Extracts from the History of New London, Connecticut
Involving Allyn, Backus, Geer, Knight, Read, Rose, Seabury
All Neighbors, and all our Ancestors, or Cousins

Pg 70, "In March, 1651, the principal body of these eastern immigrants (** of Blynman's party **) arrived; in addition to those named...... With them also came ROBERT ALLYN, from Salem...."

Pg 71, "Early in 1651, New Street, in the rear of the town plot, was opened for accomodation of the Cape Ann Company..... It was carved into house-lots and took the name of Cape Ann Lane. The lots on this street were nine in number, of six acres each.... Beginning at the lower end, Hugh Calkins had the first lot by the Lyme Road.... and next to him was.. Hugh Roberts; then Coite, Lester, Avery, ALLYN, Meades, Hough, Isbell."

Pg 96, "Aaron STARKE and John Fish were said to be of Mystic, in 1655...

Pg 97, "Proceeding up the river to that division of the township which is now Ledyard, we find a series of farms laid out on the northern boundary, adjoining Brewster's land, early in 1653, to ALLYN... and others, which were called the Pocketannock Grants. Some of these were found to be beyond the town limits. Robert ALLYN and John Gager removed to this quarter about 1656. The country in the rear of these hardy pioneers was desolate and wild in the extreme..... ALLYN and Gager were so far removed from the town plot as to be scarcely able to take part in its concerns, or share in its priviliges. The General Court , at their May session in 1658, considerately released them from their fines for not attending the town training. They appear, however, still to have attended the Sabbath meeting, probably coming down the river in canoes. George GEER married a daughter of Robert ALLYN, and settled in the neighborhood. A grant to Mr. Winthrop, May 6th, 1656, would probably fall within the present bounds of Ledyard."

"Pg 142, "The swamps around New London were infested to an unusual degree with these perilous animals (** wolves **). After 1667, the bounty was sixteen shillings... In 1673, this bounty was claimed by .... Aaron STARKE, two; making nineteen howling tenants of the forest destroyed within the limits of the town that year. The havoc made by wild beasts was a great drawback on the wool-growing interest which was then of more importance to the farmers than at the present day (** 1895 **).

Pg 154, "The removals before 1670 of persons who had lived from five to eighteen years in the plantation amounted to a dozen or more.... the settlement of Norwich took away Robert ALLYN

Pg 240, "Most of the young men, earlier or later, made a few voyages to sea, and many a promising son of a good family was cut off untimely by a storm, or wreck, or West India fever."

Pg 261, "(in a description of property being added to New London)... "thence upon a direct line to an oak tree marked and standing near the dwelling house of Thomas ROSE."

Pg 265, "(in a list of... apparently settlers..).. SEABURY, John; east of the river, before 1700.

Pg 354, "Zacharia Maynard, or Mayner, purchased a farm in 1697, near Robert ALLYN and Thomas ROSE, (in Ledyard). His wife was a daughter of Robert Geer."

Pg 356, "Jacob HOLLOWAY, died Nov 9th, 1711. He appears in the plantation a little before 1700. Left a son, John, and daughters, Rose and Ann. His wife died four days after the decease of her husband." (Note: Don't know how or if this fellow ties into our William Holloway and his daughters Grace and Hannah. He could be of vintage to be a brother... **)

Pg 371, (In a sketch of Sarah Knight, of the Knight Journal fame).. "John Knight (Mrs. Knight's husband) is not the ancestor of the KNIGHT family afterward found at the West Farms, in Norwich, which originated with David KNIGHT who married Sarah BACKUS, in 1692, had sons and daughters, and died in 1744."

Pg 373, "George GEER, died in 1727. The Isbell farm bought by George Geer Oct 31, 1665, was bounded north by the line between New London and Norwich, (now Ledyard and Preston). George Geer married Sarah, daughter of Robert ALLYN, Feb 17th, 1658/9. They had six sons and as many daughters. Capt. Robert Geer was one of the leading inhabitants of North Groton during the first half of the eighteenth century, and his mill was one of the three places where all warnings were to be posted."

Pg 419, "Groton being a large town.... the northern part, by permission of the legislature, withdrew and organized a second ecclasiastical society. The first recorded meeting of this society was held at the house of Capt. John Morgan, Jan 3rd, 1726/6. The first preacher to this society was Mr. Samuel SEABURY, then a young man just assuming the sacred office. He was not ordained or settled, and remained with them only ten weeks; having preached four Sabbaths at Capt. John Morgan's, four at William Morgan's, and two at Ralph Stoddard's. At the expiration of his term or soon afterward, he declared himself a convert to the doctrines of the Church of England and crossed the ocean to obtain Episcopal ordination. He returned to this country commissioned as a resident missionary to the Episcopal church in New London. Mr. SEABURY was a native of Groton, born July 8th, 1706. ...... Several preachers succeeded Mr. SEABURY; each engaged but for a limited time. No minister was settled until 1729." (Note: This Samuel, first Episcopal bishop of America is a cousin ours. See a sketch on Samuel Seabury.)

Pg 420, "... Until the house (of worship of North Groton) should be finished, the preaching places designated were the houses of ... Robert ALLYN... (** Note: Our ancestor, Robert Allyn, had died some years earlier. The author is most likely referring to the Robert Allyn "place" in which his son, John Allyn was living, unless she is referring to a grandson. **)

Pg 663, "The New London Aqueduct Company obtained a charter in May, 1800. Capital $4,000; increased in 1802 to $20,000. The earliest proprietors were .... Robert ALLYN (** Possibly a descendant of the original Robert **).... This company entered with zeal into the project of supplying the whole city with water, and threaded all the principal streets with subterranean logs and pipes. The spring which afforded the supply of water is situated a little north of the town limits, on the west side of the road to Norwich. The undertaking was not sufficiently patronized to render it remunerative and after the trial of about a quarter of a century, it was abandoned."

Source: "History of New London, Connecticut", by Frances Manwaring Caulkins, 1895

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Extracts from the History of New London, Connecticut Involving Allyn, Backus, Geer, Knight, Read, Rose, Seabury All Neighbors, and all our Ancestors, or Cousins

Extracts from the History of New London, Connecticut
Involving Allyn, Backus, Geer, Knight, Read, Rose, Seabury
All Neighbors, and all our Ancestors, or Cousins