Norwalk

the tenour of his majestie's manor of East Greenwich in the county of Kent in y* Kingdom of England, in free and common soccage, and not in cappitee nor by Knight service ; they yielding and paying therefore to our Sovereigne Lord the King, his heirs and successors, only the fifth part of all the Oar of Gold and Silver which from time to time, and at all times hereafter shall be gotten, had or otherwise obtained ; in lieu of all rents, services, duties, and demands whatsoever according to Charter. In witness whereof, we have caused the seal of the Colony to be hereunto affixed, this eighth day of July, 1686, in the Hamilton — Mrs. MacAdam — two Miss Shaw's, and a vast number of gentlemen. Don't von think we were a formidable number. We are constantly wishing for a repetition, though I fear it will not take plaee. These gentlemen are such birds of passage that we cannot expect them to make anv stay with us. 1 shall regret their departure, as we shall not only lose pleasant parties, but a number of agreeable visit- ors, whose company adds much to our amusement.'" Most of the foregoing letters were probably writ- ten during the progress of the war. One of the sis- ters' uncles. Governor William Livingston, writes (.concerning diversions after the war had closed) thus : " My principal Secretary of State, who is one of my daughters, is gone to New York to shake her heels at the balls and assemblies of a metropolis which might as well be more studious of paving its taxes than of instituting expensive diversions." * The Van Home's were not loyalists, as might be inferred, from the fact of their frequent attendance at the English-inaugurated functions before alluded to. Their brother, Gen. David Van Home was a well known patriot officer; and Susan's valor is ,, matter uf record. Under date of Chelsea, July _•>, i~6 <■ c c . "—Charity Clark— perhaps an assumed name of one outside of the Van Home household, writes thus to one of the family : " Here I am, surrounded on all sides, the fields covered with barracks, and men wherever I cast my eyes, present themselves. My own house is no more an asylum. We live now with twenty odd in our house who ought not to be of our family. We scarcely know what quiet is. As for retirement, I should forget what it is were it not for the re- maining trees that sometimes remind me of former scenes. The very birds have forsaken us, or their notes are lost in the sound of fife and drum. I have wished twenty times that your uncle Livingston (Gov. Win. Livingston, the war-Governor of New |ersev) could he obliged to live here one dav. • By letters from Gen. Lee, Gen. Washington is informed of Gen. Cornwallis' defeat at Charleston, S. C. (June iR. 1776) three times they attempted to land, but were re- pulsed with great loss, one of their ships burned and two entirely disabled. There have been several flags of truce between Gen. Washington and Gen. Howe, (N. Y. harbor, July 1776) but to little purpose. The letters from the fleet being directed to Geo. Washing- ton, Esq., were returned unopened. Bv a conference with an officer who came to apologize for the super- scription and brintr a letter directed in the same man- ner (with the addition of " and so forth") the contents are found to he merely offers of pardon on submis- sion," etc. Gen. David Vat) Home, as has been intimated, was a true patriot. The following are extracts from a letter to his sister, Mrs. Edgar. Dkak N axn y :— I have received your letters ; tin- X 0 K \V A L K. 23 second year of the Reign of our Sovereigne Lord J.VX1KS the Second, by the grace of God. of Kngland, Scotland, France, and Ireland King. Defender of the Faith," &c. ROBERT TREAT. Governor. Miirch 30th, [686, pr. order of the Governor and Company of the Colony of Connecticut, signed Pr. me John Alt.yn, Secretary,, The above written i- ;i true coppie of yc «>rigi«al, being examined and compared therewith, July Sth, 16S0, A true copie of y* Record, KhKA/AR KlMBFRLY. Secretary. Recorded Dec. 21+1. -yoN. Pr. me JOHN C<MU», Recorder. The GENERAL CiH'KT by an okDKR made at its May SksSIoN, 1703, after enumer- ating several patents already given to the towns, and among; them the above patent to Norwalk, enacted as follows : "THE Said GoVKKNU* and Company, now in General Court assembled, doe enact, and it is hereby enacted by the authoritie of the same : That all and ever)- the severall above-mentioned lands, with all the rights, privilcdges and immunities contained in the above-mentioned pattents shall be and remain a full and clear estate of Inheritance in fee simple to the several proprietors of the respective townes, either mentioned or included and intended in the said pattents, to them, their heirs and assignes forever," etc. Fkd,\i ALL ui- WHICH it will be seen that the PROPRIETORS OK THE TuWNsHIP ol- N'okwai.K were, in [686, constituted the LEGAL OWNERS THEREOF last by Dr. Fog remained at the Coffee-House till my it manfully it should be your boast ; you should smite, return from John Smith's. Caty was verv right in , rather than weep. God give us MHYpss in Si» righteous saving it (the jaunt to Rve) was impossible to describe. I a cause. All internal eiieniic-s we are moving from Ridgefield roads are superior. The Johnson's have Long Island ; you will see a drove of them through the reputation of being very clever, sociable and sen- Fairfield <uon on their way to Babylon, sible girls — \\ itll them and Miss C lark, you may, if in 1). Van Hornk a fit disposition for enjoyment — pass the summer with a tolerable degree of pleasure. Lewis Morris tells me that his family P. S.-WV have just heard from ShUen Island by two gentlemen . . . from England that t „ . . . ..... , , ' ' thev hold us in verv despicable light. Thev mean to Fairfield. David v. larkson and the hnvs are at , , - . ,,11 1 ■ . . 1 n 1" m.l to charge bavonels and drive us before them. Long Island where I imagine the attack will be. 1 hey 6 will endeavor to get our fort there, which if effected. At the desire of Charles Ludlow Livingston, sou the town falls, but not the Island, which will cost more of Philip and Cornelia Livingston, certain portraits British blood. The other night there was an alarm. of the Ludlow- Van Home family were delivered over, occasioned b\ a movement of ships; it looks verv by* a Norwalk party, to himself. Three ivorv-painted much like an intention of attack, which we have been likenesses of the family, however, are still here treas- expecting every day this week, but \\\\ opinion is that ured, one of which is that of John A. Willink, who it w ill not be before September, When it does hap- married Cornelia Ann, daughter of Charles and KlUa- pen, don't pray that my life may be spared — but pray beth Ludlow, and who was the son of the banker Wit- that I may behave well, ami if my life is spared, that link, of Amsterdam, Holland, who is referred to in it maybe a life of honor and reputation. If I lose note on page six. 2 4 THE SETTLEMENT The greater portion of the territory referred to in the submitted deeds, descriptions, title and patent, was bought, as has been seen, from the natives, by Roger Ludlow and Daniel Partrick, on respectively February 26th and April 20th, 1640, but there was, as has also been noted, non-occupation of the same for several years. This condition of things, however, ceased in the autumn of 1650. On June 19th, 1650, (see deed, p. II.) Nathaniel Ely and Richard Olmstead, both at that time of Hartford, agreed with Ludlow of Fairfield that the Norwalk Company, to be composed of at least thirty families, should proceed to the settlement of the place, and during "the next Spring at farthest," begin to break up the soil and ascertain what might be accomplished in the way of building ; which pledge appears to have been fulfilled. Granting, then, that the settlers — it was only their advance column — had arrived in Norwalk in the fall of 1650, it is justly argued from their articles of agreement with Lud- low, as well as from the pre-advisory tenor of the Court's reply to Nathaniel Ely and Richard Olmstead, seven days later than the Ludlow transaction, that but little if anything was really done before the spring of 1651. Norwalk was unrepresented at the Capitol until many months after the latter date. This caused comment, but there was reason for the seeming delinquency. It is not to be supposed that the entire Company came at first to the new settlement, and it should be remembered that time was required for planning, preparing, organizing and ordering. Virgin soil required to be broken, primeval trees felled, temporary dwellings thrown together, cart paths cut. lots drained, fences erected, cattle-sheds made and wolf-traps set up. It speaks well for the new Company's enterprise and loyalty that it was able to send its maiden delegate, Richard Olmstead, to Hartford even as early as .May, 1653.' The tardiness had provoked Court-inquiry as to the cause thereof, and the appointment of the town recorder of Fairfield-' "to look into the matter;" still, under the circumstances, there was no remissness on the part of the Norwalk founders. An extra Court-session was held early in 1653, and as yet there was no Norwalk represent- ation, but at the regular May session of the same year, both Registrar Olmstead and his neighbor, Charterer Matthew Campfield-i w ere present ; albeit, there had just been terrible consternation among their constituency at home because of the persistent threatenings of the Dutch.4 'Ludlow was not present to greet his begotten Norwalk's maiden representative. At the session of •M»> !*. 165s, he was attending a convention of Com- missioners of the United Colonies in Boston. •'William Hill. .iMatthew Canticld was not a deputy until the next veai-, 1654. lie was made a freeman Mav 16, 1654, as iva- also at the same time his friend Rev.