USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement of the colony to the adoption of the present constitution, vol. I > Part 29
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For two years more, until the close of the war in Septem- ber 1697, she submitted still further to the arbitrary demands of Fletcher, who took the ignominious revenge of harrassing the governor or the assembly in every possible way, to com- pensate for the wound that had been inflicted on his dignity at Hartford. Again and again he sent out his expresses to the governor, representing the advance of the enemy towards some exposed place, giving false estimates of their numbers and movements, and calling for troops or other assistance that involved the necessity of convening the Assembly. After the forces thus demanded had set out
* Trumbull, i. 394, 395.
345
THE EARL OF BELLAMONT.
[1697.]
upon their march, another messenger would arrive in hot haste, informing Governor Treat that the exigency had passed by, and that he might recall his forces. In this way the governor and council were kept almost constant- ly on duty, and the deputies did little else than ride to and from the seat of government to attend these special assemblies. However, the inhabitants were only too happy that in this way they could neutralize the malice of a vin- dictive and cowardly spirit, and divert its attention from the charter.
Had the war lasted much longer, the people must have become bankrupt, as they had paid at the date of the peace of Ryswick* above alluded to, the almost ruinous sum of £12,000. But as in the case of Andross and Leis- ler, tyranny was destined at last to have an end.
On the 18th of June 1697, Richard, earl of Bellamont, received a commission to be governor of New York and Massachusetts. In order to maintain a good footing with the king, the Assembly at its October session appointed General Winthrop, Major Sellick and the Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall, a committee to wait upon the new functionary as soon as he should arrive in New York, and pay their respects to him in the name of the colony. It was not until the spring of the next year that his excellency came over to America. He was very much gratified at receiving the congratulations of the committee, who were all gentle- men of good address and highly cultivated minds. His lordship pronounced Mr. Saltonstall to be the most ele-
* The treaty of peace was signed at Ryswick, in September 1697, between France, England, Spain, and Holland, and was proclaimed at Boston on the 10th of December following. Wade, 288; Holmes, i. 464. " And the English colo- nies had repose from war." Hutchinson, Smollet, Holmes, Blair.
+ Colony Records. " Captain Nathan Gold to fill any vacancy that may occur in this committee."
At the same session (Oct. 1697,) the Assembly ordered, "That for the future there shall be three or four, at least, of the most able and judicious persons in each county appointed Justices of the Peace for the year." This is the first appoint- ment of Justices of the Peace as distinct from the office of " Magistrate."
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
gant man whom he had seen in America, and one whose appearance most resembled that of an English nobleman.
Owing to the happy termination of the war and the prom- ise of a new state of things, now that Fletcher was no longer in the way of their advancement, the inhabitants of Con- necticut again looked forward to the future with new anticipations.
Grateful to General Winthrop for his faithfulness in the discharge of his trust in England, the people elected him governor in the place of Mr. Treat, who was now far ad- vanced in life. Still, to show their unabated confidence in the former executive, while they relieved him of the more cumbersome burdens of office, they appointed him deputy governor.
At the October session for the year 1698, it was decided that there should be two distinct legislative houses in the Gen- eral Assembly. The governor, or, in his absence, the dep- uty governor, and magistrates, were to constitute the upper house ; while the deputies, the immediate representatives of the people, were to make up what was called the lower house. The action of these two branches of the legislature was to be independent, and no new law was to be enacted nor was any old one to be repealed or altered without the separate action and consent of both these powers. The deputies were to choose a speaker and other officers much as is now done in the house of representatives .*
This new organization first went into effect at the May session 1699. Mr. John Chester, of Wethersfield, was the first speaker of the lower house, and Captain William Whi- ting was the first clerk. They were both gentlemen of high character, and of great experience in public affairs.
In June 1659, Governor Winthrop had received permission from the General Court to purchase a tract of land at Quini- baug. He had also bought another valuable estate of Al- lups and Mashaushawit, the native proprietors, lying on either bank of the Quinibaug river. A few families had
* Colonial Records, MS.
.
:
347
PLAINFIELD AND DURHAM INCORPORATED.
already settled upon these lands before he obtained the title ; but the population did not increase to any considerable extent until after the death of the governor. In 1689, a number of planters-a large share of whom came from Mas- sachusetts-bought of the heirs of Governor Winthrop the northern portion of this territory, and began to plant and build upon it. The settlement gradually increased in popu- lation for about ten years, and in the spring of 1699, it became a town. In the year 1700 its name was changed from Quinibaug to Plainfield.
At the October session 1698, it was enacted that there should be a new plantation made at "Jeremy's Farm."* The settlement began in 1701, and in 1703 the land was confirmed to the planters by a patent. The Rev. John Bulkley, Samuel Gilbert, Michael Taintor, Samuel Northam, John Adams, Jonathan Kilborn, Joseph Pomeroy, and John Loomis were among the principal proprietors.
At the same session, leave was granted to certain inhabit- ants of Guilford to begin a plantation at a place called Cogingchaug. The settlement had a feeble infancy, al- though there were thirty-one original applicants who signed the petition. The two first planters who actually removed and settled upon the tract, were Caleb Seward and David Robinson. Others soon followed them. In May 1704, it was named Durham. Its population still continued small for several years. In 1707, it contained but about fifteen fam- ilies. In May 1708, it was incorporated, and after that it began to thrive. Northampton, Stratford, Milford, and other old towns, lent to it, soon after its incorporation, some of their best inhabitants.
The boundary between Connecticut and New York had long been a fruitful theme of dispute and controversy. The line agreed upon by the royal commissioners in 1683, was confirmed by the king in council, March 28, 1700. The government of New York, however, being dissatisfied with
+ Colony Records, MS.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the bounds as thus determined, refused to unite with Con- necticut in running the line, and designating it by proper landmarks. The General Assembly of this colony, after making repeated applications to Lord Cornbury and Gov- ernor Hunter without avail, finally appealed to the king. In consequence of this, the legislature of New York, in 1719, passed an act empowering their governor to appoint commissioners to run the line parallel to Hudson's river, to re-survey the former lines, and to erect the necessary mon- uments to distinguish the boundary. It was not, however, until May, 1725, that the commissioners and surveyers of the two colonies actually commenced operations. Meeting at Greenwich, and agreeing upon the manner in which they should proceed, the survey was commenced and executed in part, when, as is alleged, in consequence of some disagree- ment, the work was suspended, and each party made a re- port to its respective legislature. It was not until May, 1731, that a complete settlement of the boundary was per- fected. By the bounds, as finally established, Connecticut very unwisely ceded to New York a tract of territory ex- tending along the line of her western frontier, estimated at about sixty thousand acres-comprising some of the most fertile and beautiful lands within her ancient domain. This territory, from its peculiar shape, is still called Oblong. The pretended consideration for this summary sale, was the sur- render to Connecticut by New York of a few additional miles of sea-coast and the lands adjacent, embracing the town of Greenwich, and perhaps a part of Stamford-both of which townships had long been recognized as belonging to this ju- risdiction.
About this time the settlement of Voluntown on the ex- treme eastern border of the colony was commenced. The greater part of the territory comprised within the limits of the town, was granted in 1696, to the volunteers of the Nar- ragansett war, from which circumstance its name is derived. The township was originally six miles square, and was surveyed out of the tract known as the "conquered land."
349
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SPAIN.
[1702]
In 1719, the Assembly granted a large addition on the north, and incorporated the town *.
Nawbesetuck was set off from Windham in 1703, and in- corporated as a distinct town by the name of Mansfield. The names of some of the early settlers were, Storrs, Fen- ton, Porter, Rogers, Hall, and Barrows.
A settlement had been made at Danbury as early as 1685, and eight years afterwards the township was surveyed. The town patent bears date, May 20, 1702.1 The first settlers and principal proprietors were James Beebe, of Stratford, Thomas Barnum, Thomas Taylor, Francis Bushnel, James Benedict, John Hoyt, Samuel Benedict, and Judah Gre- gory, all of Norwalk. This fine old town has since been the scene of tragic interest, which has indissolubly linked its history and its fame with those of the State.}
At the October session of the Assembly, 1703, it was en- acted that the town of Plainfield should be divided, and that the territory on the west side of the Quinibaug river should form a distinct township by the name of Canterbury. Ma- jor James Fitch and Mr. Solomon Tracy from Norwich, Mr. Tixhall Ellsworth and Mr. Samuel Ashley from Hart- ford, and Messrs. John, Richard, and Joseph Woodward, William, Obadiah, and Joseph Johnson, Josiah and Samuel Cleveland, Elisha Paine, Paul Davenport, and Henry Adams, from Massachusetts, were among the principal settlers.§
In May, 1702, war was declared by England, Germany, and the Netherlands against France and Spain ; of course the American colonies were soon involved in the conflict. At its October session (1703) the Assembly once more took into consideration what could be done for the common safety. A requisition, made by Governor Dudley and the General Court of Massachusetts, for one hundred men to be sent
* Colony Records, MS; see also Barber, 443. + Colony Records, MS. # Trumbull i. 404.
§ At the October session, 1702, it was ordered that Town Clerks should " call the roll at each town meeting, and such freemen as were found to be ab- Bent should be subjected to a fine of two shillings," &c.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
from Connecticut to aid them in the war with the eastern Indians, wasexhibited at this session, and a committee of war was appointed, with plenary powers to send troops into Mas- sachusetts and into the frontier towns of Connecticut. Troops were also ordered forth to defend our towns border- ing on the province of New York .*
The Indians grew more and more restive during the win- ter. They felt the irksomeness of peace. Even the friend- ly Indians were ill at ease.
On the 15th of March 1704, a special Assembly was called. The civil and military officers in all the towns were ordered to take especial care of the friendly Indians, and keep them from yielding to the bribery and solicitations of the enemy. As these Indians were of little use at home and very service- able in ranging the woods and tracking out the enemy, it was thought best to employ as many of them as could be en- gaged in active service. To facilitate this object, gentlemen were appointed to beat up for Indian volunteers and enlist them.t
Aside from the one hundred men sent to the eastern fron- tier in answer to the requisition from Massachusetts, four hundred men were raised for the protection of the county of Hampshire, and for the defense of Connecticut.
The fears of Governor Dudley of Massachusetts, and the exactions of Lord Cornbury, governor of New York and the Jerseys, kept our colony in constant employ. Lord Cornbury, as Fletcher had done before him, made demands for more money than a weary people, and almost empty treas- ury, would warrant. His lordship appears to have been ter- ribly frightened, and whenever his timidity abandoned him
* At the same session, the Town Office of Lister was established. An act was passed, that persons convicted of selling liquors without a license, or keeping a tippling house, should be publicly whipped if the fines, costs, and security for good behavior, were not paid within twenty-four hours after such conviction.
t These friendly Indians were not to go beyond certain prescribed limits with- out a written order ; they were forbidden to have any thing whatever to do with the " enemy Indians," but were to seize and deliver up such as they could capture, for which they were to receive ten pounds apiece .- Colony Records, MS.
351
CHARACTER OF DUDLEY AND CORNBURY.
for a brief interval, his malevolence towards Connecticut, and his ambition to unite her to his other dominions, rushed in like air into an exhausted receiver, to supply its place. Gov- ernor Dudley was very useful to Lord Cornbury in suggest- ing things to say to the authorities in England that would be most likely to poison the mind of Queen Anne against Con- necticut, and induce her majesty to make an effort, as two of her predecessors had done, to pluck the charter out of the hands of the people.
Of these two colonial governors, Dudley was possessed of much the larger share of shrewdness and intrigue. He had been a member of Sir Edmund Andross' council,* and had shared in the bitterness of his prejudices against the colony. Besides, he was even then looking forward to the time when he should fill the executive chair in place of Andross, and was anxious to further his prospects for promotion, by showing as much zeal as possible in this shameful war waged by a king against the rights of his subjects.
This darling object of his ambition, so long entertained, Dudley pursued with the steadiness of aim that belongs to all keen-sighted, intriguing men, who lay their plans quite beneath the calm surface of society, as well-skilled anglers play their hooks in the eddies and under-currents that circle the depths of a shaded pool. With this view he had, before the death of King William, taken all possible precautionary measures against the promotion of men who were thought to be friendly to the liberties of New England. Hence, when he found that Sir Henry Ashurst had been appointed agent for Connecticut, he used all his influence to induce so good a friend of the colony as he knew him to be, not to ac- cept the trust. He made repeated attacks upon the New England charters, and employed force as well as fraud to get possession of them or render them inoperative.
He had already attained the first object of his ambition- he was governor of Massachusetts; but this was only a sin- gle round in the ladder that he had proposed to himself to
* Hutchinson.
-
352
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
climb. Connecticut was fast increasing in population and wealth. From the fact that she spent her resources so free- ly in defense of the other colonies, she appeared to be much more opulent than she really was. How desirable to add all this rich taxable domain to the resources of a colonial ex- chequer ! Besides, was she not arrogant and impertinent in persisting to keep her charter and pretending to exercise un- der it rights that had been relinquished by her neighbors ? How pleasant to strip the plumage from this wild game-bird, and feast his revenge with a morsel that had eluded his ap- petite so long !
So industrious had Dudley been, and so adroitly had he played his game, that towards the close of William's reign he had succeeded in having a bill prepared to re-unite all the charter governments to the crown. Scarcely was Queen Anne seated upon the throne, when it was brought into parlia- ment. This bill aimed not only at the New England charters, but also at those of East and West New Jersey, Pennsylva- nia, Maryland, and the Bahama and Lucay Islands, because it averred that these charters were injurious to the trade of the kingdom, discouraging to the other plantations, and ten- ded to cut off the revenues of the crown. It went on to . charge the charter governments with encouraging piracy and every mode of contraband trade, and declared "That all and singular, matters, and things, contained in any char- ters or letters patent, granted by the great seal of England, by any of his royal predecessors, by his present majesty, or the late queen, to any of the said plantations, or to any per- sons in them, should be utterly void, and of none effect. It further enacted, that all such power, authority, privileges, and jurisdictions, should be, and were re-united, annexed to, and vested in his majesty, his heirs and successors, in right of the crown of England, to all intents and purposes, as though no such charters or letters patent had been had or made."*
* Bill on file. Dudley continued in the office of Governor of Massachusetts until 1715. He had previously been President of Massachusetts and New
353
ASHURST DEFENDS THE COLONY.
This blow was well understood by Sir Henry Ashurst, the agent of the colony, to be aimed mainly at Connecticut. His honorable and manly nature revolted at the injustice thus attempted to be practiced under the sanction of legisla- tion. He therefore hastened to prefer his petition to the House of Lords, wherein he set forth the objects of the bill, and prayed that it might not have the sanction of parlia- ment. The petition stated at full length the condition of Connecticut, and the wrong that would be practiced upon her inhabitants were the charter of Charles II. to be annul- led; that her institutions were peculiar to herself; and that all the relations of her people, the very tenures by which they held their property, their religious privileges, and their social texture, were all the growth of the charter; and if that should be taken from them, they would be exposed to the most radical changes, and perhaps involved in utter ruin ; that the charges of piracy and contraband trade, re- cited at length in the bill, whatever might be true else- where, could not be truthfully brought against this colony, whose people were agricultural in their habits, and whose authorities administered their offices with great simplicity and purity.
This petition finally obtained a hearing before the House of Lords. It was well presented in behalf of the colony. As at other times, the history of the people in whose behalf it was made was briefly recited; their hardships in commencing the settlement ; their efforts to defend it; their long-tried loyalty ; the sacrifices that they had made of time, money and life, to keep inviolate the honor of the British flag against so many enemies ; and many other reasons, were urged with great earnestness.
The general effect that the bill would have upon the en- terprise of the nation, the dishonor that would be brought upon the royal name, were it once understood that no faith
Hampshire ; Chief Justice of Massachusetts and New York ; Agent of Massa- chusetts in England ; and Lieut. Governor of the Isle of Wight. He died in Boston, 1720, aged 72. Blake's Un. Biog. Dic.
23
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
could be put in the grants made by the crown, and the un- settled state of affairs that would prevail throughout all the business relations of the empire, were old titles thus to be torn up by the roots, were not left out of view. Beset with such powerful weapons, the bill was defeated.
Enraged at the failure of this favorite method of accom- plishing his ends, Dudley now set himself to the task of playing upon the prejudices and ill-concealed ambition of Cornbury. He affected to take the part of his brother gov- ernor, and to favor his views. He assured Cornbury of his own disinterestedness and of his willingness to aid him in bringing Connecticut under his government. He was only too happy to serve his lordship in any way. Independent of personal considerations he was actuated by a sense of jus- tice. Not only should Connecticut be joined to New York, but the southern colonies should be added to them.
Cornbury, weak man as he was, could hardly be expected to resist these flattering promises nor did the chances of success seem doubtful. He was himself a near relative of Queen Anne,* and had a circle of aristocratic friends who were al- lied to him by blood and who possessed the confidence of her majesty. Connecticut, also, as all the other states have done, cherished some unhappy sons, who, from disappointed political hopes or from pecuniary motives, were only waiting for sufficient vitality to fasten their poisonous fangs into the bosom that had warmed them. These malcontents,-I will not name them in my textt-could of course be made useful to Dudley in any enterprise that was likely to advance their fortunes or feed their revenge.
As Dudley had failed in one attempt upon the liberties of
* Lord Cornbury (Edward Hyde) was a son of the Earl of Carendon, and a first cousin of Queen Anne. (See Agnes Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of England," Vol. xii. p. 43.) He was a bigot in religion, and oppressive and un- just in his administration of the government. He was removed from [office in 1708, and died in England in 1723. Blake's Un. Biog. Dic.
t Perhaps the most conspicuous of these ambitious and restless spirits was Major Edward Palms, a son-in-law of Governor Winthrop. His disaffection with the colonial government seems to have arisen mainly from the fact that,
·
355
BULKLEY'S "WILL AND DOOM."
[1704.]
the colony, he determined to lay the foundations of his sec- ond scheme with greater solidity. It was obvious that the bill to rob Connecticut of her charter had failed mainly from the fact that none of the specific charges named in it had been previously laid against her and substantiated by legal evidence. It was decided, therefore, to convict her au- thorities of mal-administration, contraband trade, piracy, and the other crimes named in the bill of abominations whose fate had cost its authors so many keen regrets.
With the aid of Cornbury, therefore, Dudley lost no time in filing his charges of complaint against the colony. False witnesses were procured to establish these charges, and all the customary modes of making evidence, were resorted to with a perseverance that evinced how resolute and unscru- pulous were the principal actors in the scene. Even the blandishments of letters were brought to delight the English mind with one of the most remarkable fictions that has ever had its origin in the human brain. I need hardly say that I refer to Bulkley's "Will and Doom,"-previously alluded to -a work that has made indeed all other American histori-
the General Assembly decided against his application to annul the will of Gov. Winthrop. It seems that Palms had not been named in the will of the governor, as he claimed he ought to have been ; but the Assembly declared in favor of the will because the wife of Palms had previously deceased. Palms appealed to the king in council, and proceeded to England to prosecute his case. The council, however, confirmed the decision of Connecticut. Maj. Palms died in New Lon- don, March 21, 1714, aged 78.
Nicholas Hallam, also a leader in the crusade against Connecticut, became dis- affected with the colony in a similar manner. His step-father (Mr. Liveen,) had bequeathed most of his property to " the ministry of New London," and Hallam determined to break the will. The case was tried before the county court and the court of assistants, both of which decided that the will was valid. The suit was carried to England, where after a delay of more than four years, the decision of the Connecticut courts was sustained. See Caulkins' History of New London, pp. 222-228.
Palms and Hallam, excited as they were, stood ready to take sides with any one who might be brought in collision with Connecticut from whatever cause. Hence, Cornbury and Dudley found in them efficient friends; hence, too, their active sympathy in behalf of the Mohegans and their zeal for the " Mason heirs," as will hereafter appear.
356
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
cal extravagances, save Peters' "History of Connecticut," of which it was the type and herald, tame and cold.
This book had been written soon after the close of Sir Edmund Andross' administration, and was now resuscitated and sent over from New York by Lord Cornbury, with some other documentary evidence against the colony. It was re- ceived in England on the 16th of January, 1705 .*
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