THE HISTORY OF STRATFORD

Golden Hill Indians
The Housatonic
The Wepawaug
Cupheags and Pequannock
Weantinock
Goodyear's Island
Indian Slaves
Indian Remnants
Indian Troubles
New Indian Papers

THE HISTORY OF STRATFORD

Wm. Howard Wilcoxson

Stratford Indians

Trouble with the Indians

Establishing Title to the Land

Indian Deeds and Relics

White Hills Purchase

FORREST MORGAN

Lifestyles, Government, Religion and War

Indian Titles and Mohegan Land Troubles

Sowheag, Uncas, and Miantonomo

Owenoco, the Son of Uncas

THE HOUSATONIC

CHARD POWERS SMITH

The Promised Land
Heathen in the Land
The Lord's Scouts

The Land and The Lord

The Next Seven Tribes

ALEXANDER JOHNSTON

Connecticut Indian History

The Pequot War

Samuel Orcutt- The History of Stratford
Cupheags and Pequannocks

The great hindrance in settling the boundaries between these two plantations and the Indians was the open or cleared land on the east side of what is now called Ash Creek, formerly Uncoway River. It was good soil, and probably much of it cleared besides the portion which the Indians had planted for many years, called afterwards the Indian field. This is revealed in pat by a paper from John Strickland, giving the reason that Fairfield wanted more room, and so desired the Indians pushed over east on Stratford territory, but the old line was retained while a tract of land was set off for the Indians on Golden Hill, and they retained their old field at the head of Black Rock Cove until 1681, when they sold it to Fairfield.There were probably, several hundred acres of partially cleared land, now constituting the western part of the city of Bridgeport and Sea Side Park, of which the Indian field containing about one hundred acres, with their fort formed the central part.

In the spring of 1659, the question of title or right to the land in the plantations of Stratford and Fairfield was brought before the General Court at Hartford and settled.The Indians agreed that if the English could prove that they had received the land by purchase gift or conquest, it should be theirs; whereupon a number of men gave their testimony in writing under oath on the subject, and the Court decided in favor of the plantations, and the affidavits were recorded in the town book, and they are here produced in foot-notes because of various items of historical interest. These papers are prefaced on the records with the statement: A record of several letter presented to the Court of Hartford, whereby together with other evidenced the town of Stratford proved, and the Court granted a clear right to their land in reference to Pawuannock Indians with whom they had to do.

The first paper is by the Rev. John Higginson, of Guilford, Conn., in which he states that he land was given to the Connecticut Colony in 1638, and gives the reasons why the Indians did it, namely, for the security thereby obtained. These are corroborated by the fact that Towtanemow, Sagamore at Paugassett, gave to the Lieut. Thomas Wheeler of Fairfield, about forty acres of land, what is now he southern part of Birmingham Village, in Derby, if he would come and reside upon I, which he did some five or six years; then sold the land and improvements for two hundred pounds money.

This paper of Mr. Higginson informs that a convention was held with the Indians from New Haven to the Hudson river, a Norwalk in the last week of March ( as we now reckon time), 1638, he himself being interpreter, when the Indians gave this territory to Connecticut, reserving only room to plant and the treaty was ratified with due solemnity at Norwalk and at Hartford, the council being held in Mr. Hooker's barn at Hartford, because the meeting house was not hen completed.

The date of this Norwalk Indian council shows it to have been held about fifteen days before the New Haven Company landed at Quinnipaic.

The next testimony is that of Thomas Stanton, who was for many years the Indian interpreter at Hartford, which informs us that the Connecticut colony conquered the Pequots and Pequannocks at the same time 1637-took hostages of the Pequannock Indians and sold some of their women into servitude in Massachusetts. He also says the Pequots had conquered the tribes along the Sound west of Quinnipiac, and made them tributary before the English came, and states that he Pequannocks engaged with the Pequots, as their allies, in the fight at Cupheag, and also at the swamp on the western boundary of Fairfield. The fight said to be at Cupheag was probably at Pequannock river where afterwards a gun was found as shown by the following records.

General Court, April, 1839. Thomas Bull informed the court that a musket with two letters, J.W., was taken up at Pequannocke in pursuit of the Pequatts, which was conceived to be John Woods who was killed at the River’s mouth. It was ordered for the present (that) the musket should be delivered to John Woods friends until others appear.

It has been generally maintained that at the time the English came here these Indians were tributary to the Mohawks, which has been an error according to this paper.

Mr. Stanton also says only one house or the karkise of one we found at Milford without inhabitants. This was the last week in March 1637, two weeks before the New haven and the Milford companies arrived on what is now Connecticut territory. The question arises, who built this frame of a house at Milford in, or before 1638, before any of the Milford people came there.