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 With an appendix, containing historical documents of local interest 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 8
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So you see that the people were as ready as their leaders, to vote to fight, and to pay for the maintenance of the principles at stake.
When at last the war was over, the sufferings of these brave patriots were not ended. They had bought the freedom, not of the town nor of the state, but of the continent. But they had bought it at the sacrifice of time, and labor, and health, and prosperity. The old families were many of them sadly depressed in financial circumstances. New men came into town enterprising and unem- barrassed-business revived and the community prospered. Yet in this period of prosperity, in this hour of jubilee, let gratitude and honor be unsparingly bestowed on the memory of those who pledged for us their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
The story of these days is long: but the half remains untold. Norwich was a store house where grain, molasses, tents, blankets and other necessaries, were kept in readiness for the army; a maga- zine whence powder and ball were issued on demand; a city of refuge to which shrewd tories like Dr. Church could be sent for confinement, with no fear of their escape ; a council chamber where the governor and committee of safety could conveniently assemble ; an armory where Backus could cast the needed iron; a navy yard where Joshua Huntington could build a frigate for the continental congress ; a port from which armed vessels of the government, to say nothing of privateers, could conveniently sail, and which the continental army under Washington could select as "the most favorable place for taking the boats," between Boston and New York ; a camp where the troops of various generals could be safely quartered,-among others of the brave Lafayette, (the anniversary of whose birth occurred but yesterday-let us hold it in honorable remembrance;) a treasury, the drafts on which were never dishon- ored; a mount of sacrifice from which the incense of devout petition to the Lord of Hosts continually arose.
A grateful task awaits the writer who shall undertake to prepare a volume on "Norwich in the Revolution." The town that can point to its citizens active as counselors, as surgeons, as commissaries, as soldiers, as ship builders, as store keepers, as gun makers, and not
.
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THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
least honorable, as song writers for the cause of civil independence, may glory in her sons; and though her hills be rough and her rivers small, it will always be an honor to claim Norwich as a home.
The close of the war was followed by a period of great activity and prosperity. The trade, which in 1760 had been so extensive and profitable, and which had been sadly interrupted by the troubles of the country, now rapidly regained its former character, and the success which some thirty years before had crowned com- mercial skill, was equaled and surpassed. The wharves at the landing and the spacious warehouses up-town alike bore evidence of energy and thrift; but "the scepter had departed from Israel." Chelsea soon eclipsed the old town plot, and the record of 1795, drawn up for the purpose of securing a post office at the landing, re- ports that of the shipping then belonging to Norwich, only 210 tons were owned in the old parish, and the remainder, 4,102 tons, were owned in the port.
Breed, Ripley, Lathrop, Howland, Perkins, Mumford, Spald- ing, Leffingwell, Rogers, Huntington, Hyde, Hubbard, Coit, Gris- wold, Bill, Trumbull, Dewitt, Kinne, Williams, Dunham, Fitch, Eells, Marvin, Brown, Thomas, Carpenter, were among the most active of the citizens of Norwich, about 1800. Nor should the spiritual labors of the Rev. Dr. Strong, in the first church, be un- mentioned at this time, whose honored ministry extended over a period of 67 years ;* nor those of the excellent Mr. Tyler, for 54 years the rector of Christ church; nor those of Mr. King, pastor of the church in Chelsea nearly a quarter of a century.
But these names are those of your fathers and grandfathers, men who are well remembered by many in this audience. It would be presumptuous for me to dwell upon these times in the presence of those whose own recollections extend through the last fifty years, and who received from the lips of those who were influential at the close of the previous half century, the history of their deeds. I should delight to dwell upon the growth of the town since 1800, of the rise of manufactories, of the influence of steam upon our trade and locomotion, of the settlements at Greene- ville and the Falls, as well as at Yantic and Bozrahville, and other places where the busy whirl of the spindle is heard ; of the pros-
* The ministries of Dr. Lord and Dr. Strong extend through 117 years, beside six years of joint service.
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
perity which marks the religious and educational institutions of the town; of the influence which the sons of Norwich are exerting in different important posts at home and abroad ; and of the num- ber of ministers of the gospel, of public officers high in rank, of college graduates, of successful merchants, of ingenious mechanics, who received their early training here .* But the historical in- vestigations of Miss Caulkins, the genealogies of chancellor Wal- worth and others, the commemorative discourses preached last Sunday, by the several clergymen of the town, and the papers which skillful hands are preparing in respect to the physicians, the lawyers, the press and the schools of Norwich, forbid me to enter upon any of these inviting themes.t Among all the transactions of this period, there is none which succeeding generations will re- gard with more gratitude and honor, than the foundation of yonder institution of learning,¿ in which the best instruction is freely open to all.
The connection between Norwich and the various colleges of the country, it has given me especial pleasure to trace through the whole history of the town. There is a list before me which is in- tended to include the names of all graduates who were born with- in the limits of the nine miles square, or whose paternal residence was here during their college course. It begins as we should ex- pect it to begin, with the son of the first minister, and it closes as it ought to close, with graduates of the free academy. The whole list contains two hundred names, three-fourths of whom are grad- uates of Yale college. It includes five college presidents-Fitch, Backus, Nott, Haskell and Wentworth; twenty other officers of colleges ;§ four senators of the United States-Tracy, Lanman, Huntington and Foster; fourteen representatives in congress ; nearly seventy clergymen of different denominations, fourteen of whom are doctors in divinity ; beside judges, lawyers, physicians, merchants and teachers of eminence, to tell whose names would be to repeat the catalogue.
One fact only is to be regretted as we scrutinize the list. It does not increase as the years roll on in proportion to the increase
* See Note Q.
t See Note R.
# The Norwich Free Academy, to which a few citizens have contributed more than one hundred thousand dollars. See Note S.
§ This includes three elected professors who did not accept.
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THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
in the population of the town. Can it be that the boys of the present century regard an education as less important to them than it was to their fathers ?
Norwich has not only sent students to college. Four institu- tions-Williams, Hamilton, Waterville and Georgetown-were guided in their foundations by natives of this place.
Yale college is even more indebted to Norwich. Before it was chartered by the state, major James Fitch (another son of reverend James) gave to the new collegiate school a farm of 637 acres of land, and offered the glass and nails for a house. The following is his proposal .*
MAJ.R FITCH'S GENEROSITY PROPOSED 1701.
In that it hath pleased ye Lord our God as a token for Good To us and children after us to put it into the hearts of his faithfull ministers: to take soe great paines, and be at soe considerable charge for setting up of a coledgeat schoole amongst us and now for farther promoating, of this God pleasing worke I humbly, free- ly and heartily offer, on demand to provid glass for a house and if people doe not come up to offer what is reasonable and needfull that I will then provid nails of all sorts : to be used in building a house and hall : 2ly I give a farme, 637 Acrs of land and when I come home I will send ye draft and laying out to Mr. Dan1 Taylor that he may make such a Deed proper in such a case the farme of value at 150£ I will alsoe take some pains to put it in a way of yearely profitt 30£ charge I hope will bring 20£ p yeare in a little time.
JAMES FITCH.
Newhaven Octobr 16 1701.
It was this noble gift which insured at that time the establish- ment of the now venerable institution. Not many years after, Dr. Daniel Lathrop, beside a large donation to the public school of his native place, gave £500 to the college without limitations ; and within the memory of most of those now present, Dr. Alfred E. Perkins, impressed with the thought that " a true university in these days is a collection of books," gave a fund of $10,000 to the college library in New Haven, thus perpetuating his name in grate- ful remembrance, and exerting an influence which will increase till the college and the country are no more. Three citizens of
** Copied from the original document in the treasurer's office, Yale college.
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
Norwich, "to the manor born," have thus given to Yale college the largest donations which, at each successive time, its treasury had received from any individual, and their example has been followed by many others, giving in proportion to their means. One name which I do not venture to mention in this presence, will be com- memorated at future celebrations as a benefactor of the higher educational institutions, beyond any one of all the liberal donors to whom reference has been made. But I am compelled to close.
Enough has been said to show that the history of the town is a record of patient enterprise, unfailing patriotism, and religious faith. Well may we be proud of our ancestry and birth-place. Well may we be thankful to the God of our fathers for his increas- ing blessings.
If there be one in this assembly who inquires the use of this protracted story, let me assure him that by the joyful recital of our fathers' virtues we incite ourselves and our children to like exploits of valor and trust. Some of us, now and then, have heard Connecticut decried ! Be assured that it is only ignorance and jealousy which assail her past reputation, while it is a knowledge of her true character which will strengthen the affection of her sons and weaken the power of unjust critics. What you know to be true of Norwich, is true in some degree of all Connecticut. A state which has Haynes, and Winthrop, and Eaton, and Mason, as its civil founders ; Hooker, and Davenport, and Fitch, as its religious pillars; Trumbull, and Sherman, and Williams, and Huntington, and Silliman, as its leaders in the struggle for civil liberty, should never fail of the filial reverence, the honest pride, the faithful and willing service of every son.
In conclusion, let us remember, and rejoice that the foundations of our native town were laid with forethought by brave, intelligent and religious men; that the right to the soil was acquired by purchase and the former owners conciliated as perpetual friends; that our fathers were free from intoleration and bigotry, and were ready to argue or to fight in defense of civil and religious liberty ; that they were industrious on the farm and enterprising in business ; that they preserved the golden mean between conservatism and radical- ism, being loyal to the king till endurance ceased to be a virtue, and then heartily devoted to the independence of America; that in the great conflict of the revolution, they sacrificed their fortunes
13
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THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
and exposed their lives, with a spirit of patriotism rarely equaled and never surpassed; and that their intelligence, thrift and virtue, have secured to their children, under the blessing of Providence, prosperity and happiness at home, reputation, honor and influence abroad.
Long live old Norwich ! and when the last of us shall lie beneath the sod, when the deeds of the present shall furnish the materials of history, may it be the lot of a future chronicler, scanning the memorials of our day, to record with truth that we were worthy of the precious heritage which we now enjoy.
NOTES TO THE HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
NOTE A. INDIAN DEED OF NORWICH.
The following is a copy of the deed as recorded in Hartford. The original document is not known to be in existence.
DEED.
Know All men that Onkos, Owaneco and Attawanhood, Sachems of Monheag, have bargained, sold and passed over, and doe by these presents, bargain, sell and pass over unto the Towne and Inhabitants of Norwich, nine miles square of lands, lyeing and being at Monheag and the partes thereunto adjoyning with all ponds, rivers, woods, quarries, mines, with all Royalties, privileges and ap- purtenances thereunto belonging, to them the sayd Inhabitants of Norwich, their heirs and successors forever, the sayd lands are to be bounded as follow- eth, viz., to the southward on the west side [of ] the Great River comonly called Monheag River, the line is to begin at the Brooke falling into the head of the Trading cove, and soe to run west norwest seven miles; from thence the line is to run nor-noreast nine miles ; and on the East side the foresayd River to the southward, the line is to joyne with London Bounds as it is now layed out, and soe to run east Two miles from the foresayd River, and so from thence the line is to Run nor-noreast nine miles, and from thence to Run nor-norwest nine miles to meet with the western line. In consideration whereof the sd On- kos, Owaneco, and Attawanhood doe acknowledg to have received of the parties aforesayd, the full [and just] sum of seventy pounds, and doe promise and engage ourselves, heirs and successours to warrant the sayd Bargain and sale to the aforesayd parties, their heirs and successours and them to defend from all
99
NOTES TO HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
claims or molestations from any whatsoever. In witness whereof wee have hereunto set our hands this sixth day of June Anno 1659.
ONKAS,
his
marke.
OWANEKO,
his
marke.
ATTAWANHOOD,
his
marke.
Witness hereunto, John Mason, Thomas Tracy.
[This Deed is Recorded in the Country Booke, Aug. 20th; 1663 : as Ateste,
JOHN ALLYN, Sec'y.]
Transcribed out of ye origanell and examined and recorded this 20th of August, 1663, pr me JOHN ALLYN, Secry.
NOTE B.
EARLY INDIAN HISTORY.
Dr. Trumbull, in his History of Connecticut, (i, 132) quotes "a manuscript of Mr. Hyde of Norwich," as his authority, in part, for the account of the battles of Uncas and Miantonomoh. Col. Stone (Uncas and Mianton. p. 115) refers to the same paper as "a traditionary letter written by Rev. Richard Hyde in 1769." Miss Caulkins rightly refers to the author (Hist. Norwich, p. 20) as " Richard Hyde, esq., a gentleman who throughout his life was in the habit of frequent intercourse with the Mohegans, and whose house was one of the favorite re- sorts of wanderers from that tribe."
The letter on which all these writers rely, has lately been found among the . manuscripts of the Yale college library. It is too long to print here, but is worthy of publication in some other connection.
NOTE C. MIANTONOMOK.
Gov. Winthrop (v. Savage's ed. ii, p. 162) says that Miantonomoh was slain by Uncas's brother in the way between Hartford and Windsor. This statement is discussed by the late professor Kingsley, of Yale college, (New Englander, vol. i, p. 226,) who concludes that the opinion held in Norwich is correct, that the Indian chief was slain near Greeneville, on what is termed the Sachem's plain. The site of his grave was long marked by a pile of loose stones. These having disappeared, a memorial block was erected, of which colonel Stone speaks as follows :-
" On the anniversary of American independence, in 1841, the inhabitants of the neighboring village of Greeneville paraded upon the plain, and erected on the spot where the chieftain fell and was buried, a neat granite monument, bear- ing the simple and appropriate inscription in capitals :-
MIANTONOMOH. 1643.
The monument consists of a single oblong block of stone, about eight feet by five, and perhaps five in thickness-resting upon a little mound raised for that purpose. An address was delivered on the occasion, by Mr. Gilman, of Nor-
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THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
wich." The stone was laid by Mr. Thomas Sterry Hunt, then a school boy in Greeneville, now the eminent chemist of Montreal, distinguished alike in Europe and America.
An interesting note by J. H. Trumbull, esq., on the orthography of Mian- tonomoh, will be found in the "Historical Magazine," N. Y., July, 1858, p. 205.
NOTE D. UNCAS.
A granite obelisk, bearing the simple inscription UNCAS, was erected in Nor- wich, on the grave of the Mohegan chieftain, July 4, 1842. Col. William L. Stone, of New York, delivered an address at that time, which was printed in a pocket volume, entitled "Uncas and Miantonomoh," (New York, 1842, 18mo.) This discourse, and the notes appended to it, contain many interesting and im- portant facts relating to the Indian history of Norwich. A newspaper sheet which was published on the same occasion, entitled "The Uncas Monument," gives the inscriptions on the monuments in the Sachem's burying ground, and many other details, which would otherwise have perished, it is probable, before this time. "The Mohegan, Extra," is the name of another broad sheet sold at Mohegan, when an effort was made by means of a Ladies' Fair, to raise the funds for repairing the Mohegan chapel.
In addition to colonel Stone's discourse on Uncas, the "History of the Indians of Connecticut," by J. W. DeForest, Esq., of New Haven, should be read by those who are interested in this early period of our history.
NOTE E.
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE MOHEGANS.
At the last session of the Connecticut legislature, (May, 1859,) a committee, (Messrs. B. M. Gay, H. C. Deming and J. Halsey,) was appointed to inquire into the condition of the Mohegans, and report to the legislature whether a sale of their reserved lands would be expedient.
From the facts then elicited, it appears that there are now in the tribe, one hundred and two persons, though all of them are not of pure Indian blood. A considerable portion of the reservation made in 1790 to the tribe, by the state, and distributed among the families then living, has reverted to the tribe in common. It was proposed that this common land should be sold for the benefit of the tribe, but the legislature refused to grant the power, and a committee consisting of Gov. Buckingham, Senator Foster and Hon. J. A. Hovey, was appointed to in- quire what course should be pursued, and report to the next legislature.
Divine service is regularly maintained in the chapel at Mohegan, and a Sab- bath school is kept up chiefly by the efforts of general Wm. Williams.
Dr. Maynard has been for some years the Indian agent.
NOTE F. MAJOR JOHN MASON.
The main events in the life of Mason may be easily derived from any history of New England or Connecticut. His biography was written by Rev. George E. Ellis, D. D., now professor in the divinity school at Cambridge, about 184-,
101
NOTES TO HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
and was published in the third volume of the second series of Sparks's American Biography. To that elaborate memoir, and the interesting address of Mr. Rock- well, the reader is referred for an account of " the Miles Standish of Connecti- cut."
So long ago as the beginning of the last century, the fame of Mason was extolled in verse, by Roger Wolcott, afterward governor of Connecticut, in a volume entitled "Poetical Meditations, being the Improvement of some vacant hours." (New London, printed and sold by T. Green. 1725. 18mo.) A com- plete copy of this rare poem is in the college library at New Haven. A copy was lately offered for sale in London, at £7 17s 6d.
NOTE G.
THE NAME NORWICHI.
It will be remembered that in the Indian deed of June 6, 1659, the settlers in Mohegan are spoken of as the "inhabitants of Norwich." It seems probable that the name was selected because to some of the inhabitants, the site of the new town suggested the old. The Huntingtons are said to have come from Nor- wich ;* but I have found no earlier authority for the statement than a letter of Rev. Joseph Huntington, D. D., of Coventry, (who died in 1794,) which is printed without date in Rev. D. Huntington's " Memories, &c., of an Octogen- ary," Cambridge, 1857. Those who are interested in the connection of old England with New England, may be glad to see the following extract from Blomefield's Hist. of Norwich, where, after speaking of the attempt of some to find " Norwicus in the name of Ordovices, a people far enough distant from hence," he says we owe the rise of the city as well as its name to the Saxons, " North-wic, signifying no more than a northern situation, on a winding river ; and because they usually placed castles at such situations, the word wic indeed was used for a castle, so that NORWICH may signify the northern castle at the winding of the river, it being north of the ancient station at Castor."
With this may be compared the following passage from the " Beauties of England and Wales," (vol. xi, p. 113. London, 1810.) "The city chiefly occupies the top and sides of a gentle hill; which runs parallel with the river Wensum on its western side, and terminates at a sudden bend of it. At this turn, and near that termination, a castle, or military station, appears to have been established at an early period; and as the people congregated around it for personal security, or private advantage, they gradually formed, and augmented the town. * * Of Norwich, in its present state, it has been said that it stands upon more ground, comparatively with its population, than any city in the kingdom, the buildings being generally interspersed with gardens, which latter circumstance has given rise to its appellation of a 'city in an orchard.' The shape or plan is irregular, approaching that of a cornucopia, or bent cone."
We may presume that the Shetucket, running into the Thames, seemed to correspond to the Wensum, and that the rocky battlements of Wawequa's hill, (Savine hill, or Academy hill,) " on its western side," "at a sudden bend of it," suggested the castle-North-wic.
* Miss Caulkins's History.
-
102
THE NORWICH JUBILEE.
For an account of Norwich, England, at a period not very remote from the settlement of Norwich, Conn., the reader is referred to Macaulay's history of England, vol. i, chap. 3.
In reference to the pronunciation of the name, one of the reporters at the re- cent celebration, (N. Y. Times, Sept. 9,) made the following amusing observation. " All are welcome to come and attend the celebration, but there is a 'shibboleth' by which the veritable descendants of the town can infallibly be recognized, if the committee of arrangements are at all in doubt as to whether applicants are entitled to their hospitalities. Only entrap the doubtful individual into pronounc- ing the word Norwich, and the mystery is solved. If he says Norridge, as though he came within a single letter of saying porridge, the fact is demonstrated that he is to the manor born, but let him be so unlucky as to tack on the ' wich' to the first syllable, and he is at once voted a foreigner."
NOTE H.
THE ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS.
The following is the list of the original settlers of Norwich, as given by Miss Caulkins, History, p. 38. She remarks that " This makes the number of settlers thirty-eight, though it has been generally supposed that but thirty-five signed the town purchase."
John Pease,
John Post,
John Tracy,
Thomas Bingham,
John Baldwin,
Thomas Waterman,
Jonathan Royce,
Major John Mason,
Robert Allyn,
Rev. Jas. Fitch,
Francis Griswold,
Simon Huntington,
Nehemiah Smith,
Stephen Giffords,
Thomas Howard,
Lieut. Thomas Tracy,
John Calkins,
John Bradford,
Hugh Calkins,
Christopher Huntington,
Ensign William Backus,
Thomas Adgate,
Richard Egerton,
John Olmstead,
Thomas Post, John Gager,
Thomas Bliss,
Samuel Hide,
John Reynolds,
William Hide,
Sergeant Thos. Leffingwell,
Morgan Bowers,
Josiah Reed,
Robert Wade, John Birchard,
Richard Wallis,
[Richard Hendys.]
Rev. E. B. Huntington, of Stamford, who planned to write the history of the town, and who published some of the preliminary chapters in the Norwich Spectator, 1844, prepared the following list after a long examination of the original records.
NAMES OF PROPRIETORS IN 1659.
Abell, Caleb Adgate, Thos. Allyn, John
Hide, William Holmsted, John Huntington, Christopher
-
Stephen Backus,
-
Are sigue !!
- Tito the Distosy De 10
FAC -SIMILES.
AJohn Majon Form Joost Samvit Majon Asistent John Gadgox 1691.
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