USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Fairfield > The history of Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, from the settlement of the town in 1639 to 1818. Vol. I > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
20
306
HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD
ter upon the estate of John Knight. He continued to rise in popularity, until his name appears during several sittings of the General Court, next to that of the deputy governor.
A ludicrous story is found in the Massachusetts records, Sept. 3. 1633. It * appears that in his office of a justice of the peace, he arrested Captain John Stone for some misdemeanor ; & it is recorded, " that Stone for his outrage committed in confronting authority, abusing Mr. Ludlow both in words & behavior, assaulting him & calling him a just ass &c., is fined one hundred pounds, & prohibited coming within this patent, with- out leave of the governor, under the penalty of death." Not long after Stone, who was a dissolute, intemperate man, was murdered by the Indians on the Connecticut river.
At a General Court held at Boston on the I. of April 1634, Ludlow was appointed with Mr. Coggin to inventory & to take into safe keeping the goods & chattels of Mr. Joseph Tilly, to satisfy such debt as he owed the Bay. At the same time the Court ordered that "John Lee should be whipped for calling Mr. Ludlow a false hearted knave, a hard hearted knave, a heavy friend, &c." It was at this period that the jealous apprehensions of King Charles I. were again aroused against the colonies. Besides the subsidies & ship money levied upon his subjects, an order was obtained, that all persons leaving the country should take the oath of allegiance & supremacy to the king. The prayers contained in the Book of Common Prayer, were ordered to be read on ships leaving the ports of England morning & evening, "in the presence of all persons aboard these said ships." The charter of the Massachusetts Company was also ordered to be laid before the board by its first president Mr. Cradock, when it was discovered, perhaps for the first time, that it had been taken to America. No sooner did this state of affairs reach the company in Massachusetts, than a General Court was convened with a view to reor- ganize the company. The warlike spirit of the Indians made it unsafe for all the freemen of the towns, then numbering sixteen, to be present at the assembling of the Court. This led to the election of deputies from cach town, to represent the freemen.
Upon the assembling of the court May 14, 1634 the desired reform in the policy of the government was made. An oath was prepared for the freemen, in which they were bound to sustain the government of the company within the jurisdiction of the Bay as sub- jects thereof, " without respect of person or favor of man." Four General Courts were to be held yearly instead of one. None but the General Court of the colony was allowed to choose & admit freemen ; to make & establish laws ; to elect & appoint officers, as governor, deputy governor, assistants, treasurer, secretary, captains, lieutenants, ensigns, &c., or to set out the duty & power of said officers ; to raise money & taxes, & to dispose of lands & property. Two or three out of each town were to be chosen depu- ties, with full voice to represent the freemen. In order to bind the Assistants to their duty in attending the Court, a fine was imposed for any neglect of the same. An election of officers by ballot followed, & Thomas Dudly was elected governor in place of Gov- ernor Winthrop, & Roger Ludlow was promoted to the office of deputy governor. It was . at this time that Ludlow with three others, was appointed by the General Court to take : from Governor Winthrop " an account of such commodities as he had received of the com- mon stock " during his term of office.
Winthrop had now been governor four years, & the freemen, jealous of his long continuance in office, had decided to elect a new governor. They had set out to maintain their charter privileges, & they were resolved to carry out a further continuation of democratic reform. Winthrop had offended Dudley & others in removing from New- town, & fortifying Boston as the most prominent site for the metropolis of New England.
307
APPENDIX
In the heat of jealousy on the part of Dudley, the freemen & the Newtown people, this investigation was required, to which Winthrop greatly mortified, submitted.
At the sitting of the General Court on the 23. of September following, Ludlow pre- sented a just & honorable account of Winthrop's business transactions with the colony. He was followed by Winthrop in a most touching address to the Court. He informed the Court that he had spent twelve hundred pounds of his own money for the benefit of the colony, of which he said, " it repenteth me not of my cost & labor bestowed in the service of this commonwealth," &c. He concluded with one request, that as it stood upon record, that upon leaving his office he was called to account, "so this my declaration may be recorded also, lest hereafter when I shall be forgotten, some blemish may lye upon my posteritie when there shall be nothing to clean it."
Ludlow had held the office of deputy governor but a short time, when a new instru- ment sent out from England, was laid before the General Court held Sept. 3. This instrument provided a court of commissioners consisting of two Archbishops, six lay per- sons, & three others, with power of protection & government over all English colonies ; to make laws, orders & institutions; to provide for the maintenance of a clergy "by tithes, oblations or other profits ;" to inflict punishment ; to remove governors & other officers ; to establish ecclesiastical courts ; to hear & determine complaints, either against the whole colonies or any private member thereof ; & to call in all letters patent, and if inju- rious to the " crown or prerogative royal," to cause them to be legally revoked .*
This instrument did not intimidate the Bay company, but every man rose in defense of his liberties. Committees were appointed "to manage any war that might befall the colony." 'A tax of six hundred pounds was levied upon the several towns, towards defray- ing public expenses. Economy in dress, & in all possible ways to aid in the maintenance of establishing the colony on a self reliant basis, was ordered to be exercised, as well as to keep out intruders of any kind, either at home or from abroad. Care was taken that " the Scottish Irish gentlemen, who intended to come over from North of Ireland, should have liberty to settle in any place upon the Merrimack river, not possessed by any."t It was "ordered that a platform should be immediately erected on the north east side of Castle Ireland, & a house built on the top of the hill to defend the platform." The fort at Boston was ordered to be completed at once, & " every hand able to work," both of the old & new comers, except magistrates & ministers, was to be pressed into the speedy erection of the needed fortifications. Another fort was ordered to be built at Charleston, & another either at the "deputy governors " Roger Ludlow's (Dorchester) or at Fox Point. The people of Salem "were to fortify themselves so as to satisfy the General Court." A committee was appointed to select convenient places for the erection of the fortifications, Roger Ludlow was chosen "overseer for the work at Castle Ireland." This island (at the present day called Fort Independence) lies south of Fort Winthrop, on Governor's Island, near the mouth of Boston Harbor. It is one of the most prominent forts in the harbor. Hewers of stone were not plentiful in those early days, & the fort, under the directing eye of Roger Ludlow, was built "with mud walls which stood divers years." "When this mud wall became impaired " says Roger Clap, " it was rebuilt with pine trees and earth, which lasted but a short time, when a small castle was built with brick walls, which had three rooms in it; " "a dwelling room below, a lodging room over it, & a gun room over that, wherein stood six small pieces of artillery; & over
* Palfrey, His. of New England, Vol. I., p. 394.
Mass. Col. Rec.
308
HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD
it, on the top, three smaller ones." It was first commanded by Thomas Beecher,* followed successively by Captain Simkins, Lieutenant Morris, Captain Richard Davenport & Roger Clap. On the 21. of March, 1672, the Castle took fire and was destroyed. A new fort was rebuilt in 1674 which stood until 1701, when the old works were taken down, & new ones, built of brick in a very substantial manner, were erected in their place, which were completed in 1703. It then received the name of Fort William, in honor of William III. The Castle was again destroyed, when the British evacuated Boston. It was immediately repaired by the provincial troops, & its name changed to Fort Inde- pendence in 1797. For a number of years the island was noted as a dueling ground, while the Castle was used as a place of confinement for convicts from 1785, until the States Prison was built at Charleston in 1805. During our late civil war, a number of prisoners were confined here, & several deserters were shot. Within a few years a sub- stantial stone fort has been erected.t
An interesting scene took place at Roger Ludlow's house in the month of October following. The Pequots, who had murdered Captain Stone & his crew on the Connec- ticut, & had fallen out with the Dutch on the river, being apprehensive that the Dutch might form an alliance with the Narragansetts, sent a Pequot messenger to treat with the Bay Colony. He brought with him according to the Indian fashion, a present from his Sachem Sassacus, which he presented as a personal gift to the deputy governor Roger Ludlow. "He laid down two bundles of sticks, indicating the number of beavers & other skins which the Pequots would give the English, & promised that they should be accompanied with a large amount of wampum." Having thus prefaced his visit with a show of good will, he requested that a league should be established between his people & the Englishmen of the Bay. Roger Ludlow accepted the present, & gave in return a moose coat of equal value to be given to Sassacus. He instructed the messenger, how- ever, that he was not of sufficient rank to treat with the English sachems, but that if Sas- sacus wished to enter into a league with them, he must send ambassadors of a higher rank.
Two weeks afterward, two Pequot Sagamores, bringing with them another gift, appeared at Dorchester, and presented themselves at Ludlow's house. He received them very courteously & accompanied them to Boston, where the murderers of Captain Stone & his men were demanded, before peace could be established between them & the English. The Sagamores represented that Stone had provoked his own destruction by his insolent conduct, having seized & bound two Indians to pilot him up the Connecti- cut, & while going on shore at night with his men & the two captives, he was surprised by a party of Indians, who had been watching him, & all were killed but the two captives, whom they liberated.
The Sagamores promised that Sassacus would deliver up two of the murderers at least. The others they represented to be dead. They also promised that the English should have as much land on the Connecticut as they wished, & every assistance rendered them by the Pequots, provided they would make a settlement on that river. Papers were drawn & signed to this effect. The Sagamores promised to give forty beaver skins, thirty otter skins & four hundred fathoms of wampum, & to pay their taxes to the English. The compact was concluded Nov. 4. 1634. This treaty, which was conducted through Ludlow, for whom it is shown that the Indians entertained a high respect, reflects great credit upon him, at this important crisis.
* Mass. Col. Rec., Vol. I .. p. 147. t Hist. of Boston Harbor.
309
APPENDIX
The winter passed without molestation from any quarter. A General Court was convened Jan. 19, 1635 when it was unanimously agreed that " If a General Governor were sent from England, we ought not to accept him, but defend our lawful possessions, if we are able ; otherwise to avoid or protract."
Again in March the General Court assembled, when it was ordered " that the fort at Castle Island, now begun, should be fully perfected, the ordnance mounted & every other thing about it finished, before any thing else be proceeded in ; & that the Deputy Governor Roger Ludlow, as an overseer of the work, should have power to press men for the work, as long a time as in his discretion he should think meet." An important ques- tion at this time arose in regard to the mutilated English flag, out of which John Endicott had cut the red cross, which, in his eyes, was but as a relic of popery. $ After a warm & lengthy debate, it was decided that the cross was to be kept in banners belonging to castles & vessels, out of respect to the national flag of England, when it was necessary. In the banners of the train bands, however, it was generally omitted .* It was during the sitting of a General Court held at Newtown on the 4. of March 1635, that an order was passed, " that when the deputies of several towns had met together before any General Court, it might be lawful for them, or the major part of them, to hear & determine any differences that may arise about the election of any of their members, & to order things among themselves that may concern the well ordering of their body."t
Ludlow was among those who aspired to be governor for the ensuing year, an office, his ambition as well as his merits led him to expect. Great therefore was his disappointment, when on the 6. of May, John Haynes was elected governor & Richard Bellingham Deputy Governor. In a moment of outspoken indignation he went so far as to declare the election void, & accused the deputies of having agreed upon whom they would elect before they assembled at the Court of Election, which was undoubtedly true. The freemen no doubt administered this rebuke on account of his opposing their char- tered liberties in respect to voting for their chief magistrates. His name was also left out of the magistracy. Perhaps others equally ambitious, were jealous of his rising popu- larity. There were those also who plainly saw that he was not as yet sufficiently demo- cratic to take the helm of government, & his church views were more liberal than those of some other leaders.
The Ludlow family, who for many years had held a place in Parliament, were strong advocates for the liberties of the people against the usurpations of the crown.į As a family they were high churchmen; § no evidence exists however to show that Roger Ludlow was not a stanch Puritan ; but the liberality of his views in regard to church membership is shown in the Connecticut Constitution of 1638, in which the civil franchise of the Connecticut colony was not based upon church membership. He was by no means alone in his chagrin. Captain Israel Stoughton (who afterwards became famous in the Pequot war) was prohibited from holding any office in the colony for three years, for affirming during a warm debate before the General Court as to the advantages of settling a colony on the Connecticut, " that the Assistants were no magistrates." || No less a per- sonage than Governor Winthrop had been deposed from his office, & subjected to the mor- tification of a financial investigation. John Endicott was under the censure of the Court,
* Magnalia, Vol. II., Book 7, p. 436. + Mass. Col. Rec., Vol. I., p. 142.
# Memoirs of Lieut. Gov. Edmund Ludlow .- Astor Library.
§ Proceedings of the Laying of the Corner-stone of Ludlow & Wilkins Hall, 1866.
1 I Col. Rec. Mass., I., 136.
1
310
HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD
for having cut the red cross out of the English flag. Roger Williams was under the ban of church discipline, & soon after banished from the colony. Loud complaints were made by many non-communicants, who claimed the right to be made freemen. Others among the first Assistants had also been set aside, & their places filled by persons not mentioned in the charter. Upon the announcement of the election of John Haynes as governor & Richard Bellingham, deputy governor, Ludlow evidently resolved to leave the colony. At his own request he was dismissed from the charge of overseeing the for- tification at Castle Island. The Court, however, sensible of his merits, appointed him with Governor Winthrop, Thomas Dudly, John Humphrey, and Thomas Beecher as a committee on military affairs. This committee was given extraordinary power. They were to dispose of all military affairs whatsoever ; to appoint all officers ; to call out the troops ; to remove officers not true to the interests of the colony ; "to make any defensive war ; " to imprison enemies of the commonwealth ; " to bring in alive or dead such as re- fused to come under command or restraint, & to put any offender to death by martial trial." This office Ludlow soon after resigned ; & the Court appointed a committee, to take an account of the money he had received from the treasury for the erection of the fort at Castle Island. In the meantime Ludlow, who had previously opposed the movement, now turned all his thoughts towards settling a colony on the Connecticut river. It was known that in 1631 the Plymouth Company had granted a patent of Connecticut to Lords Say & Seal, Lord Brook, Sir Richard Saltonstall & others ; & that the patentees expected to take possession of their lands as soon as the settlement had sufficiently advanced to warrant their removal to New England. The influence of Ludlow & others in drawing many to join them in emigrating to the Connecticut, was most alarming to the Massachusetts Bay Company, so much so, that on the 18. of September, 1634, a public fast was appointed by the General Court. The' protest of this Court, & of the ministers who opposed the measure as one of great peril, however, no longer availed with Ludlow. In this movement he had the co-operation of his minister the Rev. Mr. Wareham, & his friend the Rev. Samuel Maverick, the discomforted Captain Israel Stoughton, & many other of his Dorchester friends & neighbors. Whatever the privations he suffered dur- ing the first year of the emigration, his proud spirit met every difficulty, & rose above every emergency.
This emigration which was led by Governor Winslow, of the Plymouth Colony in 1632 & 33 had been strongly opposed by the General Court of Massachusetts from the beginning ; but the people impatient of restraint, took the matter into their own hands, & in 1634, a few planters from Watertown made their way to Weathersfield, where they spent the winter. Finding that the colonists were resolved upon planting a settlement on the Connecticut, on the 6. of the May 1635 the General Court reluctantly "granted the Watertown men, liberty to remove to any place they shall think meet, provided they con- tinue under this government." On the 3. of June following, the General Court gave the inhabitants of Dorchester liberty to remove to the Connecticut. Three pieces of artillery were also granted to the plantations on the river, " to fortify themselves withall."
During the latter part of June, Ludlow, accompanied by a party of Dorchester men, made his way to Matianock, (now Windsor), on the Connecticut ; & encamped near Holme's trading house. After having been entertained a few days by the Plymouth com- pany, he & his companions proceeded up the river above the falls ; but not finding lands to their liking they soon returned to their first camping grounds, which they found had been taken possession of by another party. The new comers proved to be Mr. Francis
3II
APPENDIX
Stiles & about twenty men, who had been sent out at Sir Richard Saltonstall's expense, to prepare grounds & erect houses for himself & other lords & gentlemen, who expected to come over to take possession of their patent. Stiles " arrived in Massachusetts Bay on the 16. of June, where he remained for ten days, & then sailed up the Connecticut to Windsor, the point designated in his instructions, which he reached about the I. of July." A dispute at once arose between Ludlow & Stiles. Ludlow claimed the grounds by priority of occupation, & also that Matianock lay within the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts patent. Stiles contended that it lay within the limits of the Connecticut patent, & that the Dorchester men previous to his arrival, had not decided upon any location. Ludlow & his men, however, continued to claim the situation. After many hard words on both sides, Stiles & his party gave in, & landing his stores &c. below Windsor, he sent back the vessel to England, & awaited further orders. This vessel was lost on its return voyage off the Isle of Shoals. The pecuniary loss to Sir Richard Salton- stall was very great. The lands claimed by both parties remained in dispute until 1645, when the patent was sold to the Connecticut Colony .*
In the mean time another trouble arose about the disputed lands. The Plymouth company objected to Ludlow's men settling upon the very grounds, which they claimed by purchase from the Indians. Governor Bradford strongly protested against their usurpa- tion of these lands, & accused them of "casting a partial if not covetous eye upon that, which is your neighbors, & not yours." The Dutch also laid claim to these lands. Lud- low & his men, however, in spite of all opposition were busily engaged during the sum- mer, in making preparations to remove their families before fall to Matianock. All through the summer small parties joined the Dorchester company. On the 15. of October "about sixty men, women, & children went by land to Connecticut with their cows, heifers, & swine, & after a tedious journey arrived there safely." "Their household furniture & winter provisions were sent around by water. The hearts of the emigrants were cheered by the arrival of John Winthrop jr's party, who on the 9. of Nov. dispatched a small vessel to take possession of the mouth of the Connecticut, & fifteen hundred acres of lands as nearly adjoining, as might be convenient for the maintenance of a fort."
The balmy air of the Indian summer too soon gave place to the severity of an unusu- ally cold winter, & the sufferings of all the settlers upon the river were very great. Several endeavored to return to Dorchester, which they reached only by the kindness of the Indians after a perilous journey. A company of seventy seized upon a small vessel of fifty tons called the Rebecca, which had been frozen in the river. Upon this frail vessel they embarked. A day of mild weather followed, when the river opened, & they sailed out into the Sound. They reached Massachusetts in five days. Those who remained behind lived upon acorns, malt & grain, & what food they ventured to hunt, & were presented with by the Indians. The loss of the Dorchester people at this time, Winthrop states, was as much as £2,000, in cattle alone. Nothing daunted, however, Ludlow prose- cuted his plan of making a permanent settlement at Windsor. On the 3. of March the General Court granted a commission to Roger Ludlow Esqr., William Pinchon, John Steele, William Swaine, Henry Smyth, William Phelpes, William Westwood, & Andrew Warde to govern the people att Connecticut, "in a judicial way," for the space of one year ; " to hold a Court for executing the power & authority given them ; to inflict punishment & imprisonment ; to levy taxes & fines both in trading, planting,
* Stiles' History of Ancient Windsor. Winthrop's Journal, Vol. I., p. 171.
312
HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD
building lots, military discipline, defensive war, (if need so require) as shall best con- duce to the public good of the same-provided, also, that this may not be prejudicial to the interests of those noble personages in the sd. river, & confines thereof within their several limits." On the 16. of April 1636 Ludlow and a company, comprising the larger part of the Dorchester church, set out for the Connecticut. "Their pastor Mr. Wareham some state accompanied them, while others say he followed soon after." By this move- ment Dorchester " was deprived of nearly one half of its population, including the minis- ters, Messrs. Wareham & Maverick, & a large part of the intelligence & wealth which accompanied the first comers." During the same year Agawam or Springfield was set- tled by Mr. Pinchion, John & Jehu Burr, Henry Smyth, & others from Roxbury. In June the Rev. Mr. Hooker with about one hundred men, women & children from Cam- bridge, settled Suckiage or Hartford. The settlement of Weathersfield, already begun the previous year, was increased by the arrival of a few others.
Ludlow with the other leading spirits of the emigration, no doubt felt more at ease to be thus far removed from the Bay colony, whose warlike preparations towards the Mother-country had already assumed a serious aspect. The murmur of the waters of the Connecticut & of the distant falls, was far more soothing to his wounded spirit, than the boom of his Majestie's cannon balls approaching Castle Island. Perhaps too, at that time he felt that he could far better serve his king and his countrymen in the wilderness of Connecticut, than the freemen of Massachusetts, who had so ungratefully rewarded his services. It was certainly a novel position for a man of spirit to erect a fort for the pro- tection of a body of freemen, who did not hesitate to depose him from the high offices he had held. He had, however, been learning the lesson of political experience; & the very discipline which had angered & humiliated him, served to enlarge his views, & to prepare him for a more liberal & enlightened mode of building up a republican form of government. From this time he became the leader of Connecticut jurisprudence. His name heads the list of the first nine Courts held in the colony, & he was to all intents & purposes its first governor. On the 26. of April, 1636, Ludlow & four of his associates met at Newtown or Hartford, to open the first Court held in Connecticut. . The following names are given as they occur in the Colonial Records :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.