Suffield was settled as colonists pushed against Native American tribes, which had their own alliances and political differences. The earliest settlers in Suffield had allotments in 1670-74, but then the Native Americans under their leader King Phillip (and allies of possibly the French as well) went to war with settlers over the years of 1675-78 in different communities of New Englad.
Suffield was attacked and abandoned by colonists in the winter of 1675-6.
By 1682, the colonists who had allotments had returned, and more were being given out. Lancelot Granger had received his in 1674., as well as Th. Granger, and Ge. Granger, all town lots located on High Street. (Th. and Ge. were probably his sons.)
SOURCE Documentary history of Suffield : in the colony and province of Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1660-1749
Suffield CT will be celebrating its 350th anniversary in 2020.
Early residents are described, including Lancelot Granger,
1
Launcelot Granger
b.
England; d. 3 Sep 1689, Suffield, CT; m. 4 Jan 1653/54, Newbury, MA, Joanna
Adams; dau. of Robert Adams & Eleanor Wilmot; b. ca. 1633, England;
d. 1701, Suffield, CT.
Children:
1 John Granger, b. 15
Jan 1654/55, Newbury, MA.
2‑2 Thomas Granger, b. Newbury, MA;
m. Mindwell Taylor.
3‑3 George Granger, b. 23 Nov 1658, Newbury, MA;
m. Lydia Younglove.
4 Robert Granger, b. Newbury, MA;
d. 8 Aug 1709, Suffield, CT.
4‑5 Mary Granger, b. Newbury, MA;
m. (1) John Burbank; m. (2) John Austin.
5‑6 Elizabeth Granger, b. 13 Mar 1662, Newbury, MA;
m. Victory Sikes.
6‑7 Dorothy Granger, b. 17 Feb 1665, Newbury, MA;
m. Robert Old.
7‑8 Rebecca Granger, b. Newbury, MA;
m. Joseph Woolcot.
8‑9 Samuel Granger, b. 2 Aug 1668, Newbury, MA;
m. Ester Hanchett.
9‑10 Hannah Granger, b. Newbury, MA;
m. Thomas Taylor.
10‑11 Abraham Granger, b. 17 Apr 1673, Newbury, MA;
m. (1) Hannah Hanchett; m. (2) Hannah nln.
They
lived at Newbury, MA
and Suffield, CT.
FamilySearch gives a possible English ancestry: There was a Lancelot Granger
bp. 25 Jun 1637 Shellington, Bedfordshire, England,
son of Lancelot Granger.
Reference
Documents: 114, 126
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| Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) |
And on my own family tree (the Swasey branch's cousins, that is)
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| Gideon Granger, Jr. (1767-1822) |
Gideon Granger, Jr. (1767-1822) was appointed to Postmaster General in 1801 by Thomas Jefferson.
(he's a cousin of ours)Suffield History
A surveying error in 1642 resulted in the Suffield region being part of Massachusetts colony. Originally called Southfield, the area was settled as a township of Massachusetts in 1670 but later found to lie within the boundaries of the Connecticut Charter and was subsequently annexed in 1749. Settlement started in 1670, after Major John Pynchon, a fur merchant from Springfield, paid the Natives Americans thirty pounds for a six-mile tract of land known as Stony Brooke Plantation. The region consisted of a thickly wooded area with a narrow meadow which provided a land route connecting Springfield and Windsor. This route was called the Hampton Path (usually thought to include Hill Street, Remington Street, South Street, and possibly other roads). The local Native Americans used this land primarily as a hunting ground and preferred camping by the Congamond Lake and Manatuck Mountain areas to the west. SourceThe Massachusetts General Court authorized Pynchon's committee of Springfield men to settle a town on the "West sid of ye Ryver Connecticott towards Windsor." They stipulated that in five years, twenty families were to settle there and that a minister be maintained. Land was reserved for a common, a meeting house, a school, and land for a minister. The first land was sold at four pence per acre. By 1675 three dozen families had settled, but they were forced to flee to Springfield during King Philip's War. Returning and rebuilding after the settlement was burned, they were ready to retain their first minister in 1679.
Cains pond near the intersection of South Street and Remington Street proved to be useful for harnessing Stoney Brooke for a saw mill and a grist mill. Bog or pond ore, which is usually 18-30% iron, was harvested from the pond and a bloomery and iron works were set up near the pond. The first iron works were set up in 1700, the second in 1721, the third in 1722 and all were in operation until about 1770. The town allowed Samuel Copley to set up a fulling-mill in 1710. A cotton-mill, which made cotton yarn, was set up in 1795 and is believed to be the first in Connecticut and possibly the third successful cotton-mill in the country. (It Happened In Our Town. 1978. Page 18. Pease & Niles.)
In 1801 the Franklin Paper Mill was built on Stoney Brooke near where the brook enters the Connecticut River. It was owned by Harvey Bissell and Henry Pease. The mill made a quality writing paper, a heavy cartridge paper for making shells, and a heavy greyish paper in demand for the shipping of tobacco. A fire destroyed the mill in 1866 and was rebuilt. It was destroyed by another fire in 1886 and was again rebuilt and operated until 1914 when a third fire ended its run. A second paper mill called Eagle Mill was built in 1816 on Stoney Brooke about a mile west of the earlier Franklin Mill. Eagle Mill was the first American mill to supply paper for the use of the United States Government. At different times the town also had its own newspaper, the Impartial Herald, a distillery-cider mill, a curative mineral spring called "The Pool," and a one-half mile race track. (The Biography of a Town. Robert Hayden Alcorn. 1970. Page 113-123.)
In 1810 a covered bridge to Enfield was completed. It was paid for with lottery tickets. The bridge collapsed and was rebuilt in 1826. A canal was built in 1829 that bypassed the Enfield rapids. Immigrants who worked on the canal project, especially those from Ireland and Poland, brought their families to settle in Suffield. The 1844 Hartford-Springfield railroad line with its branch to Suffield completed in 1870. The Charles H. Dexter was the last steam boat on the Connecticut river which ran from Hartford to Springfield from 1866-1881. In 1902 a trolley service ran through Suffield connecting Springfield and Hartford. Source
Since the earliest days, the tobacco industry has been the greatest single continuing commercial enterprise in Suffield. In 1727 tobacco was used as a legal tender for debts. By 1753 the fertile Connecticut valley was growing tobacco for export. The first cigar factory in the country was opened in Suffield in 1810 on what is today known as Ratley Road. There is a stone marker there today. A Cuban was hired to teach women how to roll the "long nines", which were sold all over the eastern United States by peddlers. By 1830, broad leaf tobacco for cigar wrappers was developed, as was the process of "sweating" tobacco. 14 million cigars per year were made in Suffield at that time. Profits earned from crops grown between 1830 and 1880 were used for western land speculation and helped finance commercial ventures, including the Hartford insurance business. Early in the 1900's higher grade tobacco were grown under cheesecloth tents, but decreasing cigar consumption brought reduced production.
Source: Suffield Historical Society
West Suffield Center (West Suffield Congregational Church. Established in 1740.)
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| Fire House. |
Main Street.
1683 Suffield Map. Drawn by Hezikiah Spencer Sheldon around 1875
Photos thanks to Suffield Historic Society.
Today's quote:
Today's quote:
Weigh the true advantages
of forgiveness and resentment to the heart. Then choose.
|
Jack Kornfield
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