USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Hamden > The history of Hamden, Connecticut, 1786-1959 > Part 3
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
In 1656 John Sackett was paid 10 s. for a wolf caught in a pit. The next year the "great black wolfe of a more than ordinarie bigness, which is like to be more fierce and bould than the rest and so occasions the more hurt," was deemed to be so great a danger that £5 was offered for his hide.
One of the earliest measures taken to provide pasture for the herds was that of burning off the woods each spring. Beginning in 1642, March 10 was the date set for this purpose, later changed to March I. In 1644 Goodman Dayton was ordered to burn the Plains. In 1667 there is a reference in the Colony records to the burning of the "walkes" of the herds, which would seem to be the routes taken by them to and from the town:
The owners of the severall herds of cowes with the farmers shall burne the walkes of the dry cattle be- hinde the herds walkes as followeth-Goodman Willmote and John Sackett upon West Rock and up-
30
The History of Hamden
wards; other herdsmen from West Rock to Mill Rock, as high as the Shepherd's Pen; farmers on the west side of East [Quinnipiac] River to the Blue Moun- tains.
The assignment of the routes the cattle must take in going to and from pasture may have been made to pro- vide for the protection of crops and pastures of the farmers, and also for removing the cattle-at one time there were four herds, of sixty each-from the traveled roads. In 1668, the farmers' herds were not to feed on the "walke" of the town herds, and the cattle in the town were to be kept in the yards at night. Much trou- ble was occasioned by the mingling of the farmers' herds with those from the town, and John Sackett had a bull with the annoying habit of following people.
Much more damage to crops was caused by hogs than by cattle. In 1641 it was ordered that swine with- out a keeper must be pastured five miles distant from the center, and in succeeding years the limit was set at eight, ten, or twelve miles. In 1645 Captain Turner, when about to leave on the Great Ship, reported that much damage had been done to his corn and meadows by hogs; gates were left open, which David Atwater should have closed. He complained that oxen and cat- tle were driven out toward his farm, and consequently his own cows were in need of food. In 1651 each family was limited to six swine, three large and three small, pigs under two months not counted.
For the further protection of the crops, fence viewers were appointed, beginning in 1644, when Francis Browne and John Vincent were selected to view the Plains. For a number of years John Cooper acted as inspector of fences for the whole settlement, and fines
3I
The Colonial Period
were levied against those whose fences were down. Again and again the records show that the fence viewers did not perform their duties. Theirs was an impossible task, as the fences could not be made tight and kept tight. Complaints of damage to crops continued, and though some fines were levied, almost every settler was involved, and farmers chosen to be viewers were too busy to keep up their surveys. Later on, when grain was raised in greater quantity, haywards, or pounders, were chosen to round up the wandering stock. One rec- ord of haywards' duties said they were "to haunt forth hogs." The scarcity of good grazing land was indicated by the restrictions placed upon the number of animals each person was allowed to pasture in the Neck or the cow and ox pastures. When the new ox pasture was opened beside Pine Rock in 1654, it needed 400 rods of fence. Benjamin Wilmot offered to build 60 rods of it, because he had four cows and two oxen to pasture in it. The old ox pasture, which measured 460 acres, was being cleared of timber in return for the right to cultivate the 58 acres already cleared. Sixty acres of it were deemed necessary for highways.
Because the colonists had an ideal in their minds when they established their settlement here, the indi- viduals' interests were always considered secondary to the needs of the commonwealth. A man was forbidden to buy property for himself of any individual, unless the town gave its approval; his use of timber was care- fully watched so that no harm should be done to the common interest. If he wanted a small additional strip of land to enlarge his yard, or a plot near him for a married son, it was necessary first for the town meeting to consider the matter and render final decision, and
32
The History of Hamden
committees appointed to deliberate such requests often took plenty of time doing it.
It was not only for the best interests of the commu- nity that commons were used for pasturage, timber, and the raising of crops, but there was a saving of fencing and of labor to the individual as well. As in any pioneer life, to achieve a foothold in a new world and establish there a settlement of white men was an undertaking in which the settlers could not hope to survive unless they maintained a cooperative society, where much was shared by all. Neighbors helped each other whenever they could. Thus in 1650 Thomas Mitchell, in com- plaining of the fences at the Plains, offered to view them himself, and John Sackett promised to help him.
An example of the dictatorial powers exercised by the town was its refusal to allow four men, John Wakefield, once the miller, John Thomas, Thomas Lamson, and Peter Mallory, to have twelve acres above Shepherd's Pen on which to raise tobacco. This was in 1654. An- other example came twenty-five years later, when in making plans for the Third Division of lands it was ordered that no one should settle upon them without permission from the town.
The principal problem of settlements far out from the center was the compulsory attendance required at church services. Settlers at a distance from the village experienced much difficulty in getting to and from them, and when in 1658 petitions were offered for the formation of two separate villages (Fair Haven and East Haven), this Sabbath inconvenience was the basic argument in their plea. Mr. Davenport, who favored the new centers, said that with farmers at such a dis- tance, not all dwellings could keep the Sabbath as a holy
33
The Colonial Period
convocation and day of rest. He believed that if vil- lages were formed, there would be officers to maintain order and teach the children, a practice which came by 1676 when Colony records noted that "men are going about to see that children are taught to read the Bible."
Mr. Davenport deplored the fact that farmers from far out left the church before services were over, and some of the townspeople were following their example. In the early days the farmers stayed all day Sunday in town, and Sabba-day houses were built on the Green- tiny buildings about twelve feet square, containing huge fireplaces where worshipers could warm and refresh themselves before the afternoon service. Two of these shelters were said to have been used by "farmers from the most northerly farms."*
"Warnings" with the beating of a drum for town meetings, where attendance of the "admitted inhabi- tants" was required, were in 1685 done in all directions from the center, as far out as the farms of Samuel Todd, Joseph Alsop, Mark Fowler, and James Heaton. A few years later, David Atwater, Sr., was "warning" those living beyond him, and Edmund Dorman, his neighbors. The farmers complained that the town meet- ings, beginning early in the afternoon, lasted too long, so it was voted that no business be transacted after sun- set, although this rule was not always adhered to.
A regulation was made in 1667 that cattle should not cross the Mill River from the east, on the way to pasture, until above Shepherd's Brook; in 1673, not until they reached the brook coming out of the fresh water meadows. There was a fine of sixpence for each cow violating the rule.
* Barber and Punderson, Antiquities of New Haven.
34
The History of Hamden
The question of proper protection of property had been cared for in the early days by groups of men stand- ing watch in turn. In 1645, the question rose as to whether men, whose houses were a mile from town, should be asked to stand watch. In 1648, they decided that those who lived on the farms, unless they watched on their farms, must help the town watch. This is one more illustration of the individual's subordination to the town, which made the decision as to who should stand watch and when; what crops to raise; when land could be purchased; and who should burn the woods and walks; how much cattle could be owned by each farmer, specifying where the cattle should go; and how much each man must work on the roads and help to repair the mill.
In 1675 came the threat of war occasioned by the raids of the Indians north of the Colony, led by King Philip. A committee was appointed to fortify the town. They ordered all brush cut within the town and within a half mile of the stockade; and farmers were to clear the highways and the borders in company with their neighbors. They found that one hundred loads of wood were necessary for each of two of the Quarters, to strengthen the stockade. Each farmer was ordered to donate a load, and those without teams to assist the others. The danger was soon past, and the colonists' fears subsided. A member of one of Hamden's oldest families, John Bassett, whose death was recorded in 1713, took part in the Great Swamp Fight with the Narragansetts in December, 1675, as lieutenant, and afterward as captain.
When the Third Division of land was made in 1680, the town did not allow settlers to go into it. A part of
35
1762957
The Colonial Period
it started with the ridge above East Rock, followed up the Quinnipiac River to the Blue Hills, then down by Mill River. Landowners were urged at this time to examine their titles, establish their boundary lines, and make record with the town clerk-this sometimes being a difficult thing to do because of the haziness of proof about the original grant. Robert Foote on the Plains, instead of bothering about a title, made record, "having been in quiet possession for a number of years, according to law," and sold the property the next day to Edmund Dorman. When Nathaniel Thorp was given six acres above Pine Rock, he was told not to settle there, because "it lies on the path."
In 1695 much more land was desired by farmers who wished to raise corn. Captain Moses Mansfield was granted land for this purpose east of Pine Rock for a period of eight years, after which it would revert to the town. He was to fence it with its own timber. The two Bassetts and Joseph Bradley were given a seven-year privilege to raise corn on forty acres near the Town Farm. The increasing acreage under cultivation neces- sitated greater vigilance on the part of the haywards, or pounders. In 1705 John and Samuel Bassett and Na- thaniel Bradley built a pound near Ebenezer Blackley's, entrusting him with the key. The blackbirds were con- sidered such a nuisance that in 1708 every male person between the ages of sixteen and seventy was ordered to kill at least a dozen during the year, with a reward of a penny for each one killed over the dozen, and a pen- alty of a penny for each one under the dozen. Perhaps for the same reason, protection of the crops-the owners of doves, which were deemed "more hurtful than profitable," were asked in 1731 to destroy them. Much
36
The History of Hamden
later, in 1752, crows were the pest. A reward of a shilling was offered for the old ones, and sixpence for the young. The next year the bounty for old crows was raised to 5 s. but in 1756 it was down to 3 d.
The town was somewhat godlike, in that it did not always chide and forbid, but often held out a helping hand to those in trouble. In 1685 Samuel Whitehead was given land on Mill River beside Matthew Gil- bert's, and also some nearer the Blue Hills, as a gift from the town when he lost everything in a fire.
INDUSTRIES
Bricks were made in both the eastern and western parts of the town from the earliest years. The clay pits on the Quinnipiac, although within the farms of Eaton and Gilbert, appear to have been open to everyone, and a lane to them from Mill Lane was opened through Mr. Davenport's property.
In 1651 John Benham informed the Court that "when this plantation first began, he was by the author- ity then settled here, sent forthe to looke for Claye to make brickes, wherein he spent as much time as was now worth twenty shillings, wch he thinks the Towne should allow him."* The place where he found suit- able clay was "within the compass of Mr. Eaton's farm," near the Quinnipiac River. In this locality, on the eastern side of the town, the brick industry has been continuous from the beginning.
In the first allotment of lands on the west side of the town, a claim was reserved for a "brickmaker." In 1645 Edward Chipfield was permitted to make bricks
* New Haven Colony records.
37
The Colonial Period
in the Plains under West Rock, to which there was a good highway. A little later Goodman Wilmot asked for the privilege of using these same clay pits.
THE MILL
In the industry of prime importance-the grist mill -either the miller was unable to operate at a profit, or the town authorities felt that it should be a publicly owned project, for a town meeting debated the question of taking over the property, and decided that "provided they grind both Indian and English corne well, no other mill shall be permitted." This monopoly rule was in effect for fifty years. John Wakefield is the earliest miller named, and John Lovell the next. There is no record of how well or ill he ground the corn; it was recorded only that "John Lovell, the miller, for sinful dalliance with the little wench of Goodman Hall, was whipped." In those days Sin with a capital S was of more concern than bread.
A number of journeymen millers-Wakefield, Lov- ell, George Larimore, William James, Thomas Mitch- ell, Matthew Rowe, and Deacon Miles were employed to operate the mill, until the owners-Thomas Yale, acting for the Eaton estate, and Sergeant William Fowler-sold it to the town for £1oo in 1659.
For some time the mill had been in need of repairs; complaints of bad grinding were frequent, and the stones were said to be worn out. Unsuccessful attempts were made to provide a new mill nearer the center of the town, plans for which were begun when a dam was built at Beaver Ponds and a channel run through the town. In order to provide an ample supply of water
38
The History of Hamden
it would have been necessary to lead the brook behind John Sackett's, known as Sackett's Brook, into Beaver Ponds. An inspector reported the dam good, but the great trench not deep enough. He said that a penstock, or pipe, to lead the water to the millwheel would be necessary. When the colonists realized that much more digging was required than had been planned, the pro- ject was abandoned, and in 1659 the town voted instead to repair the old mill.
A historic incident occurred at the mill in 1661 when it became a shelter for the Regicides, Whalley and Goffe, in their flight from their pursuers. They went there when they found themselves to be no longer safe in New Haven center, arriving on Saturday, May II, and leaving on Monday, probably timing their arrival and departure so as to miss being seen by the customers of the mill. William Jones took them into the near-by woods for two days, and then to Judges' Cave where they stayed until June II.
When the General Court met on December 1, 1662, nothing was said about the mill, but a special meeting was called two days later because the mill had burned. Only the nails and some iron tools were salvaged. This was a major loss to the community, because the grain must now, at great inconvenience, be taken to Milford for grinding. Three years afterward, in 1665, an agree- ment was at last completed in which William Bradley and Christopher Todd took over the local mill property and the responsibility of maintaining a miller, building a new mill, and guaranteeing satisfactory grinding. The town promised, as its part of the bargain, to give the partners land on the south side of Mill Rock that be- longed with the mill, twenty acres north of it for the miller to live on, the right to take timber from town
39
The Colonial Period
land to rebuild the dam, a reaffirmation that no other mill could be built in competition, and a continuance of the authority, first granted in 1645, to impress men to repair the mill. A toll of two quarts of grain might be taken by the miller for every bushel that he ground; and if things were satisfactory, the sum of one-half rate (a voluntary tax) could be asked from the inhabitants. These guarantees seem to indicate that after three years of going to Milford for grinding, the colonists were in a frame of mind to be generous to their own millers. The house which William Bradley erected south of the mill, and in which he lived, remained standing until it was in recent years torn down by the Water Company. It was for a long while occupied by a printer, supposed to have been a man, but discovered to be a woman at the time of her death. She had always worn men's cloth- ing, and appeared little in public.
Christopher Todd acquired the control of the mill in 1671, and thereafter it was known as "Todd's Mill." His request for permission to turn one of the mills into a breast mill was granted, along with £70 to move the mill nearer the Rock. Care was taken to leave the way open for the herds, and for passage to East Rock for stones, wood, and clay.
In 1674 the mill burned again, and the stones were ruined. Todd asked for more land between the river and the Rock. Instead of giving it to him, the town set aside five other near-by acres for him, indicating that the timber from it was to be used in rebuilding the mill. Perhaps this accomplished all that Todd wanted in the interests of the mill, anyway.
Difficulties of several kinds plagued the miller. At times there was not enough water, and Todd suggested that people bring their corn when the water was high,
40
The History of Hamden
appealing also to the men of the town to give two days' labor to raise the height of the dam. To insure that all comers would be taken care of, it was ruled that they be taken in their turn, one-half bushel to a small family, a bushel and a half to a large family, and to prevent disorder in the waiting of turns, the miller himself should set the grain on the mill platform.
The sudden rise in the production of corn in 1695 and thereafter added to the difficulties of the mill, which already was crowded to its capacity. The three sons of Christopher Todd-John, Samuel, and Michael -were given a new contract by the town in 1695; but this failed to include the old protective clause safeguard- ing them from competition by any other mill. This was a deliberate omission. The year before, Captain Moses Mansfield had proposed a new mill at Beaver Ponds, and close to him in the scheme was William Bradley's son Abraham. Apparently the father had foreseen the eventual need of such a mill, for he had purchased sev- enteen acres in that neighborhood. Permission to build a new mill was given to Abraham Bradley simulta- neously with the making of the new contract with the Todds. Daniel Hopkins was a partner, and the group were also permitted to set up a fulling mill. Only three years later, Isaac Jones was setting up another fulling mill on Wilmot's Brook, midway between the Widow Wilmot's farm and the highway leading to Mansfield's mill.
Abraham Bradley, who carried the title of deacon, was granted the use of the wood within thirty rods of the mill. Along with Thomas Trowbridge in 1699, he erected a bloomery* upon his mill stream, with a build-
* A forge for iron work.
41
The Colonial Period
ing for the storage of charcoal. His grist mill, with that of the Todds, was allowed by the town to grind for strangers on Fridays, but they must put up locked buildings for the storage of grain. In 1704, Bradley and Jones together wished to build a fulling mill below the grist mill. By this time the grindings for families were to be one and one-half to three bushels, and "no one was to lose his turn if absent on business."
In rapid succession came Captain Mansfield's saw mill, three miles from town, on the water between Pine and West Rocks called Wilmot's Brook; then John and Samuel Smith's saw mill east of West Rock; and the saw mill of Moses Blacksly and Josiah Todd on Pine Brook, near the Blue Hills, in 1714. In that year, Cap- tain John Munson was permitted to dam the brook by Benjamin Wilmot's and turn the stream. A strange barter transaction took place when Captain Munson was granted three fourths of an acre west of the brook, for a book with three quires of paper!
Other early mills were Joseph Clark's fulling mill on the brook below the saw mill, near the Blue Hills; Benjamin Dorman's saw mill, on the "Second Brook," in 1731; and the mill where Captain Mansfield made linseed oil. He obtained the license from the General Assembly in 1718, giving him the exclusive right to make linseed oil for New Haven County, for a period of twenty years. In 1724 Mansfield took over the Todd Mill, and Isaac Jones and Robert Talmadge set up a fulling mill below it. In 1745 Caleb Ball and others dammed Mill River, near David Munson's land, for a saw mill.
The fulling mills were built to perfect woolen cloth in a way superior to that of homespun loosely woven
42
The History of Hamden
material. While it was possible to card, oil, roll, spin, and weave the dyed yarn in hand looms on the farms, the results were often clumsy and shapeless. The full- ing mill washed away grease, thickened the material, and shrunk and pressed it into a form which was supe- rior in both looks and wearing quality to the rough homespun.
Captain Munson was a man of more than one inter- est, for in 1717 the General Assembly of Connecticut granted him, together with his executors, administrators and assigns, the exclusive privilege of transporting per- sons and goods between New Haven and Hartford, for a period of seven years. There was but one condition, and it was that on the first Monday of the month (De- cember to March excepted) he should, if the weather permitted, drive to Hartford and back within the week. His conveyance was a crude horse-drawn wagon, and he was many years ahead of any other transportation business.
Francis Browne was one of the first to ask for land at the Plains in 1641, and he ran the ferry across the lower end of the Quinnipiac River. His grandson, another Francis Browne, was a ship captain, who made twenty-five voyages between 1707 and 1716.
A study of the records of these voyages, made in 1913 by Franklin Bowditch Dexter, reveals what the colonists exported and imported at the time. They shipped out, for sale in other places
grain, pork, beef, tow cloth, and other products of the farm and of the loom, . . . wheat and flour, Indian corn and rye, with a few oats; large amounts of pork and bacon, beef in much smaller quantities, and a good deal of spring butter; also occasional lots of peas and beans, but no other vegetables [the potato was still
43
The Colonial Period
unknown here] . . . honey, beeswax, and bayberry wax or tallow; hazel nuts, butternuts, and chestnuts; once or twice a basket of eggs, and equally rarely a bag of mustard seed and a bushel of oysters. Flax and wool were also furnished to a large extent, both in bulk and manufactured, with the coarser linens and worsted cloths, especially tow cloth, sail cloth, and shoe thread. Barrel and hogshead staves and lumber [in boards] were also occasional exports. . . Another large item [was] furs, specified in detail as wolf, bear, fox, raccoon, mink, otter, marten, beaver, and cat, that is wild-cat.
Most of the articles which they imported were lux- uries, but there were also tools, iron and steel bars, pow- der and shot, oakum and tar, nails, knives of all kinds, scissors, razors, sheepshears, scythes, grindstones and rubstones, fishhooks, pots and kettles, pans and basins, pewter and earthenware, and implements for weaving. Few rugs were mentioned; a "carpet" was a pall for a burial; other importations were hourglasses, warming pans, mirrors, lanterns and candlesticks, platters and mugs, tumblers for the rich, tongs, shovels, and bel- lows. Not much tobacco was transported, and tea and coffee are not mentioned; but sugar, molasses, salt, spices and liquors, salad oil, salt mackerel, figs, raisins, and currants, were brought into the Colony.
The amount of commerce possible to the colonists of New Haven was as nothing compared to what they had hoped for. But when necessity had forced them to turn to agriculture, they had grimly learned to tend their fields and cattle, build houses, and make their own clothing. These were the same kind of purposeful peo- ple as Bradford wrote of in his History of Plymouth Plantation. After enumerating the objections offered
44
The History of Hamden
to the proposed migration from England, he said: "It was answered that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both enterprised and overcome by answerable courages."
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.