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 7
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About this time the Dutch gave the Connecticut settlers no little trouble in regard to their claims in the colony, and in selling arms and ammunition to the Indians. Mr. Edward Hopkins, who was about to make a voyage to England, was appointed by the General Court "to arbitrate or issue the difference between the Dutch & Connecticut, that the matter might be settled." The great fear entertained throughout New England at this time was, that the Indians would form a combination in a general war against the planters.
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A marked change was made at the General Court of election held at Hartford on the second Thursday in April. George Wyllis, Esq., was elected governor, and Roger Ludlow deputy-governor. Henry Gray was made a deputy from Fairfield. Previous to this time six magistrates had been annually chosen ; but now it was decided that the number should be increased to eight, probably on account this year of Stamford sending two representatives to the Connecticut Court. It was also agreed for the time being, that the particular court should be held " about once in a quarter of a year."
An order was issued that no person within the jurisdiction of Con- necticut should trade with the Indians on Long Island until further orders. Also, that no man within the colony should refuse merchantable Indian corn at 2s. 6d. a bushel for any contract made for the labor of man, cattle, or commodities, sold after the publishing of this order. The Indians be- coming still more troublesome, great fears were entertained for the safety of the settlements, it having been discovered that Miantonimo, chief sachem of the Narragansetts, had entered into a combination with So- heage or Sequin, the sachem of Matabeseck (Middletown), and Sassawin or Sequassen the sachem of Sicaogg (Hartford), for the extermination of the English throughout New England. Sequin had all along given the river settlements trouble; and various efforts had been made by the Gen- eral Court to restrain his insolent conduct and acts of cruelty.
This plot was revealed to Ludlow by a Fairfield sachem. " About the 20th of August, the last day of the week, towards evening, there came the said Indian that lives near Mr. Ludlow's, in the field where he was with his hay makers, & desired that he might with Adam, his Indian,* have some private talk. · Mr. Ludlow with Adam accompanied him under a bush out of sight-he durst not go to Ludlow's house for fear of being suspected. Upon a promise of his name not being revealed, he pro- ceeded to relate that Miantonimo had been to Long Island, & had in- duced all the sachems of the Island to engage in a conspiracy against the English, giving cach of them 25 fathom of wampum, 20 of white & five of black. All the sachems on the Island & upon the main from the Dutch to the Bay, & all the Indians to the Eastward had also pledged their assistance. Many opposed the plot because the English were too strong for them, but Miantonimo said it could be done only by their united effort. In order to gain or compass Uncas, the Mohawks were entreated to join them, which was effected. The reason assigned for this was that
* Adam was an Indian whom the General Court of Massachusetts granted to Governor Ludlow in 1634, " to entertain as a household servant."-Mass. Col. Rec., 1, 127.
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the Narragansetts feared they would be punished for John Oldham's death; " & that the English got possession of the best places in the country & drove the Indians away."
The plot was to be executed the next winter; every Indian plantation was to attack the English adjoining, and if more English than Indians, they were to be assisted by their neighbors; specially an attack was to be made on the principal magistrates and their families, which would easily dishearten the others. As soon as the Sabbath was over, Ludlow rode to New Haven and found that an Indian from Long Island had discovered the same to Governor Eaton, and that " upon Miantonimo's sending the head & hands of an Englishman to Long Island, which were to be sent among all the Indians on the island, they were to do the same, & send a head & hands to Miantonimo, meaning to knit them together." The next day Governor Ludlow went to Hartford, where an Indian of note, who it was feared would die of wounds, sent for Thomas Stanton and dis- closed the same facts.+
At this critical moment a special General Court assembled at Hartford, and agreed that a letter should be sent forthwith to the Bay, notifying them of the impending danger. The clerks of the bands in cach town were ordered to be placed under oath by the governor, or some magistrate to examine every man's arms to ascertain the quantity of their powder and bullets, to take notice of all such as absented themselves at times of training, and to make a report of the same to the next court. The in- habitants of the towns were not allowed to permit the Indians to enter their houses ; and the magistrates were prohibited from admitting more than one sachem, provided he came only with two men. A guard of forty men "complete in their arms " was stationed around the meeting-houses every Sabbath and lecture day. Each member of the court agreed to take an oath to keep secret their determination to defeat the plot of the Indians. The General Court assembled again on the 8th of September, and passed the following resolution :
"Forasmuch as the Indians have grown Insolent & combyne themselves together, being suspected to prepare for war. It is ordered that no Smith within these liberties shall trade any instrument, or matter made of iron or steele with them, nor deliver any that are already made, without lycense from two Magistrates, nor buy any of their venison without further liberty be granted."
It was ordered, that every town should be provided within fourteen days " with twenty half pikes of ten foot in length, at least in the wood :"
* John Oldham was murdered by the Indians at Block Island in 1635 .- Trumbull's Hist. Conn., 1, 62. + Mass. Hist. Coll., v. 3, 5. 3, 161.
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Also, that each plantation should have two ward-men to give notice of sudden danger ; to execute the order about admitting Indians into the plantations ; and that a competent number of men should be daily kept on guard. New Haven also became agitated by the hostile attitude of Governor Keift, who had dispatched an armed force, to break up the settlements in Delaware. Their trading houses were burned and several English planters imprisoned. The damage done amounted to about a thousand pounds .* One of the principal gentlemen of New Haven, by the name of Lamberton, was made an object of special indignities, and even an attempt made upon his life. Both Connecticut and New Haven made fruitless efforts to obtain redress. In the mean time they resolved to prepare for what seemed to be an inevitable war. On the 4th of October the General Court of Connecticut ordered that "there shall be 90 coats provided within these plantations within ten days, basted with cot- ton wool, & made defensive against Indian arrows."
Fairfield, while but a small plantation, and not yet subject to taxation or full representation according to the laws of the colony, was not called upon to furnish men. The planters were simply left to take care of them- selves as best they could. The consternation among them, however, upon the discovery of the Indian plot to destroy the English, must have been very great. The friendly sachem who had disclosed the conspiracy to Ludlow, no doubt held in check the other sachems and their men. An account of the condition of affairs at this time at Fairfield is given in William Wheeler's Journal, in the following words :
" The Indians about Fairfield were fond of war, and often soliciting the Old Indian chief, for leave to destroy the English. Once they obtained it on condition of pulling up a large neighboring white oak tree. Well, to work they went, and stript off its branches, but still the trunk baffled their utmost endeavors.
' Thus,' says the Old Sachem, 'will be the end of your war. You may kill some of their pappooses, but the old plaguey stump tother side the great waters will remain and send out more branches.'"
With that marvelous energy which Ludlow possessed, and which enabled him to be prepared for every emergency, he used all the pacific measures necessary to keep peace with the Indians in Fairfield and its vicinity, which he happily effected. The increasing population of the plantations, and the beginnings of new settlements, brought the necessity of an effort to secure further progress in law and jurisprudence. A body
* Trumbull's Hist. Conn., 1, 119. Smith's History of New York, p. 4. Mrs. Martha J. Lamb's History of New York City, 1, 97, 116. Bryant's History of the United States, I. Chapter, 17. Rec. United Colonies.
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of capital laws which had been prepared were submitted to the General Court in December. They were founded upon the Scriptures, and were twelve in number. Although these laws were very severe, they were in reality much more lenient than the laws of the Massachusetts colony ; and contrast in a remarkable manner with the capital laws of England, where so many offenses were punished with death .*
Although a cloud of threatened annihilation at the hand of the Indians hung over all the New England settlements, prosperity had crowned the unwearying toil of the planters with an abundant harvest. Each settle- ment presented an orderly, thrifty aspect, and " the wilderness now blos- somed as the rose." The true condition of the settlements at this time is given by one of the most graphic writers of those days. In enumerat- ing the blessings which had followed the labors of the planters, he says : " First, to begin with the encrease of food, you have heard in what extream penury these people were in at first, planting for want of food, gold, silver, rayments or whatsoever was precious in their eyes they parted with, (when ships came in) for this their beast that died, some would stick before they were cold, and sell their poor pined flesh for food at 6 d. per pound, Indian Beans at 16. s. per bushel ; when Ships came in, it grieved some Masters to see the urging of them by people of good rank and quality to sell bread unto them. But now take notice how the right hand of the Most High hath altered all, and men of the meaner rank are urging them to buy bread of them ; and now good white and wheaten bread is no dainty, but even ordinary man hath his choice, if gay cloathing, and a liquerish tooth after sack, sugar and plums lick not away his bread too fast, all which are but ordinary among those that were not able to bring their owne persons over at their first coming ; there are not many Towns in the Country, but the poorest person in them hath a house and land of his own, and bread of his own growing, if not some cattel : beside, flesh is now no rare food, beef, pork, and mutton being frequent in many houses, so that this poor Wilderness hath not only equalized England in food, but goes beyond it in some places for the great plenty of wine and sugar, which is ordinarily spent ; apples, pears, and quince tarts instead of their former Pumpkin Pic. Poultry they have plenty, and great rarity ; and in their feasts have not forgotten the English fashion of stirring up their appetites with variety of cooking their food; and notwithstanding all this great and almost miraculous work of the Lord, in providing for
* No less than thirty-one kinds of crime were punished with death in England at the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign, which afterwards were more cruel and increased in numbers .- Palfrey Hist .. New England, 11, 27.
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his people in this barren desart, yet are there here (as in other places) some that use these good creatures of God to excess, and others to hoard up in a wretched and miserable manner, pinch themselves and their children with food, and will not taste of the good creatures God hath given for that end, but cut Church and Commonwealth as short also : Let no such think to escape the Lord's hand with as little a stroke as the like do in other places.
Secondly, For rayment, our cloth had not been cut short, as but of late years the traders that way have encreased to such a number, that their shops have continued full all the year long, all one England; besides the Lord hath been pleased to encrease sheep extraordinarily of late, hemp and flax here is great plenty ; hides here are more for the number of per- sons than in England; and for cloth, here is and would be materials enough to make it; but the Farmers deem it better for their profit to put away their cattel and corn for cloathing, than to set upon making of cloth ; if the Merchant's trade be not kept on foot, they fear greatly their corne and cattel will lye in their hands: assuredly the plenty of cloathing hath caused much excess of late in those persons, who have clambered with excess in wages for their work, but seeing it will be the theam of our next discourse, after the birds are settled, it may be here omitted.
Further, the Lord hath been pleased to turn all the wigwams, huts, and hovels the English dwelt in at their first coming, into orderly, fair, and well-built houses, well furnished many of them, together with Orchards filled with goodly fruit trees, and gardens with variety of flowers: There are supposed to be in the Massachusets Government at this day, neer a thousand acres of land planted for Orchards and Gardens, besides their fields are filled with garden fruit, there being, as is supposed in this Colony about fifteen thousand acres in tillage, and of cattle about twelve thou- sand neat, and about three thousand sheep: Thus hath the Lord incouraged his people with the encrease of the general, although many particulars are outed, hundreds of pounds, and some thousands, yet are there many hun- dreds of labouring men, who had not enough to bring them over, yet now worth scores, and some hundreds of pounds.
This spring Cowes and Cattle of that kind (having continued at an ex- cessive price so long as any came over with estates to purchase them), fell of a suddain in one week from £22 the Cow, to 6, 7, or £8 the Cow at most, insomuch that it made all men admire how it came to pass, it being the common practise of those that had any store of Cattel, to sell every year a Cow or two, which cloath'd their backs, fil'd their bellies with more
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varieties than the Country of itself afforded, and put gold and silver in their purses beside."*
Fairfield and the other Connecticut settlements, in a measure enjoyed the prosperity of the older towns, from which the planters purchased cattle, etc., at the low rates above mentioned. In this way, however, considerable wealth: passed out of the colony.
In order to promote the shipping interests of Connecticut, the General Court passed a law, that all persons who had hemp seed should either sow it themselves, or sell it to others, for furnishing " cordage towards rigging of ships." Summer wheat in December was rated at 4s. 4d. a bushel ; rye at 3s. 6d. ; peas, 3s. 6d .; Indian corn 2s. Sd. The constables of the towns were ordered to receive produce only at these rates, or in wampum " at 6 a-penny." Pipe-staves were ordered to be 4 feet 6 inches in length, and in breadth and thickness the same as before. Good reals of 8/8, and Rix dollars, were to be received and passed at five shillings apiece.t
A still more stringent law was enacted against selling arms or repairing them for the Indians. A fine of ten pounds was levied upon any one disposed to evade this law without a license from the particular court, or from two magistrates for every gun sold ; five pounds for every pound of powder ; forty shillings for every pound of bullets or lead. Where a fine could not be obtained, corporal punishment was ordered to be adminis- tered, at the discretion of the court.
At the court of election held April 13, Ludlow was elected an assist- ant and Henry Gray a deputy for Fairfield. A general confederation of the colonies for mutual protection had been agitated for some time, and now became a question of great moment throughout New England. In the month of March, John Haynes and William Hopkins were appointed to go to Massachusetts to effect this end, with instructions " to reserve the privileges of our fundamental laws." Governor Fenwick, who was in charge of the fort and plantation at Saybrook and vicinity, was invited to join the confederation, with the promise that none of his privileges should be infringed upon. That justice might be fairly meted out in cases of jurispru- dence, the subject of juries also became one of consideration. Juries appear to have existed from about 1640, as attendants upon the particular courts.
In the month of May the effort to bring about a general confederation of the colonies was most timely and happily effected. As early as 1638 articles of confederation for mutual protection, offense and defense, advice
* Johnson's Wonder Working Providence. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. 7, S. 2, 35-38.
t Real-a small Spanish coin valued at about 2} pence sterling. A Rix dollar-a German, Holland, Denmark, and Sweeden coin, valued from 60 cents to $1.08, in the different countries.
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and assistance upon all necessary occasions were drawn. Mr. Fenwick, then governor at the fort at Saybrook, upon certain terms agreed to con- federate with the other colonies to bring about the union. In 1639 a month had been spent by Governor Haynes and Mr. Hooker in Massa- chusetts for this purpose. The affairs in England and those of New Eng- land made it a matter of necessity that His Majesty's colonies in America should unite for mutual protection and defense. Contrary to the first in- tentions of the pioneers of New England, the settlements had been ex- tended along the rivers and upon the sea coast, so that some of them were particularly exposed and defenseless against attacks from the Indians or foreign foes.
The difficulty which had previously prevented this union arose from an inability to agree upon equal terms with Massachusetts, which was the strongest and most arbitrary of the colonies. A variance existed between that colony and Connecticut, on account of the former claiming part of the Pequot country by right of assistance and conquest. They also had trouble in regard to their boundaries, both colonies claiming Springfield and Westfield. Notwithstanding their disagreements, in the month of May, commissioners were sent from Connecticut and New Haven to Bos- ton during the session of the General Court. A spirit of harmony and mutual conciliation appears to have controlled their meeting ; and on the 19th of May articles of agreement were signed by the colonies of Massa- chusetts, Connecticut and New Haven. They "entered into a firm and perpetual league of friendship and amity, of offence and defence, mutual aid and succour upon all just occasions, both for preserving and propagat- ing the truth and liberty of the gospel, and for their own mutual safety and welfare," under the name of The United Colonies of New England. Commissioners were present from Plymouth, but they did not sign the articles of agreement, as they had not been authorized to do so; but at the meeting of the commissioners in September, they came vested with plenary power and added their signatures.
The articles agreed upon reserved to each colony an entire and distinct jurisdiction, and no two of them could be united into one, nor any other colony received into the confederacy without the consent of the whole. Two commissioners, who were required to be church members, were to be chosen annually from cach of the colonies, to meet on the first Monday in September, first at Boston and afterwards at New Haven, Hartford or Plymouth. A president was to be chosen from among themselves, and they were vested with plenary power to declare war and peace, and to. make laws and rules of a civil nature. All decisions made by the com- 3
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missioners were binding upon the colonies; except in case of disagree- ment or a majority under six, when the affair was to be referred to the General Court of each colony ; and could not be settled until the courts arrived at a unanimous agreement. Any breach of this compact on the part of one of the colonies to the injury of another, was to be settled by the other three colonies. Provision was made in regard to Indian fugi- tives from justice, and servants escaping from their masters. The expense of war was to be shared by each of the colonies in proportion to its ratable list of male inhabitants from sixteen to sixty years of age. No one colony could engage in a war without the consent of the others. If any of the colonies were invaded, their magistrates were to notify the other colonies, which were to send immediate relief-Massachusetts a hundred and each of the others fifty-five men, and more if necessary, according to the determination of the commissioners. Should an emergency occur, or sudden danger arise, by which all the commissioners should not have time to meet, four might determine upon a war.
This union was one of great importance to the New England colonies. It made them formidable at home and abroad. The Indians and Dutch were held in check. It also called forth the respect of their French neigh- bors. Through the vicissitudes of forty years, it proved of the greatest advantage to all the colonies, and remained in force until King James II. abrogated their charters." The first notice of the existence of a grand jury is given at an extra session of the General Court held July 5, when it was ordered that a grand jury of twelve men should attend the particular court annually in May and September, and as often as the governor and court should have occasion to call them together. At all times they were to be warned to give their attendance.
To prevent ill-advised marriages, the following law was passed :
" Whereas, the prosperity & well being of Comon weles doth much depend vppon the well gouerment & ordering of particular Familyes, wch in an ordinary way cannot be expected where the rules of God are neglected in laying the foundation of a family state ; For the prevention therefore of such evells & inconveniences, wch by experience are found not only to be creeping in, but practised by some in that kynd, It is Ordered, that no prson whatsoeuer, male or female, not being at his or her owne dispose, or that remayn- eth under the gouerment of parents, masters or gardians or such like, shall ether make, or giue entertaynement to any motion or sute in way of mariedge, wthout the knowledge & consent of those they stand in such relation to, vnder the seuere censure of the Courte, in case of delinquency not attending this order; nor shall any third prson or prsons inter- medle in making any motion to any such, wthout the knowledge & consent of those under whose gouerment they are, vnder the same penalty." +
* Trumbull's Hist. Conn , i., 124-128. + Col. Rec. Conn., i., 92.
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The alarm of a general insurrection among the' Indians increased. Miantonimo arrogantly proclaimed himself to be the chief sachem of all the New England tribes. Notwithstanding his treaty with the English at Hartford in '1638, at which time the conquered Pequots were divided between him and Uncas, he exhibited a spirit of great hostility towards Uncas, upon whom he visited his old hatred of the Pequots. His rancor- ous jealousy led him to plot against him, and to instigate others to acts of treachery and murder. At the same time he continued by art and intrigue to excite the Indians throughout New England to exterminate the whites. Many of the Indians had purchased guns and ammunition of the Dutch and French. They were exceedingly warlike in their demeanor, and great fears existed of a speedy attack upon all the white settlements.
In July the General Court ordered that every plantation should be fully prepared for any emergency, and fines levied if the previous orders in this respect were not fully carried out. Letters were sent to the General Court of Massachusetts, requesting that one hundred men should be sent to assist the garrison at the fort at Saybrook. This demand was refused for the time being, on the ground of inexpediency. In the mean time the Dutch Governor had sent a letter of congratulation to Governor Winthrop on the union of the colonies. He complained of most grievous misrep- resentations on the part of Connecticut and New Haven to their agents in Europe. He requested to learn the spirit of the colonies towards him, " that he might know who were his friends or his foes." Governor Win- throp replied to this letter, expressing his deep regret that any difference existed between the English and the Dutch; and suggested that their trouble should be settled either in England, Holland or America; that while the articles of confederation bound the colonies in New England in a bond of mutual protection, he hoped the old friendship between them and the Dutch would remain uninterrupted.
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