the death of Matthew Griswold, he was elected governor, and was annually returned to that honorable post, with singular unanimity, for ten successive years. He died in office, in 1796. The funeral sermon, which was preached by the reverend Dr. Strong, bears witness to the sincerity of his faith and the uprightness of his life. The history of the country declares the wisdom of his counsel, the excellence of his judgment, and the unfailing purity of his patri- otism.
These three men, whose frequent appointment, by the voice of their fellow-citizens, to posts of responsibility in peace and war, we have hastily sketched, all members of the council of safety, may fitly be characterized as the counselors whom Norwich furnished to the nation and the state in the trying emergencies of the war of inde- pendence .* They are men of whom we may justly be proud; men to whom the country will for ever be indebted. Precious are the tombs which hold the dust of such patriots-may they never be suffered to decay! More precious are the perishable letters and papers in which their hands recorded the history of a nation's birth ; may no future fire diminish the number, enhancing their price if not lessening their value, like the famous books of the sybil! Dearest of all is the reputation they have left for sagacity, pru- dence, and inflexible integrity, guided in action by a love of lib- erty, unfailing and unselfish. As the years roll on, may grateful posterity emulate their virtues, while honoring their names !
When the actual conflict in arms began at Lexington, it was clear that an army must be raised, and an army maintained. The first was an easy task. Thousands of willing men, your own an- cestors among them, marched immediately for Bunker's Hill. But where were their arms, their ammunition, their blankets, their food, their means of conveyance, to come from? On whom should
* It is certainly remarkable that three of the nine men who constituted the or ginal council of safety were residents of Norwich-and each of the three was a Huntington.
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devolve the drudgery of raising supplies for those who were in the field; of caring for the almost widowed wives and almost or- phan children who were left at home; of raising the funds which then as much as now were the sinews of war? This was a labor none the less arduous because it was less conspicuous.
Of the men in Norwich most actively engaged in this difficult service, none deserves more honorable mention than captain, or as he was afterward called, colonel Christopher Leffingwell. As I mention his name, there are many present who will recall his stately and venerable form, his head white with years, the digni- fied bearing which marked the gentleman of the old school, and the energetic manner which was equally characteristic of the suc- cessful man of business. At the time of the war, he was in the prime of life, residing in a house still standing near what was then known as the Leffingwell corner. He had been long engaged in trade and manufactures, several branches of which he was first to introduce. A lineal descendant of lieutenant Thomas Leffingwell, and connected by birth and marriage with others of the old es- tablished families, he also ranked in property and character, among the foremost citizens of that day. Like almost all his townsmen, he was an early and constant friend of the colonial cause, never stopping to inquire whether this implied hostility to old mother England would affect injuriously his extended trade. Named by his fellow-citizens, at the famous meeting of June 6th, 1774, as one of the committee of correspondence for the town, the chief labor of that arduous post appears to have fallen upon him. From the papers still preserved with pious care by one of his de- scendants,* it is clear that his correspondence was not merely offi- cial, but that his familiar acquaintance with influential men throughout the country, added greatly to his influence, in those days of embarrassment and doubt. Let me mention some exam- ples, interesting, not only as personal memorials, but as indica- tions of what was in progress here in "the days of seventy-six."
Five days before the battle of Lexington, we find John Han- cock, president of the provincial congress just adjourned, thank- ing Mr. Leffingwell for the important intelligence he had commu- nicated; which appears to have been a full private letter from England, giving an account of the action of the ministry.
* Mrs. A. R. Street, of New Haven, to whose valuable collection of auto- graphs I am indebted for many important facts.
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The first announcement of the battles of Lexington and Con- cord was addressed to him, and I now hold before you that original document from which, not only the citizens of Norwich, but gov- ernor Trumbull himself, first heard those alarming tidings. Colo- nel Jedediah Huntington writes to him, a little later, from the camp at Roxbury, and colonel Trumbull from the camp at Cam- bridge, asking for supplies.
Whenever New London was threatened by the enemy's fleet, a message was sent to Norwich, and more than once captain Lef- fingwell and his light infantry went down to the defense of their friends at the river's mouth. "No company appeared so well as the Norwich light infantry, under captain Leffingwell," says our historian.
General Parsons, on his way to Bunker's Hill, June 10th, 1775, writes that one of his companies will lodge at Norwich-captain Leffingwell must provide for them.
In May, 1776, Nicholas Brown, of Providence, sends him mus- kets to be forwarded to general Washington-relying on "his well known lead in the common cause, to send them as soon as possi- ble." At a later day, load after load of tents are brought him to be forwarded with all expedition to the commander-in-chief.
These are but illustrations of the innumerable calls which were made upon him. Amid them all, he exercised a generous hospital- ity, while his daughters, celebrated as belles, gracefully contrib- uted to the entertainment of the guests. In August, 1776, colonel Wadsworth introduces to him an English loyalist, who had been advised to leave New York, but who is worthy of respectful and considerate treatment in the rural districts. Titus Hosmer intro- duces to him, Mr. Timothy Dwight-who had been a tutor several years "in our college," (the same who was afterward to be the dis- tinguished president of that institution,) and who thinks of settling in Norwich for the practice of the law. General Washington, in one of his visits, partakes of the hospitalities of the Leffingwell home, and governor Trumbull sends his respectful apology that he is unable to meet, at Mr. Leffingwell's, the commander-in-chief.
Captain Leffingwell was not a man for emergencies merely. In quiet times he was equally energetic and equally serviceable to his native town. To him belongs the credit of establishing a paper mill at the falls, the first ever built in the state, and one of the first in the country. More than that, his memory shall be
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ever green among us while the noble arch of elms, whose grateful shade has this morning sheltered our procession, reminds us that when the war was over and the spear became a pruning hook, he planted those sentinels of peace which still guard your homes. Let the city of elms bestow the laurels on captain Hillhouse- Norwich shall wreathe them for colonel Christopher Leffingwell.
But this honored man is connected in an interesting way with another important event-the capture of Ticonderoga at the be- ginning of the war. He was one of those sagacious citizens of Connecticut who saw the importance of promptly securing the forts upon lake Champlain, and who quietly united in sending a committee to Vermont, supplied with the necessary funds, to en- gage the services of colonel Ethan Allen and the green mountain boys for that hazardous undertaking. A few days ago this little book which I hold before you, and which has long been carefully treasured among the papers of colonel Leffingwell, was placed in my hands. It proves to be an original journal of that expedition, kept by our neighbor major Edward Mott, of Preston, "chairman of the committee," addressed to captain Leffingwell, at whose re- quest the bold officer from across the Shetucket appears to have become the head-perhaps I should say the plenipotentiary-of this Connecticut embassy to Vermont. The record begins at Preston, April 28th, 1775, and closes at Ticonderoga, May 10th. It is too long to read in full on this occasion, but one page is of too much local interest to be withheld .* A native of this town, (whose dishonored name I will not mention in this place,) acting under a commission from Massachusetts, endeavored to supersede Allen in his command, even after the latter had entered the fort "in the name of Jehovah and the continental congress." He in- sisted that as Allen had no legal orders, he had no right to con- tinue in command. "On which," says major Mott, "I wrote col- onel Allen his orders as followeth," viz:
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