The early settlement of Redding is incredibly interesting; it is also confusing, almost enigmatic at points. History is often opinionated and I have tried my best to remain as close to the facts as I could. Notations will be made to indicate points that are difficult to prove factual due to varying accounts or lack of pure information. Much of the information compiled here on the history of Redding has been taken directly from Charles B. Todd's "History of Redding", the only known publication accounting for the settlement and growth of the town up until the turn of the century.

"Chickens in Scatacook" has been added to offer a follow up on Redding's infamous Indians. This information was taken from "The Indians of the Housatonic & Naugatuck Valleys" by Samuel Orcutt. See the link below.

A new section: "Roadways" has recently been added thanks to Brian Rogers. Brian was kind enough to rummage through his high school notes and forward me information he had obtained from Mr. Cruson's Local History class at Joel Barlow High School. "The Roads of Easton and Redding: Their Origins" by Daniel Cruson. It is great information and I am thankful to add it to the site.

Enjoy.

Reading or Redding?

It seems the US Postal Service put the Reading or Redding debate to rest officially referring to the town as Redding on May 30, 1844 and according to legend everyone else followed suit.

Below is Redding Historian, Charles Burr Todd's findings in 1880:

Legally, no such town as "Reading" exists in Connecticut, since, both in the act of incorporation  and on the probate seal, the name is spelled Redding; and inquiry elicits the fact that the majority of the citizens prefer the latter method of the spelling. It is in the opinion of the writer(Charles Burr Todd), however, that the original name of the town was Reading, and that if historical precedents are to be followed it should be so named now. In all old documents among the State archives, State maps, and in the ancient records of Fairfield (where the name first occurs), the orthography is Reading.

Rev. Moses Hill, a gentleman well versed in the antiquities of the town, informs me (C.B. Todd) that at the time of incorporation, in 1767, a meeting was held, at which it was voted that the name of the new town should be Redding; and the fact that in the original bill incorporating it the name Reading has been crossed out and that of Redding substituted, would seem to point to some action on the part of the town. I (C.B. Todd) find no entry of any such action, however in the town records.

Connecticut maps from the 1700's all use Reading, Connecticut: 1771, 1795, 1797 as do Revolutionary War references to the encampments in our town. Adding to the confusion-Redding continued to be known as Reading to some into the 1800's as this map of Connecticut shows: Connecticut 1824

*The following is the most entertaining reasoning for all the confusion I've come across so far, it is taken from the Redding Bicentennial Official Program, 1967:

"We personally favor the certainly apocryphal story about the peddler who traveled between Fairfield and Danbury, selling his goods and providing news and gossip gratis. Every time he passed through Redding he asked what they were going to call the new parish-reed or redd.

One day, on his way south, he walked into Redding and the first person he saw was the town crier. "Good morning, Town Crier," the peddler said. "Have you figured out how to pronounce your name yet?"

The crier was in bad humor and replied brusquely, "The official notice was "read" the day before yesterday, it was read yesterday, it has been "read" this morning, and it will be "read" tomorrow." (the word "read" is being pronounced "red" by the crier)

The peddler thanked him and went on his way, spreading the news throughout the land. It has been pronounced "Red-ding" and spelled Redding ever since.

The First Grants of Land in Redding

Below are "grants of land" in present day Redding. Very few of the individuals granted land actually settled in Redding. The majority of these grants were sold to Redding's early settlers.

"The first deed or grant of land in the 'oblong'' within my knowledge (Todd) was given to Mr. Cyprian Nichols in 1687 This grant, in Secretary Wylly's handwriting, reads as follows: At a General Court held at Hartford, October 13, 1687.

"This Court grants Mr. Cyprian Nichols two hundred acres of land where he can find it, provided he take it up where it may not prejudice any former grant to any particular person or plantation; and the surveyors of the next plantation are hereby appointed to lay out the same he paying for it. "Caleb Stanley."

Captain Nichols “took up” his grant in that part of the “oblong” which is now Lonetown, as is shown by the following document: March 1, A.D. 1711

"Then laid out ye Grant of two hundred acres of land granted by ye General Court to Capt. Cyprian Nichols, Oct. 13, 1687, as follows, viz., beginning at a great Chestnut tree marked on ye south and west side, and J. R. (John Read?) set upon it, standing at ye southend of Woolf Ridge, a little below Danbury bounds, thence running west one hundred rods to a Walnut tree marked on two sides, then running south one mile to a red oak tree marked, then running east one hundred rods to a black oak tree marked, then running north one mile to the Chestnut tree first mentioned. An heap of stones lying at the root of each of ye trees. We say then thus laid out by us.

Thomas Hoyt, Daniel Taylor Surveyors of the Town of Danbury.
"Entered in ye public books of Entry's for Surveys of Land, folio 14, per Hezekiah Wyllys, Secretary. March 21, 1711.”

The next two grants in this tract of which we have any record were made, the first, May 7th, 1700, to Mr. Daniel Hilton, and the second October 10th, 1706, to Mr.Richard Hubbell. They were laid out nearly at the same time, and side by side, with the preceding grant, as follows: “March 3rd, A. D. 1711.

“ Then laid out ye Grant of two hundred acres of land made by ye General Court to Daniel Hilton, May 7, 1700, and ye Grant of one hundred acres, granted October 10th, 1706, by ye General Court to Mr.Richard Hubbell, all in one piece as followeth, viz., Beginning at a Walnut tree marked, and J. R. (John Read?) upon it, standing a little way North East from ye Hog Ridge, between Danbury and Fairfield, thence running two hundred and eighty rods northerly to a Red Oak tree marked, on ye Westside of Stadly Ridge, thence running easterly one hundred and eighty four rods to the Little River at two Elm Staddles and a Red Oak, marked, thence running Southerly, west of ye river, and bounded upon it, two hundred and eighty rods to a bitter Walnut tree, marked, thence running one hundred and sixty rods westerly to the Walnut tree first mentioned, thus and then laid out by us.
Thomas Hoyt, Daniel Taylor Surveyors of the Town of Danbury.

These grants were purchased, probably before they were laid out, by Mr. John Read (J.R.), one of the earliest actual settlers of Redding. Mr. Read was a gentleman of education, and later became an eminent lawyer in Boston.

"Other" Grants of Land in Redding

Above are the pre-settlement grants according to Charles Burr Todd. There appear to be many more and I've listed what I've found to-date (March, 2007) below. What is confusing in almost every case is that the location of the land granted is not cleary stated by the General Court. For example, they read as follows:

"General Assembly of this Colony grants Joseph Webb, minister of Fairfield, 200 acres where it may be had without prejudice to any former grant or the settlement of any plantation."

With the General Assembly located in Hartford, a statement like " where it may be had without prejudice to any former grant or the settlement of any plantation." could mean anywhere in the State.

One grant that is clearly in Redding is Captain John Wakeman's via a grant to his father Samuel Wakeman in May, 1673. Ironically, it ends up being next to Joseph Webb's land.

"Whereas the General Assembly of this Colony, holden at Hartford, May 8th, 1673, did give and grant to Mr. Samuel Wakeman of Fairfield, 200 acres of land; and where as upon the request of Captain John Wakeman of Fairfield, son of the said Samuel Wakeman, who is now deceased.

Mr. John Meredith, surveyor of land in the county of Fairfield, on the 8th day of April, 1709, did survey and lay out the said 200 acres of land, in one entire piece, adjoining onto or very near the northern bounds of the said town of Fairfield (Cross Highway).

Described as follows: Beginning at a small staddle (Staddle being: a base or support, especially a platform on which hay or straw is stacked.) at the southwest corner of Mr. Joseph Webb's land in the rear line of Fairfield bounds, and thence running west by south, half south, along said rear line (Fairfield Bounds), one hundred rods (16.5 ft. is a rod), to a heaps of stones, thence running north by west, half west, one mile (with 4 rods more allowed for a highway between this 200 acres and rear line of Fairfield boundary) thence east by north, half north, one hundred rods, to the northwest corner of Mr. Webb's land, and thence south by east, half east, one mile and 4 rods, along said Mr. Webb's land, onto the said staddle first mentioned.

As by the report of the said surveyor, now laid before this Assembly it doth and may appear:

Wherefore this Assembly do allow, approve and confirm the said survey of the said 200 acres of land, and the land therein mentioned and surveyed, unto the heirs of the said Samuel Wakeman, deceased, and do order that they shall have liberty to take out a patent according to law, for the same."

In the same 1711 General Assembly notes is found the 600 acres set aside for a Grammar School adjoining/near the northern bounds of Fairfield's Long Lots:

"Whereas the General Assembly of this Colony, holden at Hartford, May 9th, 1672, did give and grant unto the town of Fairfield, in the county of Fairfield, 600 acres of land, for the maintenance and support of a grammer school to be kept there; and whereas at the request of the selectmen of the said town of Fairfield, Mr. John Meredith, surveyor of land in the county of Fairfield, on the 8th day of April, 1709, did survey and lay out the said 600 acres of land, adjoining onto, or near to the northern bounds of said town of Fairfield. Described as follows:

Beginning at a certain Chestnut tree, near the road to Danbury (Black Rock Turnpike), and thence running 352 rods along the rear line of the said Fairfield bounds to a Great Red Oak tree, (which is the southeast corner of Mr. Joseph Webb's land) and thence north by west, half west, one mile (with 4 rods more allowed for a highway, between this said 600 acres, and the said rear line of the Fairfield bounds) and thence east by north, half north, or paralell with said rear line, 352 rods, and thence in a straight line to the Chestnut tree first mentioned, wherein also is included 100 acres formerly laid out for George Hull, as by the report of the said surveyor, now laid before this Assembly, it doth and may appear.

Wherefore this assembly do allow and approve the said survey of the said 600 acres of land, and do grant and confirm the same, unto the inhabitants of the said town of Fairfield for ever, to be improved in the best manner, for the use and behoof of a grammar school, to be kept in that town, and for no other use whatsoever; saving the said 100 acres included within the said survey, unto the said George Hull; and do order that the said inhabitants of Fairfield shall have the liberty to take out a patent for the same."

In Fairfield Probate Records 8:248-249 is an Indian Deed of Umpawaug to Nathan Gold in December, 1686. This deed is an "eye crosser" so I'll only list the parts that make sense in the present day below:

"Be it known to all men and those present...(the) rightful proprietors of a tract or parcel of land called Umpawaug lying westward of Fairfield in ye wilderness have bargained and sold...from everyone of us (Indians), our heirs, our heirs executors, adminstrators, assignees and lawful successors for our [mark] to Nathan Gold of Fairfield in his majesty's Colony of Connecticut...and to his heirs and lawful successors for ever a certain parcel of land called Umpawaug as it is now laided out and bounded out to the Indians via a river and brook and through a pond running through ye middle of it and also bounded and marked (unknown word) the line dividing between said purchased land and other land now pertaining to the indians running through the middle of said pond. " (They seem to be stating the boundary line runs through the middle of the pond, Nathan Gold owning one side, they owning the other)

The parcel's boundaries explanation contains many references to "marked trees" which don't help us much in the present day, however, two key references are "across ye path that goeth from Poquiag (Danbury) ye English plantation down to Norwalke (Norwalk)" and "bounded southeast by with marked trees to Saugatuck River". The path from Danbury to Norwalk is Umpawaug Rd. in the present day so this parcel was likely a large rectangular running from Umpawaug Pond (half-way through it, if I'm correct on the pond they reference) on Simpaug Trpk. to the Saugatuck River width wise. The length or north-south boundaries are difficult to make out, the northern boundary was likely where Umpawaug Rd. meets Rt. 53. The southern border would be a complete guess seeing they state it is where a brook enters the Saugatuck River.

It ends: "we have laided out ye said land to Nathan and bounded it as above by said brook and river and in ye pond and we have marked trees as bounds...for the 2 square miles of land...it is to be noted said Indian proprietors do hereby reserve the liberty of hunting upon said land for themselves in witness of all which we said rightful proprietors have set to our hands and seals this 29th day of December, 1686.

**Note: Reviews of the Colonial Records and Fairfield Land Records also show the following Grants [B. Colley 2007]:

• 80 acres to Richard Osborn in 1671;
• 200 acres to Thomas Hanford in 1674 (Thomas Hill acquired land in 1724);
• 200 acres to Simon Couch date unclear.
• 160 acres to John Banks date unclear. (Joseph Banks acquired land);
• 200 acres to Israel Chauncey in 1681;
• 2 Square Mile Tract (800 acres) in Umpawaug to Nathan Gold in 1686 (appears to have grown to 1,020 acres over time);
• 100 acres to Jonathan Bell in 1687 (John Edwards and Samuel Couch acquired 100 acres, plus additional 60 acres in 1712.)
• 200 acres to Cyprian Nickols in 1687 (Acquired by John Read in 1712);
• 150 acres to Dr. Isaac Hall in 1697 (this 150 acres in eastern Redding north of Church Hill Road to Isaac, Jr., Francis and John Hall via indian deed in 1709);
• 80 acres, by indian deed to Thomas Morehouse in 1689;
• 200 acres (see survey above) north of Redding Center on Webb's Ridge to Joseph Webb in 1699;
• 200 acres to Daniel Shelton in 1700 (Acquired by John Read in 1710);
• 100 acres to Richard Hubbel in 1706. (Acquired by John Read in 1711);
• 150 acres to William Hill in 1709;
• 600 acres (see survey above) east of Little River to Redding Ridge, for Fairfield School to Moses Knapp in 1718;
• 200 acres to Captain John Wakeman in Redding Center 1709.

August 1722 Captain Samuel Couch and Nathan Gold (Gold died in 1723) of Fairfield purchased the remaining land in the oblong via auction at Fairfield. Later Thomas Nash enters the picture as a land owner, purchasing some of the acreage from Couch.

*The approximate total acreage in the "oblong" is 7,600, if the totals listed above are added up they equal 3,950 acres. View a Map of the "oblong", this map give you a rough idea of the size and boundaries.

The General Court of 1712 had ordered that all the lands lying in the "oblong/peculiar" a.k.a "vacant lands" between Danbury and Fairfield, not taken up by actual settlers, should be sold in Fairfield at public venue via the "motion/petition of the settlers of Danbury" noted in the Colonial Records, May of 1712. This land, however, was not sold until the August of 1722, when it was bid off by Captain Couch for himself and Nathan Gold, Esq. (deputy Governor of Connecticut). No notice of the venue was given to the settlers at Redding, and when news of the sale reached them they became very much excited and indignant. Mr. Read at once drew up a protest/petition, which was signed by all farmers/settlers of said "oblong" and was presented to the next General Court at New Haven (1723). It is noteworthy that the Quaker system of dates was used.

General Assembly Records May, 1725:

"Upon the petition of Capt. Samuel Couch of Fairfield, showing to this Assembly that the honorable Nathan Gold and Major Peter Burr, Esqs, who were empowered by acts of this Assembly in May 8th, 1712, to sell all the country land between Fairfield and Danbury, and said gentlemen some years past did sell part of said land, and on August 22nd, 1723, sold the remainder of said land to said Couch; Assembly grants to the petitioner the land...on the condition that the money he bid for the same be immediately paid into the Colony Treasury, and that suffiecient highways in every part thereof public and private uses, as there shall be occation from time to time to be laid out by the county surveyour...; and saving always to the Indian, Chicken, what he in his deed to the petitioner hath reserved and saved to himself and his heirs."

200 acres secured by Thomas Hill in Saugatuck River area (Diamond Hill area) one mile long by 1/2 mile wide in 1723. (Later sold to Meeker Family). Not known if this transaction occurred before or after "vacant lands auction" mentioned above.

The Acquisition of land ABOVE the Fairfield Long Lots by Actual Settlers

The history of the early settlement of Redding differs radically from that of any of the neighboring towns. A new settlement was generally formed by a company of men, who purchased of the Indians a tract of land in the wilderness, had it secured to them by a charter from the General Assembly, and also surveyed and regularly laid out, and then removed to it with their wives and families.

Danbury, Newtown and Ridgefield were settled in this manner; but Redding at the time of its first settlement was not a part of any town--a fact which makes it much more difficult to collect the fragments of its early history and to accurately define its original metes and bounds.

At the time of initial settlement, between the Fairfield long lot's northern boundary (Cross Highway) and Danbury (Bethel) was an oblong tract of unoccupied land, whose bounds where about the same as those that now exist between Redding, Ridgefield, Bethel and Newtown; in the early records, this tract was called, the "oblong.'' and the “peculiar"

[To imagine the northern boundary in the present day: Seventy Acres Rd., Great Pasture Rd., Cross Highway, and Church Hill Rd. would be the approximate northern boundary of the Fairfield long lots. Land north of these roads was the "country lands between Fairfield and Danbury" or oblong.]

This area of unoccupied land (or Vacant Land) is where initial settlers would build their homes and from where settlers would eventually petition the General Assembly to become a "Parish". It is not until the settlers of Redding were awarded "Parish Status" that Fairfield's long lots were added to the settlement. Land from Cross Highway north to the border of Danbury and Bethel was not owned by any town prior to 1729. Colonial Records simply call it the "country lands between Fairfield and Danbury".

Charles Burr Todd states that before settlers arrived the unoccupied lands were: "claimed by a petty tribe of Indians, whose fortified village was on the high ridge a short distance southwest of the residence of Mr. John Read (where Lonetown Rd. meets Putnam Park Rd.). This tribe consisted of disaffected members of the Potatucks of Newtown and the Paugussetts of Milford, with a few stragglers from the Mohawks on the west.

[By "disaffected" I take it that Charles Burr Todd was saying the "tribe of indians" residing in what we call the "Lonetown" section of Redding was made up of Native Americans from multiple tribes displaced from their homelands by English settlers making their way into the interior of Connecticut. The "oblong" or vacant lands between the northern boundary of the Fairfield Long Lots (Cross Highway) and what is now Bethel was one of the few available tracts of open space available in the area to Native Americans at this timeframe. B.Colley2007]

"Their chief was Chickens Warrups or Sam Mohawk, as he was sometimes called. Describing "Chickens", President Stiles says in his "Itinerary" that he was a Mohawk sagamore, or under-chief, who fled from his tribe and settled at Greenfield Hill, but having killed an Indian there he was again obliged to flee, and then settled in Redding. *All the Indian deeds to the early settlers were given by Chickens, and Naseco, who seems to have been a sort of sub-chief. The chief, Chickens, figures quite prominently in the early history of Redding; he seems to have been a strange mixture of Indian shrewdness, rascality, and cunning, and was in continual difficulty with the settlers concerning the deeds which he gave them."

*Not all deeds were given by Chickens and Naseco. In 1686 an Indian Deed was given to Nathan Gold for land in Umpawaug and was signed by Nascro (likely Naseco), Crekonac, Contasonahas, Mutake (could be Multeg), Wane Sunkeaway, Mamozusacke, Washaganosset, Aquetake, Iaquoshe. Indian witnesses: Sasco v Joanus, Robin, Pacomscutt, Misshasouns. In 1709 an Indian Deed was given to Isaac Hall, Jr., Francis Hall and John Hall by seven indians: Mohaki, Coocongo, Tom, Harry, Old Multeg, Siachim, Young Multeg. The deed of 150 acres cost the Hall's 50 shillings, the land was north of Cross Highway and Church Hill to the Bethel line (Hopewell Woods/Sunset Hill). There is the possibility, that "Siachim" was Chickens' attempting to state he was the "Sachem" of the tribe but technically Chickens is not on this 1709 deed.

[Chickens is an interesting man, that unfortunately will continue to baffle me due to a lack of written records by Native Americans. He appears to have grasped the colonist's methods of obtaining land in the "interior" meaning he knew they were exchanged goods and/or money for land away from the coastal settlements. For example: In 1684, Chickens is said to have signed a deed of Stratford lands, he then living at Potatuck, in what became Newtown and it is possible he was involved in land transactions in Ridgefield which occurred in 1708-09. If this is the case, Chickens can be considered the "Donald Trump" of his people, a real estate mogul, if you will. If he, in fact, had married the daughter of Katonah, a Ramapo sachem, signed a deed in Stratford/Newtown circa 1684, been involved in land transactions in Ridgefield circa 1708-09 (made with the Ramapo) and then moved on to Lonetown in Redding where he collected from John Read in 1711 and Samuel Couch in 1723, he certainly would/could be considered quite a Real Estate Investor by modern standards. This unfortunately is all speculation on my part and there is a good chance there was more than one Chickens Warrup.]

Fairfield Long Lots

Long lots were lands granted to individuals in long, narrow strips from the coast of Fairfield to approximately Cross Highway in Redding. The length of these lots was obviously long, the widths varied from 30.9 feet to 878.6 feet wide depending on the owner (originally). About 100 Fairfield families owned Long Lot's. To imagine the northern boundary in the present day: Seventy Acres Rd., Great Pasture Rd., Cross Highway, and Church Hill Rd. would be the approximate northern boundary of the Fairfield long lots. The reasoning behind the Long Lots was....each individual received some hills, some valleys, some rock, some fields. It was a unique way to give individuals equal qualities of land.

Names of Oblong Settlers

John Read settled Redding sometime between 1711 and 1714. He purchased 3 land grants from 3 separate men to make up his original 500 acres in the Lonetown section of Redding. He would later add 200 more acres.

Moses Knapp settled Redding sometime between 1709 and 1714. His settlement is complicated by the methods he obtained his land...via secret handshake with his cousins. He sold land owned by his family in Fairfield in 1709, which could indicate he moved to Redding Ridge shortly afterward. More about his story will come as information becomes available.

Isaac Hall, Jr. would settle on Redding Ridge sometime between 1714 and 1720, it appears his brothers: Francis and John Hall remained in Stratford and sold their portion of the land to Moses Knapp who was their cousin.

Samuel Hall is another settler of Redding Ridge prior to 1720. Samuel is known only via a General Assembly of Connecticut request in 1720 that orders John Read and "his neighbors" to submit a "list" to said Assembly via Danbury. Read's neighbors the Assembly is aware of are: Isaac Hall, Jr., Samuel Hall, Moses Knapp. Samuel sold land in Stratford/Stratfield on Feb. 22, 1715/6, which could indicate he moved to Redding Ridge shortly afterward.

Oblong Settlers vs. Long Lot Settlers

What makes Redding's early settlement different (and down right confusing) is that it's town boundaries were expanded during it's attempts to obtain Parish Status. Parish Status meant the General Assembly of Connecticut recognized the settlement and the settlers could begin to take steps to become a Town.

Settlers were petitioning the General Assembly from the Oblong, "Vacant Land" that wasn't associated with any town. In the 1725 petition for Parish Status, Fairfield Long Lot owners state to the General Assembly that they "are willing and ready to give in two miles of our land adjoining the aforesaid Vacant Land to be within the Parish."

When Parish Status was finally granted in 1729 Redding became a recognized settlement of individuals who had made private purchases of Land Grants in the unclaimed lands above the long lots AND two miles worth of the northern portion of the long lots owned by Fairfield residents.

1625 Map of Indian Trails and Settlements in Southwestern Connecticut.

1766 Map of Southwestern Connecticut, which shows boundary of Fairfield and Ridgefield matching Sachem boundary in 1625 map of Indian settlements and trails. At this time Redding was still a parish in Fairfield's northern lands.

1685 Map of Indian Settlements in New York & Connecticut.

Expanded Information About Redding's Early Settlement

Above I have provided a summary of Redding's early settlement, below is further information about the settlement and text from the multiple petitions for Parish Status, land deeds from Chicken Warrups, etc..

John Read and the Anglicans (Episcopalians) of Redding Ridge

John Read of Fairfield, Connecticut is credited as the first settler of the lands that would become known as Redding, Connecticut. Read's settlement coming sometime between 1711 and 1714. Although 20+ years of research by Robert Beecroft is indicating that Moses Knapp may have settled Redding Ridge just north of Cross Highway and Church Hill Rd. (256 Black Rock Trpk.) as early as 1709-10. It's an interesting topic that will be looked into further I'm sure.

Read, was born in 1679, and educated at Harvard as a Puritan-Congregationalist minister. He returned to Connecticut with a divinity degree at the age of 18 and would preach in several different towns before arriving in Stratford, Connecticut ten years later. It was in Stratford that Read made two life/career changing decisions, he *converted to the Anglican (Episcopalian/Church of England) faith and began studying for the bar.

*Read resigned as Congregational Minister of the Church on Watchhouse Hill in Stratford on March 27, 1707 after he was accused of being an Anglican by his congregation (in private) and a council of ministers from other parishes in town were gathered to examined his case. The elders recommended "the people take all suitable care to purge and vindicate Mr. Read from scurrilous and abusive reflections." (It does not appear Read pursued "Holy Orders" to become an Anglican minister.)

Read apparently vindicated himself, passed the bar, and quickly made his mark as a lawyer. He was appointed as an attorney in 1708, and it appears he gained an interest in large parcels of land soon after. Read, had several land transactions (Newtown and New Milford) under his belt by the time his focus turned to vacant land above the long lots of Fairfield. He made three separate purchases from three separate men in 1711 to secure a Colonial Grant for 500 acres of land in Redding's oblong. A year later he became the Queens Attorney for the Colony of Connecticut. And in 1714 obtained a native American Indian deed to finalize the purchase of the 500 acres of northern Fairfield land he and his family would settle.

*Read acquired an additional 200 acres from Nathan Gold and Peter Burr according to Colonial Records of 1729.

Following Read's settlement in Redding (above the long lots of Fairfield, Connecticut), other Anglican members from surrounding towns soon made their way to Redding. Most of these early Anglicans chose to reside on what is now Redding Ridge, they called it Chestnut Ridge. Redding Ridge was desirable to these early settlers because it ran along a path stretching from Danbury to Fairfield. Roadways were of obvious importance to settlers and Redding at this time had been surveyed but was not yet furnished with roads that allowed for east-west travel, even the route running north-south was merely a series of right-of-ways over rough terrain.

Given the fact that John Read was an Anglican sympathizer and the early settlers (Moses Knapp, Isaac Hall, Samuel Hall, William Hill, Daniel Crofoot) that followed him were known Anglicans, it is presumed that they hoped to establish an Anglican settlement in these vacant lands north of Fairfield's long lots and south of Danbury's boundary (Bethel). If this was in fact the case, Redding would not remain solely an Anglican settlement for long.

Samuel Couch & Nathan Gold enter the picture (Puritans/Congregationals)

In August of 1722, two devout Puritans/Congregationalists from Westport and Fairfield purchased the remaining unclaimed lands of northern Fairfield (Redding) at an unannounced auction in the town of Fairfield. This was not a well received transaction by the Anglicans, as they likely knew Samuel Couch and Nathan Gold were against the spread of the Church of England in their county. Read and his settlement petitioned in vain to have the auction negated, citing the auction "was conducted in an unseemly and illegal manner" because no notice of the venue was given to the settlers at Redding. Their request fell on deaf ears at the General Assembly (Gold was the Deputy Governor of Connecticut), and settlers with Puritan-Congregational ideals moved into their "utopia". *to-date no indications of Anglican vs. Congregationalist arguments have been uncovered by myself, Brent Colley. Best I can tell, outside of Anglicans losing their request/petition for an Anglican Minister in 1729, both groups worked and lived peacefully together.

Though petitions regarding his settlement were unsuccessful, John Read's prosperity as a lawyer continued, he served as a commissioner to settle New York and Connecticut's boundary disputes in 1719 and riding that success left Redding in 1722 for Boston, where he was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts a year later. His son remained in Redding, taking over his estate at Lonetown. His son's name was also John Read, which makes things interesting when time-lining Redding's history, but it appears John Read Sr. and Jr. worked together petitioning against the land auction and for Parish status in 1723.

Oblong Settlers Concern Over The Land Auctions in Fairfield

"At a General Court held at New Haven, 8th, 10th, 1723. "To the Honor’ble the General Court: " John Read in behalf of himself and the rest of the farmers or proprietors of farms between Danbury and Fairfield, humbly sheweth, " That the Hon'ble Nathan Gold, Esq., late deceased, and Peter Burr, Esq., as Agents for ye Colony, held a Venue lately at Fairfield about ye time of ye Superior Courts sitting yr in August last, and sold to Capt. Samuel Couch, who bid for himself and for s'd Nathan Gold, Esq., all ye land between Fairfield and Danbury not before disposed of for the sum of (Exact Sum Unknown) Yr humble pet'rs conceive the same ought not to be ratified: because ye same was done so unexpectedly, and without sufficient notice, none of us most nearly concerned knew any thing of it: if ye order of ye General Court had been freshly passed, ye less notice was need full, but lying ten or twelve years, sufficient notice was not given, and well considered it can’t be good. The inconveniences are intolerable; the place is now growing to be a village space. Ye lands purchased are but ye ------ ------(Original documents were unreadable here)over and over for farms.

" The remaining Scraps will be a very lean and scanty allowance for a common, and (are) absolutely necessary to accommodate the place with hiways, and some strips left on purpose for ye use and ye surveying of the farms--Several farms interfere through mistakes and such interfere must be supplied elsewhere; now in such circumstances it was never the hard fate of any poor place to have ye shady Rock at their door, and ye path out of town or about town sold away from them by ye General Court. Therefore, humbly praying ye Hon'ble Court to grant ye same to ye proprietors of farms there in proportion for a common and hiways, or if the same seem too much, since some persons have bid a sum for our hiways we pray to buy them at first hands, and will pay this Hon'ble Court for the same as much as ye Court shall set upon, and remain your honor's most obedient servants. "JNO. READ."

When the matter came before the Court, Mr. Read produced several witnesses to show that the venue was conducted in an unseemly and illegal manner; among them Mr. Jonathan Sturges, who deposed as following: " Some of the Company began to bid for s'd land, and some of the Company desired that Mr. Stone who was there present, would pull out his watch and that the time for bidding should be but ten minutes and the watch was laid down on the table; for a little time the people bid but slowly; but when they perceived the ten minutes to be near out, they began to bid very briskly, and when it come to the last minute the people bid more quickly, and at the last they bid so quick after one another that it was hard to distinguish whose bid it was: at the very minute the tenth minute ended; but I, standing near the watch, spoke and said, the time is out, and it's Capt. Couch's bid, but I am certain Thomas Hill bid twenty shillings more."

Mr. Read did not succeed in this attempt to have the sale set aside, and the lands were adjudged to the purchasers. Captain Couch seems to have disposed of an interest in a part of his purchase to Thomas Nash, of Fairfield, and in 1712, did order to received a joint patent-for the same: this patent is: a curious and valuable document and is given entire:

" Whereas, the Governor and Company- of the English Colony of Connecticut. in General Court assembled at Hartford, the 8th day of May. Anno Domini 1712, did order and enact that all those lands (lying within the said Colony) between Danbury on the north, and the towns of Fairfield and Norwalk on the south, should be sold at Public Venue, and by act did fully authorize and empower the Hon'ble Nathan Gold and Peter Burr, Esq., both of the town of Fairfield aforesaid to make sale and dispose of the s'd same lands accordingly...

and whereas the s'd Nathan Gold and Peter Burr in pursuance and by force and virtue of the aforesaid act did by their deed in writing, executed in due form bearing late this first day of May, Anno Domini, 1723, for a valuable sum of money paid by Samuel Couch and Thomas Nash, both of the town afores'd, Grant, sell and convey unto them the s'd Samuel Couch and Thomas Nash one hundred acres of s'd land bounded and butted as follows...

that is to say, lying within six rods of the north bounds line of the townships afores'd, and on both sides of the road that leads from Norwalk to Danbury, and lying the whole length of the one hundred acres formerly laid out to s'd Thomas Nash and bounded westerly by the s'd Thomas Nash, and from the north east corner of s'd Nash, his bound being a black oak stump that stands on the land, and a small box wood-tree marked in course, running northerly, sixty-eight degrees, eastwardly thirty two rods to a white oak staddle...

thence South forty three degrees and thirty minutes, eastwardly fifty rods to a rock, and stone oil the same, that stands on the eastward side of a brook that runs by the southerly end of Umpawaug Hill, between the s'd brook and Danbury road, and from s'd Rock to run North sixty eight degrees...

Eastwardly eighty six rods to a mass of stones, then South twenty-two degrees, Eastwardly, one hundred and thirteen rods to a white oak saplings, marked, standing on the aforementioned North bounds line of Fairfield, then by s'd line one Hundred and forty rods up to the South East corner of s'd Nash, his one hundred acres, Danbury road being allowed in above measure of six rods wide, and the hiway by the Township's line of six rods wide, and whereas the s'd Samuel Couch, and Thomas Nash, have humbly desired that they may have a particular grant of s'd Governor and Company made (by Patent) unto them, their heirs and assigns for the same land hounded, butted and described, under the seal of the s'd Colony,

know ye therefore, that the Governor and Company of the s'd Colony, in pursuance, and by virtue of the powers granted unto them by our late Sovereign Lord, King Charles the Second of blessed memory, in, and by his Majestie's letters patent under the great seal of England bearing date the three and twentieth day of April, in the fourteenth year of his s'd Majestie's Reign, have given and granted, and by these presents, for them their heirs and successors do give grant, ratify, and confirm unto them the s'd Samuel Couch and Thomas Nash, their heirs and assigns forever, all the s'd piece or parcel of land containing one hundred acres be the same more or less, butted and bounded as afores'd, and all and singular, the woods, timber, under woods, lands, waters, brooks, ponds.

Fishing, fowlings, mines, minerals and precious stones, upon or within the s'd piece or parcel of land or every or any part thereof. To have and to hold the as afores'd, and all and singular, the rights, members, hereditaments and appurtenances of the same, and the reversion or reversions, remainder or remainders, profits, privileges whatsoever, of and in the s'd piece or parcel of land or every or any-part thereof. To have and to hold the s'd one hundred acres of land hereby granted with all and singular, its appurtenances unto them the s'd Samuel Couch and Thomas Nash, their heirs and assigns to and for their own proper use, benefit, and behoof from the day of the date hereof, and from time to time, and at all times forever hereafter, as a good, sure, lawful; absolute, indefeasible estate of Inheritance in Fee simple, without any condition, limitation, use, or other thing to alter, change, or make void the same.

To be holden of our Sovereign Lord, King George, his heirs and successors, as of his Majestie's Manor of East Greenwich, in the county of Kent, in the Kingdom of England, in free and common soccage and not in cappitee, nor by Knight service; they yielding and paying therefor to our Sovereign Lord the King, his heirs and successors forever, only the fifth part of all the oar of Gold and Silver, which from time to time, and at all times hereafter shall be gotten, had or otherwise obtained; in lieu of all rents, services, duties and demands whatsoever according to charter. In witness whereof, we the s'd Governor and Company have caused the Seal of the s'd Colony to be hereunto affixed, the fourteenth day of May, Anno George, Magna Brittanniae, &c., Annoque Domini, 1723. (May 14, 1723)
G. Saltonstall, Governor "By order of the Governor, Hezekiah Wyllys, Secretary.”

General Assembly Records May, 1725:

"Upon the petition of Capt. Samuel Couch of Fairfield, showing to this Assembly that the honorable Nathan Gold and Major Peter Burr, Esqs, who were empowered by acts of this Assembly in May 8th, 1712, to sell all the country land between Fairfield and Danbury, and said gentlemen some years past did sell part of said land, and on August 22nd, 1723, sold the remainder of said land to said Couch; Assembly grants to the petitioner the land...on the condition that the money he bid for the same be immediately paid into the Colony Treasury, and that suffiecient highways in every part thereof public and private uses, as there shall be occation from time to time to be laid out by the county surveyour...; and saving always to the Indian, Chicken, what he in his deed to the petitioner hath reserved and saved to himself and his heirs."

Chicken Warrup Sells Lonetown Land to Couch

Securing his auction purchases via Indian Deed, Captain Couch purchased, of the Indians, the tract of land lying in Lonetown contiguous to the estate of Mr. John Read. The deed was given by Chickens, and some of its provisions caused considerable trouble to the colonists in later years. The deed is as follows:

“Know all men whom it may concern that I Chicken an Indian Saggamore living between Fairfield, Danbury, Ridgefield and Newtown, at a place called Lonetown in the county of Fairfield in the Colony of Connecticut, in New England, for and in consideration of twelve pounds, six shillings, already paid unto me by Samuel Couch of Fairfield.

Husbandman, have given, granted, bargained, sold, confirmed, and firmly made over unto said Samuel Couch, his heirs and assigns forever, all the lands (Chickens was under the impression the sale was for 200-300 acres not all the lands), lying, being and situate between the aforesaid towns of Danbury, Fairfield, Newtown, and Ridgefield, except that has been by letters patent from the Governor and Company of this Colony of Connecticut made over unto any person or persons or for any particular or public use.

To have and to hold unto the said Samuel Couch, and to his heirs and assigns forever the aforesaid granted and described lands or unpatented premises, with all the privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging, or any manner of way appertaining, affirming myself to be the true owner, and sole proprietor of said land and have lust, firm, and only right to dispose of the same.

(According to C. B. Todd: a few years later Couch sold this land to John Read)

*Provision that would be ignored and anger Chickens:

Reserving in the whole of the same, liberty for myself and my heirs to hunt, fish, and fowl upon the land and in the waters, and further reserving for myself, my children, and grand children and their posterity the use of so much land by my present dwelling house or wigwam as the General Assembly of the Colony by themselves or a Committee indifferently appointed shall judge necessary for my or their personal improvement, that is to say my children, children’s children and posterity, furthermore, I the said Chickens do covenant, promise, and agree, to and with the said Samuel Couch, that I said Chickens, my heirs, executors and administrators, the said described lands and bargained premises, unto the said Samuel Couch his heirs etc. against the claims and demands of all manner of persons whatever, to warrant and forever by these presents defend.

In confirmation of the above premises I the said Chickens set to my hand and seal this 18th day of February Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and twenty four five Annoque Regis, etc." (Feb. 18, 1724)
CHICKENS, X (His mark) Saggamtore

Sale Causes Further Concern and Plea to General Court

The proprietors of Redding could not long rest with the sale that had placed, in the hands of two men, nearly all the unoccupied lands lying in the "peculiar," and in 1725 made a second and, so far as appears, unsuccessful attempt to reverse the former decision of the Court. Chickens too was angered to find the deed he signed was for more land than he intended to sell. This attempt took the shape of a petition, and was as follows:

" To the Honorable the General Court to be holden at Hartford on the Second Thursday of May,1725.

THE EARNEST PRAYER: Of the inhabitants, and of those that have farms in a certain tract of land lying between Fairfield and Danbury, Newtown and Richfield, with whom the Proprietory of a certain division of Land in Fairfield importunately joins--

" Whereas the Honorable General Assembly of this Colony hath in several of their Sessions, been pleased out of their great goodness & generosity to give unto some of your humble Petitioners & to others of them to sell certain Parcels of Land between the aforesaid towns & many of your Petitioners that they might get a comfortable maintenance & thereby be better able to serve their country have removed from their former habitations with great families of Children unto sd Land where we by ye blessing of God on our Industry have (passed) through (the) many difficulties that generally attend such new & Wooden Habitations and have now yet to go through, which are by us insuperable--but reflecting upon your Honor's accustomed Goodness, ready protection, and willing encouragement towards all such that have been under ye like circumstances as we now are, makes us far from despairing of Living like rational Creatures and Christians in a very few years, and under our present Circumstances we have often the neighboring Ministers preaching ye word of God to us, and when your Honors shall be pleased to grant this our earnest & necessary request our number of Inhabitants will immediately be greatly renewed & we soon able to obtain a Minister & give him an honorable support-- and that is to grant the vacant land that lies in slips and pieces between ye Land already given and sold to your Petitioners to ye for a perpetual Common for ye good of ye parish:

Otherwise your poor Petitioners living at a great distance from any place where the public worship of God is attended, must be obliged and their posterity after them to be soon as the Hathen are without the outward and ordinary means of Salvation, the thought of which makes us now most impostantly address your Honors with this our request making no doubt but yt ye desire your honors have and the great care you have always taken to promote and encourage Religion will also now be moved to grant your poor Petitioners their request, it being no more than your Honors have often done even unto every new plantation, many of which are not nor never will be comparable unto this.

Your Honors, granting us this our request, and it will be as we humbly conceive the most profitable way for ye good of this Colony to dispose of ye land for a perpetual comon, for ye  good of a parish than any other way whatsoever: for a flourishing and large parish such as we are assured this will make will soon pay more into ye Public Treasury than the whole of the land would do if it were now to be sold: and not only so, but your poor petitioners and their posterity preserved from Heathenism and Infidelity:

For if your Honors should not grant the land for a common for the good of a parish your poor petitioners-the most of us are at least, must be shut within the compass of our own land and cant possibly get off unless we trespass, or gain the shift yt the birds of the air have, neither to market nor meeting and we and our posterity forever unable to have a settled Minister and your Honors may easily conceive how greatly disadvantageous to our Temporal Interest, which is so great an act of cruelty and hardship that never yet was experienced from your Honors and your petitioners humbly beg they may not: but yt they may be sharers with their neighbors in your Honor's thoughtful care and regard for them-

and if your Honors in their Prudence and Wisdom shall think it best to sell the aforesaid land your petitioners humbly beg that they may have the first offer of it, who are always ready to give as much as any shall or will let it lye for a perpetual Common and your humble petitioners beg and most earnestly desire the land may not be sold from their doors or confirmed to any yt pretend they have bought it: for whatever pretended sale there has been made thereof already we humbly conceive that it was not with the proper Power and Legality that it ought to be confirmed: and as for its purchase of the Indian (who both English and Indian acknowledge) has a good Indian title to it viz.

Chickens, is by what we can learn by the Indian himself and ye circumstances of, a slight piece of policy and we fear deceit, ye latter of which the Indian constantly affirms it to be, for his design as he saith, and being well acquainted with him, living many of us near him have a great reason to believe him, was to sell but a small quantity, about two or three hundred acres, but in ye deed ye whole of the land is comprehended, which when the Indian heard of it he was greatly enraged, and your petitioners humbly beg yt such a sale may not be confirmed, lest it prove greatly disadvantageous to this Colony and cause much bloodshed, as instances of ye like nature have in all probability in our neighboring provinces-

Your petitioners most earnestly and heartily beg that your Honors would think on them and grant them their request and your petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray-

John Read, Thomas Williams, Stephen Morehouse, Benjamin Hambleton, Benjamin Franklin, Moses Knapp, Nathan Lyon, Benajah Hall, Will'm Hill, Dan'll Crofoot, Ebenezer Hull, Asa Hall, Joseph Meeker, Dan'l Lyon, Thomas Hill, George Hull.

And we, ye proprietors of a certain division of land in Fairfield called ye Longlots most heartily join with your Honor's above petitioners in their needful request to you, and as we your humble petitioners being well acquainted with the circumstances of them-they being our children, friends, neighbors and concerned greatly for their welfare do earnestly beg that your Honors would consider how melancholy a thing it is, that these poor people should live destitute of the means of grace for want only of your small encouragement which to give them would not only be most certainly very pleasing to Almighty God but would likewise enrich this Colony if a large and rich parish will any ways contribute thereto and as your petitioners land runs to and adjoyns to ye aforesaid Vacant Land, we for the good of a Parish, thereby to advantage your above poor petitioners are willing and very ready to give in two miles of our land adjoining to the aforesaid Vacant Land to be within the Parish;

and are assured if your Honors would grant the afores'd Land to be for a Comon there soon would be a flourishing Parish; and being so well acquainted with the circumstances of the above petitioners that we cant but earnestly and pathetically entreat your Honors to grant their request and your petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray:"

Signed:

Moses Dimon, John Hide, Tho. Hill, Cornelius Hull, Elizabeth Burr, Jona Sturgis, John Smith, Thad's Burr, Andrew Burr, Samuel Wakeman, Samuel Squires, Ezekiel Sanford, Robert Turney, Jr., Joseph Wilson, John Wheeler, John Sturges, Joseph Wheeler, Thomas Sanford, John Morehouse, Joseph Rowland, William Hill, Nathan Gold, John Gold, Robert Silliman, Daniel Morehouse.

About the 1725 Petition

From 1723 to 1725, settlement in Redding had increased, and settlers were petitioning the General Court at Hartford in May of 1725 for Parish Status and assistance in providing for a Common and better means of travel within their settlement, in addition, to pleading to have the auction sales negated.

At this time, Redding was truly divided into two parts: the Anglicans occupying the lands above the Fairfield Long Lots and Puritan-Congregationalists occupying the actual Long Lots. While it is difficult to state with certainty that both groups co-existed in perfect harmony, there is evidence of cordial behavior on the part of the Congregationalists in the 1725 petition.

Twenty-five Long lots owners signed the northern settler's petition after adding:

"We, proprietors of a certain Division of Land in Fairfield, ye Long Lots, most heartily join with your Honor's above petitioners in their needful request to you and…being well acquainted with the circumstances of them - they being our Children, Friends and Neighbors - we are concerned greatly for their welfare and do earnestly beg that your Honors would consider…for the good of a Parish…to grant their request."

They also state that they "are willing and ready to give in two miles of our land adjoining the aforesaid Vacant Land to be within the Parish."

While the General Court did not grant the petitioners all that they desired, they did re-survey the cross highway at the rear of the Fairfield Long Lots which allowed for east-to-west travel and improved the upright highways between the Long Lots which allowed for better north-to-south travel in and around Redding and likely increased Redding's population.

Anglicans & Congregationalists Win Fight for Parish Status Together

Redding (then spelled Reading) did finally receive Parish status in 1729, by then a slightly larger number of Congregationalists had settled along side the Anglicans. I say "slightly larger" because at the very first meeting of the Parish Society of Redding, Anglicans "Moses Knapp, Nathan Lion (Lyon), and Daniel Crofoot" objected against the hiring of any other than a minister of the Church of England. Their objection or "proposal to hire an Episcopal minister" was over ruled by a vote of the people. It was voted that a meeting house would built "for the worship of God in the Presbyterian (Congregational) way." Indicating Congregational voters out numbered Anglican voters. While it is difficult to state with certainty that both groups co-existed in perfect harmony (in this time period), there is evidence of cordial behavior on the part of the Congregationalists as they anticipated the completion of their church building:

On February 23rd, 1731, a statement was issued that read "all those persons that inhabit or hereafter may inhabit in this parish, which profess themselves to be of the Church of England, shall have free liberty to come into this meeting house and attend the public worship of God according to the articles of Divines at Saybrook, and established by the laws of this Government…"

It's safe to say the Anglicans graciously declined the offer. In March of 1732, they wrote a letter of their own, not to the Congregationalists but to the Bishop of London. It began: "We, the subscribers, members of the Church of England, in Reading (Redding) and Newtown, within the County of Fairfield and Colony of Connecticut… " and continued to request the services of Rev. John Beach in Redding following his return from England where he was to receive his Holy Orders "…if the honorable Society shall think proper." The request was granted and John Beach became their first rector in November of 1732.

Like Redding's founder, John Read, the Reverend John Beach was also a Congregational minister that converted to the Anglican faith. His decision was made just a year prior to coming to Redding on the basis that "The Presbyterian and Congregational discipline was an 'unscriptural method of organizing and governing congregations…'" in comparison, he felt the Church of England was 'Apostolic in her ministry and discipline, Orthodox in her doctrine, and Primitive in her worship.'"

Anything you can do...I can do better

Thus, the Congregational/Anglican theme in Redding continued to develop:

• John Read, Sr., converts to the Anglican faith, comes to Redding
• Other Anglicans soon followed
• Congregationalists purchase lands in Redding
• Other Congregationalists soon followed
• Redding becomes a Parish
• By a vote of the people, Congregational meeting house will be built in Redding Center
• Congregational meeting house erected
• Anglicans make a plea to the Bishop of London for services
• John Beach, newly converted to the Anglican faith, comes to Redding
• Anglican meeting house erected on Redding Ridge

The old adage: "Anything you can do, I can do better" comes to mind when mapping Redding's history in this fashion. Records of two companies of militia in Redding- One commanded by members of the Congregational society at Redding Center, the other commanded by officers of the Anglican society at Redding Ridge as early as 1755, raise an eyebrow but in actuality these militias were formed in response to the French/Indian War not disagreements between Congregationalists and Anglicans. There are no indications of heated conflicts between the religious groups until the Revolutionary period.

Map of Redding in 1758. At this time it was still a Parish of Fairfield.

Early Settlers

The earliest settlers located their houses on the three fertile ridges that now form the most striking as well as beautiful features of our landscape. The valleys were avoided, as being literally in the shadow of death from the miasms (diseases, insects) which they engendered; the hills, according to the early writers, were open, dry, and fertile, land, being comparatively healthful, were in almost all cases selected as sites for the infant settlements.

At that day the hills, like the valleys, were covered with continuous forests of oak, chestnut, hickory, and other native woods, from which every autumn the Indians removed the underbrush by burning so that they assumed the appearance of natural parks: Indian paths wound through the forest, often selected with so much engineering skill as to be followed later by the Highways of the settlers. There were "long-drawn aisles and fretted vaults" in these verdant temples, nooks of outlook, and open, sunny glades, which were covered with tufts of long coarse grass; groves of chestnut and hickory afforded shelter to whole colonies of squirrels--black, Grey, and red. Other game was abundant. Deer, wild turkeys, water fowl, quail, partridges, an occasional bear, and, in the autumn, immense hocks of wild pigeons darkened the air with their numbers. Panthers were seen rarely; wolves were' abundant, and the otter and beaver fished and built in the rivers. Both tradition and the written accounts agree in ascribing to the rivers an abundance of fish: Little River is especially mentioned as being the favorite home of the trout, and tradition asserts that scarcely four generations ago they were so abundant in that stream that the Indian boys would scoop them up in the shallows with their hands according to tradition.

John Read (Lonetown), Isaac Hall, Jr. (Redding Ridge), Samuel Hall (Redding Ridge), Moses Knapp (Redding Ridge) are the settlers known prior to 1720.

Between 1720 and 1725 more settlers flocked from Stratford, Fairfield, Westport and Norwalk; several families moved here from Ridgefield and Danbury too. It is not, however, until 1723 that we get any authentic record of the names of the inhabitants or of their entire number.

Nathan Picket, Gershom Morehouse, John Hall, Francis Hill, Robert Chauncey, Wolcott Chauncey, Daniel -(Illegible), William Hill, Jr., Phillip Judd, Nathan Adams, Stephen Morehouse, Benjamin Fayerweather, Thomas Bailey, Thomas Williams, Asa Hall, Joshua Hull, David Crofut, Jno. Read, Isaiah Hull, Moses Knapp, Benjamin Sturges, Sam’l Hall, John Read, 2d, Burgess Hall, Isaac Hall.

In 1725 petition we have the names of settlers above the Long Lots:

John Read, Thomas Williams, Stephen Morehouse, Benjamin Hambleton, Benjamin Franklin, Moses Knapp, Nathan Lyon, Benajah Hall, Will'm Hill, Dan'll Crofoot, Ebenezer Hull, Asa Hall, Joseph Meeker, Dan'l Lyon, Thomas Hill, George Hull.

And the long lot owners/settlers:

Moses Dimon, John Hide, Tho. Hill, Cornelius Hull, Elizabeth Burr, Jona Sturgis, John Smith, Thad's Burr, Andrew Burr, Samuel Wakeman, Samuel Squires, Ezekiel Sanford, Robert Turney, Jr., Joseph Wilson, John Wheeler, John Sturges, Joseph Wheeler, Thomas Sanford, John Morehouse, Joseph Rowland, William Hill, Nathan Gold, John Gold, Robert Silliman, Daniel Morehouse.

The settlement of Georgetown seems to have been begun at about the same time as the other portions of the town. The first settlers in that section seem to have been Benjamin and Isaac Rumsey, one of whom lived in a house that stood in the old orchard east of Aaron Osborne's (Meadow Ridge Hillside), and the other near the site of the present homestead of Mr. S. M. Main (Across from Brookside Lane). As early as 1721 Robert Rumsey, of Fairfield, bought of John Applegate a large tract of land located in what is now the village of Georgetown. In 1724 he willed this land to his three sons, Benjamin, Isaac, and Robert. Benjamin and Isaac were actual settlers on this tract, and the former's estate was inventoried and distributed in 1744.

As roads in and around Redding improved more settlers came to Redding.

Chicken Warrup and his Native American Indian counterparts

First Encounters: ..." It was claimed by a petty tribe of Indians, whose fortified village was on the high ridge a short distance southwest of the present residence of Mr. John Read." This tribe consisted of disaffected members of the Potatucks of Newtown and the Paugussetts of Milford, with a few stragglers from the Mohawks on the west. Their chief was Chickens Warrups or Sam Mohawk, as he was sometimes called. President Stiles says in his "Itinerary" that he was a Mohawk sagamore, or under-chief, who fled from