John Pease Sr. (1608-1677)
John Pease, one of the original 35 proprietors of Norwich, is credited with being the first to add potatoes to clam chowder, thus creating the first New England Clam Chowder recipe.
The primary difference between the traditional clam chowder of Europe and of early New England clam chowder is the substitution of the biscuit (a.k.a. cracker or bread) with potatoes.
Before settling in Norwich John Pease lived in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard. While there he learned of the healthy benefits of eating clams, especially when they were made into chowder. At that point-in-time all chowder recipes included bread, which is a grain based food. During one of the growing seasons flocks of wild pigeons darkened the skies and ruined the grain crops on the Vineyard. Since it was not possible to add bread to clam chowder, Pease, who had learned about the taste and benefits of potatoes in Virginia, came up with the idea of adding potatoes in place of the bread.
Trading vessels regularly traveled along the coast from Virginia to Cape Cod and whenever they reached the Cape would stand over to the Vineyard to exchange news with the Edgartown colonists. Potatoes were carried as a part of the stores on these vessels and it was from one of these ships that John Pease obtained his first supply.
One pot of chowder made with potatoes was enough to convince the family that bread or biscuits were inferior as a “thickening” for the dish. Pease obtained more potatoes, and besides introducing them as a staple article of food on the Island, it is said that he was the first to plant them in Edgartown.
John Pease Sr. moved from New London to Norwich and settled on his house-lot in November 1659 (when he was about 51 years old).
The house that was built on his home lot, located at 232 West Town Street, is shown on the left. In his 1674 will, he bequeathed the Norwich home lot and a “frame of a house” to his son, John Pease Jr. (1639-1711).
The house was later sold to Hugh Calkins II, the son of another of Norwich’s proprietors, John Calkins.
Not much is known about John Pease Sr.’s life in Norwich. However, Info Source 2, provides some legal information. It is believed that the legal cases mentioned in Info Source 2 are in reference to John Pease Jr. This belief is due to the fact that in the 1671-1672 time frame John Pease Sr. not alone. He was living with his wife Mary and most probably several of their children.
According to Info Source 2, in 1671 a Norwich grand jury made a case against John Pease for “living alone and neglecting the Sabbath”.
In another court record in 1672 is is written:
“John Pease complained of by the townsmen of Norwich for living alone, for idleness, and not duly attending the worship of God. The court orders that townsmen* do provide that Pease be entertained into some suitable family. He paying for his board and accommodation and he employ himself in some lawful calling. Which if he reject or refuse to do, the townsmen may put him out to service in some approved family except he dispose of his accommodations and remove out of town.” (*A “townsman” was similar to a modern-day selectman.)
FAMILY
John Pease Sr. married Lucy Reeves Pease (1611-1643) in 1635. Their two children were :
1) James Pease (1637-1719)
2) John Pease Jr. (1639-1711) : He inherited his father’s Norwich home lot and lived in Norwich until his death in 1711.
John Pease Sr. married Mary Creber Pease (1625-1695) in 1648. They had eight children. Their names were :
1) Mary Pease (1649-1674)
2) David Pease (1651-1689) : Married but wife’s name is unknown.
3) Abigail Pease (1653-1674) : Had a daughter named Bathsheba Sliffe
4) Capt. Samuel Pease (1655-1689) Husband of Mary Whittemore
5) Sgt. Thomas Pease (1657-1748) : Husband of Bathsheba Merry
6) Rebecca Pease (1659-1674)
7) Sarah Pease Daggett Capon (1661-1735) : Wife of Deacon John Daggett and later Banfield Capon
8) Jonathan Pease (1670-1736) : Husband of Sarah Jones and Mary Newcomb
John Pease Sr. died in 1677 and his final resting place is unknown. His first wife, Lucy, died in October 1643 in Salem Massachusetts. His second wife, Mary, died after 1695. Her burial site is unknown.
Acknowledgements
“Red Coat and Clam Chowder”, The Vineyard Gazette (1927)
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, page 87, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
“John Pease, of Great Baddow & Martha’s Vineyard”, Geni.com
CalkinsWorld.org
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “John Pease” in the SEARCH box.
John Post (1629-1710)
John Post’s family came to America with the Rev. Thomas Hooker party when he was about seven years old. When he was about nine, they journeyed through the wilderness to found Hartford where he lived until young adulthood.
In 1646, a new church was built in Saybrook Connecticut, and Rev. James Fitch was ordained as its first minister. Many of the church members in Hartford, including John, moved to Saybrook. They became the founders of Saybrook.
When Fitch’s congregation moved to Norwich, John and his family once again followed and he became one of Norwich’s founding fathers.
Three years later, in 1663, both John and his brother Thomas were “accepted and made free” according to the Colony Court.
John Post was one of the first buried in the Old Norwichtown Cemetery. His headstone, shown on the left, is a fine example of the work of the Norwich Ovoid Carver.
FAMILY
John Post married Hester Hyde Post (1635-1703) the daughter of William Hyde in 1652. They had nine children. They were :
1) Margaret Post Marey Abell (1652-1700) : Wife of Caleb Abell
2) Elizabeth Post Sperry Bunnell Dorman (1655-1715) : Wife of John Sperry, Benjamin Bunnell, and Edmund Dorman. Elizabeth survived all three of her husbands.
3) John Post Jr. (1657-1690) : Husband of Sarah Reynolds Post, the daughter of John Reynolds
4) Sarah Post Hough (1659-1702) : Wife of Captain John Hough
5) Mary Post Rudd (1662-1705) : Wife of Nathanial Rudd
6) Abigail Post (1664-1676)
7) Samuel Post (1668-1735) : Husband of Ruth Lathrop Post
8) Hannah Post (1671-1725)
9) Lydia Post Moore Harris (1674-1753) : Wife of Abel Moore and later Joseph Harris
John Post’s younger brother, Thomas Post, was also one of Norwich’s original 35 proprietors.
John Post died in 1710 and is buried in the Old Norwichtown Cemetery.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, page 195, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
FindAGrave.com
Geni.com
WikiTree.com
Thomas Post (1631-1701)
Thomas Post’s family came to America with the Rev. Thomas Hooker party when he was about five years old. When he was about seven, they journeyed to Hartford where he lived until young adulthood.
In 1660 both Thomas and his brother John moved to Norwich and became founders of the town. Three years later, they were “accepted and made free” according to the Connecticut Colony Court.
About a year after arriving in Norwich Thomas’ wife, Mary, died and was buried on the Post house-lot.
In March 1661 Mary Post, Thomas Post’s wife and mother to their three-year old daughter, died at the age of about 23. Her death was the earliest on record in Norwich. At that point-in-time, there was no community burial ground in Norwich. She was buried in the rear section of her husband’s house-lot an area that also abutted the John Gager house-lot. It is located at the end of Lee Avenue.
In December 1661, the town purchased the burial site and a six-foot wide path (present-day Lee Ave.) leading to it. The area measures roughly 130 feet x 90 feet was often referred to as the “Post-Gager Burial Ground”. It is known today as the Founders’ Cemetery.
Within these grounds are buried many of Norwich’s 35 founders. The original grave markers, believed to have been wooden, have all decomposed. Thus, the only monument that remains is the obelisk shown in the upper right corner of the photo. The monument is a tribute to both Major John Mason and the 35 proprietors. The cornerstone for the monument was laid on September 8, 1859 amid great pomp and circumstance. The ceremony was an important part of celebration of the Norwich Bicentennial Jubilee.
The names of the proprietors are etched into the four sides of the obelisk. The lower right photo shows the face of the obelisk which includes the name of Thomas Post.
The large stone bench, shown in the lower middle photo, was dedicated to the memory of the first proprietors in August 1940 by the Society of the Founders of Norwich and the John Mason Monument Association.
The memorial plaque shown in the lower left photo is a tribute to the burial ground. It was erected in 2011.
The gate to the cemetery, shown in the upper left photo, was donated by the descendants of Captain John Gallup. Captain John Gallup, a contemporary of Major John Mason, died in 1675 during King Philip’s War.
By circa 1700 this burial ground was near capacity and the use of the Old Norwichtown Cemetery began . In 1706, the first person interred in the Old Norwichtown Cemetery was Deacon Simon Huntington.
FAMILY
Thomas Post married Mary Andrews Post (c1638-1661) in January 1656. They had one child whose name was :
Sarah Post Vincent (1657-c1746) : Wife of Thomas Vincent
After Mary’s death Thomas married Rebecca Bruen Post (1643-1721) in 1663. They had 4 children, whose names were :
1) Mary Post Rudd (1669-1705) : Wife of Nathaniel Rudd
2) Hannah Post Chapman (1674-1743) : Wife of Jeremiah Chapman
3) Obadiah Post (16??-1703)
4) Joseph Post (1681-1749) : Husband of Mary Danner Post and Mary Hayes Post
FUN FACT : Thomas Post is 18 degrees related to Alex Trebek and is 13 degrees related to Dick Clark.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, page 196, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
Find A Grave.com
Geni.com
WikiTree.com
Bob Dees
Josiah Read (c1643-1717)
At the age of about 17, Josiah Read became one of the youngest of the first 35 proprietors. He was a farmer and a tailor.
In 1679 Josiah’s father died leaving a minor son named Hezekiah. Josiah and his brother, John, became guardians of their younger half-brother, Hezekiah. At the guardianship hearing in New London County Court Josiah and John were instructed “to give him (Hezekiah), good education as before and to teach him the trade of a weaver according to his best skill and to allow Competent and Comfortable maintenance ….”
Josiah Read’s 1659 house-lot was located in the northeastern part of the town. In 1683, he was listed as a Constable in Norwich and in 1687 he purchased land and removed from his original house-lot to a farm “over Showtucket” (known today as Lisbon and the town village of Newent). He was probably the first permanent settler in Newent. His Lisbon plot of land was located within the northwest portion of the Nine-Mile Square, still a part of Norwich. Later in 1698, Josiah Read sold his original 1659 house-lot to Richard Bushnell.
FAMILY
Josiah Read married Grace Holloway Read (1648-1727) in 1666 in Marshfield, Massachusetts. They had eight children. Their names were :
1) Josiah Read (1668-1752) : Husband of Elizabeth Amsden Read
2) William Read (1670-1756) : Husband of Anna Stark Read
3) Elizabeth Read Brewster (1672-1692) : Wife of William Brewster whose great-grandfather came from England to the New World on the Mayflower
4) Experience Read Lamphere Lincoln (1675-1732) : Wife of Samuel Lincoln and Shadrach Lamphere
5) John Read (1679-1768) : Husband of Deborah Niles Read
6) Joseph Read (1681-1753) : Husband of Mercy Guppie Read
7) Susannah Read Lawrence (1685-1752) : Wife of Isaac Lawrence
8) Hannah Read Fitch (1691-c1761) : Wife of Benjamin Fitch (1691-1727), son of Samuel, son of James
Josiah’s younger brother, John Read, married Josiah’s sister-in-law Hannah Holloway. Thus, the two Read brothers were married to the two Holloway sisters.
The Read family surname was also spelled as Reed and Reade.
Josiah Read is buried in the Founders’ Cemetery in Norwich.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, (pp 197,257), by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
The Reade Record, Vol. 10, page 3, (1917)
Leuthard Family.com
WikiTree.com
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Josiah Read” in the SEARCH box.
John Reynolds (1615-1702)
John Reynolds lived in Norwich for more than forty years after he first arrived at his house-lot in 1660. His six-acre lot was located in the southeasternmost part of the town, near present-day Backus Hospital. However, by the time of his death he had accumulated 79 acres in the Norwich area.
In addition to his house-lot, he had been granted land on the Little Plain and a substantial tract just south of where the Shetucket and Quinebaug River come together. This land, located on both sides of the Shetucket River, was later sold to William P. Greene and became the home of Greeneville, the Greeneville Dam, the Shetucket Company and other manufacturing enterprises.
John Reynolds was a wheelwright and, most likely, a farmer. A week before he died he signed his last will which bequeathed all his wheelwright and husbandry tools to his only living son, Joseph.
HUSBANDRY TOOLS
Husbandry tools are used for care, cultivation and breeding of crops and animals and wheelwright tools were used to make and repair wooden wheels. During the late 1600s wheelwrights built or repaired carts, wheelbarrows, carriages and wagons.
At that point-in-time there were many farmers in Norwich who most likely needed the skills of a wheelwright to build or repair their farm equipment.
FAMILY
John Reynolds married Sarah Backus Reynolds (1628-1702) the daughter of William Backus Sr. They had eight children. Their names were :
1) John Reynolds Jr. (1655-1676) : During the period of King Philip’s War he and Josiah Rockwell were attacked and killed in Norwich on the eastern bank of the Shetucket River while working in the Reynolds’ family land.
2) Sarah Reynolds Post (1656-1703) : Wife of John Post Jr., the son of John Post
3) Susannah Reynolds (1658-1660) : Died at a very young age
4) Joseph Reynolds (1660-1729) : Husband of Sarah Edgerton Reynolds, the daughter of Richard Edgerton
5) Mary Reynolds Edgerton Lathrop (1664-1728) : Married John Edgerton, the son of Richard Edgerton in 1689. After his death she married Samuel Lathrop Esq. in 1697.
6) Elizabeth Reynolds Fowler (1666-1743) : Married Jonathan Fowler in 1687 and married Samuel Lyman in 1699.
7) Stephen Reynolds (1669-1687)
8) Lydia Reynolds Miller (1671-1756) : Wife of Benjamin Millard
John Reynolds is buried in the Founders Cemetery in Norwich.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, (pp 99, 197-198, 243, 533, 619), by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
FindAGrave.com
WikiTree.com
Geni.com
FreePages.RootsWeb.com