OHIO'S DEEP ROOTS IN CONNECTICUT
By JOSEPHINE E. PHILLIPS
To Elijah Backus Esq one of his Majestys
Justices of the Peace for
the County of New London Comes Zebedee Wood one of the
Granjurors
of our Soverign Lord the King for the County of New
London and Com-
plains & Gives Your Worshop to
Understand that Gideon Baker of Nor-
wich in Said County was on or about the
Midle of August Last Guilty of
Transgression of Law in Sd Norwich for
that he the Sd Baker Did Breek
the Peace by in an Angry Manner meke an assalt on the
body of Samuel
Loomer Junr of Sd Norwich by
Threting Sd Loomer by Saying that if he
Said another word he would Nock his head
of and Did hold up his hand
or fist against Sd Loomers face Sundrie
times and Did further Threten to
Strike Sd Loomer and Very much
Terifie and Affright Sd Loomer he the
Sd Loomer then being In the Peace of God
and the King all which doings
of the Sd Gideon Baker are
against the Peace of God and the King and
Contrary to the Law of this Colony in
Such Case made and Provided
Dated at Norwich the 3 day of September
A D 1773
ZEBEDEE WOOD, grandjuror
For witnesses take
EBENEZER LOOMER
SAMUEL LOOMER JUNr
Evidences
This complaint against Gideon Baker,
endorsed with a war-
rant for his arrest, the constable's
statement that the arrest had
been made--six months later--and the
court's decision that he
was not guilty but must pay costs, is
among the documents in the
new material recently added to the
Woodbridge-Gallaher Col-
lection.
Elijah Backus, like the long line of his
descendants in Con-
necticut and throughout the states of
the Old Northwest Territory,
was a public-spirited man and served his
community in a variety
of ways.
The numerous papers pertaining to his
duties as justice of
the peace for His Majesty King George
III, and later for the
state of Connecticut, afford an
interesting picture of the times.
Not only were there persons who would
threaten to "Nock of a
Head" of an adversary, but there
were those who would break
the Sabbath:
(74)
OHIO'S ROOTS IN CONNECTICUT:
PHILLIPS 75
One Abigail Martin (wife to John Martin
of New London North Par-
ish--)Did Travel from Sd North Parish on
her way to Windham till
stop'd in Norwich West Farms by the Subscriber, it
being the Sabbath or
Lord's Day Which is against the Peace of
the State of Connecticut and in
Violation of the Law of Sd State.
There was vandalism, too. Under date of
March 10, 1771,
a certain John Waterman informs and
complains
as well in Behalf of our Soverign Lord
the King as Himself & others (con-
serned in a Schoole Kept in a School
house in Sd Norwich . . . of which
School the above Conplanant is Master)
that on the night fowling the 9th
Day of March A D 1771 thare was
Considerabell Damage Don in Said
School house by Som Disorderly Person or
persons in burning or Carying
away Sundry Ink stands writing &
reading Books to the value of thirty
Shillings Lawful money.
A more careful inventory was taken and
it was found that the
suspected persons "Did in Sd
School hous On Sd night throw into
the fire & Consume 6 InkStands 13/6
& 5 Rulers & plumits & I
pale 2/6 & I book 2/8."
The Revolutionary War brought problems
of its own: "One
Edmund Darrow . . . Did on May the 17th
1777 Sell Two Quarts
of New england Rum for the Some of Six
Shillings L M which
money was paid in hand which Dowings of
the Sd Darrow are
against the Peace and Law of this
State."
On December 21, 1775, a
certain George Champlin, "One
of the committee of Inspection,"
for South Kingston, made affi-
davit that "Sundry Goods Amounting
to ?75/9/3 Stirlg Sold by
Mr. Christ. Champlin of South Kingston
to Dudley Woodbridge
of Norwich were not Imported Contrary to
the Association of the
General Congress."
Dudley Woodbridge himself,
son-in-law of Elijah Backus
and later connected with numerous
commercial enterprises in the
settlement of Marietta, Ohio, was clerk
for the Committee of In-
spection for the town of Norwich. In his
handwriting is a report
of that Committee:
Pursuant to a Recommendation of the
Continental Congress [Dated
"30th May 1776 to the Comtt of
Inspection in the United Colonies to regu-
late the price of Salt so as to prevent
unreasonable enactions on the part
of the Seller &c."] we . . . do
affix the price of that now on hand as fol-
loweth Salt of the best Quality by
Retail at 5/pr Bushel, Libson Salt at
4/ pr
Do and that all other Salts be in
proportion to their Quality.
76
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
Besides his activities as an official,
Elijah Backus owned and
operated the large smithy known as
Backus' Iron Works at
Yantic. Here were forged anchors for
some of Connecticut's
armed vessels during the Revolution. It
is claimed that two of
these weighed 1200 pounds each. Several
cannon were cast here
also, but the chief manufactures were
plow irons, hoes, axes,
scythes, spindles for buoys along the
coast-channels, and cranks
for sawmills and gristmills. Iron work
for the first mills in Ohio
was ordered in 1789 from the Backus
Works and in 1795 Rufus
Putnam was sending for more: "You
will recollect that I don't
wish the Radius or Sweep of the Crank to
exceed 14 or 14 1/2
inches & the saws to be of a good
length."
A number of workmen were needed to carry
on so flourish-
ing a business, and the
"farther" or "garden" who could secure for
the youth in his charge an
apprenticeship under Elijah Backus,
probably considered himself fortunate
indeed. Five indentures
for apprentices are among the new
papers. The earliest is dated
in 1755 and the latest is forty years
later. The legal phraseology
varies little in these indentures.
Sometimes provision is made
that upon his discharge the apprentice
shall receive a sum of
money as well as clothing, but the usual
agreement is that Backus
shall dismiss him with "two sutes
of apparil, one Sutabell for
Working Days & the other for Sabath
or Lord's Day," upon satis-
factory completion of his duties. One
father, upon the day of in-
denture, has to promise to "Deliver
to Sd Backus the fowling
articles within Six months from this
Date for the Use of Sd
aprentis (viz) two Good Every Day Shirts
and one white holand
Shirt & one pair of Shoes and a Coat
Jacket & britches sutabell
for Sd aprentice for Sundays."
The apprentice promises to serve until
he arrives at the full
age of twenty-one years. There is a
pleasing rhythm to the
words:
During which time he the Sd apprentice
his Master shall faithfully
Serve his Secrets keep his Lawful
Commands Cherfully Obey he Shall
Do no Damage to his Sd Master nor See it
don by others without telling or
giving Notice thereof to his Sd Master
he Shall not waste his Sd Master's
Goods nor lend them unlawfully to others
he Shall not Commit fornica-
tion nor Contract Matrimony within Sd
term at Cards Dice or any un-
OHIO'S ROOTS IN CONNECTICUT:
PHILLIPS 77
lawful Game he Shall not Play whereby
his Sd Master may be Damaged
with his own Goods or Goods of others
During Sd term without Licence
of his Sd Master he shall neither
by nor sell he shall not absent himself
Day nor Night from his Master's service
without his leave nor haunt ale-
houses Taverns nor Playhouses but in all
things behave himself as a faith-
ful apprentice ought to Do During Sd
term.
In return for all this, "the Sd
Master Shall use the utmost
of his endevors to teach or Cause to be
taught and instructed the
Sd Apprentice in the traid and Mystery
he now Professeth Oc-
cupieth or Followeth." In one case
the Master is also to en-
deavor that the apprentice "be
taught reading writing & Vulgar
Arithmetick so far as to enable him to
keep an inteligable book
of Accounts after the manner of
farmers." In another case the
apprentice will learn "Makeing
Sythes & Axes & Other Edge
tools as well as common Country
work."
Samuel Backus, founder of these Iron
Works had died in
1740,
leaving a widow and eleven children, all
but three of them
minors, the youngest an infant of one
month. Papers incident to
the settling of his estate show that he
had been prosperous, thrifty
and well-schooled. The "Minnet of
Real Estate" evaluates his
"House & 160 acres Land
adjoyning" at twenty-two hundred
pounds. "Ye Mills & Land
adjoyning about 14 acres" is placed at
750 pounds. Other acreage, especially along
"Crambery Pond
Brook" and Bradford Brook, brings
the total to £5,341. This
divided equally among the twelve heirs
made each share £445.
Elijah was the fifth of the eleven
children and at the time of
his father's death was in his fifteenth
year. By the time division
was made of the "Movabell
Estate," however, he was old enough
to take over the Iron Works. While his
sister, Elizabeth, received
such items as "A Bed & Bolster
... a fine shirt .. . I new Cover-
lid. . . a bought Tablecloth and one
Ditto homspun," Elijah is
credited with "a Large Anvil. . .
pr. Large Bellows. . . hamer
for horsnails ... 2 tools to turn augers
... 2 Smith hand hammers
... I Iron
sledge," and a great many other articles interesting to
the student of well-equipped blacksmith
shops of the 1740'S
There seems to have been a division of
the books which their
father had owned. Elizabeth received
John Flavel's "Life,"
"Pilgrim's Progress" and
"End of Pirates;" Isaac, "Russell's 7
78
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
Sermons;" Elijah, Mather's
"True Religion," "A Call to Delaying
Sinners," and one-third of a
"Pilgrim's Progress."
On January 8, 1753, Elijah Backus
married Lucy Griswold,
daughter of John Griswold, Esq., of
Lyme. Of their nine chil-
dren five lived to maturity, and each of
the five made some contri-
bution to the settlement of the Ohio
Company's Purchase and the
Northwest Territory.1
Elijah Backus, 2nd, a graduate of Yale in
1777, began the
practise of law. In 1784 he married
Lucretia Hubbard. A son,
Thomas, was born in 1785, and a
daughter, Lucretia, in 1787. A
few weeks after the birth of this little
girl, the mother died. It is
said that when Elijah came to Marietta
in 1790, his little three-
year-old shared his saddle. This Elijah
is chiefly known now as
owner of the island which he sold to
Harman Blennerhassett in
1798, and as printer and publisher of
the first newspaper in
Marietta. He was receiver of public
monies for a time and was
elected to the Senate. He later removed
to Illinois where his
daughter became the wife of Judge
Nathaniel Pope.
It is doubful if the son, Thomas, came
early to Ohio. He
was a member of the household of his
Uncle James for a while.
At seventeen he was a student at Yale.
N. HAVEN December 28th 1802.
DR. SIR. My Bills were due three weeks ago. They amount to about
twenty dollars. Mr. Bear the Steward
requested us to pay them at the end
of this term. I wish if it is convenient
that you would send me a horse to
come to Norwich on. Bissell Strong and
Young will have horses sent them
if it is not sleighing. Whoever comes
with theirs can likewise take mine.
I shall leave colledge in a fortnight
from this day as after then commons
will be broken up and I shall have to
stay at some of the boarding houses
in town. I wish you to send me four or
five dollars to bear my expenses
as I have spent about all that which you
gave me at Norwich. In what
manner I will let you know when I get to
there. I have kept an account of
my expenses. I will thank you to send my
horse to Lebanon if it is possible,
that it may get here in season otherwise
my business will be much deranged.
Yours affectionately
THOMAS BACKUS
MR. JAMES BACKUS
Merchant-
NORWICH.
1 See
Louise Rau, "Lucy Backus Woodbridge, Pioneer Mother," Ohio
Archao--
logical and Historical Quarterly (Columbus), XLIV (1935), p. 405-42; Josephine E.
Phillips, "James Backus, Citizen of
Marietta, 1788-1791," ibid., XLV (1936), p. 161-72.
OHIO S ROOTS IN CONNECTICUT:
PHILLIPS 79
This letter compares favorably with
other schoolboy letters
of the Collection. Dudley Woodbridge,
Jr., and William Wood-
bridge, his cousins, had also studied at
Yale, and had also had to
have their bills paid and money advanced
and horses sent up for
them at vacation time.
Thomas settled in Ohio and practised
law. He married
Temperance Lord, at Marietta, in 1810,
and they had five chil-
dren: Elijah, 3rd; Lucretia; William;
Alexander; and Abner
Lord. Elijah, 3rd, followed in his
father's footsteps and was an
honored member of the Ohio bar. Abner
Lord Backus was a civil
engineer and for some forty years, from
1837-1878, served in con-
structing and managing Ohio's canal
system.
The story of James Backus, son of
Elijah, 1st, and the one
who came first to Marietta, as gleaned
from letters and papers in
the original Woodbridge-Gallaher
Collection, stops quite abruptly
after he conducted the French emigrants
over the mountains for
the Scioto Company. It is known that he
had difficulty in settling
his accounts with that intangible
"company." He was also urged
to remain in Norwich and relieve his
elderly father of the cares
and responsibilities of the Backus Iron
Works. And there is a
slip of paper which reads:
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
Let these Certify to whom it may concern
that Mr. James Backus of
Norwich & Miss Dorothy Church
Chanler of this town were on the evening
following the date hereof, lawfully
married by me.
ELIPHALET LYMAN Clerk
WOODSTOCK Sept. 15th 1793.
One wonders if the young lady of his
choice was worthy of
him, and now it is possible to judge
somewhat of this for the new
letters contain many from Dorothy's kin--her mother, sisters,
nieces and uncle--and two from Dorothy
herself. Around these
can be built a picture.
NORTHAMPTON 17th August [1798]
An unexpected opertunity presents which
I readyly improve to give
you the pirticulars of my health it is
much improved since you heard from
me last I hav ben better these few dayse
past than I have ever ben since
my complaints Lucy and Sally are both
verry well now and have got rid
of their colds Mother is had an ill turn which lasted
her more than A week
but has got nearly over it now. Capt.
Lane got home sunday morning he
80
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
entertained us that day with the
perticulars of his journey which we
listend to verry attentively I was verry
glad to hear the house keeping was
so flourishing I begin to think my
presence will be of no importance but
I am A little home sick some times. Mr.
Vertilleo the painter is here draw-
ing faces he has taken Ursula Capt. Lane
and ebennezer My love to
dudley I am glad you have his company
Yours forever DOROTHY B.
MR. JAMES BACKUS
NORWICH
The other letter was written nineteen
years later and is
addressed to her mother. James had died
in September, 1816,
leaving her with a family of six
children. Three daughters were
of marriageable age; another was ten
years old; the sons, William
and Henry were, respectively, thirteen
and seven years old.
NORWICH Feb 11th
... Sally has had a dredful cold except that we have ben
well I have
kept Johnethan my man so far through
this cold winter although I feel as
if I was extravigan in so doeing but we
feel as if we should be carried of
without any man and the cattle and hogs
and logs and fire it seems as
if we could not get along. William goes
to school at bean hill but I cant
get Henry to go I cant hire him nor persuade
him.... I expect their will
be a sale of books and mooveables as
soon as the weather will admit of my
parts being ret of we expect it will be
necessary for us to do something
for our futer support and the question
is how and which way they must
lern mating makeing and millinery they
think they must lern the trades
and go to Ohio the girles think they
shall prosper better in a foreign land
than here but we have not moved yet we
laugh and contrive and I hope
you will be down in the spring and help
to conclude if they were fitted for
a school....
DOROTHY C. BACKUS
MRS MARIAN ELY
SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
The laughing and contriving must have
continued for some
years. William was sent out to Ohio to
learn merchandizing from
his uncle, Dudley Woodbridge, and his
cousin, Dudley Wood-
bridge, Jr., in Marietta. The
arrangement was not a satisfactory
one and his sister Sarah takes him to
task about it, in a lengthy,
beautifully penned letter, dated from
Norwich, August 24th,
1819. It reads, in part:
If Mr. Woodbridge, or anyone else, would
be willing to take you from
home, & permit you to work a little
& play a little & trifle your time away
just as you please, Ma would not wish
them to do so because it would
be injurious to you by encouraging in
you an indolent habit which would
prevent your applying yourself with
diligence to business. . . . For you
this application & diligence is peculiarly
necessary as you can never hope
to gain a livelihood without it. If your
father had left property sufficient
OHIO'S ROOTS IN CONNECTICUT: PHILLIPS 81
to support you in affluence all the days
of your life, it would not even
then be advisable for you to lead an
inactive course of life; for an indolent
and inactive man is one of the meanest
most despicable productions of
nature. ... I am very sorry to hear you
complain in your letter that you
have to be up by day & hard at it
all the time. This is what you must
do, or you can never make yourself
respectable or become a man of
property--you should not complain--but
rather be thankfull that you have
got from home into a situation where you
can work with advantage to
yourself ....
Mr. Woodbridge has written--I cannot
copy the letter; it will take
too much room in my paper--neither can I enclose it; it
would make the
letter too large--but I will tell you
this, he makes two objections against
you--he says that you are too silent and
reserved & that your mind seemed
wandering from your business so that you
don't appear to be fond of it
at all--he observed, that if a person
wished to transact a business with
success he must be civil & obliging
to customers, be sociable with them &
by a pleasant, polite & agreeable
address and behavior, induce them to
purchase and call again. ... I do
sincerely hope that you will profit by
these hints and endeavor to become very
agreeable in your manners ....
If you exert yourself to please & to
do the best you can you will un-
doubtedly succeed. If you don't like the
business I don't think you shall
succeed in it. I can see no other way
but for you to come home again &
that would mortify you and mortify us
all to death to have it said that Ma
was at the expence of fitting you out to
Ohio, that you went, did not like
the business and came home again upon
the farm.
Sarah concludes her letter with a
request that he write imme-
diately and tell them whether he thinks
he will ever like the store
business any better, and whether he is
homesick or not, and also
just what is his opinion of Mr.
Woodbridge and his family. The
postscript is brief and to the point:
"They say that C____L____
is married to a French kitchen maid;
that she got drunk in 6
weeks after they were married &
behaved terribly & he got a bill
from her. Don't you be married, I charge
you, at the peril of
your life."
Henry, the youngest of James Backus'
children, studied for
the practise of law and contemplated
settling in the West. There
are a number of letters he received
regarding the requirements
and opportunities. One is from E. Lane,
from Norwalk, Huron
County, Ohio, dated February 27, 1832.
As to the expediency of leaving
Connecticut, I have no doubt but
that you had better remove. I should not
know whether to choose between
Ohio or Michigan. Both offer good
places. Come & take your choice. I
believe no quarantine is required in
Indiana & think a situation may be
found there equally good. Wherever there
is an increasing population of a
thriving people, a professional man
finds room.
I believe Mr. Woodbridge will be left
out of the Office of Judge this
82
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
winter. If he resumes practice &
will accept you as a partner it will be a
most advantageous situation. I should
believe he would be desirous of such
a connexion.
The mother of Dorothy Chandler Backus
was Marian Gris-
wold, sister of Matthew Griswold, and
there are a number of his
letters to her. Marian was married three
times, her second hus-
band being Ebenezer Lane, and her third
Justin Ely. Her chil-
dren and her grandchildren wrote to her,
bits of news or gossip or
comfort, and they came to her for
advice. There is social as well
as personal history here.
When Henry T. Backus married Juliana
Trumbull Wood-
bridge, daughter of Judge (later
Governor) William Woodbridge
of Michigan, the family of James Backus
could point to more
governors and influential men of law,
either in their immediate
ancestry or kin by marriage, than almost
any family in Connecti-
cut. Wolcott, Griswold, Parsons, Pope,
Backus and Woodbridge,
are a few of the names best known. It is
an interesting snarl for
the genealogist to untangle.
The new letters afford little additional
information about the
settlement at Marietta but they do
furnish opportunity for the stu-
dent to look forward and backward, like
the god Janus, from
that point. Forward, to the development
of one branch of a "first
family," and backward to the very
roots of that family in New
England.