More about Suffield CT, where Lancelot and Joanna Adams Granger are buried. They were among the founding families in Suffield, back when it was thought to belong to Massachusetts.
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
John Granger (my ancestor) the oldest son, moved to Andover MA when he married, his children and descendents aren't included in this listing, but all the other 9 children and their families are listed in Suffied CT's early residents.
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| Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) |
Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) was born in West Suffield and was
strongly influenced by the 19th century temperance movement. He became
interested in human physiology and nutrition, giving lectures in the
eastern states, and developing what came to be known as the Graham
System, a vegetarian dietetic theory. He advocated use of whole wheat
for bread, hard mattresses, open windows, fresh fruits and vegetables,
pure drinking water, and cheerfulness at meals. His preaching inspired
the creation of graham flour, graham bread, and graham crackers. (He's no relation that I know of, but I liked reading about him and wanted to share)
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.
Source
The 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:
Weigh the true advantages
of forgiveness and resentment to the heart. Then choose.
|
Jack Kornfield
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