The 'Dutch intruders,' as they were called, no longer indulging the hope of dispossessing their more powerful neighbors, gradually retired to more congenial habitations. Among them was Rodger Ludlow, unsurpassed in his knowledge of law and the rights of mankind, and John Haynes, who had been for one year governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Thomas Hooker, famed as 'a son of thunder,' and had no rival in force of character, liberality of spirit, and soundness of judgment. Many of them had been accustomed to affluence and the ease of European life. The emigrants were from among the most valued citizens, the earliest settlers, and the oldest churches of the Bay. Early in the following year a body of about one hundred persons, led by Thomas Hoover, 'the light of the western churches,' began a pilgrimage to 'the delightful banks of the Connecticut. Settlements were begun at Hartford and Windsor and Weathersfield. A company of sixty, in the last days of October, 1635, carried their desire into execution. The Dutch were the first to explore fhe river and to occupy the country but the people of Massachusetts and New Plymouth, having informed themselves of the advantages the region offered to new settlements, were eager to transplant thither themselves and their estates. It is pertinent, then, to inquire what this character was like, and what manner of people were they whose kindred peopled this portion of the Reserve, and made the wilderness to blossom as the rose.Īs early as 1630 the valley of the Connecticut had become an object of desire. It was but natural that the new colony should bear the impress of the Connecticut character. The names of the townships and towns attest the affection of the pioneers of Ashtabula for the parent State. Full one-half of her population of to-day can trace their lineage to the enlightened people who first began to dwell in the beautiful and fertile valley of the Connecticut. At least two-thirds of the pioneer settlers of the different townships were born within the boundaries of that State.

See also: 'The Conneaut Witnesses' | Ashtabula Spalding SourcesĪshtabula County may well be considered the legitimate offspring of Connecticut. 1878 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio: Part 2

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