Lyme, CT
My 4g-grandfather, Benjamin HUNTLEY, was born in Lyme, Colony of Connecticut, on 3 Mar 1740/1. His ancestors had lived in or near Lyme for several generations, including his g-grandparents, and most of his 2g-grandparents. Fortunately, New England kept pretty good records in colonial times, compared with colonies further south, so I have been able to trace this ancestry more thoroughly than other parts of my tree. In particular, the immigrants John and Jane HUNTLEY, Henry and Sarah CHAMPION and Balthasar and Alice DE WOLF, were Benjamin's 2g-grandparents, hence my 8g-grandparents, and the lives of their many descendants are interwoven into the story of Lyme, which I will here relate.
History of Lyme
The communities of Lyme and Saybrook are located on the east and west sides of the mouth of the Connecticut River.
The Connecticut River flows 406 miles, mostly southward, from its source in Northern New Hampshire, forming the boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire, through western Massachusetts and Connecticut, and emptying into Long Island Sound, where it accounts for 70% of the fresh water flowing into the sound.
Indigenous Nations circa 1630
The area around Lyme and Saybrook was inhabited by the Pequot Indians, at the time the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock, in 1620. The Pequot were more warlike and aggressive than some of the neighboring tribes, which accounts for the later development of English colonies in this area. The Pequot had originally come from the upper Hudson River area, and had forced the Niantic Indians to leave, prior to the English settlements.
Early settlements near Lyme. From [J&D]
This map is useful, but it fails to show the development in the Connecticut River Valley, which began in 1633.
After the landing at Plymouth in 1620, the English settlements began to spread along the coast of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Dutch had a large settlement in New Amsterdam (now called New York City), and along the Hudson River. In 1633 and 1634, both English and Dutch began to establish trading posts, followed by settlements, on the Connecticut River. After a few tense confrontations, the English forts at Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield were thriving, or at least surviving. These were far inland, and the English needed a post at the mouth of the river, on Long Island Sound.
Map of Connecticut, 1636-8, showing places important in the Pequot War. [EBS]
Taken together, the irresistible expansion of the English settlements and the warlike nature of the Pequot tribe made war inevitable, and as a result, the Pequot War was waged from Aug 1636 to Sep 1638.
SKETCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF SAYBROOK AND LYME.
The state of civil and religious affairs in England in the time of Charles I was well calculated to cause dissatisfaction among those who were thoroughly indoctrinated with Puritanism or kindred forms of dissent. Influenced by such feelings, Lord Say and Sele, Lord Brook and other gentlemen contemplated a removal to America. In accordance with this design, on March l9, 1631-2, they procured of Robert, Earl of Warwick, a patent of all that territory "which lies west from Narraganset river, a hundred and twenty miles on the Sea Coast, and from thence in latitude and breadth aforesaid, to the South Sea."
On July 7, 1635, articles of agreement were entered into between the Say and Sele Company and John Winthrop, Junior, by which the latter was to be fully compensated for his time and trouble, was to act as "governor of the River Connecticut in New England and of the harbor and places adjoining" for one year, and was to build a fort at the mouth of the river, with a garrison of fifty men, reserving one thousand acres of good ground near the fort for its maintenance.
Winthrop arrived in Boston the 8th of the following October, and on November 24th a party of twenty men, dispatched by him, arrived at the Connecticut and took possession. Winthrop followed a little later with Lion Gardiner who soon took command of the fort. The fortifications and some other buildings were immediately begun; the level tract of land, two miles north-west from the bar, now called Saybrook Point, being selected for the beginning of a settlement.
For some years the garrison endured the privations and dangers of a frontier post. The fort was constantly threatened with attack by the Dutch; its men were ambushed and slain by the Indians; and the growth of the settlement was retarded, since efficient protection could be afforded only to those within the fort and the few scattered buildings near it.
Col. George Fenwick, one of the patentees, had visited the place the year Winthrop took command. About mid-summer 1639 he returned with two vessels, and gave to the tract of land about the mouth of the river the name of Saybrook in honor of the two leading proprietors. The territory to which the name was applied was about ten miles in length, divided midway by the Connecticut River. and extending six or eight miles back from Long Island Sound, and included the greater part of the townships of Saybrook and Lyme and their parishes. Fenwick organized the first civil government in the settlement, and from this time continued to superintend and govern the inhabitants until December 5, 1644, when he sold the jurisdiction to Connecticut.
At a session of the General Assembly held at Hartford March 10, l663, deputies from Saybrook were in attendance who made known to the Court an intention on the part of the colonists to set up a plantation on the east side of the river, and prayed that the bounds might be enlarged. To this the Court consented, and forthwith extended the bounds on the east side four miles to the north. In 1664 the first settlement was begun, and on May 12th of that year a commission was appointed to determine the boundary line between Saybrook and New London. The settlement was known as East Saybrook and was incorporated as a distinct town under the name of Lyme in 1667. The site chosen for the town was a fertile, pleasant plain bordering the Connecticut, and terminating on the Sound in broad salt marshes. Towards the east commences a succession of hills which range northerly and become more elevated as they extend into the interior. It has been said, that the town was named by Matthew Griswold, one of its founders, in memory of Lyme-Regis, on the south coast of England, which was thought to have been his birth-place.*
* It is now known that Matthew Griswold came from Kenilworth.
[FBT, pp. 8-9]
Lyme was originally called East Saybrook, part of the Colony of Saybrook. [Larger versions available here.]
The Colony of Saybrook was founded in 1635. It contained equal amounts of land on both sides of the Connecticut River, including the area now known as Lyme, on the east side, which was not settled until 1645. Saybrook merged with the Colony of Connecticut in 1644.
The first non-Indian settler in Lyme was a black slave of Matthew GRISWOLD. His name may be lost to history, but he is remembered, in a sense. This must have been around 1645-6.
Mr. Griswold built a log hut on his farm in Lyme, in which a negro of his used to sleep before any white person had ventured to spend the night on that side of the river on account of the Indians. It was called Black's Hall, and from that took the name Black Hall, by which that part of the town is still known. [FBT, p. 10]
The Dutch gradually lost their power, as thousands of English colonists came to America, and in 1664 the English captured New Amsterdam, and renamed it New York City.
In 1665 the residents on the east side of the Connecticut River were granted permission to form their own plantation, which was called East Saybrook at first, but was named Lyme in 1667. This was known as the Loving Parting. They began with about 30 families. [LPH]
New London County was formed in 1666, and initially included the towns of Saybrook and Killingsworth, which were in Middlesex County when it was formed in 1785. In the mid 19th Century, Lyme was broken up into Old Lyme, Lyme and East Lyme. (The counties in Connecticut have always been less important than the towns, which have conducted most of the functions of local government. The counties serve to partition the state into geographic pieces, of which there are now 8.)
First Society. J. David Little, Revolutionary Lyme: A Portrait, 1765-1783
The Lyme Public Hall Association has published a list, compiled by the Lyme Local History Archives in 2015, of the known heads-of-household in Lyme in the period 1663-5, and another list for 1667-70. [LPH] The following is a list from 1677.
This list of First Citizens of Lyme, from a town meeting in 1677, appeared in The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT) 18 Jul 1899, p. 8.
Map of early Lyme, CT [FBT]
Map of Lyme in 1813. Cropped from a larger image. [source]
Old Lyme, showing Calves Island, in the Connecticut River, and Duck River, which splits into two branches, in the left center. Four Mile River is along the right edge. The Street, a.k.a. Lyme Street, a.k.a. The Highway, runs parallel to Lieutenant River. For scale, this 1893 map covers about 8 miles in width and 6.5 miles in height. [click to enlarge][source]
1911 Map of New London County, CT. The town of Lyme has been divided into Lyme, Old Lyme and East Lyme. Four Mile River can be seen in East Lyme. Counties in New England are divided into towns, which are usually called townships in the rest of the US. Each town contains villages and farmland, and sometimes a city.
Organization of Towns in New London County up to 1922
Of the twenty-one towns of the county:
New London was settled as "Pequot" in 1646; named from London, England, and authorized as a town in 1658.
Stonington was settled in 1649 and named Stonington in 1666.
Norwich, named from Norwich, England, in 1659, was settled by a Saybrook colony in 1660.
Lyme, named from Lyme Regis, England, in 1667, was set off from Saybrook in 1665.
Colchester was settled and named from Colchester, England, in 1699.
Preston was named in 1687 from Preston, England.
Lebanon, named from Lebanon in Syria, was incorporated in 1700.
Groton, set off from New London in 1704, was named from the English home of Governor John Winthrop in 1705.
Voluntown, "Volunteers Town," named in 1708, was settled in 1719.
Bozrah, with Biblical name, was set off from Norwich in 1786.
Franklin, set off from Norwich, in 1786, was named for Benjamin Franklin.
Lisbon, set off from Norwich in 1786, was named from Lisbon, Portugal.
Montville, set off from New London in 1786, took the French name of "Mount Ville."
Waterford, set off from New London in 1801, took a name descriptive of its nature.
North Stonington was set off from Stonington in 1807.
Griswold, named from Governor Roger Griswold, was set off from Preston in 1815.
Salem, named from Salem, Massachusetts, was set off from Colchester, Lyme, and Montville in 1879.
Ledyard, named from Colonel William Ledyard of Fort Griswold fame, was set off from Groton in 1836.
East Lyme was set off from Lyme and Waterford in 1839.
Old Lyme was set off from Lyme in 1855, and named Old Lyme in 1857.
Sprague, named from its founder, William Sprague, was set off from Lisbon and Franklin in 1861.
The following note is prefixed to the list of Connecticut towns printed in the Connecticut Register and Manual (1920).
Until 1700, almost the only official action of the colonial government (General Court) in regard to town organization, was to authorize the town name, usually chosen by its leading man, from his home in England.
[BTM, Vol. I, pp. 17-18]
My Ancestors in Lyme
The immigrants (above) were Benjamin HUNTLEY's 2g-grandparents, hence my 8g-grandparents. Their descendants lived in or near Lyme for several generations. All 3 heads-of-household appear in the list: Families of East Saybrook (Lyme) c. 1663-1665 at the time of The Loving Parting [LPH]. In each case, nothing is known about the parents and siblings of the immigrants. Even the maiden names of the women are unknown, although some conjectures have been made.
Timeline
1611 - Henry CHAMPION born in or near Norwich, Norfolk, England
1621 - Balthasar DE WOLF born in Europe
1623 - John HUNTLEY b. in Brittain
1625 - Alice, wife of Balthasar DE WOLF b. in Europe?
1635 - Saybrook Colony founded
1644 - Saybrook Colony sold to Connecticut Colony
1646 - Edward DE WOLF b.
1647 Jul 12 - John HUNTLEY res. in Boston
1648 May 1 - John HUNTLEY of Boston contracted to ship a load of dried fish to Barbados
1649 - Simon DE WOLF b.
1649 - Sarah CHAMPION b. in Saybrook
1649-50 - wife of John HUNTLEY d. in Boston
1650 - Stephen DE WOLF b. in CT
1650 John HUNTLEY was at the Iron Works in Salem, MA
1651 - Mary CHAMPION b. in Saybrook
1651 - John HUNTLEY m. (2) Jane, in Boston
1652 Jul 1 - Moses HUNTLEY b. in Boston
1653 - Stephen or Aaron CHAMPION b. in Saybrook
1654 - Henry CHAMPION Jr b. in Saybrook
1654 Apr 15 - Aaron 3 HUNTLEY b. in Boston
1656 Mar 5 - Balthasar DE WOLF fined for smoking in public, Hartford
1656 Apr - Thomas CHAMPION b. in Saybrook
1656 - Mary DE WOLF b.
1657 - John HUNTLEY res. in Roxbury, MA
1657 - Elizabeth HUNTLEY b. in Roxbury
1659 - John HUNTLEY was a cooper in Roxbury, and sold his house and shop.
1660 May - Stephen or Aaron CHAMPION d. in Saybrook, age 6 or 7
1660 - Rachel CHAMPION b. in Saybrook or East Saybrook?
1660 - Mary/Marah HUNTLEY b. in Roxbury
1660 Dec 3 - John HUNTLEY res. in Roxbury, MA
1661 - John HUNTLEY res. in East Saybrook (Lyme)
1661 Sep 5 - JENNINGS couple indicted for bewitching child of Balthasar and Alice DE WOLF, in Saybrook
1663-5 - HUNTLEY, CHAMPION and DE WOLF families all res. in East Saybrook (Lyme)
1664 - Balthasar DE WOLF res. in Wethersfield, CT
1665 Feb 13 - "The Loving Parting" between Saybrook and East Saybrook
1667 May 9 - East Saybrook renamed Lyme
1668 - Balthasar DE WOLF and his sons Stephen, Edward and Simon, of Lyme, were in a train-band, or company of militia
1670 - Edward DE WOLF m. Rebecca
1673 - Sarah CHAMPION m. Henry BENNETT in Lyme
1675-8 - Brothers Stephen and Edward DE WOLF, of Lyme, served in King Philip's War
1676 Feb 22 - Mary CHAMPION m. Aaron 3 HUNTLEY in Lyme
1676 - Henry CHAMPION Jr m. Deborah CRANE in CT
1676 - Mary DE WOLF m. Thomas LEE
1676 - John HUNTLEY d. in Lyme
1680 - Rachel CHAMPION m. John TANNER in Saybrook
1682 Aug 23 - Thomas CHAMPION m. Hannah BROCKWAY in Lyme
1682 Nov 12 - Simon DE WOLF m. Sarah LAY
1684 Apr 1 - Henry CHAMPION Jr m. Susanna DE WOLF in Lyme
1687 - Alice, wife of Balthasar DE WOLF d. in Lyme
1687 Dec 2 - Rachael CHAMPION d. in Lyme, age 27
1690 - Stephen DE WOLF m. Hannah JONES in CT
1695 Sep 5 - Simon DE WOLF d. leaving 7 ch.
1696 - Balthasar DE WOLF d. in Lyme
1697/8 Mar 21 - Henry CHAMPION m. (2) Deborah JONES. He was about 86.
1702 Oct 17 - Stephen DE WOLF d. leaving 8 ch.
1704 Jul - Henry CHAMPION Jr d. in Lyme
1705 Apr 5 - Thomas CHAMPION d. in Lyme
1705 - Mary DE WOLF m. (2) Mathew GRISWOLD
1708/9 Feb 17 - Henry CHAMPION died in Lyme, age 96
Sources
[1813] Map of Connecticut, 1813
[1854] Map of New London County, CT 1854
[BTM] A Modern History of New London County, Connecticut (1922) by Benjamin Tinkham Marshall, Volume I Volume II Volume III
[EBS] A history of Connecticut (1887) by Elias Benjamin Sanford
[CWB] The boundary disputes of Connecticut (1882) by Clarence Winthrop Bowen
[ES] Family histories and genealogies (1892) by Edward Salisbury and Evelyn Salisbury Vol 1 part 1 Vol 1 part 2 Vol 2 Vol 3 part 1 Vol 3 part 2
The chapter "Notes on the Family of De Wolf" in [ES, Vol. 2, pp. 123-165] is a main resource. Also see the large pedigree charts in Vol 3, part 2.
[FBT] The Champion Genealogy / A History of the Descendants of Henry Champion of Saybrook and Lyme, Connecticut / Together with Some Account of Other Families of the Name (1891) by Francis Bacon Trowbridge, Volume 1 Volume 2
[GCG] Saybrook at the mouth of the Connecticut (1935) by Gilman C. Gates
[HW] Genealogical guide to the early settlers of America (1898) by Henry Wittemore Vol I Vol II Vol III
[IHH] John Huntley of Lyme, Connecticut. And His Descendants (1953) by Ivy (Huntley) Horn
[JC] John Cotton, Letter to Lord Say and Sele (1636)
[J&D] The Early Daytons and Descendants of Henry Jr (1959) by Donald Lines Jacobus and Arthur Bliss Dayton
[LPH] Families of East Saybrook (Lyme) 1665-1700, and The Loving Parting of Saybrook Colony and Lyme, from the Lyme Public Hall Association
Last updated 4 Sep 2020 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.