Petition of the Town of Stratford to the Connecticut General Assembly concerning Land at Golden Hill

The Honorable State of Connecticut on the Second Thursday of May 17971

The petition of the Town of Stratford in the County of Fairfield by their agents or Committee, (viz) Abijah Sterling, Amos Hubbel, and Thaddeus Benedict, all of said Stratford, humbly sheweth that anciently there arose a dispute and controversy between the inhabitants of the Town of Fairfield and the inhabitants of the said Town of Stratford concerning the support of certain Indians which were said to belong to said Town of Fairfield and had removed into the boundaries of said Town of Stratford at a place called Pequonnock and the said Indians agreed to be satisfied with the use and improvement of about eighty acres of land in said Stratford called Golden Hill, and the said inhabitants of said Fairfield agreed to pay to the inhabitants of said Stratford the sum of twenty pounds to be paid in beef, pork, wheat and pease, of beef two barrels, of pork two barrels, valued at twelve pounds and eight pounds, to be paid in wheat and pease, wheat at 4 shillings 6 pence per bushel, pease at 3 shillings 6 pence per bushel good and merchantable, which agreement was made in the year 1659,2 and in May 1660 the General Assembly ratified and confirmed said agreement and farther ordered and decreed that in case those Indians should at any time wholly relinquish and desert Golden Hill that their said eighty acres should remain and be the property of the inhabitants of said Stratford.3  And in process of time, the said Indians had all relinquished and deserted said eighty acres of land at Golden Hill, except Tom Sherman, Eunice Shoran, and Sarah Shoran, who brought their petition to the General Assembly held at New Haven in October 17634 against Richard Hall and others for intruding and getting into possession of said eighty acres of land at Golden Hill aforesaid, and, after some proceedings on said petition, it was agreed by said Indian petitioners and the said Richard Hall and others respondents that the said Indians would and should relinquish all claim to said eighty acres of land on Golden Hill, except about twelve acres of land part of said eighty acres called Nimrod lot with the spring at the point of Golden Hill aforesaid bounded westerly by a highway, eastwardly by Pequonnock River, northerly by Jabez Summers' land and southerly by the cove and common land.  And that also the said petitioners should purchase for the use and improvement of said Indian petitioners' eight acres of wood land in said Stratford at Rocky Hill, a place so called, also that the petitionees should pay to the petitioners thirty bushels of Indian corn and three pounds worth of blankets.

And the petitionees agreed thereto, and the same agreement being made to appear to the General Assembly held at New Haven on the second Thursday5 of October 17656 the said Assembly ratified and affirmed said agreement and farther ordered and decreed that said twelve acres called Nimrod lot and said eight acres of wood land so to be purchased, as aforesaid, should be under the same restrictions and limitations, as said twelve acres together with said eighty acres were by Act of Assembly in May 1659;7 that is, at any time when the petitioners, said Tom, Sarah, and Eunice, should wholly relinquish and desert said twelve acres and said eight acres that then the same should remain and be the property of the inhabitants of said Stratford, as by the several Acts of Assembly may appear.

And your petitioners farther inform Your Honors that long since the said Sarah and Eunice are dead and have left a few of their posterity, but that neither they or the said Tom have used, occupied, or improved the said twelve acres called Nimrod lot, nor said spring for some years past8 and have not pretended to live on or near the same,9 nor for many years have they had thereon any kind of house, hut, or wigwam but have lived and resided on and near said eight acres of wood land so purchased for their use as aforesaid at a place called Rocky Hill in said Stratford about three miles distant from said Nimrod lot and have relinquished and deserted said Nimrod lot as your petitioners conceive.

Your petitioners farther inform Your Honors that in the year 1781 or 1782 Aaron Hawley of said Stratford was by the General Assembly appointed guardian to said Indians10 to take care of them and rent said lands for their use and benefit, and that said Hawley has rented and used the same ever since his said appointment to this time, but said Indians complain grievously that said Hawley has never allowed them but very little of the avails of said twelve acres and said eight acres of land during his guardianship and not near enough for their subsistence, and there is not any forum before whom said Hawley can be compelled to render his reasonable account of his guardianship nor any person empowered to call him to account.  And the said Tom is now very old and well-stricken in years and unable to do anything for his support, and he and the surviving posterity of said Sarah and Eunice have become expensive and burdensome to your petitioners and are likely to be more and more so.

Your petitioners farther inform Your Honors that said Nimrod lot lies adjoining a navigable arm of the sea or saltwater river commonly called Pequonnock River at the village of Newfield and contains several very elegant and convenient building lots, and is advantageously situated for several shipyards and would now sell to good advantage, but under its present circumstances, it is a great hindrance to the growth and population of that flourishing village and is, in fact, a dead weight to your petitioners, as in addition to the aforesaid facts it is not put into the list and for which no taxes are paid nor is it of any service to the public, to the said Indians11 or to any individual.12

Your petitioners humbly conceive it will be for the good of the public at large, for the interest of the Indians and the advantage of your petitioners that the said Nimrod lot should be sold and the interest of the monies arising on said sale and the principal, if necessary applied to and for the support of said Tom Sherman and the posterity of said Sarah Shoran and Eunice Shoran so far as from time to time may be necessary for their support, and the residue thereof to be to and for the use of your petitioners as the fee of said land now is vested in them.

Your petitioners therefore pray Your Honors to inquire into the facts stated in this petition by yourselves or by a judicious disinterested committee, and that on such enquiry Your Honors will resolve, enact, order and decree that said Nimrod lot and its appurtenances may be sold and conveyed by your petitioners upon the terms and for the purposes aforesaid, and that Your Honors will empower some meet person to make and execute a deed or deeds of the same to the purchaser or purchasers, and that Your Honors will appoint a judicious and disinterested committee or forum before whom, the said Aaron Hawley, may render an account of his said guardianship with full powers to said committee or forum to audit, hear and examine the accounts of said Hawley in the premises for and during the time he has been guardian over said Indians, as aforesaid, in the same way and manner as auditors in actions of account are by law directed to proceed and their award to make (always considering the Town of said Stratford as of one part).  Also with full power to carry their award into effect by execution or other ways, and that the sum awarded against the said Hawley (if any) be paid into the treasury of said Town of Stratford for the use and purposes aforesaid.  Or that Your Honors will order, resolve, and decree in the premises in some other way and manner as to Your Honors shall appear right and reasonable. 

And your petitioners as in duty bound shall pray,

• 1. The second Thursday of May in 1797 was the 11th.
• 2. For the laying out of the Golden Hill reservation, see order of the Court of Election, May 19, 1659. PRCC 1:335-336. See also George C. Waldo, Jr., History of Bridgeport and Vicinity, Vol. 1 (New York, NY: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1917), 6-7.
• 3. For the agreement between the Pequonnock and the Inhabitants of Stratford, see George C. Waldo, Jr., History of Bridgeport and Vicinity, Vol. 1 (New York, NY: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1917), 7-8.
• 4. PRCC 12:212-213. See also documents 1763.10.05.00 and 1765.05.00.00.
• 5. The second Thursday of October in 1765 was the 10th.
• 6. PRCC 12:432-433. See also 1765.05.00.00, 1764.03.10.00, 1765.05.00.01, 1765.10.25.00, 1765.10.31.00, 1765.10.00.00.
• 7. Court of Election, May 19, 1659. PRCC 1:335-336.
• 8. Deleted Text: only some time for a month or six weeks in the heat of summer some of them may when they were down to [ illegible ] have [ illegible ] with said spring
• 9. Deleted Text: nor in any way to [ illegible ] or impower the same,
• 10. 1782.01.00.00
• 11. Deleted Text: [ illegible ] for the Guardian may[ illegible ] some advantage by it
• 12. Deleted Text: [ illegible ] for the Guardian may[ illegible ] some advantage by it
• 13. The first Tuesday after said second Thursday of May in 1797 was the 16th.