Early New Haven

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Chapter I. Finding A New Home

The men who left their comfortable homes in England, and crowded the little ship Hector and her consort, supposed they were going to settle near their friends who had founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They had heard how that undertaking had succeeded, and as the conditions in England which led to the departure of Winthrop and his followers had not improved, but had, on the contrary, grown steadily worse, they began as early as 1636 to make preparations for emigration.

The conditions which created so much dissatisfaction among English Puritans in the seventeenth century were both political and religious. Charles I, who was then King had had continual difficulty with his Parliaments over the questions of raising money. After a particularly stormy time with his third Parliament, he decided to try the plan of governing, or rather of laying taxes, without calling a Parliament together, and for nearly twelve years, taxes were laid and collected at the King's demand. It was not so much the amount of the tax, as it was the defiance of English law, which led to an excited state of feeling. Men resented the principle of ''taxation without representation" as they have always done, and the feeling against the King grew stronger and stronger until the day when he was executed for high treason.

The tax, of course, principally affected well-to-do people, but there were other arbitrary laws which bore heavily upon people in all walks of life. The Church of England was by law established, and those persons who did not believe all the doctrines of this Church, or preferred to worship in some other manner, were called Non-Conformists. They had, of course, their own places of worship, and as they were good citizens.

loyal and law abiding, they were allowed for a while to hold religious services (in the manner they preferred) without molestation. But during the reign of Charles, severe laws were passed, intended to stamp out the increase of their numbers. Wealthy men who were found attending these meetings were fined, and in some cases imprisoned, and the clergy were fined, imprisoned and deprived of their livings.

Wealthy Non-Conformists were thus harassed in two ways. They were forced to pay taxes which had been unjustly levied, and they were also liable to fine and imprisonment on account of their religious belief.

Plymouth had been settled in 1620 by the Pilgrims who had already lived in Holland for twelve years. In 1628 the Puritan emigration began, and Salem, Boston and other towns in Massachusetts had been settled, and Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield in Connecticut, before the New Haven Colony was established. The great and flourishing colony of the Massachusetts Bay Colony had given people confidence in the possibilities of colonization, and there were still remaining in England men who had taken part in the preparations for these settlements, in whose experience and sagacity every one could put his trust.

Two of these men were the Rev. John Davenport and IVTr. Theophilus Eaton. Eaton was the older man, but they had known one another from boyhood, and had been interested in the Massachusetts Bay Company from the first. Both Eaton and Davenport had contributed money to procure the charter which King Charles I signed. Eaton had also, as a business venture, fitted out ships for the use of intending colonists, and were familiar with the needs of settlers in a new land.

The men who had settled these colonies had left many friends and relatives in England, and although opportunities for correspondence were not frequent, such ships as sailed for England carried letters from the settlers to their old friends.

Finding a New Home. 9

Much interest was felt in the mother country concerning the progress of the new colonies, and many men who had not been able to arrange their affairs in time to join one of the earlier parties, felt a great longing to leave England and trust to the possibilities of life in a new land. When it became known that Eaton was interested in another venture of the kind, applications to join it became numerous, and instead of one vessel, which at first had seemed all-sufficient, it became necessary to charter a second one, that all the intending colonists, with their families, provisions and live stock might find accommodation. Several of Eaton's family, as well as a number of Davenport's parishioners were of the party. Most of the intending colonists were from London, but a party from Kent, another from Hertfordshire, and still another from Yorkshire, were added to their numbers.

The two ships, the Hector and its consort, whose name has not come down to us, made a good trip, and sailed into Boston harbor in June, 1637. Their friends in the colony gave them a hearty welcome, and were most hospitable in the offer of land for their settlement. Newbury proposed to give up her entire township to them, Charlestown offered many inducements and the General Court held a meeting at which it was voted that the new body of colonists might settle on any land they liked which was not already claimed.

But there were difficulties in the way. The newcomers had left home on account of religious strife and contention, and hoped to find everybody of one mind regarding sacred things in the new country, but they found the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony already at variance in matters of religion. Eaton and Davenport knew, if they remained among them, their party would soon begin to take sides, and there would be division in their own ranks. It seemed best to go away as soon as a suitable place could be found.

Moreover, the intention of the leaders of the new expedition lo Early New Haven.

was that its members should earn their Hving by commerce^ rather than by agriculture. There were several men in the party of considerable wealth, and many more who were well-to-do, and the idea of commerce had appealed to some who would not have cared to embark their all in a colony whose sole object was to till the land. The territory bordering on Massachusetts Bay had all been taken up, and while there were hundreds and thousands of acres, inland, that might be theirs for the asking, this would mean a settlement too far from the coast for any hopes of commerce. The matter was much discussed, but no conclusion was reached, and the summer passed away. The newcomers scattered to various parts of the colonv, the poorer ones working at theil* trades, but they still considered themselves an independent body, and were taxed as such by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Toward the latter part of August, Governor Winthrop received a letter from Captain Stoughton who was of the party of Englishmen sent in pursuit of the remnant of the Pequot tribe. These Indians had gone westward as far as Fairfield, and two parties, one by land and one by water, had followed them, passing on their way through the territory occupied by the Quinnipiac Indians, a peaceful, feeble folk who were much harassed by fierce tribes. Their land seemed very beautiful to Captain Stoughton, and in his letter he said it was preferal)le to Pequot as a place for a settlement.

It is thought that Governor Winthrop showed this letter to Mr. Eaton and Mr. Davenport, for on the 31st day of August, 1637, Eaton, with a small party of men, sailed from Boston for Quinnipiac^ to look over the ground and to judge if it would be a good place to plant a colony.

To understand how New Haven harbor looked when Eaton and his men sailed into it, early in September, 1637, we must remember that the shore line has been greatly changed. The

Finding a New Home.

II growth of the city, and the demands of great railroad Hnes, have made it necessary to fill in the harbor flats, and to turn what was once water into dry land. The water line was then at Water street, and at the corner of Water and Meadow streets, in front of where the old Totten house now stands, was the landing place. One small stream of water emerged from the ground near the southwest corner of Park and Chapel streets, flowed southeast along the course of what is now called Oak street and one can still see in the slope of the streets, what a declivity there must originally have been. This stream emptied into the harbor west of the landing place. The colonists named this stream West Creek. Another small stream, east of State street, also flowed south, and emptied into the harbor east of the landing place. This they called East Creek. The little party of Englishmen, as they gazed upon the landscape from the deck of their little vessel, saw a beautiful flat plain, extending about two miles inland, and guarded on either side by great masses of rocks of a reddish hue. The Dutch had been here before them, and had named the place Rodenburgh, or Red Mount. In one place beech and shrub oaks grew thickly, but most of the land was covered with an open forest, though there were clearings where the Indians had raised crops of corn. On the banks of the two creeks were salt meadows.

Eaton landed with his party, made the acquaintance of the Indians, and carefully examined the ground, to satisfy himself that it would be a suitable spot in which to settle. He concluded that it was as good a place as they would be able to find, and sought and obtained an interview with Momauguin, the sachem of the tribe. He made the Indian understand' that the body of men for whom he was spokesman, wished to come and live on the plain ; that they would pay a fair price for the land, and would not do him or his tribe any harm. There were but forty-six fighting men in the tribe, and they had had many conflicts with stronger tribes, in which they had suffered defeat. A plague had carried off a number of their warriors, and they were in the mood to Hsten to what Eaton had to say. When Momauguin told them of Eaton's offer, they were found willing to accept it. They wished to reserve the privilege of hunting and fishing over a part of the territory, and this privilege was readily granted them. Eaton arranged with the Indians the terms for the purchase of the land, but the payment was not made until later. It was necessary to obtain the services of an interpreter that the Indians might be made to understand what they had bound themselves to perform. There was such an interpreter, Thomas Stanton by name, living in Boston. He was distinguished for his knowledge of Indian dialects and Eaton thought it best to leave the payment unmade until Stanton should arrive at Quinnipiac.

Three moihths had now passed, and the shortening days and chilly nights gave warning of the approach of winter. It was timic for Eaton to return to Boston and report what arrangements he had made. He left eight men at Quinnipiac, Joshua Atwater being in charge, to make what preparations they could for the main body of settlers. Eaton then returned to Boston with the remainder of his party, where they stayed until spring.

CHAPTER 11.

THE FIRST YEAR.

Although the Indians seemed peaceful and friendly, and too few in numbers to be dreaded, there was always the possibility that they might join forces with some hostile tribe, and Eaton bore that possibility in mind. He thought at first that it would be best to settle at Oyster Point, now City Point, as the settlers would there be protected on three sides, and it would be necessary to build palisades on the land side only. But when his men first began to dig wells, it was found that to reach water required very deep digging and it was thought best to change the site of the settlement to a place where water lay nearer the surface of the ground. A spring of water which is said to have never frozen in winter, and to have been always cool in summer, gushed from the ground near the corner of George and Church streets, and hard by this spot the little party of eight men built a hut for their winter's occupancy. The winter of 1637-38 was very long and cold and one of the eight men — it is thought John Beecher — died, probably of exposure and hardship, and was buried near the hut. When the cellar was dug, in 1750, for the large stone house still standing at the junction of George and Meadow streets, the bones of this first settler were unearthed.

The seven survivors of this little party found abundance of occupation for the winter. Besides the hunting, fishing and chopping of wood necessary to supply themselves with food and fuel, the building of shelters for the coming settlers, was part of their work. The channel of the West Creek was near what is now Oak Street, and there were high banks of sand on each side. Many people now living in New Haven remember perfectly well the appearance of these sand banks, which have now been carted away, as the grade of the street has been raised. In these sand banks the men dug caves or cellars. Those on the right hand side, as one came up the Creek, faced the south, and were bright and sunny. These caves were shored up by logs, over which cuts of turf were laid, something after the fashion of the sod houses of the West, and these cellars, or rather dug outs, were the only homes the colonists found waiting for them.

During the winter the little band of seven men had frequent visits from the Indians, who were awaiting with impatience the coming of the main body of colonists. The winter time undoubtedly seemed very long to them, but at last it wore away, and on the 30th of March, 1638, the colonists left Boston, reaching Quinnipiac two weeks later.

There were about fifty men who left London in the Hector and her consort. Counting women, children and servants the entire number of voyagers was about two hundred and fifty. A large number of settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who for various reasons wished to make a change, joined their numbers, and it is thought that at least four hundred and fifty souls came to Quinnipiac. Some writers have estimated that counting in servants, dependents and people who were not intending to become settlers there were about eight hundred souls.

On the 13th day of April, 1638, the colonists entered the harbor, but as the day was Friday, and as the familiar superstition about beginning important undertakings on the day prevailed, the landing was deferred until Saturday.

It is thought that the vessel was too large to sail up the channel of West Creek, and that it was anchored at or near the landing place and the ship's boats, loaded with the goods of the settlers, were rowed up the creek to the places where the cellars or caves had been dug ready to receive them. There

The First Year. i^

were not enough of these caves to house all the settlers, and some tents and wigwams were erected. Many of the men returned to the ship to sleep at night until at last the stores were all landed and the vessel returned to Boston.

The Indians, who had never before seen white women or children, gathered to welcome them as soon as the vessel appeared in sight, and were doubtless very much interested in all the movements of the party.

On Sunday the colonists gathered under an oak tree standing near the corner of College and George streets to listen to a sermon preached by the Rev. John Davenport, who was one of the two leaders of the party. His text was "Then was Jesus led up into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil" (St. Matt. VI, i). He kept a diary at this time, in which he recorded that he "enjoyed a good day." In a medal struck to commemorate the two hundreth anniversary of the settlement of the town, John Davenport is represented as standing under the oak tree, preaching, and in the background are seated several Indians listening to his words. The west window in the Center Church commemorates the same scene.

The exact location of this tree was in the alley-way east of Jacobs' drug store, about twenty feet north of George street. A section of this tree was the anvil which Henry Ward Beecher's grandfather used, his blacksmith shop standing on the site of Knight's Garage.

A day or two after their arrival, the settlers observed a day of prayer. They gathered again, possibly under the same oak tree and agreed to be guided by the Scriptures in all their undertakings. For more than a year they had no formal government.

In the autumn Thomas Stanton arrived from Boston and succeeded in making the Indians understand the terms of the treaty, which was signed in November, 1638. Among other

. Early New Haven.

stipulations, the Indians promised not to set traps where they could injure the live stock of the colon.sts; not to come mto the settlement on Sunday with any goods for sale or barter , not to loiter around people's houses on Sunday ; never to enter the house of any settler without knocking, and not to come into town in parties of more than six. The price paid for he land was tweL coats of English trucking cloth, twelve alchemy* spoons, twelve hatchets, twelve hoes, two dozen of knives, welve porringers and four cases of French kn-es and scssors^ Eleven coats of trucking cloth, and one of EngUsh cloth made after the English manner." were given to the sachem Monto- ZslX hea^l of a small band of ten fighting men, who, later, sold them additional land.

The caves, or cellars dug in the sand banks were very unhealthy, and as soon as possible the settlers built ™de og hu to shelter them until the land was portioned on , and these huts, it is said, were huddled together on George street ^U.ere, owing to the lav of the land, the sun lies very warm. In Octo b r of the same year, Mr. Edward Wigglesworth, with his wi and son came to the colony, and until a hotise could 1.ebmh for them they occupied one of the cave shelters. ^The ^on Michael Wigglesworth, in later years wrote a poem Th Day of Doom," and also prepared a brief ^"tobiography , of whidi every line is of value to students of early New Haven h. tory n "his autobiography he speaks of the -e shelters, and say that during a severe storm the rain soaked in upon him as he av in bed and that he had a severe illness m consequence. We Lnow *at his father, was a very lame man, aiid his lanieness mav have been caused by sleeping in the cave dur-g he ch. autumn weather. Some people have thought ^at he g av stone marked E. W., near the west wal o^^eC-ter Church, marks the_la_st resting place of Edward Wigglesworth.

, Alche,^^ base metal substitute for silver.

The First Year. 17

The settlers had brought seeds of various kinds from England, and they began at once to clear the land sufficiently to plant crops. The early spring was very damp and cold, and their seed rotted in the ground, so that they were obliged to plant a second time. This crop prospered exceedingly as the summer was hot and dry. The planters had fine crops and felt greatly encouraged. '

Chapter III. \ Laying Out The Town

Among the settlers were several men who understood the j

art of surveying, and one of these, John Brockett is sup- ,

posed to be the man to whom we owe the plan of the town. .

Our streets do not run according to the points of the compass. :

The distance from the East Creek to the West Creek was a htt e |

more than half a mile. The surveyor laid out a line half a mde

long on the bank of West Creek. With this as a base he laid ,

out a square and subdivided it into nine smaller squares. ,

The central one of these nine squares was left for a market ■

place, and the others were portioned out into home lots or the ^

proprietors. This land not being enough, two suburbs as ,

they were called, were laid out, one bounded by George ,

Meadow, Water and State streets, and-the other west ot West .

Creek In more recent times the original nine squares have :

each been divided into four, but Crown street. Court street i

and Wall street, High street. Temple street -/ O-'^/Jf^;^^ i

were not laid out until nearly a hundred and fifty years had .

^'"^ Tht market place was held in common, and was used for all i public purposes. It was unfenced, but the eight sqvmres ^ur-

rounding it were fenced at the cost of their proprietors The , cotonv was a joint stock undertaking. Each person who was rioted as a planter in the colony V^^^^^^^'^^^

wished to invest, stated the number in his family and received ,

^ 'Z'Xi:^^^^- estate which a man inves^ I

.e was allowed five -« ,;^ ^ ^^f JldiTlr":? t^^ i every two persons. If, then, a man wnn ^ children gave in a hundred pounds of estate, he was alio we<i

fifteen acres of land, and so in proportion. Enough of this for .

Laying Out the Town. 19

a house and garden was located in the town plot, and the rest was assigned in the outlying land.

The eight squares surrounding the market place were called ''quarters" and were named after the most prominent resident upon each. Mr. Eaton and Mr. Davenport were the leaders of the colony, and naturally had the first choice of land. Mr. Eaton was the wealthiest of the settlers, his estate being worth three thousand pounds, or about fifteen thousand dollars, a much larger sum for those days than for these. Mr. Davenport was one of nine men whose estates were one thousand pounds each.

"Mr. Eaton's quarter" was that bounded by Elm, State, Grove and Church streets. His home lot was on Elm street, reaching across what is now Orange street. A number of his relatives came to Quinnipiac with him, and were assigned lots near him. His brother, Mr. Samuel Eaton had the next lot on Elm street. It extended to State street. The land of his mother ''Old Mrs. Eaton" and his step son David Yale, joined his at the rear, and faced on Grove street.

"Mr. Davenport's quarter" was the one bounded by Elm, State, Chapel and Church streets. His home lot was directly opposite Mr. Eaton's but was not so large. He had, however, in addition, a strip of land eight feet wide extending from the rear of his home lot to Church street. This is called on the first map, "Mr. Davenport's walk," and was used by him in coming and going from Church. It came into Church street about where Court street is laid out.

It has been said that each quarter as a whole was fenced, every proprietor being responsible for his proportion, but at first the individual holdings had no boundaries. Care was taken, in assigning land, to put old friends and neighbors near each other, both for friendship's sake, and to avoid disputes about boundaries.

The land assigned each proprietor was sufficient in most cases to occupy all his time, but in case any one wished to cultivate more land, he was allowed to plant in the ''Neck" between Quinnipiac and Mill rivers.

Besides the planters who were able to invest in the colony there were others whose means did not allow them to purchase a share, but who desired to become residents. Thirty-two small lots on the outside of the town plot were assigned to siich persons.

The next step in the distribution of the land was to divide the outlying territory. The "Neck," the salt meadows, and a tract of land which, extending in every direction about a mile from the town was called the two mile square, were portioned out in such a way that each planter received some land in the "Neck," some in the meadows and some in the upland of the two mile square.

There was still land lying outside the two mile square, to be disposed of, and a few months after the first allotment, a second was made.

Of this land every planter, for every hundred pounds of estate given in, was allowed twenty acres of upland, and for every member of his family two acres and a half. The land in the first allotment was taxed fourpence an acre, and in the second twopence an acre.

When the first division of outlands was made nothing was given to those upon whom houselots had been gratuitously bestowed, but at the time of the second allotment they were included in the distribution. Six acres were allowed for a single person, eight for a man and his wife, and an acre was added for each child they had at the time of allotment. If they accepted this land they were to pay taxes at the rate of twopence an acre, the same as the others, and if, after accepting it they became tired of cultivating it, or thought it easier to make their living by their trade, still they were obliged to pay twelve pence a year toward public charges.

Laying Out the Town. 21

This distribution of land was carried on with the greatest fairness, and there were never any complaints of injustice. Not even Mr. Eaton had a rod of land more than his exact proportion. Mr. Davenport was the only exception in the colony. He was allowed a little more land than his share, and was, moreover, allowed to choose the location of his outlying land.

On the first day of September, 1640, by order of the General Court, the name of the colony was changed from Quinnipiac to New Haven. It is not known why it was so called. Davenport had a friend and correspondent in England named Lady Vere, and a letter he wrote her is still extant in which he mentions the arrival of the first ship from England at Quinnipiac in the summer of 1639. In it he says "The sight of the harbor did so please the captain and all the passengers that he called it The Fair Haven." Possibly a ship bringing passengers from Sussex had weighed anchor in the port of New Haven on the coast of Sussex. But the minds of the leaders of the colonists were so saturated with the words of Scripture that *'a new heaven and a new earth in which dwelleth righteousness" and "So He bringeth them to their desired haven," might have suggested to them the name which was then adopted.

Chapter IV. The Fundamental Agreement

As soon as the land was portioned out to the planters there was great activity in building houses. There was no colony in New England which had so large a proportion of well-to-do residents, and the houses which they built were unusually good for those days. "New Haven is noted for her fair and stately houses/' says one early writer. Many of them were two full stories in height, and others were two stories in front and one in the rear. Sawyers, carpenters and thatchers were much in demand, and many men followed several different trades, working at each as his services were needed. The planters were obliged to cut down trees, to get out plank and timber, to dig cellars and wells, to thatch roofs, etc., but so busily they worked that by Fall most of them were housed. Probably many of the houses were unfinished when their owners moved in, but at all events they kept out the wind and weather, and were finished afterward at the convenience of the occupants.

The crops were large, and barns to house them were a necessity. One man, Robert Newman by name, must have been either an excellent farmer of his own land, or he must have cultivated land in the outlying district, for he built a barn so large that it is mentioned in the records as ''ye mighty barn of Robert Newman."

The fencing of the quarters called for much additional labor, so that it is not surprising that over a year elapsed before the planters were able to meet together to formally organize their government. There had been neighborhood meetings for prayer, every Sunday, and many preaching services, but the time had now come for united action.

Robert Newman's house lot was on Grove street facing

The Fundamental Agreement. 23

Hillhouse avenue, where the Historical Society Building now stands. He had built "a mighty barn'' which was ready for the abundant crops, but in June these were still growing, and the barn was put at the disposal of the planters, who gathered there to lay ''the foundations of the Church and State." Mr. Davenport preached from the text "V/isdom Ij.ath builded her house : she hath hewn out her seven pillars." Then the planters were warned not to be rash about voting, but to cast their votes in such a way that they would be willing to have them "stand upon record for posterity." After the meeting the • planters unanimously voted to submit, not only in Church matters, but in matters of law as well to the rule of the Scriptures. It was also voted, not unanimously, but with only one dissenting voice, that no man should be admitted as a citizen of the town unless he were a Church member. Mr. Samuel Eaton^ the brother of Theophilus Eaton, gave in his vote in the negative. There had been a good deal of discussion between Mr. Davenport and him regarding this matter, and Mr. Davenport had had fears that Eaton might influence a good many others^ but when the question was put to vote, he was the only dissenter. Then the planters elected from their number twelve men of high standing in the community, and these twelve men, afterwards meeting in private, chose seven out of their number. Theophilus Eaton, John Davenport, Robert Newman, Matthew Gilbert, Thomas Fugill, John Punderson and Jeremiah Dixon were the "seven pillars," which "wisdom had hewn out." These seven persons covenanted together, and then received others into their fellowship, and thus the First Church of Christ in New Haven was formed on the 226. of August, 1639.