New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-04-24

HISTORY or THE COLONY or XEw HAVEN TO
! WARD T. At" ATEh ip GIL. Ac~-Ha'rn ffn"d
for the Author.
! The materials from which our colonial history Is
derived are mainly found IN the ancient town ~
cords. manuscripts IN the possession Of the old
families Immediately descended from The early set
! tiers. and other memoranda and data which are
fat disappearing and viii ~oon lc beyond tho reach
Of the historian and antiquariau Fortunately. these
sources Of formation concerning the social religious
and poltcal life Of the earliest scttcrs-espcclaly IN
the New England colonies have not been neglected,
! bnt under painstakug. careful hands have been
diligently investigated. and the results put m per
mancnt and enduring form for the benefit Of future
generations They are not always ~ absorbing 90
even Of general interest since the life of the carly
settlers was cut OIL from contact except m limited
and narrow way. with the social and political life
of The Old World: vas disconnected with the cur
rent " events and almost barren of incidents of
more than merely local or domestic interest.
The faithful chroniccrs 81 tins comparatively
dull and uncvciting period have performed their
labor of love however. with such a~-duiy and de-
,otion that very little Is lacking To the complete
ness ~ perfect record Of thc time II they have
not given ms stirring rcctas Of great events of
political or social revolutions ~ foreign or do
nestle war they have AZ least given us faithful
pictures Of the social political. religions and do
nestle life Of the period The LACK of stirring incl
dent IL made up hy the abundance OF descriptive
detail Of what movement there was, and VIC arr
permitted to enter into the family the social gath
crnr- the political aSscmhhc, the religions meet
nrs that constituted the life Of the early colonists,
| and see what was passing almost with our own
eyes II that hfc srcms dull and uncvcntful IN IL
self % takes n new interest and importance
/ when We remember that boz these plolding patient
pionccrs were the beginnings of a great nation; IN
their bushes, meeting. the germ 81 popular liberty
and free government: in their church pohty the
foundations Of q Christian Republic in all their
words and works the cropping of an empire into cx-
stcncc
The period in the history of the NcW-llayc
Colony covered 10y the work in hand begins with
| tbr first settlement AT Nrw-llaNcn Quunipilc IN
! 1857 and ends with the absorption Of the New
| Haven Colouy-consistiug then of New -lIavcn,
| Guilforl Brlnforl and par of Nllford-Into Con
uccticut in 1864 The records Of the town and the
! colony Of Ncw-lavcn are full that the author,
prcfcring as hc says that the early settlers should
lc i'm large measure the narrat0rs Of their own his
! tory has made large extracts from them and from
other contcmporancouy writings in order that they
might speak for themselves. We have here, accord
! inply, the letters Of the Rev. John Thcophilus
Eaton William Lcctc. Matthew Gilbert and others
of the pioneers and leading men Of the colony,
touching all current topics and especially concern
! iur questions of town and church government local
! disputcs and ncighborhood differences, and the
! snincwha warm controversy with the Connecticut
! authorities which ended in the absorption Here
/ mud there i'm the records of the meetings Of the
! ulantcrs Ia establish regulations for their little
! community the reader catches glimpscs Of the old
| Puritan intolerance which made church membership
| n qualification for voting and holding Office, and
occasionally Of a feeble protest which speedily
silencrd. The union Of Church and State was an
established fact, and one Of the frs, acts Of the civil
| court established for managing public affairs was q
solemn argument that the Word OF God shall bc the
only rule 20 bc attended unto in ordering the
| affairs Of government in this plantation
| The chapter giving an account of the establish
mcnt in 1860 Of the Hopkins Grammar School
under the provisions OF the will Of Edward Hopkins.
esq., is of especial interest. The school is still in
| existence and in a llourishng condition. OF the
scale upon which the only wars that varied the
pcaccful life Of tho coonist, to Wit. with the In
| dians-was wagcd, get some idea from the re-
cord of the response made 10 the call of the United
+ Colonies for aid 10 Uncas the ally Of the English
against his enemy the Narragansetts We read that
six soldiers were sent from Ncw-Ilaven 10 Nor
witch in n shallop TO join with eight from Hartford
| for Incas's defence Later. when il was deter
| mined 10 make offensive war upon the Narragan-
| setts an army of invasion raised consisting Of
| 800 men, of which New Haven furnished thirty,