Putnam patriot., 1920-08-20
HISTORY STORIES
OF CONNECTICUT
For the Boys and Girls
Other Settlements

In the same year that William
Holmes built hisatrading house at the
month of the Pennington River an
English clergyman named 1homas
Hacker arrived at Newtown, Hassa-
chusetts, where many of his frienos
and congregation from England had
already settled. There he found his
friends and others who had settled at
WATERFOWL and Dorchester very mucn
interested in the stories they had
heard about the invitations of the IN
dams to come and settle in the Con-
necticut Valley They had become SO
much interested that they were talk
ing about moving there.
Hooker said, 81 will go with YOU
He thought they would find better
land there and better opportunity 10
trade with the Indians. Thomas
Hooker also disliked the government
in Massachusetts and wanted to go
with his friends to a new place where
they could have the kind OF govern
ment they wanted
Governor Winthrop of Massachu-
sets thought only part of the peo-
pie were intelligent or good enough TO
rule either themselves or others In
the Massachusetts settlements he kept
the government in the hands of
small number of men None but
church members had the right to vote
and hold office. Thomas Hooker be-
leved that the people should govern
themselves and that all should enjoy
the same rights as the church mem
bers. Many of the Massachusetts set
tiers had come from England because
they believed as Hooker did They
wanted him to go with them to the
valley of the Connecticut and become
their leader in public affairs.
The General Court of Massachusetts
however, maintained that Hooker and
his friends should remain where they
were. The members of the court
wanted to keep these men In Massa-
, chusetts settlements for protection IN
case they should be attacked by In
dams. They even tried to brighten ev-
erybody who talked of moving to Con
necticut by saying that the Indians
would kill them if they went there
Some of the people, however, could
not be frightened and said they would
90 anyway. So in the year 1884 John
Oldham and a band of fifteen or TWEEN
ty brave men left Waterfowl and set
out for the Connecticut Valley. They
reached the river early in the fall and
built some log houses for the winter
at place which the Indians called
Peouag The white men afterwards
named the settlement Wethersheld.
The next May G635) the General
Court of Massachusetts yielded and
gave permission for other settlers to
enter the Connecticut Valley Dur
ing the summer many went from Wa
tertown to join the men at Wethers-
field. From Dorchester a small COM
pany continued to Windsor and set
tied near the Plymouth trading house.
John Steele and small party from
NeWtown chose place for new set
tlemeut between Wethersfieid and
Windsor. This was the beginning of
Hartford In the fall sixty more men,
women, and children left the Massa-
chusetts settlements to JOIN their
friends in Connecticut. They took
with them their horses, cows, pigs, and
a small part Of their household goods
What long. hard journey lay be-
fore them
For weeks they toiled on toward
their new homes in the wilderness. 1t
was winter when they arrived. They
expected ships 10 come up the river
from Boston with the remainder of
their goods, including beds, clothing
and good. Unfortunately there were
storms at sea and the river soon be-
came frozen so hard that ships could
not reach Hartford.
What could they do7
The winter was exceedingly cold
and they could not keep warm. The
supply of food in the settlement was
soon exhausted They tried TO buy
corn from the Indians, but even the
Indians had little to spare. At last
some Of the settlers started back
through the snow 70 Massachusetts
and would have starved on the way
had it not been for the food furnished
them bv the Indians. Twelve Of them
finally reached their friends. Several
Others went down the river hoping to
meet their ships. and found one, the
Rebecca, embedded in the ice. After
two days Of hard work, the boat was
disIodged and the men set sail for
Boston.
Those who stayed at the three set
Elements kept themselves alive with