The morning journal-courier., 1908-07-08

States bought later under the. Louisi- ana purchase. England gave up her rights in the West Indies to Spain, fought Spain for the freedom of Cuba. It remains to speak of the personality of the men named. What did they be- queath to the parish, and what is our inheritance In them?
 First. our legacy Is the unsulied honor of the Colony of Connecticut. Our inheritance is the preservation of the lands of the British crown, lands lat CT to become the domain of the United States.
 Second, these men bequeathed to us lesson in loyalty. The call of king to defend his possessions from con quest was as heaven sent as the call or Abraham Lincoln to preserve the Union from disruption. The answer of our fathers to the one was the answer of their descendants to the other, and it Is a Joy 10 know that Captain Ed win H Thorpe, Edgar s. Bradley, Hen ry Bradley, William H. Thorpe, Merwln F. Palmer. Lieutenant Edwin s. Bish- dp, Luzerne Barnes and others are of i one blood with the men who bore arms | In the French and Indian war
 | If we look closer into the individual | lives of these men, we shall find they were of stanch old Puritan stock, and made the parish better for having lived 1 In it.
 | ItuDtU butltlDIy IeTSHDIn Barnes, Oliver Blakeslee, john Clinton were l Church of England men.
 | Joseph Ives. John Cooper, Aaron Day. Gershom Todd Moses Thorpe, Titus Thorpe were Congregationalists or !; Presbyterians. as then termed Others were members of the First Ecclesiastic- al society, but not of the church. Some had wives who were church members, and some apparently had no religious ahiliation whatever, but sat on the fence and whistled while the process sion went by. Noses Crockett died at Lake George and Benjamin Todd died at Crown Point Ebenezer Humaston l and Oliver Blakesee became town charges and filled paupers graves.
 Probab' y the ablest of al was Aaron | Day. The most accomplished in various callings was Oliver Blakeslee, surveyor, schoolmaster, ehorister penman Ma thanel Beach became a first selectman. | Many held important offices in the Ec- clesiastica society. Joel Thorpe built the tall steeple on Dr. Trumbull's meet Ing house,
 Elias Beach. obed Bradley, Seth Barnes, Jesse Blakeslee, Isaac Stiles, Benjamin Todd. Ithimar Todd, Gideon Todd, Titus Thorpe, Caleb Cooper have monuments in our cemeteries
 Our men were young and nearly all unmarried. stephen Cooper liked cam paigning so we'll, he went five times. James Hill, Reuben Tutle and John Clinton went four times Others went two and three campaigns of longer and ] shorter duration.
 Nearly all these volunteers lived to | hear the bells ring proclaming the Declaration of Independence and to sec the bonflres lit on the horizon, shining on d land dedicated to liberty. Strange, strange, was 1t not, that the men who fought side by sidde with the British regulars in 1755 should twenty years later, in 1775 turn their guns against their comrades and bury them l and kingly rule forever on the plains of Yorktown But so 1t was. When they came 'to the parting of the ways, Calvin Eaton, Jared Hill, Gideon Todd, Joel Thorpe, Abner Thorpe, Reu- ben Futile, Moses Thorpe, Isaac Brock cit again shouldered arms and marched on the fields of the war of the Revo- lution, and thus added double honor to their already heroic names.
 l would that the incidents of this hour be not lightly passed by It has been a pleasant duty to set before you imperfect as 1t has been, this forgotten page of North Haven history. Directly and Indirectly, by their herosm we have all come under one banner and
 into one fold-the banner of the Stars and Stripes-and the fold of the Amer
 can Union God bless the old Com. monwealth of Connecticut.