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 Genealogical memoir of the Backus family 
 
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Jt^ <r 
 
 jfofc^<X-.<L./LL*S , 
 
A 
 
 Genealogical Memoir 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BACKUS FAMILY 
 
 THE PRIVATE JOURNAL OF JAMES BACKUS, TOGETHER 
 
 WITH HIS CORRESPONDENCE BEARING ON THE 
 
 FIRST SETTLEMENT OF OHIO, AT 
 
 MARIETTA, IN 1788. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 Papers and Correspondence of Elijah Backus, 
 
 SHOWING THE CHARACTER AND SPIRIT OF THE TIMES 
 DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 
 
 IN TWO PARTS : 
 
 Part I. Genealogical, including Journal of James Backus, and 
 Poems by Miss Sarah Backus. 
 
 Part II. Historical, containing Sketches of the First Settlements 
 of Connecticut and Ohio, with Miscellaneous Papers of 
 Historic Interest. 
 
 WILLIAM W. BACKUS. 
 1889. 
 
PRESS OF 
 '\^J THE BULLETIN CO 
 
 ,. u .,(9 
 
 fgT\ 85 MA«N ST., fZ\ 
 
 wJ NORWICH, CONN. V^--^ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This little volume, although primarily a family memorial, will never- 
 theless be interesting to the general reader, from the fact that many let- 
 ters, documents and other articles are inserted, illustrating the spirit and 
 character of the times in which they were written. Of these, the private 
 journal and correspondence of James Backus is, perhaps, the most instruc- 
 tive and interesting. The journal, with a few breaks, covers a period ol 
 about three years, and was written on the spot where occurred one of 
 the most important events in the country's history, — the settlement ol 
 Ohio, at Marietta, April 7, 1788. The journal, and also the correspond- 
 ence, is full of interesting facts connected with this event, James Backus 
 being one of the first settlers. The papers of Elijah Backus, bearing 
 on another critical time in the country's history — the period of the 
 Revolution and the period just before — is also very interesting. We 
 see by these papers the character of the people who secured for us our 
 independence, and the trying times through which they passed. Elijah 
 Backus seems to have been very active at that time, and his papers 
 throw a strong light on the character of the people and the times. 
 
 These papers have been lying idle for a hundred years and more, 
 and it is one of the objects of printing this book to preserve and make 
 public these records, which, although they may not 'give any new points 
 on the history of the country, yet may serve to corroborate the statements 
 of other historians, and serve to fix some of the uncertain points. 
 
 As a family memorial, this volume does not pretend to be exhaustive. 
 In fact, within the limits of this little book it would be impossible to 
 even mention every member of so large and widely a scattered family. So 
 it has been thought best to follow the Norwich branch, that of the sec- 
 ond William. Of his two children who settled in Norwich, we have 
 followed only the line of Joseph. 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 The family, in all its branches, has had many illustrious representa- 
 tives, and all seem to have been active, energetic, patriotic citizens. We 
 find them as Justices of the Peace, Collectors of Customs, Judges, etc., 
 when civil and political offices were much more a mark of character than 
 now ; when the laws once made were enforced, and a " dead letter law " a 
 thing unknown. Of clergymen, there were a number in this family, and 
 all were much interested in the church, contributing largely to its sup- 
 port. The family was well represented in the army, and on the different 
 committees for caring for the safety and welfare of the town. The 
 founder of the family in this country was a pioneer, and in the sixth 
 generation was another, James Backus. This is a thing which is not the 
 good fortune of every one to be, and especially for so young a man as 
 was James Backus. The first settlers of Ohio were men of a high char- 
 acter, and men of fixed civil and religious principles, and most were in 
 the prime of life or beyond. James Backus was probably the youngest, 
 being only twenty- four. 
 
 There is a little uncertainty connected with the original place in Eng- 
 land from which this family came. We have followed the generally ac- 
 cepted tradition, which undoubtedly is correct. 
 
 Of the books which bear on the history of the times which is cover- 
 ed in the present volume, the following which we have consulted will 
 prove interesting — Miss Caulkins' "History of Norwich," Black's " Slory 
 of Ohio," " History of New London County," " Magazine of American 
 History" for Sept., 1888, Centennial Address by I. W. Andrews, LL. I)., 
 President of Marietta College, etc. 
 
 We can only hope this little volume may be interesting to the gene- 
 ral reader, and that a little may be added to the already abundant and 
 interesting history of our country. If so, our labor will be rewarded. 
 
 Norwich, Conn., Aug. 1889. 
 
PART I. GENEALOGICAL, 
 
 INCLUDING THE 
 
 PRIVATE JOURNAL OF JAMES BACKUS, 
 
 POEMS BY MISS SARAH BACKUS. 
 
 " Lives of great men all remind us 
 
 W« can make our lives sublime, 
 And departing, leave behind us 
 
 Foot-prints on the sands of time." 
 
 H. W. Longfellow. 
 
 " The spot where once our fathers dwelt, 
 
 To us should sacred be ; 
 At the same altars where they knelt, 
 
 Let us, too, bend the knee." 
 
 Mrs. John W. James. 
 
PART I. 
 
 The earliest records of this large family are uncertain. 
 From the best authorities it appears that William Backus (or 
 Stephen, according to some authorities) came from Norwich, 
 England, and was living at Saybrook, Conn., as early as 1637. 
 He was twice married, his two wives being Sarah Charles and 
 Mrs. Anne Bingham. 
 
 About 1659, he moved to Norwich, in the same State, being 
 one of the first settlers under the leadership of Rev. James 
 Fitch and John Mason. He brought with him three daughters, 
 two sons, and his stepson, Thomas Bingham. Since the young 
 men were near mature age, and since he made over his settle- 
 ment to his son Stephen, his sons are regarded as first proprie- 
 tors, and his name does not appear on record as such. He is said 
 (by consent of the others, he being the oldest man) to have given 
 the town its name, from the place in England from whence he 
 came. He died soon after his arrival in the colony, being of 
 an advanced age. He was the first Englishman, and second 
 person to die in the settlement. 
 
 He left two sons, William, Jr., and Stephen, and three 
 daughters, who were united in marriage to John Reynolds, 
 Benjamin Crane, and John Bailey. The family was prosper- 
 ous. In Caulkins' History of Norwich, page 158, it says of this 
 family : 
 
8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 " It is interesting to observe how rapidly the settlement ad- 
 vanced in prosperity and comfort. This family, and others, in 
 the course of a single generation grew strong and luxuriant, 
 throwing out buds and branches of rich and noble growth." 
 
 Stephen Backus received his father's rights and privi- 
 
 leges, as stated above, soon after the settlement. The house 
 lot was entered upon his name as first purchaser. 
 
 "The house lot lay in the pent highway by the Yantic, 
 between the town green and the allotment of Thomas Bliss, 
 bounded by the Bliss homestead on the east and Hammer 
 Brook on the west, and descended by gift or purchase to the 
 Leffi rig wells, who were connected by marriage." 
 
 Stephen married Sarah Spencer, Dec, 1666. He moved to 
 Canterbury about 1692, after living over thirty years in Nor- 
 wich. He had eight children. We will leave this branch and 
 turn to 
 
 William Backus, his brother. He married Elizabeth, 
 
 daughter of William Pratt, of Saybrook. They lived in Nor- 
 wich and had six children. Of these, William and John settled 
 in Windham, and are reckoned among the early proprietors of 
 that town. The present Windham green was part of the house 
 home lot of William Backus. Joseph and Nathaniel remained 
 in Norwich and left numerous descendants. Joseph married 
 Elizabeth Huntington, and Nathaniel, Elizabeth Tracey. Of 
 the other two children there is no record. We shall not follow 
 the line of Nathaniel, but follow that of Joseph. 
 
 Joseph Backus was a leading man in the town. Besides 
 being a Justice of Peace, an office of much dignity at that time, 
 he was for several years a representative of Norwich in the 
 Legislature of Connecticut. He opposed the " Saybrook Plat- 
 form," and withdrew from the church at Norwich when it was 
 accepted. " He seems, indeed, from the brief notices that re- 
 
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 £ 
 
 Pi 
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 s 
 
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 P 
 
 u 
 
 <i 
 
 pa 
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 a 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 9 
 
 main of him, to have been a genuine lover of ' the old path,' 
 an able and energetic defender of the Congregational polity, a 
 man of deep radical convictions, which governed his actions, 
 and made him willing to suffer loss for the sake of Christ and 
 His truth." 
 
 Joseph had eight children. Two of his sons, Simon and 
 Joseph, Jr., were the first graduates of Yale College of the 
 name. The former became a celebrated clergyman, and the 
 other was known for a long time as " lawyer Backus of Nor- 
 wich!' 
 
 Another son was Samuel. We will now follow his line. 
 
 Samuel Backus was the second son of Joseph Backus. 
 He was born January 6th, 1693. January 18, 1716, he was 
 married to Elizabeth Tracey. He died November 24, 1740. 
 He had eleven children, as follows : 
 
 If 1. Samuel, bom Jan. 1, 1717. Died Oct. 2, 1796. 
 
 If 2. Ann, " Jan. 10, 171S. " Dec. 29, 1756. 
 
 1 3. Elizabeth, " Feb. g, 1721. " July 1, 1745. 
 
 If 4. Isaac, " Jan. 9, 1724. " Nov. 20,. 1806. 
 
 *H 5. Elijah, " March 14, 1726. •' Sept. 4, 1798. 
 
 If 6. Simon, " Jan. 17, 1729. " Feb. 16, 1764. 
 
 If 7. Eunice, " May 17, 1731. " Aug. 10, 1753. 
 
 If 8. Andrew, " . Nov. 16, 1733. " Nov. 20, 1796. 
 
 If g. Asa, " .May 3, 1736. " July 23, 1788. 
 
 If 10. Lucy, " April ig, 1738. 
 
 If 11. John, " Oct. 16, 1840. " April 27, 1814. 
 
 " Samuel Backus, son of Joseph Backus, was a quiet, enter- 
 prising farmer, prosperous in his own business, but having little 
 to do with public affairs. He was an affectionate father, and 
 kind husband." The family had removed from the original 
 home lot nearer the Landing, to what is now known as Yantic. 
 Here he erected a grist mill — the second one in the settlement 
 — receiving special grants from the town, and commenced the 
 erection of the iron works. 
 
A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 [The different signs used may now be explained.] 
 
 Natne underlined three times, thus 
 
 two " " , " third 
 
 " " once, " /'fourth 
 
 r, is second generation. 
 
 The sign Tf before the name denotes 
 
 * 
 
 ** 
 
 *** 
 
 fifth 
 
 sixth 
 
 seventh 
 
 eighth 
 
 ninth 
 
 tenth 
 
 T Samuel Backus, Jr., oldest child of Samuel and 
 Elizabeth Tracey Backus, was married to Phebe Calkin, Dec. 
 14, 1743. Their children were, 
 
 § 1 
 
 §•3 
 8 4 
 
 § 5 
 
 Phebe, born Oct. 28, 1744. Died Oct. 5, 1786. 
 
 Elizabeth, " Aug. 26, 1746. " 1823. 
 
 Samuel, " Jan. 20, 1749. " 1818. 
 
 Hannah, " Feb. 23, 1851. " 
 
 A daughter, born and died March 8, 1755. 
 
 His wife died April 1, 1755, and he married for a second 
 wife, Elizabeth Widge, July 2, 1755, and had by her three 
 children, viz : — 
 
 § 6. Ann, 
 
 § 7. William, 
 
 § 8. Rufus, 
 
 born June 25, 1757. 
 " Aug. 28, 1758. 
 " May 12, 1761. 
 
 Samuel Backus died Oct. 2, 1778. 
 
 1 Ann Backus, second child of Samuel Backus and 
 Elizabeth Tracey, was married to Capt. Joshua Abel, July 22, 
 1742. She had seven children, viz : 
 
 § 1. Isaac. 
 
 § 2. Ann, (died young.) 
 
 § 3. Ann, (married Uriah Waterman.) 
 
 § 4. Elizabeth, (married Joseph Chapman.) 
 
 § 5. Abagail, (married Samuel Huntington, May 7, 1752.) 
 
 § 6. Rogers. 
 
 § 7. Rufus. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. II 
 
 If Elizabeth Backus, third child of Samuel Backus 
 and Elizabeth Tracey, was married to Jabez Huntington, Jan. 
 20, 1742, by whom she had two sons, viz: 
 
 § 1. Jedediah, bom Aug. 4, 1743. Died Sept. 5, 18 18. 
 
 8 2.. Andrew, " June 22, 1745. " April 7, 1824. 
 
 Elizabeth Backus died July 1, 1745. [See Huntington Me- 
 morial, page 161.] 
 
 *H Isaac Backus, fourth child of Samuel Backus and 
 Elizabeth Tracey, was married to Susannah Mason, of Middle- 
 bury, Nov. 29, 1749. He had nine children. 
 
 § 1. Hannah, bom Nov. 8, 1750. 
 
 § 2. Nathan, " June 18, 1752. 
 
 § 3. Isaac, " Feb. 21, 1754. 
 
 § 4. Eunice, " Oct. 23, 1755. 
 
 § 5. Susannah, " Oct. 13, 1758. 
 
 § 6. Louis, " Aug. 3, 1760. 
 
 § 7. Lucy, " April 13, 1763. 
 
 § 3. Simon, " March 7, 1766. 
 
 § 9. Libel, " Feb. 17. 1768. 
 
 T Isaac Backus. Little is known of his childhood. 
 His early education was obtained in the public schools of his 
 native place. He joined the Church in his native town, July 
 11, 1742, but did not long continue with it, leaving it, with 
 many others, in 1745, not being satisfied with its pastor or gov- 
 ernment. This separation gave rise to a new body, called Sep- 
 aratists. In this faith Isaac Backus became a minister. Then 
 he began to preach, spending about fourteen months in the vari- 
 ous towns of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts ; 
 and finally, April 13, 1748, was ordained pastor at Titicut, 
 Conn., at the age of twenty-six — a Separatist Church having 
 been formed there. This did not prevent him from making 
 frequent journeys for the purpose of preaching the gospel. On 
 Sept. 29, 1749, he married Susanna Mason, of Rehoboth, Mass. 
 Soon the subject of infant baptism divided the Separatist 
 Church. After much thought and deliberation, Isaac Backus 
 became a Baptist, and was baptized in that faith. He made 
 
12 
 
 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 many journeys preaching the gospel, visiting Massachusetts, 
 New Hampshire, and Connecticut. He still continued min- 
 ister to part of the Separatist Church at Titicut, which had 
 formed themselves into a Baptist Church there. 
 
 The Baptists met with a good deal of opposition and perse- 
 cution. Isaac Backus was untiring in his efforts to secure re- 
 ligious liberty and in defending his church, speaking and 
 writing much on the subject, and making long and difficult 
 journeys to help the cause. The object he had sought was not 
 obtained until 1833. 
 
 At the same time, he had his duties as pastor of the church 
 at Titicut, which he performed diligently and faithfully. " He 
 not only addressed them from the pulpit on the Lord's day, 
 but also from house to house during the week." He also made 
 frequent journeys, preaching the gospel, and helping to estab- 
 lish churches. Finally, after a life of great service and useful- 
 ness, he died November 20, 1806, at the very advanced age of 
 eighty-two. 
 
 He was a most prolific writer, his publications being more 
 numerous than any other man of his denomination in America, 
 in his day, and no one did more service in the country than he. 
 
 T Elijah Backus, fifth child of Samuel and Eliza- 
 beth Backus, married Lucy Griswold, daughter of John Gris- 
 wold, Esq., of Lyme, Jan. 9, 1753. He had nine children. 
 
 § 1. Elijah, born July 17, 1754. Died March 8, 1755. 
 
 § 2. A daughter, " Jan. n, 1756. " Feb. 21, 1756. 
 
 § 3. Lucy, " Jan. 31, 1757. " Oct. 1, 1817. 
 
 §4. Elijah, ' May 2, 1759. 
 
 § 5. James, " July 10, 1761. " Jan. 17, 1762. 
 
 § 6. A daughter, '• March 18, 1763. " April 20, 1763. 
 
 § 7. James, ■' July 14, 1764. " Sept. 29, 18 16. 
 
 § 8. Mathew, ■' Sept. 24, 1766. 
 
 § g. Clarina, '■ Aug, 7, 1769. " July 2i, 1831. 
 
 Elijah Backus possessed a large estate, and was a skilled 
 mechanic, and a man of considerable influence. Assisted by 
 his son James he carried on the iron works at Yantic, which 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. I? 
 
 were so serviceable to the country in the Revolutionary War. 
 Before the iron works, was built the grist mill, supposed to 
 have been the second one in the settlement. This he also 
 carried on. He died the 4th of September, 1798. 
 
 § Luey Backus, daughter of Elijah Backus and Lucy 
 Griswold, was married to Dudley Woodbridge, who was 
 among the first settlers of Ohio, April, 1778. Their children 
 were : 
 
 * Lucy, born Aug., 1775. Died Dec, 1816. 
 
 * Sally, " Jan. 28, 1777. 
 
 * Dudley, " Nov. 10, 1778. 
 
 * William, " 
 
 * David, " Died 1795, at Marietta. 
 
 * John, " Nov. 25, 1785. 
 
 * William Woodbridge became United States Judge, 
 Senator, and Governor of Michigan. 
 
 § Elijah Backus, son of Elijah and Lucy Griswold 
 Backus, married Lucretia Hubbard. Their children were : 
 
 * Thomas, born Aug. 8, 1785. Died Oct. 25, 1825. 
 
 * Lucretia, " Jan. 7, 1887. 
 
 Elijah Backus removed to the Northwest Territory, and was 
 Receiver of Public Moneys. He was elected to the Senate, 
 and was considered a good lawyer. Before this, his first wife 
 had died, Feb. 17, 1787, and he married again, taking for a 
 second wife Hannah Richards. He is said to have owned the 
 first printing press west of the mountains. 
 
 * Thomas Backus, only son of Elijah and Lucre- 
 tia Hubbard Backus, married Temperance Lord, at Marietta, 
 Ohio, Nov., 1 810. Their children were as follows : 
 
 ** Elijah, born March 3, 1812. Died Nov. 7, 1855. 
 
 ** Lucretia, " June 14, 1813. 
 
 ** William W., " Oct. 12, 1814. " Aug. 12, 1842. 
 
 ** Alexander, " Sept. 15, 1816. " Dec. 13, 1861. 
 
 ** Abner Lord, " June 27, 1818. 
 
14 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 ** Abner Lord Backus, fourth son of Temperance 
 and Thomas Backus, was married Oct. 29, 1844, to Eliza- 
 beth Reed. Their children were • 
 
 *** William Woodhridge, born April 1, 1846. 
 
 *** Elsie McDowell, " Aug. 26, 1847. 
 
 *** Samuel Reed, " March 10, 1849. 
 
 *** Alexander, " Oct. 18, 1850. 
 
 *** Adelaide, " May 25, 1852. 
 
 *** Elizabeth Reed, " Dec. 26, 1853. Died Sept. 25, 1854. 
 
 *** Twin daughters, " July 9, 1855. " Aug. 13, 1855. 
 
 *** Julia, " May 7, 1857. 
 
 Abner Lord Backus is by profession a civil engineer, and 
 was connected with service constructing and managing Ohio's 
 800 miles of canals nearly all the time from 1837 to 1878. 
 Having entered the state engineering department as a rodman, 
 by industry and constant application was finally elevated to the 
 highest position, that of President of the State Board of Public 
 Works of his native state by vote of a majority of her citizens. 
 
 For nearly twenty years he has been actively engaged in 
 Toledo as a grain commission merchant, owner and manager 
 of a grain elevator. 
 
 He has three sons connected with him in business, who are 
 industrious, sober, active and successful business men, credit- 
 able alike to himself and the ancestry from which he descended. 
 Of his three daughters, two are married, one of them living at 
 Cincinnati, O., and the other at Detroit, Michigan. 
 
 * Lueretia, only daughter of Elijah and Lucretia Hub- 
 bard Backus, was born Jan. 7, 1787. She married Nathaniel 
 Pope, of Illinois, delegate in Congress from Illinois in 1816, 
 and Judge of the United States District Court. Maj. Gen. 
 John Pope, of the United States Army, is their son, born 
 March 12, 1823. 
 
 § James Backus, seventh child of Elijah and Lucy 
 Griswold Backus, married Dorothy Church Chandler, daughter 
 of Charles Church Chandler, Esq., of Woodstock, Conn., Sept. 
 15, 1793. Their children were: 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 5 
 
 * I. Mary, bom Nov. g, 1774. Died May 17, 1847. 
 
 * 2 
 
 * 3 
 
 * 4 
 
 * 5 
 
 * 6 
 
 ■:- 
 
 7 
 * 8 
 
 Lucy, " March 28, 1769. " Nov. 12, 1827. 
 
 Sarah, " March 29, 1798. " March 24, 1843. 
 
 James, " Jan. 18, 1800. " Oct. 23, 1873. 
 
 Nancy, " Oct. 31, 1801. " Sept. 1, 1802. 
 
 William, " Oct. 22, 1803. Still living. 
 
 Frances, " Nov. 16, 1806. " 
 
 Henry, " April 4, 1809. Died July 13, 1877. 
 
 James Backus was one of the first settlers of Ohio, going to 
 Marietta in April, 1788. As agent of the Ohio company, he 
 made the first surveys in Marietta, and is said to have built the 
 first regular house in the town, at the point of the junction of 
 the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, afterwards owned and occu- 
 pied by his brother-in-law, Judge Dudley Woodbridge, it being 
 the first regular house in Ohio, at that time Northwest Terri- 
 tory. 
 
 In October, 1789, he made a trip to Connecticut, returning 
 again soon after. March, 1791, owing to the urgent request of 
 his father, he left Ohio and returned to Connecticut, to live at 
 the family residence at Yantic. 
 
 " He was a man of great ability, both physically and men- 
 tally. He commenced and carried on a large business. The 
 grist mill, which was the first erection on the premises, and 
 supposed to have been built by Joseph, or his son Samuel, was 
 the cause of their removal from the home lot nearer the Land- 
 ing, and by grants of land for that express purpose, followed 
 by the erection of the iron works. The latter were of a more 
 varied and expensive character, supposed to have been built 
 by Samuel Backus, but enlarged by his son Elijah, and were of 
 great service both before and after the war." Their work was 
 various, varying from a horse shoe to anchors for privateersmen. 
 
 James Backus built the saw mill, and in later days, 1812, 
 "built and ran two carding machines for carding wool for the 
 farmers, hatters and others." He also built a merchants' store, 
 and manufactured potash and pearlash, and besides, built a 
 provision house for the purpose of packing beef and pork, and 
 . kept salt. He bought out the interests of his brothers and 
 
1 6 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 sisters, and ran and conducted the whole, improving the quality 
 of iron goods, and doing a large and prosperous business until 
 the manufacture of iron in the old way ceased, and the site 
 gave way to other enterprises. Besides all these, he carried on 
 a large farm. He died in 1816, Sept. 16. 
 
 The following is an extract from his Journal, covering a 
 space of about three years, during which he was in Marietta. It 
 will show his life and experience there, as well as show his 
 character, and the high degree of confidence his associates had 
 in him, and the esteem in which he was held. 
 
 LIST OF STAGES TO FORT PITT, AND THE EXPENSES OK 
 
 TRAVELLING TO IT, FROM THURSDAY, THIRD 
 
 DAY OF APRIL, 17S8. 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 Henry's, Poquong, ........ 3 
 
 Warner's Ferry, ferriage, ....... 4 
 
 Buckingham's, Saybrook, 1 
 
 Lodging, supper, horse keeping, \ Friday, .... 41 
 
 8 qts. oats, ) 
 
 Graves's, Guilford, baiting, 4 
 
 West ... 4 
 
 Branford, baiting, ......... 4 
 
 E. Haven— ferry, 9 
 
 N. Haven, Anderson's, 3 miles \ 
 
 from town. Supper, hay 6 qts. >• Saturday, ... 29 
 Oats for horse, lodging, ) 
 
 Stratford ferriage, ........ 6 
 
 Breakfast and baiting, ........ 16 
 
 Baiting, .......... 9 
 
 Norwalk, baiting, . ■ . 1 . . 4^ 
 Stamford, Wells's, supper, lodging,) q , 
 
 6 qts. oats, hay, ) 
 
 Rye, Havaland's, breakfast, baiting, ..... 20 
 
 Kingsbridge, baiting, etc., ....... 10 
 
 N. York, apples, . Monday, .... 04 
 
 Fish line and hook, ........ 10 
 
 Portmanteau, .......... 50 
 
 Crupper and cloth, ........ 5 
 
 Malestraps, 06 
 
 Segars, " 1 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 
 
 17 
 
 Sight of camel 
 
 Mending rod, .... 
 
 Horse keeping, etc., .... 
 Powlap's Hook, ferriage, 
 Berger, ferriage, .... 
 
 Newark, ferriage, .... 
 Lodging, supper and horse keeping, 
 6 qts. Elizabeth Town, breakfast, 
 
 Tuesday, 
 
 s. d. 
 
 1 
 
 4 3 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1 o 
 
 6 10 
 
 Baiting, etc., 
 Brunswick, baiting, 
 Oysters, 
 Cherry, . 
 
 r-i 8 
 
 2 
 
 Kingston, Van Tilburg's, lodging, horse keeping,) Wednesday 
 3 qts. oats, breakfast, baiting, 3 qts. oats. ) 
 
 4 
 6 
 6 
 
 7 
 6 
 
 6 1 
 
 to 
 
 ™ w e 
 
 Bristol, baiting, etc., .... 
 
 Baiting, etc., ..... 
 
 Philadelphia, apples, 
 
 Cigars, ...... 
 
 Penknife, ..... 
 
 Watchchain, . . . . • 
 
 Portmanteau lock, .... 
 
 Penknife, ...... 
 
 Apples, ...... 
 
 Shaving and dressing hair, 
 
 Ticket 2 I 6, raisins 8d, . 
 
 Apples 3, gingery etc., 1, . 
 
 Steelyards, | 3 ; pepper, 2 | 9, . . . 
 
 Paper, | 1 ; flints, 2 | 6 ; 
 
 Fishhooks, 2 [ 6 ; 100 do. 2 | 6 ; 
 
 lib. buck and 2 lbs. goose shot, 
 
 Raisins, | 3 ; apples, | 4 ; . 
 
 Sundries, | 98 ; 
 
 Comb, I 6; glass and barbering, 
 
 Shaving, &c, 1 | ; paper, | g ; 
 
 Ebnz. Branham's bill, 
 
 Board and horse keeping, 42 qts. oats, 
 
 Boot money in exchanging saddles, 
 
 Ferriage, Schuylkill, . . . . 
 
 Sundries 
 
 Supper, lodging, horse keeping, 2 qts. oats, 
 At the Sign of the Buck, 14 miles from Philadelphia, ) ™. , 
 breakfast, ) 
 
 2 
 
 10 2 
 I I 
 
 7 
 4 
 
 I 
 I 6 
 
 1 10 
 
 2 9 
 2 3 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 10 
 
 q 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 7 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
l8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Dinner and baiting at Downing's 33 
 
 Repairing saddle at Lancaster, Friday, . . . . 76 
 
 Bill of fare from Downing's to ) ,-■ , ... ~ , 
 
 & \ Thursday until Sunday.. . I 13 9 
 
 Carlisle, from > 
 
 Repairing watch 116 
 
 Dressing hair and apples, ........ 32 
 
 Bill at Potlewait's, 14 
 
 Arrived at Carlisle, Pa., Sunday noon ; remained there 
 till Wednesday evening. Wednesday evening, went with Mr. 
 Nathaniel Smith to his father's, nine miles out of Carlisle; re- 
 mained until Friday afternoon. Friday night went to Ship- 
 pingburg, Captain Ripper's. Saturday, got to Littleton, 31 miles. 
 Sunday, to Bedford, 33 miles. Put up at Wiesman's. Monday, 
 went to Anderson's, nine miles. Tuesday, got one mile, five and 
 one-half miles over Stony Creek; 23 miles found bad entertain- 
 ment. Wednesday, got to Reed's, nine mile run; 28 miles good 
 lodging. Thursday, to Widow Myers's, 33 miles. Friday, to 
 Pittsburg. Whole expense from Carlisle, £2, 1, — . Saturday, 
 at Pittsburg. Sunday, set out for Wheeling ; dined at Gen. 
 Neil's. Lodge at Catfish, 25 miles. Bill, £0, 6, n. Monday, 
 got to Coxe's Fort ; staid at Captain Soveringhan's, 25 
 miles, £0, 1, 6. 
 
 Horse keeping, o, 1, 3, 
 
 Tuesday, went to Wheeling by way of Wells's Mills on Buf- 
 falo Creek, 22 miles, to Esq. Faine's. Wednesday, to Catfish, 
 breakfast at Captain Blakeney's, 32 miles. Thursday, to Red- 
 stone ; lodge one mile from the river at Youes's, 24 miles. Fri- 
 day afternoon settled bill from Coxe's Fort to Redstone in- 
 clusive £1, 4, 2 %. 
 
 Got to Col. Cook's, 12 miles. Welcomed to entertainment. 
 Very civil, clever people. Saturday, got to Reed's, 20 miles ; 
 bill of ferriage for the day, lodging etc. included, . ^o, 4, 4. 
 
 Sunday, May 11, arrived at Pitts. Left horse at Bruswan's. 
 Monday and Tuesday at Pitt. Wednesday afternoon went sail- 
 ing. Thursday at Braddock Fields, 12 miles. Went up the 
 Monongahela with Gen. Harmer, Gen. Parsons, Col. Butler, Col. 
 May, and several others. Friday, repairing watch, ^0,1,10. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 19 
 
 Boat went down the Muskingum with ten New England 
 people. Saturday, May 17, got ray horse from Bruswan's, and 
 left him with Ormsby to keep for the summer for his riding. 
 Mr. Ormsby agrees to keep him well, and run all risks of theft 
 and other accidents, and return him to me in good order when 
 I call for him; otherwise to give me the value of him. Paid 
 Bruswan for pasturing. Ferriage, £0, 4, 9. 
 
 Sundries o, 2, 3. 
 
 Pipe I 4 ; Billiards 2 | , o, 2, 4. 
 
 Sunday, Monday, at Pitt. Tuesday rode out, meet the wag- 
 on. Expense, £0, o, 2. 
 
 Wednesday and Thursday at Pittsburg. Friday paid washer- 
 woman, £0, 4, 6. 
 
 Duncan's bill, 3, 17, o. 
 
 Removed from Pittsburg to Elliott's, one mile from ferry. 
 Saturday, went over to Pitt, purchased a few little articles. 
 
 Cost, with ferriage, Monongahela, £0, o, 6. 
 
 Left at Bulen's a pair of boots which I desired Mr. Elliott to 
 send on to me to Monongahela. Saturday, 24th May, 1788, 
 set out from Daniel Elliott's' Landing : Passengers, Gen. 
 T. H. Parsons, Col. May, Col. Butler, Major Sargeant, Capt. 
 Rice, Mr. Wanton Chase, Mr. Green, Mr. H. Williams, Rans- 
 ford Y. Williams, Tufts, Comstock and Johnson. At 9 o'clock 
 arrived at Dawson's Point, Little Beaver, 43 miles from Pitt. 
 Got bread and milk n o'clock. Sailed course of the river from 
 Pitt to McKee's Island. W. N.W. two miles, about one mile in 
 length to' Cow Island. From Cow Island to Montouss three 
 miles ; length of Island six miles, bearing N. W. from Cow 
 Island. Course of river bearing much to the north west. 
 About 15 miles from Pitt is the dead ripple, being a sand bank 
 in the middle of the river, grown over with willows. Current 
 strong on both sides, but the best channel on the north-east side, 
 as is the case with all the islands above and below Big Beaver 
 Creek. One and three-quarter miles below on the north-east 
 side empties in the Sewickly ; the same distance below Sewick- 
 
20 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 ly, on the opposite shore is Logtown, being a beautiful platt of 
 a considerable extent, and a small improvement made upon it. 
 One mile below lies Logtown Island. Course of the river for 
 about two miles, directly north. One mile farther down is Crow 
 Island. River bending to the westward. The above two islands 
 about one mile each. Continuance north and west about two or 
 three miles, then turns almost southwest. Ten and three- 
 fourth miles from Logtown, on the north side empties in Big 
 Beaver. Three-fourths of a mile on the same side lies Fort 
 Mcintosh, on a very high bank — a defensible situation, but the 
 work much out of repair, and it is proposed to evacuate it the 
 ensuing summer. About two miles from the Mcintosh the river 
 bends still more to the south ; two miles more on the Virginian 
 shore empties in a small run, known as Raccoon Run ; three 
 miles more lies a small island ; best channel east side. Five miles 
 another small island. One mile farther empties in Little Buffa- 
 lo on the east shore. The above course much to the south- 
 ward. At the mouth of this creek ends the Pennsylvania Claim, 
 and a vista is cut due north to the lakes, and likewise south 
 across from the Ohio to the Maryland line, being the boundary 
 between Virginia and Pennsylvania. Sunday morning half-past 
 five, arrived at Crawford Landing or Coxe's Fort. Purchased 
 a barrel of pork, and our people purchased bacon and other ar- 
 ticles of provisions. Left at half-past eleven, and at half-past 
 three arrived at Wheeling. A very hot, clear day. At half-past 
 eight sailed from Wheeling. Pleasant night, but very foggy. 
 Towards 3 y 2 o'clock Monday afternoon, arrived at the mouth of 
 the Muskingum, all well, and fifty hours after we left Fort Pitt. 
 Went over to the garrison. Tuesday, went to view the town and 
 commons. Was pleased with the large mound and " old ruins," 
 as they are called. Appear to be artificial, but am not convinc- 
 ed of their origin. Wednesday afternoon went with Captain 
 Sproat to survey an eight acre lot on Virginia Bottom, for Mr. 
 Chaceny. Found excellent land. Saw three deers. Thursday 
 went out with Mathews to run the girt line of division of the 
 Parsonage lot. Friday went out with Major Battle, Sargeant 
 and Rice, to divide our ten acre lots. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 21 
 
 Sunday, May jist, 1788. Sent Turner and Johnson to work 
 clearing my ten acre lot. No price agreed upon. Found them a 
 stub scythe to work with. Went across the river to Williams's, 
 took supper and lodging. 
 
 Sunday, June 1st. A pleasant morning, a little hazy. 
 Went fishing ; caught nothing. Lost both hook and line. 
 
 Monday, June 2nd. Took breakfast at Williams's, coffee and 
 cakes. Left five dozen fish hooks at Williams's. At ten o'clock 
 crossed the river. 
 
 Bought % lb. tobacco, 5d. 
 
 Unwell yesterday and to-day. Colic and headache. 
 
 Tuesday, June 3rd. Went out with Mr. Tyler to our garden 
 spot. Assisted in building house. 
 
 Wednesday, June 4th. Clear, warm morning. Thunder 
 shower came two o'clock. Five o'clock began to rain. Ate no 
 dinner. Rainyjiight. 
 
 Thursday, June §th. Clear forenoon. Ate no breakfast or 
 dinner. Worked on the house. Slept in new house. 
 
 Friday, June 6th. Clear forenoon. Thunderstorm. Drank 
 chocolate aboard boat. 
 
 Saturday, June yth. Warm day. Hazy but no rain. Be- 
 gan to board at new house. Drank chocolate. Ate fish and 
 venison for dinner. Went hunting, killed three squirrels. 
 Chocolate supper. 
 
 Sunday, June 8th. Clear hot day. Went out to Duck Creek 
 with Gen. Parsons, Col. Crary, Major Corlis, and several others. 
 Measured the hollow stump of a sycamore tree. Circumfer- 
 ence, two feet from the ground, 45/^ ft. Interior diameter, on 
 the ground, 15/^. Thickness of shell, three inches. Took a 
 
2 2 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 range of five or six miles back of cornfield. Venison for din- 
 ner. Afternoon slept. Warm debating yesterday and this 
 evening about division of eight acre lots. 
 
 Monday, Junegth, ifSS. Cloudy morning, clear before noon. 
 Wrote home to Mrs. Woodbridge and my father by Mr. Hilliard. 
 Agents of Ohio company present at Muskingum. Met by or- 
 der two directors at our house. There were present, Gen. 
 Parsons, Col. Olney, Col. May, Col. Crary, Maj. Corlis, Maj. 
 Sargeant, representing upwards of ioo shares ; resolved on ap- 
 propriating parsonage lot to enlarge the town lots to the 
 original plan of 180 by 90 ft. ; to lay out on the commons and 
 above lot one hundred three-acre lots to be drawn for as quick- 
 ly as possible, for the convenience of settlers come and coming 
 on. Heavy showers without thunder about sunset. Foggy 
 at night. Troubled this week past with colic. Received of 
 Mr. Williams over three perch. 
 
 Tuesday, June 10th. Foggy, damp morning, some rain. 
 Fried fish for dinner. Assisted Col. Olney and Major Cor- 
 lis in preparing names and numbers for drawing three-acre lots. 
 Got numbers and most of the names. 
 
 Wednesday, June nth. Veal for dinner. Pleasant day. 
 Some small showers. 
 
 Thursday, June 12th. Clear morning. Grew smoky to- 
 wards noon. Fried venison for dinner. A rainy evening. 
 Concluded enrolling names and numbers, and began to draw. 
 Drew about thirty. 
 
 Friday, June 13th. Rainy morning. Heavy distant thunder, 
 this and yesterday morning. Veal for dinner. Completed 
 drawing three-acre lots. 
 
 Saturday, June 14th. Cloudy morning, but pleasant day. 
 Salt beef and pork for dinner. Gen. Varnum and Crary removed 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 23 
 
 to their own hut. Warm afternoon. Went out with Gen. Var- 
 num, Parsons and several others gaming. 
 
 Sunday, June 15th, 1788. Clear morning. Wrote home 
 to my father and Mrs. Woodbridge, by Col. Olney. Fried 
 venison and baked fish for dinner. Bread and milk for supper, 
 Col. Olney left us about 5 o'clock for Pitt in Garrison Bay, 
 with Maj. Doughly. Excessive bad toothache, applied hot rum 
 and pepper to my face this evening. 
 
 Monday, June 16th. Clear, pleasant morning. Boat ar- 
 rived at the point bound for Kentucky, with eight New Eng- 
 land people for this place. Went out to view land on Duck 
 Creek. Very heavy showers. Got wet. 
 
 Tuesday, June iyth. Fair morning, warm day. Fried squir- 
 rels for dinner. This evening was read to the settlers the reg- 
 ulation for police. Col. May, officer of police ; Maj. Corlis, 
 secondary. All of the enrolled in one company. Col. Crary 
 commanded to meet regularly Sundays to furnish them men 
 for patrol. 
 
 Wednesday, June 18th. Clear, fine morning. Shot black 
 squirrel. Squirrel and venison for dinner. Two Indians of the 
 Delawares came on our side to trade, being the first that have 
 come for that purpose. Brought with them about fifty deer- 
 skins and five bear skins. Appeared well disposed and unsus- 
 picious, but displayed a good share of sagacity and knowledge 
 in their manner of trading, which they must necessarily acquir- 
 ed from the manner in which they have been treated by the 
 whites who have traded with them. The one which appeared 
 best acquainted with trade drank very little for this day ; the 
 other drank freely. Two interpreters over from the garrison. 
 Neither of them appeared friendly to our intentions of trading, 
 but I supposed them influenced by some straggling peddlers 
 and the traders of the garrison, which in general, together with 
 them are an ignorant, trickish, unprincipled set, not acting 
 
24 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 from any method, but depending solely on the little booties 
 they get from the Indians. The amount of goods they have 
 with them is from — ioo — 500, without any fixed price. Re- 
 ceived a present from the Indians of one-tjuarter of venison 
 and seven deer tongues. 
 
 Thursday June igth, ij88; Pleasant, warm morning. Great 
 disturbance occasioned by a heedless little Indian peddler com- 
 ing over without permission to trade with the Indians. He, to- 
 gether with the interpreters, endeavored to make the Indians 
 suspicious of being cheated by us. They appear to be very sus- 
 ceptible of such influence. A very severe gust of wind, about 
 two o'clock to-day, blowed down a tree upon an ox in the com- 
 pany's service. No other damage sustained. H.eavy thunder 
 showers. Cool evening. 
 
 Friday, June 20th. Cold, cloudy morning, wind to the north- 
 ward. Gens. Parsons, Varnum, and I went to Deer Creek to 
 examine the clay that is found there, to see if it is suitable for 
 building purposes. The surveyors began running out ground. 
 
 Saturday, June 21st. Cool, fair morning. Made door for our 
 house. Dined on boiled fish. Gen. Parsons and Maj. Corlis 
 dined out. 
 
 Sunday, June 22nd. Fair morning. Four Kentucky boats 
 down this morning, in one of which came Mr. Aaron Barlow and 
 Mr. Reed, from Reading, in Connecticut ; the 4th inst., lay 
 by three days for bad weather. The two Mr. Fullers arrived 
 here last Friday from Providence. The two Indians left us this 
 morning. Nearly recovered from all my complaints. People 
 met to-day according to order. 
 
 Monday, June 23rd. Cloudy, warm morning. Dined on 
 boiled beef and venison. Put my ankle out of joint this even- 
 ing. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 25 
 
 Tuesday, June 24th, 1/88. Cloudy morning. A boat down, 
 on which came the two Mr. Latemors, and another parson 
 from Boston. Wind blowed cold from west. Went over to 
 Williams's, to purchase articles for dinner. A Kentucky boat 
 stopped at the point, bound for Limestone. 
 
 Wednesday, June 25th. Cool, clear morning. Pleasant day. 
 Ate venison for dinner. Went across to Virginia ; purchased 
 buffalo and salmon. 
 
 Thursday, June 26th. Cool morning. Dined on buffalo and 
 salmon. The buffalo fish the best I have ever tasted in the 
 country. Weighed 14^ lbs. Bought it at | 2, Pennsylvania 
 money, per pound. This evening went upon guard. 
 
 Friday, June 2jth. Began to rain at one o'clock this morn- 
 ing. Turned out twice to relieve sentry. Patroled this morn- 
 ing from half-past three to half past five. Rained ; cool. 
 Dined on hash and venison, and remains of buffalo fish. 
 
 Saturday, June 28th. Disagreeable weather. Venison steak 
 and broiled buffalo for dinner. 
 
 Coin in two bags as counted in Philadelphia, April 14th, 
 1788: 
 
 ISt, 
 
 , $30.00 (thirty 
 
 dollars 
 
 •) 
 
 2nd. 82 quarter dollars. 
 
 
 
 ig half dollars. 
 
 
 
 2 dollars. 
 
 
 
 
 25 pistareens. 
 
 
 
 
 g crowns. 
 
 
 
 
 
 $38. 
 
 00 
 
 Go 
 
 Id coin in purse counte* 
 
 3 
 
 Joes, 
 
 7 3 
 
 6-4 
 
 3 
 
 Guineas, 
 
 4 4 
 
 ■4H 
 
 i# 
 
 dollars, 
 
 14 
 
 
 2 
 
 pistoles, 
 
 2 6 
 
 10 
 
 £14 6 g 
 
26 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Capt. Cooper, Anselm Tupper, Paul Fearing, James Back- 
 us, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Lincoln, Mr. White, Mr. Coburn Wright, 
 Mr. Clare, Mr. Cleaver, Hutchingson, Gilbert Devol, Faher. 
 
 Sunday, June 2gth, 1788. Clear, cool morning. Wind to the 
 westward. Company paraded at ten o'clock. Showers about 
 eleven. Venison soup for dinner. Afternoon went up to Carr's 
 Island with Maj. Tupper and Matthews. Engaged Ninwonger 
 to furnish venison for 4th of July. 
 
 Monday, June joth. Cool, clear morning. Dined on 
 salt beef. Went over to Virginia side to purchase provisions 
 for dinner. 
 
 Tuesday, July 1st. Clear, pleasant morning. Arrived 
 here a Mr. Guthre from Washington, Connecticut. Purchased 
 ham for dinner. Rumors of a party of Indians lurking about 
 this place. A scout of 12 men sent out. Thunder shower 
 about seven o'clock. High wind at N. W. Continued to rain 
 all night. 
 
 Wednesday, July 2nd. Pleasant, warm morning. Began 
 to build bower with twelve men. Dined on salt beef. Com- 
 pleted bower and kitchen. 
 
 Thursday, July jrd. Clear morning. Went across the 
 Ohio to purchase material for dinner. Brooks came from the 
 garrison. Went out this afternoon to procure pigs for dinner. 
 Dined on venison and beef. Spent all the afternoon procur- 
 ing provisions. 
 
 Friday, July 4th. Cloudy, windy morning. Sun shone 
 out at nine o'clock. At twelve o'clock a shower. Cleared 
 again. Half-past two heavy showers. Rained all the afternoon. 
 
 Saturday, July 5th. Fair morning. Shower at two o'clock. 
 Dined on veal and beef. Rainy night. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 27 
 
 Sunday, July 6th, 1788. Rainy morning, high wind. Dined 
 on hash and veal. Wind for three or four days mostly to west- 
 ward and northward. Clear afternoon. A shower at night. 
 
 Monday, July jth. Cloudy, rainy morning. Wind to 
 the southward. Dined on salt beef and pudding. Pleasant 
 afternoon. Went with Tupper, Matthews, and Fearing in a sail 
 boat down the river, a mile to examine a cavern in the hill on 
 the north-west side of Ohio. Found it from three to six ft. in 
 width, about 100 ft. long and from 20 to 25 feet high, nearly per- 
 pendicular. It is formed of very good grindstone, with the 
 surface smooth and true. The cavern is covered with an arch, 
 suspended from the northern walls of the cavern. The place 
 is difficult of acess, it being necessary to ascend a cleft of rocks. 
 
 Tuesday, July 8th. Foggy morning, sunshine at intervals. 
 Dined on salt beef, beans and carrots. Rainy afternoon. 
 The drawing of city lots completed. Ordered to go on guard 
 to-night. Rainy night. 
 
 Wednesday, July gth. Cloudy, rainy morning. Showers 
 
 through the day. Fish for dinner. Governor St. Clair arrived 
 
 at the garrison at eleven o'clock. Was saluted with the dis- 
 charge of thirteen guns. 
 
 Thursday, July 10th. Boat arrived with twelve persons. 
 Dined on fish. Very warm afternoon. 
 
 Friday, July nth. Clear, windy morning. Dined on salt 
 beef, beans, peas and carrots. 
 
 Saturday, July 12th. Pleasant, windy morning. Dined on 
 salt beef and beans. Shingled our house. High gust of wind 
 from the N. W. Blowed very severely. Rainy about five 
 o'clock. Continued rains throughout the night. 
 
28 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Sunday, July 13th, ij88. Clear weather at sunrise. Cloudy 
 about eight o'clock. Showery forenoon. Dined on codfish and 
 potatoes. Pleasant afternoon. 
 
 Monday, July 14th. Cloudy, foggy morning. Arrived 
 last night, seven people in two canoes. Dined on codfish and 
 salt beef. Began to clear ray garden. The warmest day since 
 I arrived here. 
 
 Tuesday, July 15th. Clear, pleasant morning. Light wind. 
 Two Kentucky boats arrived in which came eight people to 
 this settlement. This afternoon a boat arrived with Mr. Brick, 
 the parson ; Downer, and five or six other gentlemen. Two 
 other men arrived. 
 
 Wednesday, July 16th. Frequent showers to-day. Dined 
 on salt beef and potatoes. 
 
 Thursday, July iyth. Clear, pleasant day. Ate no dinner. 
 This evening went on guard. Fine, pleasant night. 
 
 Friday, July 18th. Cloudy morning. At five o'clock a 
 very heavy thunder shower. At seven o'clock cleared up. 
 
 Saturday, July igth. Clear, pleasant morning. Ate no 
 dinner to day. Heavy thunder early this morning. Wind for 
 the week mostly to the north and westward. 
 
 Sunday, July 20th. Clear, cool morning. Wind to the 
 eastward. About n a. m., Mr. Brick commenced services, 
 under the Bower on the banks of the Muskingum, to a respect- 
 able audience. His excellency, the Governor, and Maj. 
 Doughty from the garrison, about 25 persons from Virginia, 
 and most .of our people attended. Expressed a proper respect 
 to the worship by their attention, silence, and regularity of 
 conducting themselves. Dined on codfish and potatoes. Pleas- 
 ant. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 29 
 
 Monday, July 21st, 1788. Clear, pleasant morning. Dined 
 on venison. Very little steady sunshine in this country since 
 I have been here ; clouds constantly flying over the sun. 
 
 Tuesday, July 22nd. Pleasant morning, but a little foggy. 
 Dined on catfish and sturgeon. At half-past seven set out in 
 the great boat for Buffalo. Got as far as Carr's Island this 
 evening. The sturgeon of this river weigh from four to six 
 pounds. 
 
 Wednesday, July 23rd. Fine, fair morning. Wind to 
 eastward. Got under way at half-past five. Went on shore on 
 Seventh Range. One of our company shot a goose. Dined 
 on fried bacon. Supped on goose, and found it very disagree- 
 able food, smelling very strong of fish. Came to about two 
 miles below Longreach. 
 
 Thursday, July 24th. Pleasant morning, wind to east- 
 eastward. Our crew caught two catfish last night. Breakfasted 
 on fish. Ate no dinner. Lay exposed to heavy rain last night. 
 Arrived within four miles of Grace Creek. 
 
 Friday, July 25th. Wet morning. Ate no breakfast. 
 Dined on a small piece of meat. Ate no supper. Warm, pleas- 
 ant afternoon. Got wet with rain in my lodgings. 
 
 Saturday, July 26th. Wet morning, but clear day. Ate 
 no breakfast or dinner. Got within four miles of Buffalo with 
 boat. Tupper, Fearing and myself went to Riley's, mouth of 
 Buffalo. Got to Wheeling about sunset. Supped and lodged 
 ashore. Showery night. 
 
 Sunday, July 2jth. Breakfasted ashore. Walked with 
 Fearing almost to Short Creek. Dined on bread and milk. 
 
 Monday, July 28th. Foggy morning. Breakfasted at 
 Crawford's, Coxe's Fort. It began to rain about n o'clock. 
 
30 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Dined at Crawford's on boiled chickens and broth. Hired a 
 horse to ride to Pittsburg. Supped at Winteringhim's, and 
 lodged there. 
 
 Tuesday, July 2<?th, ij88. Pleasant morning. Set out for 
 Pittsburg. Breakfasted at Wells's. Found Gen. Tupper's and 
 two other families there, on their way to Muskingum. Arrived 
 a little before sunset at Washington. Supped at McCormick's 
 on veal and coffee. Very warm day. Met Major Goodell and 
 Cushen and their families, two miles from Washington. 
 
 Wednesday, July jot/i. Clear morning. Set out at half- 
 past eight for Pitt. Arrived there at five. Dined at Duncan's 
 on beefsteak and soup. Crossed the ferry at half-past six. 
 Took my horse from Ormsby's. Found him extremely poor 
 and much abused. Was informed by one of his people that he 
 had been used in packing grain for Ormsby's distilery for three 
 weeks, and very badly used. Delivered Gen. Parson's letter to 
 Gen. Butler, and left one in the post office for Ebz. Hazzard, 
 Esq., N. York. The post starts from Pitt for Philadelphia, 
 Tuesday. Every three weeks one post rides through to Phila- 
 delphia. Mr. Tilton keeps the office. At seven o'clock started 
 for Washington. Got one-half a mile to Bill's private house. 
 Called up the people, got my horse put up, drank a pint of 
 milk, and lay down on the floor in my great coat for the night. 
 
 Thursday, July 31st. Cloudy morning. Started at half- 
 past five, and at nine o'clock arrived at Col. Cannon's. 
 Found them very civil people. Got to Washington at one o'clock. 
 After riding an hour in the rain, dined at McCormick's on roast 
 mutton and peas. Contracted some Acquaintances with the 
 people of this place, Found them generally to possess a kind 
 of rude hospitality, extremely fond of whiskey themselves and 
 always ready to treat all those that fall in their way. It is the 
 practice, almost without exception, to drink a bitter of tansy 
 and whiskey in the morning ; and half a pint or even a full 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 3 1 
 
 pint before breakfast is not considered extravagant. The 
 women and girls are by no means adverse to it. The girls are 
 very large. They seem to have a kind of reserve, that appears 
 rather affected than otherwise. They by no means possess that 
 delicacy of feeling that dictates a propriety of manner in a well- 
 bred woman. They appear to me, when contrasted with the 
 native woman, to fall far short in point of merit; excelling 
 them in few things excepting education, (indeed, their knowl- 
 edge of reading and writing, when no use is made of it but 
 simply reading a few lines in the Bible, or learning a number 
 of vulgar songs, writing down ballads, or reading a few narra- 
 tives, can not be considered a great acquisition.) They have 
 by no means that amiableness and modesty, which is favorably 
 expressed in the countenance of the savage. Neither that ease 
 and cheerfulness of manner. In fine, the female savage is 
 lascivious to the excess, and still appears desirable and amiable. 
 The girl of this country is not more treacherous than the 
 woman of other countries ; yet appears rude, uncouth, immod- 
 ist, fit only for the servile employment which they are put to ; 
 and so well does their menial station fit them that they seem 
 to despise that refinement of manner, and delicacy and suscep- 
 tibility of mind, which education has lent to and rendered nec- 
 essary to accomplish an amiable woman among civilized people. 
 
 Friday, August 1st, ij88. Cloudy morning; very warm. 
 Dined with Capt. Blakeney on veal and peas. 
 
 Saturday, August 2nd. Cloudy, warm morning. Rained a 
 little about noon. Dined on fresh beef and beans. Have been 
 here three days waiting for Tupper to return to the river. 
 
 Sunday, August 3rd. Cloudy, warm morning ; appearance of 
 rain. Came out to Wells'swith McCormick. Ate no dinner. 
 
 Monday, August 4th. Clear morning. The families went 
 out to the river this morning. Dined on bacon and cabbage. 
 
32 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Tuesday, August 5th, 1788. Warm and cloudy. Set out for 
 the river. Dined at Wells's on bacon and greens. Pleasant day. 
 Had account from Coburn. Our boat detained on his account. 
 
 Wednesday, August 6th. Pleasant morning. Dined on bacon 
 and potatoes — the common fare for the indolent brutes of this 
 country, who, with a little industry, might acquire exceedingly 
 good living. 
 
 Thursday, August jth. Fine morning. Rode Crawford's 
 horse down to Chambers's Mill to see flour. Purchased four 
 bbls. of Nathan Parker, at 20 | per bbl. Paid him the cash, 
 and am to receive the flour at the mouth of Short Creek. Ate 
 no breakfast. Dined on venison steak. Dr. Downer's barge 
 up from Muskingum about nine o'clock. Mr. Gridley and Col. 
 May. 
 
 Friday, August 8th. Cloudy, cool morning. Some rain 
 No breakfast. Dined on dried venison. Drank milk for supper. 
 
 Saturday, August gth. Foggy, cold morning. Ate no break- 
 fast. Dined on bacon and potatoes, No supper. 
 
 Sunday, August 10th. Clear, cool morning. Drank tea at 
 Wearingham's. Dined on bacon and fowl. Ate no supper. 
 
 Monday, August nth. Clear, cool morning. Ate no din- 
 ner. Came from fishing at three o'clock. Caught nothing but 
 a turtle. Ate blackberries and milk for supper. 
 
 Tuesday, August 12th. Clear day. Dined on bacon and 
 potatoes. 
 
 Paid 4 I for dressing deer skin for boots. 
 15 J for making boots. 
 35 I for case of instruments. 
 13 I 9 for boarding with Col. May. 
 1 I 3 for breakfast and bread and milk at Wheeling, 
 and Short Creek with Fearing. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 33 
 
 5 | to McCormick. 
 
 i | paid Cares for making mocasins. 
 2 | 9 paid for dinner at Duncan's, ferriage and horse 
 keeping. 
 
 6 | for repairing watch. 
 
 2 | for horse keeping and milk, 
 i | 6 for shoeing horse. 
 
 [Here occurs a break in the records.] 
 
 Wednesday, October 29th, 1788. Cleared up cool. Wind 
 from the westward. 
 
 Thursday, October joth. Heavy white frost. Ice froze as 
 thick as glass. The first frost this fall. Cool but clear. 
 
 Friday, October 31st. Weather moderate. Pleasant. 
 
 Saturday, November 1st. Weather variable, wet and dry 
 alternately. Some days extremely pleasant and warm, and very 
 warm nights. The heaviest thunder-storm I ever knew, con- 
 tinuing from half past seven in the evening to three in the 
 morning. 
 
 [Here occurs a slight break in the records.] 
 
 Monday, November 10th. Cloudy morning. Wind to the 
 south. At eight o'clock it began rain. Very rainy day. 
 t .... 
 
 Tuesday, November nth. Blustering morning. Wind strong 
 to the S. W. Began to snow severely. River rose at least four 
 feet last night. Steady snow-storm all day. Very cold. Clouds 
 blew off in the evening. A freezing night. 
 
 Wednesday, November 12th. Clear, cold morning. Ground 
 crusted. At 9 o'clock clouded up from the S. W., with appear- 
 ance of rain. Cleared off about two o'clock. Pleasant after- 
 noon, but cool. Five Virginia people (Dutchmen) came to 
 purchase land of our company. 
 3 
 
34 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Thursday, November ijth, 1788. Clear, cold morning. Wind 
 still S. W. River rose at least three feet last night. Fine 
 pleasant day. Boat arrived with family from Maryland, and 
 with twelve persons to settle on our lands. 
 
 Friday, November 14th. Clear morning. River beginning 
 to fall. Weather moderate. Wind more to the southward. 
 Covered house anew. 
 
 Saturday, November 15th. Clear, pleasant morning. Went 
 out hunting with Fearing. Saw but few turkeys. Went up the 
 Muskingum as far as Wiseman's Bottoms. Found the land 
 extremely broken. Some very high hills close to the river 
 between Bergen and Wiseman's Bottoms. Killed a turkey, 
 three squirrels, three large woodcocks, and a turkey buzzard. 
 Returned home about seven o'clock. Brought home an opos- 
 sum, an animal resembling a hog in the head and nose ; of a 
 blue and white color, with long white fur. It weighed, when 
 skinned and gutted, 6 lbs. 6 oz. 
 
 Sunday, Nmiember 16th. Cloudy, warm morning. Appear- 
 ance of rain. River fallen eight feet. Dined on roasted 
 opossum, a most excellent meat, resembling pig very much, and 
 extremely tender. Two boats arrived at the garrison, one of 
 them the Governor's barge. Dark, cloudy night. Began to 
 rain about eight o'clock. 
 
 Monday, November ijth. Clear morning. Wind to the 
 westward. Warm. 
 
 Tuesday, November 18th. Pleasant morning, clear . day. 
 This afternoon a boat arrived with the two Col. Olivers and 
 their families, and another family; in all twenty-seven persons. 
 Some rain last night. 
 
 Wednesday, November igth. Clear day. Very warm and 
 pleasant. Col. Sproat arrived this evening from surveying. A 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 35 
 
 boat arrived with Dr. Dowries, Mr. Murrey, Mr. Wheaton, and 
 Mr. Dexter. Cloudy night. 
 
 Thursday, November 20th, 1788. Clear morning, wind to the 
 south-east. Some flying clouds. Very warm and showery this 
 evening. Attended guard this evening. 
 
 Friday, November 21st. Clear, fine morning, but heavy 
 fogs. Wind to the southward. Dined with Gen. Harmer. 
 This evening a soldier was drowned on our shore near Mixer's. 
 Wilson, the Indian messenger, is in, but don't know his 
 message. 
 
 Saturday, November 22nd. Clear morning. Fine pleasant 
 weather. A canoe went from here this afternoon, with Capt. 
 Stone, Cooper, Davis, and Mr. Mathews. Wrote to Blakeney 
 by Mathews, and to Capt. Barthet. 
 
 Sunday, November 23rd. Clear morning, but somewhat cooler 
 than it has been for the past few days. Esq. Mawney went up 
 the river on his way home. Clouded up about eight o'clock. 
 Chilly. Went to Wheeling and heard a sermon by Dr. Jones. 
 Rainy evening and night. 
 
 Monday, November 24th. Clear morning. Got a warrant 
 for apprehending of Mr. Comstock, Seth Comstock, and Russel 
 Arlington, and to search their house. The two Comstocks 
 convicted of theft and bound over to court. They confessed 
 taking 6 | 9 in cash, about a pound of shot, some powder, a 
 lump of lead, some fish hooks, some sugar and brandy, some 
 crackers, etc. Russel Arlington was acquitted without costs. 
 Rainy night, and very cold. 
 
 [Note. — James Backus has been appointed deputy sheriff; and Col. 
 Sproat being absent, acted at this time in his official capacity.] 
 
 Tuesday, November 25th. Cold morning, a little cloudy. Ap- 
 pearance of snow. Wind to the westward. A very chilly, rainy 
 night. Eight boats down to-day bound for Kentucky. 
 
36 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Wednesday, November 26th, 1788. Cloudy, cold morning, 
 wind to the westward. 
 
 Thursday, Nwember 27th. Cold, cloudy morning, wind to 
 the S. W. Cleared up about noon. Air much like our north- 
 west wind in New England. Some people, mostly from New 
 Jersey, called at our point, bound for Kentucky. 
 
 Friday, November 28th. Cloudy, cold morning. Very lit- 
 tle frost this fall. Continued cloudy most of the day. Began 
 to rain about sunset and rained hard all the evening. Wind 
 rose high about midnight. 
 
 Saturday, November 2gth. Cloudy morning. Wind high 
 from S. W. Some snow about eight. Cleared off about nine, 
 and sun shone out. Squally and some snow till noon. Clear 
 afternoon. 
 
 Sunday, November 30th. Clear morning, but soon clouded 
 up. Wind S. E. Parson Jones preached to us again to-day. 
 A boat arrived about three o'clock, with some Rhode Island 
 people from Buffalo. A family of Devols and of Pierce came 
 in a boat from Simrill's, with Simrill's son and others. Some 
 rain this evening. 
 
 Monday \ December 1st. Cloudy, warm morning. Wind high 
 at S. W. Continued rainy until noon. Wind amazingly high, 
 so high as to blow off shingles from houses. It blew down 
 many trees. It grew cold towards evening, wind still continu- 
 ing very high. 
 
 Tuesday, December 2nd. Clear, cold morning. Froze last 
 night about half an inch in thickness in still ponds of water. 
 Blustering day, wind to the westward. Bright night, but very 
 cold. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 37 
 
 Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, 1788. Cloudy, chilly morning. Ap- 
 pearance of snow. Very cold night. Wind to westward. A 
 little snow. At ten o'clock a boat arrived from Battle Green 
 and six from Simrill's Ferry, with about fifty persons on board. 
 Ground continued frozen during the day. After morning the 
 sun shone clear the rest of the day. 
 
 Thursday, December 4th. Clear, cold morning. Wind to 
 the westward. Twenty-two boats passed this place and stopped 
 here, since nine o'clock yesterday morning. 
 
 Friday, December jth. Cold and clear. Wind to west- 
 ward. Cloudy afternoon. Thermometer down to 9 . 
 
 Saturday, December 6th. Cloudy, cold morning. Went out 
 hunting. Swamps frozen hard enough to bear. Appearance 
 of snow. Later, a little snow-fall. 
 
 Sunday, December fth. Cloudy morning. Wind to east 
 and south. Somewhat warmer. Cleared off a fine day. 
 
 Monday, December 8th. Cloudy, windy morning, with warm 
 south wind. Meeting of proprietors at the stockade. Only 
 about 150 shares paid for. Recommended the agents to take 
 the matter of donating lands into their own hands. Rainy 
 evening. 
 
 Tuesday, December gth. Fine, warm morning. Wind 
 strong to eastward. Attended court trial. Comstock's trial 
 came on. Found true bill against them, and then adjourned 
 until ten o'clock to-morrow. 
 
 Wednesday, December 10th. Cloudy morning, wind warm 
 to eastward. Settled matters with Comstock boys. Court 
 fined them and found costs against them. Col. Sheldon arrived 
 this morning. Grew extremely chilly, the thermometer down. 
 
38 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Friday, Dec. 12th, ijSS. Cloudy morning. Wind high to 
 the south-west. Some sunshine. 
 
 Saturday, December 13th. Clear, pleasant day. A little 
 frost last night. Two boats arrived with Col. Crary, and a 
 number of people from Rhode Island. 
 
 Sunday, December 14th. Cloudy morning. Attended the 
 parade to-day. The militia inspected. 
 
 Monday, December ijfA. Cloudy, warm day. Meeting of 
 agents and proprietors. Voted unanimously to give away lands 
 for the benefit of settlers. Chose nine for committee to ex- 
 amine purchase, in order to find most convenient places for 
 settlement. Then adjourned until Wednesday at four o'clock. 
 Prepared for the ball. Went and found a damned collection 
 there, and to my satisfaction drank, good wine. Col. Sproat 
 set out for home at eight o'clock this evening. 
 
 Tuesday, December 16th. Fine morning and pleasant warm 
 day. No frost the last three nights. Wind blew up cold in 
 the night. Some snow. 
 
 Wednesday, December ijth. Clear morning. Some snow, 
 which melted with the sun. Agreed with Mr. Kinsley to clear 
 my garden and Corliss's and split three hundred rails for $4.00. 
 Proprietors' meeting adjourned until Wednesday next at ten 
 o'clock. 
 
 Thursday, December 18th. Cold, snowy morning. Wind 
 N. E. Snowed slowly but steadily all day. Snow about one 
 inch in depth. Bought a barrel of pork of Oliver ; am to give 
 him an order for my saddle and bridle at Crawford's, and half 
 a dollar. Agreed with Capt. Dun to take dinner there at four 
 o'clock to-day. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 39 
 
 Friday, Dec. ipth, 1788. Fair, cold morning. Wind S. W. 
 Blew steadily at eight o'clock. Snow about two and one-half 
 inches deep. Wind very high. Served writ on Mixer, in favor 
 of Mooney. Parties settled. Received 3 | from Mixer on 
 Mooney's account. Dined at Daney's for the first time. 
 
 Saturday, December 20th. Cold, clear morning. Freezing 
 very thick on the Ohio and Muskingum. Agents' meeting 
 resolved to send Gen. Parsons, Tupper and Col. Crary as a 
 committee to examine lands at the mouth of the Big Kanawha. 
 
 Sunday, December 21st. Extremely cold morning. River 
 frozen too much for boats to run. No parade or meeting. A 
 few people assembled at Battle's Proclamation for Thanksgiving. 
 A law appointing a coroner read to them. The sun has had 
 no influence on the snow for three days past, even on the south 
 side of houses or in warm places. Wind westerly. 
 
 Monday, December 22nd. Cloudy morning, extremely cold. 
 Wind N. E. Began to snow about nine o'clock, snowed stead- 
 ily but not fast, until two. Tea frozen in a plate standing 
 within five feet of a good fire, kept up most of the night. 
 
 Tuesday, December 23rd. Clear morning. Extremely cold. 
 Coldest air felt this winter 
 
 Wednesday, December 24th. Cloudy morning, but not quite 
 so cold. Wind southerly, blowing moderately. 
 
 Thursday, December 25th. Cool morning. Some light 
 clouds and but little wind, and that south-easterly. Weather 
 much moderated, but yet chilly. Three guns fired at the gar- 
 rison, and at our stockade as a Christmas salute. 
 
 Friday, December 26th. Fair morning. Moderating fast 
 Fine, pleasant day. Another ball. 
 
40 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Saturday, Dec. 27th, 1788. Wind S. E. Thawing weather. 
 Cloudy, beginning to rain about sunset. Rainy night. Meet- 
 ing of Free Masons at Battle's. 
 
 Sunday, December 28th. Rainy morning. Wind southerly. 
 River very low and much filled with ice on the edges. Rivers 
 rise rainy evenings. 
 
 [Here occurs another slight break.] 
 
 Friday, January 2nd, Jj8g. Rainy morning, but so cold as 
 to freeze the water as it falls on the ground. Wind easterly. 
 Later it grows warmer and rain ceases. 
 
 Saturday, January jrd. Clear morning. No appearance 
 of frost last night, though almost clear. Fine day. Wind 
 southerly. 
 
 Sunday, January 4th. Clear, cold morning. Wind to the 
 westward. 
 
 Monday, January jjth. Cool, clear weather. Boats begin 
 to come down. 
 
 Tuesday, January 6th. Clear, cold day, but not much 
 ice frozen. 
 
 Wednesday, January 7th. Wind westerly. Old ice running 
 past in the Ohio, but a number of boats, perhaps twelve, came 
 down the river this week. Most of them have been frozen in 
 the ice this side of Wheeling these few days past. 
 
 Thursday, January 8th. Clear, cold morning. Froze ex- 
 tremely hard the past night. Fearing, Berkley, etc., set out 
 to get up the river, but were repulsed by the ice. Received 
 two warrants, one for John White, and the other for Simeon 
 Wright, for selling liquor to the Indians. Completed a letter 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 41 
 
 to my father, dated 31st Dec; one to my sister Woodbridge ; 
 one to Cleary, and one to Mathews. And of the date Jan. 1, 
 to Col. Sproat, and to Major Thorp, of Jersey. 
 
 Friday, January gth, 1789. South-westerly winds. Cold 
 and clear. Clouded up towards evening. Gen. Varnum died 
 about two o'clock in the morning, without much appearance of 
 pain. 
 
 Saturday, January 10th. Snowy, cold morning. Wind 
 northeasterly, very chilly and cold. Snowed all day. Snowed 
 -night three inches deep. Meeting of agents at Block House at 
 ten o'clock. Received the report of the committee, and ap- 
 pointed another to receive proposals for settlers, etc. 
 
 Sunday, January nth. Clear, cold morning. Snow melts 
 very little to-day. Attended meeting. 
 
 Monday, January 12th. Clear, cold morning. Froze ex- 
 tremely hard last night. Dined at stockade with eight or nine 
 Indian Chiefs, and six or seven vagabond Indians, and thirty 
 of our own people. 
 
 Tuesday, January ijtk. Cloudy morning. Wind south 
 and east. Attended funeral of Gen. Varnum, a prayer being 
 given by Mr. Story, and an oration by Doct. Drown, well 
 adapted to the occasion. Then proceeded to the grave. 
 
 Wednesday, January 14th. Extremely cold morning. 
 Crossed to Fort Harmer to serve a warrant on David Duncan. 
 Spent most of the forenoon at the fort and came over without 
 him, he being busily engaged in delivering goods to the In- 
 dians. Complainlee rec'd for his party. 
 
 Thursday, January 13th. Cold morning. Wind westerly. 
 Indians very groggy. Came to the stockade to lodge. 
 
42 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Friday, Jan. 16th, ij8g. Cold morning, light snow. Wind 
 westerly. Went to Fort Harmer after Duncan in case of 
 O'Neal for assault and battery. Brought him before E. Tup- 
 per. Summoned two evidences. Court fined him three dollars; 
 cost, two dollars for my fees, 7 \ 2*4 witnesses, 9 | for attorney, 
 1 I for court, whole cost, 5 | 3. Took supper at Greens'. 
 
 Saturday, January 17th. Cloudy, cold morning, appear- 
 ance of snow. Meeting of agents by adjournment. Proceeded 
 to ratify the doings of the committee. 
 
 Sunday, January 18th. Cloudy, chilly air. Wind to the 
 south-east. Attended parade and then went to Duck Creek to 
 view three-acre lots and to get in by three o'clock. Found lots 
 very much broken and uneven. 
 
 Monday, January igth. Easterly wind. Meeting of agents 
 to choose directors. Met at three o'clock. After accom- 
 plishing some other business, they chose Griffen Green, direc- 
 tor. The question being brought up whether proprietors had 
 a right to vote for directors or not, it was determined that they 
 had not. 
 
 Tuesday, January 20th. Warm, rainy morning. Wind 
 southerly and easterly. Snow mostly gone by three o'clock. 
 Complaintee and party went off to-day. 
 
 Wednesday, January 21st. Warm, pleasant day, nearly 
 clear. Attended the guard this evening — very muddy. 
 
 Thursday, January 22nd. Snowy morning. Snow about 
 three inches deep. Snowed slowly most of the day. 
 
 Friday, January 2jrd. Cloudy morning. Wind N. E. 
 Warm da)'. Snow melted some. Rained hard in the evening. 
 
 Saturday, January 24th. Cloudy, warm morning, wind 
 eastward. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 43 
 
 Sunday, Jan. 25th, i?Sp. Cloudy, disagreeable day. Wind 
 eastward. 
 
 Monday, January 26th. Clear morning. Clouded from 
 the eastward and began to rain about eleven o'clock, a. m. A 
 rainy afternoon. Two Kentucky boats went past. River im- 
 peded with ice. 
 
 Tuesday, January 27th. Almost clear this morning. 
 Some chilly, wind westward. Secured writ on James Man, in 
 favor of Mixer. On Bunten, favor Mixer. Some snow from 
 N. W. 
 
 Wednesday, January 28th. Cloudy morning, wind west- 
 erly and southerly. Crossed to the garrison. Received ten 
 and a-half dollars from Sam Duncan for Robert Bunten on ac- 
 count of Isaac Mixer. His excellency, the Governor, Judge 
 Parsons, Gen. Butler, and several other gentlemen went up the 
 river with Capt. McCurdy about ten o'clock. Fourteen guns 
 were fired from Fort Harmer upon the occasion. Fair, pleas- 
 ant afternoon. Sun shone clear until four o'clock, warm and 
 fine. About dark it began to rain. Wind strong to the south- 
 ward. Heavy thunder storm during the night. 
 
 Thursday, January 2gth. Cloudy morning. Wind to the 
 southward and strong. River high. No frost last night, 
 although there was no rain after midnight. 
 
 Friday, January jotk. Wind southward and eastward. 
 Went to the point. River very high, still rising fast. By night 
 water over both ends of great bridge and upon the second 
 bridge by Miner's a foot and-a-half deep, surrounding Fuller 
 and Lent's houses to a considerable distance. The river is up- 
 wards of thirty feet above low water mark. Clouds up from 
 the eastward and north. Appearance of snow. Began to snow 
 towards evening. Froze considerably. 
 
44 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Saturday, Jan. 31st, 1789. Clear, cold morning. Wind to 
 the westward, sharp and freezing the river slowly. Committee 
 appointed for examining mill seat, and to ascertain what quan- 
 tity of land is expedient to give for building of mills on Duck 
 Creek. Gen. Tupper, Col. Robert Oliver, Major Colman, the 
 committee. Extremely cold night. 
 
 Sunday, February 1st. Clear, cold morning. Ice running 
 very thick in Muskingum. Col. Megs returned from his jour- 
 ney, being stopped by ice about nine miles up the Muskingum. 
 Air fierce, many degrees colder than any this winter. 
 
 Monday, February 2nd. Extremely cold and clear. Mann 
 called on me, and settled his suit with I. Mixer and stopped a 
 return of writ by securing Mixer's note for 29 | . 
 
 Tuesday, February 3rd. Weather much moderate. Clear and 
 pleasant. Went to the point to get a case and some boards for 
 chest. Meeting of agents and proprietors. Adjourned until 
 to-morrow evening at seven o'clock. 
 
 Wednesday, February 4th. Fine, warm morning. Wind to 
 the southward. Clear, fine day. Meeting of agents by ad- 
 journment. Likewise meeting of inhabitants to devise a plan 
 for regulating police of this settlement. A committee of five 
 appointed to form a system. Col. Crary, Col. Oliver, myself, 
 Major White chosen, with directions to form an address to 
 the Governor. 
 
 Thursday, February 5th. Clear, pleasant morning. Wind 
 S. W. The attention of the people taken up with the ball. 
 The girls extremely excited with anticipation of the ball. 
 
 Friday, February 6th. Cold morning. Froze considerably 
 hard last night. Ice runs thick in the Ohio. Wind high at 
 S. W. Grew warmer towards noon. Very pleasant afternoon 
 and evening. People are beginning to get the maple juice for 
 sugar — success not seen plentifully. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 45 
 
 Saturday, February Jthij8g. Pleasant morning. Ground con- 
 siderably frozen. Fair, moderate day. Committee for donating 
 land went out about eleven o'clock. 
 
 | Here occurs another break.] 
 
 Monday, March gth. Cool morning. Grew warmer to- 
 wards noon. Pleasant afternoon. Pigeons flying very thick in 
 the eastward. 
 
 Tuesday, March 10th. Exceedingly pleasant morning. 
 Wind S. W. Court of Quarter Sessions sat to-day at twelve 
 o'clock. Summoned and collected fifteen grand jurors. At- 
 tended the Court. No business to lay before them. Judge 
 Tupper gave the charge to the grand jury, and a hell-of-a- 
 charge it was. Meeting of inhabitants. Met and adjourned 
 to Tuesday the seventeenth. Tyler and Lunt came down this 
 evening. Large number of geese flying to the eastward, like- 
 wise great flocks of pigeons. A man from came down 
 
 with Tyler. Came on two wagons on a fine snow path to 
 Yoohoganney. 
 
 Wednesday, March nth. Cloudy, warm morning. Wind 
 southerly. No frost last night. Great appearance of rain. At 
 three o'clock the sun broke out. Very warm and pleasant. 
 Exceedingly pleasant. My good landlady advises me to take 
 no supper this evening. 
 
 Thursday, March 12th. Rainy morning, wind S. E. Frost 
 out of ground. Heavy rain most of., the day. Frogs croaked 
 this evening. 
 
 Friday, March 13th. Clear, fine morning. Wind west. 
 Squire Fearing moved to-day. Fine, moonlight night. 
 
 Saturday, March 14th. Wind at west. Fine, clear morn- 
 ing. Large white frost last night. 
 
46 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Sunday, March 15th, i/Sp. Clear morning, wind south-east. 
 Clouded up about ten o'clock. Some rain in the course of the 
 day. Invited to dine at the garrison with Capt. Pratt's mess. 
 Very heavy fog with some rain during the night. 
 
 Monday, March 16th. Wind high, about west. Some fly- 
 ing clouds. Grew cooler. Clear in the evening. 
 
 Tuesday, March lyth. Clear morning. Wind S. W. Court 
 of Common Pleas met and adjourned to Monday next. 
 
 Wednesday, March iSlh. Windy morning, wind south-east. 
 Some rain. Cleared up at ten o'clock. Pleasant day. Com- 
 mittee came in last evening. Three boats came down last 
 evening. Parson Story came with his credentials for preaching. 
 
 Thursday,. March igth. Pleasant, fine day. Wind S. W. 
 Meeting of agents and proprietors by adjournment, at four 
 o'clock thi safternoon. Meeting of inhabitants. Established 
 some regulations for the government of the settlement. 
 
 Friday, March 20th. Wind S. W. Pleasant day. Re- 
 ceived a writ of Mr. Rea for Mr. Haynes. Assisted in prepar- 
 ing for the drawing of 160 acre lots. Presented association for 
 donation lands to committee. 
 
 Saturday, March 21st. Wind S. E. Clear sky. 
 
 Sunday, March 22nd. Cold, westerly wind. Parson 
 Story exhibited to a very considerable audience. 
 
 Monday, March 23rd. Clear, pleasant weather. Rather 
 cool. Commenced drawing 160 acre lots. Classes run as fol- 
 lows : Putnam, 1, etc. 
 
 Tuesday, March 24th. Clear, pleasant day, but cool. Com- 
 pleted drawing 160 acre lots about five o'clock this afternoon. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 47 
 
 Wednesday, March 23th 1789. Snowy morning, but not very 
 cool. Sun shone out about nine o'clock. 
 
 Thursday, March 26th. Clear, cool morning, wind wester- 
 ly. Met the mill undertakers, and agreed to furnish the mill 
 irons. 
 
 Ftiday, March 2jth. Cloudy, chilly morning, wind east- 
 erly. Preparing to go down the river. Set out half-after ten. 
 Got to our landing about half-past two. 
 
 Saturday, March 28th. Cloudy morning. Went out at 
 seven o'clock with our committee. Began to rain about eight, 
 steady, heavy rain. Ran on the back part of our lands. Found 
 the E. N. 5^ of our west line lots 32x2, very hilly, making 
 Pine Ridge. Cleared up before night. 
 
 Sunday, March 2pth. Clear, fine day. Wind westerly. 
 Ran out at ten o'clock on the plan, examined the frog ponds. 
 Got in, sun twelve hours high. Began to rain about nine 
 o'clock. 
 
 Monday, March 30th. Wind south-west. Black, rainy fly- 
 ing clouds. Began raining about noon. Showery afternoon. 
 Found in our survey great number of ducks of almost every 
 kind. Wood ducks and teal the most plenty, which seem to be 
 poised and looking west. Vegetation goes forward very rapid- 
 ly. Found many flowers and grasses beginning to seed. Maple 
 trees are budded and just ready to leaf out. Some small 
 showers this evening, and the air grows cooler. 
 
 Tuesday, March 31st. Wind S. E. Clear and chilly 
 Went out with the design of going to the mill lot, met the other 
 party running the west line, and came back with them to the 
 Congress lot, after a long altercation. Sextor line, fourteen 
 rods further east, run it from thence to the river. The two 
 parties agreed 10 go up the river to-morrow morning. 
 
48 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Wednesday, April 1st, ij8g. Cool, chilly morning. Wind 
 S. W. Set out up the river. Disagreeable weather. Some rain. 
 Wind veering eastward. Got up about four o'clock. 
 
 Thursday, April 2nd. Cold, frosty morning. Exceedingly 
 large white frost. Air grows warmer and more pleasant. 
 Clouded up to-day noon. Some rain in the afternoon. Wind 
 S. E. Took 22 lbs. of my coffee from Miner's. 
 
 Friday, April 3d. Cloudy morning, wind south-east. Some 
 rain. Drawed for Gen. Parsons, Col. Talmage, Mr. Dorr, and 
 in the company's settlement. Got No. 13 and 17, No. 14 and 15. 
 
 Saturday, April 4th. Fine, pleasant day. Wind westerly. 
 Served a writ on D. Brown for Murrell's. Drawed for lot this 
 afternoon ; got number 6. 
 
 Sunday, April 5th. Fine, pleasant day, southerly wind. 
 
 Monday, April 6th. Cloudy, wet weather. Wind S. E. 
 Blew up strong from the north-west in the night. Very cold. 
 
 Tuesday, April 7th. Cold morning, some snow. Wind S. W. 
 First anniversary of our settlement. Dr. Drown gave us an 
 oration. A great bobery kicked in the evening by firing guns, 
 overturning carts, etc. 
 
 Wednesday, April 8th. Cold morning, but growing warmer. 
 Extremely foggy. Exceedingly warm air. 
 
 T/tursday, April gth. Warm, foggy air. Wind S. E. Served 
 warrants on eight persons for riot Tuesday night. Detained 
 them until eight o'clock this evening. Rainy afternoon and 
 evening. 
 
 Friday, April 10th. Cold, chilly air, wind to the eastward 
 and snow falling fast. Snowed all day, and in the evening. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 49 
 
 Saturday, April nth, i78g. Cold morning. Wind S. W. Still 
 continues snowing. Set out at one o'clock down the river to 
 Hockhocken ; arrived there about four. Exceedingly cold, 
 chilly day. 
 
 Sunday, April 12th. Cold, cloudy, chilly morning. Wind 
 westerly. Went on the survey of our lots. Began at S. W., 
 Congress lot No. 26, ran east to the head of lot 22, then south 
 to number nine, then to river. Ran other lots to number 
 twelve opposite the Little Kanawha. Chainmen mistook one 
 chain in chaining from first starting to stake marked 30.29. 
 Curvey and Barker carried chain, Foster, Hazard, and Luther 
 Dana carried flags. 
 
 Monday, April 13th. Cool, but clear and pretty pleasant. 
 The committee viewed places for block houses. Fixed them 
 on lot No. 11 in lower settlement, and on lots Nos. 26 and 27 at 
 the lower end of the upper, and Nos. 6 and 7 in the upper 
 end. In the run, the lines from No. 11 at Kanawha to No. 11 
 are opposite the head of Islands. Curvey and Blackman con- 
 veyed the chain, Foster the flag, Capt. Dana the flag. 
 
 Tuesday, April 14th. Warm morning, wind southerly. 
 Went out to the mill lot with Esquire Green. Col. Butler, Maj. 
 Curkney Corey, Capt. King, Col. Putnam ; Maj. Cutler and 
 Capt. King conveyed the chain. Got on the journey about 
 half-past ten. Completed there by half-past five. 
 
 Wednesday, April ijl/i. Cool, clear morning. Wind S. W. 
 Completed the survey of lots Nos. 11 to 17 on the river, this 
 afternoon. 
 
 Thursday, April 16th. Cloudy in the morning. Descend- 
 ed in the boat with Esquire Green this forenoon. Col. Meigs 
 went up, the river. 
 4 
 
50 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Friday, April iyth, 1789. Cloudy morning. Wind northerly. 
 Clear day. A canoe up from Bellville stopped at our camp 
 this evening. Cold night. 
 
 Saturday, April 18th. Cold morning. Boat up that went 
 down the river with a number of our people to view the coun- 
 try below Bellville passed here about nine o'clock. Set out 
 this afternoon about three o'clock to come up by land. Ar- 
 rived at the Muskingum about dusk. 
 
 Sunday, April igth. Cloudy morning ; rainy and disagree- 
 able. Wind S. E. Wrote to my father and Col. Sproat by 
 Col. Crary, who set out about twelve o'clock for the north-east. 
 Likewise wrote by Mr. Rea to my father for a saw-mill crank 
 with a sweep of fourteen inches ; two saws seven feet long, four 
 or five more from six-and-a-half to seven feet ; a rag wheel ; 
 irons and gudgeons, and strump and screw for the saw gate, 
 which I have requested him to send to Philadelphia to Mr. 
 Lockwood, and requesting him to forward it immediately on 
 Col. A. Taunhill, of Pittsburg. But he requested the irons 
 might be sent to Newport, if Col. Crary forwarded an order for 
 them immediately ; if not, to send them on by some team com- 
 ing into this country, and to send a yoke of oxen to me ; if 
 both these failed, to send them on as first suggested. 
 
 Monday, April 20th. Cloudy morning ; appearance of rain. 
 Wind 1 S. E. Began to rain about eight o'clock. Served a writ 
 on Bartlett Noble, in favor of Robert Brown. For want of 
 bail, confined him in the Provost. Court to be holden before 
 Gen. Tupper, on Monday, at nine o'clock. Sun shone out 
 pleasant about one o'clock ; clouded up again towards even- 
 ing. Rainy night ; air very warm. Purchased a dozen of 
 cherry trees for 1 1 | ; two apple trees for 3 | ; a plum tree for 
 1 I . Blew up cool towards morning ; very heavy rain. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 5 I 
 
 Tuesday, April 21st, i/Sp. Cloudy morning. Wind N. W. Sent 
 my fruit trees down the river with a number of others. Sent 
 down to Custer 22^ lbs. of beef, nine lbs. of bread, one lb. of 
 tea, and a camp kettle, ordering Maj. Custer to get my things 
 up on a boat if I did not come down before a boat came along. 
 A little sunshine at short intervals to-day, but was generally 
 cloudy and cold for the season. River began to rise last night. 
 Kentucky boats have passed this place in very large numbers 
 the past week. 
 
 Wednesday, April 22nd. Wind easterly. Clear and pleasant, 
 but a fresh breeze. Mr. Wheaton died about ten o'clock this 
 morning. I assisted in laying him out. 
 
 Thursday, April 2jrd. Cloudy morning. Wind S. E. 
 Attended the funeral of Mr. Wheaton at four o'clock. A very 
 heavy thunder storm this afternoon. Rained from four o'clock 
 till after five. 
 
 Friday April 24th. Wind north-westerly, cool air. Went 
 down after to dinner to release Bartlet Noble from confine- 
 ment, John Wyman having paid the debt ar.d my costs. Re- 
 ceived from him one dollar-and-a-quarter cost of services and 
 drawing up the writ. Released him and took a discharge from 
 Mixer. 
 
 Saturday, April 25th. Clear morning, wind westerly, air 
 cool. River rising fast. Boats passed very plenty. Clouds 
 flying most of the day. Cloudy and windy. 
 
 Sunday, April 26th. Cloudy, cold morning. Wind north- 
 erly. Began to storm about twelve o'clock. Hailed, snowed 
 and rained alternately. Exceedingly cold and chilly. At- 
 tended meeting. Water over the big bridge up to Lunt's 
 house. 
 
52 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Monday, April 2jth, 178Q. Clear morning, wind south-west. 
 Ground considerably frozen the last night. Some snow re- 
 maining until nine or ten o'clock. 
 
 Tuesday, April 28th. Cloudy morning. Wind S. E. Ap- 
 pearance of rain. Agreed with the Association at Meigs's 
 Creek to survey their lands. Went out with Mr. I. Moulton to 
 survey his 160 acre lot, No. 373. Found it with the land about 
 it very hilly. Much willow, pine, some white pine. The coun- 
 try well watered with small runs of water, many of them run- 
 ning through rich valleys, covered with large beech, oak, cher- 
 ry, and maple trees. Fine, moonlight evening. 
 
 Wednesday, April 2Qth. Clear, pleasant morning, but rather 
 cool. Agreed with the Association at Crybottom to survey 
 their lands. Made the plans for that and for Meigs's Creek. 
 Received a note from Henry Six, against Mathew Carr to col- 
 lect. Six will be here again by the middle of June, or before. 
 
 Thursday, April jolh. Clear, pleasant morning. Wind 
 S. W. Clear, fine day, but air cool. Served a warrant on 
 Mixer, granted out on the complaint of William Collins for 
 beating and abusing his wife. Summoned three witnesses. 
 Attended the Court until almost one o'clock, adjourned until 
 the twentieth of May. 
 
 Friday, May 1st. Clear, warm morning, wind south-east. 
 Rented my garden, together with Corlis' adjoining to Major 
 Lunt for eleven bushels of corn or other produce equivalent to 
 it. He is to plant the rails and fence it, and I am to have the 
 improvement of the upper end of my garden as far as the big 
 oak tree. Began to rain about half-past three. Mr. Charles 
 Green came up from Kanhawa about five o'clock, bringing the 
 disagreeable account of Capt. King being shot and scalped yes- 
 terday while working on his lot. Supposed to have been done 
 about ten o'clock, by the report of two guns that were heard 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 53 
 
 about that time. He was found one hundred and fifty 
 yards from where he was shot with a ball through his right 
 breast and a tomahawk stuck in under his left eye. His scalp 
 was taken off the whole top of his head, his testicles taken off, 
 and all his clothes except his shirt taken away. He was re- 
 moved the next day after he was killed, before which the 
 turkey-buzzards had picked out his right eye and bis under 
 lip, but otherwise, not disturbed. He was buried the next day. 
 Rainy evening, very disagreeable. 
 
 Saturday, May 2nd, 1789. Clear, fine morning. Wind S. W. 
 Air rather cool. People up last evening from Miamme, who 
 bring accounts of two people being killed, and a number of 
 horses being stolen by that party. 
 
 Sunday, May 3rd. Clear, fine, warm morning. Wind S. E. 
 Exceeding hot, clear day. 
 
 Monday, May 4th. Morning a little hazy, but cleared a 
 little after sunrise. Wind S. E. Very warm and pleasant 
 Some rain about noon. 
 
 Tuesday, May 5th. Wind N. W. Cool air. 
 
 Wednesday, May 6th. Clear, cool morning. Wind N. W. 
 Twelve boats passed here last night and this morning early. 
 This afternoon wind S. E. 
 
 Thursday, May 7th. Cool morning. Wind S. W. Air a 
 little hazy. Felt unwell the last two or three days. 
 
 Friday, May 8th. Morning cloudy. Wind north-east. Air 
 
 rm • nnnparnnrp nf rain 
 
 warm ; appearance of rain. 
 
 Saturday, May gth. Clear, pleasant morning. Fine weath- 
 er. Boat arrived this morning with Gen. Parsons, Mr. Wood- 
 bridge, E. Parsons, Col. Rice, etc. Wind S. E. 
 
54 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 » 
 
 Sunday, May 10th, 1789. Rainy morning. Wind S. E. Attend- 
 ed parade and service. Dined at Capt. Strong's. Gen. Par- 
 sons, Mr. Gilman, Miss Gilman, Mary Gilman Woodbridge, 
 etc. — one flint and a great coat came over about sunset. 
 
 Monday, May nth, Clear, fine morning. Wind S. W. ; 
 brisk. A boat went down to Hockhocken with Capt. Pratt, 
 Mr. Gilman, Mr. Story, Doct. Brown, and a number of gentle- 
 men, after dinner. Went out hunting on Virginia Bottoms. 
 Killed four squirrels. 
 
 Tuesday, May 12th. Cloudy morning. Wind south-west. 
 Began to rain about eight o'clock. Pleasant afternoon. 
 
 Wednesday, May ijt/i. Clear and warm morning. Wind 
 south-east. Exceedingly warm day. Crossed the Ohio with 
 Mr. Woodbridge and Parsons. Bought 98 cents' worth of 
 bacon @ 8 cents a pound. Paid money. Hard thunder-show- 
 er about two o'clock. Continued raining until almost night. 
 Air extremely warm for the season. Dined Col. Daniel Good- 
 man's. John Stacey, Benjamin Stacey, Newtons, John James, 
 Joseph James there. 
 
 [Here occurs a break of a week's lime.] 
 
 Wednesday, May 20th. Clear, cool day. Wind westerly. 
 Attended on the Justices in the case of Mixer vs. Collins. 
 Mixer was discharged without costs. 
 
 Thursday, May 21st. Cloudy, cool day. The river falls 
 very slowly. The bridges are very much damaged. 
 
 Friday, May 22nd. Cold, chilly day. Wind northerly. 
 Boat from the Garrison came down with effects of some peo- 
 ple that were wrecked in a boat ; upset on an island on Long 
 Beach. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 55 
 
 Saturday, May 23rd, ij8g. Pleasant day. Wind southerly. 
 Fine afternoon. Mr. Lord started for the northeast this after- 
 noon. Wrote to my father, Mrs. Woodbridge, Cleary and 
 Matthew, by Mr. Barker. 
 
 Sunday, May 24th. Pleasant, cold morning. Wind S. W. 
 Attended meeting. Read an order of the Court of Quarter 
 Sessions. Small showers in the afternoon ; rainy night. 
 
 Monday May 25th. Cloudy morning. Wind S. E. Clouds 
 blew off about nine o'clock. Wind shifted to the south-west. 
 Two Kentucky boats arrived this afternoon in which came 
 Major Lanhem, from Connecticut, and a doctor. Boat bound 
 for Kentucky. Went this afternoon to Fort Harmer to see 
 Gen. Harmer relative to our survey. 
 
 Tuesday, May 26th. Warm, fine day, but some part of it 
 cloudy. Attended the dance in the evening. 
 
 Wednesday, May 2jth. Pleasant, clear day. Wind souther- 
 ly. Making preparations for our surveying. 
 
 Thursday, May 28th. Fine, warm day. Wind S. W. Got 
 off our boat with soldiers about noon. Got away the canoe 
 about two o'clock, and four pack horses about one o'clock. 
 Got a horse of Carr. Had him apprised by Newell and Purse. 
 
 Friday, May 2gth. Warm, pleasant morning. Wind S. W. 
 Matthews lost his horse, and never found him until eleven 
 o'clock. About one o'clock crossed the river. Arrived at 
 Bellport soon after sunset. Found that my people had left 
 my horse. 
 
 Saturday, May 30th. Fair, fine morning. Wind to the 
 southward. Matthews lost two of his horses. All hands went 
 in pursuit of them but could not find them. Cummins found 
 and brought in my horse. I hired a horse of Col. Putnam and 
 let Matthews have Carr's horse. Started from Bellport about 
 
56 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 half-past eleven. Got to the Great Hockhocken, sun two 
 hours high. Left my compass at Col. Bartell's. Exceedingly 
 warm air. Some heavy thunder and heavy rain at dark and 
 part of the night. 
 
 Sunday, May 31st, ij8q. Cloudy, warm morning. Wind in the 
 east. Sent a man in the morning for my compass. Gave him 
 one quart more and a dollar in cash. Started the horses and 
 most of the party about half-past seven o'clock. Tarried my- 
 self to go down in the boat. Halted about two hours before 
 sunset one mile from Devilpole Creek. 
 
 Monday, June 1st. Cool morning, wind westerly. Started 
 from our camp about eight o'clock. Will Tupper lined a little 
 to the west of the three mile stake. Land amazingly hilly. 
 Porkhouse never came up to the stake until an hour before sun- 
 set. Matthews came up to the stake about two o'clock. 
 
 Tuesday, June 2nd. Clear, fine morning, cold air. Wind 
 west. Turned out half an hour before sunrise. Detained 
 an hour by Esquire Green's horse. Started from our stake 
 at half-past six, Phineas and Stephen Pierce chainmen. Hired 
 Boling, a soldier, to attend the pack horses. Paid him eight 
 dollars for two months, or four dollars for one month. Found 
 gnats very troublesome. Run three and three-quarter miles of 
 land, very rough in general. Cool night. Got in to camp a 
 little before sunset. 
 
 Wednesday, June 3rd. Clear morning, wind westerly. Start- 
 ed from camp, sun an hour high. Got to the end of the line in 
 the afternoon. Carr killed us a bear about noon. Sent three 
 soldiers to help him fetch it into our line. Having run the end 
 one mile, three tally, and two chains, encamped ten stalls from 
 the corner. Extremely heavy thunder shower in the evening. 
 Wind S. W. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 57 
 
 Thursday, June 4th, i/Sp. Rainy morning. Started on survey 
 about ten o'clock. Found a fine country. Another thunder- 
 shower about two o'clock. Rained most of the afternoon. 
 Run to 4}4 miles. Encamped by a pretty run of water near 
 our line. Thunder most of the night. 
 
 Friday, June jth. Warm, pleasant morning. Wind S. W. 
 Flying clouds, some light showers. Heavy rain and thunder 
 in the afternoon. At half after twelve, got back to our camp. 
 Dined on fine bear soup. Moved to the corner of the town- 
 ship half-after two o'clock. Compass plagued my soul out. 
 Run only ten tally, one chain over. Very bad hills. Encamp- 
 ed half a mile from stake. Hunters killed us a bear yesterday. 
 
 Saturday, June 6th. Fair morning, wind westerly. Some 
 light showers. Started from camp about nine o'clock, after 
 fixing my needle to my compass. Found great share of good 
 land. Run with chain, three chains beyond the four mile stake. 
 Encamped forty rods south of west. Here we stopped by a 
 fine run of water, the line about two tally beyond. Got to 
 camp a little after sunset. Warm night. Gnats troubled us 
 amazingly. 
 
 Sunday, June 7th. Cloudy, hot morning. Gnats very 
 plenty. Wind easterly. Turned out at daylight. Rainy, dis- 
 agreeable day. Got to line of township about twelve. The 
 half-mile very uneven, rough, and mountainous. Six-mile stake 
 on top of a ridge. Near E. and W. run 1x7 tally on south 
 line through a cursed hilly country. Clear, warm night. En- 
 camped one mile and two tally from corner. 
 
 Monday, June 8th. Clear morning. Wind S. E. Started 
 with sun one-and-a-half-hour high. Very rough running, hills 
 extremely high. A number of showers through the day. En- 
 camped three-quarters of a mile from S. W. corner. Run three 
 miles, fourteen tally. 
 
S» A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 'Tuesday, June gtk, 1789. Clear, warm morning. Wind easterly. 
 Constant showers but run 2 & 2 chains. Running south 13 
 range from last leaf in Field-book, 5 mile south 13 range, tally 
 10, side of ridge running east to a point, tally 1 1, in deep valley, 
 high cliffs, the wand south-west. Steep ascent north. Tally 12, 
 top of cliff, ascends to the south-west. Tally 13, point of ridge 
 pointing S. E. Tally 14, descent very steep south-west. Tally 
 15, bottom, by a run going S. E. Tally 16, on bank margin of 
 the bottom. Sat beach stake, marked 5 and 6, white pine, four 
 feet through, bearing south twenty-five links. Maple bearing 
 south 49' 50 W., twenty-eight links 10 inches. Steep ascent 
 S. W. 
 
 Wednesday, June 10th. Exceedingly heavy rain last night. 
 Clear morning. Started E. sun two hours high. Baldwin 
 killed us a buck and a turkey yesterday. C. W. left us yester- 
 day morning when we started. Pierce went with him, to Bell- 
 eville for a hunter, with directions to come on as quickly as 
 possible to where our line struck the river east, and to follow 
 
 hi. t. c. 
 
 our line until he overtook us. Went to the river 1 — 5 — 3. 
 Showery day, clear afternoon, rainy evening. Got back to our 
 camp with baggage about sunset. The Corporal and one man 
 was left with the pack horses. 
 
 Thursday, June nth. Fine, clear morning. Wind east- 
 erly. Sent Baldwin and one man in pursuit of the Corporal. 
 Started about half-after eight. Run three-and a-quarter miles ; 
 found the line in general rough. Fair day, no rain. At two- 
 and-a-quarter miles all hands moved back on the line to meet 
 the pack horses, and waited about half an hour. No signs of 
 the Corporal. Baldwin came up about five o'clock. Fine 
 morning. Wind S. W. 
 
 Friday, June 12th. Fine, clear morning. Wind west. 
 Turned out an half an hour before sunrise. Started with sun 
 half an hour high. Fine day. Run four and three-quarter 
 miles. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 59 
 
 Saturday, June ijth, 1789. Fine morning. Turned out 
 half an hour before sunrise. 
 
 [Here occurs a break of nearly a year, part of which time James Backus 
 was in Norwich, Conn.] 
 
 Tuesday, May 4th, iygo. Arrived at Simrill's Ferry. On the 
 same evening Mr. I. Choate, with fifteen others, came in. Paid 
 Mr. Choate $14.44 for the subsistence of 27 men two days, be- 
 ing what was due the party, from the second to the fourth, in 
 the evening. 
 
 Wednesday, May 5th. Ordered Choate to get the people 
 with him boarded out for a week. Hired a horse from Simrill, 
 set out at ten o'clock for Cross Creek, to see Mr. McFarland. 
 Showery afternoon. Got to Washington ; put up at H. Wilson's. 
 
 Thursday, May 6th. Paid bill at Wilson's, 8 | 4. Very 
 rainy day. Got to Mr. Wells's, and put up for the night. 
 
 Friday, May ph. Paid bill at Wells's, 4 | 2. Got to Buffalo. 
 — Wellsburg's, at n o'clock a. m. Mr. McFarland not at 
 home. Fine day. 
 
 Saturday, May 8th. Cloudy morning. McFarland got 
 home this evening. 
 
 Sunday, May gth. Cloudy, wet morning. Took from Mc- 
 Farland an account of the provisions he had procured, viz : 
 78 bbls. of flour, 216 gals, whiskey, 1,894 lbs. bacon, 197 lbs. 
 pork. Set out from McFarland's at nine o'clock. Paid for 
 baiting, gd. Got to Washington. 
 
 Monday, May 10th. Contracted with Henry Wood for 
 seven kegs of salt, with one bushel and one peck of best alum 
 salt in each keg, at $3 per keg, the kegs included ; to be re- 
 ceived at Bird's Ferry. Paid him the cash at Washington and 
 look his receipt. 
 
60 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Set off for Simrill's Ferry. Paid on the road for bating, 
 ferriage, etc., £o. is. 2d. At Dayley's for baiting, paid £0. os. 6d. 
 Got to Simrill's at eight o'clock. 
 
 Tuesday, May nth, 17QO. Clear, warm morning. Potter with 
 seven, got to Simrill's on Wednesday last. One more got in 
 Saturday, the eighth in the evening. Went to board Tuesday. 
 
 Wednesday, May 12th. Set off this morning for Redstone, 
 hiring a horse from Goldsmith. Paid for baiting, £0. os. 6d. 
 Got to Redstone at four o'clock. 
 
 Thursday, May' 13th. Paid bill for lodging, horse keeping, 
 £0. 5s. $d. Contracted with Gellaspie for three boats, four 
 bbls. of flour, 30 bush, of grain, and 800 lbs. of beef and pork. 
 Paid for dinner and baiting, Redstone, £0. 25. 4a. Left Red- 
 stone, for Simrills'. Lodged at Parson Finley's. Purchased 
 some fresh beef and mutton from him. Paid him jQg. igs.od. 
 
 Friday, May 14th. Paid for feeding horse at Simrills', 
 £0. is. $d. Came to Simrills' at n o'clock. Extremely un- 
 well. 
 
 Saturday, May 15th. Sent off Choate to meet with Gen. 
 Putnam about nine o'clock, with directions to return as quickly 
 as possible. Gave him $13.33 to bear his expenses. Sent Pierce 
 and six of the men with him to Redstone, after a boat and an 
 order to Neal Gellaspie for two bbls. flour, 15 bush, grain, 200 
 lbs. of pickled beef, and 200 lbs. bacon, with a boat 27 feet 
 long. Gave him in cash, ^31. 175. "]d. Took his receipt. 
 
 Sunday, May 16th. Went over to Beckwith's mills to provide 
 quarters for the men and see to the provisions expected in the 
 boat. Paid for baiting, £0. os. gd. Got back to Simrills', in 
 the evening. Very unwell. 
 
 Monday, May ijth. Contracted with Samuel McFarland 
 for 30 gals, of whiskey at 3 | per gal. to be delivered here to- 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 6 1 
 
 morrow morning, and likewise 20 gals, more to be deliver- 
 ed at Esq. Bird's, seven miles below. Paid him j$2, the re- 
 mainder to be paid on the delivery of the other twenty gallons. 
 Ten gallons I have already received. 
 
 Contracted with Capt. Bartlett for 10 gals, vinegar at 1 | 6 
 per gal. 
 
 Went over to Beckwith's mill with Major Burnham. I took 
 out of the boat that had come down from Redstone this morn- 
 ing 116 lbs. bacon, 22 J^ lbs, beef, three bush, corn, and 
 seven bush. rye. Sent down in the boat to the care of Mr. 
 McFarland, Buffalo, 1 r2 lbs. beef, and one bbl. flour. Lodged at 
 Peterson's, one and one-half-miles from the river. Took sup- 
 per. Baited horse, etc. Bill, £0. is. 8d. 
 
 Tuesday, May i8lh, 1790. Went down the river this morning. 
 Put the above bacon, beef and grain into the care of Samuel 
 McClellan, with orders to grind the grain, and to deliver three 
 qts. of meal and six lbs. of meat to five of the men who are left 
 there ; but to deliver no more without an order from myself or 
 Major Burnham. The whole quantity of provisions bought of 
 Neal Gellaspie, sent in the boat, 167 lbs. bacon, 148 lbs. beef, 
 191 J^ lbs. flour, seven bush rye, three bush, corn, and three 
 dry casks. Out of which the six men that went after the pro- 
 visions ate and wasted 39 lbs. bacon, five lbs. beef, and 38 lbs. 
 flour. Gave the three men that went down in the boat, 11 lbs. 
 bacon, eight lbs. beef, and 20 lbs. flour, which left what was 
 mentioned above that was sent to McFarland. Sums paid 
 Gellaspie for the provisions, ^19 9.?. 2d. 
 
 Returned to Simrill's about eleven o'clock. Bought 37 gals. 
 and one qt. of whiskey, with ten gals, that McFarland left here 
 
 yesterday, @ 3 I per gal., £$ n. gd 
 
 Cask of 36^ gals. @ s I 5. 
 
 Bought }4 pound saltpetre, @ 8 | , . . . . 4. 
 
 3^ pounds candles, @ 1 I 3, ... 4- 3 A 
 
 Delivered to the men working on the canoe, three pts. 
 whiskey. Sent out after the ox bought of Mr. Fenley. 
 
62 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Wednesday, May igth, 1790. Rainy, disagreeable morning. 
 The ox came in this afternoon about three o'clock. Gen. Put- 
 nam arrived this afternoon. Agreed with Mr. Simrill, before 
 his arrival, for the boarding of myself since I came here at $2 per 
 week, and I agreed to stay at that price until Gen. Putnam 
 came in. 
 
 Thursday, May 20th. Bought 76^ gals, whiskey of John 
 Wright, @ 3 I per gal., one gal. cask, @ 5 | , keg, @ 3 I ■ 
 Bought of Samuel Wilson, 32^4 gals. @ 3 | 6, the cask inclu- 
 sive. Paid him the money. Paid Wright's bill for boarding, 
 j£i. 12s. lod. Sent the canoe and three men after the salt at 
 Budd's Ferry. 
 
 Friday, May 21st. Contracted with Capt. William Bartlett 
 for 30 gals, vinegar, @ 1 | 6, and 100 lbs. hard soap, @ gd. per 
 pound. Paid him the cash. Paid Robert Moore for boarding 
 for men five days, @ 9 | per week. 
 
 Sent to Redstone after a boat. Set out for Redstone myself 
 about four o'clock. Got to Parson Finley's Sold him the 
 ox hide. 
 
 Saturday, May 22nd. Hired a horse from Parson Finley. 
 Got to Redstone at eight o'clock. Bought a boat and some 
 provisions of Gellaspie. Bought 69 gals, whiskey of Thornton, 
 ® 3 I 9 P er g a l- two casks, @ 5 | . Bought two frying pans, 
 two iron pots and three pts. of whiskey of J. Bowman. Bought 
 tin ware of Vanlear. Bought 74 lbs. bacon of Edward 
 Arrell, @ lod. per lb. Contracted with Joseph Thornton for 
 70 gals, of good proof, well flavored whiskey, @ 3 | per gal. to 
 be delivered at John Vanlear's house at Brownsville, when 
 called for. Paid him ^5. -js. in part payment and took his re- 
 ceipt. Mr. Gellaspie made an allowance of 35^. on the two 
 bbls. of flour I bought of him on the twelfth, on account of 
 the bad quality of it. Set out from Redstone at 3 o'clock. 
 Got to Simrill's at 9 o'clock. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 63 
 
 Sunday, May 23rd, i?po. Made settlement with all the people 
 in the neighborhood for boarding, etc. Paid Bartlett his ac- 
 count, and about half-past two set off with Major Burnham for 
 Beckwith's mills. When we arrived found that most of the peo- 
 ple were out at their boarding places. Sent out for them and 
 sent down some grain to the mill. Got my mare, that was keep- 
 ing at Widow Pierce's. Paid 1 | 3 for the keeping. 
 
 Monday, May 24th. Took everything on board of the boats 
 and sent them down the river. Took my mare down as far as 
 Beckwith's and found her unable to travel. Therefore request- 
 ed Capt. Beckwith to send her to Widow Pierce's pasture 
 again, which he agreed to do. I left with the mare a saddle 
 and bridle. About 8 o'clock went on board the boat at 
 Beckwith's. At half-past two arrived at McKee's Ferry. Paid 
 for storing whiskey, salt, etc., 1 | roj^. At ten o'clock got to 
 Pittsburg. Put up at Taunchill's. Got supper and lodging. 
 
 Tuesday, May 25th. Bought sundry articles to the amount 
 of $1. Paid for repairing watch and watch key, 7 | 4^. Paid 
 Patrick Murphy for the carriage of a box of hardware for Mr. 
 Woodbridge, jQ\ y. igd. Settled with Taunchill's for enter- 
 tainment. Received from him 8 | 4 P. M., on account of Mr. 
 Woodbridge, left there through neglect. Called on Mr. Ernest. 
 Left Pittsburg twenty minutes after ten o'clock. 
 
 Wednesday, May 26th. Bought some fish on the river, paid 
 2 I . Half-past two got to Buffalo. Dined at McFarland's. 
 
 Thursday, May 27th. At Wellsburgh, nothing to do but 
 drawing up my accounts. 
 
 Friday, May 28th. Nothing important occured to-day. 
 Rainy afternoon and night. 
 
 Saturday, May 29th. Rainy, disagreeable morning. Agreed 
 with Gen. Putnam to hire him my two yoke of oxen to do labor 
 
64 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 down at the Big Kanawha for six months at ten dollars per 
 month, he to run all risks of the oxen being killed, stolen, or 
 lost, and to return them to Muskingum at the end of six 
 months. He likewise agreed to take Shoales, my teamster, for 
 the same term at $8 per month. Gen. Putnam also agrees to 
 take my boy into the service pf the Sciota Company at a price 
 which he shall agree with my brother when he sees the boy. 
 I further agreed with Gen. Putnam to receive for my services, 
 $1 per day for my time, $ 1 per day for expenses, and $3^ per 
 day for horse keeping, from May 4th to December 1st. 
 
 This afternoon put all the loading on board the boat. Sold 
 Tyler two shirts and one pair cotton stockings for $5. Re- 
 ceived Company order. 
 
 Sunday, May 30th, 1790. This morning about ten o'clock the 
 boat set off. Went four miles down the river on the boat. 
 Received the money on Company order from Gen. Putnam. 
 
 Monday, May 31st. Nothing important occurred to day. 
 
 Tuesday, June 1st. Took a horse from Abram Wells on 
 trial. Rode him seven miles to John Carns's to look at another 
 horse. Returned at 3 o'clock. Bought of Abram Wells $18 in 
 Indents @ 5 | on the pound. Paid him %$%. The river begins 
 to rise fast. 
 
 Wednesday, June 2nd. Bought horse of Abram Wells. Paid 
 him $35 in cash and took his receipt. Put him to Wells's to 
 keep, and ordered him eight qts. of corn a day. Bought of 
 Abram Wells, $42.21^ in Virginia money, for which I gave 
 him $13 in cash. Water four feet higher than yesterday. 
 
 Thursday, June 3rd. Cloudy morning. A rainbow appear- 
 ed in the west this morning at sunrise. Showery through 
 the day. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 65 
 
 Friday, June 4th, ijgo. Bought of Abram Wells, $34.26 in 
 Virginia money and Continental papers, for which gave him 
 $9 and 4 I 6 P. M. Paid him for keeping my horse two days, 
 is. od. Bought of Wells this afternoon $2,600 in Virginia 
 paper at $3 per thousand. Swapt horses with McFarland, gave 
 him $20 to boot, to be paid when I come on again. 
 
 Left with McFarland the following articles at the prices 
 appended to be sold for me : 
 
 3j£ yds. coating, £2 ixs. nd. 
 
 6 hair clasps, 5 6 
 
 9 teaspoons @ 2 | 9 per dozen, ... 2 
 
 1 blue and white bandana handkerchief, . 126 
 
 p/i yds. nankeen @ 3 | , it 3 
 
 Paid the tailor 12 | for making and mending clothes. Gave 
 him an order on McFarland's account against me. 
 
 Saturday, June jt/i. Took breakfast at McFarland's. I 
 started for Washington about half-past seven. Paid for mak- 
 ing overalls 5 | . Got to Washington at half past five. Paid 
 for shoeing my horse behind 3 | 9. 
 
 Sunday, June 6th. Started for Devoe's Ferry. 
 
 Paid bill to Wilson, £0 "js. id. 
 
 " hostler, 4 
 
 Ferriage at Devoe's, . 6 
 
 Showery afternoon. Gotto Simrill's, sun half an hour high. 
 
 Monday, June fth. Wrote a letter to leave at Capt. Bart- 
 lett's for I. Choate, directing him to proceed to Buffalo. Left 
 an order for him to get my horse, ect., and half a guinea in cash 
 with Mrs. Bartlett. 
 
 Paid bill to Simrill for supper, breakfast and seven quarts 
 of oats, £0 3-f. 2d. Found my horse, which I had lost, at Col. 
 Budd's. Paid him for keeping. Took horse to James Pearce's 
 to pasture at 6 | P. M. per month. Found my mare which I 
 had left with Capt. Beckwith had been in keeping with James 
 5 
 
66 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Pearce since Tuesday, the 25th of May, at the same price as the 
 horse. Ordered Pearce to get my saddle and bridle from 
 Beckwith and to deliver both horses, with the saddle and 
 bridle to I. Choate when he called for them and presented my 
 order. Set out for Redstone, arriving there about nine o'clock. 
 Took supper and went to bed very much fatigued and quite un- 
 well. 
 
 Tuesday, June 8th, 1790. Some rain during the last night- 
 Cloudy, disagreeable morning, but cleared up about eight 
 o'clock. Choate came in from Simrill's (where he arrived yes- 
 terday) about nine o'clock this morning. Received a letter 
 from Thos. Porter, containing a receipt for £5 us. 3d. paid I. 
 Choate, which I forwarded to Gen. Putnam in a letter to him, 
 in which I recited a letter received from David I. Franklin. I 
 likewise wrote to McFarland to procure immediate supplies of 
 beef, butter and flour, viz : 
 
 Forty head of fat cattle and as much butter and flour as he 
 could procure. Engaged with Samuel Jackson to furnish with- 
 in two weeks 20 bbls. of flour, 1,000 lbs. of bacon and four or 
 five boats. He will have them in readiness at any time with seven 
 days' notice. He further engages to exert himself to supply a 
 greater quantity of flour, and a quantity of fresh beef and but- 
 ter. Sent Choate off about three o'clock with orders to take 
 my horse from Widow Pierce's and proceed immediately to 
 Buffalo, and thence by the first opportunity to Muskingum, or 
 wherever Gen. Putnam should be, and deliver him the letters. 
 Gave him directions if he could sell my mare for £12 to be 
 paid by the first of March, in wheat at 4 | , or whiskey at 3 | , 
 to sell her and take a note, or if he could sell the horse for £9 
 same pay to sell him ; if not, to take them both to Buffalo. 
 
 Wednesday, June gth. Left with John Vanlear and Joseph 
 Thornton, a letter of direction to purchase for me the follow- 
 ing quantities of provisions, for which they should have their 
 cash by September next, if not sooner — 10 bbls. flour, five or 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 67 
 
 six beaves, or as much as would make 3,000 lbs. of beef. To 
 be ready to be delivered by the first of July — the beef not to be 
 killed before it is called for; and 500 lbs. of butter — one- 
 quarter to be ready for delivery by the first of July, one-quarter 
 by the middle of August, and the remainder by the first or 
 middle of October. Likewise, left a verbal request with them 
 to engage, to the number of ten or twelve milch cows, by the 
 first of July ; and in my letter requested of them to supply as 
 soon as possible a quantity of potatoes, turnips, and onions. 
 Likewise, proposed to contract with them for 300 bbls. of flour, 
 some part, perhaps one half, to be ready this fall and the re- 
 mainder in the spring. Neal Gellaspie proposed to me to sell 
 me five or six milch cows and as many fat cattle. Gave encour- 
 agement of calling upon him when the emigrants came on. 
 Paid Finman his bill for entertainment, . . . 12s. id. 
 
 " for comb, 6 
 
 " at Beasontown for breakfast, 2 
 
 Left letters of directions with Samuel King to procure and 
 hold in readiness against the first of July, 300 lbs. of flour, 300 
 lbs. of fresh beef, 100 lbs. of butter and requested him to pro- 
 cure as much butter while the season for laying in butter con- 
 tinues as he has the opportunity to get. Paid for baiting horse, 
 £0 os. 6d. Arrived at Simpkin's at nine o'clock. Rainy night. 
 
 Thursday, June 10th, 1790. Rainy, cool morning. Bill at Simp- 
 kin's, £0 4J. M. Not paid, not being able to make change. 
 Started late in the forenoon. 
 
 Baiting, etc., at Tomlinstone's, £0 os. T,d. 
 
 Tomlinstone agrees to furnish 150 bush, oats @ 3 | 6, 300 
 lbs. flour @ 20 I , and as much butter and beef as shall be 
 wanted. Cows may likewise be got there. Got to Guynus's a 
 little after sunset. Clear, cool evening. Simpkins agrees to 
 furnish 30 bush, oats or more, at 4 | , and what beef and but- 
 ter should be wanted. 
 
68 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Friday, June nth, 1790. Cloudy, damp morning. Guynus 
 agreed to furnish a sufficient quantity of grain, if it can be 
 procured, to feed ten teams of five horses one-and-a-half days. 
 He agrees to furnish 200 lbs. flour, two or three cows and also 
 some butter and beef. Paid bill at Guynus's, £0 4s. jod. 
 Bill made out in Virginia money. Started at half-past five, get- 
 ting to Frankfort at half-past eight. Breakfast at Frankfort, 2s. 
 Applied to Mr. Alex. King to procure the following supplies 
 against the 16th inst., viz : — 
 
 Three hundred pounds of flour, 300 lbs. fresh beef, 50 lbs. 
 of butter, 50 bush. oats. No part of the supply to be made, 
 however, unless the oats can be procured without further 
 notice. Bill for ferriage and corn at Neal's, i8d. Neal says 
 he can furnish 20 or 30 bush, of rye and thinks he can procure 
 15 bbls. of flour. I agreed, if I wished hjm to furnish any- 
 thing to give him notice by Monday night. 
 
 Paid at Crocker's, for oats and shoeing, . . . jQo is. od. 
 
 Got to the Big Laplapen. 
 
 Saturday, June 12th. Rainy morning. Paid bill of y. 
 Set out in the rain. Got to Jacerin to breakfast. Oats, etc., is. 
 About two o'clock got to Winchester, putting up at Banke's. 
 I took dinner and went to see Mr. Edward Smith. Found he 
 had not taken any steps for providing for the reception and re- 
 moval of the French emigrants, and acquainted me that he 
 should do nothing until he received more particular instruc- 
 tions how to proceed and a supply of cash ; but is of the opin- 
 ion supplies of every kind might be got, and wagons at the 
 following prices, viz : — 
 
 Flour, 33 I per bbl., corn, 3 | , beef, 3 | per lb., butter, 
 6 I per pound. Wagons at 15 | per day. 
 
 Purchased saddle and bridle, for which I gave my old sad- 
 dle and $93<3. Left my watch to be repaired with Wells, the 
 watchmaker, to call for it in the morning. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 69 
 
 Sunday, June 13th, iygo. Cloudy morning, sprinkling of rain. 
 Paid watchmaker for repairing watch, and key, . J~o 7s. gd. 
 
 Barber's bill, 1 
 
 Bushes's bill, dinner, supper, breakfast, hay, etc. 8 8 
 
 Started from Winchester quarter-past seven, forded the 
 Shannon. Paid for oats, etc., at Sniggins's, is. 2d. Paid for 
 horse feed, etc., at Hill Church tavern, id. Got to Lacey's, at 
 quarter-past six. Found good entertainment. . Heavy shower 
 between two and three this afternoon. Clear evening, road 
 extremely muddy. 
 
 Monday, June 14th. Paid bill at Lacey's, £oi,s. id. Start- 
 ed at six o'clock. Got lo Newgate to breakfast, good enter- 
 tainment. Bill for breakfast, etc., £0 3s. ^d. To hostler, i,d. 
 Got to Alexandria at quarter-before six. Put up at Pat Mur- 
 ray's. Delivered the letters directed to Major Rochfontain 
 and one directed to Mr. Duer, Royal Hunt or Andrew Cragie. 
 
 Tuesday, June 13th. Paid for watch chain, . . £0 $s. 6d. 
 
 Paid for key, 16 
 
 " " pen knife, 6 
 
 " " straps, etc., 4 
 
 " " cherries, 2 
 
 Very warm day. One Alexandrian Englishman put an end 
 to his existence by cutting his own throat. 
 
 Wednesday, June 16th. Warm, sultry morning. Bought 
 strawberries, \d., pipe and tobacco, \\d. Dined with Mr. Porter. 
 
 Thursday, fune ijth. Sultry morning. Nothing import- 
 ant. 
 
 Friday, June 18U1. Cloudy, sultry morning. Appearance 
 of rain. Extremely heavy showers about noon. Dined with 
 Mr. Porter. Nothing important occurred to-day. 
 
70 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Saturday, June igth. A schooner burnt in the harbor last 
 night. Cloudy morning, air cool. Paid for washing clothes, 
 2s. $d. About noon cleared away pleasant. 
 
 Sunday, June 20th. Clear, fine morning. At four o'clock 
 in the afternoon rode out as far as Georgetown with Messrs. 
 Murray and Wheaton. Returned at half-past nine o'clock. 
 
 Monday, June 21st. Fine, pleasant, clear morning. Air 
 cool. Paid for pine apples, J~o is- 6d. 
 
 Tuesday, June 22nd. Nothing important. 
 
 Wednesday, June 23rd. Pleasant, fine morning. Started 
 at five o'clock in company with Mr. Brown, Mr. Wheaton, and 
 Mr. Dabney, for the great falls. Breakfasted at Shepherd's 
 three miles from the falls. At half-past ten went to the falls, 
 of which the following is as good a description as I can give : 
 At the head or commencement of the falls the river is wide, 
 and encircles a number of islands of different sizes — a consid- 
 erable number of which are very small, lying on the south- 
 west shore of the river, between which and the shore they are 
 clearing a channel for boats to warp up by the shore ; the cur- 
 rent being very strong a considerable distance above the mouth 
 of the canal, which is taken out at the head of the falls and 
 carried three-quarters of a mile, with the common width of 
 twenty-five feet, varying in places called choaks, being notches 
 in the wall designed for the purposes of stopping the water in 
 different parts of the canal if repairs should be necessary in the 
 locks on the canal below. The distance from the head of the 
 locks to the shore of the river is about 60 feet. The fall 76^ 
 ft. The fourth lock is on a plain with the mouth of the canal. 
 The locks are each too ft. long and 16 ft. wide. The head 
 and last lock are made in a irregular form so as to admit boats 
 to turn around in them. The head or gate of each look forms 
 an angle of about 150 . 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 7 1 
 
 Thursday, June 24th, 17QO. Rainy morning. Employed most 
 of the day in drawing up the account of French Emigrants, 
 etc. Dined with Mr. Porter. Very rainy day and evening. 
 
 Friday, June 25th. Rainy morning. Breakfasted with 
 Mr. Dabney. 
 
 Saturday, June 26th. Showery day, streets extremely mud- 
 dy. River rising very fast. Paid for pine apples, is. 6d. 
 
 Sunday, June 27th. Fine, clear morning. Paid for cher- 
 ries, os. id. In the afternoon went out to the Spring Gardens. 
 
 Monday, June 28th. Clear, warm morning. Rode three 
 miles out of town with McDonald. Paid for supper, etc. 3s. \od. 
 
 Tuesday, June 29th. Warm morning, appearance of show- 
 ers. Capt. Gricon, with about 150 of the French emigrants 
 got out of town about half-past six o'clock. Paid for pine 
 apple, etc., £0. is. id. Very heavy showers this evening at- 
 tended with some thunder. 
 
 Wednesday, June 30th. Rainy, disagreeable morning. Paid 
 for pine apple and sundry articles, £0. is. od. Lodged at 
 Wise's. 
 
 Thursday, July 1st. Started at half-past four in the stage 
 
 for New York. Paid stage fare to Baltimore, J~i 3s. od. 
 
 Lodging, 1 o 
 
 Paid for ferriage and breakfast, Georgetown, 2 3 
 
 " " dinner, etc., 36 
 
 Friday, July 2nd. Paid stage fare from Baltimore to 
 
 Philadelphia, (1 guinea), J~i 15s. cd. 
 
 Paid for supper, lodging, etc , 5 10 
 
 " " breakfast, etc., 1 10 
 
 " " dinner, ferriage, etc., 7 
 
72 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Saturday, July 3rd, ijgo. Paid for supper, 
 
 lodging, etc., j£o 6s. id. 
 
 Breakfasted at Newport 1 1 1 
 
 Got to Philadelphia at ten o'clock. Hired horse and chaise and 
 rode out to Gray's Gardens with Mr. Jeffries. 
 
 Sunday, July 4th. Paid a bill to the barber, jQo is. od. 
 Stage fare from Philadelphia to New York, 2 35 
 
 At twelve o'clock started for New York. 
 
 Monday, July jth. Paid for breakfast, etc. . £0 y. $d. 
 
 Paid for dinner, 4 5 
 
 Ferriage from Elizabeth Point to N. York, etc. . 1 1 1 
 
 Got into New York at five o'clock. 
 
 Paid for sundries, and porterage of trunk, . 9 3 
 
 Tuesday, July 6th. Paid for oranges, etc., . £0 8s. 6d. 
 
 Paid for fruit. 6 
 
 I " " knife, 46 
 
 " " shoes, 12 
 
 Wednesday, July 7th. Paid for sundries, . £0 2s. 8d. 
 
 Paid for fruit, etc., 8 
 
 " " boarding, 6 
 
 " " barbering, 1 
 
 " " French Dictionary, 10 
 
 Thursday, July 8lh. Paid for coat pattern, 
 
 silk, and twist, ^£3 14^. od. 
 
 Paid for fruit, meal, etc., 4 7 
 
 Dined at Mr. London's. 
 
 Friday, July gth. Paid for fruit, etc., £0 os. 6d. Attend- 
 ed the debate of Congress. The question for the temporary 
 residence of Congress taken : 32 for Philadelphia as temporary 
 residence and Potomac permanent resident, 29 against it. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 73 
 
 Saturday, July ioth, 1790. Paid for fruit, barbering and 
 
 boarding, £0. 2s. lod. Dined with Mr. London. Drank cof- 
 fee at Brandon's Garden with Col. Duer. 
 
 Sunday, July nth. Paid for fruit, meal, and to barber, 
 J~o $s. 4d. Dined with Col. Duer. 
 
 Monday, July 12th. Paid for ice cream, sup- 
 per, lodging, etc £0 2s. 6d. 
 
 Paid for fruit, 10 
 
 " washing, 2 2 
 
 " two pieces of hair ribbon @ 10 | 3, . 16 
 
 " four boxes pills and four phials of drops, 1 6 o 
 
 " segars, 9 
 
 Supped at Mr. London's. 
 
 Tuesday, July 13th. Paid for mending shoes, fruit, etc., 
 £p. is. 6d. Dined and supped at Mr. London's. 
 
 Wednesday, July 14th. Paid tailor's bill, . . £1 10s. 6d. 
 
 Paid for boarding, stage fare, ferriage, etc., 39 6 
 
 " " dinner at Brunswick, 3 9 
 
 Got to Trenton, quarter before six o'clock. 
 
 Thursday, July ijth. Lodging, £0 is. od. 
 
 Paid for breakfast at Bristol, 1 10 
 
 Got to Philadelphia at eleven o'clock. 
 
 Paid for fruit, 8 
 
 Box of colors and brushes, 15 10 
 
 Friday, July 16th. Paid for shoes, . . . £0 1 is. od. 
 
 Paid for walking stick, 46 
 
 " Inship's bill 84 
 
 " " for admittance in Pearl's, .... 1 10 
 
 " "fruit 3 
 
74 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Saturday, July ijth, ifgo. Paid barber's bill, £o is. od. 
 
 Paid for fruit 8 
 
 " " four pieces ribbon @ 5 | "j 1 /*, . . 126 
 
 " ' : ticket to Waxnock, 1 10 
 
 Sunday, July 18th. Paid for umbrella, . jQo i^s. od. 
 
 Monday, July igth. Paid lnsbip's bill for 
 
 lodging, etc., . . . . ' £0 os. lod. 
 
 Paid for. stage fare to Buffalo, 1 15 
 
 " " fruit, 2 I , dinner, 3 | 6, . . . . 5 6 
 
 Tuesday, July 20th. Lodging at the Head of Elk, £0 55. "]d. 
 Breakfast and ferriage across Susquehanna, . 3 6 
 
 Dinner, etc., . 36 
 
 Got to Baltimore at five o'clock. 
 
 Wednesday, July 21st. Lying by at Baltimore, waiting for 
 stage to arrive. Paid for segars, 5 | 2, pipe, 1 | 10, fruit, | 2, 
 £0 7.f. 2d. 
 
 Thursday, July 22nd. Paid bill at Starche's for lodging, 
 etc. i8j. $d. Started from Baltimore at half-past four. Break- 
 fast, 1 I , dinner, 3 | . Stage fare, £1 3s. Arrived at Alexan- 
 dria at eleven o'clock at night. 
 
 Friday, July 23rd. Paid barber's bill, ^o is. od. Dined 
 at Murray's. Supped at Wise's. Wrote to Col. Duer, by Mr. 
 Rogerson. 
 
 Saturday, July 24th. Paid Wise's bill for two 
 
 night's lodgings, etc., ^£0 6.y. od. 
 
 Paid stage fare to Fredericksburg, ... 18 
 
 Breakfast at Colchester, 16 miles, .... 2 
 
 Dinner at Stafford Court House, .... 48 
 
 Ferriage across Rappahannock, etc., ... 16 
 
 Got to Fredericksburg at half- past six. Put up at Mrs. 
 Hackley's. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 75 
 
 Sunday, July 25th, 1790. Extremely warm morning. Went 
 into the water before sunrise. 
 
 Monday, July 26th. Started for Richmond at four o'clock. 
 
 Paid Mrs. Hackley's bill J~o 12s. od. 
 
 Stage fare 11 
 
 Dinner, 3 
 
 Fruit, 8 
 
 Got to Richmond at 7 o'clock. 
 
 Tuesday, July 27th. Started from Richmond at half-past 
 five. Lodging, 1 | 6, stage, £1 10s. od., breakfast 2 | , dinner 
 at Williamsburg, 4 | , fruit, | 8. Got to Hampton at nine 
 o'clock, rainy evening. 
 
 Wednesday, July 28th. Paid at Hampton for supper, lodg- 
 ing, etc., 4 [ , ferriage to Norfolk, 6 I . Presented the Treas- 
 urer draft for $2,000. Received payment as follows : 
 95 oz. gold @ 89 cts. per oz. done up in oz. 
 
 papers $1,673 2 ° 
 
 In bank bills, 308 00 
 
 In silver, 18 80 
 
 Total, $2,000 00 
 
 Number and date of bank bills. 
 
 1 of $168 . . Number 602, Date, 29, Jan., 1790 
 
 1 of 100 . . Number 930, Date, 4, May, 1790 
 
 1 of 30 . . Number 310, . Date, 7, Nov., 1788 
 1 of 10 . . Number 5009, Date, 27, Nov., 1789 
 
 Thursday, July 2gth. Bill at Norfolk, 9 | 8. Fine, clear 
 morning. Paid for watermelon, | 8, pears, | 4, 4^ oz. salt, 
 2 I 6, ferriage to Hampton, 7 | 4. Got to Hampton at 2 o'clock. 
 
 Friday, July 30th. Bill at Hampton, 7 | , stage fare to 
 Richmond, £1 10s., breakfast, 2 | 6, dinner, 4 | 6. Got to 
 Richmond at half-past nine. 
 
76 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Saturday, fulyjist, 1790. Lodging, etc., 9 | , breakfast, 3 | , 
 dinner, 4 | 6, stage fare, jQi is. Got to Fredericksburg at six 
 o'clock. 
 
 Sunday, August 1st. At Fredericksburg. Pleasant day. 
 
 Monday, August 2nd. Stage fare, 18 | , Mrs. Hartley's bill, 
 n I 8, ferriage, | 4, breakfast, 2 | 4, dinner, Colchester 
 Springs, 4 | . Got to Alexandria at six o'clock. 
 
 Tuesday, August jrd. Rainy, disagreeable day. 
 
 Wednesday, August 4th. Barber's bill, 1 | , porterage, etc., 
 1 I 2, horse keeping at Murray's 10 [ 6 f shoeing horse, 2 | 6, 
 quills, paper, and glass, 7 | 6, scales and linen cloth, 12 | , 
 washing clothes, etc., 4 | 8. Set out from Alexandria a little 
 past one. Got to Newgate. Found Mr. DeBartz and a num- 
 ber of other Frenchmen there from Winchester. Gave Mr. 
 DeBartz a letter. 
 
 Thursday, August 5th. Paid for lodging, etc., 5 | ; breakfast 
 at Larcey's, 2 | ; dined at Col. Powell's. Gave him a letter 
 from Mr. Porter. Got to Glascock's, 12 % miles. 
 
 Friday, August 6th. Paid for lodging, 3 | 8; got to Winchester 
 at half-past nine, 20 miles. Put up at Bush's. Handed letters 
 to Capt. Gricon, Maj. Coupin, Mon. Dhebecourt. Handed 
 Capt. Gricon $34.25, sent him by Mr. Boulong ; and Mr. Cou- 
 pin $27., sent him by same. 
 
 Saturday, August yth. Rainy, disagreeable day. Very un- 
 well. Took salts, and kept my room. Fruit, | 4. 
 
 Sunday, August 8th. Cloudy, warm morning. 
 
 Monday, August gth. Disagreeable day. Paid for ointment, 
 etc., 1 I 2. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 77 
 
 Tuesday, August ioth, ijgo. Paid for fruit, | 4. Heavy 
 thunder-shower this p. m. Paid for mending umbrella, 4 | 6. 
 
 Wednesday, August nth- Wagons began to leave for Red- 
 stone. Wrote to Mr. John Vanlear respecting the baggage sent 
 out by the wagons, addressed to him by Mr. Armstrong ; like- 
 wise* informed him he need not expect me to purchase any flour 
 of him. Dined with Mr. Edward Smith. Showery p. m. 
 
 Thursday, August 12th. Pleasant morning. Wrote Col. 
 Duer, Nevv York. Seven wagons got away to-day for Redstone. 
 
 Friday, August 13th. Extremely hot weather. Paid for 
 fruit, I 4. Three wagons got away to-day. 
 
 Saturday, August 14th. Rose this morning at four. Rode 
 one and-a-half miles to bathe. Extremely hot day. Two wag- 
 ons got away to day. 
 
 Sunday, August 15th. Extremely warm morning ; day very 
 hot. 
 
 Monday, August 16th. Went to bathe this morning. No 
 wagons loaded to-day. Armstrong absent all day. Paid for 
 fruit, I 2. 
 
 Tuesday, August iyth. Very warm morning. Loaded elev- 
 en wagons to-day. Thunder-shower. Paid for fruit, | 4. 
 
 Wednesday, August 18th. Air warm, but a pleasant breeze. 
 Went to bathe this morning at sunrise. Paid for horseshoeing, 
 etc., 5 I 2. 
 
 Thursday, August 19th. Fair morning ; breeze from the 
 north. Paid for cleaning and repairing pistols, 1 | 3; for wash- 
 ing clothes, 1 I 9 ; for fruit, | 4 ; for tin plates, 1 | ; for lead, j 4. 
 Detained all day for want of wagons. 
 
78 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Friday, August 20ih, 1790. Paid for fruit, | 4. Paid to hand 
 of Capt. Gricon, for the purpose of defraying expenses of re- 
 moving emigrants to Redstone, £120, for which I have his re- 
 ceipt. 
 
 Saturday, August 21st. Nothing important occurred to-day. 
 Paid for fruit, | 2. Some rain. Cool and cloudy since Thurs- 
 day. Wrote to Mr. Porter this day, but no opportunity to send 
 the letter. 
 
 Sunday, August 22nd. Cool, cloudy, disagreeable weather. 
 Some rain. 
 
 Monday, August 23rd. Clear, cool fine morning. Paid for 
 fruit, I 2. 
 
 Tuesday, August 24th. Four wagons loaded to-day with 
 French emigrants, ninety-three of whom left town at three 
 o'clock this afternoon. Heavy shower this evening. Paid for 
 fruit, I 4. 
 
 Wednesday, August 25th, A pleasant morning; but a little 
 
 cloudy. Paid for fruit, jQo os. 8d. 
 
 Paid for nuts, 2 
 
 Loaded three wagons, and started them this evening with 
 thirty-four emigrants. Wrote Mr. Porter advising him of 
 drawing on him in favor of Mr. W. Armstrong for $15. 
 
 Thursday, August 26th. Settled account with Mr. Arm- 
 strong, and received from him to balance account half a dollar 
 in cash. Gave him an order on Mr. Porter for $15. Left town 
 at nine o'clock. Paid bill to Bush for lodging, ^5 \\s. $d. 
 Got the three wagons and all the last company of thirty-four 
 emigrants together at Rinker's. Started them at eleven o'clock. 
 Continued with them till half-past two. Dealt out two days' 
 provisions and two days' liquors, and there left them. At half- 
 past nine got to Neal's. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 79 
 
 Friday, August 2/t/i, 1790. Agreed with Neal to furnish 68 lbs. 
 beef or mutton, for which took his receipt for 15 | in full, with 
 promise to deliver one lb. meat to my order given Mr. D. Web- 
 uvent. Got to Frankport at half-past nine. Dealt out to the 
 ninety-two emigrants two days' fresh beef, one day's soft bread 
 and one of hard. Sent in wagons 700 lbs. hard bread, in twelve 
 kegs and one barrel, and 96 lbs. of beef. 
 
 Saturday, August 28th. Sent off the wagons at half-past 
 eight o'clock. 
 
 Bought half a bushel of salt, which with meat, etc., in- 
 cluded in Mr. King's bill, ^8 4s. 1 id. 
 
 Bought 72 lbs. of beef, gave 126 
 
 Sunday, August 29th. Paid Reed's bill for 
 
 lodging, etc., £0 17^. 6d. 
 
 At nine o'clock the emigrants came in with wagons. Put in 
 72 lbs. meat, 12 lbs. bread and 25 lbs. hard bread. Sent them 
 on at ten o'clock. At half-past four overtook the other wag- 
 ons eight miles from Tomlinson, two miles back of which one 
 wagon had overturned, and Mrs. Picard badly hurt. Left her 
 with herhusband and child. At seven o'clock got to Tomlin- 
 son's. 
 
 Monday, August 30th. Wagons got up at nine o'clock. 
 Laid in 185 lbs. beef, and 20 lbs. of bread. At two o'clock I 
 set out ; met the other wagons. Put Mrs. Picard and child in 
 the wagon. Ordered William Dun to leave out of his wagon 
 at Tomlinson's a large trunk, marked " D. &•> H." in a number 
 of places on the top ; and numbered on the bottom, " No. 12. 
 Weight, 270." At nine o'clock got to Tomlinson's. 
 
 Tuesday, August Jist. Bought of Tomlinson 261 lbs. 
 beef, @ 3 I , ^3 5*. 4}£d. Left for people of second division, 
 76 lbs. beef and in lbs. bread. Paid Tomlinson's bill for 
 
 baking bread, £0 17s. 6d. 
 
 Paid bill for lodging, etc., 13 11 
 
80 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Left Tomlinson's at eleven o'clock. Paid Simpkins's old bill 
 for lodging last June, 4 | 8. Began to rain at quarter-past five. 
 Got to Smedley's at half-past six. 
 
 Wednesday, Sept. 1st, 17QO. Paid bill for lodging, supplies and 
 horse keeping at Smedley's, £0 4*. 6d. Got to Hall's at seven 
 o'clock. Purchased a beef of Hall, for $8. Weight of beef 
 308 lbs. Gave Hall the hide for killing, cutting up, salting, 
 and my bill of lodging. Delivered to first division, 190 lbs., 
 left for second, in lbs. First party left Hall's at nine o'clock. 
 At two o'clock I went back and met second party two miles 
 and-a-half on this side of Simpkin's. Lodged them on the top 
 of Winding Ridge. 
 
 Thursday, September 2nd. Got to Beasontown at five 
 o'clock. Bought of Samuel King, 188 lbs. bread at 15 | per 
 lb. Delivered 135 lbs to the first party. Bought of King, 
 
 260 lbs. beef @ 2^, £,2 us. 2d. 
 
 Bought of King, 20 lbs. 7 oz. loaf sugar, . . 112 4 
 
 Friday, September 3rd. Examined baggage in warehouses 
 and delivered many trunks to tfce people who owned them, and 
 took their receipts. Wagons with the second division got in at 
 nine o'clock. Unloaded and discharged them. Paid William 
 Dun, $8 for extra work. 
 
 [Here occurs a break in trie record.] 
 
 Monday, September 6th. Began this morning to load the 
 baggage into wagons for Buffalo. At four o'clock got five 
 wagons loaded. Paid Samuel Martin, £\o \os. 2d. for his 
 three teams, in part payment. Took his receipt. Took Wil- 
 liam Bell's receipt for ^3 19^. 2d. Mathew Daniel's for 
 jQ$ i8x 6d. At five o'clock started the wagons. Crossed the 
 river myself and returned later. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. Si 
 
 Tuesday, Sept. Jth, 1790. Engaged of Samuel Jackson a 
 boat thirty-six feet long, to be ready by ten o'clock and deliv- 
 ered at Lang's house. Directed the people to get their bag- 
 gage ready to put into boats. Six wagons with goods arrived 
 from Winchester. Sent Kinney with letters and my horse to 
 Gab. Blackney, requesting him to furnish 100 lbs. beef and two 
 lbs. of salt. Likewise wrote Mr. Tarland, Doct. Wilkins, and 
 Maj. Sargeant. Gave Kinney to bear expenses, £0 $s. jd. 
 With sun half an hour high, two boats came to hand, one from 
 Jackson, the other from Vanlear. Paid four men for assisting 
 unloading, 1 | . 
 
 Wednesday, September 8th. Continued loading boats. En- 
 gaged Sill and son, at 3 | 9 per day to pilot the boats down the 
 river. Kinney got back again at two o'clock. Brought letters 
 from Blakney and McFarland, and some directed to Col. Duer. 
 
 Paid Rager for bread and horse keeping, . £0 is. i6d. 
 
 Paid James Anderson for two old Kentucky boats lying 
 on the bank up the river near the ferry opposite Brownville, 
 each 37 ft. in length, ^10. Agreed with Nathan Clearser to 
 put them in good repair within ten days for ^5. 
 
 Thursday, September gth. Continued loading boats. At 
 three o'clock got six boats, with seventy-three of the people 
 under way. Laid in six days' supply of bread, meat, and 
 whiskey. Gave the boatmen one pt. of whiskey. Put into 
 boat five gals, of whiskey in one small keg. 
 
 Bought of Boardman, 5^ gals, whiskey, . £1 2s. od. 
 Sam. Jackson, for boatmen, 17^ 
 lbs. bacon, and 17 lbs. of bread, ... 1 4 
 
 Paid Sill $1 in cash to get provisions if 
 
 necessary, 7 6 
 
 Paid young Sill 1 | for tobacco, .... 1 
 
 Lang for props for boats, .... 5 
 
 " for peaches, 4 
 
82 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Bought of Samuel Jackson, sundries, viz : 
 
 i boat, 36 ft. long, and one 28 ft. _£6 igs. $d. 
 4448 lbs. of bacon @ 1 | , . . 22 8 
 
 3 barrels, @ 1 | 6, 4 6 
 
 Money borrowed, . . 96 
 
 Left with Samuel Jackson, one barrel of bacon, 141 lbs.; 
 put into the boats 1 bbl. 157 lbs. and 1 bbl. 150 lbs. of bacon. 
 Three men set off across the country with their horses to Buf- 
 falo, viz : Lafarge, Pangard, and Theirnier. Gave them pro- 
 visions. At sunset left four of the boats half a mile below 
 Jackson's Mill. Bought a skiff of John Yateman to accompany 
 boats. Gave him for it, £1 2s. 6d. Mr. Jarvais's and Mr. 
 Dhebecount's boats left Redstone at twelve o'clock, and went 
 on by themselves. Gave Jarvais 8 lbs. meat, for which I re- 
 ceived cash. Furnished Dhebecount with 21 lbs. of bread— for 
 which he is to pay — one keg containing 100 lbs. flour, one keg 
 of salt containing one bushel and one peck. Borrowed of 
 Dhebecount, $3y£. 
 
 Friday, Sept. 10th, ijgo. One of the boats grounded below 
 Jackson's Mill, and did not get off till nine o'clock this morn- 
 ing. Hired Jonathan Hickman to go down in boats. Gave 
 him to purchase provisions, £0 2s. $d. Engaged to give him 
 5 I per day to go to Fort Pitt. Paid Jackson's bill, and took 
 his receipt of this day. Paid Vanlear's bill for two boats, one 
 of 30 ft. and the other of 31 ft. in length, and for an axe, 
 ;£i8 \gs. 6d. Two wagons came in with goods which I put in 
 Mr. Abbott's cellar, which I hired this day at $3 per month ; 
 upper part of house at $2 per month. Salander gave receipt 
 for goods in the name of John Vanlear. 
 
 Saturday, September nth. Paid John Bowman for John 
 Yateman on account for boats, $3. Paid for peaches | 10. 
 John Lynch came with goods on pack horses. Put them in 
 cellar. Salander gave receipt for them. Young Sill came up 
 this evening and informed me that four of the boats were stick- 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 83 
 
 ing on Lynny's Riffle. Ordered Mitchell to bake what bread 
 he could through the night. Paid boy for assisting him. 
 
 Sunday, Sept. 12th, i/go. Sent young Sill and another man 
 with provisions to the boats as follows : 180 lbs. beef in two 
 kegs ; 68 loaves of bread, weight 204 lbs., one keg of biscuit, 
 50 lbs.; brought from Frankport. Sent four loaves of bread 
 and 15 lbs. biscuit for boatmen. In the afternoon sent Saland- 
 er with my horse down to the boats to give the people provi- 
 sions. This evening ^five wagons came in with goods, and one 
 man, wife and child. Put the man in the old house with 
 Picard. Old Sill came up in the evening. 
 
 Monday, September ijth. Gave the wagoneers receipts for 
 goods. Harrison Taylor, two loads, one weighed 1910 lbs., 
 other 1945 lbs. ; John Wright, for 1850 lbs. ; Benjamin Fen- 
 ton, for 1666 lbs. ; Henry Adams, for 1922, his packages only 
 four of them corresponding with the invoice. Whole number 
 of packages, 52. About nine o'clock Martin Teavor came in 
 from Buffalo. Brought a letter from McFarland, and another 
 for Col. Duer, to my care. 
 
 Paid Martin for transporting 5827 lbs. French goods, @ 
 $1 % per hundred, paid cash, . . . ■ £, S I 4- f - IQ d- 
 
 Cash paid him the 6th. 10 10 2 
 
 Order on Mr. Armstrong, 16 5 2 
 
 £l 2 IO 1 
 Paid Mathew Davison for transporting T998 lbs. at $i}4 
 
 per hundred, paid him 6th, £ Z J&r, 6d. 
 
 This day 1 13 8 
 
 Draught on Mr. Armstrong 5 12 2 
 
 ;£" 4 4 
 Paid William Bell, for transporting 2000 lbs. @ $i/4 per 
 
 hundred, the 6th inst., £ 3 19^. 2d. 
 
 Paid him this day, 1 13 4 
 
 Order on Mr. Armstrong, 512 6 
 
 ;£" 5 
 
84 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Rainy afternoon. Paid for peaches, 6d. Salander came in 
 this evening and informs me the goods are not much damaged 
 in the boats. 
 
 Tuesday, September 14th, ijgo. Borrowed of Mr. Bowman a 
 barrel of flour, weight 248 lbs., tare 25lbs., net 223 lbs. De- 
 livered it to Mitchell to bake. Rainy day. Sent Col. Duer's 
 letter by Col. Hart. Paid for peaches, 6d. Paid man for 
 assisting in carrying down provisions and bringing back boats, 
 £0 2s. 6d. Gave Salander one French guinea to pay for 
 shoes, etc., value, 34 I 5. ■ jQ 1 l 4 s - S d - 
 
 Wednesday, September 13th. Fair morning. Paid for 
 peaches, 4.d. Paid for carrying flour to bake, id. Borrowed 
 two barrels of flour of Jacob Bowman, weight 286, tare 26 lbs., 
 net 260 lbs. of one; 256 lbs., tare 25 lbs., net 231 lbs. of other. 
 Three pack horses came in this evening with goods. 
 
 Thursday, September i6ih. Fair morning. Paid for 
 
 peaches, £0 os. &,d. 
 
 Paid Patrick Turnan, 4 19 n 
 
 Friday, September lyt/t. Sent boat with provision to the 
 boat people, viz: — 204 lbs. beef for the people, 12 lbs. for the 
 wagoneers, 306 lbs. of bread. To the boatmen, three gals, of 
 whiskey. Sent Salander to deal it out to them, and to allow 
 them beef for this day out of the new supply, and bread to be- 
 gin to-morrow. Provisions become due again ; beef, Tuesday 
 morning ; bread, Wednesday. Three wagons with nineteen 
 people and a small child came in this afternoon. Put in some 
 loading in the wagons, and sent them forward with the people 
 that came in, and also Mons. Barth, wife and child, and 
 Burgognot. Gave all four days' bread, meat and whiskey, and 
 one month's salt. Paid wagoneers $4 in cash, and six lbs. meat. 
 I gave Thomas Grinnell nine lbs. bread and six lbs. meat and 
 agreed to give him $1 for attending the people, and assisting 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 85 
 
 about dealing out provisions, etc. Started the wagons off about 
 sunset. Sent a boy with my horse and another to Thornton's 
 mill after flour. Paid for peaches, | 4 ; for washing clothes 1 | . 
 
 Saturday, September 18th, 1790. Bought of William Ramsey 
 forty gallons of whiskey. Paid him @ 4 | 9 per gal., -£7 2s. 6d. 
 Received the remainder of Lynch's load. Gave him receipt. 
 Paid for peaches, d,d. D. W. began operations. Agreed with 
 Cummings to wagon 1600 lbs. to Buffalo for $1 per hundred. 
 
 Sunday, September igth. Clear day. Nothing material 
 occurred to-day. 
 
 Monday, September 20th. Clear, pleasant day. Extremely 
 unwell to-day. Could do but little business. Sent my horse 
 to Thornton's after flour. Borrowed a barrel of Bowman. 
 
 Tuesday, September 21st. Sent down boat with provisions 
 to party in boats, viz : — 204 lbs. beef, 229 lbs. bread, and four 
 gallons of whiskey for people and 12 lbs. beef, 12 lbs. bread, 
 and three qts. of whiskey for boatman. Salander went down 
 with provisions. Old Sill came up this morning. Young Sill 
 and Gallantin went down in boats. Paid for peaches, 4^. 
 
 Wednesday, September 22nd. Cloudy morning. Began to 
 rain about eleven o'clock. Loaded J. Cummings's wagon for 
 Buffalo. Lay by at Purslay's for the night. Paid for peaches, 
 £0 os. 6d. Dhebecount came up from Buffalo. 
 
 Thursday, September 23rd. Cloudy morning, but no rain. 
 Sent letter received from Col. Meigs, Buffalo, to William Duer, 
 Esq., by Mr. Lee, to Hagerstown ; ordered it put in the post 
 office. Paid for peaches, £0 os. 8d. Wagons came in for Buffalo. 
 Paid each of the wagoneers $1. Beef and bread delivered them 
 by McFarland : 20 lbs. bread, and 21 lbs. meat, -£o "js. 4d. 
 
 Friday, September 24th. Paid wagoneers as per account, viz: — 
 Titus England, $4 and 1 crown, the 17th inst., $1 yesterday. 
 
86 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Beef and bread of McFarland, 2 | 7, $6 to-day, £ 4 3*. 4^. 
 Paid William Armstrong, £6 ij,s. $d. Vir- 
 ginia money, equal to, 8 6 9 
 
 £\z 10 1 
 John Hamilton whole load came to £1 1 Vir- 
 ginia money, 13 15 
 
 Paid him in cash $ 12, 4 10 
 
 Friday, September 24th, i/po. Paid order 
 
 William Armstrong, £ys. 8d. V. M., . . jQ 9 5s. od. 
 Paid Francis White's load, 9 £,d>s. 6d.V.M. 1115 1 1 
 " cash, meat and bread from McFarland, 410 
 " order William Armstrong, ^5 16s. 6d. 
 
 V. M., 7 5 7^ 
 
 Paid Thomas Grinnell $1, for assisting people with wagons. 
 Paid Hart for money handed William Chappin on ac- 
 count for boats, $2, £ ° X S S > °^- 
 
 Paid for nails, 7 
 
 " " paper, 1 6 
 
 Sent order to Thornton for flour; removed by Gallintin 
 and Sill. 
 
 Saturday, September 25th. Sent this morning by boatmen 
 down to the people, 300 lbs. of bread, 200 lbs. meats and 3^ 
 gals, whiskey — four days' provisions, beginning this morning ; 
 also, i61bs. meat, 12 lbs. bread and ^ gal. whiskey for boat- 
 men. Sent order to Thornton for 200 lbs. of flour. Received 
 by boy 139 lbs. My brother came into town this morning, 
 Major Sargent this evening. Paid for peaches, 6d. 
 
 Sunday, September 26th. Nothing material occurred to-day. 
 My boat left here for Simrill's Ferry this morning. Some 
 rain this afternoon. Some men came forward from party be- 
 hind. Harper came up this afternoon and a Frenchman and 
 his wife. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 87 
 
 Monday, September 2jth, I'jgo. Rainy morning. Wagons with 
 French people came up this morning about ten o'clock. 
 
 Tuesday, September 28th. Wet, lowry morning. Agreed 
 with two wagoneers to go on to Buffalo. Paid Samuel Jackson 
 for four hundred weight of flour @ 15 | , ^3. Sent Sill 
 after flour. 
 
 Wednesday, September 29th. Water began to rise. Paid 
 wagoneers in dollars for expenses. At ten o'clock water nearly 
 high enough for boats to go down. Sent down four days' pro- 
 visions to boats. Discharged the wagons. Paid them $17 for 
 detention and ferriage. Two wagons came in this afternoon. 
 Unloaded them into beats. Hickman came in this evening 
 from the boats. 
 
 Thursday, September 30th. Began to load boats. Agreed 
 with Yateman to take two boats, 32 & 37 feet long, down to 
 Buffalo, with what baggage they can carry, for which he is to 
 have ^27 10, and I to have the boats. Bought for company 
 men one bottle snuff, @ £0 6s. od. Sent Hickman to boats 
 with two days' provisions. 
 
 Friday, October 1st. Got three boats loaded by eleven 
 o'clock. At twelve o'clock started off with five days' meat and 
 116 lbs. over. Five days' bread and flour and nine gals, of 
 whiskey, and two bbls. of flour from Thornton's. 
 
 Saturday, October 2nd. A number of Capt. Guicon's party 
 in to-day. 
 
 Sunday, October 3rd. Capt. Guicon's party in to-day. 
 Three boats set off to-day with five days' provisions. 
 
 Monday, October 4th. Began to load boats. Started off six 
 boats with five days' provisions. 
 
36 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Tuesday "jDct. jjth, 1790. Started three boats this evening with 
 five days' provisions, and 64 lbs. beef and three-half gals, 
 whiskey, over. 
 
 Wednesday, October 6th. Rainy disagreeable day. Set off 
 from Redstone at eleven o'clock. Paid at Hill's 2 | 2. Got to 
 Washington, in the evening, very unwell- 
 
 Thursday, October jth. Breakfasted and dined with Mac- 
 quiss. Set off for Buffalo at two o'clock. Got to Alex. Wells's 
 at eight o'clock. 
 
 Friday, October 8th. Paid Wells 8 | 5 for myself and Capt. 
 Guicon. Got to Buffalo at twelve o'clock. 
 
 Saturday, October gth. Thebout, Coquet, and Don Smith 
 with three boats came down this evening. 
 
 Sunday, October 10th. (No record.) 
 
 Monday, October nth. Boat with company people came 
 down to-day from Redstone. 
 
 [Here occurs a break of one week in record.] 
 
 Monday, October 18th. Made two draughts on Col. Duer in 
 favor of Nathan McFarland, one of $131 and seven cents, pay- 
 able in fifteen days after sight, and one of $64.67 payable in 
 thirty days. Left with Mr. McFarland two bills of same date 
 drawn on sight, of same value, and which McFarland promised 
 to destroy, as the other bills were drawn in place of them in 
 consequence of their being drawn on sight. 
 
 Tuesday, October igth. Paid Wells's bill for eleven days, 
 
 viz: — Board at 2 [ 6 per day -£1 ys. 6d. 
 
 For finding umbrella, 36 
 
 For one bush, beans, 5 9 
 
 £1 16 9 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 89 
 
 Paid him for horse keeping @ 2 | 6, . . . £0 i*/s. gd. 
 Lost 19 ) 
 
 Set off with Capt. Guicon with our two skiffs, sun an hour 
 high. Left at McFarland's my saddle bags, an old shirt, my 
 inkstand, my night cap, memorandum book and horse whip. 
 Took in a keg of butter at Short Creek, bought of McKinley, 
 weight, 62 lbs. Got to McCullock's at one o'clock in the 
 morning. 
 
 Wednesday, Oct. 20th, ifgo. Started at half-past six o'clock. 
 Breakfast at Martin's, paid | 6. Got to Muskingum at half- 
 past six. Put up at Munsel's. 
 
 Thursday, October 21st. Nothing material occurred. 
 
 Friday, October 22nd (No record.) 
 
 Saturday, October 23rd. Capt. Guicon left this afternoon. 
 
 Sunday, October 24th. (No record.) 
 
 Monday, October 25th (No record.) 
 
 Tuesday, October 26th. Bot. of William Burnham, 14 lbs. 
 deer ham, 8 | 2. 
 
 Wednesday, October 2jth. (No record.) 
 
 Thursday, October 28th. Paid Fearing $5 in exchange of 
 instruments. 
 
 Friday, October 2gth. (No record.) 
 
 Saturday, October joth. Sent Capt. Guicon his crockery 
 ware, etc. 
 
 Sunday, October jist. Sent by Wetzel, the hunter, a letter 
 to Capt. Gui,con. Delivered Wetzel, eight lbs. of powder on 
 account of Scioto Company. 
 
90 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Monday, November ist, r/po. Paid Rockwell for making 
 breeches, etc. „ 
 
 Tuesday, November 2nd. Received letter from M. Odlen. 
 
 Wednesday, November 3rd. (No Record.) 
 
 Thursday, November 4th. Paid Pierce in balance of ac- 
 count, jQo ioj\ lod. One shilling due me in change. 
 
 Friday, November $th. Gen. Putnam came down this 
 morning about eleven o'clock. 
 
 Saturday, November 6th. Don Didier came up this evening 
 from Kanahwa, and Mr. Mahan came down this evening. 
 
 Sunday, November yth. Took a cow from Mr. Mahan on 
 account of Mr. McFarland. Took a turkey from same, on ac- 
 count of D. Woodbridge, for boarding, 2 | . 
 
 Monday, November 8th. (No record.) 
 
 Tuesday, November gth. Don Didier went down to the 
 river this afternoon. 
 
 Wednesday, November 10th. Paid this evening on ac- 
 count, 4 I . 
 
 Thursday, November nth. Paid for apples, | 9. 
 
 Friday, November 1 2th. Mr. Mahan went down this after- 
 noon. Sent a cow by him. Put a bell on her and ordered him 
 to deliver her to Shoales. Sent by him 3c bush, potatoes, 25 
 bush, corn in ear. Paid for four barrels to put potatoes in 
 @ 1 I 6, £0 6s. od. 
 
 Saturday, November ijth. Received from Col. Devol, two 
 bails for Kettler ; costs, 3s. , 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 91 
 
 Sunday, November 14th, 1790. Two boats with soldiers' 
 and settlers for Miami stopped here this evening. 
 
 Monday, November 15th. Sold to Robert Potts 69 mill 
 
 irons, £i 13^ 5 d - 
 
 Received in cash, £1 2s. &d. 
 
 A note on demand, .... 14 9 
 
 A note for corn, payable Jan. 15, 1 16 
 
 £z 13-f- 5<* 
 
 119 mill irons @ 1 | x /%, jQ6 os. od. 
 
 Took his note, payable 28th of February, for corn, wheat or 
 rye, to be delivered at that time wherever at Marietta I shall di- 
 rect. 
 
 [There is no record for the next eight days.] 
 
 Wednesday, November 24th. Paid Rockwell for tailoring, 
 in cash, 12 | . 
 
 Thursday, November 25th. The Governor arrived this 
 morning about ten o'clock. Stormy, disagreeable day. 
 
 Friday, November 26th. Stormy, cold day. Considerable 
 snow lying on the ground. Attended the ball in the evening. 
 
 [A break in the record until the 30th,] 
 
 Tuesday, November 30th. Left Muskingum at two o'clock 
 this p. m. in company with Hubout on an exploring tour to Sci- 
 oto. Received six pounds beef on company's account. Paid 
 for bread, | 8. Reached Belpre at six o'clock. Put up at 
 , Esq., Green's. Received from Dinlan on account of the 
 Scioto company. 
 
 Wednesday, December 1st. Left Belpre at three o'clock in 
 the morning. At the falls met a canoe with five or six French- 
 men over set. At twelve o'clock reached Gallipolis. Bought 
 
92 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 for store down the river one lb. chocolate, 3 | 6, and one lb. of 
 sugar. Rainy evening. Scioto Company, Dr. to an ox lost in 
 their service, £0. 1 2s. od. 
 
 Thursday, December 2nd, i/po. Rainy, disagreeable morning. 
 Mr. Mahan absent. 
 
 Friday, December 3rd. Rainy, disagreeable day. Mr. 
 Mahan came down from Kanahwa. Sold my oxen to Tallier for 
 $50, and yoke and chain for 20 j . Received cash. 
 
 Saturday, December 4th. Bought for myself and people 
 four lbs. chocolate, eight lbs. sugar, and two lbs. 
 
 coffee, jQ o 27^. od. 
 
 Cash left in my trunk at Gallipolis. 
 
 5 half joes, $40 12 os. od. 
 
 6 guineas, 28 8 8 
 
 1 sixteenth of a joe, 2 12 
 
 48 crowns, 53/4 l & 
 
 £ll ° ° 
 At five o'clock in the evening left Gallipolis. Took with me 
 six men, viz : — Hart, Carroll. Richard Shoales, Benjamin Bill, 
 Smith, and John Kelley with twenty days' bread and 40 | worth 
 of beef. Went in boats with me, Mr. Hubout with four — Cro- 
 quet and one man, Joway and one man. Agreed to meet Mr. 
 McMahan to-morrow. Reached his second hunting camp at 
 eight o'clock, 12 miles down the river, encamped for the even- 
 ing. Windy evening. 
 
 Sunday, December 5th. Started this morning at half-past 
 six. Got to lower hunting camp at half-past seven. Break- 
 fasted, and remained there until twelve ; then started. Left 
 directions with Wetzel, hunter, to inform Mr. McMahan that I 
 should proceed down the river about twelve miles, then halt 
 the boats, and begin exploring the country, and probably en- 
 camp at night at the mouth of the Great Cuicandot. Cloudy 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 93 
 
 morning, but fair, pleasant afternoon. Went ashore at the line 
 or near it, marked on the map. Explored the bottom to the 
 Creek timber land. On the bottom found beech, white oak, 
 hickory, black oak and elm. Land extremely rich at and near 
 the mouth of the creek. Went on board the boat and proceed- 
 ed to the Great Cuicandot. 
 
 Monday, December 6th, 1790. Started at half-past six. Went 
 ashore at the little creek, and proceeded about four miles up it. 
 Found the land extremely fine. Backwater sets up at this time 
 about two miles. Current rapid above, and will admit of mills. 
 Course of the creek from the mouth up inland goes very much 
 west of north. Went on board the boat, and proceeded down 
 the river beyond the last creek. I went on shore at a line 
 across the bottom. Set stake supposing it to be my connecting 
 line. Proceeded up the line to the hills. Found them ex- 
 tremely rough, and high steps at the foot of the hill. Came 
 down to the river mouth of a large run ; crossed the run ; 
 kept down the narrows to the mouth of the Sandy. Encamp- 
 ed about a quarter of a mile above the mouth of the Sandy. 
 Fine day ; windy. 
 
 Tuesday, December Jth. Fine, pleasant morning. A num- 
 ber of boats passed last night. Set out this morning with nine 
 people to run out public lot number eight, 18th range. Started 
 from the first mile stake from the S. W. corner of the second 
 township in the 17th range, run west line to river, then north line 
 from mile stake as per field notes. Encampment at mouth of 
 creek, three-quarters of a mile below the corner. 
 
 Wednesday, December 8th. Started from stake set on river 
 to find course of river, the distance to creek, and the corner of 
 public lot numbered 26. These runs measured more than a 
 mile. Set a stake on river bank and ten chains from large 
 river. Went on board the boat below the narrows, and en- 
 camped on the bank of a small creek in next bottom. 
 
94 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Thursday, December gth, 1790. Started with five people to ex- 
 plore the bottom. Went about half the mile up the river to 
 the head of the bottom, then took the foot of the hills and pro- 
 ceeded about one hundred rods and came to a creek or river 
 coming from the north-east. Bottom extremely good, and the 
 run very accessible. Proceeded on by the hill to a large creek, 
 two chains wide, coming from the east. Followed the creek 
 down to its mouth, nearly a mile. The creek appeared larger 
 on the lower side. 
 
 I Here occurs a break of over a month.] 
 
 Wednesday, January 16th, 1791. Wind blew up very severely 
 at N. W. 
 
 Thursday, January 17th. Extremely cold. The thermom- 
 eter stood at 24 below freezing. Set off about two o'clock for 
 Kanahwa. Slept at Col. Lewis's. 
 
 Friday, January 18th. Snowy morning. Started at 12 
 o'clock for Muskingum. Got seven miles and encamped. 
 Snowed constantly the whole day. 
 
 Saturday, January 19th. Snow about ten inches deep, and 
 would have been two inches higher if it had not settled with 
 the rain that fell in the night. Light, fine rain. The air some- 
 what warmer. At nine o'clock it began to snow. Air got 
 much cooler. Snowed fully two inches. Amazing quantity of 
 melted snow floating on the water, which obliged us to return 
 to Kanahwa. About sunset got to Gallipolis. 
 
 Sunday, January, 20th. Cold, disagreeable day. 
 
 Monday, January 21st. Air somewhat more pleasant. 
 
 Tuesday, January 22nd. Air about at the freezing point 
 all day. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 943 
 
 The following portion of the Journal was found among the 
 papers of James Backus, but too late for insertion in chronolog- 
 ical order. 
 
 Friday, December 10th, ijgo. Started from Little Sandy at 
 eight o'clock in the morning. Got to the mouth of the Scioto 
 about half-past twelve. Run about a mile up the Scioto, and 
 encamped. Took meanders up the rivers about two miles 
 from the little run at the encampment. Bottom mostly flooded. 
 Rainy night. 
 
 Saturday, December nth. Rainy morning. Staid in camp 
 until noon. Took meanders of the rivers to the mouth of the 
 Scioto, and then the meanders of the Ohio about a mile-and-a- 
 quarter up the river. Then ran at right angles from the river 
 18 chains to the low-flooded bottom on the Scioto ; followed 
 that by S. W. course to the bank of the Scioto, and went into 
 camp at the old improvement. This position is, perhaps, 
 eligible for a large plantation on the rivers — the banks of both 
 rivers being out of reach of the freshets, and the distance across 
 being about 30 rods at the lower end. Below this the bottom 
 is flooded at every freshet, and may afford about 300 acres of 
 most excellent meadow ; and probably, at little expense, might 
 be prepared for rice ground. The high bank of the Scioto ex- 
 tends about a quarter of a mile. Above this, the bank is again 
 flooded — the bank or bottom diverging from the river. In 
 the next bend in the river may be 250 or 300 acres more of 
 flooded bottom, extremely rich. The high bottom appears to 
 be extensive, extending about six miles on the Ohio to the 
 narrows. This shore has been noted the last winter and spring 
 as the rendezvous of Indians, who captured a large number of 
 boats, the remains of one or two of which are now remaining 
 on the shore near the narrows. The timber on the flooded 
 land is elm, poplar, a kind of swamp oak, hickory, maple and 
 buckeye. On the high bottom, oak, beech, hickory, elm, pop- 
 lar — being a greater proportion of beech than any other tim- 
 ber. Geese and ducks are extremely plenty in the Scioto, and 
 the swamps in this flooded bottom. 
 
94^ A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Sunday, December 12th, 1790. Started from our encamp- 
 ment on the old improvement, which extends from river to riv- 
 er. Took the meanders of the Ohio to the mouth of the large 
 creek, nine miles from the Scioto. Encamped on the upper 
 side of this creek. 
 
 Monday, December 13th. Started at sunrise on my surveys 
 up the rivers. Bottoms grew more extensive as I went up. 
 Crossed a number of runs, and, at about three miles a fine 
 creek running a long distance above, near the river bottom. 
 Above this creek was an extremely rich and high bank. En- 
 camped at night about eight miles from starting point. Capt. 
 McMahon and the boats went out upon the creek, which I left 
 this morning. Found the lands after leaving the river about 
 two miles extremely fine, and continued to, grow level as they 
 went up the creek, which they followed up about eight miles. 
 The creek, about seven miles from the mouth, has a branch 
 from the west ; about half-a-mile further a branch from the 
 east. General course of the creek, westerly. Dickinson, the 
 hunter, was chased by an Indian on this creek. 
 
 Tuesday, December 14th. Bottom above our encampment 
 apparently much broken by swamps and marshes. About half- 
 a-mile to lower end of a large pond running parallel to the riv- 
 er. Found many old improvements upon the river bank. Some 
 of the bottoms extremely rich. 
 
 Wednesday, December 15th. Passed through a narrow this 
 forenoon. Big bottom extending up the Little Sandy. En- 
 camped on a fine creek emptying into the Ohio on the next 
 bottom above the Little Sandy bottom. Took the meanders 
 of the river about 1-^ miles up the bottom. Bottom high, and 
 finely suited to building. The boats and Capt. McMahon did 
 not come up this evening. Cold, snowy night. 
 
 Thursday, December 16th. Bottom extends about 1^ 
 miles above the creek. Soil excellent. The hills close in up- 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 94^ 
 
 on the river very close. Very fine growth of black walnut and 
 ash timber in the narrows. Continued my line nearly opposite 
 Big Sandy. Snow two inches deep. Air very cold. The 
 boats and McMahon came in this evening. 
 
 Friday, Dec. 17th, i7go. Finished my surveys this morning, 
 and set a mulberry stake on my line that I fetched in summer 
 before last. Proceeded up the river about ten miles. Air ex- 
 tremely sharp. Encamped half-a-mile below Big Guiandote. 
 Hunters found the bears exceedingly plenty on the bottom be- 
 low. 
 
 Saturday, December iSth. Found considerable ice running 
 in the river this morning. Permitted McMahon to take the 
 boats back to mouth of the large creek three miles below, to 
 fetch in bear meat and venison. Did not start from camp un- 
 til four o'clock. Got about nine miles, and encamped. 
 
 Sunday, December igth. Got within six miles of Raccoon. 
 Ice running very thick. 
 
 Monday, December 20th. Found it almost impossible to pro- 
 ceed with boats against the ice. At sunset reached Gallipolis. 
 A small quantity of rain fell this evening. 
 
 Tuesday, December 21st. Cloudy, chilly, disagreeable day. 
 
 Wednesday, December 22d. Chilly, disagreeable air. ' Settled 
 private account with Capt. Guicon. Found a balance due him, 
 including the six Louis borrowed of him at Buffalo, of twelve 
 and one-third dollars. Gave him due bill to be discharged by 
 discounting with Mitchell on acct. of three small axes, two dol- 
 lars, and a broad axe at three dollars. Delivered by Mitchell. 
 
 Thursday, December 23d. Left with Mitchell, to be returned 
 when I called for it, 17 lbs. buffalo meat and three turkeys ; 
 likewise, 14 lbs. salt beef, which[I left with him when I went 
 down the river. 
 
94^ A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Paid out at Gallipolis for repairing watch, . £o is. \od. 
 Paid for milk, washing, etc 3 9 
 
 Left in my small trunk : 46 crowns, and the trunk locked — 
 in my large, leather trunk — my road trunk, mess chest, a large 
 chest with apples, etc., a keg of butter, a small oil keg, bedstead 
 and mattress Left with Matthews a keg of powder, and a keg 
 containing beans, squashes, etc. With Mitchell, a bag of shot, 
 and with Capt. Guicon a pair ot shoebrushes. Left Gallipolis 
 this afternoon, at three o'clock, with Messrs. Thebouts, Coquets 
 and my boys. Reached the mouth of Campaign Creek at 
 evening, and encamped. 
 
 Friday, Dec 24th, 1790. Started at daylight. Reached 
 three miles east of narrows, above leading creek. Encamped 
 two miles up on a large run emptying into the Ohio at the nar- 
 rows. 
 
 Saturday, December 251k. Started a little after sunrise. 
 Followed up the run a course about two miles, then left main 
 branch to the southward. Traveled over a pretty country 
 about three miles to a large branch of Devil's Hole Creek, 
 coming from the south-west. Followed it in a northerly direc- 
 tion to the main creek, going south-east ; then followed the 
 creek by its various windings to its mouth. 
 
 Sunday, December 26th. Cold, snowy day. Reached Hock- 
 hocking settlement at three o'clock. 
 
 Paid for provisions, £0 4s. 6d. 
 
 Found the ice on the Hockhocking three inches thick, at 
 least. 
 
 Monday, December 2jth. Reached Belpre to breakfast. I 
 wailed three hours for Thebouts and Coquets, and then pro- 
 ceeded to Marietta, which I reached at five o'clock. 
 
 Cost of provisions, £0 2s. 6d. 
 
 Tuesday, December 28th. My people came in about four 
 o'clock. 
 
 Wednesday, December 2gth. Nothing material occurred to- 
 day. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 941? 
 
 Thursday, Dec. joth, ijgo. Nothing material occurred to- 
 day. 
 
 Friday, December 31st. Nothing material occurred to-day. 
 Extremely cold day and evening. 
 
 Saturday, January ist, ijgi. Extremely cold. 
 
 Paid Binger's bill for bells, etc., £o 6s. od. 
 
 Sunday, January 2d. Air more temperate. 
 
 Monday, January jd. Received information from Bullard 
 of the massacre of the people in the block-house at Big Bot- 
 tom. The affair was nearly as follows : Just at the close of 
 twilight this Bullard and another man of the same name, who 
 lived about 50 or 60 rods from the block-house, were alarmed 
 by the discharge of a large number of guns at the block-house. 
 They immediately ran towards the block-house, and soon dis- 
 covered that the Indians had possession of the house, and that 
 in all probability the people were all butchered. They, there- 
 fore made the best of their way to Wolf Creek, taking Rogers' 
 Camp, about three miles down the bottom, in their route. 
 About eleven o'clock the two Bullards, Rogers and another 
 man reached Wolf Creek. Bullard by nine o'clock was down 
 here with the intelligence, and about one o'clock ten regular 
 soldiers and about the same number of militia marched from 
 this place for their relief; or, at least, to examine into the cir- 
 cumstances of the massacre, and pay the last duties to the un- 
 fortunate victims by burying their remains. I attended the 
 party as a volunteer spectator. At nine o'clock we reached the 
 mills at Wolf Creek, where we were informed by Rogers, who 
 had just returned, that things were as related above, and that 
 little satisfaction could be had by going to the place of action, 
 as the bodies were mostly consumed by the fire of the block- 
 house, of which nothing remained but the bare walls. I there- 
 fore concluded to proceed no further. The number of persons 
 sacrificed in the block-house was fourteen, including a woman 
 and two children, who were supposed to have been taken in a 
 small cabin about two rods from the block-house. Two coats 
 and a shawl, all the property which was portable or unconsum- 
 able by fire, was taken away. 
 
94/ A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Tuesday, Jan. 4I/1, 1791. Passed over from Wolf Creek to 
 Plainfield. Breakfasted, and returned to this place, and en- 
 camped about a mile above the stockade, the night being so 
 dark and rainy I could not get in. 
 
 Wednesday, January jth. Arrived at my lodgings about 
 half-past eight o'clock. Somewhat fatigued and lame. 
 
 Thursday, January 6th. Disagreeable weather. Cold much 
 abated. 
 
 Paid Mixer for shoes and mending, . . . J~o 14s. 2d. 
 
 Friday, January yth. Disagreeable weather. Ice begins 
 to run in the Ohio but very little. Had a very sick, disagree- 
 able afternoon and night. 
 
 Saturday, January 8th. Ice begins to run thick in the 
 Ohio. 
 
 Sunday, January gth. Ice very plenty this morning. Mus- 
 kingum ice began to move. 
 
 Monday, January 10th. (No record.) 
 
 Tuesday, January nth. Severe, freezing night. Had 
 charge of guard this evening. 
 
 Wednesday, January 12th. Very unwell. 
 
 Thursday, January 13th. Very unwell. Clear, pleasant 
 day. Wind brisk from the southward. Both rivers passable 
 with canoes. Gave Lucas permission to come into my old 
 house; did not argue on terms. 
 
 Friday, January 14th. One boat passed this forenoon. Six 
 boats came down this evening — McClearey, of Washington, 
 with 200 bbls. flour for New Orleans; Ludlow, with flour for 
 troops. 
 
 Saturday, January 15th. One or two boats down to-day. 
 
 Sunday, January 16th. Moderate weather. McMahon 
 came up this evening from Gallipolis. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 94^ 
 
 Monday, January 17th, ijqi. Paid Shoales a guinea. 
 
 Tuesday, January 18th. (No record.) 
 
 Wednesday, January igth. Freezing evening. 
 
 Thursday, January 20th. Considerable ice in the Muskin- 
 gum. 
 
 Friday, January 21st. Ice running in the Ohio. Emmets 
 arrived from Pittsburgh. 
 
 Saturday, January 22nd. Few boats these two or three 
 days. Pleasant day. Air much warmer than for three days 
 past. 
 
 Sunday, January 23d. Pleasant, fair day. Wind brisk 
 from south-east. Have been confined since Monday. Mus- 
 kingum nearly clear of ice. Ohio passable for boats. 
 
 Monday, January 24th. Warm air. A boat down this 
 evening. 
 
 Tuesday, January 25th. Rainy, warm day. Dimlar down 
 with a boat about noon. 
 
 Wednesday, January 26th. Sent by Wilkins' boat to Guicon 
 two full barrels of corn, and two barrels containing in whole 
 nine bushels and one-half, and two kegs of whiskey. 
 [No record kept for the next eight days.] 
 
 Friday, February 4th. Paid Shoales, for labor due him, 
 £4 $s. $d. Borrowed 14^ dollars of Mr. Woodbridge. 
 
 Saturday, February jth. Paid Murrell & Buell for whiskey, 
 etc., £4 13s. od. 
 
 Sunday, February 6th. Left with Mr. Woodbridge, two 
 half-joes. Set out for Gallipolis at eleven o'clock. Got to 
 Bellpre at three o'clock. Took supper and lodging at Esq. 
 Green's. 
 
94^ THE BACKUS FAMILY. 
 
 Monday, Feb. 7U1, ijqi. Breakfasted at Green's. Received 
 three orders on the Ohio Company from Esq. Green, viz: one 
 of $42, for flour and a shovel ; one of $4, for two shovels ; 
 and one of %i%, on account of Capt. Stone. Dined at Green's. 
 Started in boat at two o'clock. Rainy night. 
 
 Tuesday, February 8th. Reached Gallipolis at nine o'clock. 
 Water high, and rising very fast. 
 
 Wednesday, February pt/i. Rainy day. 
 
 Thursday, February 10th. Fine, pleasant day. 
 
 Friday, February nth. Pleasant day. Water very high, 
 and still rising. Contractor's boat with flour passed here this 
 afternoon. 
 
 Saturday, February 12th. Fine weather. Received of sol- 
 dier, for compass, $1 . . . 6s. River begins tQ fall. 
 
 Sunday, February ijth. Pleasant, fine day. Received of 
 Rome, for pocket compass, 6s. 
 
 Monday, February 14th. Pleasant, fine morning. Settled 
 with Capt. Guicon on account of surveys. Balance, for which 
 I received his draught on Col. Duer, $108.03. Received of 
 Capt. Guicon on Wm. Duer's notes payable at the bank, $20, 
 in four notes of $5 each. Received of him an order on account 
 of Wise, of oxen for two-and-a-half months, $i2j^. 
 
 Tuesday, February 15th. (No record.) 
 
 On page 94, read Wednesday, February 16th, ifgr, and the 
 month should read February through the next twelve dates. 
 With the preceding pages added, there is no b:eak in the rec- 
 ord from November 30th, 1790, to March 7th, inclusive. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 95 
 
 Wednesday, Jan. 23rd, ijgi. Cloudy morning. Air at freez- 
 ing point and above. 
 
 Thursday, January 24th. Some rain. 
 
 Friday, January 25IJ1. Some rain in the night. Snow 
 melts pretty fast. Air 15° above freezing. 
 
 Saturday, January 26th. Very heavy wind last night. Fair, 
 pleasant morning. Started for Kanahwa about noon. 
 
 Sunday, January 2jth. Left Kanahwa in Major Poore's 
 canoe about one o'clock. Got twelve miles this evening. 
 Very rainy night. 
 
 [Here occurs a break of about a month.] 
 
 Monday, February 28th. Rainy forenoon. Started from 
 our encampment about twelve o'clock. Got about eight miles 
 and encamped. Water rising very fast. 
 
 Tuesday, March 1st. Pleasant, fine morning. River very 
 high. Started a little after sunrise. Got about six miles and 
 encamped. 
 
 Wednesday, March 2nd. Started and got half a mile and 
 encamped, as we were unable to make headway against wind 
 and current. Mr. Ernest, with a boat, came up this evening. 
 
 Thursday, March 3rd. River still continues to rise. Start- 
 ed with two boats, and got above ten miles. 
 
 Friday, March 4th. Got about fourteen miles. Encamped 
 about the head of the Amberary bottom. 
 
 Saturday, March 5th. Got to Bellville about four o'clock. 
 
 Sunday, March 6th. Got to Belpre at sunset. Found the 
 people much alarmed by the intelligence brought into Wolf 
 
o6 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Creek by "Indian John," who escaped from the Indians up the 
 Muskingum, and informed them that he came out with a party 
 of twenty-five Delawares (?) designed against the settlements 
 on the Muskingum. 
 
 Monday, March 7th, 1791. Arrived at Muskingum at dusk. 
 
 [Here occurs a break of about ten days ] 
 
 Thursday, March 17th. Left Muskingum with Capt. Hart. 
 .... (Rest illegible.) 
 
 Friday, March 18th. Rainy morning. Got to Fishing 
 Creek, and found the people had all left it. 
 
 Saturday, March igth. Fine day. River rising. Got to 
 McCullock's. 
 
 Sunday, March 20th. River rising fast. Lay by at Mc- 
 Cullock's on account of the height of the river. People all 
 left their houses from fear of the Indians. 
 
 Monday, March 21st. Got to Grave Creek. 
 
 Tuesday, March 22nd. Got to Wheeling about three o'clock. 
 Boat proceeded, but I lodged there. Bought of Esq. Zanes 
 for the Ohio Company, 3,340 lbs. of bacon @6}4d., Virginia 
 currency, per lb. Receipted the bacon to him to be delivered 
 on my order, on the order of General Putnam, on Robert Oliv- 
 er within one month, in good condition. Likewise receipted to 
 him 200 lbs. bacon and two bbls. of pork for Dudley Wood- 
 bridge. Requested Zanes to send at the first opportunity, the 
 above provisions to Muskingum, which he engaged to do. 
 
 Wednesday, March 23rd. Bought horse of J. Morris. Bor- 
 rowed saddle to be left at Buffalo. Set off for Buffalo. Over- 
 took boat five miles from Buffalo. Borrowed horses at Buffalo 
 for my sisters, and went out to the Wells. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 97 
 
 Thursday, March 24th, iygi. Went into the mouth of Buffalo, 
 and settled account with Mr. Mahan. Received bill on Col. 
 Duer to balance for $10. Staid at Buffalo to-night. 
 
 Friday, March 25th. Settled my account with McFarland's 
 estate. A balance due me on account of a few shillings. 
 Bought of Brunson three bbls. to contain 700 lbs. of salt pork 
 at one guinea per 100 lbs. Receipted said pork to Brun- 
 son, he engaging to send it to D. Woodbridge, Muskingum. 
 Wrote to Mr. Woodbridge and to the directors of the Ohio 
 Company respecting the provisions I had purchased for them. 
 Directed Mr. Woodbridge to deliver to the directors all the 
 bacon that came from Zanes's, and to pay for transporting it 
 for the company. Likewise wrote to my brother Elijah, to re- 
 fund to the company the money I had not paid out. 
 
 Saturday, March 26th. Left the mouth of the Buffalo this 
 morning. Paid Wells's bill for whiskey, etc., £2 2s. lod. 
 Went to Charles Wells's. Bought a horse of him, for which 
 paid him $45. Paid C. Wells's bill for lodging. 
 
 Sunday, March 2jth. Started for Washington, arriving 
 there about four o'clock. Put up at Purveyance's. Good 
 lodging. 
 
 Monday, March 28th. Paid for horse shoeing, £0 i8j-. 3d. 
 
 Paid saddle work 16 2 
 
 " tavern bill, 18 10 
 
 Got to Moses Bill's, having left Purveyance's at noon. Paid 
 
 for feeding, etc., £0 15^. od. 
 
 Tuesday, March 2gth. Snowy day. Extremely cold. 
 
 Paid bill for lodging, etc., £0 12s. 8d. 
 
 Left his house and went to Adams's. 
 
 Wednesday, March joth. Clear, cold morning. Paid bill 
 of £\ is. 3d. Went to Redstone to breakfast. Paid Doct. 
 
 7 
 
98 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Wheeler for sundries on my own account, $ r. Paid for fer- 
 riage and breakfast, £ o gs. 6d. 
 
 Paid for feeding horse and ferriage, Bradford, 5 6 
 Got to Woodruff's to lodge. 
 
 Thursday, March 31st, 1791. Paid Woodruff's bill. Paid Mc- 
 Connell for breakfast, etc. Got to Berlin. 
 
 Friday, April 1st. Fine morning. Paid bill for lodging. 
 Breakfast at Mehkirk's, Dry Ridge. Got to Bradford. 
 
 Saturday, Apiil 2nd. Cloudy, damp morning, but a fine 
 day. Paid bill at West's. Paid for whip, 1 ] 6. Breakfast at 
 Morgan's. Got to Bird's. 
 
 Sunday, April 3rd. Fine morning. Paid bill for supper, 
 breakfast, etc., £1. Got to Shippersburg. 
 
 Monday, April 4th. Fine morning. Breakfast at Samples's, 
 Mount Rock. Paid for whip at Carlisle, 5 | . Called on Ma- 
 jor Alexander. Got to Baltimore. 
 
 Tuesday, April jfh. Lodged at Lebanon. 
 
 Wednesday, April 6th. (No record.) 
 
 Thursday, April fth. Got to Bethlehem. 
 
 Friday, April 8th. Set out to visit the curiosities of the places, 
 such as the mills, and particularly the machine for raising the 
 water from a fountain 175 feet below the level of the town, the 
 school, the church, the young women and young men, the 
 houses, cotton manufactures, etc. Got to Eastown. 
 
 : i 
 Saturday, April gth. Got to Wormley's. \ 
 
 Sunday, April 10th. Got to New York before sunset. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 99 
 
 Monday, April nth, 17QI. Presented D. Woodbridge's bill to 
 R. Pratt. 
 
 Tuesday, April 12th. Received money of Pratt on Wood- 
 bridge's bill, $500. Bought sarsaparilla and pears, £0 6s. gd. 
 
 Bought linen, etc., for shirts, 16 7 
 
 fruit, 4 
 
 Wednesday, April 13th. Sent off Shoales with horses. 
 
 Thursday, April 14th. Paid for supper, lodging, breakfast, 
 etc., J~o ■js. od. Started in stage for Philadelphia. Paid stage 
 fare, £1 2>s. Ferriage, | 10. Got to Elizabethtown. 
 
 Friday, April ijth. Paid for lodging, etc., . jQo $s. s</. 
 
 Paid for dinner and breakfast, 58 
 
 Got to Philadelphia after twelve at night. 
 
 Saturday, April 16th. Paid for stockings, . -£o gs. "jd. 
 
 Paid for shoes, 12 6 
 
 Called upon Adgate, and delivered Gen. Putnam's order. 
 
 Sunday, April ifth. (No record.) 
 
 Monday, April 18th. Paid for cane, . . . £0 i$s. od. 
 
 Paid for cravat, 5 
 
 " " handkerchief, 7 
 
 " " India ink, 11 
 
 Tuesday, April igth. Received $200 for D. Woodbridge 
 on Gen. Putnam's order, and $200 on Capt. Bealy's order on 
 Paymaster General. 
 
 Wednesday, April 20th. Paid for saddle bags, £1 os. od. 
 
 Paid for sundries, 12 6 
 
 " " ticket No. 1 1, 103, Dickinson college, 117 6 
 
 Received of William Duer, fifty-six cents. 
 
100 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Thursday, April 21st, 17QI. Paid for sundries, 15 | , boots, 
 
 etc., 2 13 I 6, ^3 8s ' M 
 
 Paid for fruit, 3 
 
 Friday, April 22nd. Paid bill at Thomson's . -£2 8s. od. 
 Paid stage fare, 16 8 
 
 Saturday, April 23rd. Reached Point Hook at three o'clock. 
 Ferriage, | 6, buckles for boots, 4 | . 
 
 Sunday, April 24th. (No record.) 
 
 Monday, April 25th. Paid for fruit, . . . £0 os. Sd. 
 
 Tuesday, April 26th. Paid for Sundries, . . £0 gs. od. 
 Received of Shortborn on bills, I. Guicon and Mr. Mahan, 
 $77 on account Wrn. Duer. 
 
 Wednesday, April 2jth. Paid Mr. Roe for horse keeping, 
 
 $8, .... £1 ^. od. 
 
 Paid for fruit, 1 
 
 Thursday, April 28th. Paid for knee buckles, £0 gs. od. 
 
 Friday, April 2gth. Wrote to Mr. Adgate, Philadelphia. 
 Paid for saddle cloth and surcingle, . . . jQo 131. gd. 
 " " waiscoat and breeches, .... 261 
 
 Saturday, April 30th. Rode out of town with Mr. Dana. 
 Paid for porter, 2 | 6 ; sundries, 3 | 3. 
 
 Sunday, May 1st. Very fine morning. A large number of 
 
 fine vessels sailed. The East Indiaman among 
 
 the rest. 
 
 Monday, May 2nd. Fine day. Drawing lottery commenced 
 to-day. Paid for ticket $5 and 3 | 6 £2 3s. 6d. 
 
 Tuesday, May 3rd. Fine morning. Paid for sundries, 1 | 6. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. IOI 
 
 Wednesday, May 4th, 1791. Paid for shaving apparatus, 
 soap and razor £\ is. 6d. 
 
 Thursday, May 5th. Heavy thunder yesterday afternoon 
 and this morning, attended with showers. Showery all day. 
 Ate no breakfast or dinner. Put a letter into the post office 
 yesterday morning directed to Andrew Adgate, of Philadel- 
 phia, indorsing three Philadelphia land bills of $20 each, with 
 instructions for him to credit them to the account of D. Wood- 
 bridge. Delivered the letter to Whitemore, the clerk in the 
 post office. Paid him postage, and saw him free the letter. 
 Postage, 1 I 4. Showery day. 
 
 Friday, May 6th. Showery day. Paid for paper, 1 j ; for 
 fruit, I 6. 
 
 Saturday, May Jth. Fine day. 
 
 Sunday, May 8th. Very fine, pleasant day. Paid for sun- 
 dries, £0 8s. od. 
 
 Paid for ferriage, etc., 2 
 
 Went onto Long Island with my horse. Kode out to Stark, 
 Bush and Graves's, and returned to Flat Bush, and dined and 
 drank tea. 
 
 Monday, May gth. Paid for watch key, . . £0 2s. od. 
 
 Paid for fruit, etc., 8 
 
 Very pleasant day. 
 
 Tuesday, May 10th. Sundries, £0 8s. od. 
 
 Wednesday, May nth. (No record.) 
 
 Thursday, May 12th. Paid for barbering, . £0 is. od. 
 
 Friday, May 13th. Paid for fruit, etc., | 8 ; mending 
 
 bridle, 3 | 6 jQo 4s. id. 
 
 Sudden change in the air. Wind eastward. Heavy thunder- 
 storm. Bill for horse keeping, paid Roe, . . . £§ os. od. 
 
102 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Saturday, May 14th, ijgi. Sundries, 8 | . Chilly and 
 cloudy morning. Paints and marble, 10 | 6 ; oysters, etc., 2 | 3. 
 
 Sunday, May 15th. Fair day. Barbering, 1 | , sundries, 1 | . 
 
 Monday, May 16th, Fine morning. sPaid for fruit, | 6, 
 fruit, etc., 2 | . 
 
 Tuesday, May ijth. Very unwell. Did not rise till twelve 
 o'clock. Paid for bleeding, 5 | . Paid at Land office for in- 
 specting books and maps, 2 | . 
 
 Wednesday, May 18th. Barbering, 1 | . 
 
 Thursday, May igth. Paid for furniture check, 36 | , 
 
 j£i 16s. od. 
 
 Paid for coats, 28 
 
 Friday, May 20th. Paid for linen, 6 yds. @ 5 | , comb, 
 
 6 I , £1 16s. od. 
 
 Paid for gloves, 36 
 
 " " horse keeping, 18 6 
 
 Lodging $15. Left N. York at four o'clock. 
 
 Saturday, May 21st. Paid for lodging at Hack's, £0 6s. 6 
 Paid for breakfast, etc., at Horton's, .... 2 6 
 
 feeding, etc 1 4 
 
 14 tf 
 
 Sunday, May 22nd. Lodging, Fairfield, . . £0 4s. 6d. 
 
 Breakfast, etc., i 10 
 
 Ferriage, 4 
 
 Baiting, barbering, etc., 3 
 
 At New Haven, baiting, etc., 5 
 
 Monday, May 23rd. Lodging, H. Deerham, £0 3s. lod. 
 
 Ferriage, E. Haddam, 3 
 
 Feeding, etc., Colchester, 2 1 
 
the backus family. i03 
 
 List of Articles Sent in Trunk by Lord of Lyme, 
 April 2nd, ij88. 
 One saddle, one blanket, one pillow, one surveyor's compas, 
 scale and elevators, two pair shoes, four shirts — No. i, 2, 4, 10, 
 one pair Nankeen trousers, one pair checked do, one pair shoe 
 brushes, one cloth brush, four pounds chocolate, three quires 
 writing paper, two sheets, cornet — D, four Blackball's survey- 
 or's chains, «ne pair strump irons, two towels, three linen 
 handkerchiefs, one pair linen breeches, one linen waistcoat, 
 three dozen buttons, one shot pouch, two tin cups, one box of 
 wafers, two sticks of sealing wax, one powder horn and pow- 
 der, one bridle, one pack of thread, patches, etc., dictionary, 
 Atkinson's Epitome, grammar, Dileworth's Arithmetic ; one 
 bag containing 24 crowns, 8, 10 dollars, 3, 17 dollars, 5, 2 3 half- 
 crowns, 9, 6 quarter do., 9 = 17; one bag containing 48 dol- 
 lars in different coins, wrapped in paper, marked "Moses 
 Cleveland." 
 
 Paid Enoch Parsons ten dollars to discharge my subscrip- 
 tions for lands in the Ohio Company ; likewise, i m " principal 
 Continental certificate. 
 
 Gold Coin. 
 
 3 half-dollars, £7 6*. od. 
 
 4 guineas, 513 
 
 1 pistole 1 24 
 
 1 half-guinea, 14 
 
 Articles in Portmanteau, and Clothes I have on. 
 
 Two coats, one surcoat, one great coat, five shirts, three 
 waistcoats, two pair breeches, two pair trousers, one white stock, 
 two black, five white handkerchiefs, six calico shirts, one pres- 
 idential linen, one pair white gauze, three pieces of red, white 
 and blue ribbon, one pair black do., Gibson's surveying ink- 
 stand, Hutchinson's geography, i m - needles, shaving box, case 
 of razors, knife and fork, three cutletts, three silk handker- 
 chiefs, four linen do., three dozen buttons. 
 
104 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Received of Saltonstall & Mumford, order, £8. Sold it 
 for specie, nine per cent, discount, . . . £"] $s. id. 
 Received of Mr. London in bank notes, . . 300 
 
 Gave Tuain change in cash, 050 
 
 £2 15s. od. 
 Paid small note to Robertson & Smith for 
 
 goods at 6$ discount, loss, 3 3 
 
 £2 11s. gd. 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Bought i ra - needles, 8 | 6. 
 
 '' 1% doz. packing, 4 | 6. 
 
 " 1^ hundred darning do., 1 | 3. 
 
 " 20 Tiffany handkerchiefs at vendue,® 1 | 4,^1 6*. gd. 
 
 1789. 
 
 List of Articles taken into the Woods. 
 
 Three shirts, two pair worsted stockings, one pair linen do., 
 one pair checked trousers, one pair leather breeches, one pair 
 Indian stockings, one pair shoes, one pair moccasins, two beav- 
 er skins and some pieces of deer skin, two-and one-half lbs. of 
 tea, two lbs. chocolate, four lbs. coffee, twenty-six sheets of 
 paper of fine quality, vial of ink, one case of instruments, one 
 waistcoat, one silk handkerchief, one double knife, one cutter, 
 two camp kettles, one teapot, one tin cup, two spoons, one fry 
 pan, one quart pot, two hatchets, one tomahawk, two Indian 
 blankets — one marked F. B., the other marked P. C. ; one axe, 
 one bag with four quarts of salt, one and one-half dozen plates, 
 five-and-three-quarters lbs. of powder, one lb. of lead, five 
 pieces of seventy-pound bacon, twenty lbs. beef, twenty lbs. 
 pork, ten gallons whiskey, four barrels flour, one deer skin, one 
 checkered bag with sugar in it, six-and-three-quarters pounds 
 loaf sugar, six-and-three-quarters pounds maple sugar ; one red 
 cedar box containing a needle, a small file, a leather wrapper 
 with thread and needles, gimlet, etc. ; small vial brimstone, 
 small vial phosphorus, tea, etc. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 
 
 I °S 
 
 Thus ends James Backus's Journal. One can not peruse it 
 without being interested, and without noticing how active and 
 energetic he was. Although but a young man, he seems to 
 have merited and received the confidence and friendship of his 
 associates. In fact, he seems to have been the right man in the 
 right place. In further proof of this the following may be in- 
 teresting: — (From an Ohio paper dated Marietta, July 3, 1887.) 
 
 "The subscribers agree to celebrate the anniversary of the 
 independence of the United States, upon the fourth day of 
 July next. They will provi3e a public dinner for themselves, 
 his Excellency the Governor, and suite, the officers of the gar- 
 rison, and such others as may be occasionally invited. The 
 expenses shall be equally borne and paid to Mr. James Backus, 
 who is desired to provide and superintend the entertainment. 
 
 " Jabez True, 
 " Ezekiel Cooper, 
 " C. T. H. Greene, 
 " Samuel Philips, 
 " Benj. Strum, 
 " Sam'l Stebbins, 
 "William Gridley, 
 " James Leach, 
 "John Matthews, 
 "Sam. H. Parsons, 
 " Rufus Putnam, 
 " Wm. Corlis, 
 "J. Backus, 
 " Anselm Tupper, 
 " Eben Battelle, 
 •' Dean Tyler, 
 " H. White, 
 " Arnold Colt, 
 "Benj. Helle, 
 " Joseph Lincoln, 
 "June 18th, 1788. 
 
 josiah munro, 
 Wm. Casey, 
 J. Pierce, 
 Thos. Lord, 
 A. Olivus, 
 Winthrop Sargent, 
 John Skinner, 
 P. Fearing, 
 Aaron Barlow, 
 James M. Varnum, 
 E. C. Sproat, 
 A. Crary, 
 R. T. Meigs, 
 John May, 
 Oliver Price, 
 Wm. Stacy, 
 Jonathan Devol, 
 Sylvester Fuller, 
 Carl Sproat, 
 
Io6 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 "As from one hundred and fifty to two hundred guests sat 
 down to dinner, it is likely Mr. Backus was driven to his wits 
 end to supply the table with the necessary utensils. He hit 
 upon the plan of borrowing, .... Gens. Putnam, Par- 
 sons, Varnurn, and May; Messrs. Colt, Lord, Fearing, Gridley, 
 Greene, and Casey, and Maj. Sargent and Mr. True, were the 
 
 obliging gentlemen who loaned the articles They 
 
 had seventy one knives, seventy-seven pewter and earthen 
 plates, twelve pewter and earthen dishes, one glass tumbler and 
 twenty-one tin, nine sup-pans, twelve pewter and copper por- 
 ringers, seven large copper and brass kettles and pots, four 
 bake-pans, one spider, four frying pans, three gridirons, two 
 pepper boxes, eighteen spoons, one castor, six bottles, three tin 
 jugs, two salad pans, five quart and seven half-pint pewter and 
 tin cups, one punch pitcher, five tin cups for gravy, and one 
 baster. 
 
 " This first Fourth fell on Friday. The day was hot and 
 showery — very much after the fashion of the present Fourth 
 of July. John Adams used to say: ' that this anniversary de- 
 manded cannons, drums and thunder,' and this initial Fourth 
 in the ' Great West ' had all these. Very early in the morning 
 the cannon of Fort Harmer — a fortification built several years 
 previous to the first settlement — sent the glad news flying that 
 ' the day we celebrate' had penetrated even to ' the Indian side' 
 of the river Ohio. Soon the United States flag was flying over 
 the garrison, and every available point was decorated with 
 standards. 
 
 "At half-past twelve General Harmer, the commander of the 
 garrison, with his suite and the other gentlemen of the Fort — 
 the soldiers glittering in their United States uniforms — enter- 
 ed the large barge Congress, which was fifty feet long, and rowed 
 by twelve men arrayed in white uniforms, and were taken across 
 the Muskingum. 
 
 " This goodly company were met at 'the Point' by the 
 gentlemen of the Ohio Company and other residents of the 
 place, numbering, perhaps, one hundred and thirty. Among 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 107 
 
 the number were at least four generals, six colonels, six majors 
 and seven captains, who only a few years before had fought the 
 battles which made the United States a free and independent 
 people. It requires but a slight stretch of the imagination to 
 realize the reminiscences, the funny jokes, the warm greetings 
 of these old soldiers, as, with kindling eye, they once more re- 
 counted their achievements at Lexington, Valley Forge or 
 Yorktown. 
 
 " The orator of the day was Gen. James Mitchell Varnum, 
 a man whose great achievements and early death have cast a 
 halo around his name. Though but thirty-nine years old at 
 the time of his death, General Varnum had already won suc- 
 cess in three distinct callings. He was a brave soldier, serving 
 his country well during the revolution, and rose from one rank 
 to another until he was finally appointed a brigadier general. 
 His work as a statesman was not inferior to that of a soldier; 
 and he twice represented Rhode Island wisely and well in 
 Congress during very troublesome times, where, it was said, his 
 eloquence was equal to Patrick Henry's. His reputation as a 
 lawyer was national." ..... 
 
 We have seen in his Journal that James Backus mentions 
 conducting French emigrants into the western country. He 
 also mentions the securing of provisions and supplies and pro- 
 viding quarters for these people to stay in, and boats and wag- 
 ons for them in which to travel. This will be made clearer by 
 the following letter, which reads : 
 
 Wellsburgh, May 20th, 1790. 
 Sir :— As no survey for the French settlers can take place 
 at present, I must request you to set out for Alexandria as soon 
 as may be, it being necessary that some person from the Mus- 
 kingum settlement, well informed in everything relating to the 
 Western country should be there as soon as possible ; because 
 the emigrants will be told a thousand idle stories about the 
 cheapness of land in Virginia, the roughness of the roads, and 
 the distance of their lands from other settlements ; and it will 
 
Io8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 be your business to remove every difficulty in your power to 
 inspire the people with patience, and to provide for their ac- 
 commodation and good treatment on the way. The better to 
 ensure the last of which objects, it will be proper on your way to 
 Alexandria to be very particular in your inquiries, and to note 
 the several settlements from which supplies of wagons, forage 
 and provisions may be drawn, the best route and stages for 
 putting up, and to ascertain whether the navigation of the 
 Potomac can be made use of to advantage. You will advise 
 Major Rochefontain (who is expected as the principal agent) 
 of the best place for embarking on the western waters, the sev- 
 eral places where boats and provisions may be had, with the 
 precautions necessary to guard against impositions ; in short, to 
 give him every information in your power which he may stand 
 in need of, and assist him in conducting his people to their 
 place of settlement. 
 
 As soon as you have made your communication to Major 
 Rochefontain I expect you will set out for New York and 
 deliver the letter directed to Col. Duer, unless some of the 
 trustees be at Alexandria, or that Major Rochefontain shall 
 have occasion for your services another way, and in that case 
 you will forward my letter by mail, with one of your own, ex- 
 plaining the reasons of your not waiting on Col. Duer yourself, 
 and requesting the instructions of the trustees what you are 
 to expect, and how you are to act relative to procuring and 
 furnishing supplies to the settlers or their agents at the expense 
 of the trustees. Should the. trustees furnish you with money 
 or other means of procuring supplies, you will (agreeably to 
 Col. Duer's orders to the) credit none but the principal agent 
 or his order, and then in case only of their having no funds or 
 means of payments ; and whenever such credit is given, you are 
 to take care that formal triplicate acknowledgments are taken 
 of the provisions supplied and expense attending their trans- 
 portation, two of which you will transmit to Col. Duer in order 
 that the necessary measures may be adopted for procuring 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 109 
 
 reimbursements of such sums as Mr. Barlow's agreement may 
 authorize. 
 
 Yours, most sincerely, 
 
 Rufus Putnam. 
 To Mr. James Backus. 
 
 This explains the different movements which James Backus 
 mentions in his Journal for 1790. Now it will be interesting 
 to see how it was he was chosen. It appears it was through 
 General Putnam, whose right-hand man James Backus seems 
 to have been, and it was greatly to the credit of the latter. The 
 appointment may be seen in the following: 
 
 Instructions for Mr. James Backus, etc. 
 
 Sir : — The proprietors of the Scioto purchase are hourly ex- 
 pecting to hear of the arrival of a number of people at Alexan- 
 dria from Europe to settle on the Ohio, near the west lines of 
 the Ohio Company's lands, which has made it necessary that 
 they should take measures to provide boats and provisions on 
 the western waters, as well as to procure people to assist them 
 in making their establishment, and the better to carry these 
 purposes into execution I am desired by the proprietors to 
 engage you in the business of procuring supplies and making 
 arrangements for embarkation. 
 
 Rufus Putnam. 
 To Mr. James Backus. 
 
 To be appointed for this undertaking shows that James 
 Backus must have been a very capable man. The opinion of 
 his brother Elijah is very true when he says, in a letter to his 
 father : 
 
 " I can assure you he has a brighter prospect before him 
 than any other young man in the county, if he will only im- 
 prove it." 
 
IIO A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 The two following letters throw light on the character of 
 James Backus, and show why he had to leave Ohio when he 
 had such bright prospects before him : 
 
 Redstone, July 9, 1790. 
 
 Dear Sir : — .... I have left the Scioto matter of 
 survey entirely to Col. Meigs, and you are to be employed, if 
 you please. 
 
 Your letter, left with Mr. Havelin, I received as I came up. 
 All things are so arranged at Muskingum that you and your 
 friends may be accommodated with land on the Ohio and 
 Hockhocking to operate as a division ; and if you choose to 
 undertake a settlement, a choice is given, provided the settle- 
 ment is made by a time limit, which is about one year from this 
 time. 
 
 I have time to add no more, but that I am, 
 
 Yours, with respect, 
 
 Rufus Putnam. 
 To Mr. James Backus. 
 
 Norwich, 16th July, 1791. 
 
 Sir :— It is with regret that I acquaint you that the situa- 
 tion of my father's affairs in part, but principally my own ill 
 health, will not permit me to return to a country, which, 
 although I can not call my native country, yet can with the 
 most heartfelt sincerity call the only country for which I have 
 any real attachment. 
 
 I should have taken an earlier opportunity if any had 
 offered, to acquaint you with my determination on this subject, 
 although it is but a short time since I have seriously concluded 
 on it. 
 
 After returning to you my most graceful acknowledgments for 
 the repeated favor of friendship that I have experienced from 
 you, and relinquishing the employment in the surveys of the 
 Scioto Company, which you was pleased to entrust me with, I 
 must bid adieu to my future prospects in that country where I 
 had a wish to spend my life, and to the society of a person 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. Ill 
 
 whom I think, I have the honor of calling a friend ; one, at 
 least, from whom I have experienced the most friendly atten- 
 tion, and to whom I most sincerely lament that it has not been 
 in my power to render those services which I would wish. 
 
 I shall shortly be at New York, and will endeavor to com- 
 municate to you as circumstantial an account of the Scioto Com- 
 pany affairs as I can obtain. As to the Ohio Company, the 
 Receiver can better inform you how that is agitated than I can. 
 Honest Connecticut and politic Rhode Island seem determined 
 to have an overhauling. Each have appointed their agents 
 to visit you. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 James Backus. 
 
 James Backus was one of the first proprietors, owning in his 
 own right, and paying his money, for his interest as one of the 
 first members of the Ohio Company. His interest, pecuniary, 
 was there, and he personally was there, also, not as a drone in 
 the hive, but as an interested and active, a highly intelligent 
 and practical young man of about twenty-four years of age. 
 The right man. and in the right place, for the prosecution and 
 energetic exercise of all measures for progress and success of 
 this enterprise. James Backus helped in the organization of 
 • law and order in this new and far distant land of hope. He was 
 a civil and military officer in the settlement and the country ; 
 he was one of the Puritan stock of the first settlers of New Eng- 
 land ; he built the first frame house in the new settlement. The 
 first yoke of oxen from New England that trod the sod of 
 Marietta were driven from Connecticut, and belonged to him. 
 The first saw mill crank and saw mill saw were made by his 
 father, and the first grist mill spindle, plow iron and other 
 irons, were made at the same place, Backus Iron Works, Nor- 
 wich. James Backus had means and resources of his own, and 
 used such in furtherance and to the benefit of the first settle- 
 ment. This and much more can be proved and made manifest 
 
112 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 by his papers, written by his own hand, and on the identical 
 ground of the first settlement, at the time and place indicated. 
 
 Shall these early, relevant and important matters for which we 
 are now particularly seeking be hid any longer, after a lapse of a 
 century, and now come for the first time to light and knowledge of 
 the present seeker after new truths, and historic facts, concerning 
 the first settlement of Ohio in 1788, all other and former re- 
 sources being exhausted? 
 
 It appears to the writer of this there seems to be two objects 
 to be attained ; first to collect, as far as possible, and preserve 
 at some accessible point, the materials which still exist for a 
 history of this important event, the first settlement of Ohio. 
 
 The second object is the preservation of the names and 
 memory of the enterprising, energetic, patriotic and valuable 
 men who were the prime movers, organizers and pioneers of 
 this first settlement. 
 
 This settlement was organized by pioneer settlers seeking 
 homes, as much as by wise statesmen who had no such motive 
 to govern them. 
 
 It is not surprising that as a century is roundirjg up, the 
 thoughtful enquirer should look back and endeavor to trace the 
 beginning, and look up the existing circumstances as well as 
 personalities connected with this event, as : Why was the plant- 
 ing? Who were the planters? The wasting processes of a cen- 
 tury have destroyed valuable family papers, and memories of 
 early actors and listeners have faded out ; so that fragments 
 of fact, incident and history must be gathered up wherever' 
 they may be found and carefully applied. Separately, their light 
 is too feeble and uncertain to guide the explorer's steps. 
 
 Hence the wisdom of immediate efforts, to obtain and de- 
 posit in a suitable place, these frail and diminishing but price- 
 less records of the first legal settlement of Ohio, and no safer 
 place for their preservation than the printed page. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 113 
 
 In a plot of ground in Yantic Cemetery, Norwich, Conn., 
 on the bluff overlooking the Yantic River, stands a granite 
 monument bearing this inscription : 
 
 BORN JULY I4 , 1764. — DIED SEPT. 29, 1816. 
 
 AGED 52 YEARS, 1 MONTH, 15 DAYS. 
 
 MARRIED DOROTHY CHURCH CHANDLER, 
 
 OF WOODSTOCK, CONN., 
 
 SEPT. 15, i 7 g 3 . 
 
114 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Returning to the genealogy, let us follow the descendants 
 of James Backus. 
 
 * Mary Backus, eldest daughter of James and Dorothy 
 C. Backus was a woman of a robust, sanguine temperament, 
 her tastes were refined, and of an active and business turn. 
 She resided with her kinsfolks, the Griswolds, in Lyme, (Black 
 Hall) after the death of her father, for a period of years. 
 
 * Lucy Backus, the second daughter, was a lady of fine 
 appearance, literary tastes, but somewhat debilitated by chronic 
 affection of the throat and lungs. She spent some years of her 
 life in the family of her kinsman, Gov. William Woodbridge, 
 in Detroit. 
 
 * Sarah Backus, the third daughter, was of a retiring 
 disposition, given to study and reflection, and thought. She 
 was a lady of large literary acquirements and a prolific writer; 
 her written matter fills a pretty large space, sufficient for a book 
 of several hundred pages, in all of which the religious element 
 predominates. 
 
 If the Lord Jesus Christ ever had a devoted proselyte she 
 was one. She spent some years in the family of her grand- 
 mother, Mrs. Marian Ely, the wife of Austin Ely, of Springfield, 
 Mass. Some of her writings breathed the most ardent devo- 
 tion and submission to her Creator. She found great satisfac- 
 tion in the study of his attributes. 
 
 * Jane Backus, the fourth child and daughter of James 
 and Dorothy C. Backus, was an amiable, worthy woman, remark- 
 able for her diligence and doing good to all. She was of great 
 service to her mother and family. I trust she will inherit and 
 receive the blessed reward for her good deeds. She was a 
 great admirer of music. Her whole life was spent at the home 
 of her brother. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 115 
 
 These four daughters of James and Dorothy C. Backus are 
 all dead, lived and died unmarried; not all of them unmarried 
 from necessity, but from choice. Some of them had what the 
 world would called good offers, but declined them. 
 
 * Nancy Backus, fifth child of James Backus, died in 
 infancy. 
 
 * William W. Backus, the son of James and Dorothy 
 Church Chandler Backus, of Woodstock, was the sixth of a 
 family of eight children ; and, at the time of his father's death, 
 was but thirteen years of age. His mother was the daughter 
 of Charles Church Chandler, a member of the Windham Coun- 
 ty Bar, and one of the leading lawyers at the Bar of the State. 
 
 His whole life has been spent in Norwich, except part of a 
 year spent in Marietta, Ohio, in the mercantile establishment 
 of Dudley Woodbridge, Jr., — the Judge, his father, then being 
 alive (1819). 
 
 From ill health he was necessitated to return to Norwich 
 Since 1819, he has resided at Norwich, at the home of his an- 
 cestors, completing seven generations. His time has been spent 
 mainly in farm operations, causing the old farm, with large ad- 
 ditions, to bud and blossom, raising large crops of Indian 
 corn (in some cases more than one hundred bushels of shelled 
 corn per acre) rye, potatoes, grass, turnips ; keeping a large 
 amount of stock — annually fattening one hundred, and buy- 
 ing and selling many more. Supposed to have owned a great- 
 er number of horned cattle than any one owner in New Lon- 
 don County during a period of fifty years or more. His losses 
 have been many, amounting to fifty thousand dollars. Some 
 gains, and some losses all the time. An eager student, he 
 worked days, and studied nights after going to bed, by candle- 
 light — sometimes to the small hours, or as long as fatigue 
 would permit. 
 
 * Frances Backus, unmarried. Lives with her brother 
 at Yantic. 
 
J&enly *0°. JSSae&iuHrZfc 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 17 
 
 " It is, then, for great and beneficial purposes, that the path 
 of man — whether as an individual or a nation, is marked with 
 vicissitudes and circumstances, which, like the fabled cup of 
 Jamsheed, reflect in full view the causes that have produced 
 either national prosperity, or national adversity 
 
 " If America is ever destined to fall, she is to be her own 
 destroyer by becoming an ignorant and a vicious people ; by 
 neglecting the study of her own character, and the character of 
 man, by floating carelessly down the current of events — losing 
 her own great landmarks, and spurning the monumental wis- 
 dom that other ages press upon her attention, till she is waked 
 to the awful reality that this now pleasant land is but a great 
 prison house of slaves. But if, with all the vantage ground she 
 now possesses for marching up to the highest destiny of nations, 
 she falls, she will fall like the wanton suicide — unpitied and 
 unwept. May God forbid that this should be her destiny! On 
 the contrary, may this last hope of man in the science of self- 
 government, by the redeeming principles of virtue and intelli- 
 gence add strength to prosperity, and grandeur to patriotism ; 
 and, with her moral march of empire send out an influence that 
 shall encircle the whole globe, transforming subjects into citi- 
 zens, and kings into men, till the whole earth shall become vo- 
 cal with the hosannahs of Freedom." 
 
 After practicing law in Norwich two or three years, Henry 
 T. Backus went to Detroit, and was connected with Gov. 
 Woodbridge, as his partner, whose daughter he married in De- 
 cember, 1835. 
 
 Afterwards he became senior partner in the law firm of 
 "Backus & Harbough." In 1840, he was elected to the legis- 
 lature, and in 1861, was elected to the State senate, and was 
 president pro tem, of that body in 1861-2. He was lieutenant 
 governor in 1862 and 1863. 
 
 He was also high in Free Masonry, being elected master of 
 the Grand Lodge of Masons of Michigan, 1854, and having 
 instituted the first lodge of F. and A. M. in upper Canada. 
 
1 1 8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 In September, 1865, Mr. Backus was appointed United 
 States Judge for the Territory of Arizona. Upon receiving this 
 appointment he removed from Detroit to Arizona. 
 
 In 1869, he returned to Detroit and resumed the practice 
 of law, but he was called to Arizona in July, 1877, owing to his 
 large business interests there. This journey, with the exhaus- 
 tion caused by the great heat, brought him to his death bed. 
 
 He was buried at Greenwood, July, 1877, but was reinterred 
 at the Yantic Cemetery, Aug. 7th, 1885. 
 
 When the news of the death of Judge Backus reached his 
 friends at Norwich, Conn., the Hon. John T. Wait, late a Mem- 
 ber of Congress from that State, paid the following truthful 
 tribute to the rare ability and high professional standing of the 
 deceased, in a letter which he addressed to his brother, Mr. 
 William W. Backus : 
 
 " Judge Backus was a man of marked ability, and rare 
 scholarly acquirements. His accomplishments as a jurist, and 
 eloquence as an advocate, commanded public confidence and 
 respect, and placed him among the leaders in his profession ; 
 while his genial disposition and courteous manner won for him 
 the strongest attachment on the part of a large circle of per- 
 sonal friends." 
 
 This extract just quoted is engraven on the family monu- 
 ment erected by the brother of the deceased in Yantic Ceme- 
 tery. 
 
 Mr. Wait was an intimate friend and associate of Judge 
 Backus prior to his leaving Norwich for Michigan. They had 
 been connected with a Young Men's Association in that place 
 for the improvement of its members in composition, declama- 
 tion, and debate, and he had had excellent opportunities to 
 know how high the deceased stood as a scholar and a speaker. 
 
 ** James H. Backus, only surviving son of Henry T. 
 Backus, born Jan. 25th, 185 1, is now living at Santa Paula, 
 California. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 119 
 
 ** William Woodbridge Backus, son of Henry T. 
 Backus, died at Detroit, June 24th, 1877. 
 
 [From The Detroit Free Press.] 
 
 " He was a man in whom the gentler graces of life were 
 peculiarly marked ; whose broad and noble nature, simplicity 
 of heart, faith in human goodness, and tolerance of human 
 foibles, made him ' as this world goes, one man picked out of 
 ten thousand.' Though no act of his life was in any sense 
 theatrically heroic, he was, nevertheless, a true hero. To those 
 who knew him best this was apparent in the uncomplaining 
 fortitude with which he bore his manifold afflictions. 
 
 " He rejoiced in the happiness of others, and was continu- 
 ally devising plans for others' pleasure. The poor found in him 
 a thoughtful and generous friend ; the struggling never appeal- 
 ed to him in vain for that sympathy and that forbearance which 
 are the best stimulant of sincere endeavor. If he saw a broth- 
 er faint by the wayside he put forth his hand to lift him up, 
 and send him on his way, encouraged with new hopes and re- 
 freshed energies. His genial nature always rose superior to the 
 small annoyances of life, and, despite his almost unparalleled 
 physical sufferings, he never abated his cheerfulness or his cor- 
 diality. The grasp of his hand was as earnest, his face was as 
 sunny, and his salutations were invariably as hearty as if he had 
 never known the pangs from which he rarely had release, . . 
 
 " The deceased lived all his life in and near Detroit. Ar- 
 chaeological studies was one of his most congenial pursuits, 
 and at the time of his death was the owner of a very valuable 
 and unique museum. He loved books devotedly, and at home 
 it was his habit to devote all his evenings to reading or discus- 
 sing the newest desirable literary venture." 
 
 § Matthew Backus, seventh child of Elijah and Lucy 
 Griswold Backus, died unmarried. He was a lawyer by pro- 
 fession, and settled in the West. 
 
120 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 § Clarina Backus, eighth child of Elijah and Lucy 
 Griswold Backus, died unmarried. 
 
 1 Simon Backus, sixth child of Samuel and Elizabeth 
 Tracey Backus, was born Jan. 17, 1729, and died Feb. 16, 1764. 
 
 IT Eunice Backus, seventh child of Samuel and Eliza- 
 beth Tracey Backus, was born May, 1731, and died Aug. 16, 
 1753. She was married, and had one child : 
 
 § Eunice, born July, 1753. Married Matthew Edgerton. 
 
 1" Andrew Backus, eighth child of Samuel and Eliza- 
 beth Tracey Backus, was born Nov. 16, 1723, and died Nov. 
 20, 1796. He was married, Feb. 8, 1759, to Lois Pierce, of 
 Plainfield, where he lived. His children were : 
 
 § Stephen, 
 
 born Nov. 27, 1759. 
 
 § Thomas, 
 
 " May, 1762. 
 
 § Simon, 
 
 " April 12, 1765. Died Sept. 19, 1788. 
 
 § Sylvanus, 
 
 " June 3, 1768. 
 
 § Eunice, 
 
 " June 14, 1770. Died July . Was married to 
 
 
 Elisha Perkins, by whom she had a son, named 
 
 
 Elisha. 
 
 § Mary, 
 
 " Jan. 8, 1773. 
 
 § Lucy, 
 
 " March 14, 1777. 
 
 IT Asa Backus, ninth child of Samuel and Elizabeth 
 Tracey Backus, was born May 3, 1736, and died July 23, 1788. 
 He was married to Esther Parkhurst, May 12, 1762, and had 
 eight children. ' They were : 
 
 § Asa, born May 12, 1763. 
 
 § Esther, " — , 1765. 
 
 § Mary, " Aug. 29, 1767. Died Oct. 10, 1785. 
 
 § Joseph, " — , 1770. Died — , 1771. 
 
 § Eunice, " — , 1772. 
 
 § Lucy, " — , 1774. 
 
 § John, " July 7, 1777. 
 
 § Samuel, " October, 1780. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 12 1 
 
 ** Asa Backus, a descendant of § Asa Backus, was 
 born July 21, 1836. He was formerly a merchant at Toledo, 
 Ohio, but now resides in Norwich. He married Julia Wolcott 
 Bissell, who was born Oct. 12, 1836. Their children were : 
 
 *** Carrie Tracy, born Feb. 19, 1S61. Died March 18, 1864. 
 
 *** Asa William, " Jan. 3, 1863. 
 
 *** Lizzie Hale, " March 28, 1865. Died Aug. 29, 1866. 
 
 *** Julia Rider, " Dec. 6, 1866. 
 
 *** Edward Tracy, " Dec. 6, 1873. Jan. 24, 1874. 
 
 *** Frederic Tracy, " Mar. 2, 1876. 
 
 *H Lucy Backus, tenth child of Samuel and Elizabeth 
 Tracey Backus, was born April 18, 1738. She was married to 
 Benasah Leffingwell, August 16, 1764. They had seven chil- 
 dren, viz : 
 
 § Benasah, born June 22, 1765. 
 
 § Lucy, " Jan. 31, 1767. Died June, 1797. 
 
 § Elizabeth, " Oct. 8, 1768. 
 
 § A daughter, " January, 1771. Died February, 1771. 
 
 § Richard, " Oct. 3, 1773. 
 
 § Mary, " Nov. 21, 1775. 
 
 § Oliver, " Oct. 28, 1778. 
 
 T John Backus, eleventh child of Samuel and Elizabeth 
 Tracey Backus, was born Oct. 16, 1740, and died April 27, 
 1814. He was deacon of the First Church in Norwich, and a 
 member of the Legislature. 
 
 Among the descendants of William Backus, son of the first 
 William Backus, the following clergymen, who are natives of 
 Norwich, may be mentioned : 
 
 Simon Backus, son of Joseph, born at Norwich, Feb. 
 n, 1701, graduated at Yale College in 1724, and was ordained 
 pastor of the church at Newington, in 1727. He attended the 
 expedition to Cape Breton, as chaplain of the Connecticut 
 troops, and died while on duty at that place in May, 1746. 
 His wife was a sister of President Edwards, of New Jersey 
 College. 
 
122 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Rev. Simon Backus, son of the above, was pastor in 
 Granby, Mass., and died in 1828, aged eighty-seven. 
 
 Rev. Charles Backus, D. D., of Somers, Conn., had a 
 high reputation as an acute and able theologian, and prepared 
 many young men for the sacred office. Dr. Dwight said of 
 him. ''I have not known a wiser man." 
 
 Rev. Azel Backus, D. D., born Oct. 31, 1756, was a 
 nephew of Rev. Charles Backus, of Somers. His father died 
 when he was a youth, and left him a farm, which, he said, " I 
 wisely exchanged for an education in college." He settled in 
 Bethel, Conn., as the successor of Dr. Bellamy, but in 1812, 
 was chosen first president of Hamilton college. 
 
 Thus, in the various walks of life this large family have had 
 numerous representatives, useful, active, and patriotic citizens 
 intimately connected with the history of the country. 
 
DESCENDANTS 
 
 STEPHEN BACKUS. 
 
 Note. — The following account of Stephen Backus and his descendants 
 
 was contributed by Mr. Henry C. Backus, of New York City. It will be 
 remembered that Stephen emigrated to Canterbury, about T692. 
 
 The children of Stephen were : 
 
 Sarah, born April, 1768. 
 
 Stephen, " October, 1.670. 
 
 Mary, " November, 1672. 
 
 Ruth, " December ig, 1674. 
 
 Lydia, " November, 1677. 
 
 Timothy, " October 7, 1682. 
 
 Elizabeth, " July 20, 1688. 
 
 Timothy Backus, grandson of Stephen, and son of one 
 
 the above named, probably Stephen, married Mary Bacon, 
 in Canterbury, on Nov. 14, 1739. The children of this union 
 were : 
 
124 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 If Timothy, 
 
 born 1742. 
 
 % Mary, 
 
 " 1744- 
 
 *fi Stephen, 
 
 " 1747- 
 
 TT Elijah, 
 
 " 1750. 
 
 Tf Elisha, 
 
 " 1752- 
 
 If Timothy, 
 
 " 1754- 
 
 'S Olive, 
 
 " 1757- 
 
 If Jeremiah, 
 
 " 1760. 
 
 TT Rufus, 
 
 " 1762. 
 
 IT Timothy Backus, born in 1742, died while young. 
 1" Rufus Backus became a physician in Norwich. 
 
 ^[ Elisha Backus married Betsey, a daughter of William 
 Johnson, at Canterbury, in 1777. He died March 21, 1801, 
 and was interred at Manlius, Onondaga County, New York. 
 Elisha Backus was at the battle of Bunker Hill — a volunteer 
 under General Putnam — and, later in the Revolutionary War, 
 he was an " aide-de-camp " and major upon the staff of Gen- 
 eral Gates. This Elisha Backus, with his family, migrated 
 from the fields of Connecticut, and established himself upon 
 the soil of New York. His wife, Betsey, lived to the age of 
 eighty-six years and nine months, and died on August 12, 1839, 
 at Utica, Oneida County, N. Y., where she lay buried until 
 December, 1880, when her remains were transferred to Lot No. 
 10,958, of Greenwood Cemetery, in Brooklyn, Kings County, 
 New York. 
 
 The children of this wedlock were : 
 
 § Betsey, born 1780. 
 
 § Elisha, " November 17, 1782. 
 
 § Eunice, " 1794. 
 
 § Betsey Backus, married Merritt Morris Clark, then 
 Mr. Baldwin ; later Mr. Piper, and finally Mr. Pride. She had 
 one child : 
 
 § Juliet, who died young. 
 
 She herself expired at Oxbow, Jefferson County, New York, 
 Aug. 23, 1846. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 25 
 
 § Eunice Backus, married Harlan Hawley. She died at 
 Burlington, Iowa, Oct. 1, 1863; her husband dying there, Jan. 
 24, 1864. She had by this marriage one son : 
 
 § Horace Harlan Hawley, who espoused Jane Sheldon. 
 
 § Elishu Backus removed while a child, with his father, 
 from Canterbury, Conn., to Manlius, N. Y. ; thence he went to 
 Lyden, Lewis County, N. Y.; thence to Trenton, Oneida Coun- 
 ty, N. Y. ; thence to Utica, Oneida County, N. Y. ; thence to 
 Vienna, Ontario County, N. Y. ; thence to Morristown, St. 
 Lawrence County, N. Y., where he died on Aug. 12, 1850. He 
 was thereupon buried at Utica, N. Y., and subsequently was 
 transferred to Lot No. 20,557 of Greenwood Cemetery, at 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 This Elisha Backus was proprietor of the line of stages run- 
 ning between Utica and Sackett's Harbor, in New York ; and 
 also of another such line between Utica, Rome, and Oswego, 
 in the same State. He was besides, a colonel of artillery in the 
 State militia of New York, while resident in Utica and Oneida 
 County. He wedded, on May 7, 1806, at Lyden, N. Y., Jane 
 Brown, who was born Feb. 7, 1787 and died on April 8, 1807, 
 and had with her one child: 
 
 * Merritt Morris Backus, born Jan. 18, 1807. 
 
 Then after this Elisha Backus married on Nov. 10, 1812, at 
 Charlton, Saratoga County, N. Y., Cynthia Chapman, who was 
 born on March 16, 1783, and died on March 16, i8t6, and was 
 buried at Charlton, N. Y. The issue of this marriage was : 
 
 * Charles Chapman Backus, born March 13, i8i6,at Charlton, N. Y. 
 
 Later, the same Elisha Backus espoused, on December 25, 
 1816, at Leyden, N. Y., Amanda Merriam, who was born on 
 Feb. 8, 1796, died May 21, 1874, and who was buried in Lot 
 No. 20,557 of Greenwood Cemetery, at Brooklyn, N, Y. The 
 offspring of this marriage were : 
 
126 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 * Maucer Merriam, born April 4, 1818. 
 
 * Elisha Ei.a, " Jan. 20, 1820. 
 
 * Armand Cynthia, " Jan. 18, 1822. 
 
 * Clinton Lafayette, " April 20, 1824. 
 
 * Jane Juliet, " Jan. 24, 1826. 
 
 * Merritt M. Backus died without issue, on January, 
 (or June) 11, 1836, at New Orleans, Louisiana. 
 
 * Maueer M. Backus married Harriet C. Wilder in 
 May, 1842. 
 
 * Elisha E. Backus married Anne , and died at 
 
 Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 * Armand C. Backus was married to Capt. Richard B. 
 Chapman, on Jan. 12, 1842, and died on Feb. 27, 1880, at Rye, 
 Westchester County, N. Y. 
 
 * Clinton L. Backus died at New York City, on Oct. 
 4, 1849, without issue, and was buried at Utica, N. Y. He was 
 reinterred in 1877, in Lot No. 20,557, of Greenwood Cemetery, 
 at Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 * Jane J. Backus married Rev. Daniel G. Corey, in 
 July, 1849. 
 
 * Charles C. Backus, on November 19, 1840, at Utica, 
 N. Y., joined in wedlock Harriet Newell, a daughter of Ed- 
 ward Baldwin, who was born at Utica, N. Y., on April 19, 
 1816, and who died on September 29, 1867, in New York City, 
 and was buried in Lot No. 6,051, of Greenwood Cemetery, at 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. Charles C. Backus was in Utica during the 
 years 1840-47, an extensive book merchant, and also the pub- 
 lisher of " The Baptist Register," then the sole organ of the 
 Baptist denomination in this nation ; and now the leading pub- 
 lication under the title of " The Examiner and Chronicle." 
 Later, he became financially concerned in the House Telegraph 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 27 
 
 System, and thereafter was made treasurer of The United 
 States Express Company, subsequently merged into The Amer- 
 ican Express Company. Thus he was induced to make his 
 domicile in New York City, in 1850. Next he was engaged in 
 banking and brokerage ; then in the New York Central Rail- 
 road — the stockholders of which he represented upon its ex- 
 amining committee — and for many years he was no inconsid- 
 erable student and statistician. 
 
 The children begotten of his said wedlock were : 
 
 ** Charles Edward, bom Nov. 7, 1844, 
 ** Henry Clinton, " May 31, 1848. 
 
 ** Louise Antoinette. " May 14, 1858. 
 ** Cornelia Chapman, '• Feb. 12, 1855. 
 
 ** Charles E. Backus died April 19, 1846, was buried 
 at Utica, N. Y-, and reinterred in Lot No. 6,051, of Greenwood 
 Cemetery, at Brooklyn, N. Y., in December, 1880. 
 
 ** Louisa A. Backus deceased on May 15, 1853, was 
 buried in Utica, N. Y., and re-interred in Lot No. 6,051 of 
 Greenwood, at Brooklyn, N. Y., in December, 1880. 
 
 ** Henry C. Backus was a captain in a home or reserve 
 organization toward the end of the War of the Rebellion. He 
 graduated as Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University, in 187 1, 
 and as Bachelor of Laws at Columbia Law School, in 1873. He 
 has practiced law nearly ten years, and has done some public 
 speaking. 
 
128 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Many of the descendants of William and Stephen Backus 
 received a very liberal education, not only in the public schools 
 of the day, but in various colleges and seminaries. The follow- 
 ing letter gives the graduates of the name of Backus at Yale 
 College since 1840. 
 
 Yale University, 
 New Haven, Conn., Oct. 22, 1887. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 The President requests me to furnish you with the following 
 list of Backus graduates since 1740. 
 
 1759 Simon. 
 
 1769 Charles. 
 
 1777 Elijah. 
 
 1787 Azel. 
 
 1787 Matthew. 
 
 1792 De Lucena. 
 
 1 813 Frederick F. 
 
 1830 John C. 
 
 1832 Wm. W. 
 
 1836 Franklin T. 
 
 1846 Joseph W. 
 
 1870 Wm. H. 
 
 1877 Wm. H. (Ph. B. Scientific School.) 
 
 1881 Jabez. (B. D. Divinity School.) 
 
 Yours, truly, 
 
 F. B. Dexter, Secy.' 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BACKUS FAMILY CONNECTIONS 
 
 BY BIRTH AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 I must not leave this history of the Backus family without 
 some notice of the daughters of our name. They have fully 
 equally equaled their brothers in number and in all those qual- 
 ities of person and culture which render either sex compan- 
 ionable. 
 
 The honorable alliances they have formed have given to 
 New England and many other states many and worthy names. 
 I have not time to run over the long list, and speak of the per- 
 sonal merits of our fathers' daughters. Their names are em- 
 balmed in the holiest affections of fond and reverent household 
 circles, of which their presence or their memory is the most 
 sacred shrine. 
 
 To speak worthily of the families of the first generation of 
 
 Backus daughters, would be to write out a full genealogy of the 
 
 Tracys, and Leffingwells, and Huntingtons, and Griswolds, and 
 
 Binghams, and Gagers, and Hydes,and Posts, of New England. 
 
 9 
 
130 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And on the next generation we should have to add those of the 
 Lathrops.and Cranes, and Fitches, and Clarks, and Adgates.and 
 Abells, and Hydes, and all the honored names which have 
 sprung from them. But I need not go into the next genera- 
 tion to recite, even, the family names, which only honored, 
 to be more abundantly honored by our daughters. In the last 
 generation I might mention the names of some of our daugh- 
 ters, but time and space would not permit of many, and of the 
 number I do know of the one-hundredth part. One Lucretia 
 who, when three years of age was carried over the Alleghaney 
 mountains, on the pommel of a saddle on horseback, in 1790, 
 and who became the wife of Gov. John Pope, and the mother 
 of eight children, from whom descended Major Gen. John 
 Pope, of whom an account will be found on subsequent pages ; 
 and honored alliances to honored names in Missouri, Illinois 
 and elsewhere. I might mention one Lucy, and Clarinda, and 
 others of our name and race who crossed the Alleghaney 
 mountains in the year 1790, to the vast and savage land of the 
 Northwest territory, one of whom, was the mother of Gov. 
 William Woodbridge, of Michigan. 
 
 Thus I have placed before you, as far as I now know, these 
 scattered pictures of the past — too meagre memorials of our 
 honored and useful ancestry. They have been thrown out as 
 indices- — and they may serve as reliable exponents of a family 
 portraiture of which we may not be ashamed. 
 
 Could we see rising before us as a unit, the growth of those 
 two hundred years, springing from the germs of good old 
 English race, quickened by the vitalizing forces of Saxon res- 
 olution and English Puritanism as realized in the persons of 
 our eldest Stephen and William, we could not but rejoice in the 
 sight, and bless the Great Husbandman for such seed, and such 
 soil, and such care. 
 
 The old family tree strikes out its roots into the soil of this 
 great continent. Its branches wave over numerous house- 
 holds. Heaven spare the old tree to a perpetual growth. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 131 
 
 These ancestors, the pioneers of our name, aided in subdu- 
 ing the savage wilderness of these old Indian haunts, and in 
 training these hillsides and plains to all their cultured beauty as 
 we see it now ; children, with no exception of those genial 
 hearted Puritans, whose spirit and faith still vitalize the living. 
 There is said to be an invisible law which works out family 
 character, preserving its identity, even while so potently inter- 
 mingling with others ; and all comparisons of the Backus 
 name, with that of many another family which elsewhere we 
 should equally honor, let us pass on by saying the name is 
 mentioned as being found scattered from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific. In the political, and social, and educational movements 
 of our country, the name is represented in all the grades of 
 office known both to state and national. Nor have the daugh- 
 ters been behind their brothers in these contributions to the 
 civil and educational movements of our land. They have been 
 eminently the mothers of legislators, of divines, of doctors, of 
 lawyers, and of teachers. There is no locality to be found in 
 which any of the name resided, in which any edifice of religion 
 or institution of learning or improvements to be made but they 
 contributed their share of the expense. The old French war 
 found in the family name a readiness to dare and die, several 
 of whom lost their lives in the enterprise. 
 
 Our connection with our revolutionary history is not dffer- 
 ent in incident or interest. In those days, when to cling to our 
 country's cause was treason, patriotism was our family trait. 
 American Independence had few warmer or truer friends than 
 our name and family furnished. Still more marked has been 
 the religious element of the family, as from its origin we have 
 a right to expect. Probably all of the sons of the emigrants 
 were religious men, nor were their wives behind them in this 
 respect. In all the generations we found the seal of orthordox 
 Puritanism. The influence of the daughters have been felt in 
 the homes of many other names, and their memories are blessed 
 in many other circles. But their names, their precious memo- 
 ries, their bright experiences, are ours. 
 
132 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Major-General John Pope is a lineal descendant of 
 King Ethelred, the Unready, of England, and Lady Elgira, who 
 was also the mother of the great Edmund Ironsides, so said. 
 In 1820, Lucretia Backus, who was the daughter of Elijah Backus, 
 and whose mother was Lucretia Hubbard, daughter of Col. 
 Thomas Hubbard, of Norwich, Connecticut, married Judge 
 Nathaniel Pope, of Kaskaskia, Illinois. Judge Pope, who was 
 born in Louisville, Kentucky, was a man of affairs, having been 
 Secretary of the Territory of Illinois in 1809, a Member of Con- 
 gress in 181 7, and from 1818 to 1850, at which latter date he 
 died. He was United States Judge for the District of Illinois. 
 To Judge Pope there were born nine children, of whom 
 John Pope was the eldest. Gen. Pope (now retired) graduated 
 at West Point in 1842. His subsequent history has often been 
 given. He married Miss Clara Horton, of Pomeroy, Ohio, 
 who bore him three sons and a daughter, all of whom are liv- 
 ing. Judge Pope's second son William, married Miss Elizabeth 
 Douglass, of Springfield, Illinois. Their oldest son is Captain 
 Douglass Pope ; is now in the regular army. One of the 
 daughters of Judge Pope married Dr. Thomas M. Hope, of 
 Alton, Illinois, and an other Hon. Beverly Allen, of St. Louis, 
 Mo. All have had issue, and their descendants are scattered 
 through northern Illinois, Missouri and in Kansas. 
 
 Ex-Governor Woodbridge, of Michigan, who died in 1861, 
 was of the same family. All trace their descent through a 
 well-defined pedigree to a former occupant of the British 
 throne. It will be news I fancy, to many, that a large propor- 
 tion of the older and better known families of America are able 
 to trace their lineage to many of the Kings of Scotland, Eng- 
 land, Ireland, France, and even to the Emperor Charlemagne. 
 
 It is a fact that the study of pedigrees has grown much of 
 late, and now in every library at all rich in historical works 
 may be found almost daily scores of people who are trying to 
 find out when, and where, and how, their family name originated. 
 It is a fascinating study when once entered upon. They do 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 133 
 
 not in every case, seek coats of arms, and probably would not 
 find any if they did. They simply desire to get out of the 
 chaos of American tradition the true origin and rise of their 
 name and family It represents solid work, work that can be 
 verified. The lineages are not accepted unless proven. 
 
 The localities in which these descendants of kings reside 
 are New England, Portland, Salem, Boston, Springfield, Provi- 
 dence, Norwich and New London, New York City and State; 
 Burlington and Monmouth, N. J. ; Philadelphia and the State 
 of Maryland and Virginia, and others scattered through the 
 Western States. 
 
 Mrs. Lucretia (Backus) Pope was at Norwich, Connecticut, 
 in 1859, at the Semi-Centennial Celebration of the first settle- 
 ment of the town, and at the homestead of her father and 
 grandfather, and carried away with her a chest of papers and 
 documents relating to her father, Elijah Backus, while he was 
 Collector of the port of New London in 1787. At that time 
 she was seventy-two (72) years of age. Her mother, Lucretia 
 Hubbard, died February, 1787, in New London. Mrs. Lucre- 
 tia Backus Pope was carried over the Alleghaney mountains in 
 1790, when three years of age on the pommel of a saddle, on 
 horseback, from Norwich to Marietta, afterwards removed with 
 her father to Kaskaskia, and there married Hon. John Pope. 
 
 The following is taken from the " Life of Isaac Backus," 
 page 31, (printed in 1848) : 
 
 " Isaac Backus's mother sprang from the family of Mr. Win- 
 slow, who came over to Plymouth in 1620 ; and his father from 
 one of the first planters of Norwich, Connecticut. His father, 
 Samuel Backus, was born in Norwich, January, 6, 1698 ; and 
 Elizabeth Tracey, his mother, April 6, 1693 ; and they were 
 married January 6, 1716. Both they and their parents were 
 members of the first church in Norwich, and trained up their 
 children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Isaac 
 Backus was born January 9, 1724, and was well educated in 
 the Christian religion, and also in the principles of civil liberty.' 
 
134 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Edward Winslow was one of the Pilgrims who landed on 
 Plymouth Rock in 1620. He was afterwards Governor of the 
 Colony of Plymouth, and particularly instrumental in its pres- 
 ervation. His marriage was the first that was celebrated in 
 New England. He died in 1655. Josiah Winslow, a son of 
 the preceding, was also Governor of Plymouth Colony, and 
 was distinguished for his talents, energy and usefulness in the 
 Colony. He died in 1650. From these sprang Elizabeth 
 Backus, the mother of Isaac Backus. 
 
 Faith, Law, Freedom ! These three principles are the es- 
 sence of New England Puritanism. From this root has grown 
 what we call New England. They have made this bleak and 
 desolate wilderness to blossom as the rose. We do not often 
 reflect how much of the glory and the beauty of the landscape 
 is put into it from the soul of man. No corner of the earth is 
 richer in associations than ours. There is no loveliness like 
 that of the blossom of the vine whose root is by the rock of 
 Plymouth. 
 
 Law, and Faith, and Freedom ! What children have been 
 born to them here, in every generation for two hundred and 
 seventy years, that have been rocked in this New England cra- 
 dle ? The men who subdued the forests ; the men of the 
 French and Indian Wars ; the statesmen and soldiers of the 
 Revolution of 1776 ; the sailors of the great sea fights from 
 1812 to 1815 ; the youth of 1861 — our beautiful and brave, 
 who gave their lives that their country might live ; Webster, 
 who first taught America her own greatness, and whose great 
 argument was behind every bayonet in the war which saved 
 the Union. Isaac Backus was the equal, at least, in services, 
 sacrifices and labors of his contemporaries — a helper of those 
 who would live by the Spirit — the grave, sweet accents of whose 
 voice seem on the morning wind still floating, and to the willing 
 mind still whispering. As I recall these names, I seem to hear 
 a strain of lofty music ; it is the voice of New England — the 
 voice of Pilgrim, and saint and hero. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 35 
 
 Two hundred and seventy years since the people of Plym- 
 outh landed on this bleak and barren shore. I hope and trust 
 it is but the childhood of the nation, which should abide so 
 long as God shall give Faith, Law and Freedom to endure 
 among men. 
 
 For a more particular account of the life and services of 
 Isaac Backus, I would refer the reader to " A Memoir of the 
 Life and Times of the Rev. Isaac Backus, A. M.," by Alvah 
 Hovey, D. D., Professor of Christian Theology in Newton The- 
 ological Institute, Boston. 
 
 When Isaac Backus died, he left a record of services ren- 
 dered the cause of civil and religious liberty greater than any 
 battle ; loftier than any poem ; more enduring than any monu- 
 ment. 
 
 The following letter from Governor Matthew Griswold, of 
 Connecticut, was received by Mrs. Dorothy Church Chandler 
 Backus, shortly after the death of her mother. 
 
 Lyme, June 20, 1829. 
 Dear' Madam : 
 
 The afflictive tidings of the death of your mother, (my 
 
 sister) have been received. The event is common to all the 
 
 children of men. By one man sin entered into the world, and 
 
 death by sin, so death hath passed upon all men, for all have 
 
 sinned. Were we to be confined to the prison of the tomb 
 
 through a never-ending eternity, the gloomy thoughts would be 
 
 more than we could bear. But, thanks be to a gracious God, 
 
 by the Gospel life and immortality are brought to light. By 
 
 it we are told that the grave is not our lasting situation ; but 
 
 there is a time coming when all that are in their graves shall be 
 
 raised to life and immortality. But, oh ! how different will be 
 
 that future state. Some will come forth to a life of misery and 
 
 sorrow, and some to a life of joy and blessedness. This life is 
 
 the only opportunity we have to prepare for the life to come. 
 
 In the grave there is no wisdom, knowledge or desire. As the 
 
136 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 tree falleth, so it will lie. How important is it that we so im- 
 prove our time to prepare for eternity. We are commanded to 
 forsake our sins by repentance, and unrighteousness by turning 
 to the Lord, for our Lord is a God of mercy, of long suffering, 
 and has no pleasure in the death of the sinner, but that he re- 
 turn and live. He is inviting us to come unto Him and be 
 saved. Life and death are both set before us, and He has com- 
 manded us to choose life. He is calling us by his word, by his 
 providence, by his Holy Spirit. The Spirit and the Bride say 
 come, by our consciences and by a preached gospel ; and if 
 we do not come, but by our own obstinacy refuse to hear His 
 call to come and partake of His proffered mercy, the sin lies 
 upon our own heads, for the Almighty never required of us a 
 duty but what He stood ready to enable us to perform. May 
 we all choose that good pait which is as boundless as immen- 
 sity, and durable as eternity. 
 
 Your dear mother has finished a long life of usefulness to 
 her generation, and piety to her God. Her friends cannot 
 mourn for her as for one without hope. Our loss is doubtless 
 her gain. We have no reason to doubt her portion in Heaven. 
 May we, so far as she has followed the Lamb of God, imitate 
 her example. 
 
 We have not heard from her since her last letter, which was 
 early in the spring. We have not heard the particulars of her 
 death — how long it was after you saw an alteration in her be- 
 fore death ; whether her reason continued to the last, and what 
 was her state of mind in her last moments. We would thank 
 you to send us a particular account. 
 
 The two Charles Griswolds were both at New London 
 when they heard of your mother's death. The Colonel would 
 have tried to have gone to the funeral, but could not learn at 
 what time it would be attended. 
 
 Your friends here are all in usual health. They sympathize 
 and condole with you in your affliction. My personal, bodily 
 health is as it has been ; but my lameness increases so that at 
 no time I am free of pain, especially . 
 
ARMS OF GRISWOLD. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 137 
 
 Your aunt writes her best love with . . 
 to yourself and family. 
 
 Your affectionate . 
 
 Matthew Griswold. 
 Mrs. Dorothy Backus. 
 
 FAMILY OF GRISWOLD. 
 
 The following account of the ancestry .of Lucy Griswold, 
 wife of T Elijah Backus, and daughter of John Griswold, Esq., 
 of Lyme, has been kindly furnished by the Hon. Henry Bill, of 
 Norwich, Conn. It is copied from a record published by Mr. 
 Stephen M. Griswold, of Brooklyn, L. L, who sums up the 
 close of his efforts as follows : " The work of preparing the 
 foregoing record has been somewhat arduous and expensive, 
 but not without its pleasure. Believing that a concise and clear 
 arrangement of the ancestry of the Griswold family in England 
 and America would be interesting to the various branches of 
 our family, I present this as a free-will offering to them." 
 
 "The family of Griswold derive their descent from Hum- 
 phrey Griswold of Greet, Lord of the Manor, and are men- 
 tioned as an honorable family in English history as early as the 
 sixteenth century. The Malvern Estates came into possession 
 of the Griswold family about the year 1600, and, through all 
 the changes of nearly three hundred years under English law, 
 they still remain in their possession. From the English rec- 
 ords we find the Malvern Estate and Coat of Arms in 1659 be- 
 longing to Humphrey Griswold, of Malvern Hall, who died in 
 1671. He was succeeded by his brother, Rev. Henry Griswold, 
 who died about 1720. The title then passed to his eldest son, 
 Humphrey, who died in 1772, leaving the estate to his brother, 
 "Henry. He died, leaving no son, but an only daughter, Anne. 
 The representative of the family then devolved upon Rev. 
 Mathew Griswold, Justice of the Peace for the County of War- 
 wick. He died in 1778, leaving a daughter, Mary Griswold, of 
 
138 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Malvern Hall, who espoused David Lewis, Esq., at death leav- 
 ing no male issue, but three daughters : Magdalene, who mar- 
 ried the fourth Earl of Dysart ; Anne Maria, who married the 
 fifth Earl of Dysart ; and Eliza, who died unmarried. The 
 father, David Lewis, Esq., by a second wife had a son, Henry 
 Griswold Lewis, of Malvern Hall, who inherited the Malvern 
 Estate and Arms of Griswold. He married Charlotte Bridge- 
 man, daughter of Lord Bradford, which lady died without is- 
 sue, in 1802. Mr. Lewis survived until 1829. The estate was 
 then inherited by Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Meysey Gris- 
 wold, of the English Army, who died January 6, 1833. At his 
 death the title passed, by a former marriage, to his uncle, 
 Henry Griswold, of Malvern Hall, second son of the Rev. 
 Henry Wigley, M. A., of Pensham, Worcestershire County. On 
 the eighth day of February, 1833, about one month after the 
 death of Lieutenant-Colonel Griswold, Henry assumed, by sign 
 manual, the surname and arms of Griswold, instead of his fam- 
 ily name, Wigley. His descendants still retain possession of 
 Malvern Hall and Arms of Griswold. 
 
 "American Ancestry. 
 
 "Mathew Griswold, Esq., of Kenilworth, Warwick County, 
 England, had three sons, Edward, Mathew and Thomas, who 
 were cousins to Humphrey Griswold, of Malvern Hall. Math- 
 ew. who was the youngest, at an early age joined a company of 
 pilgrims for America from the counties of Warwickshire, Wor- 
 cestershire, Somersetshire and Devonshire, under the leadership 
 of the Rev. John Wareham, a celebrated minister of Exeter, 
 England. The company sailed from England during the reign 
 of Charles the First, and landed upon the shores of Massachu- 
 setts the 30th day of May, 1630 — about ten years after the ar- 
 rival of the Mayflower. Edward, who was born in 1607, at the 
 age of thirty-one, left Kenilworth, and joined another compa- 
 ny of pilgrims for America. He arrived in Massachusetts in 
 1639, where he joined his brother Mathew. They both, re- 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 139 
 
 moved to Connecticut the same year. Edward settled at Wind- 
 sor, on the Farmington River ; and Mathew settled at Say- 
 brook, at the mouth of the Connecticut River. 
 
 "The Rev. John Wareham had already arrived at Windsor, 
 and was pastor of the first church established there, the deeds 
 of which he brought with him from Exeter. He was succeed- 
 ed by the Rev. Ephraim Huit, who died at Windsor, Septem- 
 ber 4, 1644. We find by the records of the State^jof Connect- 
 icut that Windsor was the first settlement ever made by the 
 whites in that State; and the principal names of its settlers 
 were Wolcott, Griswold, Hayden, Holcomb, Ellsworth, Stiles, 
 Phelps and Pinney. 
 
 "The children of Edward Griswold were as follows : Fran- 
 cis, George and Sarah, born in England, who came with him ; 
 and Anne, Mary, Deborah, Joseph, Samuel and John, born at 
 Windsor. His first child, Francis, was born in 1632 ; his last 
 child, John, was born August 15, 1652. In 1658, he was rep- 
 resentative for Windsor. In 1664, he removed from Windsor 
 with his son John to Killingworth, Conn., so named from Ken- 
 ilwoith, his native place. He was elected a representative for 
 Killingworth several times, and there died in 167 1. Francis 
 soon removed from Windsor to Saybrook, where his uncle 
 Mathew lived. There he remained some time, and then moved 
 to Norwich, Conn. Sarah married Samuel Phelps, January 10, 
 1650. Mary married Timothy Phelps, May 19, 1661. Debo- 
 rah married Samuel Buel, November 30, 1662. Joseph mar- 
 ried Mary, daughter of John Gaylord, of Windsor. One of 
 his nephews, Captain Benjamin Griswold, is spoken of in one 
 of the early records of the town as follows : ' Born in Wind- 
 sor, of an ancient and honorable family. He married Esther 
 Gaylord, with whom he lived in great peace and unity until his 
 death, which was July 26th, 1772.' George, a man of high re- 
 spectability, (see; Stiles' History of Windsor, 1859) married 
 Mary, daughter of Thomas Holcomb, by whom he had several 
 children. On the 21st day of April, 1659, he purchased a 
 
140 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 tract of land of the Indian chief Wattowan, and Towanno, his 
 wife, which is part of Windsor, called Poquonock, so named 
 from its being a battle-ground of the Indians. He died Sep- 
 tember 3, 1704, leaving several sons and daughters. Among 
 the descendants of Joseph and George are Noah, Daniel, Levi, 
 John, Niles, and other well-known citizens of Windsor and Po- 
 quonock. Squire Samuel Griswold, as he was respectfully 
 termed, in company with members of the Pinney and Holcomb 
 families, removed from Windsor to Simsbury, where he pur- 
 chased 5,000 acres of land, and built a house on the banks of 
 the Farmington River, one of the most charming places, it is 
 said, along that beautiful stream. One of his sons, Elisha, 
 married Eunice, daughter of John and Lois Veits, leaving at 
 death a numerous family of children of more than ordinary tal- 
 ent, one of whom was the celebrated Bishop Alexander Veits 
 Griswold, born April 22d, 1766. (See Stone's Life of Bishop 
 Griswold. Philadelphia: 1844.) Another son, Ezra, removed 
 to Worthington, Ohio, where he became instrumental in organ- 
 izing the first Episcopal Church of that Diocese. Another 
 brother of the Bishop, Samuel, was educated at Yale College, 
 and became an able and popular minister of the M. E. Church 
 of the State of Connecticut. He afterwards removed to west- 
 ern New York, where he died. 
 
 " Upon returning to the year 1645, we find that another rel- 
 ative of Edward and Mathew, whose name was Michael Gris- 
 wold, came from England, and settled at Wethersfield, Conn. 
 The records of that town show : his first child, Thomas, born 
 1646; Esther, born 1648; Mary, born 1650; also, several 
 other children from whom have descended a numerous family. 
 " Mathew Griswold, who settled at Saybrook about the year 
 1640, married Anne, daughter of Henry Wolcott. He died in 
 January, 1691, leaving two sons and three daughters. One of 
 his sons, Mathew, was several times elected representative of 
 Saybrook and Lyme. He married Phebe Hyde, of Norwich, 
 Conn., May 25, 1683, by whom he had several children ; one 
 
ARMS OF CHANDLER. 
 
/ 
 
 THE BACKUS FAMILY 141 
 
 of whom, John,* was the father of Mathew Griswold, Govern- 
 or of Connecticut from 1784 to 1786. His wife was the daugh- 
 ter of the Hon. Roger Wolcott, of Connecticut, by whom he 
 had a son, Roger, born at Lyme, who was also Governor of 
 Connecticut." 
 
 THE FAMILY OF CHANDLER. 
 
 We have seen, in the preceding pages, that the wife of 
 Tf Elijah Backus was of a most noble lineage. Let us now look 
 up some of the ancestors of his son James's wife, Dorothy 
 Church Chandler. If we could look back some two hundred 
 and fifty years, we would find that they, too, were among the 
 first settlers of this then unknown country ; and, that like the 
 Griswold branch, they were among the first settlers of Connect- 
 icut, having received large grants of land in what is now Wood- 
 stock, Pomfret, Putnam and Killingly ; and that they were 
 most zealous to acquire lands and property. Sturdy defenders 
 of their rights all through the numerous Colonial wars, they 
 laid down the musket but to take up the active and arduous 
 duties of a statesman, and when we look among their names in 
 the records of this State, we will come across many "judges," 
 " captains," and once in awhile a " colonel," while the appella- 
 tion of " Esquire" is most common. 
 
 As a general rule they lived long, and were blessed with 
 large families of children. Dorothy Church Chandler was the 
 daughter of Charles Church Chandler, and lived to the ripe age 
 of 76 years, 11 months, 25 days, and reared a family of eight 
 children, of whom but two are now living. It is said that at 
 her marriage, which occurred at Woodstock (or Putnam) the 
 
 * His daughter Lucy married Elijah Backus, of Norwich, Conn., Jan- 
 uary g, 1753. She had nine children, one of them being James Backus, who 
 was one of the first settlers of Ohio, and whose Journal occupies the open- 
 ing pages of this Memorial. Another of her children, Lucy, married Dudley 
 Woodbridge, by whom she had a son, William Woodbridge, who was succes- 
 sively United States Judge, Senator, and Governor of Michigan. — W. W. B. 
 
142 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Governor of Connecticut was one of the guests, and danced at 
 the feast equal to the youngest of them. 
 
 Perhaps no better history of the life and public services of 
 the Chandlers, of this section of New England, at least, can be 
 found than that embraced in the " History of Windham Coun- 
 ty, Connecticut," by Ellen D. Lamed, and it would be super- 
 fluous to print it in detail; but to show how much this family 
 constituted the personnel of this growing section of the country 
 we will give a brief account of some of the Chandlers, as set 
 forth in her work. 
 
 Sometime in the year 1686, a party of pioneers started from 
 Roxbury, Mass., to seek a new location, and decided to locate 
 at New Roxbury. Among them we find John Chandler, Sen., 
 who with six others, was instructed " to stake highways for the 
 present settlement ; " and afterwards, at the drawing for lots, 
 he chose " thirty acres ; north end, eastward vale, just north 
 of Sawmill Brook." At a town meeting held Nov. 27 and 28, 
 1690, he was elected Selectman, John Chandler, Jun., was 
 chosen Town Clerk, and " was allowed twelve pence for writing 
 the notes of every town meeting." Later, he was appointed by the 
 Massachusetts government superintendent of several Indian 
 tribes. John, Sen., became afterwards a deacon of the church 
 in the new settlement ; and at his death, which occurred in 
 1702 or 1703, his property was divided among his children. It 
 inventoried ^512, os. 6d. Captain John, as his son was called, 
 returned to the homestead after the death of his father. "No 
 man was so much concerned in the early settlement of Wind- 
 ham County. The different towns were laid out by him, and 
 
 nearly every farm in them He was the first, and 
 
 long the only representative sent by Woodstock to the General 
 Courts." In 1722 he became a colonel, and served in the nu- 
 merous battles with the Indians. 
 
 Joseph Chandler, the son of Deacon John, and brother of 
 Captain John, received as his portion valuable lands lying 
 across the river. About the year 1725, Captain — now Colonel 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 143 
 
 — Chandler became involved in a suit with one Corbin, a land 
 speculator, and received adverse judgment, resulting in the loss 
 of about 2,500 acres of land. Subsequently he became a judge 
 (1727 or 1729), and settled several important boundary dis- 
 putes between the towns of Killingly, Woodstock, and others. 
 In 1729, Joseph was appointed "Captain of the train band." 
 
 Realizing the necessity for a county seat, a movement to 
 that effect was agitated in 1731. "Colonel Chandler, as lead- 
 ing citizen, was now invested with its highest honors. Already 
 Colonel of its militia, he was now appointed Judge of Probate, 
 and Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas." " In 1735, 
 he had the»honor of welcoming and honoring his Excellency 
 Governor Belcher," ... " The distinguished position 
 
 held by the Chandler family, . . . gave Woodstock a very 
 prominent place in Worcester County." The wealth and pros- 
 perity of Colonel Chandler naturally made him bitter enemies, 
 and it is not surprising to find him, soon after this, at sword's 
 points with some of his fellow townsmen. The settlement of a 
 new minister was the one spark needed to start the fire, and the 
 result was the town and church, and the Colonel and his friends 
 became involved in discussions, controversies and suits innu- 
 merable. In 1736 he had evidently been received again into 
 public favor, for " he was again chosen moderator by a large 
 majority." 
 
 Joshua, third son of Colonel John, Sen., " took possession 
 of his father's out division, — ' Lot, twenty-third, third range,' 
 in 1727," — what was afterwards West Woodstock. He died 
 April 15, 1768, and was buried at New Roxbury. 
 
 " Colonel John Chandler, the last survivor of the original 
 proprietors and settlers of Woodstock, and long its most prom- 
 inent and distinguished citizen, died at his family homestead 
 in South Woodstock, Aug. 10, 1743," at the advanced age of 
 seventy-nine years. He was buried in the old burying ground 
 on Woodstock Hill. He left several sons : John, who settled 
 in Worcester, and took up the mantle which fell from his fath- 
 
144 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 er's shoulders ; Joshua, who settled in West Woodstock ; Wil- 
 liam, who lived in Thompson ; Samuel took the family home- 
 stead in South Woodstock; Thomas, the youngest son, became 
 an active military man, and was entrusted with many import- 
 ant commissions in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. 
 
 Captain William Chandler died during the prevalence of an 
 epidemic, in 1754. He had four sons and a daughter, who mar- 
 ried Samuel McClellan, of Worcester, in 1757. 
 
 Thomas Chandler removed to Walpole, New Hampshire. 
 
 Joshua Chandler graduated at Yale College, sometime be- 
 fore the year (1760), and " settling in New Haven, won wealth 
 and a high position." He was a staunch adherent to the King, 
 and during the Revolution lost his house and all he had, and 
 it was to obtain redress that he took a voyage to St. John, 
 N. B., in March, 1787. During the passage a violent storm 
 arose, the vessel was cast upon the rocks, and after getting his 
 wife and daughter safely ashore, he, himself, benumbed with 
 cold, sank down exhausted, and there died. His wife and 
 daughter, after wandering through the woods for two days, 
 also perished. 
 
 " Captain Samuel Chandler, the last surviving son of Col- 
 onel John Chandler (save Thomas, of Vermont) died in 1781. 
 His distinguished son, Hon. Charles Church Chandler, died 
 suddenly in the height_ of professional success and eminence, 
 in 1787. A cotemporary makes this record : 
 
 " 'Died on the 8th instant [August] the Honorable Charles 
 Church Chandler, Esq., of Woodstock, ... he sustained 
 several important public characters with reputation and ability 
 — as Judge of Probate, representative of the town to the Gen- 
 eral Assembly, and had been elected a Member of Congress 
 As a man of genius and ability, he was universally known and 
 respected; as a man of philanthropy and goodness, beloved ; 
 . . . A widow and six children,* and an aged mother and 
 
 * One of these children was Dorothy, who married James Backus, of 
 Norwich, Conn., Sept. 15, 1793.— W. W. B. 
 
ARMS OF TRUMBULL. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. I45 
 
 numerous and more distant relations, with the public at large, 
 regret his loss.' " 
 
 The Chandler family had by this time become quite exten- 
 sive, and embraced within its folds men in all the pursuits of 
 life. One, Winthrop Chandler, is spoken of as the " first artist 
 of Windham County." The old Chandler homestead event- 
 ually passed into the hands of the Arnolds, of Providence, 
 who operated mills there, and opened a store. 
 
 The family records and memorials have been compiled in an 
 " exhaustive history," by Dr. George Chandler, of Worcester, 
 Mass. 
 
 THE FAMILY OF TRUMBULL. 
 
 The families of Backus and Trumbull are connected by 
 marriage. David Trumbull, the third son of the "War Gov- 
 ernor," born in Lebanon, Feb. s, 1751, married, Dec. 6, 1778, 
 Sarah Backus, of Norwich, sister of Eunice, the wife of his 
 brother, Jonathan Trumbull. Sarah and Eunice were daugh- 
 ters of Nathaniel Backus, of Norwich. The wife of the late 
 Judge Henry T. Backus was a daughter of Governor Wcod- 
 bridge, and granddaughter of John Trumbull, LL. D. 
 
 10 
 
POEMS AND PROSE WORKS 
 
 OF 
 
 MISS SARAH BACKUS. 
 
 THE LIGHT OF LIFE AMID THE GLOOMS OF DEATH: 
 
 OR, 
 
 Reflections on the Necessity, Advantages, and Truth of the 
 Divine Revelation to a Dying World. 
 
 Death ! 'T is a solemn word : Yet wherefore start 
 To hear it? Wherefore shrink from a theme, the vast 
 Importance of which recommends it to our every thought ! 
 Wherefore shrink from the thought of an event which 
 Howe'er unwished for, sooner or later comes to all ; 
 For, by that awful God whose "kingdom rules o'er all" 
 Who formed us from the dust, and breathed within us 
 The breath of life ; who "kills, and none can make alive, 
 Who wounds, and none can heal ; " whose great decrees, 
 And mighty power no creature can withstand, 
 " It is appointed for all men once to die." 
 
 The poor, and all the sons and daughters of affliction 
 Must pay the debt of nature and be numbered with the dead. 
 The proud must die. And the haughty man 
 Who scorns his fellow worm, and bids him " stand aloof, 
 For I am greater far than thou," must sink beneath 
 The potent stroke of this great foe to human pride, 
 
148 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And make his lowly, his unconscious bed 
 
 Even in the dust beneath the beggar's feet. 
 
 The rich, the mighty, the triumphant conqueror, 
 
 Whose name and deeds have dwelt on every tongue, 
 
 Who 've feasted largely on the world's applause, 
 
 These too, must be the food for worms ! and go away 
 
 To silence, darkness, and the tomb ! And were it not 
 
 For proud mausoleums glittering o'er their bones 
 
 No eye could tell the undistinguished spot 
 
 Where now the great man lies. 
 
 The fair in figure and in face, the vile, th' intemperate, 
 
 The profane, and all the sons of vice in every shape ; 
 
 Those, too, whose brilliant talents are improved by all 
 
 That education can impart, who 've spent their lives 
 
 In searching Learning's venerable tomes, 
 
 And stored their mind with treasures new and old 
 
 For others, and their own advantage; 
 
 Yea, and those, too, "whose names are writ in Heaven," 
 
 Who "love the Lord their God with all their heart and 
 
 mind," 
 And turn their willing feet obedient to the way of his com- 
 mands ; 
 Who finding no perfection in themselves, have fled from self 
 To him who condescended to be styled the "Sinner's 
 
 Friend." 
 And in his righteousness arrayed, smiles upon 
 The blest favorites of the King of Heaven — these too must 
 
 die! 
 In every age, in every clime beneath the sun 
 All meet one common end : — they go to swell 
 The mass immense of the forgotten dead. 
 
 Affection's tears have steeped the earth in vain ; 
 They can not move the insatiate monster — Death ! 
 To stay the dreaded stroke which lacerates the heart, 
 And severed ties that bind congenial souls 
 In strongest bands of love, affection and esteem. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 149 
 
 Child, parent, husband, wife, and friend may weep in vain. 
 
 With savage cruelty he makes their tears, 
 
 And wrests from them the much-loved friend, 
 
 Who 's dearer far than life. 
 
 He depopulates the earth. The cold, chill damps 
 
 Of his destructive breath shed desolation o'er a trembling 
 
 world. 
 The widow's sickening woe, the orphan's heartfelt tear 
 Arise, a requiem sad, at his approach. 
 He blights the fondest hopes ; transforms 
 The happy smiles of social comfort, peace and joy 
 To pain and anguish, darkness and despair, 
 And triumphs in the miseries of mankind. 
 
 Dread King of Terrors ! Fearful tyrant, Death ! 
 Such, and so cruel, is thy bitter sway. 
 Oh ! canst thou not relent ? Will not the victims 
 Of some thousand years, th' unnumbered millions 
 Thou hast slain suffice thee ? Or must thou still go on 
 To ravage earth, blasting the little happiness we know ? 
 Must thou wound afresh the human heart, 
 Breaking those sacred ties affection forms, 
 Entwining soul with soul in friendship's sweet 
 And fascinating bonds — source of the noblest joy, 
 The purest pleasure in this "vale of tears," — which none but 
 Thou, stern monster, can, or would dissolve ? Must we all 
 Yield an unresisting prey to thy malignant rage ? 
 Must countless generations yet unborn 
 Be made a trembling sacrifice to thee ? 
 And wilt thou stand the grand destroyer of our race, 
 Huddling, with fiendish hate, from off the stage of life 
 Whate'er is'lovely, amiable, good and wise, 
 To wreck them in that frightful gulf whence none return, 
 Till time shall be no more ? 
 
 What, then, is man ; and wherefore made ? 
 He lives a few short years — perhaps enjoys some sunny 
 hours — 
 
ISO A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 But yet to him the robe of peace is ever set around 
 
 With thorns of disappointment, pain and care ; 
 
 Impetuous passions doom him for their prey ; 
 
 Feelings, delicate and keen, that shrink from each rude touch 
 
 Expose him to a thousand bitter pangs ; pride 
 
 Marking his native foible, tells him he stands chief 
 
 Among the works of God ; bids him exalt his head 
 
 And aim at greatness ; and in the family of man 
 
 Each individual striving to be great, occasions dire collisions, 
 
 Endless feuds ; envy, hatred, malice, jealous rage step in — 
 
 And a fearful train of evil woes, and mar his joys, 
 
 And give him little respite until Death benumbs his faculties, 
 
 And enwraps him in his sable shroud. 
 
 Oft, too, the dread of Death dispels the joys of life. 
 
 Man fears that " undiscovered bourne from, whence 
 
 No traveler returns." He fears the mysteries of that exit 
 
 Which awaits him. And, through fear of Death, 
 
 Submits to cruel bondage all his days. 
 
 But what is Death ? Instructed 
 But by nation's feeble light, we cannot tell. 
 We hardly dare to hope for aught that 's good in an event 
 So wrought with doubt, uncertainty and gloom ; 
 Yet hope — we know not what — and fear — we know not 
 
 why. 
 A dreadful something that looks dark and dismal, and seems 
 The augury of something worse to come 
 Ask of Philosophy the question, " What is Death ? " 
 She can not tell. Though by the aid of intellectual powers, 
 Guided by reason, she may penetrate the bowels of the earth, 
 And bring to light rich, hidden stores of wisdom infinite 
 And power divine ; may scan the works of nature 
 And apprise her votaries of wonders yet untold ; 
 May march abroad o'er all the face of earth, 
 Dive in the spacious depths, and in an airy car 
 Ascend, and swim the atmospheric sea 
 Searching the storehouses of the sky, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 151 
 
 Gaining fresh funds of wisdom every hour : 
 
 She may ope' the pond'rous jaws of the portentous cloud 
 
 And tell us whence and why the rattling thunder comes ; 
 
 Catch the swift, fiery lightning as it flies, 
 
 Draw to a needle's point, and bid the threat'ning rain 
 
 Pass from our devoted heads. She may climb the steeps 
 
 Of Heaven, and travel o'er immeasurable space, 
 
 Amid the worlds and spheres that roll in grand display 
 
 And tell their size, distance, nature, and their use : 
 
 She has tasted of the Tree of Knowledge, 
 
 And, like them of Babel, has aspired to build a farce, 
 
 Whose top should reach the skies, that all things 
 
 Whether past, or present, or to come, might lie exposed 
 
 To her all piercing eye ; she views herself 
 
 A light to guide the blind, and proffers forth her powers 
 
 To clear away the films of ignorance 
 
 That bedim the mental eye of man. 
 
 But ask her, " What is Death ? " — She cannot tell ; 
 
 She turns bewildered from the darksome theme 
 
 And owns she cannot tell : 
 
 In vain she summons all her power of deep research, 
 
 In vain she trims her feeble lamp, and strives 
 
 With curious eye to pierce the secrets of the grave — 
 
 She cannot fathom the profound of that immense abyss 
 
 Which swallows myriads of the Human race 
 
 And never fills. 
 
 Then we must rest in darkness and in doubt ! 
 If she, whom sages — men who've been a light, 
 An honor to the world — so long have worship'd 
 Cannot tell, sure we may elsewhere look in vain : 
 And, ignorant of our fate, yield up, as all our fathers have 
 To that dread power from whom we cannot fly ; 
 Whose very name excites a shuddering, 
 " Fearful looking for " of some terrific doom ; 
 Nor know with certainty or whether his fell stroke 
 Be dread Annihilation (which we can't believe) 
 
152 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Or the dire harbinger of something fearful still beyond. 
 
 But Oh ! This gloomy strain we must forbear. 
 The tender Author of our being did not create us to be sad, 
 JNor have we cause for sadness. 
 Are we thus left to darkness and to doubt ? 
 Has there no ray of light yet dawn'd upon the tomb ? 
 Have no faint glimmerings of a brighter scene 
 Dispelled the cheerless darkness of the grave ? 
 No animating hopes appear'd to gild the horrors 
 Of that awful gloom ? — O, yes— Behold ! 
 And seeing, join that glorious song, tun'd by angelic lips, 
 When He, the Babe of Bethlehem, came, a light 
 To lighten the blinded men — to tell us what is Death — 
 And bring that life and immortality we so much desire. 
 Reason, behold! and proud Philosophy come down from 
 
 your 
 High throne ; behold ! a beauteous form descending hovers 
 
 o'er the grave. 
 There is a dignity, an elevation, an air, an attitude 
 Of Majesty about her that bespeak her high descent, 
 Her royal lineage, and plainly tell to all, that regal honors 
 Are her due. But she asks for none of these. 
 The idle pomp of earthly greatness she disdains. 
 Yet she disdains not the poorest and the meanest 
 Of the Human family — but condescends to beg, 
 Nay, even, as it were, upon her bended knees to supplicate 
 
 them 
 To listen to her counsels and be wise. 
 The truly great assume no haughty, self-conceited airs, 
 They possess an innate dignity of soul 
 That raises them above such littleness, and makes them 
 Condescending, affable, and complaisant to all. 
 It is only an affected greatness that is haughty. 
 An eternity of days — and never wasting wealth 
 And kingly honors are in her hand : 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 153 
 
 And an ornament of grace — and a crown of glory will she 
 
 give 
 To all who welcome and obey her wise instructions. 
 Hers is no common understanding — for the past, 
 The present, and the future, unveil their mysteries 
 Of hidden wisdom to her comprehensive vision. 
 Her piercing eye looks backward to that day of wonder 
 When the earth and heavens were made, 
 And all the hosts of worlds through universal space, 
 By the creative breath of self-existent, uncreated 
 Everlasting Power : and forward 
 
 To that terriffic period when the dread Archangel's trumpet 
 Shall announce to Heaven and earth that 
 " Time shall be no more ! " when the Heavens, 
 By word of Him whom formed them, with a great noise 
 Shall pass away ; the elements melt with fervent heat, 
 And earth with all her works of nature and of art 
 Be burnt with fire, and purified and changed. 
 
 She can tell the history of man 
 From the first moment when he breathed in Eden, 
 In native innocence, a fair, majestic image 
 Of his maker, God — down through unnumbered ages, 
 Bringing forward as they successively roll away 
 Those strange, and wonderful, and deeply interesting events 
 (That even the angels from their high abode 
 Desire, with curious eye to understand,) 
 Which, while they serve to fill the historic page 
 With a long, connected train of circumstances 
 Of momentous consequences unfolding, as they occurr 
 The unerring wisdom, and unchanging goodness 
 Of the Mighty One who plann'd and overrules the whole ; 
 Exhibit, also, to enquiring minds the character of man 
 In painful contrast with the awful, the endearing character 
 Of Him with whom man has to do ; 
 Nor closes her account until the Last Great Day 
 Summons from the grave its sleeping tenants; 
 
154 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 When all the small and great of the whole human family 
 
 Shall be arrayed in myriad hosts before the dread tribunal, 
 
 And receive their final sentence from the Great Judge 
 
 Of quick and dead — and onward pass, 
 
 Amid unutterable displays of Majesty, and Power, 
 
 Of Wrath and Mercy, to the unchanging • 
 
 Retributions of an eternal state. 
 
 Her frown is terrible — for it is the frown 
 Of Power omnipotent, of Wisdom infinite, of Justice 
 Awfully, inflexibly exact, and who may dare provoke it ? 
 Her threat'nings are decisive and fearfully severe. 
 Nor aught, nor any in Heaven, or Earth, or Hell 
 Can e'er induce her to erase from the dread book of destiny 
 One word she has inscribed 'gainst those 
 Who mock her proffered kindness. 
 Firm are her counsels — and shall stand 
 While Heaven's high Monarch holds imperial sway. 
 
 But, O ! She comes not clad in vengeance, 
 Bringing wrath and indignation, 
 Tribulation, and despair upon our devoted world ; 
 But her pitying eye o'erflows with sorrowing tears 
 At sight of human woe ; and if we love those elevating, 
 Disinterested, benevolent feelings that mark 
 The truly generous, philanthropic mind 
 Surely we must love her. She comes unasked, the friend of 
 
 man. 
 She comes to banish misery from our fallen world. 
 She comes to heal the broken heart, to soothe the wounded 
 
 spirit ; 
 Bid the afflicted smile, grief dry her tears ; 
 Misfortune, taste of joy and penury, no more repine. 
 Ten thousand times ten thousand blessings fill the earth 
 At her approach ; hope, animation, happiness and joy, 
 And peace spring up where'er she moves ; and, O, behold ! 
 How beautiful upon the dark mountains of Death 
 Are the feet of her who bringeth good tidings of good, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 155 
 
 Who publisheth salvation ; who saith to the grave : 
 Be opened ; to the tomb, " Reveal thy secrets." 
 
 Fair Revelation — harbinger of hope, 
 Blest herald of Salvation, hail, hail, thy glad approach ! 
 Without thee, what were man ? Without thee, 
 What were life? but with thee, O, how blest ! 
 — Man — the mere insect of a day, awakes 
 A new born stranger in this earthly scene 
 Where all is strange. Beings like himself surround him, 
 Compound strange, of matter and of mind, 
 Seeking much, inquiring much, and seemingly 
 Quite wise, yet knowing little. 
 
 Nature moves on in beauty, order, harmony, and peace, 
 Obedient to high Heaven's commands; 
 But in the moral world, where mental might 
 And lofty intellect hold sway, nothing is seen 
 But disobedience, discord and confusion, reckless 
 Ceaseless, aimless, dire. Conflicting creeds, 
 Opposing sentiments, opinions uncongenial 
 Meet him at every step ; and what is truth, or what 
 Is error, what is right, or what is wrong he cannot tell : 
 The 'wildering scene perplexes and confounds ; 
 And nothing's known but that a world most fair 
 Is most unhappy. A great first Cause there must be, 
 For all things speak the fact. The footsteps of Omnipotence 
 Are traced in all the eye can see, the mind can scan 
 From the highest point of earth, peeping with curious eye 
 Far upward into Heaven, as seeking knowledge of 
 Unutterable things, down to the lowliest flower 
 That scents the dell, catching, with blushing cheek 
 The tender whisper of the morning breeze, is written, 
 In language plain, that he who runs may read 
 His wisdom, power, and goodness. The waves of ocean 
 Own His dread command, and bear His name far, far abroad 
 East, west, and north, and south, that all the nations 
 Of the earth may hear, acknowledge, and obey, 
 
156 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And when th' outbreaking tempest mingles with the din 
 
 Of mighty thunderings, and the affrightened deep 
 
 Heaves its high, sounding billows to lash the shores 
 
 Of trembling continents, and the quaking earth 
 
 Rocks to its center, and the ancient mountains, 
 
 Standing in everlasting strength based upon the fiat 
 
 Of Omnipotence, mocking the shocks of time ; 
 
 While man and all his works, while thrones 
 
 And universal empires crumble at their feet 
 
 Echo, from their towering heights, o'er shuddering 
 
 Realms beneath, the wild uproar, how wide — 
 
 How loud — His name is sounded ! 
 
 Animation swarms ; life is in everything; 
 
 But when he asks : " Who gave these creatures life, 
 
 And who preserves it, and for what ends ? " — 
 
 There 's none can tell. The life he feels within — 
 
 And still more strange, the mind — that ponders 
 
 Reasons, judges, whence its origin ? 
 
 It is not self-sustaining — of course, not self-created. 
 
 Then he and they must all have been created 
 
 By some higher power — but who, and where, 
 
 The unknown Creator ? The heavens above his head 
 
 Studded with suns and worlds of living light, 
 
 Of size immense, numbers untold, grandeur magnificent, 
 
 Rolling from age to age in sweet, harmonious concert, 
 
 Swerving not from the fixed laws and principles 
 
 That hold them in their course, bespeak intelligence, 
 
 Design, and Power ; but where the mighty Mind 
 
 That planned the vast abode? And where the powerful hand 
 
 That formed, sustains, controls the glorious whole ? 
 
 What is His name? His character? And where the region 
 
 dread 
 In which He rears His august throne ? 
 His reason tottles on the dizzy height of speculation ; 
 And while he gazes, wonders, and enquires, 
 The stroke that levels all is aimed at him — 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 157 
 
 The solemn pall of Death o'erspreads him 
 
 And he sees, he feels, he asks no more. 
 
 The dust returns to dust ; the worm feeds on his sleeping 
 
 ashes; 
 The little stone, raised by affection's hand 
 To mark the spot where they have laid the senseless corpse, 
 Tells that " the stranger lived — the stranger died." 
 And this is all — the sum of man's existence. — 
 He comes, a stranger to all around ; he asks them 
 Whence they came, how here, why here, who is his Maker, 
 What are his duties, what his final doom ? 
 There 's none can tell : and ere the truth is known 
 Amid confounding subtleties the stranger dies — 
 A stranger even to himself — nor knows, or whence, 
 Or what, or how, the mysterious stroke 
 That blots him from creation. 
 
 Then what is Man — and wherefore made ? 
 The zephyr that sweeps by his tomb is not more transient. 
 The trembling bubble floating for a moment 
 On the bosom of the waters is not more frail. 
 The meteor brilliancy that flashes and is gone, 
 Speeds not more swiftly. Nor can human reason 
 Unassisted, tell why he was formed to see, to speak, 
 To think, to feel, acutely feel, the wees, the bitter woes, 
 Reflection, judgment, memory bring, then, die — 
 Even as the irrational brute — - and find 
 No higher resting place than he. 
 
 But Revelation fair, hail, hail thy glad approach ! 
 Children of Men, rejoice! ye are not left to darkness 
 And to doubt. The night of blind uncertainty 
 Is past ; the day-spring from on high has dawn'd. 
 Shining down from yon empyrean height where dwells 
 The " High and Lofty One," the Holy and the Just, 
 Whose everlasting throne is based upon the changeless prin- 
 ciples 
 
158 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Of Truth — eternal truth —and Wisdom, undeceiving unde- 
 ceived, 
 And never varying rectitude of purpose ; 
 Shining down from this high source, even from 
 The Eternal One, whose breath of power went forth 
 And radiant suns and systems, mocking dimension, 
 Granaries vast of all that's good, and wonderful, and fair 
 Burst into being, and commenced their lofty tunes of praise 
 Around their giant pathway " in the hollow of His hand : " 
 Whose eye omniscient looks creation through. 
 And through thy vast, thy untold, never-ending wonders, 
 Dread Eternity ! Great first cause of all things ! 
 Arbiter of destinies ; Preserver, Benefactor, Judge, 
 Shining down from this high source, the all-cheering 
 Light of Life, of truth, of immortality, now gilds 
 The gladdened earth. And how beautiful 
 Above the dark shadows of human blindness, 
 Folly, crime, appears the Heavenly radiance ! — 
 Ye who are friends to man, O, hasten to disseminate 
 This precious book. Say by your prayers, your efforts, 
 In this work of love, " Let there be light," and light will shine. 
 No more bewildering vagaries of human minds 
 Will lead poor man astray ; no more shall doubt be heard, 
 Or darkness seen ; no more the blind shall lead the blind, 
 And stumble in their folly over Death's dark mound. 
 Not knowing where they fall : For God has spoke — 
 And let the nations hear ; he has commanded light, 
 And let light shine. 
 
 But since Revelation claims 
 Such comprehensive knowledge, what is the history 
 She gives of man ? and how does she account for the strange 
 Bewildering blindness, the confusion, wretchedness, 
 And dying woe that overspreads the earth ? 
 
 The testimony she gives is humiliating 
 To the pride of man, and hence deluded ones too oft 
 Discard it from their creed, reject it as untrue, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. I 5 9 
 
 And fearless " rush on the thick bones of Jehovah's bucklets," 
 Saying in effect, '''our wisdom is superior to 'thine. 
 
 But this is the tale she tells, or whether 
 They will hear, or will forbear. 
 
 God created man a holy, happy being, and placed him 
 In the garden of this world where all was light, and love and 
 
 peace ; 
 The world with all its treasures rich, its blessings 
 Boundless, were given him as his possession ; only 
 Heaven reserved, as tribute small to its supreme dominion, 
 And for the trial of man's obedience, the fruit 
 Of a single tree. This, man was forbidden, 
 On pain of death, to taste. Man did not need it — 
 For he had all that heart could wish, 
 Sweet harmony was in his soul, and love, 
 Such as now swells the obedient bosom of the 
 •Seraphim on high — and all his intellectual faculties 
 Were turned to peace, and love, and holy order. 
 The Tempter saw — and envied him his happy state. 
 From the drear abode where he and his apostate followers, 
 Gnaw'd their everlasting chains in darkness and despair, 
 (Doom purchased by their own proud disobedience,) 
 He looked forth upon the happy dwelling place of man 
 And marked man for destruction. — He came — 
 And found man in possession of a life and patrimony. 
 On conditional tenure ; — the Blessing lay before him 
 And the Curse ; — and Life, and Death — words of vast, 
 Of fearful import. The tale of subtlety was told ; 
 Man listen'd ; — and in a strange mad hour he stamped 
 Upon the Blessing — including life, eternal life, 
 And happiness, and Heaven's rich favor 
 To him and all his heirs ; —and chose the Curse, 
 His Maker's curse ! — He plunged in Death, 
 Despising Life, and reckless of his children's weal : 
 He plunged in Death — disdaining his Maker's power, 
 His Maker's guardianship and love, his Maker's 
 
l6o A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Patronage and blessing! He plunged in Death 
 
 With open eyes ;— for well he knew, he had been told 
 
 By Him who spake him into being, and gave him 
 
 This fair world on condition of obedience, 
 
 Who daily walked, and talked with him in Eden 
 
 That on the day he tasted of the forbidden fruit, 
 
 The Monster, Death, should cut his blessings down , 
 
 And he be left a prey to all the temporal and eternal 
 
 Consequences suspended on the deed. He tasted 
 
 The forbidden fruit, and madly plunged himself, 
 
 And all his heirs in Death ! — thus saying in effect : 
 
 " On me and all my children rest forever 
 
 The awful penalty of this high act of disobedience, 
 
 The Curse of God! " — And earth, from this sad moment, 
 
 Has been nothing but a yast mausoleum for human bones. 
 
 Demoniac passions, hitherto unknown, unthought of, 
 
 Now rankled in his bosom that had been opened 
 
 To demoniac influence ; peace was gone, and harmony 
 
 And conscious innocence ; an unnatural vent 
 
 Was given to his inclinations, occasioning a constant 
 
 Vacillation in the sons of men 'tween good and ill ; 
 
 Satan became the " master spirit of the human mind," 
 
 And though undeceived the Demon influence, 
 
 It coil'd its diabolic folds within this lofty citadel 
 
 Of human strength, and turned its energies 
 
 To serve his reckless purposes, ever opposed to God, 
 
 And all that's good : and hence the wail of woe 
 
 That has descended loud and long through every 
 
 Generation of Mankind ; and hence Man groans 
 
 In sinful bondage all his days ; and hence his eyes are closed 
 
 Against the light of moral truth, that line must be on line. 
 
 And precept upon precept, and Heaven's high 
 
 Renovating aid exerted e're the stupid one can see ; 
 
 And hence the strange confusion, the bewildering 
 
 Blindness, the disordered wretchedness, the long train 
 
 Of ills and vices that distort the moral world, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. l6l 
 
 So strikingly displayed in contrast to the 
 Beauteous harmony of Nature, that still moves on 
 In sweet obedience to the Laws of God. 
 
 Heaven stood astonished at the deed. 
 Seraphs no more came down as was their wont, 
 On wings of love, to hold communion with the daring one, 
 Who stood 'tween Heaven and Hell, mocking his Maker, 
 And swearing allegiance to the Prince of Darkness, 
 And own him before high Heaven, and earth, and hell, 
 To be his Master. And God himself, justly indignant 
 At the act withdrew His gracious presence 
 And no more talked with man but through 
 A Mediator ; but veiled His face in frowns, 
 And left the rebel creature beguiled, confused, 
 Polluted by presumptuous sin, a weary wanderer 
 O'er a wretched world that was cursed for his sake 
 With sterile sands, and bristling thorns and briers, 
 Destroying tempests, and blasting pestilence, 
 And agonizing sickness, until, with sad forebodings 
 Of a future state, that filled his mind 
 With blind, bewildering honors, his body crumbled to the 
 
 dust, 
 And his immortal soul sank down to that 
 Eternal death he madly chose, rather than serve 
 The glorious, the all-perfect God who made him. 
 
 Thou Infidel ! Thou sayest that Death 
 Is an eternal, an annihilating sleep. 
 That after man has spread his faculties 
 To grasp in almost boundless knowledge ; 
 Has traveled forth o'er suns, and worlds, and spheres, 
 And traced his course of deep research thro' regions 
 Of immortality, and talked with wisdom in her high abode, 
 He must come back again to earth and lay him down 
 As senseless as the stone beneath his feet. 
 Where is now the body? It is mingled with the dust of earth, 
 
162 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And can no more be found. Where is the Mind, 
 
 That reached so wide, and climbed so high, and seemed a 
 
 thing 
 Designed to praise its Maker ? It is gone. — 
 Go search creation through, search every eminence and 
 
 course, 
 Enquire at those high points where it was wont 
 To pause, and wonder, and reflect. It is not there. 
 Tis nowhere ; 'tis blotted from existence ; and will no more 
 Be found again forever. — 
 
 But hast thou marked yon blooming flowers, 
 Springing. all beautiful as new created things 
 From the rich germinating mould formed by the 
 Faded falling leaves of the past dying year? 
 Or hast thou marked the little worm that spins thy tapestry ? 
 When his work is done, he crawls within his silent shroud, 
 And lies as still as death. But death hath not destroyed 
 
 him. 
 Wait a little while and see him bursting from the tomb 
 In renovated life, and new and beauteous form ; 
 Delighting and delighted, showing forth the guardian care 
 And wondrous workmanship of his great Creator. 
 Or hast thou marked the lovely seasons, laying down 
 Their flowers, and fruits, and beauties in the wintry tomb, 
 And heard the mournful wails of nature 
 O'er a scene, all desolate, and cold as chills of death ? 
 But in a few short months thou hast seen the earth 
 Return again and spread her bosom to the sun, 
 And what a change appeared ! 
 The babbling waters, and the singing birds 
 And springing corn, and blooming flowers 
 And thousand, thousand joys and sweets 
 Combined to tell thee that the Spring had come, 
 And earth was waked again, all beautiful to life. 
 
 Now, though thou can'st not go to thy Creator 
 For guidance to the truth, for thou hast set at nought His 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY, 163 
 
 Wisdom, truth, and goodness, and will not harken 
 
 To His counsel, or give heed to His reproof, 
 
 And stamp'st thy foot on all the testimony of Revelation, 
 
 Disdaining it as beneath even thy poor contempt ; 
 
 Yet go thou to the springing flowers, the little worm, 
 
 And circling seasons, and they will tell thee 
 
 That thou livest in a world where all is change, 
 
 Continual change, but nothing, (excepting thou, 
 
 Proud skeptic, if thou wilt insist upon it) nothing 
 
 Is created for annihilation. Things change and change. 
 
 But in all thy deep researches, hast thou 
 
 E'er found aught that was destroyed ? 
 
 Then thou alone (it is thine own decision) art found 
 
 Unfit to live. And 't were well, when thou goest down 
 
 To thy dark abode, if thou couldst bear with thee 
 
 Thy senseless, impious creed, so contrary to Revelation, 
 
 Reason, and the analogies of nature, nor leave it 
 
 To delude a world already dark enough 
 
 And prone enough to folly. 
 
 But Revelation thus pursues her testimony. 
 Man's body resembles the dust, and his immortal soul 
 Sinks down to that Eternal Death he madly chose, 
 Rather than serve the glorious, the all-perfect God who made 
 
 him, 
 There to remain, still gathering in rebellious, disobedient 
 Generations of mankind, until the last loud trumpet of God 
 Sounds through the awe-struck universe, and summons forth 
 Their trembling souls, and sleeping bodies from the clay, 
 Again unites them in earth's likeness, arraigns 
 Before the dread tribunal where myriad hosts 
 From worlds beyond the sun await the grand decision 
 Of a cause that involves before the widespread universe 
 The awful questions — whether God \%just— and whether 
 His high word \§ fixed, and binding upon creatures, 
 Or, like the fleeting, varying words of mortals, 
 May be scattered to the winds. 
 
164 A GENEALOGICAL MENfOIR. 
 
 The cause is fully canvassed : they are convicted, and 
 
 convinced 
 Of sin and daring disobedience. Convicted and convinced 
 That " He is Holy, Just, and Good," and that what He 
 
 Speaks 
 Is stable as eternal things —and must, and shall 
 Forever be obeyed— or the transgressors meet the 
 Punishment ordained. Then back again they plunge ! 
 Down, down to that Eternal, never dying Death they madly 
 Chose, with Him, whom they had owned, before high Heaven, 
 To be their Master ; to where he reigns, and shall 
 Forever reign, their grand Destroyer, the Tempter 
 And Subduer of our race; Supreme in Sin, 
 Supreme in awful horror — bearing (as some stupendous 
 Pile of earth that bears upon its iron front the heaviest 
 Thunder bolts of Heaven, while weaker things beneath 
 Bear but a weaker portion of the wrath) the just, 
 The changeless vengeance of the Almighty God. 
 No more he strives to lull their souls asleep in blind security 
 Amid the calls — the earnest calls — and awful threatenings 
 Of the " living God." No more he silences 
 By soothing tales their trembling conscience, 
 Weakly vacillating between good and ill. 
 No more he lures their feet along the slippery way of sin. 
 By flattering promises of good. But now he mocks — 
 As a short respite to his mountain woes, from off 
 His Demon Throne, with fiendish laugh that makes 
 The blood run cold ! the strange, the stupid folly 
 Of the brutish creatures he has brought to Death and Hell, 
 A shuddering spectacle — an awful monument — 
 A solemn warning to other realms — to other worlds, 
 Of the dread miseries attendant upon disobedience 
 To the command of Heaven ! 
 
 But Oh! If Revelation left us here, how mournful 
 Were her tidings ! — 'T were kinder far to leave us 
 Floating blindly down the stream of time, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY 165 
 
 Striving to catch hope's glittering bubbles as they flit 
 
 Athwart our way, and tasting here and there 
 
 A transient thrill of joy, sweet, because unexpected 
 
 Mid the mouldering, mighty ruins of a fallen world, 
 
 Nor let us know with certainty the fearful doom 
 
 That awaits our exit from it. But like a skilled physician, 
 
 She probes the mortal wounds, and makes man feel that he 
 
 is sick 
 Before she can apply the healing balm. Or like a skillful 
 
 pilot, 
 She points out the dangers in the way, that he may know her — 
 Able to avoid them. — Hark ! hark ! her cheering voice, 
 It sounds from yon high throne, where sits the " living God." 
 Ye wretched, wandering, helpless race. Oh ! Do not stop your 
 
 ears — 
 Oh ! Do not close your eyes — Oh ! Do not steel your hearts 
 In disobedience, and strive to drench your souls 
 In everlasting wrath, as your first father did, 
 Preferring Hell to Heaven, and Satan to your God. 
 Hark! Hark! Your Maker speaks — "Deliver him," He 
 
 cries, 
 "Deliver man, poor, blind, presumptuous man 
 From going down to the pit, for /have found a ransom." 
 
 What is the dreadful Name — and what the awful 
 Character of Him, who reigns on high, and wields 
 The sceptre of Supreme Dominion ? Dread question, surely : 
 Is it not presumptuous ? O, no ! 'tis not presumptuous. 
 Since " in Him we live, and move, and have our being ; " 
 Since all we have, and are, and shall be hang suspended 
 On His will ; since in Revelation's book His hand 
 Has written down His Name and character, 
 So far as man can comprehend it and may know, 
 Soliciting our curious eyes to read and understand. 
 ' Tjvere blind presumption, sure, and desperate madness 
 To remain in ignorance. That Name is Love. That 
 
 character 
 
l66 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Is Love. And all the awful attributes of that awful 
 
 Character are sweetly blended in unchanging Love. 
 
 Justice, and Power, and Truth, sustain His august 
 
 Throne, as well they may, and must, or disorder wild 
 
 And strange confusion would ensue; but still this hallowed, 
 
 This unchanging Love, sweetly commingles with that 
 
 Fearful glory which fills the awful places, unapproached, 
 
 And unapproachable by mortal man, or highest 
 
 Holiest angel — emanates in kindest, dearest beams 
 
 Of softened, blended Love and Glory, far as a sunbeam 
 
 Shines, a system rolls. The work of wrath 
 
 Is His unwilling, His strange work. The rod of Power 
 
 Is never stretched in judgment o'er his creatures 
 
 Unless His Wisdom Infinite perceives that some high ends 
 
 Of universal good must be accomplished 
 
 By such means, and then, how kindly Love 
 
 Is mixed with judgment. — 
 
 Go to the fatal spot where your first father 
 
 Stamped, with foot presumptuous, the Blessing down — 
 
 And swore allegiance to the Prince of Hell — 
 
 And gave his patrimony fair to fiends of darkness — 
 
 And gave his children, and his children's children, 
 
 Countless generations o'er, for time and enternity, 
 
 A helpless prey to the Destroyer — behold him 
 
 Standing face-to-face with God ; late His fair image, 
 
 Good and pure — marred and disfigured now by sin 
 
 And high-toned disobedience ; the weapons of rebellion 
 
 In his hands, and passions of Demon in his heart ; 
 
 Casting, with daring taunt, his sin upon his Maker, 
 
 As he owned the fatal deed ; and as you hear 
 
 The dreadful sentence sounded : " Thou shalt surely die " — 
 
 Which truth must utter — mark well the Promise sweet 
 
 That followed. Promise unasked, and unexpected. 
 
 Promise that shook the throne of Hell ; and " bruised 
 
 The serpent's head" indeed. Promise that op'ed a door 
 
 Of pardon, hope and peace upon the now degraded 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 67 
 
 Family of Man ; and lighted up a wondrous way 
 
 From the dark ruins of a fallen world 
 
 To all the hallowed, fadeless glories of an eternal state. 
 
 Sure Love was here — unchanging love — 
 Unchanged by provocation, great beyond expression ; 
 And O ! to man most dear, Redeeming Love. 
 
 But mark it still, as shining down 
 In clearer words of promise in the Patriarch's days, 
 It sped their way to Heaven, and called upon 
 Their children, and their children's children, 
 And " all the families of earth," to come and taste 
 With them the Blessing. Delivering power, 
 Saving from Egypt's cruel bondage. Guiding power, 
 Beaming in pillar'd glory o'er the chosen tribes 
 Leading to Canaan's rest. Instructing power, 
 Talking with Moses, and teaching holy prophets 
 What man must do to please his Maker. And, mark it still, 
 As following round the years of time, and gathering still 
 In closer, and yet brighter circles, as the time drew nigh, 
 When earth's Deliverer should come, its bright collected 
 
 beams 
 Of "peace on earth, good will to man," were sweetly blended 
 In a beauteous star that stood o'er Bethlehem's Babe, 
 Star of earth's rising glory ! Star, beautiful as Hope, 
 Amid the horrors of despair ; and drew the wise men from 
 
 the east, 
 And angels from on high, to feast their raptured eyes, 
 And sound in heavenly strains on earth, that — "God is 
 
 Love." — 
 But mark it still — as Bethlehem's Babe, no more a babe, 
 Assumed the robes of the Divine Instructor, 
 Speaking life and immortality o'er Judah's land , 
 Until, intent on saving man, He laid down His precious life 
 A bleeding Sacrifice for him. On Him, man's sin was laid, 
 On Him, man's awful Curse — the Curse of God — on Him 
 
l68 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Man's penalty of Death ; — and as He laid His naked 
 
 breast 
 To drink the shafts of injured Heaven, the stripes 
 Of monstrous earth, the taunts of daring Hell ; 
 And felt the awful pangs of such a death, while drenched 
 
 all o'er 
 In blood of agonizing woe beneath the spirit breaking smart, 
 The avenging fire of Heaven's high Justice — Heaven's high 
 
 Truth — 
 Stayed not its well aimed course, but passing harmless 
 O'er the head of guilty, rebel man, fell down in all its 
 
 unmix'd, 
 Unchanged wrath 'gainst sin, (that cannot sleep, while 
 
 holiness is pure,) 
 Upon the self-devoted, sinless victim, who bore the imputed 
 
 sin 
 Of this degraded world. — Sure Love was here — 
 Unchanging love, too vast to be repaid — and, O ! to man 
 Most dear, Redeeming Love. But mark it still. 
 Now from the bleeding Sacrifice, (that satisfied avenging 
 
 Justice, 
 And wash'd away in streams of Heaven's own blood 
 All shadow of spot from Truth's pure tablet 
 And op'ed a door of reconciliation between Heaven and Earth 
 Arose the mighty Conqueror, putting on the helmet 
 Of Salvation, shining sweetly radiant o'er a fallen world, 
 And buckled on the breastplate of Omnipotence — 
 Pledge of His power to crush man's giant foes, 
 And hold the feeble creatures safe who trusted in Him, 
 Though overwhelming dangers gathered round ; 
 And girded on His sword, His glittering sword 
 Of dying, rising and redeeming Love — that strikes 
 With keener edge the moral feeling than reckless 
 Sword of wrath) to cut the oppressor down, and clear 
 His people's way through the strong ranks of Death and Hell, 
 And stamped on Hell's proud throne, (as man 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 69 
 
 Had stamped on Heaven's Blessing), and broke 
 
 The ruthless sceptre, stretched in demoniac triumph 
 
 O'er a darkened world ; and broke the bars of Death ; 
 
 And broke the sting of Death to those who yield 
 
 Their grateful hearts, their willing minds, 
 
 The obedient service of their lives to Him who pitied, 
 
 And who died to save (for we speak not of the 
 
 Disobedient generation who close their eyes against 
 
 The light — the willing slaves of sin, rushing madly on 
 
 O'er goodness, mercy, and redeeming love ; mocking still 
 
 Their Maker), and made the Monster wear a smile, 
 
 A smile of peace, of hope, of immortality ; no more 
 
 A terror and a foe, but friend most dear to friends 
 
 Of his high Conqueror ; stretching forth his iron hand 
 
 Softened now by love, to take their bodies, 
 
 Sickened by the sad disease of guilty disobedience, 
 
 And wearied by a painful struggle between good and ill, 
 
 To lay them on his sleeping bed of thoughtless ease, 
 
 While their unclogged spirit passed in happy jriumph 
 
 Through His strange domains to tasteful measures 
 
 Of redeeming love in realms of everlasting day, 
 
 And made the Tomb appear no more a vast, 
 
 A deep, a drear receptacle of dying man, 
 
 Whence dismal imagery of doubt and darkness, 
 
 And an unknown fate went forth upon a trembling world, 
 
 And whispers strange of something fearful, 
 
 Because undefined, were ever breaking on the human ear ; 
 
 But now a blest refiner of this earthly dross, 
 
 A purifier of this mortal frame which sinks to death 
 
 In sin's corruption, but in an appointed hour 
 
 Shall rise-in incorruption — beautiful and fair — 
 
 As heavenly things, to be transplanted in unchanging 
 
 Loveliness to the blest Paradise of God ; no more to sin, 
 
 No more to grieve, no more to die. 
 
 And leaving finished this kind work of grace on earth, 
 
 And given His promise to send down the "Holy Spirit," 
 
170 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Teacher and Guide of Men, and given His followers 
 
 Their great commission : " Go ; preach the Gospel 
 
 Of Redeeming Love to every creature under Heaven ; 
 
 Sound pardon, hope and life through me 
 
 Far as the widespread ruins of the fall." 
 
 In a bright cloud of shining light the Conqueror rose, 
 
 In likeness of the guilty creatures he had purchased 
 
 With his blood ; the " everlasting doors" were opened ; 
 
 And in glory unconceived, He sits beside the " Mystery on 
 
 High," 
 Man's mighty Counsellor — his everlasting Friend — 
 His powerful Intercessor ; — still looking down 
 With ever wakeful vigilance upon the obedient people 
 He has engaged to save, and lead through thick set 
 
 opposition 
 To an everlasting rest — He sees — He knows 
 The dangers of the way. — Two mighty kingdoms 
 Act within this world, — kingdoms of Moral Good 
 And Moral Evil — each striving for pre-eminence o'er man, 
 And man, the funny creature, stands between 
 Holding free choice of either. The ruthless sceptre 
 Of the Prince of Hell was broken, but for wise ends 
 Of universal good to be disclosed hereafter, the reckless 
 
 prowler 
 Is permitted to roam abroad the earth, as lion for his prey, 
 Whose only aim is to oppose the King of Heaven, 
 And bring destruction on His creature, man. 
 Neither side makes use of violence, or authoritative force, 
 Or strong compulsions ; but entreats by winning 
 Means, and urges, and persuades; and man 
 The Moral Agent, chooses whom he '11 serve, 
 His Maker, or Destroyer. '' Choose ye whom 
 Ye '11 serve," has Revelation sounded loud and long 
 Throughout the earth. " If Israel's Lord be God, 
 Then serve him ; but if Baal be the God, 
 Then worship him." — Both urge their claims 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 17 I 
 
 With all, and strive to gain the obedience 
 
 Of every human heart ; and hence the constant 
 
 Vacillation between good and ill, seen even 
 
 In the best of men ; and hence the arduous struggle 
 
 That- the Christian knows, who struggles not 
 
 'Gainst flesh and blood alone, but "against thrones, 
 
 And principalities and powers, and spiritual 
 
 Wickedness in high places." But when the 
 
 Appointed day has come, that day 
 
 When Earth and Hell have filled the measure 
 
 Of their wrath, and are ready for destruction, 
 
 Then He, man's everlasting friend, shall 
 
 Come again, a second time — no more in human 
 
 Weakness, no more as Babe of Bethlehem, no more 
 
 The insulted " man of sorrows" but in 
 
 Awful majesty, as Judge supreme, as 
 
 Arbiter, decisive of right and wrong, of truth 
 
 And error, life and death. The Death, 
 
 His work of desolating earth for sin of man now done, 
 
 Shall die, and He shall render up the mighty dead, 
 
 The unnumbered victims of his power, to stand 
 
 Before the dread tribunal of Omnipotence, 
 
 Where they must meet the long array of life's 
 
 Accountable deeds, and hear upon them the voice 
 
 Of Final Judgment, sounded by Him of Wisdom Infinite, 
 
 Of perfect moral rectitude, who cannot err, 
 
 Who on this last great day of " dread and doom," 
 
 When every thought of every heart shall be divulged, 
 
 Will clear up all the mysteries that now hang o'er 
 
 This earthly scene, and show how " partial evil 
 
 Tends to universal good." Then shall 
 
 The powers of Hell, and all the disobedient 
 
 Of mankind, be cast off to outer, utter and eternal darkness, 
 
 Which they madly chose, rather than serve 
 
 The all-glorious God who made them ; defiling earth, 
 
 Oppressing earth ; defying Heaven no more forever. 
 
172 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Then all the bodies of the saints, (those who on earth 
 
 Had turned a grateful ear to hear their Maker's 
 
 Word sounded from the volume of His Grace, 
 
 And strove with humble effort to obey, though 
 
 Earth and Hell opposed) rising from Death 
 
 In renovated life, and beautiful as Heavenly things, 
 
 Again united to these happy souls, shall be adjudged too. 
 
 " Eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard, 
 
 Nor can the heart of man conceive, the vast, 
 
 The high, the exceeding, the eternal weight of glory," 
 
 He hath prepared for them in His high 
 
 Dwelling place of bliss in Heaven. 
 
 Then earth — so long defiled by sin, and death, 
 And fiends of darkness — will be burnt with fire 
 And purified ; when the new heavens and 
 A new earth shall rise, more beautiful 
 Than Eden glories, most holy, and most happy ; 
 And He, whose name is " Love," be " all in all." 
 
 Ask ye how we know that Revelation 
 Brought from Heaven the sacred page that tells 
 The character, and mighty plans and works 
 Of Him who made the worlds, and gives 
 The story of man's birth and fate ? 
 
 When history tells us that Julius Caesar lived, 
 The saviour first, and then the tyrant 
 Of his country, cramping her liberties with chains 
 Ambition forges ; and on the consulate of Rome 
 Rearing a throne that bowed the sinews 
 Of a trembling world — doubt ye the fact ? 
 When history tells that Alexander fought and conquered, 
 Planting the Grecian standard, crimson with victory, 
 Over subject kingdoms — doubt ye the fact ? 
 When history tells that Egypt, since the sink 
 Of nations, flourished once, fair and mighty, 
 Rich in arts and science, wealth and power ; 
 Or that Assyria stood entrenched in iron strength, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. I 73 
 
 And golden glory in her capital of pride, trampling, 
 
 In haughty triumph, on the necks of captive kings 
 
 And tribute nations, bidding all the ends 
 
 Of earth bow prostrate before her imperial domination 
 
 Doubt ye the facts? No, ye do not doubt. 
 
 History testifies the truths, and ye believe them. 
 
 Then when history tells that Moses lived, 
 The leader and the prophet of the Jews, 
 And talked with God of high and awful things 
 Concerning man, and wrote the precepts 
 He received, the histories given, leaving them 
 With care to that peculiar people styled 
 The "chosen race," who still retain, and bear them 
 Genuine 'mong their scattered tribes abroad the 
 Earth, through every tongue and kindred — 
 Doubt ye the fact? And do ye doubt the fact 
 (Syria's awe-struck monarch doubted not 
 When all his plans of pride, formed in his 
 Secret chambers, were Openly divulged by prophets 
 Over Judea's plains and counteracted), that 
 Ancient prophets spake, as they were inspired, 
 Of great events that should occur, of things to come 
 Hereafter? And when history tells that what 
 The prophets spake of things to come, are come 
 Indeed, and are fulfilled, or yet fulfilling, doubt ye 
 The fact? When history tells that He, whom 
 Revelation styles the " Son of Man, was born 
 In Judah's land, and lived an humble, lowly life, 
 Teaching new doctrines, strange to human ears ; 
 Performing wondrous cures and mighty miracles, 
 Above the power of human art ; and suffered 
 Under Pontius Pilate on the cross — doubt ye the fact ? 
 And when history tells us that after He arose from Death, 
 And went to Heaven, His followers treasured up 
 The records of His life, His doctrine, and His words 
 Of grace, adding such truths as they themselves 
 
174 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Were inspired of Heaven to speak for man's 
 
 Instruction — doubt ye the fact ? 
 
 And when history adds, that armed with nothing 
 
 But this " Word of Life," and power of working miracles, 
 
 They went forth — a feeble band — against the dread 
 
 Array of philosophic wisdom, (bucklered in arguments 
 
 Less yielding than the triple brass) — imperial hate — 
 
 And all the fondest inclinations and interests 
 
 Of mankind, leagued with subtle, spiritual 
 
 Domination of the principalities and powers of darkness 
 
 To overturn ; and overturn these things 
 
 Of earth and pride, and wrest the kingdoms 
 
 Of this world for Him whose right it is to reign. 
 
 Defying persecution, shame and death, 
 
 Through realms, and courts, and palaces, 
 
 They sped their way to bear the " Word of Light" 
 
 To wayward, wandering, dying man ; 
 
 And when the martyr's stake, the fires 
 
 Of persecution, or the grating chains of regal power 
 
 Oppressed them, they bartered not the truth 
 
 They had received and firmly trusted in, 
 
 But sold their lives in its defence, and sealed it 
 
 With their blood. And still new champions rose 
 
 And still " the Word " was spread ; and still 
 
 It gained new strength, until at length 
 
 Imperial Rome, through her gigantic provinces 
 
 Received the book of Revelation, which we hold, . 
 
 Dethroned her idol deities — destroyed her heathen 
 
 Temples — trampled down her pagan altars 
 
 And from her iron throne, high raised 
 
 Above the proudest thrones on earth, 
 
 Sounded aloud the truths the Apostles taught ; 
 
 And sceptred Cssars bowed before the cross, 
 
 And turned their power to build the church, 
 
 Uphold and vindicate the " Word of God."— 
 
 Doubt ye the fact ? No, ye do not doubt. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 175 
 
 History has testified the truths, and ye believe them. 
 
 The facts connected with the Revelation, 
 
 Even as the unquestioned things of human 
 
 History, in the periods, and the countries 
 
 Where they transpired, were publicly acknowledged, 
 
 Obtaining universal assent. They 're handed down to us 
 
 With equal evidence of truth, demanding 
 
 Equal credence, and we cannot doubt. 
 
 Ask ye if the sacred page of Inspiration 
 Has never been polluted by fallacious human creeds ? 
 We answer, no. It cannot be. For innumerous 
 Copies pure were circulated earth around, 
 And held by those who prized them as dearer far 
 Than dearest joys of life, of life itself, and who 
 Would not, could not, (even could the various 
 Copies be collected from far distant lands) 
 Calmly stand by and see their hopes destroyed, 
 Their expectations blighted, their sun of life put out, 
 And darkness, utter darkness, veil again- 
 The face of earth. And farther still, opposing sects 
 Arose, of jangling creeds, of rival names and power, 
 Of rival aims and interests ; and should 
 One party impiously presume to alter aught 
 The pen of God had written, the clamor 
 Of ten thousand voices would have waked 
 The indignant world ; and other Pauls, and other 
 " Sons of Thunder," would have risen to sound 
 Their dread anathemas upon the fatal deed. 
 This has not been done. 
 
 Though earth has changed, 
 Though times and seasons change, though human creeds 
 Have changed, though man's opinion changes, 
 Though mighty empires change and pass away, 
 And all beneath the sun is full of wasting changes, 
 With steady course the " Word of God" has traveled down 
 From land to land, from tongue to tongue, 
 
176 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 From age to age the same, the very same, 
 
 As when it first appeared from holy pens of prophets 
 
 And apostles taught of Heaven ; and like to Him 
 
 Who gave it to our world as Truth — as Truth 
 
 That changes not — and cannot change — immutable, 
 
 It will, it must remain the same forever. 
 
 It bears the impression of Omnipotence ; 
 It speaks of deep, and high, and lofty things, 
 Unutterable by human tongues ;, 
 Unreached by human thought. 'T is all-important, 
 And 'tis what intelligent creatures 
 Expected, and might expect, from Him, who 
 Made, and placed them in a world where all is 
 Strange, mysterious, undefined, and by 
 Human reason undefinable. 'T is 
 What we wish. The urgent thing that most we need. 
 It clears the dusky way, dispels the doubt 
 That gather thick and baleful o'er the 
 Traveler's path ; it guides us o'er the stormy 
 Sea of Time ; it tells us who and what we 
 Are, and what our duties and our destiny. 
 It soothes our sorrows, dries our mournful tears, 
 And raises us from poor, degraded, friendless 
 Creatures to all the elevating joys 
 And hopes, and prospects of the children of 
 The " Most High God." We see no more a dreadful 
 And an unkind God presiding o'er a 
 Strange bewildered scene ; but see a Father, 
 On a throne of Love, dispensing kindest, 
 Richest blessings to His children ; and doing 
 All that love — that infinite, unwearying 
 Benevolence can do to make them wise, 
 And good, and happy here, and train them up 
 To glory, honor, immortality, 
 Eternal bliss, in Heaven. Ye, who are friends, 
 To man, go, hasten to disseminate 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. I 77 
 
 This precious Book. Say by your prayers, your 
 Efforts, and your wealth, " Let there be light," and 
 Light will shine. For God has said, " Go, bid the 
 Nations hear." He has commanded light — and 
 Let light shine. Go, spread the wondrous volume 
 O'er the earth ; go, tell a dying world that 
 There is life ; go, tell bewildered man 
 Why he is made — for happiness, and 
 Heaven, and for his Maker's praise — till every 
 Eye shall see, and every mind become 
 Illumined ; till from Scythia's snows to 
 Africa's sands, from eastern realms to the far 
 Distant boundaries of the west ; and o'er the 
 Widespread islands of the sea, the light, the 
 Benevolent Light of Life, of Truth, of 
 Immortality shall shine, and earth become 
 A temple vast, o'er which the blest " Shechinah" 
 From on high — the pillared radiance of 
 Redeeming Love — shall rest in Heavenly glory ; 
 And myriad voices waked t' immortality 
 Shall sound one general song of lofty praise, 
 Blending in grateful cadence with the 
 Hallowed anthems of the redeemed around 
 The throne, who sing the song of Moses and 
 The Lamb : " Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain 
 To receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 
 And strength, and honor, and blessing." " O, Death, 
 Where is thy sting? O, grave, where is thy victory ? 
 Thanks be to God, — for he so loved the world 
 That He gave His only belov6d Son 
 To die for us, that we through Him might live. 
 Thanks be to God, who giveth unto us 
 The victory thro' Jesus Christ, our Lord." 
 Blest gift of Heaven to a fallen world ! 
 While all things else deceive us, — we change 
 12 
 
178 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Ourselves, and all things round us change ; and through 
 
 The wide-spread fields of matter and of mind 
 
 Another point, another twig, appears ; 
 
 Not where we can fix our grasp and feel secure ; 
 
 Grateful the thought, that we may clasp the Book 
 
 Of Revelation to our heart, and own 
 
 Its Truths to be a " Rock " — established even 
 
 By Omnipotence itself — nor can the 
 
 " Gates of Hell " prevail against it ! — on which 
 
 The hopes of man may rest in Heavenly peace 
 
 Through changing scenes of time, and frowning glooms 
 
 Of Death ; and shall abide, in all their kind, 
 
 Endearing, and yet awful import ; when 
 
 Death is swallowed up in victory ; when 
 
 Time, and earth, and suns, and worlds shall pass away, 
 
 Pure and eternal as the throne of God. 
 
 WEWACUS HILL ; 
 
 MOHEGAN'S WATCH TOWER AND DEATH MOUND. 
 
 Although from the many traditional accounts respecting 
 Wewacus Hill, it would seem to have been a place of consider- 
 able notoriety among the earliest Indians, yet, for reasons un- 
 known no. historian or writer of any description has seen fit to 
 dignify it with the slightest remembrance. It is located at the 
 head of the river Thames, Conn., and forms an elevated west- 
 ern boundary of the beautiful manufacturing city of Norwich, 
 which, with its mingling rivers the Thames, Shetucket and 
 Yantic, and all its native scenery and artificial beauties, lies 
 embosomed in a luxuriant valley beneath the venerable shade 
 of this patriarchal hill. In other days it was known by the 
 name of the "Indian Watch Tower," and derived its title from 
 the use to which it was appropriated. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 79 
 
 Uncas and his tribe occupied a peculiarly exposed situation, 
 being surrounded by those from whom they had revolted, and 
 who were thirsting for their blood ; and after having deeded 
 the town of Norwich to his friends and allies, the whites, he 
 and his faithful Mohegans were constantly on the alert in 
 watching for the protection of the infant settlement, and repell- 
 ing invasions of the Pequots, at that time the formidable and 
 relentless foe of both parties. Wewacus Hill, (said to be the 
 first point of land in Connecticut discoverable at sea) raised its 
 proud summit above them ; and so commanding a post of ob- 
 servation, from whence his keen Indian eye could range the 
 whole extent of country, from Bolton on the north to the Sound 
 on the south, was not neglected by this sagacious observer. 
 While his vigilant scouts were ever abroad in the wilderness to 
 advise him of the motions of the enemy, he kept at the same 
 time a sentinel continually stationed upon this Watch Tower 
 that overlooked both his friends and his own wild domains. It 
 was a place much frequented by him ; and upon this summit 
 was erected a Fort for its defence, to which, in times of great 
 danger, the old men of the' tribe who were unable to fight, the 
 women and children, were sent for safety from the unsparing 
 vengeance of their cruel adversaries. Yet previous to the de- 
 struction of the Pequots, even this Fort was sometimes assailed 
 and became the scene of very sanguinary conflicts. This ede- 
 fice was a large square building, erected in the Indian manner 
 of unpolished stone without mortar, embanked with earth ; and 
 but for the depredation of those who wished to enclose their 
 farms with stone fences, might have stood firmly to the present 
 day. But unsparing hands have not hesitated, for this purpose, 
 to overthrow an interesting monument of other times until not 
 one stone is left standing upon another. With regard to the 
 derivation of the name of Wewacus, nothing can be known at 
 present but through the testimony of tradition. As is well 
 known, the historical traditions of the Indians were handed to 
 posterity through the medium of national songs, or by engrav- 
 
180 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 ing upon trees. Trees of this description formerly overshadow- 
 ed Wewacus Hill, and hence the traditions respecting it have 
 been principally derived. But these aspiring chroniclers of 
 Mohegan's vales, like those who dwelt beneath their shadow 
 and taught them to promulgate their mighty deeds, have long 
 since met the fate of all mortal things, and are forgotten. One 
 silent memento alone remains to tell that Mohegan's monarchs 
 once occupied these heights, after seeing his people fade away 
 before the progress of civilization like the leaves of the forest 
 before the breath of autumn. One lofty-minded Indian retired 
 with his wife to this wild retreat above the world, afar from all 
 the sickening scenes in the valley beneath, and here, like the 
 shades of departed greatness they lingered, bewailing their 
 country's doom, until the summons came that gathered them to 
 a resting place with their fathers. They left behind them their 
 solitary hut, which, though dilapidated, still stands, a small but 
 appropriate capstone upon this Watch Tower of Mohegan's 
 greatness, this Mound above her grave. The field where they 
 have laid Mohegan's sleeping warriors, known by the name of 
 the " Indian burying ground " is in the city of Norwich on the 
 east bank of the Yantic, just above the beautiful fall in that 
 river, and but a short distance from the foot of Wewacus Hill. 
 Here a monument is erected to the memory of Uncas. The cor- 
 ner stone was laid by the celebrated Gen. Jackson, President 
 of the United States, while on a visit here, in company with 
 several of the first dignitaries of the State and Nation, amid 
 display of the military, crowds of spectators and all the parade 
 necessarily attendant on such an occasion. The Indian cus- 
 tom of forming, not splendid mausoleums, but simple Mounds 
 of earth above the graves of their fathers is well known ; and 
 Fancy must be excused if in her mind, vagaries amid savage 
 things, she has taken the liberty of transforming this Watch 
 Tower of the living, into a mound above the dead. It is to be 
 regretted that the traces of the original proprietors of the Hill 
 are so far obliterated, as such monuments of other times afford 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. l8l 
 
 the philosopher, historian, and poet, a subject of much inter- 
 esting speculation. But though these appendages are gone, 
 the Mound itself cannot be easily removed. Erected by the 
 hand of the God of nature, it will no doubt be left to stand in 
 view of the future traveler, an imperishable director to the 
 resting place of a once powerful nation that now sleeps at its 
 base. 
 
 WEWACUS HILL; 
 
 OK, 
 
 MOHEGAN'S WATCH TOWER AND DEATH MOUND. 
 
 Calm was the hour, the tranquil hour of eve, 
 
 When solemn musings fill the pensive breast, 
 Glad for a little while the world to leave, 
 
 Its idle mirth, its scenes by care oppress'd ; 
 Its ceaseless toils, forbidding man to rest ; 
 
 And all its sights and sounds that please or grieve 
 I wander'd forth to hold communion blest 
 
 With nature, and her balmy fragrance breathe, 
 Where meditation loves to linger still 
 
 Amid thy wild retreats, Wewacus Hill. 
 
 'T was silence all upon the lonely Hill, 
 
 For nature slept in evening's sweet embrace ; 
 The murm'ring winds and sportive birds were still ; 
 
 No sound disturb'd the solitary place, 
 Save a low babbling where the fountain strays, 
 
 And now and then the tree-toad chirping shrill, 
 And waking wild her melancholy lays, 
 
 That meet the ear and through the bosom thrill 
 Like sorrow's mournful plaint o'er friendship's tomb, 
 
 The whip-poor-will in her lone, distant home. 
 
1 82 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 The moon in brightness walk'd her nightly way, 
 
 The deep-blue heavens, with starry gems bespread, 
 Bent as in guardian kindness seem'd to say : 
 
 " Put off thy shoe — not walk with lawless tread 
 Through scene like this." Light mingled sweet with shade. 
 
 Calm, beautiful as heav'n, the green earth lay, 
 As if all care and passion low were laid, 
 
 And in their stead came that mysterious sway 
 Which bows creation in adoring praise 
 
 To Him, unseen, who fill'd this "dreadful place." 
 
 But here, beside high thoughts that nature brings 
 
 Through all her wide domains wherever spread. 
 When evening whispers, or when morning sings, 
 
 Are others wak'd. For on this mountain head 
 We stand above the mansion of the dead, 
 
 And 'round us gather long-departed things ; 
 For wild Wewacus throws his mighty shade 
 
 Upon the last long-resting place of kings. 
 Here stood a nation, high in warlike pride ; 
 
 Here stands this mound, to tell that nation died. 
 
 No more the wolf comes howling from his den ; 
 
 The poisonous snake no more his rattle shakes ; 
 No more the bear and panther now are seen, 
 
 Or bounding deer his sprightly pastime takes ; 
 And on the trembling mind no more awakes 
 
 The horrid whoop of angry, savage men, 
 In dreadful cadence with the storm that breaks 
 
 The mountain pine, and thunders thro' the glen ; 
 And bursting 'vengeful on our 'frighted path, 
 
 No more we meet the warrior in his wrath. 
 
 No more we see devotion's pagan train 
 
 Mad with wierd transports, clad in strange attire, 
 
 Chanting dire music, sad as wails of pain, 
 'Round the drear spot where sacrificial fire 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 83 
 
 Bums to appease dark Hobbomocko's ire. 
 
 Not, as he scans from hence yon wide domain, 
 And o'er creation's realms his thoughts aspire ; 
 
 No more some high-soul'd Indian pours his strain 
 Of lofty praise to Him o'er all things high, 
 
 Supreme Great Spirit of the glorious sky. 
 
 No more are gathering bands of Indians now 
 
 On proud Wewacus, where their, power hath been ; 
 But sturdy farmers whistle by their plough, 
 
 And merry children sport upon the green. 
 On the bold steep is lovely village seen ; 
 
 And village belles are there in beauty too, 
 Not dight in broadcloth cap, like Indian queen, 
 
 And wampum-belt, and deer skin robe and shoe. 
 No ; should our females climb the very moon, 
 
 The " Latest Fashions" would arrive there soon. 
 
 Now, mild religion sheds her genial rays 
 
 Where the dark savage in his blindness stood, 
 As from a temple rear'd to his own praise, 
 
 By his own hand, high over plain and flood, 
 Wewacus, to the " true and living God," 
 
 Now tunes glad anthems, and His will obeys. 
 So Zion's sacred hill and blood 
 
 Was crown'd by Canaanite in other days, 
 Till Israel came, from house of bondage led, 
 
 And light and gladness crown'd that mountain head. 
 
 Now the glad spring hastes from the bending skies 
 
 On raptur'd wing to deck Wewacus' bowers ; 
 Calls her gay birds, bids her mild sun arise, 
 
 Spreads her green robe, and paints her laughing flow'rs- 
 And bounteous autumn brings exuberant stores 
 
 Her golden grain abundantly supplies ; 
 Her orchards rich, and teeming wildwood pours 
 
 Her luscious fruits of various names and dyes, 
 
184 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Life, peace and plenty crown Wewacus' brow, 
 
 And mark ! yon beauteous prospect spread below. 
 
 Hence you may see the academic halls 
 
 Of rural Colchester all brightly beam ; 
 And Bozrah, peeping through her rocky walls ; 
 
 And.Goshen, land of cider, cheese and cream ; 
 And Franklin fam'd for many a worthy name ; 
 
 And lofty Lebanon, that proudly calls 
 A Trumbull hers — fair as her heights of fame 
 
 Above the world where the last sunbeam falls ; 
 And still beyond, Bolton's tall steeps of pride 
 
 Are seen by him who climbs Wewacus' side. 
 
 And Salem's teeming lake and happy land ; 
 
 And fair Montville ; and where her patriots bled, 
 By lofty column rear'd by grateful hand, 
 
 Fam'd Groton weeping o'er her mighty dead ; 
 And where the Thames with ocean's waves is wed 
 
 New London's forts, her sails and busy strand ; 
 And low in dust 'neath desolation's tread, 
 
 Where nations stood and monarchs gave command, 
 Mohegan wildly meets the mournful gaze — 
 
 Birthplace and tomb of a departed race. 
 
 And other towns beam on the raptur'd eye 
 
 Around this centre of a nation's power, 
 And flowery meads, broad woods, and gathering nigh 
 
 To scene so fair, proud hills in grandeur tow'r. 
 And sweeping streams their sparkling water pour 
 
 Thro' fruitful vales of fairest emerald dye ; 
 The factor's wheels are heard along the shore, 
 
 The hum of toil with nature's cheerful cry, 
 O, 't is a beauteous scene ! adorn'd and lov'd 
 
 By nature, and by charms of art improv'd. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 85 
 
 O, what deep thoughts are waken'd as we stand 
 
 Gazing on scenes in nature's life-robes drest ! 
 And what a power has nature to command 
 
 The soften 'd feelings of the human breast! 
 Long might the spirit linger in this rest, 
 
 And muse o'er subjects gather'd to her hand. 
 Ask if the dwellers in yon vale are blest, 
 
 Or why, if sad they are in such sweet land ? 
 Talk with the present — of the future dream, 
 
 But no ; the storied past is now our theme. 
 
 Harp of the Pilgrim land, awake ! awake ! 
 
 Break forth in strains befitting lofty theme 
 To friendship true ; breathe forth once more and break 
 
 The silence far too deep o'er Indian name, 
 Passing away like fancy's vagrant dream. 
 
 Though no illustrious minstrel comes to take 
 And sweep thy sounding strings to notes of fame, 
 
 Yet wake, wild harp ! and inspiration speak 
 In influence kind to me who woos thee still 
 
 For tribute due this long-neglected Hill. 
 
 For we were strangers once in this proud land, 
 
 Though now our banner waves from sea to sea. 
 The Indians then held high and sole command ; 
 
 Now he is gone ; and o'er his ashes we 
 Wake but too oft the song of levity. 
 
 Some few, indeed, with thoughtful, grateful hand 
 Have given to fame names mighty once — and free ; 
 
 A wondrous powerful, yet departed band, 
 That their high deeds may in her annals live, 
 
 Is but just meed Columbia sure should give. 
 
 A lowly hand now only humbly aims 
 
 To save one spot from dark oblivion's flow. 
 
 All wildly o'er the head of silvery Thames, 
 Unknown to song, Wewacus lifts his brow ; 
 
l86 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Looks down on Norwich, beautiful below, 
 As fairy maiden sweet in fancy's dreams. 
 
 Bright, vigorous, fresh as morning's early glow, 
 Plying the busy wheel 'mid mingling streams ; 
 
 And 'round his foot in many a winding maze, 
 And wild cascade, the lovely Yantic strays. 
 
 Proud mount — tradition says thou hadst thy name 
 
 From wild Wewacus, King of Pequot race ; 
 A second mighty Nimrod, laying claim 
 
 To boundless wilds, o'er which he led the chase. 
 Not from his savage throne on this high place 
 
 Watch'd he alone the unoffending game. 
 Whether Napoleon's history we trace, 
 
 Wewacus', Caesar's, or that one of fame 
 Who wept for other worlds — '■ one world too small, 
 
 Ambition — lust of power — the same in all. 
 
 Wewacus wak'd the battle shout, and flew 
 
 O'er mount and valley like a withering flame ; 
 His keen eye glanc'd. his powerful bow he drew, 
 
 And at his feet tribes, kingdoms, warriors came, 
 And none could stay his might, his spirit tame, 
 
 Or break the bands that far and wide he threw. 
 Wewacus ! 't is a wild and savage name, 
 
 Yet to his country he was kind and true ; 
 His sons, the daring Pequots, lov'd him well, 
 
 And lov'd his deeds to sing, his glories tell. 
 
 He died. But not upon the lonely plain. 
 
 'Mid common things his mighty bones were laid. 
 They would not leave him where the idle train 
 
 Above the conqueror's awful brow might tread ; 
 But where his throne had stood on this high head, 
 
 O'er looking still his wide and wild domains 
 They made the monarch's lofty sleeping-bed, 
 
 And in it laid his dog and household train, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 87 
 
 To serve him where he went — and wealth was pil'd 
 And trophies proud of all the warriors he had kill'd. 
 
 So rais'd sublime above the trembling deeps, 
 
 Whose giant billows sound o'er earth his name, 
 In lonely grandeur on Helena's steeps 
 
 Napoleon slumbers in his bed of fame. 
 But all alone he slumbers — and can claim 
 
 No tear-drops kind but those which nature weeps. 
 Around his dying bed no children came. 
 
 His honor'd dust no treasuring country keeps; 
 Alone he sleeps — and ocean's awe-struck wave 
 
 Alone conducts us to his lofty grave. 
 
 And o'er his wondrous tomb no requiem makes, 
 
 Save when the thunder-cloud in fury bent 
 Utter his mighty voice and nature shakes, 
 
 Winds, waves and storms respond the dreadful plaint. 
 But loud, and deep, and long the fond lament, 
 
 That o'er Wewacus' much lov'd ashes breaks. 
 His people fasted there, their clothes they rent, 
 
 And sorrow's deep-ton'd wail kind music makes ; 
 They mourn'd in lamentations wild and wide, 
 
 As Israel thro' her tents when Jacob died. 
 
 And children's children thro' unnumbered years 
 
 Have gather'd round his patriarchal bed ; 
 Oft has his dust been wet with those kind tears 
 
 That fond affection drops upon the dead. 
 And the deep thunders roll above his head 
 
 And muttering storms this echoing summit hears. 
 They sleep securely in their father's shade, 
 
 No sound or storm awakes his people's fears, 
 They sleep together — he in this proud mound — 
 
 They at its foot, all fondly gathering round. 
 
l88 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Dread Patriarch Mound ! Vast generations meet 
 
 And mingle kindly in thy mighty shade ; 
 Here the red warrior gather'd up his feet 
 
 To go among his fathers, with the dead ; 
 And many a monarch bold from battle dread 
 
 As lion terrible, as lightning fleet, 
 Came home to gaze upon thy guardian's head, 
 
 Then sleeps with sires and sons, in slumber sweet. 
 Dark Pequot warriors claim thy shadow blest, 
 
 And here Mohegan found a nation's rest. 
 
 Tradition tells not why the Pequct claim 
 
 Was not continued to this Hill of pride ; 
 But when to seek a home the Pilgrim came, 
 
 He found Mohegan by Wewacus' side. 
 Her bow was bent, the Pequot she defied ; 
 
 She claim'd — and oft from this bold steep of fame 
 Glanc'd her keen, eagle eye o'er land and tide 
 
 To mark what foes might come. It went by name 
 Of " Indian's Watch Tower," and yon ruins tell 
 
 Where stood the fort that screen'd her sentinel. 
 
 Mohegan 's Sagamore from this high brow 
 
 Could overlook all realms he called his own. 
 Fair at his feet, in empire's waking glow 
 
 Lay wild Mohegan, where he fix'd his throne ; 
 And whence he led his conquering warriors on 
 
 Till their proud feet could stamp on every foe. 
 But as he watch'd o'er hills and vales that shone 
 
 Most brightly, because bought with his own bow, 
 Saw he no sight that made his bosom swell 
 
 With envy, wrath ? Ambition, thou canst tell. 
 
 Judge now. Before him lay in prospect fair 
 
 Fam'd Groton heights, where stood his rival's throne. 
 
 Dread Sassacus, the Pequot king was there, 
 
 Whose conquering arms more powerful than his own 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 189 
 
 Had bound the trembling nations — until none, 
 Save Narragansett could be found to dare 
 
 The terror of his might. " He is all one, 
 
 As God in Heaven " — they cried with shudd'ring fear, 
 
 " There's none can kill him — all must him obey " 
 And trains of tribute monarchs grac'd his ways. 
 
 Ambitious Uncas ! could he calmly view 
 
 A sight so hateful to a proud one's eye ? 
 He could not bear it — his strong bow he drew 
 
 And vow'd to conquer Sassacus or die. 
 Then came the whoop of vengeance sounding high, 
 
 Dread Sassacus demanded homage due — 
 " To war — to war " — Mohegan's chieftains cry ; 
 
 War came indeed to blast the daring crew ; 
 Loud through the wilderness the battle raves, 
 
 And wild Wewacus rang thro' all his caves. 
 
 Thus merg'd in war stern desperation sat 
 
 On each bold brow amid Mohegan's bands. 
 But all things mortal have a changeful fate, 
 
 Soon he may die who now in vigor stands. 
 She might have fallen but for paler hands; 
 
 For still pursued by deadly Pequot hate, 
 Fire, wrath and woe o'erspread her trembling lands 
 
 Yet still the war was wag'd with hope elate, 
 And struggling still, she bravely fought and stood 
 
 And life must go for life, and blood for blood. 
 
 Now from their home across the angry flood 
 
 Came to these western wilds that Pilgrim band 
 Who sought a place where they might worship God 
 
 As his own word and conscience should command, 
 Secure from persecution's bloody hand. 
 
 They built them towns, and soon in strength they stood, 
 And growing might on purchas'd Indian lands, 
 
 Desiring peace, but long they mourn'd in blood. 
 
190 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 The Pequots hated them from first to last ; 
 
 Dreaded their growing power, and sought to blast. 
 
 Mohegan sought their aid, and kindly spread 
 
 Her friendly arms. O ! not then spread in vain, 
 To guard their realms, and cheer their drooping head ; 
 
 And they, in turn, led on with her the train 
 Of battle, raging first o'er mount and plain 
 
 Of angry Pequots. Side by side they sped 
 The way to conquest, till their foes were slain, 
 
 Thro' all those regions wild and deserts dread ; 
 And Uncas then, the proud and conquering king, 
 
 Repos'd with his stern race 'neath Pilgrim's wing. 
 
 They sped to conquest. But with terrors dread, 
 
 And ruin wide and wild, the way was fill'd ; 
 The knife and tomahawk with blood were red, 
 
 And carnage glutted thus, and havoc smil'd, 
 And sounds of death rang thro' the trembling wild. 
 
 Do we remember how our father's bled 
 To save the home they purchased for the child ? 
 
 Our vales are now in Eden beauty spread ; 
 We stand in empire greatness, and are free, 
 
 And who more happy, learn'd, or bless'd than we? 
 
 But dire those scenes when venturing o'er the flood, 
 
 First to these wilds they bent their Pilgrim way, 
 When o'er their household fires the savage stood 
 
 Frowning in wrath, as lion o'er his prey ; 
 And round them vast mysterious forests lay 
 
 Teeming with gathering swarms to taste their blood, 
 And death and danger held relentless sway. 
 
 O ! let the children bless the guardian God 
 Who watch 'd them still ; and in this time of need 
 
 Bade kind Mohegan prove a friend indeed. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. I91 
 
 Their guide, when dangers threaten'd them, she led 
 
 Through unknown wilds the way their feet must go ; 
 Still o'er their homes her guardian arm was spread, 
 
 Still for their safety bent her powerful bow ; 
 Their friends were hers, and hers their murd'rous foe. 
 
 She wished them good, and help'd in time of need, 
 She caught them fish and gave them lands to sow ; 
 
 O ! she was rude and wild but kind indeed ; 
 Hers was a friendship hearty, cordial, warm, 
 
 The same in peace or war, in shine or storm. 
 
 True, she had int'rests of her own at stake — 
 
 What human heart no selfish feelings shows? 
 Her bands of Pequot servitude she broke 
 
 Before the Pilgrims came, and struggling rose 
 With those proud passions that the conqueror knows 
 
 Who seeks a potent sceptre that shall make 
 Respect and fear. True, she had thought of foes 
 
 When oft in friendly tones of love she spake; 
 Yet firmly does she clasp the Pilgrim's hand ; 
 
 He needs her aid — thus side by side they stand. 
 
 But why yon council fires on Groton's height ? 
 
 Why secret messengers haste to and fro ? 
 Why is the chain of friendship made thus bright, 
 
 And bound 'round hosts of mustering warriors now, 
 Their feuds laid by to league 'gainst common foe ? 
 
 What is it swells their bosoms for the fight 1 
 Why that dread frown upon their lofty brow? 
 
 Why smoke the sacred stem — and loud of right, 
 And wrong, and Indian independence talk? 
 
 Why send abroad the blood-red tomahawk ? 
 
 Dread Sassacus has muster'd in his power. 
 
 Hark ! thro' the wilderness that wild death cry ! 
 Ye Pilgrims, 't is a dark and fearful hour. 
 
 The day has come your arm of strength to try, 
 
192 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And either you or Pequot's king must die. 
 
 From northern realms to the blue southern shore, 
 Where Sassacus in regal pomp sits high, 
 
 Rolls the deep vengeance like the torrents' roar, 
 Destructive as the siroc's blasting breath, 
 
 Fierce as the tempest, terrible as death. 
 
 'T is well you bow the knee to heav'n's high King. 
 
 Who else could save you from so dark a foe ? 
 'T is well your hearts are humble, and you bring 
 
 Before your God those contrite sorrows now 
 Which from a sense of sin and weakness flow ; 
 
 And ask His mercy, ask His guardian wing 
 To shield you in this hour of want and woe, 
 
 When at your hearts the savage foemen fling 
 Death's pointed arrows, barb'd with certain doom ; 
 
 When blood must drench, and fires consume your home. 
 
 But what has wak'd the wrath of Indian kings 
 
 Against the Pilgrims of intentions good? 
 This the complaint the Pequot monarch brings. 
 
 " These pale-fac'd strangers came across the flood 
 And build their towns where our own wigwams stood ; 
 
 Their might is spreading like the eagle's wings ; 
 They say they prize our rights — Oh! base falsehood! 
 
 They stamp on Indian rights as hated things ; 
 They put their strength in rebel Uncas' arm ; 
 
 They will destroy — they love to do us harm." 
 
 Thus reason'd Sassacus. In patriot pride, 
 
 He lov'd his country as his children, wife ; 
 He thought his people wrong'd — their rights defied, 
 
 And to sustain them would endure the strife, 
 And save his country, though it cost his life. 
 
 Rous'd by his word the nations far and wide, 
 League in short friendship ; whet the bloody knife, 
 
 And wake destruction's cry on every side. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 193 
 
 Stand for your lives now, Pilgrims, Uncas, stand, 
 To seal your doom is rais'd no feeble hand. 
 
 The war we sing was murderous, pagan, wild, 
 
 Not like kind Christian wars — one mighty groan — 
 One mighty shock of conflict op the field — 
 
 One general rush of vengeance — hurrying on 
 To make quick work of that which must be done. 
 
 Finish'd — then raise thanksgivings high that skill'd . 
 In scientific death, great victory's won. 
 
 Twice twenty thousand men are barely kill'd! 
 And that, too, in short space. They count the slain, 
 
 Look proud enough, and lo, 'tis peace again. 
 
 But dark as untam'd forest, savage war ; 
 
 Ceaseless as flow of waters to the main ; 
 Dread sounds of terror echoed from afar, 
 
 While ruins near told that the murd'rous train 
 Lurk'd in close ambush, to renew again 
 
 The work of desolating regions fair, 
 And sweeping from the earth a race of men 
 
 They had decreed to death, and would not spare. 
 All undiscover'd, yet determin'd foe — 
 
 There's scarce a hope, and sure no mercy now. 
 
 Stand, faithful Uncas, to thy Pilgrim friends, 
 
 For thou, in part, hast brought these perils on. 
 He does stand faithful, for on them depends 
 
 Mohegan's fate — she cannot stand alone — 
 If now the Pilgrim falls, her day is done. 
 
 O'er Uncas' head big, threat'ning danger bends, 
 In vain the Pequot wrath he strives to shun ; 
 
 They hunt him thro' the wilds where'er he wends ; 
 He finds no rest by day or gloomy night, 
 
 Nor safety, even upon Wewacus' heights. 
 
 T 3 
 
194 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 His Pilgrim friends must save him in this war. 
 
 Once valiant Leffingwell, on gloomy night, 
 When danger drove him to that rocky chair 
 
 Which bears his name, beneath Wewacus height — 
 Around him battle wail'd in fearful might, 
 
 For Pequot bands in all their wrath were there. 
 Too weak for war, too closely coop'd for flight, 
 
 He mourn 'd his warriors sinking in despair — 
 With aid came Leffingwell — and fearless he — 
 
 The Pequots fled, and Uncas quick was free. 
 
 Again they had encircled him on Pequot Hill ; 
 
 Worn down with want his fainting warriors tire. 
 " Give me the horse this night," cries Leffingwell, 
 
 " Well shod with steel that bears our fam'd esquire.'' 
 He dress'd in foul disguise like demon dire, 
 
 And wak'd a fearful wail like shrieks of hell ; 
 His flint fqot horse struck trains of demon fire. 
 
 " Fly — fly " — shout Pequots with a shuddering yell. 
 The fiend rush'd on, with all the rescued men, 
 
 And life and victory crown'd bold Uncas then. 
 
 Wearied at length by war so dark and rude, 
 
 The Pilgrim fathers took a desperate stand. 
 There was no hope of life while Pequot stood, 
 
 They must cut off the spoiler from the land. 
 Brave Mason's arm was nerv'd to take command — 
 
 He summon'd Uncas to a feast of blood, 
 Bade Narragansett aid his feeble band, 
 
 And lead to Pequot monarch's dark abode — 
 A nation's destiny for weal or woe 
 
 Hung trembling on the arm of Mason now. 
 
 T'was night. Ere leaving, Sassacus commands : 
 "When morning comes, ye Pequot warriors haste 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. I95 
 
 Afresh to scalp and burn these Pilgrim bands, 
 
 Who break your power, and thirst your blood to taste." 
 They shout — then on the ground their bows they cast, 
 
 And now the warrior in the war-dance stands. 
 They sing their fathers' mighty deeds long past, 
 
 In prospect, too, deeds of their own proud hands, 
 How the bright sun should lead their valorous way 
 
 To new-born glories of a coming day. 
 
 All unexpectedly came sound of war. 
 
 Ah ! little dream'd they danger was so nigh ; 
 Mason had reach'd the fort, and station'd there, 
 
 Unseen, had listen'd to their revelry. 
 Sudden he wakes the fight ; and such a cry 
 
 Of terror, vengeance, burst upon the ear 
 As might appal, and make the proudest fly. 
 
 The Pilgrims fire ; stern combat rends the air ; 
 One nation now must yield its gasping breath — 
 
 Pilgrim and Pequot stand for life or death. 
 
 Bold Uncas was astounded by the shock ; 
 
 Brave Narragansett fainted to the rear. 
 Tho' each had oft made hill and valley rock 
 
 Beneath his tread, when all unknown to fear 
 He wak'd war's whoop, and brought the battle near. 
 
 Mason was left alone the rage to mock 
 Of desperate Pequots at this moment drear, 
 
 When death and doom on night's chill silence broke. 
 The Pequot fought like lion in his den 
 
 For king and country, life and freedom then. 
 
 " Burn now their Fort," cried daring Mason then, 
 And swift the crackling flames ascend on high. 
 
 Oh ! what a shriek now shook the earth and main ! 
 It was a nation's parting agony — 
 
196 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Her deep death-groan — her last expiring cry. 
 
 In flaming death sunk down her mighty men, 
 And o'er their bones, o'er earth and glaring sky, 
 
 Startling the night bird, and the wolf, was seen 
 One wide dread blaze, a conflagration grand ! 
 
 Say — did it light those warriors to the heavenly land ? 
 
 War was their glory; what to them was life 
 
 If battle rag'd not o'er their honor'd way ? 
 Born but for war — they hasted to the strife, 
 
 And he who wak'd with loudest whoop the fray, 
 And could recount most victims as his prey, 
 
 And in the heart of foe with vengeance rife 
 Bade with most certain aim the arrow play, 
 
 And thrust with deadliest skill the reeking knife, 
 Had bought a proud reward. His name should stand 
 
 Highest in heaven, where warriors still command. 
 
 These did their duty fully, and may claim 
 
 All the high honors Indian creed secures. 
 But where is dreadful Sassacus? He came 
 
 Not to the fight that such destruction pours. 
 He was afar — and still he lives — endures 
 
 The pangs of disappointed pride — the shame 
 Of mock'd insulted majesty. His tow'rs 
 
 Are gone — and swept from earth his country's name. 
 Great Sassacus — Ah ! who would wished to see 
 
 A heart like thine so wrung with agony? 
 
 He came in time to see his Fortress burn 
 
 O'er his proud warriors slain by Pilgrim bands ; 
 He fought a space — but Ah ! his arm was shorn 
 
 Of strength that once had shook the trembling lands. 
 He would not sue for life at Pilgrims' hands ; 
 
 Nor stood he like a child to idly mourn. 
 A faithful few still honor'd his commands, 
 
 With him to distant realms their feet they turn. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 1 97 
 
 Groton — to thee no more thy king shall come — 
 Of Mohawk warriors now he asked a home ! 
 
 Dark treach'ry found him there, and basely kill'd, 
 
 Unseen the hand that dealt the dastard blow. 
 Then there was silence through the mighty wild, 
 / For he who wak'd the war was lying low, 
 His arm unnerv'd, unstrung his powerful bow ; 
 
 His lofty soul by death's stern mandate still'd, 
 He stood no more a terror to the foe ; 
 
 His name that, had the earth with trembling fill'd 
 Pass'd there away. Last king of Pequot fame. 
 
 No more he holds a throne, his race a name. 
 
 A noble scion from a noble root. 
 
 Shade of Wewacus, this was thy fam'd son ! 
 His was no feeble hand, no sluggish foot ; 
 
 His was a name that thou may'st proudly own, 
 And glory in the deeds thy child hath done. 
 
 His daring spirit, as the lightnings shoot 
 Athwart the sky, leading the tempest on, 
 
 Led to dominion wide the dark Pequot. 
 Form'd for command, the nations own'd his sway, 
 
 And grac'd with homage due his conquering way. 
 
 Now Pequot's bitter fate and 'whelming fight 
 
 Struck the affrighted tribes with general awe. 
 They sue for peace, they boast no more their might, 
 
 And pledge their truth to wake no more the war. 
 Uncas then gloried in the sight he saw. 
 
 He saw from wild Wewacus' watch tower height 
 Mohegan, rising, like the morning star, 
 
 Bright o'er the fading glories of the night. 
 Exulting sight ! his hated rival gone, 
 
 And his were now all Pequot realms and thrones. 
 
198 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Time roll'd along — and causes came apace 
 
 That wak'd again red battle in the wild ; 
 Again the Pilgrims found no resting place, 
 
 Again their homes were burn'd, their lands despoiled. 
 Miantonomo, valor's lofty child, 
 
 Sachem of Narragansett's kingly race 
 Became with Uncas in dark war embroil'd, 
 
 And Pilgrim friends must Uncas' sufferings taste. 
 With foeman's wrath they each the other hate, 
 
 Striving to drink his blood and seal his fate. 
 
 Hark ! why that clang of conflict on the ear ? 
 
 Hark ! why those whoops on Sachem's bloody plain ? 
 Is war, unsated thro' a past career 
 
 Pouring fresh vengeance on the earth again ? 
 Oh ! earth — Oh earth — what a relentless train 
 
 Of angry children thou dost bear ? but hear — 
 The sounds roll onward — and now heaps of slain 
 
 Tell that destruction in his wrath is near. 
 Who may escape by precipice or flood, 
 
 When savage foemen come to feast on blood ? 
 
 Two mighty kingdoms are in conflict bent ; 
 
 Two mighty monarchs stand for life or death ; 
 Miantonomo's dreadful bow is bent, 
 
 His wrathful arrow thirsts for Uncas' breath. 
 But who, across Numidia's burning heath, 
 
 Impell'd by mad presumption ever went! 
 To rouse the Lion — when he sleeps beneath 
 
 The cavern'd mountain in his kingly tent ? 
 Who ever ventur'd such unequal strife, 
 
 That did not forfeit by the deed his life ? 
 
 But why this shock ? For now Mohegan slept, 
 Lull'd by short truce, and thought her foes afar ; 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 199 
 
 Safety seem'd smiling where destruction wept, 
 
 Nor dream'd her rallies of the hostile jar. 
 But wake, ye warriors ! for red battle's car 
 
 Has roll'd unseen for deeds of blood equipt. 
 Awake ! Behold ! Yon angry hosts of war 
 
 While ye repos'd have through the forest crept. 
 The Narragansetts come ! But, daring men, 
 
 Ye come as hunters to the lion's den. 
 
 Rous'd from his lair, with lightning in his eye, 
 
 Uncas rush'd forth with quickly-gathered band. 
 Ah ! who may meet him now that would not die ? 
 
 Who would dare now the vengeance of his hand ? 
 They met on Sachem's Plain — but first they stand — 
 
 And Uncas call'd, in accents stern, but sly: 
 " Miantonomo, those at thy command 
 
 Are mighty warriors, fam'd for conquest high ; 
 Too proud to bend, too strong to basely flee ; 
 
 And such are these bold men who follow me. 
 
 :i Hear now my words. 'T is pity they should die 
 
 In strife that 's only between thee and me; 
 Come, fight alone ; and if thou kill'st me, I 
 
 Bequeath my noble warriors all to thee. 
 Or, if thou diest, mine shall thy folldwers be. 
 
 Thou say'st thou 'rt brave ; come, like a man, and try," 
 " My men have come to fight, nor shall they flee," 
 
 Miantonomo said with haughty cry. 
 Thus parley clos'd ; quick arrows dim the air, 
 
 And monarchs, with their people, rush to war. 
 
 Short was the fight. Miantonomo fell 
 
 A pris'ner in the hand of mortal foe ; 
 And scarce a Narragansett liv'd to tell 
 
 The dreadful havoc of that day of woe. 
 With lofty mien, tho' fate had brought him low, 
 
 And calm as summer eve when all is still, 
 
200 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 The noble captive yielded up his bow, 
 And bow'd in silence to his conqueror's will. 
 
 He crav'd no mercy, sought no chance to fly, 
 But proudly waited for his hour to die. 
 
 On Sachem's Plain is seen a heap of stones, 
 
 A lowly monument to lofty king : 
 He who had set on conquer'd Indian thrones 
 
 Reposes there in death's cold slumbering. 
 The desert winds alone his requiem sing; 
 
 The desert bird alone his fate bemoans, 
 And no kind hand but that of weeping spring 
 
 Has e'er bedeck'd the sod above his bones. 
 Yet his the soul, tho' savage, truly great, 
 
 And worthy of a better, prouder fate. 
 
 He met his fate by stroke that took his breath 
 
 On the red spot where his proud followers bled ; 
 But e'er his flesh was cold in chills of death, 
 
 And laid to silence in the " narrow bed," 
 Exulting Uncas had revenge indeed. 
 
 He cut, with barb'rous knife, from savage sheath, 
 Off the warm shoulder, slice on which he fed. 
 
 And while the horrid feast was in his teeth, 
 " 'T is sweetest meat," he cried, " I've tasted long, 
 
 Now I am sated, and my heart is strong." 
 
 Miantonomo having met his fate, 
 
 Then dark Pessacus bore the war along. 
 He was assisted by stern Ninigret, 
 
 Niantick's king — the subtle and the strong. 
 Much they complain'd of injury and wrong ; 
 
 Savage resentment in their councils sat. 
 Proud Uncas' cause was plead by Pilgrim tongue. 
 
 This drew on him and them much bitter hate. 
 Darkly they quarrell'd — scarce a hope of end — 
 
 Now wake the war ! and now o'er treaties bend. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY 201 
 
 At length war burst. Wild Wampanoag rode 
 
 Fierce as the locust swarms of Araby. 
 Philip, the mightiest now of mighty foes, 
 
 With warrior's arm and statesman's subtlety, 
 Against the Pilgrim comes, his strength to try. 
 
 Brave Narragansett, with two thousand bows 
 Came to his aid, and join'd his battle cry ; 
 
 Springfield and Nipmuck, t\Vo dark, murd'rous foes. 
 And, save Niantick, every swamp and glen 
 
 Pour'd forth its teeming of warriors then. 
 
 Oh ! what a dark conspiracy was here 
 
 To blast the Pilgrims from beneath the sky ! 
 Say, Uncas, will you now their dangers share, 
 
 Or leave your Pilgrim friends alone to die ? 
 That friendship 's firm which beams in Indian eye ; 
 
 The heart's strong feelings glow in beauty there ; 
 Close by their side his fortunes he will try. 
 
 He clasps their hand, and 'fronts with them the war ; 
 His faithful warriors haste with martial pride 
 
 To shield from harm, and their faint footsteps guide. 
 
 Again their homes are burn'd ; their children led 
 
 By savage bands to feel the captive's woe. 
 Death's darkest, bloodiest terrors now are spread 
 
 Above, around, where'er their footsteps go. 
 Again they feel the wrath of savage foe ; 
 
 Again the dearest friend must go to feed 
 The fiendish hate that can no mercy show. 
 
 The sufferers pine, the tortur'd victims bleed ; 
 Wild whoops of vengeance wake the morning sun, 
 
 And fiery deaths thro' night's drear darkness run. 
 
 In vain were valor's squadrons forward led, 
 
 The foe was hid in forest dark as wrath ; 
 The Pilgrim's sword could not avenge the deed 
 
 So foul and fatal round his bloody path. 
 
202 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Nowhere is safety — even upon his hearth — 
 He sees his much lov'd wife and children bleed. 
 
 He cannot cut the murderers from the earth, 
 They dealt the blow on innocence and fled. 
 
 Pilgrims ! ye came for freedom o'er the flood, 
 
 Must freedom now, and hope, be drown'd in blood ? 
 
 Man in this world lives on accursed soil 
 
 By briers, thorns and thistles overspread, 
 His blessings come not but with heaviest toil, 
 
 By sweaty brow he earns his daily bread. 
 Think not that Freedom in this western shade, 
 
 Tho' far from madden'd Europe's sick'ning broil, 
 Blooms a blest rose with no sharp stings array'd, 
 
 A favor'd plant round which no serpents coil. 
 Freedom 's a flower blooming 'mid thorns of strife, 
 
 And he who gains it perils all, e'en life. 
 
 Infant Connecticut had dealt the blow 
 
 That fell'd the giant Pequot's towering throne ; 
 Young Massachusetts and Rhode Island now 
 
 Must put the guise of strength and manhood on. 
 Bedimm'd with blood arose New England's sun ; 
 
 Through toil and pain her early steps must go. 
 Before green childhood's feeble years are run, 
 
 She must speed forth to meet the mighty foe ; 
 But burst on life, smiling the savage train, 
 
 How strong she grew to break oppression's chain ! 
 
 Unskill'd in casuistry, and quite unlearn'd, 
 
 The unknown muse who wakes this feeble song. 
 
 She therefore tells not whether justly turn'd 
 The Pilgrims to a land that did belong 
 
 To tribes defending it with effort strong, 
 
 Nor would, but at life's price be from it spurn'd. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 203 
 
 She knows, they say, they bought, and did no wrong ; 
 
 And o'er spill'd Indian blood most deeply mourn'd. 
 But Indians say, " they build where they 've no right ; 
 
 Plant thick their guns, talk love, and whoop for fight." 
 
 Long fought the Indian to preserve his land ; 
 
 Long time the Pilgrims mourn'd in blood and woe ; 
 At length New England rais'd her conquering hand, 
 
 And drew her sword to smite the murd'rous foe ; 
 Call'd heaven in aid to give the fatal blow 
 
 To Philip and his proud confederate band. 
 Led forth a force with strength to overthrow 
 
 The Indian power, and gain supreme command. 
 Mohegan's warriors hasten'd by her side 
 
 Through forests drear, where the dark foemen hide. 
 
 But Ah ! enough, enough has sure been sung ; 
 
 The muse is sick and tir'd of woe and blood. 
 Suffice it now to say, the battle rung 
 
 From trembling shores along the southern flood, 
 O'er forests vast where crouch'd the murd'rous blood 
 
 Frowning in wrath, of various name and tongue, 
 East, west and north to where Northampton stood ; 
 
 In retribution dire it roll'd along, 
 Nor ceas'd the war, nor ceas'd the work of death 
 
 Till all conflicting tribes resign'd their breath. 
 
 Wild Pettyquamscot — what a fearful blast 
 
 Awoke o'er thee — shaking the earth and sky — 
 When Narragansett did her best, her last, 
 
 The time had come when she must sink and die ! 
 She fell as fall the brave — Her arm on high 
 
 To crush whoe'er might dare attempt to cast 
 Round her the bands of servitude. Her cry 
 
 Was, "liberty or death " — and all was past ? 
 She would not, could not wear the oppressor's chain, 
 
 And sank in fiery death amid the slain. 
 
204 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Her suffering patriot king Nanunttenoo, 
 
 Miantonomo's son, fierce battle led. 
 He was pursued and taken by the foe, 
 
 And told that he must die. " 'T is well," he said, 
 " 'T is well for me in country's cause to bleed ; 
 
 My heart will ne'er grow soft, nor will I do 
 Aught that's unworthy Indian name." Thus fed 
 
 By patriot zeal, and country's pride, they go 
 Forth to defend their rights ; nor will they quail 
 
 'Neath woes, or foeman's arm, till life shall fail. 
 
 Still rang alarming conflict through the wild ; 
 
 Still war tramp'd forth upheld by Philip's arm. 
 Philip — a name thro' each bosom thrill'd 
 
 Of Indian patriot, like some potent charm, 
 Waking their pride, waking this awful storm 
 
 Upon the Pilgrims that their heart's blood chill'd. 
 Yet Philip nobly wish'd not to do harm ; 
 
 He had a soul with generous feelings fill'd ; 
 He felt, he even wept to hear their cry ; 
 
 But, ah ! his country call'd, and they must die .' 
 
 He came not forth to battle, for he knew 
 
 That on his arm hung Indian destiny ; 
 Hence he retir'd to wilds with followers few, 
 
 A central point to which all tribes might fly 
 At moment's bursting forth to victory. 
 
 Blame him not here — 't was rule of war he drew 
 From conquerors fam'd in Indian history. 
 
 From stratagem and skill their conquests grew ; 
 And think, if nations hung upon his breath, 
 
 Could he be prais'd for coming forth to death ? 
 
 We need not follow to each wild retreat 
 
 Through which dread Wampanoag's king was chas'd. 
 Still wakening as he ran the tribes to meet 
 
 And blast the foe who came with conquering haste 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 205 
 
 To break their power, their country's glory waste, 
 
 And hurl the Indian at the Pilgrim's feet. 
 Still with determin'd tread the monarch pac'd 
 
 The desert realms : his foot was fleet, 
 His heart was valiant, and he would not bend, 
 
 Though every hope should die, and every friend. 
 
 The forest oak rears his broad monarch shade 
 
 O'er beasts and birds to him for safety driven, 
 Above the feeble ones exalts his head, 
 
 And dares the thunders that come forth from heav'n. 
 But though with fiery wrath he long has striven, 
 
 And though in regal pride his boughs he spread, 
 By woodman's axe the fated stroke is given 
 
 That lays his might where common things are laid. 
 So Philip breasts the storm with giant's strength, 
 
 But feeble hand will bring him down at length. 
 
 Against him war's dread thunders long had roll'd ; 
 
 New England did her best his strength to blight. 
 Church, Denison, and whosoe'r was bold 
 
 Was summon'd forth to meet him in the fight, 
 But firm against a nation's utmost might, 
 
 Through sufferings unexampled and untold, 
 Mid falling friends, and hopes, his proud birthright 
 
 He held with Death's strong grasp, and — never sold. 
 At length a dastard dealt the menial blow 
 
 That laid all Indian hopes with Philip low. » 
 
 Mount Hope ! why spread thy bosom to the sun, 
 
 Why ask the heav'ns to pour the genial show'r, 
 Why call sweet evening from her stately throne 
 
 To give fresh loveliness to each bright fiow'r ? 
 Hast thou not heard the tale that all is o'er? 
 
 Why should thy joyous birds sing sweetly on ? 
 Thy luscious fruits be hung in each wild bow'r ? 
 
 He who smil'd o'er thee when the war was done 
 
206 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Will come no more. He wak'd — shook earth — and fell. 
 He died — his country died — now all is still ! 
 
 Thus, one by one, the forest kings were fell'd, 
 
 As fells the woodman's axe the mountain's pride. 
 Their warring spirits never could be quell'd 
 
 Till they were sleeping by their father's side 
 If strangers triumph'd where their fathers died. 
 
 No more dark Nipmuck roam'd abroad and yell'd, 
 Freely, as wails the tempest o'er the tide ; 
 
 No more the numerous tribes are now beheld ; 
 No more wake war, or in the council talk ; 
 
 Thrust the red knife, or hurl the tomahawk. 
 
 Some few indeed remain'd of every clan ; 
 
 What must these do ?. Submit to Pilgrim sway ? 
 Indians are patriots. Indian patriots can 
 
 To mark their country's shame no longer stay. 
 O'er the bold steeps of dread Niagara, 
 
 Watching " the sacred fires" of Michigan, 
 In undimm'd grandeur sat fair Canada. 
 
 Hither for freedom and-for home they ran ; 
 And here in later days, when war awakes, 
 
 Guard their free home above the mighty lakes. 
 
 Now war was o'er, and all war's terrors flee ; 
 
 The Pilgrims stood reliev'd from all their foes ; 
 Their home was safe, their gladden'd footsteps free ; 
 
 Their night was past — their long, dark night of woes — 
 Thanksgivings sounded high, their sun arose; 
 
 Their sun of strength ; from mountain to the sea 
 It shone in power, and gathering lustre, throws 
 
 Around a land Freedom, thus bought for thee ! 
 For thee ! for thee ! this bloody work was done — 
 
 Dear, dear-bought home ! But, Freedom, 't is thine own ' 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 207 
 
 'T is bought ! 'T is thine ! It stands where patriots dwelt 
 
 In unbound strength, free as the mountain air. 
 It stands where supplicating martyr's knelt 
 
 For blessings on their sons and homes so fair ; 
 Where Science, Piety were sown with care 
 
 By those who lean'd on heaven and empire built, 
 It stands o'erlooking earth — on mountains where 
 
 The tread of tyrant never has been felt, 
 The throne of despot never has been seen, 
 
 The Pilgrims' sons may never wear a chain. 
 
 Uncas now joy'd too to behold the light, 
 
 But more he joy'd to grasp a precious gem. 
 He had been whelm'd in many a fearful fight, 
 
 Where death and terrors gather'd fierce and grim — 
 A glorious sceptre now awaited him. 
 
 When smiling peace beam'd o'er war's dismal night 
 His brow shone fair with empire's diadem ; 
 
 He stood the Pilgrims' friend — none vex'd his right. 
 His hated, powerful rivals all were gone — 
 
 He held wide lands — aye, more, a Conqueror's throne. 
 
 Father Wewacus — from thy watchful brow 
 
 Thy Patriarch eye too joyful prospect trac'd. 
 Then brave Mohegan in her morning glow 
 
 Sat, like thy cliffs on throne high plac'd 
 Above the conquer'd nations she had fac'd ; 
 
 Then her strong arm could bend the powerful bow, 
 And send the arrow forth with quiv'ring haste, 
 
 And certain aim to lay the loftiest low. 
 Her throne was grac'd with king in talent great, 
 
 And noble daring of the savage state. 
 
 Her sons were vigorous as the hardy shoot 
 Of fadeless oaks, that on thy summit throw 
 
 Beneath the giant rock their spreading root, 
 
 Nor bend when thunders roar and tempests blow. 
 
2o8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 They mock'd when torturing fires would bring them low. 
 
 And vain in chase to attempt the fleet pursuit, 
 For over glen and up the mountain brow, 
 
 Like roe light bounding sped their nimble foot ; 
 While 'round the council fires her sages throng, 
 
 And wake the eloquence of Indian tongue. 
 
 The fish were plenteous in her sunny streams, 
 
 O'er which the light canoe in savage pride 
 Shot, with the swiftness of the morning beams ; 
 
 And o'er her hills and valleys spreading wide, 
 Were game of every kind that walk, or glide 
 
 On wing thro' air, with which the climate teems ; 
 And o'er her fields, bidding her want deride, 
 
 The yellow maize in rich abundance gleams. 
 Her arts were few ; but free o'er field and flood, 
 
 In savage grandeur, fair Mohegan stood. 
 
 But time roll'd on — from Uncas' mighty hand 
 
 Dropp'd his once powerful bow. Uncas must die ; 
 While 'round his bed, his friends and children stand, 
 
 Mourning that he must go, with bitter cry. 
 There is a vale beneath Wewacus' eye 
 
 So green, so wild, so beautifully grand 
 The wand'ring traveler, as he passes by, 
 
 Asks : " Is it mortal, or sweet fairy land ?" 
 There they laid Uncas, by fair Yantic's wave — 
 
 Much honored Yantic hail'd the generous brave 
 
 In notes of woe. No more her waters wend 
 
 Through flow'ry meads, calm as the evening sky, 
 
 But rushing frantic, o'er the rock they bend, 
 And wildly falling, wak'd the mournful cry 
 
 Forever sounding o'er the sleeper by. 
 
 Columbia, too, daughter of that brave band 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 200 
 
 Who stood beside him when the battle high 
 Roll'd widely, darkly, o'er his troubled land, 
 
 Honors his name — hastes o'er his dust to grieve, 
 And tho' he sleepeth, bids his memory live. 
 
 For when, where Uncas sleeps, her Great Son came, 
 
 Whose guardian care o'er all her realms is spread, 
 Whose name stands highest on the rolls of fame, 
 
 Worthy above Mohegan's dust to tread ; 
 She told him how brave Uncas fought and bled 
 
 To save her sires from savage battle's flame ; 
 And op'd his hand, and gave them fish and bread, 
 
 And lands, and home, and when their mighty name 
 Sounded in empire greatness, how he smil'd 
 
 And lov'd them still, as father loves a child. 
 
 He heard her words, and with his mighty men, 
 
 His loftiest statesmen, and his warriors brave, 
 All wak'd to generous grief came hastening then 
 
 To rear a monument o'er Uncas' grave, 
 To tell his deeds, and his blest memory save. 
 
 Mighty Wewacus ! t'was no common train 
 That gather'd then by Yantic's honor'd wave — 
 
 Columbia's " Great Warrior " led the van, 
 And laid with his own hand the corner stone, 
 
 While all her noblest children wept thy son. 
 
 Deep echoes sounded then of rolling drum, 
 
 And clarion shrill, and cannon braying dread, 
 And tread of mustering hosts that hastening come 
 
 To gather 'round brave Uncas' sleeping bed, 
 And pay their honors to the mighty dead. 
 
 In deep respect the warrior bent his plume, 
 And told of many a kind and daring deed 
 
 When valiant Uncas watch'd the Pilgrim's home. 
 
 14 
 
2IO A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Around his tomb in unfeigned grief they bend — 
 The children mourning o'er their father's friend. 
 
 But Ah ! proud mound, thou mark'dst Mohegan's close, 
 
 When life was growing dim, and courage fail'd. 
 Oh ! that she 'd fallen by the hand of foes 
 
 Worthy her powerful name upon the field, 
 'Neath the fierce tomahawk, where battle wail'd 
 
 With fearful whoops, and dealt his dreadful blows. 
 But no ! The white man's arts and drink prevail'd 
 
 To sap her strength, and 'wake those wasting woes 
 That brought her to a sad, untimely doom — 
 
 The Pilgrim's Friend to a degraded tomb ! 
 
 Soft, pearly drops are scatter'd neath my tread. 
 
 Blest guardian mound, weep'st thou a fallen race ? 
 We talk no more upon their glory dead. 
 
 The mournful winds may sigh above the place, 
 Sweet evening's tears bedew the tender grass, 
 
 The silent heavens their beaming pity shed, 
 But no unfeeling minstrel hand can trace 
 
 In characters abroad that earth may read 
 The shade that gather'd o'er thy people deep. 
 
 The white man knows it, but can only weep. 
 
 Kind mound to weep. Yet many a noble name 
 
 That well might fill a nation's honor'd page 
 Recorded deeply on thy brow of fame 
 
 Shall be transmitted, and the thoughts engage 
 Of those who live in time's most distant age. 
 
 Pequot's dread warriors, like the withering flame; 
 Mohegan's chiefs, sublime in battle's rage ; 
 
 Sire of both tribes, the glories thou may'st claim 
 Of names, oft swell'd in lofty Indian strain, 
 
 O'er thy proud heights, as battle o'er the slain. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 211 
 
 Thus sculptur'd o'er, stand thou, sublimely stand, — 
 
 Nor veil thy brow in dim obscurity ; 
 O'er thy tall steeps fam'd monarchs held command ; 
 
 Thou need'st not blush to bear their memory. 
 Stand — proud memento of a people free ; 
 
 Stand, in the strength of that Almighty hand 
 Which rear'd thee where that people's dust should be, 
 
 To tell, the future times, and every land, 
 That " here repose the powerful, kind, and brave, 
 
 Beneath the Mound that guards Mohegan's grave." 
 
 A nation's tomb ! Strange change of human scene ! 
 
 Mohegan's council fires no longer glow ; 
 Her sages gone — and all her mighty men, 
 
 There's none to smoke her pipe, or bend her bow ; 
 Her Watch Tower stands — but not as Watch Tower now. 
 
 No more are monarchs there in grandeur seen, 
 No painted warriors climb to watch the foe. [been ; 
 
 It stands, dread Death Mound, where her power hath 
 Her river runs — but strangers take the prey. 
 
 Her realms are fair — but she has pass'd away. 
 
 For " dust thou art, to dust shalt thou return," 
 
 The dread decree that stops all human breath. 
 We see life's fires a little moment burn, 
 
 Then fade, extinguish'd by the damps of death ; 
 But taking root in human mould beneath, 
 
 From the low grave where grief retires to mourn. 
 From mortal dust oft springs the beauteous wreath, 
 
 Twining its roseate blooms round death's cold urn. 
 Life, that we thought with love's last accents fled, 
 
 Springs in new form spontaneous from the dead. 
 
 A nation's tomb ! How swiftly changes fleet ! 
 
 But mark ! Young Life from Death in vigor leaps 
 In that sweet valley where the waters meet 
 
 And mingle requiem hymns where Uncas sleeps. 
 
212 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Where Death had rag'd, and pale remembrance weeps, 
 A nation, thrust from life and monarch's seat 
 
 To dark abode in sad sepulchral deeps, 
 
 Bursts a bright flower as spring's gay primrose sweet, 
 
 See ! lovely Norwich — Rose of Yantic — bloom 
 In life's young beauty on Mohegan's tomb ! 
 
 Frown not, Wewacus, at this changing scene ; 
 
 Norwich was thine own Uncas' foster child. 
 He lov'd and plac'd her where the fields were green, 
 
 The waters pure, and nature fairest smil'd. 
 Where circling hills their lofty ramparts pil'd 
 
 To screen her from the wrath of savage men — 
 A tender infant in a pagan wild, 
 
 When danger threatened her he step'd between ; 
 Beset with perils, and expos'd to harm, 
 
 She hung for life and strength on Uncas' arm. 
 
 Oft the dark Pequot sought to lay her low, 
 
 Bearing sad havoc through the trembling wild, 
 Her faithful Uncas bent his powerful bow 
 
 And stood between the Pequot and his child. 
 On him he frown'd — on her he kindly smil'd — 
 
 And sure as shafts of death his arrows go. 
 In slaughter'd heaps the daring ones were pil'd, 
 
 And she was saved from terror-waking foe. 
 Cradled in blood, she spent her early years 
 
 VVith none but Uncas to relieve her fears. 
 
 When to the sacred house where prayer is made 
 
 On hallow'd day of rest her feet did go, 
 With Reverend Fitch, her pastor at her head, 
 
 To worship Him whose will she sought to do, 
 Uncas must guard her from the savage foe. 
 
 Her shield, he stood with hosts of war array'd, 
 With quivering arrow plac'd on bended bow, 
 
 To save from foemen in the neighboring shade ; 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 213 
 
 Who ever watchful in their sleepless wrath 
 Waited to burst in vengeance on her path. 
 
 And at that hour when weary nature sleeps 
 
 In curtain'd darkness from the light of day ; 
 When thoughtful night looks down on earth and weeps 
 
 O'er man from virtue's paths afar astray, 
 At this lone hour, untir'd in friendship's way 
 
 Uncas o'er Norwich still kind vigils keeps 
 Still is he watchful lest she fall a prey, 
 
 For oft on scene like this the Pequot creeps 
 To light with wrathful fires her quiet home, 
 
 Or draw his knife and lay her in the tomb. 
 
 Uncas is dead! — her patron and her friend. 
 
 Mohegan sleeps beneath this sacred mound. 
 The dreadful Pequot came to bitter end ; 
 
 Nor Narragansett foeman can be found, 
 Norwich now blooms on consecrated ground ; 
 
 Peace, wealth and happiness around her blend ; 
 Bright are the hills that circle her around, 
 
 Green is the valley where her waters wend ; 
 Sweet cherish'd fiow'ret of the kind and brave, 
 
 She spreads and brightens to adorn their grave ! 
 
 Shade of Wewacus, think'st thou she will soon 
 
 Forget the services of Uncas done ? 
 Forget his kindness! Then will yon fair moon 
 
 Forget the light she borrows from the sun. 
 Then will the earth in strange disorder shun 
 
 The golden day-beams that create her noon. 
 Then will her valley where the rivers run 
 
 By death and ruin wide and wild be strewn. 
 Her pillar'd marble doors his deeds impart, 
 
 But deeper is the record on her heart. 
 
214 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 A few faint stragglers, weary, wan and sere, 
 
 Surviv'd their country's final overthrow. 
 These she has cherish'd with a mother's care, 
 
 And all that can be done she sure will do. 
 Impell'd by love, behold her Sarah go 
 
 Like mercy's ministering angel fair, 
 To light their minds by ignorance and woe 
 
 Bedimm'd, and kindly in their sorrows share, 
 To cheer their way thro' darken'd years of time 
 
 And guide their gladden'd feet to Heaven's bright clime. 
 
 Bloom, lovely fiow'ret ! bloom in beauty still ! 
 
 Thy charms remind us of the kind and brave. 
 Thou seem'st most beautiful in this sweet dell 
 
 Springing to deck thy Benefactor's grave ! 
 Bloom, lovely fiow'ret, by fair Yantic's wave, — 
 
 Twine thy fond tendrils round Wewacus Hill, — 
 Oh ! may no tempest ever o'er thee rave, — 
 
 Long may'st thou live thy feeling tale to tell, — 
 For while thou standest on this sacred spot 
 
 The sleeping Indian cannot be forgot. 
 
 So sprang my Country from beginning low. 
 
 Her youth was faint, her cradle hymn the tones 
 Of dreadful war-whoops. Where the Indian now ? 
 
 Her grandeur rises o'er his sleeping sons 
 Like a fair cedar — from the mouldering bones 
 
 Of Indian patriot she has shot her bough ; 
 Fresh from the dust of fallen kings and thrones, 
 
 She towers and shadows every mountain brow ; 
 And o'er her branches to the starry sky 
 
 Soars her young eagle highest of the high. 
 
 Why are thy boughs so firm, so widely spread, 
 Sweeping from east to western ocean's bound ? 
 
 Why is thy youthful, but majestic head 
 With such unequall'd fadeless verdure crown'd ? 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 215 
 
 Why have such lofty spirits gather'd round 
 Thy noble trunk, of nought on earth afraid? 
 
 Why has a Washington beneath thee found 
 
 A name that lives when other names are dead ? 
 
 Why, when the whirlwinds and the tempests come 
 Can they not hurl thee from thy native home ? 
 
 Why, when Brittania's dreadful thunder broke 
 
 In power and terrors to insure thy doom, 
 Terrors that oft the proudest thrones here shook, 
 
 And laid the mightiest helpless in the tomb, 
 Why didst thou tremble not when thus she spoke 
 
 In wrath and fire thy beauty to consume ? 
 The arm was strong which dealt that dreadful stroke 
 
 To lay thee where all mortal things must come, 
 But vain the oppressor's rage — the storm pass'd o'er, 
 
 And left thee fairer than thou wast before. 
 
 Tree of Remembrance — on the hallow'd ground 
 
 Where the proud Indian in his freedom trod 
 It is not strange that vigor thou hast found 
 
 From soil enrich 'd by patriots' choicest blood. 
 Thou stand'st in beauty where the Indian stood 
 
 In native energy, unbought, unbound, 
 And 't is not strange that thou o'er land and flood, 
 
 Fresh from his mouldering ashes art renown'd. 
 Fair plant ! burst forth in emblem'd power to tell 
 
 How free the Indian liv'd, how proudly fell ! 
 
 A noble plant ! noblest that earth does own. 
 
 Strength is on all thy giant limbs imprest ; 
 And not a proud one on a monarch's throne 
 
 But fears to look upon thy towering crest, 
 And to the nations thou afford'st a rest. 
 
 Thou standest not in strength and power alone ; 
 
2l6 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 But all afflicted, weary, or oppress'd, 
 
 From other lands, that 'neath stern bondage groan 
 Fly to the shadow of thy spreading boughs, 
 
 And find a rest from all their earthly woes. 
 
 Religion fled, poor wanderer, to this shore, 
 
 She had no helping friend but Him in heaven. 
 Oppression came where she had dwelt before, 
 
 And she to desert wilds was madly driven. 
 Now peace and quietness to her are given 
 
 And wide domains — and wealth abundant store ; 
 She, who so oft with trials sad had striven, 
 
 Beneath thy shadow dwells in strength and power. 
 O may she ever fiom all errors flee, 
 
 And bless a land where she is safe and free ! 
 
 And science, too, beneath thy shadowing care, 
 
 Sleeping no more in ignorance gone by, 
 Pours her bright morning beams o'er regions fair, 
 
 Deep Learning wakes, bold genius bursts to fly, 
 And Wisdom's sun hastes beaming to the sky. 
 
 And Art, too, speeds on wide and proud career ; 
 Vast are his powers, keen his inventive eye ; 
 
 With youthful energy, beyond compare, 
 He climbs whate'er is high, the strong he breaks ; 
 
 Unlocks the deep, and new creation makes. 
 
 Bird of my country ! as thou lookest down 
 
 From starry heights upon earth's spacious plain ; 
 From northern regions chill'd by winter's moan 
 
 To southern realms where life is ever green. 
 Say — has thy youthful eye undimm'd and keen, 
 
 E'er mark'd a land so fair as here is shown ? 
 Say — have thy eagle glances ever seen 
 
 So bright, so blest a country as thine own ? 
 And as thou seest her o'er the nations shine 
 
 Dost thou not bless kind heaven that she is thine ? 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 217 
 
 But come, proud Eagle, on thy lofty plume, 
 
 Soaring sublimely o'er thy mighty lands, 
 Smiling delighted in young life's fair bloom, 
 
 Unaw'd by monarch's power, or savage bands, 
 And fearing none, but Him, in whose dread hands 
 
 Are life and death, and man and nature's doom ; 
 Behold — from height that earth and sea commands 
 
 The Fate of Nations on Mohegan's tomb ! 
 Think, as thou spread'st thy wings from sea to sea] 
 
 She, once was young and brave — now where is she ? 
 
 She climb'd to conquest, but she climbs no more ; 
 
 She met the fate of all beneath the sun ; 
 Ah ! what is empire but a fading fiow'r ? 
 
 What but a bubble is the conqueror's throne ? 
 Rome claim'd a world. But Rome, and Greece, are gone. 
 
 Sceptre breaks sceptre ; power ascends o'er pow'r ; 
 Nation wrecks nation since the world begun. 
 
 This Death Mound tells the tale oft told before. 
 But Ah ! my country — would that other hand 
 
 Had hurl'd the Indian from his native land ! 
 
 Yet right or wrong, thine is the conqueror's sway. 
 
 O'er prostrate realms thou bear'st supreme command ; 
 Their kings were mighty, but now where are they ? 
 
 Go, search their much belov'd and beauteous land — 
 How few remain where thou dost proudly stand ! 
 
 They would not, like the slave thy will obey. 
 They could no longer dare thy conquering hand, 
 
 And 'reft of freedom, quick they pass'd away. 
 Go, call thy children where their bones are found, 
 
 And teach them lesson from the Indian Mound. 
 
 Tell them they live where hearts were pure and bold, 
 
 Unaw'd by fear, by favor unbeguil'd, 
 Where rights were priz'd and freedom never sold, 
 
 And death prefer'd to liberty defil'd. 
 
2l8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 O, tell this story to each listening child, 
 E'en as the Indian to his children told, 
 
 And may they learn from them, the rude and wild, 
 To love their country above life or gold, 
 
 And guard that virtue which alone sustains 
 From foul decay, or proud usurper's chains. 
 
 But tell them quickly what the great design 
 
 That brought the fathers where the children be ; 
 To rear, beneath the heavens, for Him, divine, 
 
 A dwelling place of Truth and Purity. 
 O, bid them ever bend the grateful knee, 
 
 And in His mighty strength " arise — and shine " — 
 Then, tho' the Indian like a shadow flee, 
 
 And all earth's empires wanes to a decline, 
 His guardian arm their freedom will secure, 
 
 And time, that wasteth all but them, mature. 
 
 But one deep debt forever thou wilt owe. 
 
 My Country ! thou art built on fallen thrones ! 
 No more the Indian can oppose thee now, 
 
 Thy grandeur rises o'er his broken bones. 
 Say — have those fallen heroes any sons ? 
 
 Survivors of their country's overthrow ? 
 O ! haste My Country, if an Indian moans, 
 
 Bereft of empire, friendless in his woe, 
 O ! haste My Country, if an Indian live, 
 
 Thy sympathy and quick relief to give. 
 
 Couldst thou look down the lapse of years to come, 
 
 And see usurpers in thy fair domains, 
 Thy children 'reft of empire and of home, 
 
 Sinking to death or bound in servile chains, 
 How wouldst thou frown upon the tyrant trains 
 
 That bade them bow the knee, or meet their doom ! 
 How wouldst thou writhe in agonizing pains 
 
 To see them thrust to a degraded tomb ! 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 2 19 
 
 Oh ! as thou lov'st thy children, shield and save 
 The homeless relics of the great and brave. 
 
 Then rise in strength — pride of a wandering world, 
 
 Where no foul canker wastes thy vigorous root, 
 Spread o'er thy mighty lakes and rivers, curl'd 
 
 By prosp'rous gales that bear full many a boat, 
 And laden ship, with wealth from lands remote ; — 
 
 Spread — o'er thy mountains where thy flag unfurl'd 
 Defies approach of any foeman's foot, 
 
 And laughs at storms of earth against thee hurl'd 
 O'er giant realms — o'er people vast and pure — 
 
 Spread, in thy glory, and with time endure. 
 
 But cease fond strains. And now I hie me home 
 
 Lest some sad note wake an unwelcome sound ; 
 For who upon this storied Hill can roam 
 
 And mark the changing scenes that gather round; 
 Death following Life! Life, Death thro' mortal bound — 
 
 Empire arising over empire's tomb ; 
 Nation o'er nation slumbering in the ground ; 
 
 But only asks — Ah ! what is yet to come ? 
 For while he gazes on the fleeting past 
 
 He knows the things that be, shall fleet as fast. 
 
 But thou — Wewacus Hill — still may'st thou stand 
 
 Lofty and beauteous as in other days, 
 When the proud Indian led his conquering band 
 
 From valorous feats in battle or the chase 
 Up thy bold steeps, to mark with ardent gaze 
 
 And shouts of joy their own dear native land : 
 When feasts were here — the dance — and song of praise — 
 
 Warriors in might, and kings of wide command 
 Chang'd — chang'd the scene ! but thou, Wewacus Hill, 
 
 Stand'st, mighty chronicler of changes still. 
 
2 20 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Stamp'd as with sunbeam lustre on the soul, 
 
 In vivid tints that nought on earth can blot, 
 O'er which no Lethean water e'er can roll, 
 
 Is childhood's home. It cannot be forgot. 
 O'er the wide earth may roam the wandering foot ; 
 
 Thro' nature's loveliest scenes delighted stroll ; 
 Thro' Grecia's classic vales by stream or grot, 
 
 Or far famed realms where Caesars held control ; 
 But lives there one — can proudly, coldly roam, 
 
 Nor find his heart cling back to childhood's home ? — 
 
 Yea — it may stand in lonely silence wreck'd, 
 
 Not blooming fair as in life's opening day, 
 And sadden'd thoughts be wak'd as we reflect 
 
 On scenes where childhood sported ever gay. 
 Yet the deep currents of the soul will play — 
 
 Nature's strong sympathies can ne'er be check'd 
 The heart — the heart — it cannot turn away 
 
 From bowers once lov'd, which young affection deck'd. 
 It clings unparted from earth's dearest scene, 
 
 Tho' mountains rise and oceans roll between. 
 
 Wewacus Hill — a name to memory dear, 
 
 Where childhood sported many a joyous day 
 And cull'd the earliest flow'rs that deck'd the year, 
 
 Bright as young hopes, and fleeting, too, as they ; 
 Tho' now life's morning joys have pass'd away, 
 
 E'en as the mighty ones who slumber near, 
 Yet still 'tis ssveet mid thy lov'd haunts to stray — 
 
 Retrace past scenes, and drop the sorrowing tear ; 
 And when I die, O ! may my bones be laid 
 
 Close by my fathers' in thy mighty shade. 
 
 Hill of Remembrance — where Mohegan fell ! 
 
 Hill of Remembrance — where the fathers died ! 
 O may'st thou never, never list the knell 
 
 Of more sad changes by thy mighty side ! 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY, 22 1 
 
 Peace to the bless'd ones by fair Yantic's tide ; 
 
 Peace to the lov'd ones who around thee dwell ; 
 And may some lofty bard, in strains of pride 
 
 Rise, in far distant years, from thee to tell 
 My Country stands, firm as thy changeless brow, 
 
 Great, happy, free, and beautiful as now. 
 
 And thou, fair Norwich — pride of lovely scene, 
 
 Where all is beautiful, and all is dear ; — 
 Flower of the valley where the proud have been, 
 
 Pass not away like those who plac'd thee here. 
 They came — and pass'd — as flit the quick dried tear ; 
 
 They pass'd like fleeting clouds — earth's mighty men, 
 But fresh in life to time's undated year, 
 
 And bright as beauties of thy valley green. 
 So may'st thou stand, undimn'd by grief or care, 
 
 Fadeless as virtue, and as virtue fair. 
 
 And now, wild harp, I bid thy chords be still. 
 
 Why should'st thou longer troll thy idle lay ? 
 Babbling forever like yon mountain rill 
 
 Whose tuneless murmurs never die away. 
 Yet deep the fountains in the heart that stray 
 
 Waiting to burst on scenes of good or ill, 
 Once burst, Ah ! who can tell how far they '11 stray ? 
 
 Feeling jiot always listens to the will ; 
 But cease — lest I, before thy strain is o'er 
 
 Pass, changeling, hence to wander here no more. 
 
222 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR 
 
 NOTES TO WEWACUS HILL. 
 
 Note I. 
 
 " All wildly o'er the head of silvery Thames." 
 
 Verse 16. 
 
 The beautiful river Thames has its source near the foot of 
 Wewacus Hill, where it is formed by the union of the Yantic 
 and Shetucket, at Norwich, to which place it is navigable for 
 vessels of considerable burthen, and thus far the tide flows. 
 The river pursues a southerly course for fourteen miles, and en- 
 ters Long Island Sound, forming the fine harbor of New Lon- 
 don. 
 
 The Thames was known to the early English settlers by the 
 name of " Pequot River," and also as the " river of the Mohe- 
 gans." The harbor was called Pequot harbor. The settle- 
 ment of New London commenced in 1647. The following 
 act, passed by the Colonial Assembly, is quite expressive of the 
 filial affection of our ancestors towards their native country, 
 and accounts for the name of the river, town and harbor. 
 
 " Whereas, it hath been the commendable practice of the 
 inhabitants of these parts, that as this country hath its denom- 
 ination from our dear native country of England, and thence is 
 called New England ; so the planters, in their first settling of 
 most new plantations, have given names to those plantations of 
 some cities and towns in England, thereby intending to keep 
 up and leave to posterity the memorial of several places of note 
 there, as Boston, Hartford, Windsor, York, Ipswich, Braintree, 
 Exeter ; this Court considering that there hath yet no place in 
 any of the Colonies been named in memory of the City of Lon- 
 don, there being a new plantation within this jurisdiction of 
 Connecticut, settled upon that fair river Mohegan, in the Pe- 
 quot country, being an excellent harbor, and a fit and conven- 
 ient place for future trade ; it being, also, the only place which 
 the English in these parts have possessed by conquest, and 
 that upon a very just war upon that great and warlike people, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 223 
 
 the Pequots ; that theiefore they might thereby leave to pos- 
 terity the memory of that renowned City of London, from 
 whence we have had our transportation, have thought fit, in 
 honor of that famous city, to call the said plantation New Lon- 
 don, and the name of the river on which it standeth the 
 Thames."- — Records of New London and Connecticut. 
 
 Note II. 
 
 " Looks down on Norwich, beautiful below, 
 As lovely maiden bright in fancy's dream ; 
 
 Rich, vigorous, fresh at morning's early glow, 
 
 PlyiDg the busy wheel among her mingling streams.'' 
 
 Verse 16. 
 
 Norwich is situated in a romantic valley at the head of the 
 Thames, and immediately at the foot of Wewacus Hill. It is 
 a beautiful place. Yet it is not because Wewacus from his pa- 
 triarch steeps looks down at Norwich smiling at his feet, and 
 pronounces it a " beautiful place," that has obtained for it that 
 name. The surrounding hills, of various sizes and fantastic 
 forms, look down upon the same lovely spot, and reecho what 
 Wewacus says. Handsomely finished edifices and well kept 
 grounds crowd upon the beholder's view, and tell him that 
 wealth and enterprise are there ; while schools and churches, 
 thronged with the young, the gay, the estimable, remind him 
 that education and religion are not neglected. Then, too, no- 
 tice the number, beauty and usefulness of the "mingling 
 streams. The Thames, the patron of commerce, laden with 
 boats bearing the products of the enterprising valley, and pur- 
 suing their way to the markets of the world. The Shetucket, 
 propelling innumerable wheels, as with a giant's power, and af- 
 fording employment to the thriving population upon its banks ; 
 the little Yantic, provided with water power, eagerly taken ad- 
 vantage 'of by the enterprising inhabitants. All these, and 
 many more advantages and beauties, have lent their influence, 
 which blended together, render this " City in the valley of the 
 Yantic " indeed a beautiful and interesting place. 
 
224 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Norwich was settled in 1660, when the Rev. James Fitch, 
 with the principal part of his church and congregation removed 
 from Saybrook and planted the town of Norwich. It occupies 
 land received from Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegans, under the 
 following circumstances : 
 
 " During the wars between Uncas and the Narragansetts, 
 they besieged his fort near the bank of the Thames, until his 
 provisions were nearly exhausted, and he found that he and 
 his men must soon perish by famine or sword, unless he could 
 obtain speedy relief. In this crisis, he found means of com- 
 municating his dangers to the scouts, who had been sent out 
 from Saybrook Fort. By his messengers he represented the 
 great danger the English in those parts would be in immediate- 
 ly, if they should suffer the Mohegans to be destroyed. 
 
 " Upon this intelligence, one Thomas Leffingwell, an ensign 
 at Saybrook, an enterprising, bold man, loaded a canoe with 
 beef, corn and peas, and under cover of night, paddled from 
 Saybrook into the Thames, and had the address to get the whole 
 into the fort. The enemy soon perceiving that Uncas was re- 
 lieved raised the siege. 
 
 " For this service Uncas gave said Leffingwell a deed of a 
 great part of Norwich. In 1659, Uncas, with his two sons, 
 Owaneco and Attawanhood, by a more formal and authentic 
 deed made over to said Leffingwell, John Mason, Esq., Rev. 
 James Fitch, and others, consisting of thirty-five proprietors, 
 the whole township of Norwich, which is nine miles square. 
 The company at this time gave Uncas and his sons about ,£70, 
 as a farther compensation for so large and fine a tract." 
 
 This deed may be seen among the records of Norwich. 
 
 {OldMSS. See Trumbull's History. Also, Caulkins' His- 
 tory of Norwich, pages 43 and 44, and also pages 57 and 58.) 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 225 
 
 Note IIT. 
 
 ■' Fam'd Groton weeping o'er her mighty dead." 
 
 Verse ir. 
 
 Groton, in American history, is a place quite memorable. 
 A handsome monument, erected on Groton heights, commemo- 
 rates the gallant band who perished there in the defence of 
 their liberties during the revolutionary war. 
 
 Previous to that period Groton had been the scene of many 
 sanguinary conflicts with the Indians. The great " Swamp 
 Fight," as it was called, was at Groton near the head of the 
 Mystic river. This battle, conducted by Capt. John Mason, 
 one of the original proprietors of Norwich, who, at the head of 
 only seventy-seven Englishmen, and a few friendly Mohegans 
 and Narragansetts, attacked and destroyed the royal fortress 
 of the great Pequot king, Sassacus, and put an end to a cruel 
 and destructive war that threatened to overwhelm the colonies, 
 may be, perhaps, ranked among the most valorous achieve- 
 ments of any age or country. 
 
 Note IV. 
 
 " This was her watch tower, and yon ruins tell 
 Where stood the fort that screened her sentinel." 
 
 Verse 24. 
 
 Aged people, whose fathers remembered the days of Uncas 
 and the sufferings of the whites during the Indian wars of that 
 time, uniformly called this hill by the name of the " Indian 
 Watch Tower." 
 
 After Uncas had deeded the Town of Norwich to his allies, 
 the whites, he and his faithful Mohegans were continually en- 
 gaged in watching over and protecting the infant settlement. 
 In times of danger, to the great annoyance of the enemy, he 
 often removed with his followers within or near the town, 
 where, forming a little camp of wigwams after the Indian man- 
 ner, they remained until assured that their friends could be left* 
 in safety without their immediate guardianship. And while 
 
2 26 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 his vigilant scouts were ever abroad to advise him of the mo- 
 tions of the enemy, Wewacus Hill, the first point of land in 
 Connecticut visible at sea, commanding a fair view of all the 
 country around, from the Sound on the south to Bolton on the 
 north, was not overlooked by this sagacious chief. It was a 
 place often frequented by him, and where, in time of war, at 
 least, he kept a sentinel continually stationed. 
 
 It is asserted, upon creditable authority, that Uncas had 
 been warned from this eminence of the approach of Miantono- 
 mo. His scouts had been abroad in the wilderness, and were 
 hastening to advise him of his danger ; but before they had 
 time to reach his usual place of rendezvous he had himself, 
 with keen Indian glance, perceived from these commanding 
 heights the movements of the enemy, and with that bold, en- 
 ergetic decision and promptness which marked his character, 
 was already at the head of his warriors advancing to meet the 
 enemy. The story of this event is related as follows : 
 
 " The greatest hostility, probably, that has ever existed be- 
 tween the savage chiefs of any age was exhibited between Un- 
 cas, the chief of the Mohegans, and-Miantonomo, a sagamore 
 of the Pequots. They had each attempted to destroy the 
 other's life, in places and by means which would have shocked 
 a civilized age. They were both men of powerful minds — 
 possessed of savage courage and savage strength. Sequassen, 
 a sachem on the Connecticut River, had killed one of the Mo- 
 hegan tribe, and had attacked Uncas on his passage down that 
 river. Uncas made an application to the authorities of the col- 
 onies in regard to this attack, but received no redress. He de- 
 manded reparation from Sequassen also, but without success. 
 Sequassen not only would not submit to Uncas, but even sent 
 him a challenge to fight. This challenge was accepted. Un- 
 cas invaded his territory, conquered his forces, and burnt their 
 camps. As Sequassen's conduct was backed by Miantonomo, 
 the chief of the Narragansetts. and as he was a near connec- 
 tion, it fell upon the Narragansett chief to take up the quarrel, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY 227 
 
 and deal out revenge. This brought the rival chiefs into sav- 
 age collision. Miantonomo collected a force of about a thous- 
 and men to attack the Mohegan camp. The approach of this 
 army was discovered as related above. The two forces met on 
 Sachem's Plain, about three miles from Norwich. Before the 
 combat commenced Uncas requested to have an interview with 
 the Narragansetl chief, and having advanced in front of his 
 warriors, he addressed Miantonomo in these words : 'You have 
 a number of stout men with you, and so have I with me. It is 
 a pity that such brave warriors should be killed in a private 
 quarrel between us only. Come on, then, like a man, as you 
 profess to be, and let us fight it out. If you kill me, my men 
 shall be yours ; if I kill you, your men shall be mine.' ' My 
 warriors,' said Miantonomo, ' have come a long way to fight, 
 and they shall fight.' Uncas had anticipated this reply/and as 
 a signal, fell to the ground. His men rushed on the enemy. 
 They were overthrown, and driven over rocks and down prec- 
 ipices. A party soon came up to Miantonomo, but either fear- 
 ing to engage with a man of such courage, or wishing to re- 
 serve the honor for their chief, they did nothing but prevent 
 the flight of the Narragansett chieftain. Uncas soon came up, 
 and rushed upon his foe like a hungry lion on his prey. Mian- 
 tonomo now stopped suddenly, sat down, and remained silent. 
 Uncas gave the Indian yell, and gathered around him his war- 
 riors. The captive chief still remained silent. ' Why do you 
 not speak ?' said Uncas. ' Had you taken me prisoner, I 
 should have besought you for life.' Uncas carried his prisoner 
 to Hartford, and the whole matter was referred to the Commis- 
 sioners of the Colonies ; but they were unwilling to have any- 
 thing to do with the case, as he had been taken by the rules of 
 savage warfare, though he was found to be the common enemy 
 of the friendly Indians and the whites. Miantonomo was car- 
 ried to the place where he had been captured, and killed by a 
 blow from a tomahawk. Uncas cut out a piece of his shoulder, 
 and ate it in savage triumph, saying it was the sweetest meat he 
 had ever tasted, and made his heart feel strong. The royal 
 
228 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 captive was buried on the spot where he had been killed, and 
 a pile of stones was built up over his grave." — Caulkins' Histo- 
 ry of Norwich, pages 35-37. 
 
 The fort upon Wewacus Hill was a large, square structure, 
 built after the Indian manner, of unpolished stone, without 
 mortar, embanked with earth. 
 
 With regard to the derivation of the name of Wewacus, 
 nothing can be known but from the testimony of tradition. 
 These traditions have been handed down to posterity through 
 the medium of the national songs of the race in which were 
 recounted the deeds of their ancestors and the more important 
 points in their history — and through drawings and markings 
 upon trees. For this purpose, the largest and most durable 
 trees were selected, and on them with the point of a tomahawk 
 was recorded such events as were deemed worthy of remem- 
 brance. Trees of this description formerly overshadowed We- 
 wacus Hill and they are the source of most of the traditions 
 now extant concerning this hill. 
 
 Note V. 
 
 " From wild Wewacus, king of Pequot race." 
 
 Verst 17. 
 
 In no part of New England were the Indians so numerous 
 in proportion to the extent of territory as in Connecticut. 
 The sea coast, with its harbors and bays, and the numerous 
 ponds and streams with which the country abounded ; the 
 vast number of wild animals of every description common to 
 the climate together with the almost incredible abundance of 
 fish and fowl ; the fertility of the soil ; the excellence of the 
 water ; the salubrity of the air ; all were circumstances which 
 naturally attracted the Indians in vast numbers to this tract. 
 
 Of all the nations scattered about the country, that of the 
 Pequots was the most warlike and formidable. The great 
 Sassacus, grand sachem of the tribe, by his superior skill and 
 bravery had extended his conquests until his name was a terror 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 229 
 
 wherever heard. "Sassacus is all one with God, no man can 
 kill him," said the affrighted Narragansetts, a brave nation 
 which had not submitted to his arms. He numbered under 
 him, twenty-six sachems, or principal war captains, whose 
 country he had made tributary, and who rendered him their 
 services in the field. The chief seat of this tribe was at New 
 London and Groton. Their principal fort was on a command- 
 ing and beautiful eminence in the town of Groton, a few miles 
 south-easterly from the site where stood in later years the ill- 
 fated Fort Griswold. It commanded one of the finest pros- 
 pects of the Sound, and of the adjacent country. This wasthe 
 royal fortress where the chief sachem had his residence. He 
 had another fort near Mystic river, a few miles to the eastward 
 of this called Mystic Fort. Between this tribe and the Mohe- 
 gans a spirit of the most implacable hatred existed, which 
 nothing could subdue and which did not end until the Pequots 
 were wholly destroyed and their captured dominions bestowed 
 upon Uncas. 
 
 Note VI. 
 
 " And Uncas then the proud and conquering king 
 Reposed with his stern race 'neath Pilgrim's wing." 
 
 Verse 30. 
 
 Historians are disagreed and uncertain concerning the ori- 
 gin of the two tribe's, the Pequots and the Mohegans. Some 
 have considered them as totally distinct people, while others 
 describe them as one and the same. From some circumstances, 
 it would appear that the Mohegans had originally been the pre- 
 dominant race. When and by what means they had been re- 
 duced, or how long they had been in subjugation to the Pe- 
 quots, cannot now be ascertained. At the time of the arrival 
 of the English colonists in Connecticut, Uncas had revolted, 
 and was contending for empire with the great Sassacus, the 
 Cassar of this western wild. 
 
 Uncas was a proud, ambitious prince, and possessed in a 
 remarkable degree that sagacious foresight and shrewd politi- 
 
230 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 cal cunning so strikingly displayed by many of those sons of 
 the forest. Foreseeing the great aid to be derived from the 
 English strangers, he welcomed their approach ; sold and gave 
 them lands ; assisted them in forming settlements, and in pro- 
 curing a subsistence ; entered into a league of friendly alliance 
 with them, and thus insured himself that success in arms which 
 his great ambition led him to desire ; while the tide of con- 
 quest was rolling so strongly against him that but for the white 
 man's aid he must have perished. To the colonists this friend- 
 ship of Uncas was of invaluable consequence. Their very ex- 
 istence depended upon it. And, as may be supposed, a friend- 
 ship, thus formed and cemented by mutual self interests, arising 
 from a mutual consciousness of weakness and danger, was 
 never broken, but maintained on both sides with inviolable 
 fidelity. 
 
 The friendship of Uncas for the whites has often been spoken of 
 in the glowing terms of romantic language. But in the sober 
 language of reality, it was nothing more or less than those 
 strong feelings of attachment which glow in the bosom of a 
 brave man toward those, who, while they promote his own 
 ambitious designs, at the same time exhibit such proofs of valor 
 and moral superiority as to insure for them his profound re- 
 spect and confidence. Uncas saw much of this in his dealings 
 with the English colonies, and his language was ever the same, 
 as when on a visit to Boston to the civil authorities to answer 
 to some suspicious charges afterwards proved false — he said, 
 to the Governor, laying his hand upon his breast, " This heart 
 is not mine, but yours. I have no men, they are all yours. 
 Command me anything, I will do it. I will not believe any 
 Indian's word against the English. If any man shall kill an 
 Englishman, I will put him to death, were he ever so dear to 
 me. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 23 I 
 
 Note VII. 
 
 ' : His sons, the daring Pequots, loved him well, 
 And lov'd his deeds to sing, his glories tell. 1 ' 
 
 Verse 18. 
 
 Attachment to their chief was a striking trait in the char- 
 acter of the North American Indian. In Connecticut, and 
 among all the Indians of New England, the crown was hered- 
 itary — always descending to the eldest son. When there was 
 no male issue, the female succeeded. The blood royal was held 
 in such veneration, that none could be considered heir to the 
 crown but those who were royally descended upon both sides. 
 The government was an absolute monarchy, the will of the sa- 
 chem being law, although in all important affairs he consulted 
 his counsellors. They were called in New England " paniese," 
 and were not only the wisest, but the largest and bravest men 
 to be found among a sachem's subjects. They were the imme- 
 diate guard of the chief, and in war and all great enterprises, 
 exhibited a boldness and firmness of mind exceeding all other 
 warriors. 
 
 The sachems were devotedly attached to their people and 
 country, and were uniformly men of remarkably discerning, 
 capacious and strong minds, and perhaps, therefore, their opin- 
 ions were not often erroneous. At any rate, they were loved 
 and reverenced by their people, who considered it an honor, 
 rather than a hardship, to obey the chief's commands. 
 
 In some cases the succession failed, or other causes render- 
 ed it necessary to choose a chief by election. The choice was 
 made with the utmost deliberation and caution ; but once de- 
 cided upon, their sense of honor forbade them to change their 
 determination. The qualifications necessary to recommend a 
 person to the chief command were : to be fortunate, brave and 
 disinterested ; and most cheerfully would the people obey any 
 one whom they believed to possess these qualifications. Their 
 heart's kindest affection was clustered around him, and their 
 heart's warmest blood was freely shed in his defense. 
 
232 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Note VIII. 
 
 " They mourned in lamentations wild and wide, 
 As Israel through her tents when good old Jacob died." 
 
 Verse 21. 
 
 Of the funeral ceremonies of the Indians, an early historian 
 gives the following account : 
 
 " The Indians in Connecticut, and in all parts of New 
 England, made great lamentations at the burial of their dead. 
 Their manner of burial was to dig holes in the ground with 
 stakes, which were made broad, and sharpened at one end. 
 Sticks were laid across the bottom, and the corpse, wrapped in 
 skins and mats, was let down upon them. The arms, treasures, 
 utensils, trophies taken in battle, paint and ornaments of the 
 dead were buried with them, and a mound of earth raised up- 
 on the whole. 
 
 " In some instances the Indians appear to have made use of 
 a kind of embalming, by wrapping the body in large quantities 
 of a strong scented red powder. In some parts of New Eng- 
 land the dead were buried in a sitting posture, with their faces 
 towards the east. 
 
 " The women on these occasions painted their faces with oil 
 and charcoal, and while the burial was performing, they, with 
 the relatives of the dead, made the most hideous shrieks, howl- 
 ings, and lamentations. Their mourning continued by turns, 
 at night and in the morning for several days. During this 
 time all the relatives united with " the mourning women " in 
 bewailing the dead. If the departed person is very much re- 
 gretted, the near relatives cut off their hair, and pierce the 
 fleshy part of their thighs and arms with arrows, knives, etc., 
 in a most cruel manner. The funeral of a king is attended 
 with ceremonies of the same kind, only in a style more mag- 
 nificent ; and to attend him on his journey a number of slaves 
 were not unfrequently sacrificed." 
 
/ 
 
 THE BACKUS FAMILY. 233 
 
 Note IX. 
 
 " Her sons were vigorous as the hardy shoot 
 Of fadeless oaks, that on thy summit throw 
 
 Beneath the giant rock their spreading root 
 Nor bend when thunder roll or tempest roar." 
 
 Verse Sq. 
 
 "The Connecticut, and indeed all the New England Indians," 
 says an early historian, " were all large, straight, and well pro- 
 portioned ; very healthy, and remarkable, both men and women, 
 especially the latter, for the beautiful symmetry of their figures. 
 A crooked or deformed Indian was rarely ever seen. Their bodies 
 were firm and active, and capable of enduring the greatest fatigues 
 and hardships. Their passive 'courage was almost incredible. 
 When tortured in the most cruel manner ; though flayed alive ; 
 though burnt with fire ; though cut or torn limb from limb, 
 they would not groan or show any signs of distress. On the 
 contrary, the sufferer would glory over his tormentors, recount 
 his own exploits, inform them of what cruelties he had inflicted 
 upon their countrymen, revile them for their ignorance of the 
 art of tormenting, point out methods of more exquisite tor- 
 ment and more sensitive parts of the body to be afflicted, assure 
 them that his heart would never be soft until it was cold, and 
 represents his torments to be as sweet as Englishman's sugar. 
 
 "When traveling in summer or winter they regarded neither 
 heat nor cold. They were remarkably light of foot, and would 
 easily travel or run a hundred miles in a summer's day. As 
 they were accustomed to the woods, they ran in them nearly as 
 well as on open ground. 
 
 " They were astonishingly quick-sighted to discover the ene- 
 my or their game, and were equally artful in concealing them- 
 selves. 
 
 " Their features were tolerably regular. Their faces were 
 fully as broad as the English, but flatter. They had a small, 
 dark colored, good eye, black hair and fine white teeth. 
 
234 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 " Their dress, before they became acquainted with the En- 
 glish, consisted of skins of animals. The men wore a light 
 mantle of skins, under which was a lighter garment of the 
 same material. The women wore a coat of skins, generally 
 beaver, which covered their persons, fastened about the waist 
 with a belt, and falling nearly as low as that of the more refin- 
 ed ladies of the present day. Their ornaments were pendants 
 in the ears and nose, carved out of bone, stone and shells, in 
 the form of birds, beasts, fishes, etc. They also wore belts of 
 wampum upon their arms, over their shoulders, ^.nd about their 
 loins. They cut their hair into various fantastic forms, and 
 adorned them with feathers. They also by incisions, into which 
 they conveyed a black or blue unchangeable ink, made on their 
 arms, cheeks, and other parts of their bodies, the figures of 
 moose, deer, bears, wolves, hawks, eagles, and all such living 
 creatures as were most agreeable to their fancies. The sachems 
 on great days, when they designed to show themselves in the 
 full splendor of majesty, not only covered themselves with 
 mantles of moose or deer skins, with various embroideries of 
 white beads, and with paintings of different kinds, but they 
 wore the skin of a bear, wild cat, or some other terrible creat- 
 ure upon their shoulders and arms. They had also necklaces of 
 fish bones, and painting themselves in a frightful manner, made 
 a most- ferocious appearance. The warriors who, on public oc- 
 casions, dressed themselves in the wildest and most terrific 
 forms, were considered the best men. 
 
 "The Indian houses, or wigwams, were constructed like ar- 
 bors, of young trees bent or twisted together, and so curiously 
 covered with mats or bark that they were dry and warm. The 
 fire was made in the centre of the house, and the smoke emit- 
 ted through a hole in the top. For the convenience of wood 
 and water, their huts were erected in groves, and near some 
 river, brook or living spring. When the wood failed, the fam- 
 ily removed to another place." 
 
 Upon the subject of the Mohegan language, Trumbull 
 makes the following remarks : 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 235 
 
 "The Mohegan, cr Pequol language, was essentially that of 
 all the Indians in New England, and of a great part of the 
 tribes in the United States. Not only the natives of New En- 
 gland, but the Penobscols bordering on Nova Scotia, the In- 
 dians of St. Francis in Canada, the Delawares in Pennsylvania, 
 the Shawnces on the Ohio, and the Chippewas to the westward 
 of Lake Huron all spoke the same radical language. The same 
 appears evident also with respect to the Ottowahs, Nanticooks, 
 Munsees, Menomonees, Missidugas, Saukies, Ottogaumies, 
 Hilistonies, Nipegons, Algonkins, Winnebagoes, and other In- 
 dians. The different tribes had different dialects ; and the 
 want of letters and of sufficient correspondence between them, 
 may well account for this variation. All the New England In- 
 dians expressed their pronouns, both substantive and adjective 
 by prefixes and suffixes, or by letters and syllables added to the 
 beginnings or ending of their nouns. In this respect there 'is a 
 remarkable coincidence between this and the Hebrew language, 
 in an instance in which the Hebrew entirely differs from all the 
 ancient and modern languages of Europe. 
 
 " From this affinity of the Indian language with the He- 
 brew, from their anointing their heads with oil, their dancing 
 at their devotions, their mourning and lamentations for the 
 dead, their computing time by nights and moons, their giving 
 dowries to their wives, and causing their women at certain sea- 
 sons to dwell by themselves, and some other circumstances, 
 many have been led to imagine that the American Indians were 
 the posterity of the dispersed Israelites. They used many par- 
 ables and figures in their discourses, and some have reported 
 that at certain seasons they used no knives, and never broke 
 the bones of the creatures they ate. It has also been reported 
 that in some of their songs the word ' Hallelujah ' might be 
 distinguished. The Indian language abounds in gutterals and 
 strong aspirations, and their words are generally of great 
 length, which render it peculiarly bold and sonorous. Their 
 speeches, like those of the eastern nations, were adorned by the 
 most bold and striking figures, and have been by no means 
 
236 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 inferior to those which Europeans have been able to make to 
 them. As eloquence and war were with them the foundations 
 of all consequence, the whole force of their genius was directed 
 to those acquisitions. In council, their opinions were always 
 given in set speeches ; and to persons whom they highly re- 
 spected it was usual on meeting and parting, or on matters of 
 more than ordinary importance, to address their compliments 
 and opinions in formal harangues. They spoke with great an- 
 imation and vehemence." 
 
 With regard to the Indian character, it has been so often 
 portrayed by historians, essayists, travelers, and novelists, that 
 anything on the subject here would be but idle repetition. It 
 may be observed in general, however, that the Mohegans, were 
 in no respect inferior to any tribe in the country. Of their 
 generous hospitality and the warmth and constancy of their 
 friendship, there are many instances on record. They were 
 bold in purpose, daring in execution, sagacious in discernment, 
 of strong passions, yet exercising great power and prudence 
 to control them ; remarkable for deep thought and an accurate 
 knowledge of human nature, and were proud, ambitious and 
 warlike ; in short, they were North American Indians, and pos- 
 sessed all those distinguishing traits of character, whether 
 vicious or virtuous, that rendered those Indians an original, "a 
 peculiar people." 
 
 Note X. 
 
 " For when, where Uncas sleeps, her Great Son came." 
 
 Verse gj. 
 
 Alluding to the friendly tour of the celebrated General 
 Jackson, President of the United States, through New England 
 and other parts of the Union, who while at Norwich, in com- 
 pany with the Vice President, Governor Cass of the War De- 
 partment, and other of the first dignitaries of the nation, and 
 surrounded by displays of military and a dense crowd of citi- 
 zens necessarily collected on such an occasion, on the 18th of 
 June, 1833, laid the corner stone of a monument to the mem- 
 ory of Uncas, the last king of the Mohegans. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 237 
 
 Note XI. 
 
 " Her sages gone, and all her mighty men ; 
 
 There 's none to smoke her pipe, or bend her bow." 
 
 Verse 100. 
 
 The calumet, or " pipe of peace," was an article of great 
 importance among the Indians, and was much reverenced by 
 them. The bowl of this pipe was made of a kind of soft, red 
 stone, easily wrought and hollowed out. The stem was of cane 
 or a kind of light wood, painted in different colors, and adorn- 
 ed with the heads, tails and feathers of the most beautiful 
 birds, etc. In the calumet was smoked tobacco, or some other 
 herb used in place of it, on the occasions when they entered 
 into any alliance or solemn engagement, this being esteemed 
 the most solemn oath — the violation of which was considered 
 most imfamous, deserving the severest punishment in the other 
 life. 
 
 The funeral rites, like all other solemn ceremonies began 
 with smoking. If the tribe feel themselves called to go to war, 
 the elders convene the people in order to learn the general 
 opinion. If this be for war, the chief publishes his. intention 
 to smoke in the sacred stem at a certain period, to which 
 solemnity, meditation and fasting are required as preparatory 
 ceremonials. The people thus assemble, and the chief enlarges 
 upon the necessity of the measures proposed, invites those who 
 are willing to follow him to smoke out of the sacred stem, 
 which act is considered a token of enrollment. 
 
 When they treat of war, the whole pipe and all its orna- 
 ments are red. Sometimes it is red only on one side, and, by 
 the disposition of the feathers, etc., a person acquainted with 
 their customs knows at the first sight the intentions or desires 
 of the nation which presents it. 
 
 The size and decoration of the calumet were commonly 
 proportioned to the importance of the occasion, the quality of 
 the person to whom it was to be presented, and the esteem and 
 regard in which these person were held. 
 
23 8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Note XII. 
 
 " Her faithful Uncas bent his powerful bow." 
 
 Verse 104. 
 
 The arms of the Indians were the bow and arrow, spear, 
 sword, knife, and tomahawk. However simple and rude their 
 weapons were, yet trained in their use from early childhood, 
 the Indians acquired a skill and dexterity in their use which 
 was astonishing, and rendered them very formidable. Prob- 
 ably as marksmen with the bow and arrow they stood unrival- 
 ed — a warrior's arrow seldom being sent in vain. The bows 
 were of common construction, the strings of the sinews of 
 deer, or sometimes of Indian hemp. The arrows were of young 
 elder or other straight sticks of reeds, barbed with a sharp 
 flinty stone, or bone. The spear was a straight piece of wood 
 sharpened at one end and hardened in the fire, or headed with 
 bone or stone. The knife was a sharp stone, shell, or kind of 
 reed, which they sharpened in such a manner, as, in time of 
 peace, to cut their hair, make their bows and arrows, and to 
 answer all the purposes of a knife ; and in time of war, it served 
 the more dreadful purpose of scalping their enemies. The tom- 
 ahawk was a formidable stick, two or three feet in length; with 
 a large knot of solid wood for a head. Sometimes the head 
 was of stone in the form of a hatchet, or sometimes of deer's 
 horn in the form of a pickaxe. 
 
 In all public transactions, the tomahawk was of great 
 importance, and like the calumet was frequently very signifi- 
 cant. The painting and feathers with which it was ornamented 
 were diposed and arranged in many significant forms, accord- 
 ing to the occasion and end for which it was used ; and on it 
 was kept a kind of journal of the marches and most important 
 events in the history of the tribe, by a sort of hieroglyphics. 
 When a council was called to deliberate on war, the tomahawk 
 was colored red, and while the council was sitting, it was laid 
 down near the chief. If war was concluded upon, the captain 
 of the young warriors takes it up and holding it in his hand, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 239 
 
 dances and sings the war song. When the council is over, 
 this or some other tomahawk is sent by the hands of the same 
 warrior to every tribe concerned, and he presents it with some 
 wampum. Throwing the tomahawk upon the ground he deliv- 
 ers his message, and if they choose to join, the tomahawk is 
 taken up by one of the most expert warriors ; if they do not 
 care to join, it is returned with a belt of the tribe's wampum, 
 suited to the occasion. 
 
 The wampum of the Indians consisted of small beads curi- 
 ously wrought out of shells, and perforated in the center so that 
 they might be strung on belts in chains and bracelets. These 
 were of various kinds. The Indians of Connecticut made 
 black, blue and white wampum. This served the purpose of 
 money. Six of the white beads passed for a penny, or three 
 of the black, or one blue for the same. The " Five Nations " 
 made another sort which was of a purple color. After the set- 
 tlement of the English in Connecticut, the Indians strung these 
 beads on belts of cloth in a very curious manner, and used them 
 in their treaties, as a confirmation of their speeches and a seal 
 of their friendship. In addition to the uses already mentioned, 
 this wampum was used as an ornament, being interwoven into 
 their belts, collars, caps, blankets, etc. 
 
 The canoes were another piece of Indian workmanship, 
 which, considering the tools they possessd, were a great curi- 
 osity. Different tribes constructed their canoes in a different 
 way. Among the northern Indians they were of bark, curious- 
 ly seamed together, and so light as to be easily borne upon the 
 shoulders around falls, or from one stream to another. The 
 Connecticut Indians, however, formed their canoes of the trunks 
 of the chestnut, white-wood or pine trees which in the fertility of 
 that region grew to great height and size. Some were made 
 large enough to carry six or eight men, but usually they were 
 not over twenty feet in length and two in breadth. In their 
 method of constructing these, the Indians displayed that inven- 
 tive faculty with which the human intellect can rise above cir- 
 cumstances and struggle against obstacles that obstruct the 
 
240 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 way. Their skill in managing these canoes was very striking. 
 It was, indeed, a national accomplishment. A warrior gloried 
 almost as much in the beauty and dexterous management of 
 his canoe, as in his eloquence in council, or bravery in battle. 
 Aug. 15th, 1833. 
 
 The following letter will be interesting in this connection : 
 
 Hartford, February 28th, 1834. 
 Mr. Joseph W. Tracy, 
 
 My Dear Sir : — I feel much indebted to you for the pe- 
 rusal of the manuscripts, which are here returned. I have read 
 with much pleasure the poem, entitled " Wewacus Hill," both 
 for the originality and strength of thought which it evinces, 
 and for the deep interest felt in every locality which unites the 
 history of our aborigines with the cherished scenery and recol- 
 lections of my dear, native city. Some of. the stanzas are ex- 
 ceedingly bold and poetical, and evince, without a doubt, that 
 the writer has been considerably habituated to compositions of 
 this nature 
 
 I remain yours, with respect and esteem, 
 
 L. H. Sigourney. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 241 
 
 THE PROMISED LAND REJECTED: A SCENE AT 
 KADESH-BARNEA. 
 
 They had cross'd the frowning wilderness, 
 
 That dreadful land of darkness, drouth'and fiery serpents. 
 
 That land which seem'd to them the shuddering home 
 
 Of every danger, every terror that the heart of man 
 
 Can fear or dare ; and now, beneath the pillar'd presence 
 
 Of the Holy One, that glorious symbol of Jehovah's 
 
 Power and goodness, they stood upon the borders 
 
 Of the promis'd land, and need but go and take it 
 
 And 't was theirs. It was a beauteous land. 
 
 The sun look'd forth delighted from the heavens, 
 
 And seem'd to strive to praise his Maker more 
 
 That he might shine upon a scene so fair. 
 
 Soft as the breath of angels when they sing of bliss 
 
 Around the throne of Him whose smile is heaven, 
 
 Came the glad breezes from Levantine seas, 
 
 And kiss'd the spicy shrubs, and fragrant flowers, 
 
 And odoriferous plants that waited the fair, 
 
 Culturing hand of Judah's lovely daughters. 
 
 Then, laden with perfume, shook their rich wings. 
 
 And all the land, from the green vales where sung 
 
 The soft-eyed dove, and everything was fair, 
 
 To the bright, vine-clad hills and laughing mountain top 
 
 Where stood the lofty cedars, and rejoiced, 
 
 Was fill'd with freshness, fragancy and health. 
 
 It was a beauteous land indeed, years, years ago ; 
 
 The " Majesty on high " had mark'd it from the skies, 
 
 And chosen it out as that sweet pleasant spot on earth 
 
 Worthy to be bestow'd — a rich inheritance 
 
 Upon his long tried, faithful friend and servant, Abraham, 
 
 He had enrich'd it with blessings from the heavens above, 
 
 And blessings from the deeps beneath, 
 
 And every bounteous, natural blessing 
 16 
 
242 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 That can render any spot of earth a happy place. 
 
 It was a land of rivers, brooks, and springs of living water, 
 
 Sparkling to the sun thro' the rich, verdant, 
 
 Vigorous foliage on their banks, like beauty's beaming eye 
 
 Through the fair tresses that adorn her brow. 
 
 It was a land of flocks and herds, of vines and figs, 
 
 Of wheat and barley, olive oil, pomgranates, milk and honey. 
 
 It was a land whose genial bosom drank the sweetest 
 
 Dews of heaven, and bore the richest products of the earth : 
 
 For 't was the land belov'd of heaven, selected, chosen to be 
 
 bless'd, 
 And where the Monarch of the skies would fix his earthly 
 Dwelling place, and glorify the children of the fathers 
 He had lov'd. 
 
 Through many a scene of toil and danger they had pass'd 
 In search of this bright, happy spot of promise 
 Of which their fathers oft had told, and hope 
 Of seeing which had cheer'd their woe-worn souls 
 Through many a gloomy day ; and now they stood 
 Upon its borders ; and need no longer ask 
 Fair painting fancy, or the tales of other times 
 What kind of land it was that God had given ; 
 For spies from their own tribes had search'd it out, 
 And told them 't was indeed a rich, a beauteous land, 
 Worthy the mighty Donor to bestow upon the honor'd 
 Father of their race ; and Eschol's luscious fruits 
 Attested well the verity of their report. 
 
 . . . . Sure they will now rejoice ; 
 Sure they will enter now with songs of triumph 
 To their rest ; and Bethel's grateful pillar 
 Will again record the pious vow, the holy joy, 
 The glad thanksgivings of a redeem'd, a grateful, 
 An adoring people. For, hear ! the gracious word 
 From Heaven is : " Go ; go up ; possess it ; it is yours." 
 O ! had the Patriarch fathers stood where now 
 The children stood, and saw what now the children saw, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 243 
 
 And heard what now the children heard, 
 
 What joy, what gratitude, what blessedness were theirs ! 
 
 Does the fond mother, as she sits in widow'd loneliness 
 
 Within her mournful dwelling, unaided and uncar'd for 
 
 In her grief, often look forth o'er future time, 
 
 O'er many a coming year of spirit-breaking bitterness, 
 
 And learn to bear with cheerful patience all life's present ills, 
 
 Sustain'd by animating hope that the bright day will come 
 
 When her fair boy shall step forth on the stage of time 
 
 In manhood's vigor, and take her to his home ; 
 
 And fill her cup with blessings, and strew her way 
 
 With flowers of filial tenderness and love, 
 
 And bid the sun of plenty, peace and joy break forth again 
 
 Upon her earthly course, and gild with setting splendor 
 
 Her declining days? So did the Patriarch fathers 
 
 Suffer every present ill that human life could bear. 
 
 They look'd o'er earth's wide realms, and not a resting-place 
 
 Appear'd for them. They wander'd where they could. 
 
 They were sojourners in a strange and weary land — 
 
 Homeless and friendless — separate from all. 
 
 But Abraham, at Heaven's command, had come from Chal- 
 
 dea's 
 Golden clime, and set his foot upon the mountains 
 Where the cedars grow ; and He who made the mountains 
 And the cedar trees had said: "Unto thy seed I give this 
 
 land — 
 A rich inheritance forever. Here will I fix my Name. 
 Here will I fix thy children : and I will be their God ; 
 And they shall be my people. And I will make of thee 
 A great, a mighty nation, will bless thee, and make 
 Thy name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing. 
 Them that bless thee I will bless, and them 
 That curse thee I will curse ; and in thee 
 Shall all the families of earth be blessed." 
 And this bright promise gilded every gloomy scene, 
 Cheer'd them in all their dreary pilgrimage, 
 
244 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And made the present ills of life seem light to bear 
 When follow'd by such ample recompense of future good. 
 The promis'd land ! it was their earthly heaven, 
 Their earthly all : and to obtain it they would suffer 
 Toil, affliction, persecution, pain, 'T was graven 
 On their hearts, deep as the love of life, deep as the love 
 Of heaven, indelibly as childhood's beauteous bower 
 Where life's first pleasure's laugh is stamp'd 
 On manhood's memory, and cannot be erased. 
 
 Children of Abraham ! your fond fathers 
 Earnestly desir'd to see and hear those wondrous things 
 Which ye now see and hear. Ye stand, 
 A congregated host of ransom'd thousands, 
 Thousands upon thousands on the borders of this land 
 Of all their hopes ; and with you awfully sublime, 
 As He has nt'er been seen before, is seen the " God of all the 
 
 earth," 
 The God of Abraham, who has come, as He had promis'd 
 Many a year ago, to dwell with you, and be your God, 
 And bless you as his people. His voice is heard 
 Amid your mighty tribes, His strength is round about you, 
 And his glory in your midst. 
 O, could adoring Abraham, the beloved Isaac, 
 And afflicted Jacob be among you now 
 How would their gladden'd souls exult in songs 
 Of holy joy and triumph ? How would they bless 
 A covenant-keeping God whose word of truth 
 Is thus abundantly fulfill'd ? How would they cry : 
 " Rise up ! O, Lord, and let thine enemies be scatter'd ! 
 For lo ! the time — the long-expected time has come 
 When Thy command is : ' Go ; go up ; possess the land ; 
 
 't is yours.' 
 Rise up ! O, Lord, in Majesty and Power, and enter with us 
 To the promis'd rest. We wait to follow thy commands ; 
 We wait to bow our souls obedient to Thy will. 
 Rise up O Lord and let the heathen fear, and let Thy name 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 245 
 
 Be known, Thy glory seen to earth's remotest bounds." 
 
 But Ah ! what means these sounds of conflict 
 In the camp of Israel ? Why are her princes 
 Standing thus with dark and wrathful countenance 
 And speech and gesture vengeful, as if indignant 
 At some daring foe ? Why such dismay, confusion, 
 Consternation 'mid the tribes redeem'd of heaven, 
 Whose strong Protector is the Lofty One who built the earth 
 And heavens, and holds the breath of every living thing ? 
 Why are all faces pale and troubled and every hand now 
 
 feeble, 
 And each heart faint? Why are the faithful Joshua and Caleb 
 Thus clad in mourning sackcloth, and striving 
 To appease the anger of the clamorous hosts ? 
 Why is the high and heaven-taught Leader prostrate in the 
 
 dust 
 Before the God of Jacob pleading earnestly for mercy? 
 Who has presum'd to afflict the Lord's annointed ones, 
 And turn this day of triumph and thanksgiving 
 To one of woe, vexation and despair? Say — has proud Egypt 
 Sent fresh legions forth to cut them down, an helpless prey 
 Amid a vast dark wilderness before they reach the promis'd 
 
 land? 
 Or has the oppressor muster'd in his wrath, 
 With power to bring again beneath the yoke of menial 
 
 servitude, 
 In slavery's weary land, the princes of the House of Israel, 
 The children of the King of heaven ? O, no ! it is not so, 
 There is no fear of Egypt. Her horn of strength is broken, 
 Her dreaded monarch lies beneath the waters ; 
 And all her proud ones sleep the sleep of death. — 
 Have Esau's mighty sons then, Kings of Edom, 
 Rememb'ring how their father lost his birthright, 
 Risen in their proud revenge and come to wrest away the 
 
 honor 
 They seek, which they believe their father, eldest born, 
 
246 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Deserved ; or, if they fail in this, to blast them 
 
 From the earth, now they wander homeless and expos'd ? 
 
 O, no ! it is not so. For the strong sons of Esau 
 
 Hold the country which the God of Abraham 
 
 Gave their father, and with this are well content. 
 
 They do not strive to intercept the passage of the sons of 
 
 Jacob 
 To their long promis'd birthright, the land of Canaan : 
 And if a nation 'round about presumes 
 To injure them or obstruct their way, the Mighty One 
 Who leads in awful majesty their conquering armies, 
 Does but look forth, in one calm look of power 
 From the dread pillar of His glory, and, as the stubble 
 In the kindling blaze, that nation is consum'd ; 
 And where it stood on earth in strength and greatness, 
 No trace of it is found again forever. 
 Or even if Moses, do but lift his hand to heaven, 
 That nation and that people, as a forgotten thing, 
 Is blotted out from underneath the sun. 
 
 Then what strange cause 
 Occasions all this wild disorder in the camp of Israel ? 
 Mark the dark scene. — Far to the eastward, 
 Tow'rd the rising of the sun, where Judah's lion-hearted 
 
 tribe 
 With Issachar and Zebulon are'planted by the standards 
 Of their fathers ; and southward, where the haughty tribe 
 Of Reuben, first born son and excellency of Jacob, 
 With Simeon and Gad are stationed ; and westward 
 Where the Kingdom-grasping Ephraim, with Manasseh 
 And fair Benjamin are rang'd ; and northward, 
 Where fierce Dan, and Naphthali, and Asher are arrang'd, 
 Each by the standard of his tribe, with the bright ensign 
 Of his father's house, they have risen with one consent, 
 In mutinous revolt ; more than six hundred thousand 
 Fighting men come forth to fight the battles of the Lord, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 247 
 
 And lay the strong foundations of a Kingdom to endure 
 
 forever, 
 All mighty men of valor, furbished and equipped for war and 
 
 ready for the fight. 
 They have arisen, and stand in wrath, as stands the war 
 
 horse 
 On the field of battle, who champs the bit, and foams, 
 And paws the ground, proudly indignant at the curb 
 Of his restraining rider. And even in the deep centre 
 Of the wondrous camp, where stands the Holy Ark of the 
 
 Lord God 
 Of heaven and earth, o'er shadow'd by the fearful cloud 
 Of His dread presence, the favor'd consecrated tribe 
 Of Levi mingle in the din, and wake fierce sounds of conflict. 
 What though they wear the holy vestments of the Lord, 
 And tend His altars, and wash His chosen ones about His 
 
 sacred tabernacle 
 Of the Most High, a frown is on their angry brow, 
 Dark as the scowl of vengeance on the face of Hell : 
 And with the lawless and unhallow'd herd around 
 They stand in wrath, and wake with them the wild, 
 Revolting, heaven-provoking cry of murmuring discontent. 
 They chide, the indignant, clamorous host, with Moses ; 
 They turn their backs upon the Pillar of their Strength ; 
 They sound aloud through the wide wondrous camp, 
 The daring call of " Who will come forward now, 
 Who will take command and lead us back to the fair land 
 From whence we came ? As for this Moses, who is he ? 
 As for this God of Israel, who is he ? We wot not and we 
 
 care not. 
 His Laws are far too strict, we love them not ; and cannot, 
 Will not, yield the obedience claim'd, Fair Egypt's beauteous 
 
 Gods 
 Of gold and precious stones —these be thy Gods O Israel ! 
 Rise up ye mighty sons of Jacob ! March forth — march 
 
 forth — 
 
248 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 We will go back again to Egypt." 
 
 But why, but why, this fatal termination 
 Of this wondrous journey to the promis'd land ? 
 
 Hear, O ye heavens, and be astonish'd ; and hear, O earth, 
 And be thou horribly afraid. This is the reason — this the 
 
 feeble, 
 Only reason given, why the proud tribes refuse to enter to 
 
 their rest. 
 " The Canaanites are in the lands ; the Anakims are there ; 
 And we be faint before them ; we are afraid to go ; we dare 
 
 not 
 Face them, and it is better to return to Egypt than die 
 By their strong hand." 
 
 O, ye faint hearted ones ! 
 O, ye presumptuous rebels ! O ye foul race of unbelievers ! 
 How dare ye utter in the ear of Him who stands among you, 
 With power to blast you from the earth and sky, 
 Who holds in His dread hand the just awards 
 Of righteous retribution, how dare ye utter in His ear 
 Such words as these ? Ye were an helpless people, 
 Sear, and wan, and blighted by the withering breath 
 Of bondage. Ye had no hope. O'er your proud spirits 
 Roll'd the deepest, the darkest, weightiest waves of woe. 
 Relentless Pharaoh stamp'd his foot on your bow'd necks, 
 And from your bursting hearts arose the cry 
 So sad, so sorrowful, so rich in misery, that earth 
 Could not endure it, but sent it up to heaven. — 
 Heaven could not bear it more than earth. 
 The God of Abraham heard it 
 And all His bowels of compassion move. 
 He bent in pity o'er your wretched fate, 
 He felt for you as feels a father for the children 
 Of his love. He called to you in mercy's melting voice, 
 And said : " Be free. Be free, ye people of the Lord : " 
 And with the word came forth the power 
 To make you free. Wak'd by the spirif cheering 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 249 
 
 Sound of Liberty, ye rous'd in His dread might, 
 
 And burst the manacles of Pharaoh, and stamp'd 
 
 On his proud neck. Ye call'd for plagues 
 
 That human nature cannot bear, and desolated 
 
 All the land of Egypt. Ye rais'd on high 
 
 The hand of fearful retribution, and shook, 
 
 To its deep base the oppressor's throne, 
 
 And made the monarch and his nobles know full well 
 
 That their dread power was weak before you 
 
 As the frail spider's web beneath the finger of a giant's hand. 
 
 Then took ye to your coffers all the wealth of Egypt : 
 
 And thus with all your helpless wives and little ones, 
 
 And all your flocks and herds, ye passed in triumph 
 
 From the house of bondage. The sea oppos'd your progress, 
 
 And the oppressors rose again in one last desperate effort 
 
 To affright your souls. But what of that? 
 
 He who had call'd you forth to liberty and life 
 
 Had means enough in His strong hand 
 
 To clear His people's way, through mighty oceans, 
 
 Mighty monarchs of the earth, and Hell's proud power 
 
 oppos'd. 
 He bade the winds of heaven, go tell the waters of the deep 
 That His beloved people were no longer slaves ; 
 And, as the Freemen of the Lord, desired a passage 
 Through their strange domains. The winds obey'd. 
 They came from the far distant verge of heaven, 
 And told the waters that the Lord would pass that way 
 With the best people ransomed by His hand. 
 The awe-struck waters heard the great request 
 And mov'd in swift obedience to the voice of God, 
 Hasting away.from their appointed place to pile their adoring 
 Billows, a fair crystal wall of strength and guidance, 
 High on either hand ; and spread for you a way, 
 A new and wondrous way, where mortal foot 
 Had never trod before — safe, dry and pleasant to your feet 
 O'er the green bed of the deep trembling sea ; 
 
250 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And as ye pass'd unharm'd, triumphantly along this new 
 
 And wondrous way, beneath the overshadowing cloud 
 
 Of your Deliverer, bright as the blazing fire with His 
 
 Resplendent glory, ye heard the sea lift up her voice 
 
 In anthems loud of praise ; ye heard the waters utter 
 
 Through their wide-spread realms, and to each echoing shore 
 
 Around, " How dreadful is the God of Israel ! 
 
 And how mighty are the people ransom'd by His hand ! 
 
 Who, who may safe oppose them ?" 
 
 The oppressor followed in your train, 
 
 Down the deep passage way to ocean's bed, idly supposing 
 
 He could bind again as slaves those whom the High and 
 
 Lofty One 
 Made free. But Ah ! his doom was sealed ; 
 For ye need but set your foot on the firm ground 
 Upon the farther shore, and turn, and turn and bid the 
 
 mighty waves 
 Of the obedient sea flow back again and bear him 
 And his hosts of pride down to that dread abyss 
 From whence no mortal can return — and it is done. 
 They sank, as sinks the stone beneath the waters. 
 He, and the armies of his power, the horse and rider, 
 The plumed warrior and the chariot of his might. 
 Thus fell the pride of Pharaoh whelm'd in the raging sea, 
 Where the wild monsters of the deep may fatten 
 On their corses ; — and ye were free indeed. — 
 Then came your songs of jubilee and triumph. 
 Then ye exulted in the Lord. Ye call'd Him then most 
 
 mighty : 
 Omnipotent to save ; and as a father, ready, willing, to 
 
 sustain, 
 Protect, and help you to the uttermost. Ye doubted not at all 
 His wisdom, power, or goodness, but knew and felt 
 That in His mighty strength ye could go forth 
 Through every opposition to the promis'd rest, 
 And there become the nation, powerful, great and happy 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 25 1 
 
 As had been foretold. 
 
 But now, alas ! how chang'd, how alter'd 
 Is the scene ! How dark and cheerless all, where once 
 Was gratitude and holy triumph ! 
 The dance has ceas'd, the music breathing timbrle's 
 Notes have ceas'd, and ceas'd all songs 
 Of gladness and rejoicing. 
 
 Ye who oft plume yourselves on having found 
 That Scripture is deceiv'd, man is not so depraved 
 As God would represent him, that human nature 
 Still retain, in undimm'd lustre its primeval 
 Excellence, and having made this wonderful discovery 
 Have drawn from thence the logical conclusion 
 That ye outstrip the Lord by far in Knowledge, 
 And, as a necessary consequence have placed 
 Your own profound opinion, crouching not 
 On a low par with His, but far above, 
 Demanding a premium value, come hither now 
 From airy height of wisdom so sublime 
 And mark this mournful scene, and see 
 If ye have overrated man's perfections. 
 Come, see, where, stripp'd by hand Divine 
 Of every false disguise, he stands before you 
 Naked in the light of moral truth and solemn fact. 
 And standing thus, come, see, if he presents 
 The lovely image of a rational, reflecting, 
 Intellectual being, gifted with large understanding 
 To perceive, and moral rectitude, and mental strength 
 To do, under all circumstances, alone unaided from on high, 
 The thing that's Right. — 
 
 Here are six hundred thousand mighty men of valor, 
 Buckler'd in strength that shakes earth's mightiest throne, 
 Of power efficient, should heaven but bid them go, 
 To traverse earth's wide realms, and prostrate 
 Under their dominion all her trembling kingdoms. 
 Yet here they stand, even on the very verge of that fair land 
 
252 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 The type of heaven, most wretched of earth's wretched 
 
 throng : 
 Quaking with fear, shuddering with apprehension, 
 As idle children terrified to tears by evening's 
 Spectre seeming shadows, raising rebellious hands 
 Against the Majesty of heaven and earth, 
 Dark vengeance on their brow, demoniac passions 
 In their hearts, and waking a loud wail of lamentation 
 Mournful and woeful as if their God had left them desolate, 
 And Kadesh-barnea were the drear mausoleum 
 To entomb their name and nation, instead of the fair, 
 Shining vestibule, opening a flowery way 
 To Canaan's promis'd rest. * 
 
 Why all this wretchedness ? why these discordant passions ? 
 This spirit breaking terror ? 
 
 They have inform'd us that " the Canaanites are in the land, 
 The Anakims are there, and we be faint before them — 
 We are afraid to go ; we dare not face them," 
 But is it so ? — What though the sons of Anak, 
 From the mountains of their strength, in cities wall'd to 
 
 heaven 
 Defy their power, is that a cause for fear? 
 Have Anak's giant sons an arm like God ? 
 Or can they thunder with a voice like Him? 
 Can they confront Jehovah going forth in pillar'd strength 
 Before these chosen ones to build Himself an empire 
 On the earth ? Can they awe Him from His purpose ; 
 Snatch His people from His powerful hand, 
 And make Him tremble on His everlasting throne ? 
 Who are the Anakims, that such great things 
 Are fear'd from them ? Full well the seed of Abraham 
 Know that Anak's sons, and all the people 
 Of this world, are but dependent creatures, form'd, 
 Sustained and kept in being by the God of Abraham ; 
 And Abraham's God is '' He who kills and makes alive, 
 Who wounds and none can heal, and from whose 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 253 
 
 Powerful hand, no human, no created arm 
 
 Can give deliverance. Should He raise His glittering sword 
 
 And bid it fall in wrath on Anak's mountains, 
 
 It would be bath'd in blood, and Anak's name, 
 
 And Anak's giant sons be never heard of more. 
 
 Then 't is in vain — nor is it vain alone, 
 
 'T is blasphemous presumption in them, 
 
 This favor'd race, to say, "we fear the face of mortal man," 
 
 For well they know that He, on whose dread arm 
 
 They lean for guidance and support, can build or overthrow, 
 
 Can rear or crush, not man alone and all his works, 
 
 But all yon shining worlds of untold size 
 
 And strength, magnificent and vast, 
 
 And number'd not by finite mind, 
 
 That sound His praise, and do His will 
 
 Throughout the mighty universe. 
 
 Then do they fear He will forget His promise, 
 And leave them in the end all desolate, and helpless 
 In the hands of mighty foes ? 
 
 No ! No ! They fear not this. True — they had not, 
 Like us of this blest day, those ample and decisive proofs 
 That all things else may fail and be dissolv'd. 
 The elements may melt with fervent heat, 
 And earth, and yon gigantic fabric of the heavens 
 May fade and pass away, but what the Holy One of Israel 
 Speaks in promises or threatnings to His creatures, 
 Can never fail — can never pass away — 
 But must abide unchanging as eternal things ; 
 Yet well they knew that the dread God of Abraham 
 Was a God of Truth. His promise had never been broken — 
 His word had never fail'd. 
 
 When He gave the land of Canaan to their father Abraham, 
 A birthright bless'd, in kind reversion for His children, 
 'Twas added by the voice Divine. " But ere the time arrive 
 For them to come and claim and occupy this promis'd home, 
 Thy seed shall be afflicted in a far strange land four hundred 
 years, 
 
254 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And afterward that nation will I judge," saith God. 
 
 This, to the letter had been amply verified. They could but 
 
 know it. 
 The seed of Abraham went down with Jacob, 
 Their afflicted father, in a tide of sorrow, to that strange land 
 Foretold, and there, four hundred years they groan'd 
 Beneath the manacles of Egypt's Pharaoh's. 
 But at the appointed time the God of Abraham came, 
 As he had promis'd, and while the oppressing people 
 Were adjudged lo plagues and desolation 
 Such as mortal man had never felt before, 
 The bands of bondage burst in twain before Him 
 From off the neck of Abraham's seed, 
 And Israel's tribes triumphantly were free. — 
 Since that time they 've journey'd in the weary wilderness, 
 That land most terrible of pits and drought and fiery serpents. 
 But let them answer for themselves — did God forsake them 
 
 there ? 
 Or have they lack'd for anything they needed ? 
 No ! Since they came from Egypt He has been to them 
 As shadow of a friendly rock in weary land. 
 As the fond mother watches o'er her helpless charge, 
 Her heart's kind feelings constantly awake, 
 So did the Holy One of Israel watch o'er them for good 
 By day and night with ceaseless care, and guard them 
 As the apple of his eye. When they hunger'd 
 In a desert realm where no man dwelt, no friendly hand 
 Appear'd to give them bread, the windows of the skies were 
 
 open'd, 
 And bread from heaven was spread in rich abundance 
 Round their wondering tents. They ask'd for meat. 
 No human help was near — no market place of man 
 Could greet their eye, yet meat as delicate as Pharaoh ate 
 Was instantly supplied. The winged winds of heaven, 
 Swift messengers of God, brought it in trembling haste 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 255 
 
 From distant lands, and laid it at their doors, 
 
 In bounteous profusion, until their sated souls desir'd no 
 more. 
 
 When they thirsted in a dry and barren land where spring- 
 ing fountains 
 
 Never cheer'd the eye, the very rocks were melted to supply 
 
 Their need. The rocks pour'd forth the copious spring of 
 living waters 
 
 For their present want, nor left them thirsting at a future 
 day ; 
 
 But image sweet of the kind, daily providence of God, 
 
 And of that purer and life giving stream which cheers 
 
 The Christian souls, while journeying through earth's wilder- 
 ness 
 
 Of grief, it follow'd still, in current animating and exhaustless 
 
 All the way they went. — Afar from Egypt's looms, and 
 Egypt's 
 
 Curious trades, what must this numerous people do for 
 raiment 
 
 To defend them both from burning suns, and bitter, biting 
 winds ? — 
 
 Is anything impossible with God ? Are any limits laid on 
 His resources 
 
 Infinite? Is anything too hard for Him, their strong Deliv- 
 erer, 
 [_ Guide and Friend? Or shall the people of His love be heard 
 to cry 
 
 " We faint with hunger, and are naked," while the lilies of 
 the field 
 
 Are clothed, and ravens of the vale are fed by Him ? 
 
 In no clime or age of earth hath this been said — but all 
 with one accord 
 
 Have testified, " He is a very present help in every time of 
 need, 
 
 His goodness faileth not, and those who trust Him cannot 
 trust in vain." 
 
25 6 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 With ever wakeful vigilance He saw His people's wants, 
 And hasted to supply. He put forth, on their behalf, 
 Miraculous, preserving power, so that though wand'ring 
 
 homeless, 
 Unsupplied by man's inventions for forty years 
 Their garments wax'd not old upon their backs, 
 Nor yet the shoes upon their feet, but still remain'd 
 In undecaying beauty, fair as when first 
 They came from Egypt's realms. 
 
 But farther still. Munificently kind, and still unwearied 
 In His efforts for their good ; to banish from their minds 
 All shadow of a doubt, to satisfy, encourage, and confirm 
 Their flickering faith, and place before them 
 Demonstrable proof that He was still among them, 
 Powerful to save and kind to bless, and purpos'd not 
 To fail them or forsake, He bade them build an holy tabernacle 
 An earthly dwelling place for the Most High, 
 And plant it in their midst, and there He would abide 
 In visible display before their mortal eyes. 
 Thus divinely kind to human weakness, 
 Around this sacred guarantee of covenant blessings, 
 This holy type of Him, the Rock, on which this church is 
 
 built, 
 Who, at a future day should stand in human form 
 On Zion's consecrated mount, He spread the awful pillar of 
 
 His glory, 
 The dread Shechinah of His presence, and underneath 
 This fearful symbol of Omnipotence and unchanging Good- 
 ness, 
 The seed of Abraham have march'd in triumph forth, 
 And now — though dark with vengeance as the hosts of hell 
 They stand beneath it on the borders of the promis'd land. 
 
 Reason — thou guide and friend of man, 
 And justifier and adorer of the ways of God, say — 
 Need ought else be done by heaven to satisfy the daring 
 cavils 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 257 
 
 Of rebellious human scepticism ? Say — has not Love 
 
 Done all that Love can do, and Power done all that has been 
 requisite 
 
 To guide, instruct, protect, and make this people truly blest? 
 But ask me now again ; 
 
 For truth appears not yet, what is in fact the cause 
 
 Of all this envy, wrath, malignity and woe in Israel's camp ? 
 
 Alas ! Alas ! for human nature ! The fearful cause is told 
 
 In few dark fatal words. They do not love their Maker. 
 
 Ah ! ye degenerate children of the Prophets! ye may try to 
 hide it 
 
 As ye will, may strive to screen your dark rebellion by foul 
 tales 
 
 Of despicable falsehood ; may aim to cast, with hellish base- 
 ness, 
 
 The blame of all your guilt on Moses ; or on Him, that Holy 
 One 
 
 Who loves you still and seeks to bless ; but 't is in vain — for 
 soon 
 
 Or later Truth will speak — and when Truth speaks 
 
 She '11 utter plainly the dark words — " Ye do not love your 
 Maker ! 
 
 Ye will not yield obedience to His Laws." — 
 Then we have learn'd at last the fatal cause — and know- 
 ing this 
 
 We do not wonder more to see you wretched, blind and 
 miserable ; 
 
 In fear of earth, distrusting heaven, and picture gloomy 
 
 Of the anarchy of hell ; for so surely as the arch will crumble 
 
 To disjointed fragments, and be scatter'd to the winds if 
 but the key-stone 
 
 Be removed ; so sure as the planets of the skies would rush, 
 
 In wild amazement from their appointed place, scattering 
 confusion 
 
 Consternation, ruin through the great Creator's empire 
 17 
 
258 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Should gravitation's laws be, for a time destroy'd ; so surely 
 
 will the mind 
 Of man rush on to crime, confusion, ruin, if from some mad 
 
 cause 
 It break from the restraints of moral law, and throw off its 
 
 allegiance 
 To the first great ordinance of heaven — the Love of God. — 
 Ordinance to the Law Divine, springing from Love of its 
 
 Great Author, 
 Is the principle on which hangs all the happiness of earth, 
 All bliss of heaven, all order, harmony and peace throughout 
 The great Creator's wide domains. Without it — earth were 
 
 dark as hell, 
 And heaven no fairer than the pit of woe. 'Mid the dark 
 
 mouldering ruins 
 Of a fallen world some traces of this principle have ever been 
 
 pres'erv'd, 
 Else earth were nothing but a drear aceldama, forever 
 
 drench'd in blood ; 
 Life but a curse, and every individual of the human family 
 No better than a fiend in constant conflict with his Maker. 
 Degenerate children of the Prophets ! Ye have now broken 
 
 down 
 This barrier to human crime — have trampled in the dust 
 This holy principle, and hence we wonder not to see you 
 
 given o'er 
 To all the wild disorders of rebellious wrath. We wonder not 
 To see that peace is gone, and harmony, and order, and all 
 
 submission , 
 
 To your leader's voice, and in their stead to find that envy 
 
 now, 
 And jealousy, and all malicious passions of the darkest hue 
 Hold o'er your minds resistless sway. 
 Man is a puny and dependent creature — he trembles when 
 
 he thinks 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 259 
 
 Himself alone, and finds his strength in leaning on his great 
 
 Creator's 
 Powerful arm. But ye, deluded ones, ye have renounc'd 
 
 your God ! 
 Ye have said in language plain we will not have Him reign 
 
 o'er us — 
 Ye have called His law, that holy law He gave you for your 
 
 good 
 By which ye might regain His moral image, lost 
 By disobedient, fallen man, a burden and a curse, 
 And not a blessing ; and hence we wonder not to see you 
 Pale with terror, trembling thus, like children, at the shaking 
 Of proud Anak's spear. 
 Deluded and unhappy men — say, is it Freedom that ye 
 
 seek 
 In this revolting from your Maker's sway? 
 Man loves indeed to call himself the child of Liberty, 
 He loves to say that he is Free. To talk of Independence 
 And the Rights of Man. But ah ! how many dark ideas 
 Cloud his brain while dreaming o'er these subjects ! 
 Too oft he thinks that Freedom is but exemption from all 
 
 law, 
 Unhallow'd liberty, from all restraint ; relief from all inspec- 
 tion 
 Of his vile misdeeds, deliverance from all accountability 
 To an higher Power. Had ye lived in later times 
 Ye would have seen a trial sad of liberty like this. 
 Ye would have seen poor Gallia, when 'wakening 
 From long torpor, her ears were greeted with the morning 
 Song of liberty, floating in cadence sweet 
 From young Columbia's verdant clime. 
 
 Like music from the skies it thrill'd through her enthusiastic 
 Bosom ; and starting at the sound, with desperate leap 
 She shook the bands of priestly and despotic domination 
 From her weary limbs, pinn'd on her brow fair Liberty's 
 Tri-color'd badge ; unbound her banner to the sun ; 
 
260 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Sware an eternal hatred to tyrannic rule, and told the world, 
 
 In songs of passionate delight, that she was free ! 
 
 Ye say 't was well, 't was nobly done ; and thus, so far, it was. 
 
 But Ah ! enthusiastic, brave, yet poor deluded Gallia 
 
 Had not counted up the cost, or learn'd at all the nature of 
 
 the liberty 
 She sought. And to bewilder more her untaught steps, 
 Her philosophic sons had been abroad the earth, and up- 
 ward 
 Into heaven on learning's towering wing in quest of knowl- 
 edge. 
 And wheresoe'er they went, whatever else they saw, one thing 
 
 was plain : 
 The dreadful Name of God was graven as with a diamond's 
 
 point 
 On everything that lived, and moved, and breath'd, and did 
 
 exist. 
 The lightnings flash'd it forth in words of fire 
 From the impending cloud. The thunders roll'd it 
 In tremendous sound across the trembling heavens. 
 The whirlwinds bore it on terrific wing around a terror- 
 stricken 
 World. 'T was printed with a sunbeam across the moun- 
 tain's head ; 
 And every vale and plain, when dress'd in spring's gay 
 
 flow'rs, 
 Or summer fruits, or winter's icy wreaths, sung it aloud 
 In anthem's of adoring praise. It was impress'd with pen 
 Of iron upon ocean's giant waves. Deep answer'd unto deep, 
 And mighty billows hasten'd to and fro, from shore to shore, 
 To talk with man of Him who rules the heavens and earth, 
 And holds the waters in the hollow of His hand. 
 She look'd on man — a little world within himself — a com- 
 pound strange 
 Of matter and of mind, and saw that he was fearfully 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 261 
 
 And wonderfully made. Material, and yet mental ; corpo- 
 real, 
 And bound down to earth, yet launching forth in giant 
 
 energies 
 Of thought o'er the unmeasur'd realms of space far as a 
 
 system rolls, 
 A sunbeam shines. Who, but a God, could make him as he is ? 
 Could the wild hand of chance from matter's senseless atoms 
 Compose a creature so distinguish'd for intelligence and rea- 
 son ? 
 They climb'd among the stars, and travel'd 'round the 
 
 mighty orbits 
 Of ten thousand worlds. And here, as on the earth, they 
 
 found 
 That dreadful Name emblazon'd forth in characters 
 Of living light on every star that shone, on every world that 
 
 cours'd 
 Its way stupendous through the universe of God. 
 Yet, strange to tell ! (Oh ! were they fools, or mad?) when 
 
 they came back 
 To Gallia they told her in the language of the foolish heathen 
 " There is no God ! " Brave, but deluded Gallia ! Alas ! 
 
 she listen'd 
 And believ'd. And now she laugh'd amain with all her 
 
 might, 
 For now she felt that she was free indeed. And ever and 
 
 anon 
 Commingling with the joyous shout of '''Vive la Libertie /" 
 Which burst from her enraptur'd throngs, was heard 
 The soul-appalling cry, learn'd from lips she reverenc'd : 
 "There is no God! Down with the despots ! Down with 
 
 the despots ! 
 Vive la Libertie ! There is no God !" 
 
 And now she sat her down with philosophic dignity, 
 After much learn'd enquiry, to tell the world with solemn 
 
 tone : 
 
262 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 " There is no God ! Chance made and governs all things ; 
 
 life is a dream. 
 There is no after-state. There are no moral obligations be- 
 tween man and man ; 
 Or man and heaven. There 's no accountability for man. 
 
 He is 
 Sole judge of his own actions; he may do all his reason 
 
 shall approve. 
 He lives by chance ; he dies by chance ; yet, when he dies, 
 
 chance 
 Takes him not to Heaven or Hell, but leaves him sleeping a 
 
 perpetual 
 Sleep in the cold sepulchre of black Annihilation." 
 
 Oh ! there was anarchy in that fair land on the reception 
 Of this impious creed. — Reason — the Reason that she 
 
 defied, 
 ( Not that intelligent and upright guide of man, who loves to 
 
 bow the knee 
 To man's Creator, and trim her lamp at heaven's exhaustless 
 
 fires ; 
 But a wild maniac, sporting with the miseries of mankind, 
 
 and laughing 
 Heartily o'er fools she made, ) went forth to purge the land 
 
 of all its former dross. 
 She burn'd the Book Divine of the dread Monarch of the 
 
 skies ; 
 Trampled His altars to the dust ; and turned His holy sanc- 
 tuaries 
 To theatres of childish mirth and each unhallow'd, besotted 
 
 vice. 
 She broke down all pure principles of justice, and open'd 
 On the land the floodgates of corruption, falsehood, crime, 
 
 and lawless force. 
 She sunder'd every hallow'd social tie 'tween man and man, 
 
 And told him he might hate his brother as heartily as pos- 
 sible. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY 263 
 
 And sure enough he did. She called for stout Democracy, 
 
 who vents, 
 From his huge cheeks the clamor of ten thousand tongues, 
 Who knows not what he wants or whether he would govern 
 Or obey, but spends his breath, murmuring and strong as 
 
 voice of many waters in waking up the crowd 
 To constant din of varying echos about Reason, Principles, 
 
 Republican, 
 And Rights of Man. He came at call with his fair Counsellor 
 Confusion, to stamp on Kings, and Thrones, and Peers, 
 And Aristocracy, and elevate " the People," to befitting 
 
 station. 
 And ever as he went, at every pause amid the wild uproar 
 He talked in speeches loud and long against "Oppression " 
 
 of every kind, 
 Yet all the while his own broad hands were spread to grasp 
 
 at power, 
 And all the path he cours'd was mark'd with traces deep 
 Of injured rights, and fire and blood. 
 Oh ! there was anarchy indeed in that fair portion of the 
 
 earth ! 
 Without a God — without a King — without those moral 
 
 principles 
 That form the only bulwark of a nation's safety — Chance 
 Did her utmost in this hour of peril, by aid of false philoso- 
 phy. 
 Mad, clamorous Reason and uncurb'd, untaught 
 Democratic principles, to overwhelm in ruin that beauteous 
 
 land. 
 But chance at length ( an happy chance methinks ) brought 
 
 forth 
 That wondrous One whose pathway was illumined by the 
 
 gorgeous 
 Fires of Victory ; whose hands werecrimson'd with the blood 
 Of conquest ; who fear'd not kings, no matter on how high a 
 
 throne 
 
264 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 They sat ; but plac'd them at his feet, and tore their 
 
 diadems 
 From off their brows. And 't is not strange than when he 
 
 rear'd 
 His iron throne, and call'd fair Gallia to his bosom as a friend 
 That she should run, with all her children, to his dark em- 
 brace. — 
 Perhaps 'twas better. — Say, was it not far better to be con- 
 
 troll'd 
 By even a tyrant's beck, than rebel thus in such discordant, 
 Reckless liberty. Thus Freedom came to life, by chance, in 
 
 Gallia. 
 She liv'd short life of chance. She died by melancholy 
 
 chance, 
 And then the Monarch's throne was rear'd upon her broken 
 
 bones, 
 And o'er her grave arose no other mourning knell, no other 
 
 wail of grief, 
 No other requiem hymn, save the wild transports of the 
 
 chancelled 
 Crowd, shouting their plaudits to Napoleon's fame. 
 
 But why bring up to sad remembrance the faults of Gallia 
 On a theme like this ? It is not done to place her as a gaz- 
 ing stock 
 Before a censure-loving world. Nor yet to sit in judgment 
 On hei actions ; for who is man that he should judge his 
 
 brother ? 
 That work belongs to Him, the only Wise and Holy One, 
 
 who looks 
 With equal eye on all ; who sees the whole — the end from 
 
 the beginning — 
 And knows the nature, cause, effect of things. He, and He 
 
 only 
 Can dispense impartial judgment on the deeds of man. 
 But here we bring them to remembrance by way of learning 
 
 a"moral lesson 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 265 
 
 That may do us good. 'T is done to show the character of 
 
 man ; 
 To show how he deceives himself, and leads himself from 
 
 happiness 
 To misery. Man is the same in every age and clime, 
 
 whether he yield 
 Submission to the House of Capet, or be a member of the 
 
 House of Israel, 
 Or stand connected with some other name or house of earth, 
 
 it matters not, 
 He is the same. He differs in his manners, customs, habits, 
 
 and pursuits of life 
 According as he lives where learning elevates, or ignorance 
 
 degrades 
 His mind. But since that fatal day when his mad father 
 Rear'd the standard of rebellion against his God — stamped 
 
 on a known 
 Command of heaven — and said, by deed, more eloquent 
 
 than words, 
 " I will not love, obey, or fear my Maker ! " Since that dark 
 
 fatal day 
 One gloomy portrait represents the human family 
 Whatever variance may arise from clime or circumstance. 
 Still, as a general rule, his moral character appears the same. 
 In every age and clime of earth he is the same — the same 
 
 unwise, 
 Unhappy, wayward creature ; the same dark passions lead 
 
 his soul astray, 
 The same unhallow'd principles deny him rest. 
 He has within himself the seeds of happiness ; culter'd 
 
 aright 
 They might grow up as fair in the earth as heaven. But Ah ! 
 What poisonous weeds appear, instead of the fair flowers 
 Of Moral Worth. He sails in fragile bark — yet plain his 
 
 way o'er life's 
 Dark waters, and might be safe too. Reason and Revelation 
 
266 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Have combin'd to lay the chart before him, and the compass 
 
 In his hand. But led astray by a discordant nature, or, as 
 some believe, 
 
 By imitation only, (apt pupil truly thus to learn sin's lessons 
 
 Quicker than his cradle hymn,) he wanders from the pole- 
 star 
 
 Of his Maker's love ; and then assail'd by boisterous passions, 
 
 Raging lusts, and uncontroll'd propensities to ill, is blown at 
 random 
 
 On the sea of lawless principle, and there his happiness 
 
 At once is wreck'd. 
 
 " But after long digression, and from moralizing strain, 
 
 We now turn back again to Kadesh-barnea, 
 
 Where the degenerate House of Israel is standing face to 
 face with God, 
 
 In proud rejection of the promis'd land. 
 
 " Ye, you do not love the Lord your God — Ye will not wor- 
 ship Him — 
 
 Ye will not yield obedience to His Law " — is stamp'd in 
 words 
 
 Of fear, distrust, and vengeance on their darken'd brow. 
 
 They ask for Freedom. But alas ! 't is freedom such as 
 heaven 
 
 Cannot approve ; such as reason, common sense condemn ; 
 
 Such as would lead them down to misery's darkest pit. 
 
 They ask for freedom from all restraint of moral principle ; 
 
 Freedom from inspecting eye of heaven ; freedom to satisfy 
 
 The lusts of earth ; freedom from their Maker's wise and 
 kind control. 
 
 Nor can all the blessings promis'd to obedience — the judg- 
 ments 
 
 Threat'ned to rebellious course, the terrors of Omnipotence, 
 
 The tenderness of Love, or melting mercies of a long-suffer- 
 ing God 
 
 Prevail to turn them from their wicked purpose ! What can 
 be done ? 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 267 
 
 True, He who " holds the breath of every living thing," can 
 
 put forth 
 Power Omnipotent, and turn them instantly from 111 to Good. 
 But no ; that may not be ! The Monarch of the Skies will 
 
 never 
 Break those laws He has himself impos'd — will never war 
 At variance with the reason He himself implanted in the hu- 
 man mind. 
 He lays before us Life and Death — the Blessing and the 
 
 Curse. 
 Bestows upon us reason to distinguish between Good and 111 ; 
 And then, with kindest interest in our fate, entreats us to be 
 
 wise, 
 And make judicious choice. We are dependent and deprav'd. 
 Inclin'd, against our interest, to Error. He knows it. And 
 
 to aid our choice 
 Freely bestows upon -us all the friendly, spiritual assistance 
 
 that we need ; 
 But never by the force of influence, arbitrary and resistless, 
 
 compels us 
 To be wise, or interfere with that rational power of choice 
 Bestow'd by Him on man at his creation. 
 
 Admitted that huge books have tumbled on the world, 
 
 printed brim full 
 Of theologic disputations on this point ; some making man 
 
 a mere machine, 
 Blind as the gin that spins the clothes he wears, led on to 
 
 Good or 111, 
 To Heaven or Hell, by strong, compulsive influence from 
 
 above ; others, 
 Munificently large in thought, pouring on him a boundless 
 
 liberty of choice, 
 Thrusting away, with angry blow the hand of Heaven from 
 
 giving aid at all, 
 And making man sole arbiter of his own destiny ; others — 
 
 but vain 
 
268 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Enumeration of learn'd opinions — what has Controversy 
 
 gain'd 
 By all the wrangling turmoil she has rais'd ? Has she made 
 
 prophecy more wise, 
 Or mankind better ? Has she made the way to Heaven 
 
 more plain, 
 Or clos'd with heavier bolt the doors of Hell ? Methinks 
 
 she gains but this : 
 She places men, the mass of men I mean, in the condition of 
 
 the traveler o'er Arabia's 
 Trackless wilds. He hears the desert wind arise, and soon 
 
 the light of Heaven is dimm'd 
 And darken'd by the loosen'd sands, tossing and whirling 
 
 o'er his trembling head. 
 Blinded and bewilder'd he knows not what to do — but 
 
 stops — falls down upon the ground 
 And there lies still — until the fainting winds have spent 
 
 their force — 
 When the confusion ended, he passes on again, thinking and 
 
 singing 
 As he did before. 
 
 But alas ! for the degenerate House of Israel ! 
 Their destiny is seal'd • — • seal'd with their own vile hands ! 
 Their choice is made — their desperate choice — 
 'T is made before high heaven — earth shudders at the 
 
 thought — 
 And hell in triumph claps her hands and shouts 
 With joy demoniac o'er the brutish folly of deluded man. 
 Their choice is made. They have refus'd allegiance to their 
 
 God — 
 They have refus'd obedience to His reqirements ; they have 
 
 said, 
 In terms too plain : " The gods of Egypt will not see our 
 
 sins — 
 They will not hear our angry strife — will not reprove our 
 
 mad contentions — 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY, 269 
 
 We may eat, and drink and revel as we may and they will 
 
 not condemn, 
 Or punish us at all — these be thy Gods, O, Israel! 
 But as for Moses' God, we love him not — His is too strict — 
 Too holy — He makes our souls afraid — we die before such 
 
 purity — 
 And this promis'd land of Canaan must be swept, and 
 
 purg'd, and purified 
 So clean that it will be to us by far more grievous 
 Than the ' house of bondage ' from whence we came — 
 Oh ! we stay not here ! march forth, march forth, 
 Come, let us turn again to Egypt." — 
 
 Heaven suffers and endures from human wickedness 
 Far longer and far more than finite beings can conceive. 
 "He is slow to anger, gracious, long suffering, 
 And plenteous in mercy and goodness ; but ( truth most cer- 
 tain ) 
 He will by no means clear the guilty." He waiteth long 
 To see if man will turn from disobedient course. 
 But there comes a period in the history of unrepenting, 
 Unsubmissive man, when patience, even Divine, 
 Can bear no more. Beyond this point, patience 
 Were but a weakness — forbearance no more a virtue. 
 Long-suffering, but an apparent want of power to punish 
 
 crime ; 
 Connivance at iniquity, and blemish on Jehovah's 
 Awful character. Let no one think because that Heaven 
 " Suffereth long, and is most kind," he may go on 
 Presumptuously to sin, secure from future harm; 
 Secure from all account, and all award of his dark deeds. 
 Oh ! there will come a day when God will judge the earth 
 In righteousness, and all will know that He is Just and True, 
 As well as merciful. 
 
 But why ; why did the thunders sleep on that dark day? 
 Why did the lightnings of the sky forbear their fiery wrath 'I 
 
270 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Why did the earthquake and the tempest hush their voice as 
 if no cause 
 
 Appear'd to call their vengeance forth ? Why did the ocean 
 rest 
 
 In his deep bed, nor heave his mighty billows to o'erwhelm 
 
 A guilty race? Why did the various engines of destruction 
 
 That are above, around, in other worlds, in air, and earth, 
 and sea, 
 
 Thus calmly wait in their appointed place, nor come to avenge 
 
 The insults offer'd to their God? When He came down on 
 Sinai 
 
 The mountain blaz'd, earth quaked with terror, and deep 
 thunders 
 
 Trembled in the awe-struck heavens. But now the " maga- 
 zines 
 
 Of fire and hail " are clos'd ; the '' trump of God " awakes 
 no dreadful sound, 
 
 And no ministers of vengeance appear in heaven or earth. 
 
 The skies, serene as bliss of heaven, are not deform 'd with 
 clouds ; 
 
 The sun in brilliance unobscur'd is walking forth delighted 
 
 Through a firmament of beauty ; the waters sparkle in his 
 beams ; 
 
 The flocks are bleating on the hills; the song of birds is an- 
 imating every vale ; 
 
 The air is fragrant with the breath of flowers ; nature is 
 laughing 
 
 Through her verdant realms, gladden'd with blooming sweets 
 
 And luscious fruits, and earth looks beautiful as if it were 
 
 A sweet retreat for seraphs, holy still, and happy as the One 
 they serv'd. 
 
 All, all is fair and beautiful but man ! Israel's dark camp 
 
 Alone appears to mar the beauty of the lovely scene. 
 
 Thence issue dreadful sounds. There hover dreadful forms. 
 
 There passions vile, vindictive, discordant, of the basest 
 kinds 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 27 I 
 
 Are painting miseiy on each guilty cheek, and bursting forth 
 
 In wails as woeful as those which come from that dark world 
 
 Where the undying worm spares not its victim — where dwell 
 
 The wretched reprobates with fiends. 
 
 Oh ! man — Oh! man — why wilt thou mar thy Great Cre- 
 ator's works ? 
 
 Why wilt thou stand the darkest thing borne on the face of 
 earth ? 
 
 Thou — who wert formed the fairest of them all — 
 
 And made the lord of all, to whom all else must bow in 
 homage — 
 
 Thou — who wast made in image of thy Maker and gifted, too, 
 
 With reason to direct thee on thy way— why dost thou cast 
 thy crown 
 
 To dust, Oh ! why dost thou thus wander recreant, and make 
 
 Thyself so hateful, and so wretched, in a world 
 
 Where all things else remain obedient, happy, and so beauti- 
 ful? 
 
 Yet thus it is the world around. The House of Israel are no 
 worse 
 
 Than others of the species. One solemn fact 
 
 Rolls its deep trembling echos through the mournful ruins 
 
 Of a fallen world. One sketch delineates the human race. 
 
 Man has revolted from his Maker's sway, 
 
 And o'er the earth, one native principle pervades his mind. 
 
 He will not love his Great Creator! — he will not bow his 
 soul 
 
 Obedient to His Law — but wanders darkling in the gloomy 
 paths 
 
 Of disobedience, and'proud rebellion — and hence, in world 
 so fair, 
 
 He is so wretched, and so helpless — dark contrast with the 
 beauties 
 
 That surround his path. — 
 
 But mark ! Behold ! — ■ Behold with trembling awe — 
 
 In a resplendent blaze of '' glory unapproachable" 
 
272 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR 
 
 Within the holy Tabernacle — Jehovah cometh ! — 
 
 Oh ! what will now His guilty creatures do ? — 
 
 By one little effort of destroying energy He can sweep, at 
 
 once, 
 The rebel hosts from off the face of earth. 
 Or, by one breath of power He can awake the universe 
 To arms, and call from every province of His wide domains 
 Swift messengers of vengeance to execute His sentence 
 On the dark transgressors of His Holy Law. 
 Creation circles in His hand. Heaven, Earth, and Hell 
 Await His dread decrees. 
 
 Let power Omnipotent be placed in hand of man, 
 And let him be despised, abused, insulted, as the puny 
 
 creatures 
 Of the dust despise, abuse, insult the " Majesty on High," 
 And who can answer for the avenging sufferings he would 
 
 inflict ? 
 Happy it is for human beings that their destiny is placed 
 In hands of Him whose name is " Love." 
 
 Hast thou e'er seen the father, when his son belov'd 
 Had wander'd disobedient from his duty in forbidden paths? 
 A parent's untold feelings gathered in his heart, and melted 
 
 in his eye. 
 With solemn accent he reprov'd his son ; and told him 
 
 plainly, 
 And yet kindly, of all the deep anxiety he felt on his behalf. 
 How he had labor'd for his good ; how he desired to see him 
 Growing up to virtue and moral worth, and how it griev'd 
 
 his soul 
 To see the thankless recompense he gain'd ; to see his son 
 
 abuse his kindness, 
 Reject instruction, and turn his feet to folly's dangerous way. 
 Then to impress his lesson more, and warn him still more 
 
 forcibly 
 'Gainst future guilt, he dealt the needed punishment 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 273 
 
 According to his crime. Severe, perhaps ; yet every blow- 
 that fell 
 Was blent with so much pity, sorrow, love, that all who saw it 
 Knew it came but from a father s hand, and was intended 
 For his son's best good. 
 U* So came Jehovah at that gloomy moment when His people 
 Wandering far from virtue had trampled on His laws, 
 Despis'd His power, rejected His instructions, abused His 
 
 mercies, 
 Thrown away their promis'd birthright; said to Him : 
 " Depart from us, for we desire not knowledge of Thy ways," 
 And chosen for their portion Egypt's brutish gods. 
 So came He at that gloomy moment, not with overwhelming 
 Vengeance, but as a Father — to reprove and judge 
 The children of His love. 
 
 We need not now repeat the words he utter'd, 
 They 're known to all who read the book He kindly gave to 
 
 man. 
 Suffice it here to say: their evil ways were laid before them, 
 Their sins were kindly and yet faithfully reprov'd. 
 But, Ah ! they had rebell'd so long, so darkly, with spirit 
 So determin'd, and their moral characters were such 
 That blended voice of Justice, Truth and Reason forbade 
 That they should pass unchastened ; but punishment 
 Adapted to their deeds presumptuous, and for the warning 
 Of all future times, must be inflicted. And this the sentence 
 That came forth from Him who executeth judgment 
 In the earth, a Father and a Friend to those who love His 
 
 name, 
 But will, by no means, clear the guilty ; from " Him," 
 That " lofty One," whose dreadful presence, in a hallow'd 
 
 blaze 
 Of living glory, awfully sublime, now fill'd the holy taberna- 
 cle : 
 "Since ye will not hearken to my counsel, nor give heed 
 18 
 
274 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 To my reproofs, but do rebel against me, and that continually, 
 The land I gave your fathers ye shall not see. Go back ! 
 
 Go back ! 
 As ye have said ; yet not again to filthy Egypt, but to the 
 
 weary wilderness, 
 And wander there until ye die. Ye shall not enter to my 
 
 rest !" 
 As the cold dews come down upon the mountains 
 When the sun is gone, spreading a chilling robe where all 
 
 was light 
 And warmth, so fell these words upon the soul of Moses. 
 There are sad moments in the lives of those who serve 
 Their species with the warmest zeal, so sorrowful with grief, 
 So dark with disappointment, so thanklessly embitter'd 
 By the base ingratitude of those they love, their spirit shrinks 
 Within itself, and wishes it could die. 
 Moses had led the House of Israel as a father leads his only 
 
 son. 
 " Bone of their bones," he sympathized in all their feelings. 
 Brethren in sorrow and in hopes, their names were dear to 
 
 him, 
 He watched o'er them continually for good ; their interests 
 
 were entwin'd 
 Around his heart in chords of strongest, tenderest affection. 
 He had endur'd their envyings, murmuring strifes, conten- 
 tions ; 
 And still he stood as mediator kind 'tween them and heaven, 
 Shielding them often by his powerful intercessions, 
 From the just displeasure of a righteous God. For them 
 He had confronted Pharaoh on his throne, and wrestled with 
 
 the pride 
 And strength of Egypt. He had pass'd with them through 
 
 fires 
 And plagues, and soul appallingjudgments ; had walk'd with 
 
 them 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 275 
 
 O'er the green bed of the deep trembling sea ; had faced 
 
 with them 
 The rage of battle ; had stood with them beside the awful 
 
 "mount of God," 
 Uttering in their ear the words Jehovah spake, their guilty- 
 spirits 
 Shrinking from the voice of God ; and as he lov'd them, 
 
 earnestly he long'd 
 For that bright day when the rich promises that shed such 
 
 heavenly lustre 
 Over Canaan's land should be accomplished, when all their 
 
 journeyings 
 And their sorrows ended, they should be establish'd in that 
 
 beauteous realm, 
 A mighty people, happy, powerful and free — the Holy One 
 
 of Israel 
 Their shield and law giver, and King, to reign in peace and 
 
 righteousness, 
 ' And they, His chosen people, the pride and glory of the earth, 
 Whom blessing He would bless, and prospering He would 
 
 prosper, 
 And in whom should all the families of earth be bless'd. 
 But now — Oh! soul appalling work of human guilt! the 
 
 doors were barr'd — 
 Their race was run — their names were blotted from the land 
 
 of Canaan — 
 His hopes were blasted utterly, forever. His prayers and 
 
 tears 
 And supplications now were vain. It is too late — the work 
 
 is done — 
 Mercy has done her utmost and has fail'd — now Justice 
 Takes her course. One only further blessing could he gain 
 For them from heaven — "according to thy word I pardon, 
 Saith the Lord, the iniquity of this people ; but sentence 
 Has gone forth and cannot be annulled — they must go back 
 
276 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And wander in the wilderness until they die — they may not 
 
 see 
 The land they have despis'd — they shall not enter to my 
 
 rest." 
 Oh ! who may strive to picture the sensations keen and 
 
 mournful 
 With which he turn'd him, with those madden'd hosts, 
 From that blest land of promise, fairer to him than all the 
 
 thrones 
 And gems of earth ; bereft of home, bereft of country, 
 Bereft of glorious birthright and of heaven's blessing 
 By his people's guilt ; to roam in darken'd paths 
 Around that cheerless wilderness, waiting the dark approach 
 Of Death. Waiting for messengers of doom 
 To come and lay them, those favor'd ones, those hosts of 
 
 valor, 
 That nation's strength and glory, blasted by their own mad 
 
 counsels, 
 In untimely and unhonor'd graves ! 
 Yet Moses bowed his soul in deep submission to the will of 
 
 God, 
 And took the rebels to their destin'd place ; 
 And the Rejected Land was seen by them no more. 
 
 Thus went ye forth in power ! Thus sunk ye down 
 In weakness and in infamy, ye wretched people ! 
 Leaving behind you, on the tablets of a fallen world, 
 Not the bright picture of example fair, awakening emulation 
 In the human breast, but a dark, monitory lesson 
 On the character of man." 
 
 Around you all the world was lying in its wickedness. 
 Each portion of earth's wide domains was but a habitation 
 
 dark 
 Of ignorance, cruelty and crime. Ye were call'd forth, a 
 
 chosen race, 
 To be a "light to lighten" blinded men. The light of 
 
 knowledge 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 277 
 
 Was revealed to you. From you it should have radiated over 
 
 all the earth 
 Had ye but hearken'd to your God, and bow'd your souls 
 
 obedient 
 To His will ye would have stood in glory on the mountains 
 Where the sons of Anak built their giant towers. 
 The Rock of Ages, the foundation of your strength ; 
 His laws the pledge and bulwark of your freedom ; 
 His love the sun, whose genial beams awaken'd light 
 And life and beauty in your souls, and brought forth 
 Fruits of heaven on earthly soil. Fair peace and happiness 
 And moral worth had built them goodly palaces 
 Around your beauteous realms, o'er which abundant good- 
 ness 
 Had been pour'd from hand unsparing. The gold of Ophir 
 Had been yours, — the sea had borne to you her richest 
 
 treasures, — 
 The mountains gush'd forth oil and wine, and every vale 
 And plain, laughing for joy, had flow'd in rich increase 
 Of milk and honey at your feet. Not all the power 
 Of earth, or " gates of hell " could e'er prevail against you, 
 Had ye but lov'd and served your God, as reason, 
 Duty, gratitude and your nation's weal required. 
 Ye might have been the honor'd almoner of Jehovah's bounty, 
 To dispense from Him the richest blessing e'er bestow'd 
 On man, — the blessing of that Truth — which clears 
 The mental vision, purifies the heart, directs the reason, 
 Informs the judgment, controls the wayward passions, 
 Restores to man the image of His Maker, and lights 
 A beatific way from sorrow, sin and death, 
 To that fair promis'd land, eternal in the heavens. 
 Ye might have been the titled founders of that Kingdom 
 Which shall stand forever ; — an honor to your species ; — 
 A beacon light of virtue shining on high above the gloomy 
 
 ruins 
 Of a fallen world, to guide the future generations of mankind 
 
278 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 O'er the dark waves of sins and sorrow to the fair haven 
 
 Of eternal peace. And your glad memories, graven not 
 
 By hand of man on crumbling brass or marble, 
 
 But by the finger of the living God, upon the fadeless page 
 
 Of His own book, had pass'd in bright renown 
 
 Down to the latest day of time ; — and all the kingdoms 
 
 Of the world, taught by your precepts and example fair, 
 
 Had risen in renovated life to call you bless'd, — 
 
 And sound forever and forevermore the praise of Him, 
 
 The " Holy, Just and Good," Creator, Saviour, Friend and 
 
 Judge, 
 Who loveth all the creatures he hath made, and call'd you 
 
 forth 
 From darkness unto light, to spread His Truth abroad 
 And thus become the benefactors of the human race. 
 
 But, Ah ! deluded ones ! 
 Your " gold is dim," your " fine gold chang'd," and all your 
 
 beauty 
 Turn'd to filthiness ! Ye are degraded by the lusts of earth ; 
 Ye have been gorg'd with fat idolatry in Egypt's land ; 
 Ye cast your mental faculties to dust, and seek alone 
 To gratify the appetites of flesh and sense, and Hell's foul 
 
 breath 
 Fans the dark passion of your souls. Dark prey 
 Of each unhallow'd vice, vile slaves of each besotted sin ! 
 Ye cannot stand the "Freemen of the Lord," ye cannot lay 
 The strong foundations of Jehovah's empire on the earth. 
 His government is based upon the changeless principles 
 Of Moral Rectitude. The pillars of His house are Truth 
 
 and Purity, 
 And " Holiness to the Lord " is graven deep on hand and 
 
 heart 
 Of all who execute His laws, sustain His rights, 
 Or build, as " living stones," His consecrated temple. 
 The people of the Lord are Free ! are Freemen 
 Of the noblest stamp ! The people of the Lord are Free ! 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 279 
 
 He owns no groveling slaves throughout His wide domains ; 
 
 But plucks His people from the " fowler's snare," 
 
 And plants their feet upon a Rock. That Rock is Truth ! 
 
 And truth will stand undimm'd, and stable as eternal things, 
 
 Though crashing ruin rock the shuddering sky, 
 
 And the wide universe be shiver'd to destruction. 
 
 The people of the Lord are Free ! Emancipated by the 
 
 Truth ! 
 From all submission to low principles, degraded appetites 
 And grovelling passions ; they grope not in the darkness 
 Like the slaves of sin, but stand, with front erect, 
 Unblushing in the light of day ; and while they hold 
 In beauty unimpair'd their hallow'd principles, 
 Nor Earth, nor Hell, can bow their neck beneath the yoke 
 Of servitude, or make their souls afraid. — 
 Ye are not thus, ye wretched people ! ye are degraded 
 
 slaves ; — 
 Slaves of the vilest kind — slaves of your own unhallow'd 
 Appetites and passions — and hence ye cannot build 
 Jehovah's temple. He asks no menial hands to do His work ; 
 He drags no mercenary souls against their will to do His 
 
 pleasure 
 And sustain His glory ; — nor does He beg for favors 
 At His creature's hands. His people are a cheerful, willing 
 
 people, 
 And His work they gladly do. They ask permission to per- 
 form it ; 
 And find all their happiness in serving Him. 
 
 Then go ye back, — go back, as ye have said, and wander 
 
 till ye die. 
 And from your dark unhonor'd graves, o'er which the desert 
 
 wind 
 Wakes a sad pitying wail, that makes the traveler weep, shall 
 
 sound 
 A voice to earth's remotest bounds, mournful and monitory 
 
280 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 As the deep knell that tolls funeral grief above the relics 
 Of departed life, to warn all future generations of mankind, 
 To fly, as death, your dark example, — and shun, as hell, 
 The way perverse ye trod. 
 
 " PEACE IS THE BLESSING THAT I SEEK." 
 
 Ask not at all for the fount of bliss ; 
 
 It can't be found in worlds like this. 
 But ask for peace, that kindly will stay, 
 
 When passed has thy last joy away. 
 
 Oh, ask for peace, 't will soothe thy head 
 When friends are gone and hopes are dead ; 
 
 When affliction's shafts are 'gainst thee hurled, 
 A child of grief in a merciless world. 
 
 There's sweet delight in th' hours of spring, 
 When ope'ning flowers their incense bring 
 
 A tribute rich to th' grateful breeze] 
 That softly sighs through ancient trees, 
 
 And waters babble in strange delight 
 
 Where willows wave, and flowers are bright, 
 
 And singing birds with sweetest strain 
 Welcome the season of joy again. 
 
 The ear is charmed ; the wand'ring eye ; 
 
 The pulses play, the heart beats high ; 
 The soul is touched in secret springs 
 
 And revels in wild imaginings. 
 
 'T is but a sudden thrill of joy 
 
 That sympathy wakes, may soon destroy ; 
 It cannot stay when angry frown 
 
 Of gath'ring Winter comes darkening down. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 281 
 
 And what will soothe in that dark hour, 
 
 When friends of thy bosom come in no more ; 
 
 When life's fond hopes are chilled in death 
 By the farewell of his parting breath ? 
 
 And who will cheer when this spirit sighs 
 
 Through mingled glooms that deform the skies; 
 
 When feet must go o'er toilsome steeps, 
 
 And cold, dark ways where penury weeps ? 
 
 Yet there's a peace serene and blest, 
 
 Oh ! happy the heart where it finds rest ! 
 
 'Twill 'bide the shock of wintry storm, 
 And baffle trouble in every form. 
 
 Nor smiles alone in sunny day, 
 
 When th' gilded pleasures of life are gay, 
 
 But stays and smiles in each recess 
 Of th' heart, in hours of deep distress. 
 
 'T is not passionate rapture high 
 
 That flushes cheeks, and lights the eye ; 
 
 That gladdens the soul with a moment's bliss, 
 Then leaves it enfeebled by gay excess. 
 
 The peace that 'bides, is deeply serene, 
 
 Like lovely calm of ev'ning scene, 
 Where e'en the whisp'ring breezes die 
 
 In the stillness that closes nature's eye. 
 
 The heart's proud passions all are still, 
 
 And bow before Jehovah's will ; 
 The soul matured in holy rest 
 
 For purpose high and actions blest. 
 
 A. grateful sense of sin forgiven ; 
 A breathing sweet of love of Heaven ; 
 
282 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Eternal Truth, its source and guard, 
 Eternal Bliss, its rich reward. 
 
 Oh, sweet the calm of Christian's breast 
 Who's found the Saviour's promised rest ; 
 
 The soothing smile of th' King of Kings, 
 The peaceful shade within His wings. 
 
 " FOLLOW ME." 
 
 Sweet amid this vale of tears, 
 
 Where are dangers dark and wide, 
 Where are foes, and doubts, and fears, 
 
 Thus to hear a friend and guide. 
 " Come, my people," saith the Lord, 
 
 " Good are happy, would you be? 
 Listen to me, mark my word 
 
 Mark my steps, and follow Me." 
 
 " Earth, though once all fair and good, 
 
 Now can give you no repose. 
 O'er her, like a troubled flood, 
 
 Falh> a constant tide of woes. 
 Sin has blighted all her joys, 
 
 Thorny all her pleasures be, 
 Disappointment hope destroys. 
 
 Come, my people, follow Me. 
 
 " Answer not ambition's call, 
 
 Come not near her dizzy steps, 
 He who mounts is sure to fall ; 
 
 Underneath are dreadful depths, 
 Where her dreams of power must fail, 
 
 Where no hope can ever be, 
 Where the wretched ever wail. 
 
 O, my people, follow Me. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 283 
 
 " Pleasures, such as mortals blind 
 
 Call by name of pleasures sweet 
 Tempt the eye, defile the mind, 
 
 Lead astray unwary feet. 
 Pleasures lead to death and hell, 
 
 Pain and endless misery. 
 O, beware the 'wildering spell ! 
 
 Thy, my people, follow Me. 
 
 " Ask you where my steps shall lead ? 
 
 Not o'er steps ambition tries, 
 Not where guilty pleasure's tread, 
 
 Not where av'rice toils and dies, 
 Not where disappointment's breath 
 
 Wakes the soul's deep agony, 
 Far from sorrow, sin and death. 
 
 I will lead you, follow Me. 
 
 " Holy, harmless, undefiled, 
 
 Pure in heart, and pure in life, 
 Not reviling, when reviled, 
 
 Answering kindly, words of strife. 
 I 'm of meek and lowly heart, 
 
 Peace is mine, from passion free ; 
 Thus from sinners far apart, 
 
 Will my people follow Me ? 
 
 " Then when ruin rocks the earth, 
 
 Time and nature cease to be, 
 Sinners pass from judgment forth 
 
 To their dread eternity. 
 Blessed in my father's love, 
 
 All my glory shall you see, 
 Reign with me in bliss above, 
 
 Where am I, there you shall be." 
 
284 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 THE GRAVE. 
 
 I saw him brought on mournful bier, 
 
 And laid within the silent tomb ; 
 I said, is this the mansion drear, 
 
 To which the sons of men must come ? 
 
 Must Grandeur lay her glories by 
 
 To wear the shroud that clothes the dead, 
 
 Be brought from halls of pride to lie 
 
 With worms beneath the beggar's tread ? 
 
 Must Monarch stoop from lofty throne, 
 From power that spreads from sea to sea, 
 
 To sleep with earth's most lowly one, 
 As lowly in the grave as he ? 
 
 Must Learning, who with steady tread 
 Has climbed creation's ample steeps 
 
 And Wisdom's volume deeply read, 
 Sink all unknown in darksome deeps ? 
 
 Must Beauty, too, with eye so fair, 
 
 And cheek illumin'd with hues of Heaven 
 
 Be laid to feed the reptiles there ; 
 So sweet a thing to death be given ? 
 
 'T is even so. There 's none can fly. 
 
 The grave 's the place whence mortal men 
 Have no reprieve. They all must die, 
 
 And dust return to dust again. 
 
 Thou Pride, draw near. Look down, look down, 
 And see how low thy head must lie ! 
 
 Oh, think no more of vain renown, 
 
 " Thou art but dust — thou shalt surely die ! " 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 285 
 
 TO AFFLICTION. 
 
 I know thee, I know thee — full well I know 
 That iron hand, that tone of woe. 
 That withering frown that chills the blood, 
 That cold, dark eye, that dreadful rod. 
 
 Upon my pillow, in childhood's morn, 
 Thou planted a cruel, pointed thorn ; 
 O'er each path my young steps went 
 There, too, thy frightful form was bent. 
 
 Oh, how I mourned in early day 
 As you obstructed all my way ; 
 To see thee grasp my earthly cup, 
 And drink its promised blessings up. 
 
 So sure I planned a scheme of joy 
 Thy breath would all my hopes destroy, 
 And while my bleeding heart repined, 
 I wondered that thou were so unkind ! 
 
 Through fleeting years thou hast followed me on ; 
 Thou hast taken my comforts, one by one ; 
 I never could move thee by moan or tear, 
 And wherever I went, lo, thou wert there ! 
 
 But dreaded one, thou'st not a foe — 
 Affliction kind, I love thee now — 
 'T is thou hast tutored my haughty soul, 
 And bowed my spirit to truth's control. 
 
 Thou earnest forth from my Father, God ; 
 He bade thee come with dreadful rod, 
 And grieve me much, and wound me sore, 
 That I might wander from Him no more. 
 
 Thou mayst plant with thorns my way, 
 Darken with grief, life's coming day, 
 
286 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 My heart shall be cheerful all the while ; 
 I'll welcome thee still, with a grateful smile. 
 
 For the wisdom thou bring'st I dearly prize, 
 Thy power's a blessing in disguise. 
 I mourn no more 'neath the chastening rod 
 That urges me home to my Father, God. 
 
 THE STAR. 
 
 That lovely star, that lovely star, 
 
 How beautiful its light ! 
 I saw it when a little child, 
 
 And still 't is shining bright. 
 
 Still o'er my path thro' changing scenes, 
 When wand'ring long and far, 
 
 Like hope amid affliction's glooms 
 Has beamed that beauteous star. 
 
 I love it for its constant light, 
 
 Unchanging, soothing fair, 
 Telling each night how firm, how kind 
 
 The Hand that placed it there. 
 
 It comes not like the friends on earth, 
 
 When all is bright and gay, 
 To leave me at that sorrowful hour 
 
 When joys must pass away. 
 
 But when the shades of darkness fall, 
 And earth no more is bright, 
 
 When birds are hushed, and every flower 
 Is bathed in tears of night; 
 
 Yea, e'en in Winter's chilling hour, 
 
 Then all is still and cold, 
 When silence, desolation, death, 
 
 A fearful empire hold, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 287 
 
 Through every season, every scene 
 
 Of changing weal or woe, 
 Still in the heavens that fadeless star 
 
 Is beautiful as now. 
 
 So o'er the glooms of Sin and Death, 
 
 More beautiful by far 
 Than all the gems of yon bright sky 
 
 Is seen the Religion's Star. 
 
 It is not when the heart is light, 
 
 And Earth is dressed in bloom, 
 When honors crowd our happy path, 
 
 And Fortune gilds our home ; 
 
 But when affliction wrings the soul, 
 
 And sorrow dims the eye, 
 Then fairest, brightest, beams the Star 
 
 Of Mercy from on high. 
 
 THE WOODEN BOWL. 
 
 " I wish I had a wooden bowl," 
 
 Thus poor Matilda cried. 
 And daily did she vex her soul 
 
 Because she was denied. 
 
 "I ask not wealth in which to roll 
 
 A wooden bowl for me ; 
 Oh, give me but a wooden bowl, 
 
 And I shall happy be ! " 
 
 We ask for something not our own, 
 We always wish for more ; 
 
 The king would grasp another throne, 
 A loftier seat of power. 
 
 A clown would be an alderman, 
 An alderman a mayor ; 
 
A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 The mayor would gladly hurry on 
 To the presidential chair. 
 
 Whoe'er we be, whate'er our lot, 
 
 Or honored or obscure, 
 There's something that we have not got, 
 
 A prize we would secure. 
 
 Matilda's lot was hard indeed ; 
 
 Her mother, she was poor ; 
 They toiled to get their daily bread 
 
 And vainly sought for more. 
 
 A wooden bowl had caught her eye, 
 
 All neatly carved for show. 
 " And O," thought she, " how happy I 
 
 Should be to have one, too." 
 
 At length from labors long and hard 
 
 A shilling was laid by, 
 For toil and pain, a rich reward, 
 
 And joy was in her eye. 
 
 But Ah ! Sad unexpected blow ! 
 
 Pain stands at pleasure's side ; 
 Her mother, poor, fell sick and now 
 
 Her wants must be supplied. 
 
 " Alas ! Alas ! What shall I do ?" 
 
 Matilda cried in pain, 
 " For now my money all must go 
 
 And ne'er come back again." 
 
 Yet all was given, and time, and strength 
 Her heart was warm and kind ; 
 
 A good Providence at length 
 Raised up for her a friend, 
 
 Who gave her with a pitying eye 
 The sum she would control, 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 289 
 
 And kindly bade her run and buy 
 The wish'd for wooden bowl. 
 
 But who that gains his heart's fond wish 
 
 By it is fully gratified ? 
 Or who by office, place, or dish 
 
 Has e'er been satisfied ? 
 
 High on the shelf the bowl was placed 
 
 Before her eager eyes ; 
 And round and round the room she paced 
 
 To mark her precious prize. 
 
 But scarce an hour had passed away 
 
 When, sated with the prize, 
 Her spirits were no longer gay, 
 
 And tears were in her eyes. 
 
 Now, 't was not wooden bowl she lacked. 
 
 Then what afflicts her soul ? 
 " Alas ! " she cried — waked to the fact — 
 
 " 'T is but a wooden bowl ! " 
 
 "I sought it as the brightest prize 
 From Fortune's hand could roll ; 
 
 But now it comes to bless my eyes, 
 'T is but a wooden bowl." 
 
 " For this my money all was paid, 
 
 And now it pains my sight ! 
 Alas ! 't is but a bowl," she said, 
 " And seems no longer bright." 
 
 But poor Matilda's wooden dish 
 
 Did useful lesson give, 
 She never cherished idle wish 
 
 Again while she did live. 
 
 ! 9 
 
290 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 "RETURN UNTO THY REST, O, MY SOUL." 
 
 " There remaineth a rest for the people of God. " 
 
 Return, O, my soul ; from thy wanderings cease; 
 Through the forest of strife there 's a pathway of peace. 
 Then, O, why shouldst thou roam thus unshriven, unblest ; 
 Then return O, my soul, O, return to thy rest ! 
 
 There are no lasting joys amid earth's fleeting things, 
 And each hope that awaits us but dies as it springs. 
 And as the pleasures that lure o'er her sin stricken plains 
 Are as false as the shadow and perish in pain. 
 
 The heart's strong affections, how coldly they're checked ! 
 The mind's high aspirings, how rudely they're wrecked ! 
 As unsated, unhappy, we restlessly roam 
 From our life's early dawn to the sleep in the tomb. 
 
 Even home, with its joys, is but built on a breath ; 
 Soon it fails — and we sink in the shadows of death. 
 Then, O, why seek to linger where nothing can stay 
 But the sorrows that wail along sin's darkened way ? 
 
 Then forbear — and hasten, O, my soul, to thy rest ; 
 Return thou, return thou, to the paths of the blest ; 
 O stay not, nor linger, for why shouldst thou still mourn 
 'Mid these desolate scenes ? Then return, thou, return. 
 
 Thy rest is in Him who has died to release 
 Thee from bondage, and grant pardon and peace ; 
 And He calls thee away from this gloomy abode, 
 Where man in his haughtiness strives with his God. 
 
 From the moans mingling deep from the sufferer's bed, 
 With the strifes of the living who press o'er the dead ; 
 From the mirth of the thoughtles's that blends with the din 
 Of the crowd toiling on in the wild ways of sin. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY 201 
 
 From the poisonous fountains of error and pride 
 That draw their dark waters from Hell's gloomy tide, 
 And there shed through the waters of the " valley of tears " 
 All the deaths and the woes of our sin-burden'd years. 
 
 From the coils of temptation, and the clangor of strife, 
 And the frailties and griefs of this perishing life 
 To the realms of salvation — the home of the blest — 
 Where the wicked shall cease, and the weary find rest, 
 
 There are no fleeting joys in that happy abode, 
 Where a people redeemed have returned to their God ; 
 And the changes that wreck us on time's rolling shore, 
 There never; no, never ; shall trouble us more, 
 
 And the heart's strong affections no more shall be checked, 
 The mind's high aspirings no more shall be wrecked ; 
 For the Friend who redeems us with power to save 
 From the fangs of the wicked, the grasp of the grave, 
 
 Will have stamped immortality deep on our joy, 
 So no grief can bedim it, no danger destroy ; 
 Will have clothed us in beauty and planted our feet 
 Where we 're never forgotten, and never forget, 
 
 And the mind borne aloft from its errors and tears 
 To the limitless range of eternity's years, 
 No longer looks forth on the course of the sun 
 To know when its day-warring efforts are done ; 
 
 But tireless, and sleepless pursues its bright way 
 When this earth and these Heavens have gone to decay, 
 With the "spirits made perfect " forever shall roam 
 By the " river of life " which encircles their home. 
 
 Progressing in knowledge — of happiness sure — 
 And refining in virtue where all things are pure — 
 In the bright path of duty how sweet is its rest 
 By the throne of its God in the home of the blest. 
 
292 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Then ask not the Christian what hope can sustain 
 Him in duties that lead through perils and pain ? 
 Then, O, how can he smile at the sorrowful lot 
 That cast him with the things unbeloved or forgot, 
 
 There " remaineth a rest " — and how kindly it throws 
 O'er his grief-stricken spirits a soothing repose ! 
 And sweet, sweet, is the calm that calms down in his breast 
 As he toils through the blasts of the storm to his " rest." 
 
 Oh ! who would not bow at the foot of the cross ? 
 Oh ! who would not count all things else but as dross ? 
 Oh ! who would not value the sweat and the blood 
 That purchased a " rest for the people of God ? " 
 
 Ye weary, ye wretched, ye wanderers, come ; 
 
 Though there are thousands have entered, still, still there is 
 
 room. 
 O !- who will not enter the pathway to rest ? 
 O ! who will not strive for the home of the blest ? 
 
 " There remaineth a rest." O ! repeat it abroad 
 O'er a death stricken world that reveres not its God ! 
 O ! why will ye perish ? Why, why, will ye mourn ? 
 There is peace, and there's rest — then return, ye, return ! 
 
 " There remaineth a rest." Still repeat it around 
 Where the sorrowful weep, or transgressors are found ; 
 And cease not till earth's utmost bounds shall be blest 
 In Him who has suffered that all may find rest. 
 
 " There remaineth a rest." Say again and again 
 Through every dark haunt of the children of men, 
 Till a perishing world, by the cross and the blood 
 Has returned, with rejoicings, to rest in its God. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 293 
 
 FAITH AND WORKS. 
 
 A few years ago I was in a family in which lived a negro 
 man — a friendless creature, extremely ignorant, and remark- 
 able for nothing but an unusual spirit of piety. He was very 
 diligent in the performance of all duties devolving upon him ; 
 but from among all these, for reasons best known to himself, 
 selected (or peculiar attention the one that, in his own estima- 
 tion was paramount to all others, and this was the fattening of 
 the pigs. 
 
 He slept in a room that opened into the kitchen, and every 
 night before going to bed, would open his door, place a chair 
 in the center of the room, and kneeling down, pray most fer- 
 vently : first, for himself, that he might be kept from the power 
 of Mr. Satan, and guided into the ways of truth and holiness, 
 (on being asked why he gave " this questionable one " a re- 
 spectable title, his reply was that he was brought up to say 
 " Mister " to everybody, and as he was but a servant, supposed 
 it would not be mannerly to speak of Satan without calling him 
 " Mister," the same as he did other folks) ; then for the family, 
 that they, too, might be kept from the power of Mr. Satan, etc., 
 etc. ; and then, in tones that betokened the deep fervor of his 
 feelings, would break forth into the pathetic request of, " O, 
 Lord, I do humbly and earnestly beseech Thee, fat the pigs." 
 
 Early in the morning before anyone was moving, John's 
 voice might be heard renewing his supplications in behalf of 
 himself and the family, still accompanied by the all important 
 request of " O, Lord, fat the pigs ; " then, before kindling his 
 fire or performing any other duties, he would hasten to the pen 
 with a brimming pail of food carefully prepared for them, which 
 he bestowed from a heart overflowing with solicitude for their 
 welfare. And during the day, every leisure moment was em- 
 ployed in ministering to their wants, and while they were feed- 
 ing, he might not unfrequently be seen kneeling before their 
 humble dwelling, renewing with a determined spirit, his resist- 
 less plea, "O, Lord, fat the pigs." 
 
294 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 And thus he went on day by day, praying and feeding, feed- 
 ing and praying, prayer stimulating effort, and effort animating 
 prayer, and thus bringing down a certain and sure answer to his 
 prayer, until at length the time came for killing the pigs. John 
 had some of the noblest pork ever raised, and his gladdened 
 heart overflowed with grateful thanksgiving to the Supreme giv. 
 er of all good, for kindly condescending to favor him with an 
 instance of the wonderful efficiency of prayer. 
 
 I used to be much interested in observing the conduct of 
 this simple creature, who, wholly untaught in the schools of 
 science, was unconsciously reading me a lesson in practical 
 theology, well worthy of attention. Untroubled by the thous- 
 and niceties of metaphysical speculation that vex and perplex 
 the progress of more educated minds, John had nothing to do 
 but to blend in his practices the two extremes of faith and 
 works — an unquestioning reliance on Divine influence to effect 
 all things, combined in unremitting diligence in the use of all 
 means in his own power for accomplishing purposes as if all 
 depended upon himself — and could not but ask myself, "Is 
 not this the fervent, effectual prayer of the righteous man that 
 availeth much ? And under ordinary circumstances where we 
 are so situated as to exert a direct influence upon the subject 
 of our prayers, is there, in fact, any other prayer that is avail- 
 
 ing 
 
 ? ,: 
 
 But how far was John's prayer availing in the, works he had 
 to do? He had purposely called down the attention of the 
 Supreme Being upon his conduct — acknowledged his entir e 
 dependence upon Him for every good and perfect gift — solicited 
 the aid of His Omnipotent power for effecting a favorite design — 
 and believing in his heart, as the Scriptures assured him, that 
 God was both able and willing to do for him " exceedingly 
 abundantly above all that he could ask or think," he went forth 
 to the performance of duties spread before him, encouraged and 
 stimulated by the high idea that he, working together with God, 
 and God with him for the accomplishment of a purpose equally 
 interesting to both; and this belief drew forth all the energies of 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 295 
 
 his mind in a work in which, however humble, even the most 
 high God was not ashamed to cooperate with him — all the 
 gladdened affections of his heart toward one so powerful and 
 yet so kind — animated both prayers and effort, and thus up- 
 on himself the effect of his prayers was most elevating and 
 most happy. 
 
 But, so far as the pigs were concerned, had he cast aside all 
 fear and all remembrance of God, yet fed them diligently and 
 perseveringly as he did, is it not true that the same result 
 would have ensued to them, even though he had restrained 
 from prayer altogether? In that case, how comparatively 
 cheerless and void of interest would have been his work, and 
 in what respect would he have differed from " the fool that saith 
 in his own heart, ' there is no God ? ' " To use the words of 
 an old writer, " prayer without effort is presumption, even as 
 effort without prayer is atheism." 
 
 But, on the other hand, had he not practically realized the 
 connection between faith and works, and the necessity of the 
 use of means to accomplish purposes, is not a fact, though this 
 was eight or ten years ago, that poor John might have remained 
 to the present hour profoundly prostrate at the gateway of his 
 dependent charges, still crying, " Lord, Lord," yet not doing 
 those things which his Lord required of him to insure an an- 
 swer to his prayers, repeating and repeating his importunate re- 
 quest, " O, Lprd, Lord, fat the pigs " ; yet no other voice or 
 sound would have come in reply, no other answer been given 
 than the famishing wail of the subjects of his intercession 
 (could they have lived so long) responding at each close of the 
 suppliant's prayer, " Amen ! Amen ! so be it, and so let it be, 
 kind Heaven." " But for such a merciful dispensation we can- 
 not even indulge a hope," (they might have added) ; '' for 
 know, O, vain man, that thy faith is without works, therefore 
 dead, being alone. And as thy faith is dead, so we, too, must 
 die, also, if left to thy prayers for our salvation or fattening." 
 
296 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 On the same principle, if we seek blessings for ourselves, 
 how far are our prayers availing? For instance, do we lack 
 wisdom, we are directed to ask, and receive it from on high ; 
 but would that be a wise conclusion which induced us to pre- 
 sent our requests to Heaven, then sit quietly and smilingly 
 down, uninterested in the result, expecting that at some un- 
 known moment wisdom, in some unknown form, visible or in- 
 visible, would come, creeping in like a thief at night, to steal 
 away our faculties, and by their aid erect within us a throne on 
 which to sit and astonish us with the profundity of our own 
 understandings ? Might we not expect to die in our folly under 
 such circumstances ? And whether we seek wisdom or humil- 
 ity, charity or cheerfulness, the conversion of individuals or the 
 evangelizing of the world, may we not learn from the example 
 of poor John, the swineherd, to commit our cause and our ways 
 unreservedly into the hand of that God who is abundantly able 
 and willing to perform in us, and for, and by us, all that He has 
 promised to perform ; call upon Him fervently to do for us all 
 we need, and while calling upon Him, at the same time hasten 
 abroad, in the spirit of that prompt obedience which delights 
 in doing His will; to impose and employ the various means 
 and faculties spread round about us to aid us in attaining the 
 blessing we desire, and by so doing fill our hearts with grati- 
 tude, our lives with usefulness, and lips with thanksgiving to 
 the prayer-answering God. 
 
 Such prayer honors the veracity of the God of Truth ; and 
 " he that honoreth Me, I will honor," saith the Lord. Were the 
 Church of Christ filled with it, how soon would "the desert 
 and solitary place " be made glad, and the whole face of earth 
 be relieved and refreshed by the blessings that flow down to us 
 through " the great and exceeding precious promises " of a 
 prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God ? 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 297 
 
 THE CONTRAST 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 ' SAUL OF TARSUS AND PAUL, THE APOSTLE. 
 
 Saul of Tarsus was one of those conspicuous characters 
 who occasionally appear in our world, the superiority of whose 
 native and acquired endowments attract the gaze, the admira- 
 tion and respect of mankind, and from whose history, ever 
 vivid as it is with the deep impress of thought, and feeling, and 
 action above the common grade, succeeding times may gather 
 a lesson of rich, moral instruction. 
 
 Gifted by nature with a strong understanding, and learned 
 in all the learning of the times in which he lived, even beside 
 the renowned Gamaliel his teacher, he was a distinguished 
 man. But he was not merely a talented and a learned, but an 
 eminently religious man ; and while his superior mental en- 
 dowments rendered him an ornament to the country that gave 
 him birth, that country was constrained to look upon him as 
 orie of the sternest and ablest defenders of her faith. The re- 
 ligion of an individual Jew was so closely interwoven with the 
 religion and the general history of his country that they can 
 hardly be viewed apart. That country was not what she had 
 formerly been, when in the days of earlier history, obedience to 
 the will of Heaven was the supreme law of the land, and the 
 consequent blessing of the God of Heaven had rendered her 
 the glory of all lands, the emporium of wealth, the horn of 
 strength among the nations ; before whose array of valor em- 
 battled hosts, led on by mighty conquerors, were as nothing ; 
 for strong in the strength of the Omnipotent arm that sustain- 
 ed her, she stood chief among the mighty, and no weapon 
 formed against her could prevail. But when she became 
 mighty, then she turned from her obedience to the command 
 of the Holy One in the midst of her, and thus with her own 
 hand, and the sinews of her own strength. By disobedience 
 to Him who is God of Nations, and in a peculiar and 
 
298 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 most endearing manner, her God, she wasted away her treas- 
 ures, levelled her fair palaces, consumed the temple of her 
 glory, engulfed her physical and moral energies, and became 
 captive in the hands of her enemies. The God of the Fathers 
 saw and pitied the children in the land of their captivity ; the 
 decree went forth that they should again be restored to their 
 native land; Jerusalem was rebuilt ; the second temple erected 
 to His praise; and around this earthly dwelling place of the 
 Most High, this sanctuary of their religious faith and of their 
 country's glory, the scattered people were again assembled, with 
 an assurance in their hearts that their land was the land of 
 Heaven's peculiar care and benediction, and themselves the 
 objects of His peculiar love. Happy would it have been for 
 them had a grateful sense of Jehovah's goodness induced to a 
 course of holy obedience to His commands. But unsubdued 
 by kindness, unreformed by discipline, far otherwise was the 
 fact. Proud of their selection as God's "peculiar people," 
 proud of the righteous deeds of Abraham, proud of the cove- 
 nant made with the fathers, the children pinned their faith up- 
 on these things ; and while they pointed to their glorious tem- 
 ple, and all its gorgeous and costly ceremonies as a standing 
 memento before Heaven and earth of their certain claim upon 
 the Divine favor, they forgot the meek piety of their fathers, 
 and remembered not that, of them, too, it was required to " do 
 justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God." For their 
 proud disobedience to the Lord God of their fathers, after 
 their return from the Babylonish captivity, they had been re- 
 peatedly abased, and subjected to the discipline of national 
 judgments, until wearied with their crimes, He had permitted 
 the Roman in his might to overspread their land and reduce 
 them to the degraded situation of paying tribute to Caesar. But 
 however manacled by foreign fetters, still, in their own opinion, 
 the name of " Jew" was a proud name, an ancient, a beloved 
 name. And inflated by the historic record of the past, and the 
 misunderstood, but animating, prophetic delineations of the 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 299- 
 
 future, the spirit of the Jew, was a spirit of that daring pride 
 which would scale the battlements of Heaven, and claim, in 
 virtue of superior birth and superior merit, "an abundant en- 
 trance " there. 
 
 Such, in common with the rest of his countrymen, was the 
 religion of Saul of Tarsus. Haughty, self-sufficient in all its 
 bearings, grasping earth and Heaven for the father's sake, and 
 believing for the father's sake, the children were the honorable 
 of the earth, the chosen and blessed favorites of the King of 
 Heaven, and with all the ardor of a burning zeal, and all the 
 weight of his profound learning, he was prepared to sustain the 
 the honor and religious constitutions of a country, whose name 
 and whose people stood registered in intimate connection with 
 the name, the approbation, and the mighty dispensations of the 
 Lofty One who inhabiteth eternity. 
 
 The last great act of mercy had been done for these peo- 
 ple. The God of their Fathers had remembered his ancient 
 promise ; had sent His only beloved Son from Heaven— their 
 own expected Messiah, whose coming Abraham had foreseen 
 and rejoiced in, whom Moses and all the prophets had foretold 
 as He who should come to atone for their sins, and to teach 
 them fully the will of their Father in Heaven. He came at the 
 appointed time, not to upbraid and condemn His covenant 
 people as richly as they deserved, but breathing peace, good- 
 will and heavenly benignity ; and preaching forgiveness of the 
 past, and the repentance, faith and blessedness of the Gospel. 
 But, as may be supposed in such a land as this, where pride 
 and her daring attendant, self-righteousness, sat intrenched in 
 the hearts of the people, Jesus of Nazareth, the Saviour and 
 Deliverer who came among them was despised for the mean- 
 ness of His birth and appearance, rejected for the humiliating 
 nature of-His doctrines, crucified and slain, and the children, 
 the children of the righteous Abraham, uttered in the ear 
 of Abraham's God this dreadful imprecation : " On us and our 
 children be His blood." He rose again from the dead ; reas- 
 
300 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 cended into Heaven ; and at the time when Saul of Tarsus first 
 came into notice, His humble followers, in obedience to His 
 commands, were disseminating His doctrines in Jerusalem and 
 the country round about. 
 
 Indignant at the dishonor he supposed his countrymen were 
 bringing upon themselves by listening to the preaching of such 
 men and such principles, which laid the axe to the root of Jew- 
 ish glory and ancient Mosaic institutions, Saul of Tarsus, with 
 a zeal that knew no resting point until its end was accomplish- 
 ed, stirred up the chief priests and people, and raised a storm 
 of persecution that threatened to sweep from the face of the 
 earth every disciple and memorial of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 At the stoning of the first martyr, he was the young man most 
 conspicuous. And many of the saints did he shut up in prison, 
 and when they were put to death, he gave his voice against 
 them. He punished them often, in every synagogue, and com- 
 pelled them to blaspheme ; and being exceedingly mad against 
 them, he persecuted them even unto strange cities. How soon 
 would the earth be turned into a desert, were the wrath of man 
 permitted to rage unrestrained ? And how soon would the 
 Church of Christ be swallowed up by them that hate her were 
 not the Lord on her side ? Having obtained authority and 
 commission from the chief priests to bring bound to Jerusalem 
 all of this persuasion which he could find, this proud disciple 
 of Gamaliel, breathing forth threatenings and slaughter, was 
 urging his way on to Damascus, when suddenly he was arrest- 
 ed by a bright light from Heaven shining round about him — 
 above the brightness of the noonday sun — which prostrated 
 him and his guilty companions in awe-struck silence to the 
 ground ; and the Lord Jesus himself spake to him in a voice 
 from Heaven, convinced him of the folly and presumption of 
 his ways ; and commissioned him, who before was a persecutor 
 and hater of His name, to go forth and preach, not only to the 
 Jews, but to the abhorred Gentiles, that faith he had at- 
 tempted to destroy. What, now, was the commission of the 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 301 
 
 high priest of the Jews ? Jesus, the Great High Priest, had en- 
 tered into the " Holy of Holies," even Heaven ; and in whom 
 all power is vested, both in Heaven and earth, had called for 
 his services, and given him a high commission ; and, obedient 
 unto the Heavenly vision, he was no longer a persecutor and 
 hater of all those that called on His name, but a faithful apos- 
 tle — beyond all others — abundant in labors to promulgate and 
 endear it to the ends of the earth. 
 
 Conspicuous as a young man of great intellectual vigor and 
 attainments ; conspicuous as a proud Jew, who, under the influ- 
 ence of an ardent but misguided zeal to sustain the honor of 
 his country and do God service, had stretched forth his hand 
 to vex the Saints of the Most High ; conspicuous for the man- 
 ner of his conversion, having been called from darkness into 
 light, from the power of Satan unto God, and invested in the 
 sacred functions of the Apostolic Office, not by the will of the 
 flesh or the will of man, but by a direct and audible communi- 
 cation from the Majesty in the Heavens. Let us now inquire 
 for what the Apostle Paul was conspicuous after his conversion 
 and calling to the apostleship of the Gentiles. The Hebrew 
 name of " Saul " was generally laid aside, and " Paul," the 
 Roman pronunciation of the same name, adopted by the 
 Christian Church in its stead. And it is under his new name 
 of Paul the Apostle, that his character becomes worthy of the 
 admiration, respect and imitation of mankind. 
 
 As "a chosen vessel of mercy" he had been called to "a 
 knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus," while his bigoted 
 countrymen, generally speaking, had been left to follow the 
 counsels of their own evil hearts. By them the tide of perse- 
 cution was now turned against himself. A general burst of in- 
 dignation shook the land in the execration of the man who had 
 thus basely (as they thought) deserted the religion of his 
 fathers and people all conspired against him, and stripes, im- 
 prisonments and death awaited him in every city. Were his pur- 
 poses shaken by these things ? With the firm independence of 
 
302 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 a mind that has pillared its faith upon the rock, Christ Jesus, 
 and from this immutable stand while grasping with humble 
 confidence the promises of the unchangeable God, and in view 
 of the overwhelming glories of the vast eternity before it, can 
 look down with equal eye upon the joys and sorrows, the 
 frowns and flatteries, the shame and honors of this transient life 
 he exclaims, " None of these things move me, neither count I 
 my life dear unto me, so that I may but finish my course with 
 joy, and the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus to 
 testify " in the face of every suffering or opposition " the Gos- 
 pel of the grace of God." He was just dawning in the light of 
 youthful promise upon the world, much was expected of him, be- 
 fore him as a rich prize lay all the pleasures and aggrandize- 
 ments of wealth, an influential bearing in the councils of his 
 country, and a name of renown upon the earth. To become a 
 follower of the despised Jesus of Nazareth, he must forsake 
 them all, and friends, and homes, and comforts, and the long 
 train of Jewish pride and prejudice must all be given up. Did 
 he hesitate? Not a moment. Once convinced that Jesus Christ 
 was the Saviour and Deliverer who should come, nothing could 
 shake the purpose of his soul, the constancy of his affections. 
 Christ was his all and in all ; and a saving knowledge of Him, 
 " the pearl of great price," for which he would gladly barter all 
 he had and all the earth holds dear. Hear his words : " But 
 what things were gain to me, those things I counted but loss 
 for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for 
 the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, and count 
 them but dross that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not 
 having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that 
 which is through the faith in Christ, the righteousness which is 
 of God by faith." 
 
 Self-righteousness and idolatrous excess .of Jewish pride 
 had been one of the conspicuous traits in the character of Saul 
 of Tarsus, so that in view of the holy law of the Lord God of 
 his fathers, he could say, " as touching this I am blameless ; 
 
THE. BACKUS FAMILY. 303 
 
 all these things have I kept from my youth up." Beautifully 
 contrasted with this, with the natural self-complacency of the 
 human heart, and with the proud vengeance of the daring per- 
 secutor who had trampled in his wraih upon the Redeemer's 
 Church, is the meek, and lowly, the self-abasing spirit of Paul, 
 the Apostle. " I am least of all ; not worthy to be called an 
 apostle ; I am the chief of sinners," exclaims this great and 
 good man. " I find a law in my members warring against the 
 law in my mind, to bring me again in captivity to sin ;" and 
 then, as if overwhelmed with a sense of his exceeding sinful- 
 ness in the sight of God he bursts forth into this pathetic lam- 
 entation : " O, wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver 
 me from the body of this death ?" He labored unceasingly 
 to bring every faculty of his mind, every feeling of his heart in- 
 to captivity to the obedience of Christ ; to exhibit in his daily 
 walk and conversation his Divine Master ; the power of that 
 faith in Him which works by love, and purifies the heart. For, 
 when appointed a teacher, he felt, also, that he was set as an 
 " example to the flock," whose conduct must be so pure, so 
 blameless, so accordant with the elevated principles of the Gos- 
 pel he taught, as to enable him to say : " Follow me, even as I 
 follow Christ." His thirst for knowledge was ardent, and ever- 
 growing. Not satisfied by a blind assent to asserted facts, he 
 examined, compared, reasoned, judged for himself, and put 
 forth all the energies of his mind to acquire a comprehensive 
 understanding of the Truth ; and then applied its maxims to 
 the regulation of his own life. Revelations from Heaven were 
 repeatedly made to him of the mind and will of God, but I 
 speak not with reference to these, or his supernatural gifts, but 
 only of the ordinary workings of his mind. Yet nearly at the 
 close of his eminent life, when his praise was in all the church- 
 es, with that humility of soul which ever marks the truly wise 
 and great, we hear him declaring, " I count not myself to have 
 attained, neither am I yet made perfect, but this one thing I do, 
 forgetting those things which are behind. I still reach forth to 
 
304 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR 
 
 those which are before." And by his diligent investigations of 
 the truth, and his habit of rigid self-discipline in dependence 
 upon the promised aid of the spirit of all wisdom and all good- 
 ness, he attained (however unconscious of it himself) a matu- 
 rity of knowledge and virtue that rendered him a pattern to all 
 the churches of all that is pure, exalted, benevolent in the 
 Christian character, and will make his name conspicuous on 
 earth so long as time endures. 
 
 But to resign the pleasures and honors of the world and de- 
 vote his time to the regulation of his own heart and life was 
 not all he had to do. An arduous work was upon his hands. 
 A dispensation of the Gospel had been committed to him. The 
 great law of love had taken deep root in his capacious soul, 
 bringing forth fruit a hundred fold to the glory of God and the 
 good of his fellowmen. His love of souls was sincere and ar- 
 dent, leading him to sacrifices, self-denials and efforts on their 
 behalf unremitting and perhaps unexampled in human history. 
 The command, "Go, preach the Gospel to every creature under 
 Heaven," had sounded in his ears, and it was enough to awaken 
 all the holy energies of his soul. Agreeable to the directions 
 of the Divine Master to all His disciples to preach repentance 
 and remission of sins through His name : first at Jerusalem and 
 among his ancient convenant people, the Jews, we find the 
 Apostle Paul first preaching among his own nation. Being 
 thoroughly acquainted with the religion and the laws of his 
 own nation he was able to confuse and confound even the 
 scribes and learned doctors of the law, who were filled with in- 
 dignation at the power of his reasoning, and that Saul of Tarsus, 
 one of their own number, whom they had known and loved, the 
 respected pupil of their most renowned rabbi, should be plead- 
 ing the cause of the most despised Jesus of Nazareth. Tu- 
 mults, strifes and madness surrounded him at Jerusalem ; and 
 when they refused to hear and rejected the Gospel, he turned 
 to the Gentiles. As an apostle and missionary of the cross he 
 traveled into many and distant countries, bearing in his heart 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY, 305 
 
 and on his lips the unsearchable riches of the love of Christ, 
 and lest he should be burdensome or chargeable to any, he la- 
 bored all this time with his own hands to procure for himself 
 the necessaries of life. As I designed not to write a detailed 
 history of his life, but only to trace the master strokes of his 
 character with a view to a practical benefit, it is enough for me 
 to add that sufferings, difficulties, dangers awaited him in every 
 land. The heathen rages. The rulers of the earth stood up 
 against him. The daik storms of obloquy, opposition, mad- 
 ness, rolled against him in every realm. He found the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel attended with a vast amount of labor, sacri- 
 fice and self-denial ; yet, still the love of Christ and its natural 
 and necessary attendants, the love of souls, constrained him, 
 enabling him to say, "I am ready not only to be bound, but to 
 die also for the name of the Lord Jesus ; " and through much 
 tribulation, indeed, he performed the work that had been as- 
 signed him to do. In his zeal for the salvation of men through 
 the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, 
 sometimes we find him reasoning with the clamorous philoso- 
 phers of Greece ; at another, with all the meekness and gentle- 
 ness of Christ, teaching the truth of the Gospel to the unletter- 
 ed barbarian. Sometimes we find him breasting the storms of 
 the ocean to bear the glad tidings to a distant shore ; at an- 
 other, bound hand and foot in a dungeon, singing praises to 
 God for the unspeakable love of Christ. Sometimes we behold 
 an outrageous multitude crying, "Away with such a fellow from 
 the earth, it is not fit that he should live ; " at another, an ad- 
 miring angelic messenger from the Heavenly world is standing 
 by to soothe him in his afflictions, encourages and strengthens 
 him in his labors, or the Lord himself is bidding him " be faith- 
 ful and fear not." Sometimes we see him stoned until given 
 up for dead; at another, performing miracles that make the 
 powers of darkness tremble. The earth was disturbed, torn in 
 divisions, and trembled in fear and amazement under the mighty 
 influence of his powerful preaching. Churches were planted 
 20 
 
306 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR 
 
 and nourished by his care, and thousands, yea tens of thous- 
 ands of souls were gathered from the ruins of a fallen world to 
 the hope of a blessed immortality beyond the grave. At length, 
 by the obdurate persecutors of his own nation he was sent pris- 
 oner to Rome, where he fell a martyr to his zeal for the cause 
 of Christ, being condemned for his religious principles to the 
 death of the cross, but still firm in strong integrity of soul, 
 though he felt at his heart the sword unsheathed he would not 
 sell, but sealed with his blood his testimony " to the truth as it 
 is in Jesus." 
 
 Who could have supposed that Saul of Tarsus, the perse- 
 cutor of the Christians, would thus live and die ? All that can 
 be said is, that "it is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in 
 our eyes." The church was made glad, and " God was glorified 
 in him." To rear above his ashes a monumental tribute of re- 
 spect was unnecessary, for he sought not, and needed not the 
 praise of earth. Napoleon Bonaparte came as a whirlwind up- 
 on the nations, strewing earth with desolation, hurling kings 
 and kingdoms to the dust, dispensing thrones and ancient .di- 
 adems as common things among his followers ; and on the 
 frowning entablature erected of the bones of slaughtered mil- 
 lions, inscribing a name that will go down to posterity as a 
 name of wonder and astonishment in the earth. With a tem- 
 perament no less ardent, ambition no less inspiring, a mind no 
 less comprehensive, yet enlightened, refined and guided by the 
 spirit of grace from on high, Paul, the Apostle, went forth 
 among the nations — not to destroy or subjugate, not to gain 
 for himself a name, but to emancipate and bless, to destroy 
 the kingdom of sin and Satan, and to erect in its stead a king- 
 dom of righteousness and peace, bringing life and immortality 
 to dying man. Napoleon Bonaparte labored for time, and ag- 
 grandizement of self. Paul, the Apostle, labored for eternity, 
 and for the glory of Him whose right it is to reign. And when 
 these perishable memories of Napoleon have been erased from 
 the archives of time by the fires of the last conflagration, and his 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 307 
 
 splendid achievements be enveloped in the darkness they have 
 insured, the memorial of Paul, the Apostle, uninjured by rage or 
 envy of men or devils, " the corroding hand of time," the war of 
 elements, wreck of matter, or the crush of worlds, will be found 
 registered in characters of light and love in the great " book of 
 God's remembrance." Before assembled worlds he will be 
 openly acknowledged and honored, and receive " the crown of 
 righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give 
 him at that day ;" and in the admiring gratulations of the mil- 
 lions who will have been redeemed from the power of sin and 
 Satan unto God through the instrumentality of his preachings 
 and writings, the remembrance of his great achievements will 
 be perpetuated forever ; and in eternity, as in time, " the church 
 will rejoice, and God be glorified in him." 
 
 In view of this subject, I remark : first, amid the daily 
 scenes of life a name presents itself in gloomy contrast to that 
 of Paul, the Apostle. It is the name, " Unbeliever." O ! how 
 contracted appear your views ; how limited your enjoyment ; 
 how narrow your sphere of usefulness ; how cold and cheerless 
 and how unworthy a rational being, your character ; how 
 mournful your prospects, when viewed side by side with his ! 
 Like Saul of Tarsus, you despise and hate the Saints of the 
 Most High ; you believe not in the Lord Jesus ; you believe 
 not in the testimonies of His truth; you believe not in the neces- 
 sity of His atoning blood to wash away your sins, and in the 
 spirit of His grace to prepare you for future blessedness ; you 
 set yourself in array against the Almighty; reject His mercy ; 
 defy His threatenings, and persisting in this course of unbelief, 
 you must inevitably shut forever the door of Heaven against 
 yourself and take your final portion among the perverse and 
 faithless who say unto God, " Depart from us, for we desire not 
 a knowledge of Thy ways." Paul reasons with you of " right- 
 eousness, temperance and judgment to come," but you heed 
 Him not ; the Lord Jesus himself in His word from Heaven en- 
 treats you, " Come, Come unto Me and be saved," but you turn 
 
3°8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 from Him with contempt ; the Spirit strives with you, but yon 
 proudly resist its influence, and ere long your " feet will stumble 
 upon the dark mountains of death," and then who, O, who, 
 would wish to bring to light the retributions of your long 
 eternity, or lift the veil that conceals you from human vision in 
 that dark abode ? 
 
 And secondly: professing Christian, how does your char- 
 acter bear a comparison with that of Paul, the Apostle? Are 
 there no painful contrasts between you and him to awaken 
 your anxieties, mortify your pride, and spread the blush of 
 shame over the vaunting visage of self-love ? You acknowledge 
 the same Lord and Master as he did, and profess to be influ- 
 enced by the same principles, but do you honor Him and them 
 with the same unwavering constancy of obedience? Do not 
 the sneers of an unbelieving world sometimes so operate upon 
 your timid godliness as to cause you to shrink from an ingenu- 
 ous and decided avowal of your faith ? Do not the clamors of 
 an opposing'world sometimes so far alarm you as to hinder or 
 perhaps blast your well-meant purpose of doing good? In a 
 word, as the sum total of religion, is your love of Christ the 
 same holy, ardent, undying principle, which many waters can- 
 not quench nor all floods drown, leaving you to an unreserved 
 surrender of soul, body, all you are, all you have, for His sake 
 and the Gospel's, producing in you all the lowly, lovely graces 
 of the Spirit, some of which are humility, meekness, long-suffer- 
 ing, patience, fortitude, brotherly kindness, charity, and prompt- 
 ing you to diligent and faithful performance of those " good 
 works " which are the only genuine test of vital- piety, whose 
 tendency and design is to enlarge and strengthen the Redeem- 
 er's kingdom, promote His glory, and the welfare of your fellow- 
 men ? The Gospel of the Son of God is the only star of hope 
 that shines amid 'the darkness through the glooms of death. 
 He is the only Friend with power to counteract the ills of life ; 
 the only Guide to turn man from sin and from sin's just but 
 fearful punishment, "the wrath to come," and tell Him what to 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 309 
 
 be and what to do, and how to obtain the friendship of his God, 
 and how to shape his course along a path thick strewn with 
 error and with danger, to yon bright realms of life and immor- 
 tality on high. Millions of immortal beings are within this 
 probationary world with souls as precious as your own, who 
 have not yet received this Gospel and who are consequently 
 " without God, and without hope," and in the ignorance and sin ■ 
 fulness of their souls are hastening forward to judgment and 
 eternity. Think you under such circumstances Paul, the 
 -Apostle would act as you do, cast around a look as cold, and 
 sit as calmly down to pass in easy quietude his life away ? Say 
 not the same things are not expected of you as of him. I 
 know that apostolic duties are not expected of you, but at the 
 same time I know that the great principles and requirements of 
 the Gospel are the same in all ages, and in accordance with 
 these, I know that your Master expects of you a heart as pure, 
 a love as fervent, a benevolence as extensive and as operative, 
 and service as devoted and unremitting, in the sphere in which 
 Providence has placed you, as he did of his servant the apostle. 
 Nor can you maintain the vigor and beauty of the Christian 
 character, " adorn the Gospel of God and your Saviour," or be 
 found " meet for an inheritance with the saints in light " unless 
 with Paul, the Apostle, you learn to " love your God with all 
 your heart, and soul, and strength, and your neighbor (even 
 every brother and sister of the human family) as yourself; and 
 perseveringly follow Paul as far as he followed Christ. And 
 when the view of perishing millions is before you, and from 
 above is sounding the command, " Go preach the Gospel to 
 every creature under Heaven," and every motive of obedience 
 to God and benevolence to man can dictate, is urging the ne- 
 cessity of a holy ardor in the great work of converting the 
 world to a " knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus," you cannot 
 be called a Christian, indeed, you cannot claim a kindred 
 spirit with that great Apostle, you cannot obey the call of your 
 Divine Master, " follow me," unless with full purpose of heart 
 
3IO A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 you devote your prayers, your influence, your worldly substance 
 and, if need be, your life itself, and " do with your might what- 
 ever your hands findeth to do " in the great work of gloryfying 
 God in the salvation of mighty souls. 
 
PART II. HISTORICAL, 
 
 CONSISTING OF 
 
 LETTERS, LEGAL DOCUMENTS, AND OTHER 
 ARTICLES OF HISTORIC INTEREST, 
 
 WITH 
 
 SKETCHES OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS 
 
 CONNECTICUT AND OHIO, 
 
iH mw 11 I pPslli 
 
 o 
 
 m 
 
SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 The settlers at Manhattan, and in Massachusetts soon ob- 
 tained a knowledge of the fertility of the soil on the Connect- 
 icut River, and both laid claim to territory, yet hesitated 
 for a while in making any settlement. Finally, however, in 
 October, 1633, a small vessel sailed from Plymouth, with the 
 design of erecting a trading-house on the bank of the Connect- 
 icut ; but when they had sailed up the river to the location of 
 the present city of Hartford, they found the Dutch had got 
 there before them, and erected a fort. However, they went on 
 a few miles further, although the Dutch forbade them to ad- 
 vance, threatening to fire upon them. They landed at a spot 
 within the limits of the present town of Windsor, and built a 
 trading-house there. 
 
 The next movement towards settling Connecticut was in 
 July, 1635, when at Wethersfield a settlement was made. Thus 
 Wethersfield is the oldest town in the State. The next settle- 
 ment was at or near the Plymouth trading-house, in the summer 
 of 1635, by people from Dorchester. They gave the settlement 
 the name of Windsor. The next year Mr. Hooker, with his 
 congregation, removed from Cambridge, (then Newtown) to 
 the Connecticut, and founded the town of Hartford. These 
 three towns, Wethersfield, Windsor and Hartford, soon associ- 
 ated, and chose magistrates to regulate their common interests. 
 Finally, they formed a regular constitution in 1639, and elected 
 a governor. 
 
314 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Saybrook was at first only a fort, built in 1635, by John 
 Winthrop, the younger. The Pequot War soon followed, and 
 the infant settlement was for a time in danger of annihilation. 
 At the close of the Indian troubles, in 1639, George Fenwick 
 arrived from England, and came over to take charge of the col- 
 ony by authority of the company. 
 
 In July, 1637, Mr. Davenport, Mr. Eaton and several ad- 
 venturers explored the country west of Saybrook, and built a 
 fort there, at a place called Quississipiac. In April of the next 
 year they began a plantation, to which they gave the name of 
 New Haven. In June, 1639, they formed a constitution, elect- 
 ing their officers the following October. Mr. Eaton was chos- 
 en governor. 
 
 In February, 1639, Milford was founded by people mostly 
 from Wethersfield, and in September in the same year, Guilford 
 was founded. In the same year, Fairfield was settled by Mr. 
 Ludlow, a few friends, and some adventurers from Watertown 
 and Concord, in Massachusetts. Stratford was also settled in 
 the same year. 
 
 Thus in the year 1640, there were in New England four 
 colonies settled, and their governments formed. These were 
 Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Haven. 
 
 In December, 1644, Saybrook was purchased, and became a 
 part of the Connecticut colony. In 1659, Norwich was settled 
 by emigrants from Saybrook, led by Capt. John Mason, and 
 Rev. James Fitch. 
 
 Although the different tribes of Indians had become much 
 weakened from pestilence and from battles with the whites, yet 
 should these all unite together they might prove sufficient to 
 exterminate the infant settlements ; therefore, the four colonies 
 formed a union for mutual protection. Commissioners from each 
 colony met annually, their meetings being held at Boston, Hart- 
 ford, New Haven and Plymouth, in rotation. This union last- 
 ed for thirty-five years, and was of the greatest advantage to 
 the colonies. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 315 
 
 In 1662, the Connecticut planters secured a charter, but as 
 it comprehended the colony of New Haven, and was obtained 
 without their consent, some uneasiness occurred among the 
 New Haven planters. However, in December, 1664, the Gen- 
 eral Court for that colony consented to union with the Con- 
 necticut colony, and thus was formed the present State of Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 As the founder of the family of which this book is a memo- 
 rial came to Norwich, and his descendants many of them set- 
 tled there, it will be well to glance briefly at its history, and the 
 following, from a Norwich paper, will serve the purpose : 
 
 " The township of Norwich was surveyed by immigrants from 
 Saybrook, in the fall of 1659. The town was settled in the 
 spring of 1660, the land having been purchased by thirty-five 
 men from Uncas and his sons, Owaneco and Attawanhood, 
 June 6th, 1659. In January, 1684, a Committee was appointed 
 by our Norwich Town Fathers to lay out and bound for the 
 town use sufficient land for a public landing place and a suita- 
 ble highway connected with it, at the head of the Thames. 
 This was the initial step taken towards making Norwich 
 ' Landing ' the commercial centre of the community. Potatoes 
 were unknown in this section until 1720, and in 1680 peas were 
 more commonly used as an article of diet than beans. It is 
 supposed that the prominence the original settlers of Norwich 
 achieved in bringing baked beans into common use gave them 
 a not wholly local renown, and led to the bestowal of the title 
 'Bean Hill' to that part of the original town plot which we 
 now know by that name. February 25th, 1724, it was voted 
 by the town to build a wharf at the ' Landing Place.' " 
 
 Elijah Backus forged ships' anchors at Yantic during the 
 Revolution for Connecticut's armed vessels. Two of them 
 weighed 1,200 lbs. each. He also cast a few canon. 
 
316 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 THE BACKUS IRON WORKS. 
 
 Backus' Iron Works, with its lurid fires, was quite an in- 
 stitution in their day, and quite an important factor in the 
 growth and development of the country and times. They made 
 bar iron, tires for wheels, plow irons, spindles and cranks for 
 mills, sawmill saws ; all kinds of farming tools, such as hoes, 
 axes, scythes — about everything that was made of iron — and 
 largely supplied the wants of that day. Their customers were 
 heard from in quite distant parts of the country, more or less ; 
 even from the then new " Northwest Territory." The iron 
 work for the first saw and grist mill erected there was made at 
 these works, and transported by land and water, to and over 
 the Alleghany mountains on pack horses, to the then far-distant 
 land of hope — Marietta — in 1789. 
 
 The article of nails was quite important at that time, all 
 were hammered out by hand for all the purposes of domestic 
 use, no nails being cut at that time. The iron was made at the 
 melting fire, which was kept in blast by two huge bellows run by 
 water power, and required a strong draft of air. The old struc- 
 ture was a large building having three tall chimneys, the roof 
 partly covered with sheet iron as a protection from fire, and 
 covering three forges, two water wheels, stamper run by water 
 for pounding iron ore, the big shaft and the big hammer. To 
 conduct the process of melting and hammering out into all re- 
 quired shapes required a skilled and strong man, and not easily 
 found at that day. Spindles for buoys, to warn the mariner of 
 danger when approaching the coast by sea, thirty or more feet 
 long, on which was, and now is in use these same spindles, 
 placed some conspicuous object, as a barrel ; anchors both 
 small and great, for vessels and marine service ; and the iron 
 was drawn down to small shapes, as nail rods of different sizes 
 as required by the nailsmith. 
 
 Such were some of the qualifications and fixtures belonging 
 to Backus' Iron Works, which at that time was important as 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 317 
 
 the only source from which they could be derived. At Backus' 
 Iron Works they hammered out tools for the farmers and the 
 artisan — directly and indirectly they helped very materially to 
 hammer out American Independence. 
 
 During the reign of terror in France the Royalists had to 
 flee the country. The guillotine took off human heads on short 
 notice. Among the many royal fugitives who fled to this land of 
 ours was a fine gentleman, to the manor born, of some stand- 
 ing at home, and whose name was Felix, and who lived on, 
 and I believe owned the Col. Rogers' place at Bean Hill, and 
 which was then peopled by a far different community than at 
 present —about two-thirds of a mile from the Iron Works. He 
 was a frequent visitor to that noted locality. Frequently he 
 had some of his countrymen, refugees like himself, as visitors, 
 — contemporaries and kindreds at least in sorrow for their 
 hard fate, exiles from the land of their nativity and far from 
 their home. 
 
 One day there appeared at the Iron Works Monsieur Felix, 
 who was well-known there, and in his care and company quite 
 a large number of kindred exiles like himself, to view the 
 works in operation and observed particularly the ponderous 
 hammer in motion, causing the hot and melted iron to run 
 down from the anvil and flow like water from the cups. They 
 one and all conceeded the idea and expressed their minds, and 
 wished that the head of Bonaparte might be under the hammer. 
 At that time this was thought quite significant. 
 
 The sound of the big hammer when in motion and the wind 
 the right way, could be heard at the city, four miles away. To 
 carry on the works required quite a number of men. The 
 owner and manager of these Iron Works, Elijah Backus, was 
 himself a skilled mechanic. 
 
 The remains of part of his papers showawonderous amount *• 
 of writing, and all in his own hand. He was one of King 
 George's justices of the peace, and was, after the war, one of the 
 justices of the peace for his native State of Connecticut. He 
 was a captain in the Norwich military department, going to 
 
3l8 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 New London to defend the soil in consequence of alarms of 
 invasion several times. A leading member of the Committee 
 of Safety, member of the Legislature, and many cases chosen 
 an officer, both civil, and military, in which he with others peti- 
 tioned Congress for redress of grievances on the organization of 
 that department and in various ways he was a valuable man of 
 all affairs in all departments of civil life. He administered the 
 rite of marriage in many cases, as his book of records now ex- 
 tant, shows. He was a very busy man, and prosperous. 
 
 " There was no post office in Norwich before the Revolu- 
 tion. The mail came to New London. The Federal Govern- 
 ment established a post office at Norwich Town, in 1782. It 
 was called ' Norwich.' In 1836 the title of that office was 
 changed to 'Norwich Town,' and the original name trans- 
 ferred to the ' Norwich City ' office. The latter was the title 
 of our present office, which from the time of its establishment 
 in 1803 to 1827 was called the 'Chelsea Landing' office. 
 Norwich was incorporated as a city in May, 1784. The Nor- 
 wich and New London turnpike was opened in 1792. It was 
 the first in the United States. The Providence turnpike was 
 opened in 1794. Woodstock road was made a turnpike in 
 1801. The Essex turnpike was established in 1827. 
 
 "The division of the town of Norwich, or, as it has been 
 termed, the 'nine mile-square/ took place in 1786. It was 
 accomplished most amicably. The First Society and Chelsea 
 constituted the town of Norwich ; Hanover and Newent, the 
 town of Lisbon ; West Farms and Eight Society, the town of 
 Franklin, and New Concord, the town of Bozrah. The same 
 year Long Society was annexed to Preston. In 1816, the 
 northern part of Preston was made an independent town with 
 the name of Griswold. In 1861, the town of Sprague was 
 formed from parts of Lisbon and Franklin. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 319 
 
 "In 1788 there sailed out of this port : 
 
 20 sloops,. 940 tons. 
 
 5 schooners 325 
 
 5 br 'g s . 545 
 
 1 ship, 200 
 
 Total, 2,010 tons. 
 
 "Our exports for that year amounted, in round numbers, to 
 .£34,218, and our imports, £24,783. In 1795, Norwich had 
 seven ships, nine brigs, nine schooners, and seventeen sloops, 
 besides the river packets and four New York packets. Capac- 
 ity 4,312 tons, of which only 210 tons was owned in the old 
 Parish, or Up-town, the rest at the Landing. The war of 181 2, 
 and the blockade of the river was a crushing blow to the com- 
 merce of the Thames. On the 15th of October, 1816, Capt. 
 Bunker, in the steamboat Connecticut, ascended the Thames. 
 This was the first steam vessel to arrive here, and she attracted 
 much attention. A regular line of steam communication with 
 New York commenced in 1817. The Connecticut and the 
 Fulton were the boats. This killed the business of the sail 
 packets, which till that time, had been very remunerative. The 
 Norwich and New York Transportation Company was organ- 
 ized in i860. 
 
 " The first stroke of the spade on the Norwich and Worcester 
 railroad was at Greeneville, Nov. 18th, 1835. It was completed 
 in 1840. The Allyn's Point connection was finished in 1843. 
 The New London Northern road was completed to Williman- 
 tic in 1852, The 'curve' connecting the Worcester and Bos- 
 ton trains with the New London Northern road, was built in 
 1853. The Gas Company was first incorporated here in the 
 same year. Three years before, Laurel Hill was surveyed and 
 house-lots and streets laid out. Otis Library was incorporated 
 in 1851. Yantic Cemetery was consecrated in 1847. The 
 Wauregan House was two years in building, and was opened 
 Feb. 20th, 1855. Breed Hall was completed in i860." 
 
320 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 But let us go back a little. It is the time of the French 
 and Indian Wars. Many of the American colonists were with 
 the English, in the army, rendering valuable service. But the 
 settlements were not without protection, as may be seen from 
 the following order : 
 
 "To Benjamin Wheat, Clerk of the Second Company or 
 Train band in Norwich, these are in His Majesty's name to re- 
 quire you forthwith to warn all within the limits of said Second 
 Company, who are by law required to show arms and ammuni- 
 tion on mustering days, to appear on Monday next, at the 
 usual place of parade for the said company, at eight of the 
 clock in the forenoon, and there to show arms and ammunition 
 as the law directs on mustering days ; and you are required to 
 warn all those, who belong to said Company, who are obliged 
 to do duty on training days, to appear at said place on said 
 day, at ten of the clock in the forenoon, complete in their arms 
 as the law directs for training days. 
 
 " Dated at Norwich, May, first day, A. D., 1759. 
 
 " Elijah Backus, Capt. of said Company." 
 
 We shall now pass over a period of ten years. The Indian 
 and French had been defeated, and a treaty of peace had been 
 signed, 1763. The following shows that town affairs were well 
 looked after. 
 
 "At a meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Norwich 
 held at the Town House according to warning, the 6th day of 
 February, A. D., 1769, 
 
 " Voted : that Captains Samuel Leffingwell, Elijah Backus, 
 and Mr. Azariah Lothrop, be a Committee to view the circum- 
 stances of the highway at the Landing-place between the 
 Church and Mr. Breed's shop, and to treat with the proprietors 
 of the lands at the said place, in order to widen said way ; and, 
 to make report to the Town at the first opportunity. 
 " A true copy. 
 '"Test: Benj. Huntington, Jr., 7iw Clerk." 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 32 1 
 
 The following copy of a letter to Congress, found among 
 the many papers of Elijah Backus, will be found most interest- 
 ing as showing that at this early day the Colonies were consid- 
 ering the inevitable result of continued British oppression : 
 
 Norwich, 8th Sept., 1774. 
 Gent l : 
 
 The two Counties of N. London and Windham, this Day 
 convened by their Delegates from the several Towns in each 
 County to Consult for their Common Safety on the very critical 
 and alarming aspect of our publick affairs, and deeply impressed 
 with an apprehension that the late proceedings of the British 
 Parliament respecting America are so frought with Despotism, 
 & seem to be coming into Convention with such Determined 
 Resolution that only a Change in Administration (which is 
 rather wished for than expected) should take place, & produce 
 an alteration of measures ; Or the Americans passively give up 
 their Rights, which we are persuaded they will not, that this is 
 the greatest reason to fear, the Colonies will be reduced to the 
 dire necessity of defending their priviliges by the sword. We 
 therefore believing that storm gathering & just ready to Burst 
 over our Heads, think it our indispensable duty to use every 
 means in our power to be prepared therefor ; & for that pur- 
 pose beg leave to recommend your attention to a new Regulation 
 of our Militia, whereby it may be put on some more respectable 
 footing than on which it now stands, & would suggest for your 
 consideration whether a No. of Men should not be agreed, & 
 be assigned to'each Colony, to be enrolled and thoroughly dis- 
 ciplined, & held in constant readiness for actual service in case 
 of war. And that this, or some other mode that the Congress 
 shall adopt, should be recommended to every Colony, for we are 
 thoroughly convinced & doubt not you will readily agree with 
 us that in case of a war with Spain or France, or the very un- 
 natural one with our Mother Country, unless some preparation 
 is made, or some better mode of defence than that we now re- 
 ly on is adopted, the life of many a brave person must be flung 
 21 
 
32 2 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 away for want of an acquaintance with the necessary discipline 
 of Arms. A few Regiments well disciplined may be more re- 
 lied on than 20 times their number to be raised in a hurry, & 
 rushed into immediate action. The times are past that we 
 think it criminal not to speak with Freedom. We are appre- 
 hensive (suffer us to repeat it) that the liberties of this Conti- 
 nent are of such immense importance that if no other means 
 are likely to prevail, they must be defended by arms; & there- 
 fore most strongly recommend the putting ourselves in the ut- 
 most readiness for that last extremity. We are aware that the 
 Govt, appointed by the Crown will, by no means give their as- 
 sent to any acts of the Legislatures within the Provinces over 
 which they presided for regulating their Militia. But we flatter 
 ourselves that if any mode should be recommended as neces- 
 sary by the Congress, that either the Com. of Correspondence, 
 or some other persons, to whom the people may be under the 
 necessity of delegating their power, will fall upon some method 
 to enforce the same with the people. 
 
 These sentiments have been prevailing with us for some 
 time, formed upon calm and deliberate Reflections, & not in 
 consequence of the alarm last Saturday, the particulars of 
 which you will doubtless receive ere this comes to hand, & to 
 which you may be apt to attribute our present solicitude ; 
 however, that Event urges us to acquaint you that the disposi- 
 tion which app'd in the Inhabitants to give immediate succour 
 & assistance to the Town of Boston, and their precipitate 
 flight to the expected scene of Blood & Carnage has furnished 
 us with the most convincing & pleasing evidence that nothing 
 is wanting but good regulations, with a small degree of energie, 
 to render the body of the people as formidable troops as any 
 in the World, & we are not willing to leave anything unattempt- 
 ed in our power to make this spirit of Heroism & Love of 
 their Country which glow in the breasts of our Fellow Country 
 Men predominating over every selfish Principle as eminently 
 serviceable as they are Virtuous, Admirable and Glorious. We 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 323 
 
 think we ought to express our Fears to you that the late sud- 
 den martial parade in this part of the Land wherein many 
 thousands were almost in a moment of time ready for Battle, 
 is a prelude to an occasion that will soon take place with a 
 dreadful reality. However, gen', it is at least possible that this 
 Grand & almost Infinitely Important Dispute may be brought 
 to a Happy Decision without the intervention of such Dismal 
 Carnage. Although if less wont suffice, opening the crimson 
 fountain of all American Blood will not be as costly a sacrifice; 
 and if so happy an Event can be accomplished without recourse 
 to the last dreadful, yet in such case necessary & eligible Rem- 
 edy, it must, we conceive, be effected by raising in the nation 
 so powerful a party in our favur, & exerting such a storm of 
 opposition to the plans of our oppressors as will demolish the 
 Administration, or irresistibly compel them to change their 
 cruel & wicked measures. The nation are not, and will not be 
 blind and callous to their own interests, if they are to ours, & 
 to teach that in the most tender and forcible manner which 
 human nature is what it is, & it wont belie itself, must, we con- 
 ceive, kindle such a Flame as all the Engines of our app s can- 
 not extinguish or resist ; and what can so effectually bring to 
 pass that great design as in good earnest to break off all the 
 Commercial Intercourse with Great Britain and the West In- 
 dies (unless for the absolute necessaries of life, if such should 
 be included) and thereby reduce many thousands of their now 
 wealthy inhabitants to the necessity of starving (for beg they 
 cannot) or knowing our powerful advocates, besides making an 
 Immense Impression on the Royal Revenues. If it will suffice 
 to let all non-importation from G. Britain take place immedi- 
 ately, & to assign a not very Distant Day for the rest we should 
 be content & rejoice ; but if not, what a trifling hardship 
 should we be subjected to by coming directly into the whole, 
 why truly no more than some to earn the acquisition of wealth 
 so fast, and for many to earn, impoverishing themselves in pur- 
 suit of the Extravagancies & Luxuries of the Rich & Great in 
 
324 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 the Mother Country ; but even if we were for a while reduced 
 to Bread & Water, or Mallows and Juniper for food ; and sheep 
 skins & goat skins for covering (which would be far from the 
 case) what would that be to deluging our country with Blood 
 too precious to be spilled in vain ; & yet we beg leave to re- 
 peat it that would be preferable, far preferable, & far sooner 
 take effect, than a submission to such horrid & unnatural op- 
 pression ? We take liberty, further, to add that we apprehend, 
 while so many false Brethren, Betrayers of our Liberties are 
 scattered thro' the Colonies, while the Principal Port & Har- 
 bour of Boston is under the control of a Hostile Fleet & Ar- 
 my, & all the powers at Home will lend their utmost powerful 
 aid to the Infamous Designs, & Insidious Artifice & Practice of 
 our Enemys ; & the Mercenary Wretches who would aggran- 
 dize & enrich themselves at the expense of their country's Lib- 
 erty ; it will be absolutely impracticable to carry into complete 
 execution such non-importation agreement unless it sho'd be 
 backed & supported also by a non-consumption agreement, 
 which entered into & religiously observed, wo'd effectually 
 check & discourage those Busy Betrayers of our Rights as they 
 could not, in that case, receive the Wages of their Iniquity. 
 
 We, therefore, take leave to recommend this Article also to 
 your most serious consideration. And, altho', Gen*, we do not 
 conceive that we can communicate to you any new sentiments 
 in this interesting matter, but as you have not at any time had y" 
 collected voice of so many of your constituents, we take the 
 liberty to suggest to you these things, & have strong confidence 
 in your Wisdom, Firmness & Integrity. 
 
 We next come to the critical period of the Revolution. We 
 find that not only were the citizens as active as soldiers away 
 from home, but also in the various towns away from the tumult 
 of battle. There were formed various committees, as the Com- 
 mittee of Inspection, of Observation and Correspondence, 
 which were very active and faithful in the discharge of their 
 duties. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 325 
 
 The first paper is an account of a case which came under 
 the authority of the Committee of Inspection. 
 
 Owing to unjust taxation, the Continental Congress had 
 recommended, and the people decided, to use no more tea, and 
 other articles of English manufacture, or which she had 
 shipped to the colonies and demanded duty on. The refusal 
 to comply with this resolve of the Congress would suggest an 
 unfriendly feeling toward the colonists, and hence the following 
 complaint : 
 
 Sir: 
 
 Being sensible of the absolute necessity of a strict adherence 
 to the Resolves of the Continental Congress, in order for it to 
 answer the good designs proposed thereby, believing them to 
 be the product of wit, wisdom, and prudence flowing from 
 hearts disposed to seek the good of Church and State, and be- 
 ing determined in my department to do everything possible to 
 encourage and enforce a compliance thereto. 
 
 I would therefore let you know that I find in your depart- 
 ment a man that will pay no regard to said resolve, and speaks 
 with open mouth against all their proceedings, and very much 
 vilifies them 
 
 As to the truth of the matter you may enquire of Mr. 
 Daniel Hall, and he can tell you of others that you may enquire 
 of. I think the matter ought to be examined into as well as 
 any open breach ; but I submit to your determination with 
 your brethren, and sign myself your humble servant, at com- 
 mand. 
 
 John Elderkins. 
 
 Sir: 
 
 The Committee of Inspection have adjourned the inquiry 
 of the matters of accusation charged against you until next 
 week on Tuesday, at two o'clock in the afternoon, at the house 
 of Azh. Lothrop, principally on account of its being intimated 
 at this meeting that you would have attended had your business 
 
326 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 permitted. The complaints laid against you are : that from time 
 to time have drank Bohea Tea in your house, since the first of 
 March last, and have endeavored by conversation publicly to 
 vilify and degrade the doings of the Continental Congress. 
 Norwich, 10th of April, 1775. 
 
 The condition of the colonies at this time was anything 
 but that suited to carry on a war with England. But what they 
 lacked in the equipments of war, they made up in enthusiasm, 
 conscious of the justice of their cause. They set about getting 
 what arms, ammunition, etc., they could; they put the militia 
 under discipline ; and they formed associations and commit- 
 tees, as seen by the foregoing document, to carry into effect the 
 resolves of Congress. In the general enthusiasm, their resolves 
 and advisory proposals had the effect of laws. 
 
 The war begun in this year, but it did not become general, 
 the operations of the British being principally against Massa- 
 chusetts. The following extracts from a letter to Elijah Backus, 
 from his brother-in-law, Samuel Loudon, shows the state of af- 
 fairs and the feelings of the people in the latter part of this 
 year. 
 
 New York, 5th December, 1775. 
 Dear Brother : 
 
 Your letter I received by Capt. Lord, and am much obliged 
 
 for your sympathy and kind offer. As matters are now pretty 
 
 quiet here, and we are in hopes they will continue so, at least 
 
 till Spring, we conclude it will be best to continue here. Some 
 
 time ago, when the man-of-war fired on the city, I moved Mrs. 
 
 Loudon and children out of town to Elizabethtown, in New 
 
 Jersey, about sixteen miles from the city. About a month after 
 
 they returned home, where we have remained pretty quiet. 
 
 Only, now and then, fresh reports are brought of troops and 
 
 ships destined for this port. They seem to have- business 
 
 enough for all the troops they have to spare, at Boston, and 
 
 until they have conquered that colony, 'tis not probable that 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 327 
 
 they will send troops to this ; however, this may prove other- 
 wise 
 
 We have some hopes things may take a happy turn before 
 spring. Something may be done in Parliament towards settle- 
 
 ing matters, at that season 
 
 Saml. Loudon. 
 
 The colonists at this time little expected the out-come of 
 the war. The feeling of a good many is expressed by the fol- 
 lowing from a letter written in the latter part of the year 1775, 
 by Sam. Loudon : 
 
 " I wish all ranks were disposed to search and try their 
 ways and turn to the Lord ; we might prognosticate that our 
 deliverance was near. While we don't duly consider the end 
 of these trying dispensations, we have little reason to expect 
 deliverance. I long more for a reformation than for a deliver- 
 ance out of our present afflictions." 
 
 The colonists, finding England would not heed any of their 
 petitions, nor discontinue its acts of oppression, began to see 
 they must make, not only a determined, but an armed resist- 
 ance. So having raised troops, set about providing them with 
 arms. Hence the following : 
 
 Philadelphia, 2nd March, 1776. 
 
 Sir : — The Congress have appointed a Committee to con- 
 tract for making guns with bayonets, and to provide ways and 
 means for that purpose. As I have the honor to be one of this 
 Committee, I would request of you to know if you would un- 
 dertake to make a large number — perhaps two thousand — as 
 soon as possible. The price may be such as to make it worth 
 your undertaking ; and though not exactly agreed upon, I be- 
 lieve will not be far from twelve dollars each. Please send me 
 a line by the first post, and I will send you immediately the di- 
 mensions of the guns, and the terms. 
 
 Am, Sir, with esteem, your humble servant, 
 
 Sam. Huntington. 
 To Elijah Backus, Esq. 
 
328 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 But in all the anxiety consequent upon the war, civil affairs 
 were not altogether neglected, and we find the justices of the 
 peace still with business upon their hands, as the following 
 shows : 
 
 "To the Sheriff of the County of New London, or his Deputy, or 
 either of the Constables of the 1'own of Norwich, within said 
 County — Greeting : 
 
 " In his Majesty's Name, you are hereby commanded to sum- 
 mon Ichabod Ford, of Norwich, aforesaid, to appear before 
 Elijah Backus, Esq., one of his Majesty's Justices of Peace for 
 said County, at his dwelling house in Norwich, on the 30th day 
 of April, instant, at 2 of the clock in the afternoon, then and 
 there to answer unto Aaron Cleveland, of said Norwich, in a 
 plea that to the plaintiff the defendant render the sum of one 
 pound, eleven shillings and six pence, lawful money, which to 
 the plaintiff he, the defendant, justly owes by book, to balance 
 book account, as by plaintiff's book, ready in Court to be pro- 
 duced, fully appears. Which debt the defendant hath never 
 paid (tho' often requested and demanded) which is to the dam- 
 age of the plaintiff the sum of jQi, ir, 6, lawful money. And 
 for the recovery thereof, with just costs, the plaintiff brings this 
 suit. .... Fail not, but of this writ, with your 
 
 doings thereon, make due return, according to law. 
 
 " Dated at Norwich, the 4th day of April, Anno Domini 
 1776, and in the 16th year of His Majesty's Reign. 
 
 " Sam. Leffingwell, 
 
 "Justice of Peace." 
 
 In the spring of 1776, the happy settlement of the difficul- 
 ties, which was hoped for, as mentioned in Sam. Loudon's let- 
 ter of December 1775, was as far off as ever. The war still 
 continued. In March, the British were obliged to vacuate Bos- 
 ton, which Washington entered, much to the joy of the inhabi- 
 tants. At the same time, he sent Gen. Lee to New York, to 
 prepare to repel the British force, as it was supposed they would 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 329 
 
 now try to occupy this important and central location. Gen. 
 Washington soon followed with the main army and took up 
 quarters on York Island. Their expectations were justified. 
 Sam'l Loudon, in a letter to Elijah Backus, dated July ist, 
 1776, says : 
 
 " At last General Howe and his fleet are arrived at Sandy 
 Hook, about twenty miles from this city, (New York.) It 
 is supposed he will land his men on Long Island, and attempt 
 to take the fortifications opposite this city, but I think it will 
 cost him much before he obtains those places. Our army 
 seems willing and ready to meet them. I wish we may not de- 
 pend too much on an arm of flesh." 
 
 Let us leave the subject of war, and turn our attention for a 
 while to the towns, and glance at the civil proceedings there. 
 
 We have seen how particular the people were to follow out 
 the resolves of the Continental Congress and how quickly any 
 offenders were brought to justice. We shall now see that they 
 were equally as zealous in carrying into effect the Civil Laws for 
 the good of the town. We will glance at a number of papers. 
 Here is one : 
 
 "To Elijah Backus, a Justice of the Peace for the County 
 of New London and State of Connecticut, comes Andrew 
 Tracy, Jr., upon oath, and presents that James Bl r, (a sol- 
 dier belonging to Col. Huntington's regiment) was drunken up- 
 on the 24th of March, instant, in Norwich, which is against 
 
 the law of the State ; therefore pray he, the said Bl r may 
 
 be had before Your Worship, and dealt with according to law 
 
 and justice. 
 
 "Andrew Tracy, Jr., 
 
 " Grand Juror. 
 " Norwich, 31st March, 1777. 
 
 " Hezekiah Tracj 
 
 acy, I 
 
 E, j 
 
 "Phineas Hyde, r Witnesses." 
 
33° A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 Another reads : 
 
 " To Elijah Backus, Esq., of Norwich, in New London 
 
 County, a Justice of Peace for said County, comes Elisha 
 
 Tracy, Jr., of Norwich, a Grand Juror for said County, and 
 
 upon oath complains and says, that on the 18th day of May, 
 
 instant, in Norwich aforesaid, one Abigail 'M n, (wife of 
 
 John M n, of New London, North Parish, in said County) 
 
 did travel from said North Parish, on her way to Windham, till 
 
 stopped 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 laws of said State in 
 
 that case provided. 
 
 " Dated at Norwich, this 22nd Day of May, A. D. 1777. 
 
 " Elisha Tracy, Jr., 
 
 " Grand Juror. 
 " Witnesses to prove the fact are : 
 
 " Capt. Joshua Barker, I 
 " Elisha Tracy, Jr." \ 
 
 We find on the back the following record, viz : 
 
 "June 26, 1777, appeared the within delinquent. Plead 
 
 guilty. Fined 20 | , and 2 | costs. 
 
 " Elijah Backus, 
 
 ''Justice of the Peace. 
 " Paid it." 
 
 The next paper is as follows : 
 
 " To Ziporah Woo th, a transient person now residing 
 
 in the Town of Norwich, you are hereby warned to depart said 
 town forthwith, and to return no more to reside therein, as you 
 will answer your neglect at the peril of the law. 
 
 " Norwich, 9th March, 1779. 
 
 "Samuel Tracy, 1 
 
 " Labdiel Rogers, ! „ , . 
 " t„„„ .„ xj„„„ t r selectmen. 
 1 homas Hyde, Jr., j 
 
 " Elijah Lothrop, J 
 " To either of the Constables of the Town of Norwich, to 
 serve and return." 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY 33 1 
 
 On the back it reads : 
 
 "Norwich, March ioth, 1779. 
 "This day, I read the within warning in the hearing of the 
 within named Ziporah Wood — th. 
 
 " Silas Hartshorn, 
 
 " Constable." 
 And also : 
 
 " To Elijah Backus, Esq., a Justice of the Peace for New 
 London County, come the Selectmen of Norwich, in said 
 County, and complain that Ziporah Wood — th, a transient 
 person, non-resident in said Norwich, was, March ioth, 1779, 
 warned to depart the town and return no more to reside in said 
 town, etc. Notwithstanding said warning as within and above 
 may appear not in least regarding, still remain to reside in said 
 Norwich, and we pray that said person may be had before 
 your Worship and -dealt with as law and justice may appertain. 
 "Norwich, Oct. 5th, 1779. 
 
 "Sam. Tracy, '} 
 
 "Labdiel Rogers, j 
 
 " Sam. Lovett, \ Selectmen." 
 
 "Thomas Hyde, Jr., | 
 
 " Elijah Lothrop, j 
 
 And we may well believe that said Wood — th, having been 
 duly fined, " departed the town to return no more." 
 
 The next paper is of a different character : 
 
 "To the Sheriff of the County of New London, or his Deputy, or 
 either of the Constables of Norwich, in said County —Greet- 
 ing : 
 
 " Whereas, the small pox is broke out in the Town Street, 
 and a number of persons are sick therewith, and the Selectmen 
 of said Norwich have made application to me, the subscriber, 
 that there might be a proper house provided for the reception 
 of said sick, and the house now occupied by James Mix and 
 William Barker, the property of Mr. Pulsey Hyde, is recom- 
 
332 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 mended for the purpose aforesaid ; these are, therefore, in the 
 name of the Governor and Company of the State of Connect- 
 icut to command you forthwith to impress the aforesaid house, 
 and see that the same shall be properly cleared of the people, 
 the furniture, etc., that the said sick may be immediately re- 
 moved therein. Whereof you may not fail, but make lawful 
 return of this writ with your doings thereon. 
 
 " Dated in Norwich, the 28th of November, A. D. 1781. 
 
 " Elijah Backus, 
 
 "Justice of Peace." 
 
 The following paper will be interesting as showing one of 
 the methods of punishment in vogue : 
 
 "To Ebenezer. Backus, Constable of Norwich, in the County of 
 
 New London — Greeting : 
 
 " Whereas one, ' Bill,' alias ' William Ryan,' a transient per- 
 son, is this 1 8th day of November, 1784, convicted before me, 
 the subscriber, of stealing, and by the sentence of this Courfis 
 to be whipped on the naked body ten stripes. 
 
 " These are therefore by the authority of the State of Con- 
 necticut, to command you forthwith to take said ' Bill,' alias 
 Ryan, to the public signpost in said Norwich, and tie him to 
 said post, and give him, the said ' Bill ' alias Ryan, ten stripes on 
 the naked body, agreeable to the sentence of said court. 
 
 " Dated at Norwich, November 18th, 1784. 
 
 "Elijah Backus, 
 
 " Justice of Peace." 
 
 We find by the records on the back that this was carried 
 out the next day. 
 
 Let us now return again to the Revolutionary War. The 
 Americans had been defeated in Aug., 1776, at Long Island, 
 but had, after their retreat gained two brilliant victories at 
 Trenton and at Princeton ; but, though united in their deter- 
 mination, the colonies were not well equipped, the army being 
 small and supplies scarce. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 333 
 
 The British opened the campaign the next year by burning 
 the colonists' stores of ammunition at Peekskill and Danbury. 
 The colonists were successful in capturing the stores of the 
 British at Sag Harbor. In June, 1777, the British under Bur- 
 goyne, laid siege to Ticonderoga and finally compelled the 
 Americans to retreat. The spirits of the colonists were re- 
 vived, however, by the victory at Bennington, on the 16th and 
 17th of August, in which seven hundred persons were captured 
 by the colonists. Then, too, the victories of the colonists at 
 Saratoga, Sept. 19th, and Oct. 7th, were far-reaching in their 
 effect. Meanwhile the main army had met the enemy at Bran- 
 dy wine and defeated them after a brave resistance, Sept. nth, 
 and Gen. Howe took possession of Philadelphia. After the 
 British had gained an indecisive victory at Germantown, the 
 armies retired to winter quarters. 
 
 In February, 1778, the British Parliament, induced by the 
 cost of the war in money and men, and the rumors of the alli- 
 ance of France with the colonists, passed two bills intended to 
 settle the difficulties with the colonists. Commissioners were 
 sent over to treat with the colonists, but their terms of recon- 
 ciliation, which a few years earlier would have been accepted, 
 were promptly rejected. 
 
 About the same time that these bills were passsed, France, 
 decided by Burgoyne's surrender, entered into an alliance with 
 the colonists. This was received with great joy in America 
 and a new life was infused into all their actions. 
 
 The campaign of this year was not especially favorable to 
 the Americans, although they were successful in one or two 
 battles. 
 
 The campaign of 1779 opened by the British making va- 
 rious predatory excursions in Virginia, and later in Connecti- 
 cut and New York. The colonists succeeded in capturing Stony 
 Point, which the British had fortified ; but failed in the attempt 
 to capture the British posts at Paulus Hook and at Penobscot, 
 losing many men and a fleet of ships and transports at the lat- 
 
334 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 ter place. In the South the British gained a few successes, and 
 repulsed an attack upon Savannah by the combined forces of 
 the French and the Colonists. In this year Spain acknowl- 
 edged the independence of the United States. General Sulli- 
 van went into the territory of the Indians, and destroyed their 
 towns and crops. This was done in order to impress them with 
 terror of the Colonists, and so keep them from ravaging the 
 frontier. 
 
 In 1780, Sir Henry Clinton decided to make the South the 
 seat of war. Accordingly he left New York with his forces, 
 and after a severe voyage, arrived at Savannah. Thence he 
 made an assault on Charleston, which place he finally captured 
 with General Lincoln and the whole army, together with cannon 
 and military stores. 
 
 On August 16th the Americans were again defeated at Cam- 
 den. The condition of the people at the South at this time 
 was very critical. The country was overrun, and exhausted of 
 provisions, and the inhabitants were in a state of extreme dis- 
 tress. The only thing tending to revive the spirits of the peo- 
 ple at this time were the achievements of Colonel Sumpter. 
 
 During this critical period occurred Arnold's treachery, the 
 story of which is familiar. In the autumn of this year Gen- 
 eral Greene was appointed to command the Colonist's army in 
 the South. He was accompanied by Colonel Morgan, who de- 
 feated the British at Cowpens. From this time on the affairs 
 began to look brighter for the American army. On the 15th 
 of March, 1781, an indecisive battle was fought at Guilford 
 Court House, with heavy losses on both sides. This had the 
 effect of a defeat on the British, as they were in a country 
 where they could not recruit their army. Gen. Greene marched 
 to Camden, to attack the British stationed there, but was de- 
 feated. He, however, later, captured a number of posts in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, and Sept. 19th, gained a splendid 
 victory over the English at Eutaw Springs. After Arnold had 
 made a predatory trip through Virginia, the entire British army 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 335 
 
 united their army in Virginia, at Yorktown, Cornwallis assum- 
 ing command. Here the Colonists determined to attack him. 
 Washington having combined all the troops, accordingly col- 
 lected his supplies and suddenly approached Yorktown after 
 having made a feint of attacking New York. The British 
 commander in New York sent Arnold on a plundering expe- 
 dition into Connecticut. The point of attack was New Lon- 
 don. The following was received at Norwich as they appeared, 
 and we may imagine the excitement it caused : 
 
 Norwich, Sept. 6th, 1781. 
 Sir: 
 
 The enemy are now landing at New London harbor's 
 mouth. You are therefore ordered to march with company 
 under your command forthwith for its defence. 
 
 Labdiel Rogers, Col. 20th. Reg. 
 To Capt. Elijah Backus. 
 
 They undoubtedly acted with valor, and did themselves and 
 their commander credit. However, Fort Trumbull was easily 
 taken, and Fort Griswold, at Groton, after a brave defence. 
 The garrison at the latter place were slaughtered after they had 
 surrendered. After this, the British proceeded to burn New 
 London. 
 
 On October 19th, Cornwallis surrendered. This practically 
 closed the war, although it was not until 1783, that the Inde- 
 pendence of the United States was recognized by the English 
 government. 
 
 We shall not follow the history of the war further, but turn 
 and glance at another period of the country's history, by some 
 considered one of the most important ; namely, the settlement 
 of Ohio. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 EARLY SETTLEMENT OF OHIO. 
 
 The search for knowledge is in itself compensating. The way, as we 
 all know, to almost every other goal is filled with thorns ; but study is a gen- 
 uine delight to the scholar from the beginning of his journey. It opens the 
 doors to a thousand avenues of pastime and happiness. Those who are in- 
 clined to make discoveries in regard to the ''whys" and "wherefores" of 
 events will naturally store their minds with history. Facts of themselves are 
 barren, but, linked together, become a golden chain. Strictly speaking, all 
 knowledge is recorded experience. Memory is but the treasure house of 
 annals. We are all constantly enacting history. In our every-day language 
 we recite history. In a certain sense every individual is a historian. How 
 few persons we meet daily, who, in talking, do not narrate ? The talent for 
 story-telling is the birthright of every citizen. History lies at the root of all 
 science and all culture. There has never been a nation or tribe so rude that 
 it has not attempted history in some form, even though it had not arithmetic 
 enough to count time. History has been engraved- on stone ; wrought into 
 wood and ivory ; manufactured from clay ; built into pyramids and palaces ; 
 written with quipu threads; with feather pictures; with wampum belts; 
 preserved in earth mounds, in monumental stone heaps, in the masterpieces 
 of the old artists, and in the poetry and prose of the centuries. 
 
 The first settlement of Ohio, at Marietta, is one of those historic events 
 of which the world is not likely to hear too much. It has been written about 
 probably more than any other place of its size on the continent, and yet there 
 is always room for something fresh and attractive to appear in connection 
 with its annals. The early history of the Northwest Territory and the first 
 settlement of Marietta is the chief object of this book. 
 
 It appears from the Journal and papers of James Backus, written by 
 him, and on this ground, and at the time of which he was one of the propri- 
 etors and a member of the Ohio Company, and from many letters, maps, 
 charts, books, field notes and documents which have lain in abeyance for a 
 century of time, and now in part published, thereby adding an item to the 
 already voluminous and published records of this important and interesting 
 subject, the first settlement of Marietta and Ohio, and now extant, and show- 
 ing a record of this busy young man for a period of three years or more 
 while engaged in the duties of the company, and a resident of the country, 
 are a most valuable acquisition to the history of Ohio. 
 
SETTLEMENT OF OHIO. 
 
 Ohio was first settled at Marietta, April, 1788. "The set- 
 tlement at Marietta, in 1788, grew out of an appropriation of 
 lands made by Congress in 1776 to the officers and soldiers of 
 the army. Those who should serve during the war were to 
 
 have tracts according to their rank In June, 1783, 
 
 a number of officers of the army petitioned Congress that the 
 lands to which they were entitled might be located in 'that 
 tract of country bounded north on Lake Erie, east on Penn- 
 sylvania, south-east and south on the river Ohio, west on a line 
 beginning at that part of the Ohio which lies twenty-four miles 
 west of the mouth of the Scioto, thence running north on a 
 meridianal line till it intersects the river Miami, which falls in- 
 to Lake Erie, thence down the middle of that river to the 
 Lake.'" .... 
 
 " Gen. Rufus Putnam forwarded this petition to Gen. Wash- 
 ington, accompanying it with a long and able letter, in which 
 he detailed the advantages which the establishment of such a 
 
 colony would secure to the whole country General 
 
 Washington immediately transmits this petition, with a copy of 
 Gen. Putnam's letter, to the President of Congress, accompany- 
 ing it with an earnest letter Congress was slow in 
 
 acting upon this petition, and 'in Jan., 1786, Generals Rufus 
 Putnam and Benjamin Tupper, issued a called for a meeting 
 of officers and soldiers and others to form an Ohio Company. 
 22 
 
33% A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 The meeting was held in Boston, March ist A 
 
 committee was appointed to prepare articles of association and 
 the Ohio Company of Associates was duly organized. Their 
 object was to raise a fund in Continental Certificates for the 
 sole purpose of buying western lands." 
 
 (The foregoing sketch is an extract from an address of the 
 late President Andrews, of Marietta College.) 
 
 These lands were obtained from Congress in 1787, October 
 27th, the contract being for a million and-a-half of acres. This 
 contract was brought about principally through the efforts of 
 Dr. Manasseh Cutler. He was also largely instrumental in the 
 passage of the " Ordinance of 1787 " which forever prohibited 
 slavery in the Northwest Territory. 
 
 The contract signed, immediately set about making plans 
 for the settlement. Early in December, 1787, a party of me- 
 chanics and boat builders set out from Danvers, Massachu- 
 setts, and making its way across the country, reaching Simrill's 
 Ferry, Jan. 24th, 1788. Here they were joined by a second 
 party, Feb. 14th, which had left Hartford, Jan. ist. At this 
 place they built boats and the whole party embarked April ist, 
 for the Muskingum River, where they landed April the 7th, 
 1788. This has been called the landing of "the Second May- 
 flower" and very appropriately, for New England had now 
 gone westward to plant the "first colony in a vast wilderness." 
 
 The men who formed the Ohio Company, and the proprie- 
 tors of it, were men of the highest order. Probably no settle- 
 ment of modern times could show so many eminent men. New 
 England had sent some of her best citizens to found a new 
 state. As would be expected, the State became worthy of its 
 founders, in less than a hundred years being ranked among the 
 foremost in the union. 
 
 But the settlers who landed at the mouth of the Muskin- 
 gum had something else to do than to speculate as to the out- 
 come of the settlement. The ground must be cleared and 
 crops planted, which was the work of several weeks. But the 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 339 
 
 settlers went to work with a will and by June, one hundred and 
 fifty acres had been planted with corn. 
 
 " Prominent among the pioneers who came to Marietta and 
 remained here as one the earliest settlers was Major Haffield 
 White. He was born at Wenham, Massachusetts, January 3d, 
 1739. He was in the prime of life at the breaking out of the 
 Revolutionary war, and at the first assault of the British inva- 
 ders was among those who responded immediately to the call 
 for troops. 
 
 "At the close of the war, while the soldiers were still in 
 camp on the banks of the Hudson, it was deemed expedient 
 by the officers of the American army to form a bond of 
 brotherhood. 
 
 " The embodiment or sentiment of this organization was, 
 that they had been brothers in honor and toil, they would now 
 pledge themselves to assist and protect each other in any future 
 needs or distress. From this idea emanated the Order of the 
 Cincinnati, and Major Haffield White was one of the original 
 members. 
 
 " The disappointments arising from the non-payment of its 
 troops led finally to the formation of the 'Ohio Company of 
 Associates.' Major White is shown to have had shares in this 
 company. After the shares had been sold, the purchase made 
 for lands from the government, it was deemed expedient for the 
 company to send men in advance of the major part of the 
 shareholders, and these men, boat-builders and mechanics, 
 were selected and placed in charge of Major White as their 
 superintendent and commissary. They left Danvers, the home 
 of Mr. White, the first of December, 1787, not reaching Sim- 
 rill's Ferry till the latter part of January, 1788, a tedious journey 
 of six weeks. The surveyors and their assistants, and the rest of 
 the pioneers, under the superintendence of Gen. Rufus Putnam, 
 assisted by Col. Ebenezer Sproat, left Hartford, Connecticut, 
 in January, 1788, and greeted the first little band of about 
 twenty men, the middle of February, after a toilsome journey 
 
34° A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 of near six weeks. The combined efforts of the two companies 
 completed their boats, and the journey down the Ohio river was 
 more speedy. Major White and his son, Peletiah, were among 
 the first forty-eight who landed here. He held the office of 
 commissary during the rest of that year, or as long as such a 
 department was needed. 
 
 "At the first meeting of the directors and agents on July 
 2d, Major White was of the number. It was at this first meet- 
 ing that the name Marietta was given to this city instead of 
 Adelphi, as it had been called from the first. At the first 
 'town meeting of the territory,' 4th February, 1789, Major 
 White was chosen with four others, Colonel Archibald Crary, 
 Major Sargent, Robert Oliver and Mr. Backus, to form a com- 
 mittee to draft a code of laws, to govern the city by a system 
 of police force, and to address Gov. St. Clair upon the subject, 
 to explain that they only usurped temporary power. The code 
 then adopted continued from the time it was reported by the 
 committee, 17th March, 1789, until after the close of the In- 
 dian War. 
 
 "In 1789, with Col. Robert Oliver and Capt. John Dodge, 
 he erected the first mill in the State of Ohio, first a saw mill ; 
 afterwards buhrs were put in for grinding. This mill was built 
 about a mile west of Waterford, on Wolf creek, where it is now 
 spanned by a bridge for the convenience of travelers along the 
 picturesque country road. It is stated that the buhrs for this 
 mill were quarried in separate pieces and cemented together 
 after reaching their destination, and that these and the iron 
 "crank* were, brought from Connecticut, a part of the distance 
 on pack-horses, and transported the rest of the way by river. 
 
 "During the Indian war Major White, with the rest of the 
 settlers at the mill, retreated to the protection afforded in Cam- 
 
 * These were manufactured at the Backus Iron Works at Norwich 
 (Yantic) Ct., and were forwarded to James Backus by his father, Elijah 
 Backus, who was the proprietor of these works. Mention is made of this in 
 James Backus' journal, page, 50, under date, April 19th, 1789 ; and an ac- 
 count of the Iron Works may also be found on page 31b. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY, 341 
 
 pus Martius, so that the village of Millburgh remained entirely 
 deserted. After the war, he again took possession of his prop- 
 erty, where he built a two story frame house which is still 
 standing." — Marietta Register, Dec. 6th, 1887. 
 
 The code of laws had been nailed to a tree, for the benefit 
 of the settlers, but had received no infringement. The settle- 
 ment had been augmented by arrivals of other emigrants, and 
 things in general began to take on the appearance of a pros- 
 perous settlement. The condition of the country and of the 
 people, may be seen in the following interesting extract from a 
 letter to Elijah Backus, from James Backus, soon after the set- 
 tlement at Marietta. 
 
 Muskingum, 31st Dec, 1788. 
 Dear Parents : 
 
 . . . . There has been a great proportion of rainy 
 weather ever since I arrived here, but the air appears, from the 
 effect it has had upon different constitutions to be perfectly 
 healthy, there being less sickness here, perhaps, than in any 
 other instance that can be produced where so many people have 
 been so much exposed as ours have been. Out of four com- 
 panies of soldiers stationed at Fort Harmer for the last season, 
 not one instance of death was affected by any kind of fever, 
 and very few instances of fever occurred either there or on our 
 side. 
 
 The Indian Treaty, so long talked of, came on the week be- 
 fore last, and is not yet closed. Brant has failed in his plan of 
 uniting the different nations of Indians, which has taken up 
 most of the year. He has gone from the place where they held 
 their treaty, and taken but a few Indians with him. The 
 Shawnees, and some others, have gone home to their towns, 
 but the greater part, who are thought to be amicably disposed, 
 are come in to treat. There have been few depredations com- 
 mitted by the Indians in the western country this season. This 
 settlement has suffered nothing from them but from their beg- 
 ging 
 
342 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 We now have thirty families, and upwards of four hundred 
 persons. Every precaution is taken to facilitate the settlement 
 of this country, and I think there is no country flattered with 
 a more promising prospect than this. Lands must rise rapidly 
 in value as population increases. I am offered forty dollars for 
 a city lot, and shares in the company sell for four hundred dol- 
 lars. The directors and agents, together with the proprietors 
 present, have resolved to give about one hundred acres in each 
 share for the encouragement of settlers, and a committee has 
 gone out to examine the purchase, in order to find the most ad- 
 vantageous places for making a settlement. I think this place 
 will be a frontier no longer than next season. Our people have 
 been very attentive in procuring fruit trees. I have about one 
 hundred young apple trees set out in a nursery. Some of our 
 people will have bearing fruit trees in two years from last sea- 
 son. There are about one hundred and fifty horses, sixty cows 
 and seven yoke of oxen here, for which there is not half the 
 forage provided that you provide for your stock. The people 
 of Virginia opposite to us, who have a settlement of upwards 
 of twenty families, think little of laying up forage. Their cat- 
 tle, which are used to the woods, subsist very well without. 
 
 The number of emigrants that pass down the river to Ken- 
 tucky, and other parts of the country is amazing. This place 
 is as much traveled through by every description of people as 
 most parts of the old country, yet provisions are by no means 
 scarce or dear. The highest price for flour is $2 per bbl. ; for 
 corn, two shillings per bushel ; for pork, twenty shillings per 
 hundred lbs. Sugar, coffee, tea, etc., are dear. There is no 
 prospect of making much maple sugar, the trees being by no 
 means plenty. 
 
 I have not yet been able to discover any prospect of enter- 
 ing upon any pursuit that would afford an immediate profit. 
 The Indian trade is not an object very attractive, unless it is 
 prosecuted on a large scale. An iron works situated in a well- 
 chosen place in some part of the western country would afford 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 343 
 
 the owner an immense profit, there not being one on this side 
 of the mountains. . . Great plenty of ground coal is found 
 in the western country. Iron ore likewise appears to be plenty. 
 I have found it within two miles of this place, which was heavy, 
 and apparently of good quality. .... 
 
 I wish it was in my power to inform you when I shall be at 
 home, but I am so situated at present that it is out of my pow- 
 er. I have received a deputation from Colonel Sproat, who is 
 appointed sheriff of this new country, and have engaged to 
 transact his business until he returned. 
 
 We have a militia formed, who assemble every Sunday and 
 are fined for not attending. We have preaching, or service 
 read regularly, once a week. We have, likewise, a school. . 
 Your affectionate son, 
 
 J. Backus. 
 
 We wil now take a brief glance at the settlements after that 
 at Muskingum, which settlement received the name of Mari- 
 etta. The next settlements after that at Marietta was Belpre, 
 settled early in 1789, and Waterford settled in the same year. 
 These were organized as townships in 1790. Columbia was 
 laid out in 1789, Sept. 2d, by Mayor Benjamin Stites, who 
 bought the land of John Cleve Symmes. Symmes had received 
 the land from Congress by purchase and intended to found a 
 city which should be the county seat. He sold more land to 
 Matthias Dennan, and from this tract rose the city of Cincin- 
 nati, at the mouth of the Licking. Symmes himself pushed 
 westward, and there established North Bend. In 1795, Nov. 
 4th, Dayton was laid out, and September of the next year, 
 Cleveland. Chillicothe was founded in 1795. 
 
 The first territorial assembly met at Cincinnati, Jan. 22d, 
 1799. In 1800, the territory of Indiana was set off by Congress. 
 In 1803, Ohio was admitted to the union, the first Governor 
 being Edward Tiffin. 
 
 This is briefly the settlement of Ohio. We have not at- 
 tempted to give an account of the political proceedings, or the 
 
344 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 advance of the colonists in prosperity, nor shall we attempt to 
 sketch the history of the State to the present time. If the 
 reader is interested, he is referred to an admirable little volume 
 called " The Story of Ohio," by Alexander Black. 
 
 In spite of the treaties that had been made, the early set- 
 tlers of Ohio had considerable trouble with the Indians, espe- 
 cially from 1 789-1 794. It may not prove uninteresting to 
 glance briefly at these troubles. 
 
 Black says in his " Story of Ohio," page 120 : " When St. 
 Clair arrived at the Muskingum it was with the intention of 
 making a treaty with the Indians at the earliest possible day ; 
 but, owing to a collision with the Indians in the interior, it was 
 December before the council met. The Governor, who at that 
 time was suffering from the gout, and had to be carried daily 
 to the meetings, was much annoyed by the manner in which 
 the Indians, with an excellent appetite for the white man's din- 
 ners, spread out the business of the convention." 
 
 The reader will remember that James Backus speaks of the 
 '' Indians coming in to treat," in his letter dated Dec. 31, 1788, 
 quoted above. In a letter dated Jan. 26, 1789, he says further: 
 
 " Since I wrote you last, the Indian Treaty has closed 
 peacefully. An entertainment was provided for about twenty 
 Indian chiefs, after the treaty was finished, in our stockade. 
 The Indians behaved with great decency and propriety. The 
 Agents and Directors have made a present of a mile square in 
 our purchase to one of the chiefs, called Cornplanter (a very 
 influential character among the Indians) at his particular re- 
 quest." 
 
 But this treaty proved futile and war became inevitable. 
 The Indians were urged on by English agents in Canada, 
 knowing that a war between the Indians and the settlers would 
 tend to increase their influence in the region, and perhaps, if 
 the settlers were driven off, gain eventual control. So they 
 paid no heed to the messenger sent them, asking that they 
 would not help the Indians in any way. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 345 
 
 A letter written to Elijah Backus, dated in New York, Aug. 
 27th 1790, contains some facts bearing on this period : 
 
 " There is an Indian War now commencing. Fifteen hun- 
 dred men are now raising on the frontiers to meet in Septem- 
 ber. These, with the regular troops, will make a body of be- 
 tween two and three thousand men, who are expected to com- 
 mence their operations in October, against the Indians' towns." 
 
 Such an expedition did set out. A good account of the 
 expedition may be had in the following letter, written to Elijah 
 Backus by his son : 
 
 Muskingum, 24th Nov. 1790. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 The prospects of .peace upon our frontiers seem to me to 
 be vanished. The troops from the garrison have this morning 
 returned and the best account of the expedition that I can col- 
 lect is as follows, viz : 
 
 The troops, amounting to 1,200 militia and about 300 
 regulars, after the seventeen days' march from Miami, reached 
 the Great Miami village, about one hundred and seventy miles, 
 without any molestation, except having a number of their pack- 
 horses stolen. On their arrival, they found the village deserted 
 and all the valuable buildings set in flames by the Indians. 
 After a short tarry they proceeded to the neighboring villages 
 without molestation and destroyed five of them, and a great 
 quantity of corn, computed at fifteen thousand bushels, which 
 they found buried in different places ; and a very large quanti- 
 ty of vegetables of every kind. The first opposition met with 
 was in this manner. A party of about 150 Kentucky militia 
 and 30 regulars, all under the command of Col. Harding, of 
 Kentucky, were detached from the main body, lying in the 
 Great Miami village, to pursue the trail of a party of Indians 
 which had the day before been discovered. After a pursuit of 
 about six miles, they came up with it and were attacked by 
 surprise, by a body of Indians who were concealed in the 
 
346 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 thickets on every side of a large plain. At the first onset, the 
 militia without exchanging a single fire, made a most precipi- 
 tate retreat and left the regular troops to stand the whole 
 charge of the Indians alone. The conflict was short and bloody. 
 The troops were soon overpowered by numbers, and all fell ex- 
 cept the two officers and one or two privates, after defending 
 themselves with the greatest possible obstinacy. Ensign Hart- 
 shorn, of Franklin, was one of the four that escaped, and his 
 escape appeared to depend more on a lucky circumstance of 
 falling over a log in his retreat and by that means, screening 
 himself from the eyes of his pursuers, than to anything else. 
 Capt. Armstrong who commanded the party, likewise escaped, 
 by plunging himself into a pond in a swamp up to his neck, 
 within two hundred yards of the field of action, where he re- 
 mained the whole night, a spectator to the horrid scene of the 
 " war dance " performed over the dead and wounded bodies of 
 the poor soldiers that had fallen the preceding day, where 
 their shrieks mixed with the horrid yells of the savages, render- 
 ed his situation shocking. 
 
 After this, a few skirmishes occurred, but nothing material, 
 until the second capital action, which happened two days after 
 the army left the Miami village. At ten miles' distance from 
 the town the General ordered a halt, and detached from four to 
 five hundred militia and about sixty regulars, commanded by 
 Major Willis, all under the command by Colonel Harding, 
 with orders to march back to town. On their entrance into 
 the town, there appeared a small body of Indians, who imme- 
 diately fled at the first onset, and by that means destroyed the 
 whole body of militia, by making their flight in different direc- 
 tions, and encouraging the militia to pursue. By this means 
 the regulars were left alone, and the Indians had effected their 
 design, for the moment they found the small body of regular 
 troops detached from the main body of militia, they com- 
 menced the attack with their whole force, excepting the flying 
 parties that had diverted the militia. Although they found 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 347 
 
 some parts of the militia turning on their backs, pursued their 
 object of routing and destroying the troops as the only sure 
 plan of success. This, after a most bloody conflict on both 
 sides, they effected. The regular troops, all but nine, includ- 
 ing two commissioned officers, were killed or disabled, and a 
 total defeat ensued. Among the slain were Major Willis, of 
 Hartford, and Lieutenant Frothingham, of Middletown. Of 
 the militia, it is said about a hundred were killed, among whom 
 were a number of brave and valuable characters. The Indians, 
 it appears from some cause did not think it prudent to pursue 
 their success far from the field of action, for most of the troops 
 who were not killed or badly wounded made their escape, 
 which they never could have done had the Indians pursued 
 with their usual fury. Nothing can exceed the intrepidity of 
 the Indians on these two occasions. The militia they appear- 
 ed to despise, and with all the undauntedness conceivable, 
 threw down their guns, and rushed upon the bayonets of the 
 regulars, and great numbers of them fell ; but being so far su- 
 perior in numbers, they soon overpowered the troops, for while 
 the poor soldier had his bayonet in one Indian, two more would 
 sink their tomahawks in his head. 
 
 The defeat of our troops was complete. The dead and 
 wounded were left on the field in the possession of the sav- 
 ages. Two favorable circumstances only appear in the affair. 
 The one is, that the main army was never attacked before or 
 after the last action, and that the Indians suffered their towns to 
 be destroyed without making any opposition ; the other is, that 
 they did not even appear to harrass the flanks or rear of the 
 army on its return to Fort Washington. 
 
 From the whole, I think the conclusions may be drawn that 
 the Indians did not feel themselves able to cope with the 
 whole army, but placed all their hopes of victory upon pursu- 
 ing that mode of operation which they had adopted, that of 
 cutting off detachments, until they had reduced our troops to 
 such a degree that they should suppose their own force superi- 
 
348 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 or to that of their enemies ; and their reasons for not pursuing 
 the army after their last engagement is supposed to be the 
 heavy loss of men they must have sustained, which to them is 
 fatal, let the advantage of victory be on whose side it may. 
 
 More bravery and determined courage, I suppose, never was 
 exhibited by any men than by the savages in the course of this 
 expedition. They appeared perfectly capable of judging of 
 their own and their enemy's power from the first instant, and 
 never appeared in the least embarrassed or disconcerted in car- 
 rying on an unequal contest, but uniformly preferred this first 
 plan of weakening the power of their enemy, and whenever 
 they had an opportunity to show them they did not fear to en- 
 counter them on equal ground. 
 
 The circumstance of burning their own towns before the 
 enemy, discover them to possess an independence of spirit very 
 forcing to a conquered people. 
 
 The losses of the Indians in corn, etc., was doubtless very 
 considerable, although a large proportion of it probably be- 
 longed to the French and English inhabitants of the towns. 
 Their booty was certainly much heavier than their losses, for 
 besides the clothes, guns, accoutrements, etc., of the slain, they 
 got from two to three hundred rifles, which were dropped by 
 the militia in their precipitate retreat, and about four hundred 
 pack horses, which they had stolen from the army on the march 
 out, and while in the towns. Added to all this is the advant- 
 age they will derive from the scalps they have taken. . . . 
 
 No authentic account, 1 believe, is received from the troops 
 under Major Hamtrammerick, that were to march from port 
 St. Vincent. Their numbers, it is said, were to amount to six 
 hundred regulars and militia and their object to destroy a 
 number of Indian villages upon the waters of the Wabash and 
 the head waters of the Miami. No damage of any consequence 
 has been sustained in this part of the country, from the In- 
 dians, but what effect the expedition will have on affairs which 
 
 relate to our frontier is uncertain 
 
 J. Backus. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 349 
 
 This expedition resulting disastrously, put the settlements 
 of the Northwest in great danger. Accordingly Congress raised 
 an army for its protection and St. Clair was appointed com- 
 mander. Meanwhile, a company of volunteers was raised and 
 put under command of Gen. Charles Scott. In a letter to 
 James Backus, there occurs the following : 
 
 "Not a word of news excepting that the Indians continue 
 troublesome up and down the river. Just received a letter 
 from Major Sargent. He informs me Gen. Scott has gone out. 
 The Indians are killing daily near the Fort at headquarters, 
 but they have not troubled us much lately. I think a great 
 part of them are employed about home by this time. We have 
 had letters from the people who were taken at Big Bottom, five 
 in number. Some are upon their return." 
 
 (Jan. 10th, 1791.) 
 
 " (At Big Bottom, occurred a massacre of the whites by the 
 Indians.) 
 
 The expedition of Gen. Scott was very successful. St. 
 Clair's expedition, however, ended disastrously, and the frontier 
 was thrown into a state of great anxiety and terror. The 
 United States sent messengers to win over the Indians, but 
 they were most of them murdered. The Indians, urged on by 
 the English and Spanish emissaries, would make no terms of 
 peace unless the whites would promise to remove from thence. 
 
 But in 1793, Gen. Wayne, an old Revolutionary general of 
 great reputation, lead an expedition against the Indians, who 
 were aided by Canadian militia and volunteers, and he so 
 thoroughly defeated them that they were glad to make peace. 
 The treaty was signed August 3rd, and " thus ended the In- 
 dian Reign of Terror " on the frontier. 
 
 We will now glance at a few letters and miscellaneous arti- 
 cles of interest. 
 
 The next are extracts from letters, describing Backus, better 
 known as Blennerhassett's Island. The island was the scene of 
 
35° A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR 
 
 an event which, while not with its romantic side, was yet some- 
 what sad and pathetic. 
 
 The first letter is from Lucy Woodbridge to Elijah Sackus, 
 and contains a description of Blennerhassett Island. 
 
 My Dear Parents : 
 
 I have omitted of late to write, by many opportunities to New 
 England, fearing my letter should get into the post office. I 
 was sorry to hear the packet sent by Mr. Tupper was forwarded 
 in that way. It is a tax they will poorly pay. I now send by 
 Mr. Hart, who engages to deliver the letter himself, and will 
 give my friends an opportunity of writing to me. 
 
 I have nothing new to communicate I expect 
 
 that brother Elijah will leave me as soon as Mr. Woodbridge 
 returns. He is proposing to build on his island, where he will 
 spend the summer in cultivating land. He seems to anticipate 
 the time with pleasure, and I hope he will be satisfied with his 
 employment. It is a situation that affords every amusement 
 that a spot of ground can afford, without society. At one end 
 of the island is a thick wood of about fifty acres — excellent 
 hunting ground — which is cut off in the winter by water from the 
 river, that forms smooth sea for boating. At the other extreme 
 is a cove that at all seasons produces fish of every kind that 
 swims in this river, in great abundance. He has a beach in 
 summer which affords an excellent road either for carriages or 
 horses, which extends the length of the island, the whole of 
 which is situated in the river, and affords very many elegant 
 building lots. He (Elijah) has likewise a sugar orchard, that 
 
 will produce from six to eight hundred of sugar 
 
 Your affectionate daughter, L. W. 
 
 The next is also from Lucy Woodbridge, and bears on the 
 same subject. It is written to James Backus. 
 
the backus family. 35 1 
 
 My Dear Brother : 
 
 I expect Elijah to-morrow on his way to Philadelphia. He 
 has been unexpectedly detained a long time settling some busi- 
 ness with a Mr. Blennerhasset, who has bought a part of his 
 
 island 
 
 L. W. 
 Dec. 17th, 1798. 
 
 Between 1789 and 1795, within the Ohio Company's pur- 
 chase, twenty-eight persons were killed, seven taken as prison- 
 ers, and two wounded, but escaped the scalping knife. Over in 
 Virginia, near the head of Blennerhasett Island, several of the 
 family of a Mr. Armstrong were killed and others taken into 
 captivity. The following is an account of this cold-blooded, 
 murderous attack, as given in the Detroit Free Press by one of 
 its correspondents. 
 
 " My father, John Armstrong, lived on the Virginia side of 
 the Ohio River, opposite the upper end of Blennerhassett 
 Island. The Indians made frequent excursions into our neigh- 
 borhood, and my mother was in constant dread of being killed 
 by them. She seemed to have a presentiment that she would 
 share the fate of her parents, who were both killed by them in 
 Miflin County, Pennsylvania, in April, 1793. I .remember per- 
 fectly the evening of that eventful night. 
 
 " My father owned a floating mill on the island. My two 
 oldest brothers were at the mill, and the three youngest (two 
 girls and one boy) were in bed. Father went down to the riv- 
 er to examine a trot line, mother stood in the door holding a 
 candle for him. 'T was the last time I saw her, and never shall 
 forget her appearance — she trembled like a leaf. I suppose 
 she was afraid of the Indians, for I then thought there was 
 nothing else on earth to fear. 
 
 " My father returned safe. Elizabeth, John and myself 
 slept in the loft. I think it was about three o'clock in the 
 morning we were wakened by the barking of our dog. Father 
 sprang up and opened one of the doors (we always kept them 
 
3S 2 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 both barred) went out and hissed the dog on. He, however, 
 soon saw several Indians start from behind the trees. He hal- 
 loed ' Indians,' ran into the house, barred the door, and seized 
 a gun, as there were several in the house. By this time the 
 house was surrounded by twenty Wyandotts. The faithful dog 
 kept them off until he was disabled. They had cut him so bad- 
 ly in the mouth that his under jaw hung loose. At their ap- 
 proach father fired his gun, then caught a bullet pouch, which 
 proved to be one belonging to another gun, and sprung into 
 the loft. He put the bullet and powder into his hand, but in 
 putting the bullet into the gun found it too large, threw the gun 
 down, tore the roof open, and sprung to the ground. He was 
 not discovered, for most of the Indians were then in the house. 
 
 " They commenced by killing the three youngest. Mother 
 attempted to escape through the chimney, but it is supposed 
 her clothes caught, for she fell, and as they told me, in attempt- 
 ing to raise her they found she could not stand, her hip was 
 broken. Had it not been for that they would not have killed 
 her, but as she could not travel, they must have her scalp as a 
 trophy. They also scalped the two oldest of the children ; 
 from mother they took two. They said the babe's hair was not 
 long enough to scalp, so they took one from its mother for it. 
 After killing those below they came up and took us down. 
 You can imagine better than I can describe my feelings on en- 
 tering that room of blood. I was led over the slippery floor, 
 and placed between the knees of one of those bloody savages, 
 whose hands were still reeking with the blood of my dearest 
 relatives. . . . 
 
 "My father then returned to the house, where he found the 
 corpses of his wife and youngest child lying out of doors, and 
 in the house two other children lying in their gore. The boy 
 was still alive, and asked father ' why he pulled his hair.' " 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 353 
 
 THE SCIOTO PURCHASE. 
 
 Reference is made in James Backus' Journal to his being 
 authorized to make surveys for General Putnam. The follow- 
 ing is a verbatim copy of a letter received by James Backus, 
 and fully explains the numerous entries in his Journal from the 
 time he received this letter. 
 
 To Mr. James Backus, one of the Surveyors Appointed to lay out 
 
 the lands of the Scioto Company : 
 
 Sir : — The first object to which I request your atten- 
 tion is to accompany Mr. DeBarth & the other Gentlemen 
 representing the 24 associates (mentioned in Mr. Barlow's let- 
 ter of Feb'y ioth, 1790, of which you will have an extract) who 
 are going down the Ohio to reconnoiter the lands they have a 
 claim to, & to assist them in fixing on the place for building a 
 Town. — 
 
 Mr. Barlow points out certain tracts of land within which 
 this Society of 24 are to make their choice of 24,000 acres to 
 be located in manner as mentioned in the Said Extract — ; but 
 it is to be observed that the plan Mr. Barlow made use of is 
 found on actual Survey to be very erronious, and Justice re- 
 quires that the location be made agreeable to the intention of 
 the parties, So that as nearly as possible the lands represented 
 on Mr. Barlow's plan as included in the contract be surveyed 
 to the purchaser & to apply this principle to the Society of the 
 24, you will find they are to have their Choice in the following 
 Township as numbered in the plan made from actual Survey, viz: 
 the first & second Township in the 16th range, 1-2 & 3 in the 
 17th range, 1-2 & 3 in the ioth range, and in the 20th range 
 that part of the 3d which lies north of the little river which in- 
 tersects it with the 4th, 5th & 6th; you will not have time, nor 
 is it intended you Should Survey the whole tract, but Such 
 parts only as are necessary to ascertain the quantity of the 
 lands they shall make choice of & the plot they Shall fix on for 
 2 3 
 
3S4 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 building their Town, together with the Spot for erecting the 
 
 buildings which the Scioto Company are to construct.— 
 
 You will procure Such chain men & assistants as you may 
 
 think proper on the best terms you can, you know the fund I 
 
 am to draw on for their pay & you must obtain a credit for 
 
 three or six months if possible. 
 
 I am, Sir, with much respect & Esteem, 
 
 your humble Servent. 
 
 Rufus Putnam. 
 Marietta, November ioth, 1790. 
 
 P. S. I have wrote to Capt. Guion, to furnish provision, &c. 
 
 We cannot close this volume, which primarily intending to 
 be "A Genealogical Memoir," has gradually added matter of 
 considerable historical interest, without making mention of the 
 Scioto Purchase, in which James Backus was one of the prime 
 movers ; and in this, as in all matters, one of General Putnam's 
 right-hand men. The author had prepared quite an article 
 relative to this purchase from data and records in James Back- 
 us' Journal, rightly judging that nothing could be more authen- 
 tic than the every-day records of an eye-witness. After the 
 matter was about ready for publication, his attention was called 
 to an article in the Maghzine of American History, (Dec, 1889) 
 published by Historical Publication Co., New York, entitled 
 " The Scioto Purchase in 1787," and is, with the kind permission 
 of the editor, Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, and the author of the ar- 
 ticle, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Dawes, U. S. V., copied 
 freely in the subsequent pages. 
 
 Cincinnati, O., Dec. 13th, 1889. 
 William W. Backus, Esq., 
 
 Dear Sir: — Yours 9th, at hand. I shall be very glad to 
 have you make extracts from my article on,the Scioto Purchase 
 if they will be of any value to you. 
 
 I think I have among my papers somewhere a letter written 
 by James Backus to Gen'l Putnam, but do not think it is of 
 especial historical value 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 355 
 
 My article on the Scioto Purchase was prepared with the 
 intention of making a history that would be as nearly absolutely 
 correct as possible. 
 
 Yours, very truly, 
 
 E. C. Dawes. 
 
 Magazine of American History, 
 
 743 Broadway, New York City. 
 
 December 14th, 1889. 
 Mr. Wm. W. Backus, 
 
 Dear Sir : — In response to your esteemed favor of December 
 1 2th, I have to say that there will be no objection to your 
 making extracts from the article of Colonel Dawes on " The 
 Scioto Purchase of 1787 " in genealogy of the Backus family, 
 as you will of course give the Magazine full credit for the same. 
 I shall be interested personally in your work, as I am con- 
 nected with the Backus family of Toledo, and we have been 
 life-long friends 
 
 Yours, very truly, 
 
 Martha J. Lamb, 
 
 Editor. 
 
 "On the 23d of July, 1787, the Congress of the United 
 States, in consequence of a petition presented by Manasseh 
 Cutler and Winthrop Sargent, authorized the board of treasury 
 to contract on certain terms with any person or persons for the 
 purchase of the land in the territory northwest of the river 
 Ohio bounded by the same ' from the mouth of the Scioto to 
 the intersection of the western boundary of the seventh range 
 of townships ; thence by said boundary to the northern bound- 
 ary of the tenth township from the Ohio ; thence by a due west 
 line to the Scioto ; thence by the Scioto to the beginning.' In 
 pursuance of this authority, the board of treasury, on the 27th 
 of October following, made a contract for the sale of fifteen 
 hundred thousand acres of land, lying between the seventh and 
 seventeenth ranges and the Ohio river, to Manasseh Cutler 
 
3S<3 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 and Winthrop Sargent 'as agents for the directors of the Ohio 
 Company of associates, so called.' The consideration was one 
 million of dollars in public securities, one-half of which was 
 paid on signing the contract ; the remainder was payable one 
 month after the exterior line of the tract had been surveyed by 
 the geographer or other proper officer of the United States. 
 No title was to pass to the Ohio Company until all payments 
 were made, but the right was given to occupy and cultivate one- 
 half of the tract fronting on the Ohio river between the sev- 
 enth and fifteenth ranges of townships. 
 
 " On the same day the board of treasury made a contract 
 with ' Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent for themselves 
 and associates ' for the sale to them of the remainder of the 
 tract described in the ordinance of congress. Payments, at 
 the rate of two-thirds of a dollar per acre in public securities, 
 were to be made in four semi-annual installments, the first fall- 
 ing due six months after the exterior line of the tract had been 
 surveyed by the government. This was the Scioto purchase. 
 It comprised over four million acres of land, three-fourths of it 
 west and one-fourth north of the Ohio Company tract. 
 
 "When these contracts were executed no land had been 
 surveyed west of the seventh range of townships, the western 
 boundary, of which intersects the Ohio river about five miles 
 east of the mouth of the Muskingum. The lines of the fifteenth 
 range and the seventeenth range of townships are recognized 
 in both contracts as ' to be laid out according to the land ord- 
 inance of May 20, 1785.' From calculations made by Captain 
 Thomas Hutchins, then geographer, or surveyor general of the 
 United States, it was believed that the west line of the seven- 
 teenth range would strike the Ohio river opposite the mouth of 
 the Big Kanawha. 
 
 " Simultaneously with the execution of the second or Scioto 
 contract. Cutler and Sargent conveyed to Colonel William 
 Duer, of New York city, a one-half interest in it, and gave him 
 full power to negotiate a sale of the lands in Europe or else- 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 357 
 
 where and to substitute an agent. Colonel Duer agreed to loan 
 to the Ohio Company one hundred thousand dollars public se- 
 curities to enable it to make its first payment to congress, and 
 procured a large subscription to its shares. Soon after, Cutler 
 and Sargent conveyed a little over three-fourths of their retain- 
 ed interest in about equal proportions to Generals Rufus Put- 
 nam, Benjamin Tupper, Samuel H. Parsons, Colonel Richard 
 Piatt, Royal Flint, and Joel Barlow. Many others became in- 
 terested with these in greater or less proportions. 
 
 " In May, 1788, Joel Barlow, who also held an interest by 
 assignment from Colonel Duer, was sent to Europe to negotiate 
 a sale of the lands or a loan upon them. He held a power of 
 attorney from Colonel Duer, to which was attached a certified 
 copy of the contract of Cutler and Sargent with the board of 
 treasury, and their assignment and power to Colonel Duer. In 
 all these papers the lands are recognized as held by a right of 
 preemption only. Mr. Barlow met with no success until the 
 summer of 1789, when he made the acquaintance of William 
 Playfair, an Englishman then residing in Paris. Principally 
 through his efforts a company was quickly organized in Paris, 
 called the society of the Scioto, to which in November, 1789, 
 Mr. Barlow sold the right of his principals to three million 
 acres of land lying west of the seventeenth range of townships. 
 The price was six livres per acre ; the payments were to be 
 made in installments, commencing 31 December, 1789, and 
 ending 30 April, 1794. The contract recites that Barlow's 
 powers were exhibited and proved, and provided that 'as soon 
 as and not before the said payments are remitted arising from 
 the price of the present sale, Mr. Barlow binds his principals 
 towards the society purchasing to put them in possession and 
 enjoyment of an amount of the three million acres proportion- 
 ate to the amount of the said payment at the aforesaid rate of six 
 livres per acre.' The lands were to be located in equal tracts 
 from the seventeenth range westward. It is also provided that 
 the society might ' re-sell all or a part of the three million 
 
358 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 acres before the time fixed for the payment of their price, pro- 
 vided that the said society gives up to the Sieur Barlow under 
 the title of pledge the agreements of the under purchasers.' 
 Playfair and Barlow were both interested in the society of the 
 Scioto and, with M. Jean Antoine Chais de Soisson became its 
 sub-agents for the sale of the lands. 
 
 "Mr. Barlow did not send a copy of this contract to 
 Colonel Duer, but wrote him an abstract of it November 29. 
 He added that he was preparing an arrangement with the royal 
 treasury of France to exchange the obligations of the French 
 society of the Scioto for the American bonds held by it, and 
 that either by that method or by an immediate settlement on 
 the lands, the payments would be anticipated and the whole 
 business closed within a year. He had reason to hope that 
 Major-General Duportail, subsequently minister of war of 
 France, and Colonel Rochefontaine, both of whom had served 
 in America during the Revolution, would go at the head of the 
 first establishment. He urged that the lines of the seventeenth 
 and eighteenth ranges of townships be ascertained without delay. 
 He admitted that he had proceeded as if Colonel Duer had 
 already secured a modification of the contract with the board 
 of treasury, so that titles might be obtained for the lands in 
 smaller tracts as paid for, ' by giving the Company here power 
 to re-sell portions before they made the first payment on the 
 contract, requiring as my security the deposit of the payments 
 for these portions.' He insisted that at all events five or ten 
 thousand acres of land opposite the mouth of the Great Kana- 
 wha ' on the eighteenth range' must be secured on which to locate 
 first settlers ; that huts be built there to accommodate at least 
 one hundred persons, and that a person of activity be sent from 
 the settlement to Alexandria, Virginia, to prepare for the re- 
 ception of the settlers, and make the necessary arrangements 
 for their journey to the lands. The expense of the houses and 
 the journey would be 'paid by the agents of the people the 
 moment they arrive.' On the 29th of December he wrote that 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY, 359 
 
 he expected to put Colonel Duer in funds to make the first 
 payment of five hundred thousand dollars to congress before it 
 was due, and that if the first settlers were pleased, half a million 
 of adventurers would follow. On the same date he author- 
 ized Colonel Duer to draw on him for twenty thousand livres. 
 January 25 following he authorized drafts for two hundred 
 thousand livres in the same letter, saying that the payments 
 certainly would be made. 
 
 "On the 27th of February, 1790, a meeting of the Scioto 
 associates in America was held at the house of Colonel Duer, 
 in New York city, and he communicated to them the letters 
 from Mr. Barlow, announcing the completion of the contract 
 of sale. General Rufus Putnam and Rev. Manasseh Cutler 
 were then in New York, as a committee appointed by the di- 
 rectors and agents of the Ohio Company to ascertain the num- 
 ber of shares subscribed for on which no payment had been 
 made, sell them if possible, and effect a settlement with con- 
 gress. The survey of the Ohio Company purchase was not 
 completed, but it was known in the fall of 1789, that the west- 
 ern boundary of the seventeenth range of townships would in- 
 tersect the Ohio river some distance west of the mouth of the 
 Great Kanawha. This information had not been sent to Mr. 
 Barlow, probably because his American associates had long 
 since given up all hope of effecting a sale through him. He 
 had not sent any plats or accurate information of the location 
 of the lands sold by the French Society of the Scioto, though 
 it was evident from his letters that they were in the eighteenth 
 range of townships, and that, relying on the information he 
 had when he left America, he had represented them as oppo- 
 site or nearly opposite the mouth of the Great Kanawha. The 
 authority he had given to the French Society to give deeds in 
 small tracts was especially displeasing to General Putnam, 
 though it appeared from the correspondence that Mr. Barlow 
 had the money received from the sales in his own control. As 
 a solution of the problem General Putnam proposed to the as- 
 
360 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 sociates that they purchase of the Ohio Company its forfeited 
 shares, the number of which had been definitely fixed at one 
 hundred and forty-eight ; take the three acre, eight acre, and 
 one hundred and sixty acre lots, already set apart for these 
 shares in the part of the purchase which had been surveyed, 
 and locate the remainder, 196,544 acres, in a compact body 
 fronting on the Ohio river, from a point opposite the mouth 
 of the Great Kanawha river to the western line of the 
 seventeenth range. So far as could be judged from the infor- 
 mation at hand, the American proprietors by making this pur- 
 chase would enable themselves to fulfill every obligation en- 
 tered into by Mr. Barlow. Before finally closing it, Colonel 
 Duer, on April 20, entered into a formal agreement with his 
 associates which declared that ' a contract for the sale' of the 
 lands included in the Scioto purchase ' having lately been made 
 in Europe,' it was agreed to form a trust to secure to each one 
 interested his proper share of the profit and to aid Colonel 
 Duer in managing the concern of the sale. Royal Flint and 
 Andrew Craigie were named as co-trustees with Colonel Duer, 
 who was to act as 'superintendent of the concerns of the pro- 
 prietors.' The powers and duties of the trustees were defined 
 to be : to see that the contract for the sale of the lands was 
 'carried into execution ;' that remittances of the purchase mon- 
 ey were duly made to Colonel Duer, and by him 'in the first 
 instance duly applied, as occasion shall require, to, or toivards, mak- 
 ing good the payment for the lands purchased by the parties to these 
 presents of the United Stales.' The remainder was to be divided 
 in a manner prescribed. Immediately after the execution of 
 this agreement, Colonel Duer made drafts on Mr. Barlow for 
 two hundred and twenty thousand livres, as authorized in his 
 letters of December 29 and January 25. On April 23 the trus- 
 tees closed a contract with the Ohio Company for the purchase 
 as proposed by General Putnam of one hundred and forty- 
 eight forfeited shares. The consideration was the same as re- 
 quired from the original subscribers, one thousand dollars per 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY 361 
 
 share in continental specie certificates, exclusive of one year's 
 interest due thereon ; and the same contribution to the ex- 
 pense fund of the company, to wit : ten dollars per share in 
 specie to be paid in sixty and ninety days, and one years inter- 
 est on the specie certificates to be paid in six months. The 
 continental specie certificates were to be paid when the Ohio 
 Company made its final settlement with the United States, and 
 the amount was subject to a ' deduction in ratable proportion 
 with such sum as may hereafter be remitted by the United 
 States on the original contract.' The Scioto associates were 
 given the same right of entry, use and occupation as was per- 
 mitted to the Ohio Company by its contract with the United 
 States, but no ' deed of conveyance ' was to be ' required and 
 demanded' until the 'payments were fully completed ' and 
 made.' The trustees also released to the Ohio Company their 
 right of preemption to the million acres of land lying directly 
 north of the Ohio Company purchase, which was riot included 
 in Mr. Barlow's sale to the French Society of the Scioto. 
 
 " Although the Ohio Company, under its right of entry, had 
 established a large number of settlers upon its lands, it could 
 not, under its contract, obtain a title to any part of them until its 
 payments were fully made. An effort was being made to induce 
 congress to reduce the price of the public lands to twenty cents 
 an acre, and make the reduction applicable to both the Ohio 
 and Scioto Companies' tracts. Secretary Hamilton had rec- 
 ommended it in his report on funding the public debt, and a 
 majority in congress appeared to favor it. If made, the Ohio 
 Company would be entitled, for the payments it had already 
 made, to a million acres of land in addition to the fifteen hun- 
 dred thousand acres embraced in its original purchase. The 
 release by the Scioto associates to it of the right of preemption 
 to the million acres directly north of the first tract gave it con- 
 trol of the best lands in the territory east of the Scioto river. 
 If no reduction in price was secured, the sale of the one hun- 
 dred and forty-eight shares at least made the original purchase 
 
362 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 safe. The payment by Mr. Barlow of the drafts for two hun- 
 dred and twenty thousand Hvres would enable the Scioto asso- 
 ciates to purchase, at prices then current, continental specie 
 certificates enough to make payments for the one hundred and 
 forty-eight shares, and to obtain deeds of lands sufficient to sat- 
 isfy, as far as could be learned, all of the sales made by the 
 French Society of the, Scioto. Both parties to this contract 
 were equally pleased and with good reason, for it seemed to 
 solve all their difficulties. 
 
 " The trustees appointed General Rufus Putnam their agent 
 and attorney to represent the shares, take charge of the lands, 
 and make preparations to locate the emigrants. He employed 
 Major John Burnham to enlist a company of men in New Eng- 
 land for service in clearing land, building houses, and keeping 
 guard, and instructed him to go at once to Marietta, Ohio. 
 General Putnam himself went to Marietta early in May, em- 
 ployed Colonel Meigs to make the necessary surveys for a town 
 at the present site of Gallipolis, sent Mr. James Backus to Al- 
 exandria, Virginia, to meet and accompany in their journey 
 west, the French emigrants, and gave to Major Burnham, who 
 arrived with his company early in June, instructions to proceed 
 to the mouth of Chickamauga creek (the present site of Galli- 
 polis), and clear a large tract of land and erect four block- 
 houses and a number of huts, according to a plan which would 
 be given by Colonel Meigs. He also notified Colonel Duer 
 that owing to the great scarcity of provisions in the territory it 
 would not do to permit the emigrants to come west of the 
 mountains until the new crop had matured. 
 
 "The emigrants began to arrive in Alexandria, Virginia, in 
 April, and by the 27th of May about six hundred had landed. 
 The agent sent by Colonel Duer to meet them had returned 
 to New York supposing that they had made another port, for 
 they were expected in March. Some people in Alexandria at- 
 tempted to persuade them that they had paid too high a price 
 for their land, informed them that the Scioto Company had no 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 363 
 
 title, that the Indians in the northwest territory were numerous 
 and hostle, and that Virginia was, on all accounts, a much bet- 
 ter place in which to live. This, with the fact that there was 
 no one at Alexandria to receive them, created much alarm, and 
 Count de Barth, the Marquis Lezay-Marnesia, and others of 
 the leading men among them were sent to New York to wait 
 upon Colonel Duer, inquire into the validity of their titles, and 
 ascertain if they could reside in the western territory free from 
 danger from the Indians. They explained their plans fully to 
 the secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and to a 
 number of members of Congress. President Washington and 
 Secretary of War General Knox, gave them assurance of pro- 
 tection, and promised to station troops near the mouth of the 
 Great Kanawha. Colonel Duer exhibited to them printed 
 copies of the law of Congress authorizing the sale to Cutler 
 and Sargent, their contract with the board of treasury, and the 
 contract made by the Scioto associates with the Ohio Company 
 for the purchase of the forfeited shares. He also explained to 
 them the composition of the Scioto Company, and said to them 
 that the entire management of its affairs had been intrusted to 
 himself alone, and that he had for aid and counsel two agents, 
 Royal Flint and Andrew Craigie. Some modifications of Mr. 
 Barlow's agreements for transporting the settlers to their lands 
 were made by Colonel Duer with this committee. Upon his re- 
 turn to Alexandria, the journey of the emigrants over the moun- 
 tains began, under the leadership of Captain Isaac Guion, who 
 was appointed by the trustees as their principal, agent in the 
 west ; General Putnam, owing to his duties to the Ohio Com- 
 pany, having declined to do more than superintend the surveys. 
 " M. Bourogne, who came to America with the first party of 
 emigrants, went to New York with the committee from Alex- 
 andria, and while there ascertained the efforts being made by 
 the Scioto associates to secure a reduction in price of the lands. 
 He returned to France early in June. Sales of lands had about 
 ceased since the emigration. Mr. Barlow, instead of keeping 
 
364 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 in his own hands the money received for sales of lands by the 
 French society, had left the management of the whole affair to 
 Playfair and M. Chais de Soisson. Colonel Duer's drafts came 
 forward in due course, were accepted, and fell due in August. 
 Playfair refused to provide for them. In his efforts to meet 
 them Mr. Barlow declared the contract of sale to the French 
 society of the Scioto void because it had not met its payments, 
 and made a new sale to a company composed of M. Bourogne, 
 the Count de Barth, William Playfair, M. Coquet, General 
 Duvalette, and himself. This company was to assume the pay- 
 ments to the American government for the lands, and to make 
 good all deeds given by the French Society of the Scioto. 
 Fifteen sous per acre were to be paid to the American proprie- 
 tors as their profit. The money and securities in the hands of 
 Mr. Playfair were to be paid to this company, but it was not 
 to be required to make any payments until at least three hun- 
 dred thousand acres were sold, and only upon sale of each 
 three hundred thousand acres, and no limitation was placed up- 
 on the location, within the entire tract of the lands sold. If 
 any reduction in price of the land was secured, the profit from 
 it was to be shared equally by the parties to the contract. Mr. 
 Barlow was authorized to borrow, if he could, upon the credit 
 of this company, one hundred and fifty thousand livres to ap- 
 ply on the drafts of Colonel Duer. 
 
 " The principal object of M. Bourogne and his friends in 
 making this contract was probably to secure the expected prof- 
 it to arise from a reduction in the price of land, and the certain 
 profit already realized from the sales of the Society of the Sci- 
 oto. Mr. Barlow's hope was to force Playfair to 'render his 
 accounts without ruining the business,' and to provide some- 
 thing on account of Colonel Duer's drafts. Mr. Playfair, while 
 not declining an interest in the new company, failed to turn 
 over the proceeds of former sales. Colonel Duer's drafts were 
 returned unpaid. 
 
 " Mr. Barlow did not send a copy of this contract to Col. 
 Duer, who seems to have first learned of it by a letter protest- 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 365 
 
 ing against it from Colonel Rochefontaine, who was interested 
 in the French Society of the Scioto, and who was also a pur- 
 chaser of lands. Colonel Duer was now in a most embarras- 
 sing position. To meet the unexpectedly large expense of es- 
 tablishing the settlement he had issued demand notes in the 
 form of currency. These were coming in daily, as rumors of 
 1 Mr. Barlow's troubles began to spread. Many of the emigrants 
 refused to refund the amounts advanced for their account until 
 the titles to the lands were perfected. The return of the drafts 
 was a staggering blow to his credit. Unaware of the exact 
 condition of Mr. Barlow's negotiations, unable to understand 
 what had become of the money received for the lands sold, or 
 to form any correct judgment as to the number of acres for 
 which deeds had been given, he called the trustees together, 
 and with their assent sent Colonel Benjamin Walker to France, 
 with power to displace Mr. Barlow, or act with him, to at least 
 obtain the money due for lands sold, and to endeavor to get a 
 clear understanding of the affair, and to sell the right of pre- 
 emption as originally intended. By him Colonel Duer wrote 
 to Mr. Barlow, notifying him that the trustees refused to ratify 
 the sale to M. Bourogne, and upbraiding him in the severest 
 terms for the manner in which he had conducted the business. 
 He reminded him that he had not furnished copies of any en- 
 gagements, or any list of lands sold, or any statement of re- 
 ceipts and disbursements ; that except one thousand crowns, 
 sent for a special purpose, he had made no remittances, and 
 that he had assigned no reasons for not having honored the 
 drafts. He notified Mr. Barlow that he, and he alone, was re- 
 sponsible, not only to the American proprietors, but to the 
 United States, for the moneys received, which he had always 
 represented were under his own control. He added, ' The 
 advances and engagements I am under in order to comply with 
 the fallacious statements of your prospectus, and to preserve 
 your honor and character from utter destruction are no less 
 than forty thousand dollars, exclusive of large sums of interest 
 
366 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 for money borrowed. This, at least, you are called upon by 
 every tie of honor and generosity to secure.' 
 
 "Colonel Walker arrived in Paris in December, 1790, and 
 was received by Mr. Barlow with every expression of joy and 
 satisfaction. He spent several weeks in endeavoring to un- 
 tangle Mr. Barlow's affairs. From Mr. Playfair he secured a 
 statement of account, showing sales of about one hundred and 
 forty thousand acres of land, and a long list of reasons for not 
 having settled with Mr. Barlow. The most diligent effort failed 
 to secure either money or property. Colonel Walker warned 
 the public, by advertisement in the principal cities of France, 
 not to purchase lands of Mr. Playfair, who meantime disap- 
 peared. Mr. Barlow was penniless, and Colonel Walker ad- 
 vanced him money for his family expenses. With the aid of 
 Colonel Rochefontaine and General Duportail, then Minister of 
 War, an effort, which promised well for a time, was made to 
 form a new company for the purchase of a smaller tract of land. 
 News of the Indian War defeated it. Early in May, 1791, 
 Colonel Walker returned to America, leaving Colonel Roche- 
 fontaine in charge of the negotiations, He appears to have 
 been convinced that in a favorable condition of public affairs 
 the lands might yet be sold. The Fates were not propitious. 
 The troubles in France grew worse. General Duportail was 
 denounced in the assembly ; forced to resign as Minister of 
 War, in December, 1791, and a few months later both he and 
 Colonel Rochefontaine were obliged to flee to America for their 
 lives. 
 
 "Several hundred emigrants reached the present site of 
 Gallipolis about the middle of October, 1790. Major Burn- 
 ham's men had prepared houses for them, and had cleared a 
 considerable space for garden lots. The Count de Barth and 
 Marquis Marnesia with a large party reached Marietta a few 
 days later, and were quartered in Fort Harmar while waiting 
 the survey at the mouth of the Scioto river, where Count De 
 Barth wished to establish a city. Before the surveyors were 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 367 
 
 fairly at work, news came of the defeat of General Harmar, 
 and the rising of the Indian tribes along the entire border 
 northwest of the Ohio river. This put an effective stop to 
 further surveys or settlements. Count de Earth and the Mar- 
 quis Lezay-Marnesia returned to New York to negotiate further 
 with Colonel Duer. Some of the people who had come with 
 them remained at Marietta ; some went to Gallipolis ; others to 
 the French settlements in different parts of the country. The 
 Indian war made it impossible for the settlers at Gallipolis to do 
 any work beyond range of the guns of the block houses. Col. 
 Duer had established there a store, and continued to supply 
 them with the necessaries of life, taking from those who had no 
 money their deeds to land and village lots as security. In the 
 spring of 1791, they began the cultivation of grapes on a large 
 scale on the village lots which had been cleared, and also to 
 raise vegetables, for which they found a ready market on the 
 boats which were constantly plying up and down the Ohio 
 river. The defeat and rout of the army of General St. Clair 
 by the Indians, in November, 1791, was accepted by the people 
 as a sufficient excuse for not having their land surveyed and 
 titles made good. Their worst troubles were to come. 
 
 " In the spring of 1792 the directors and agents of the Ohio 
 Company met in Philadelphia, where Congress was then in ses- 
 sion, to effect a final settlement of its affairs. After much nego- 
 tiation Congress passed an act directing that a deed be made 
 to the Ohio Company for the 750 000 acres to which it had the 
 right of entry for the payment it had already made, and for 
 214,285 acres additional to be paid for in land warrants. One 
 hundred thousand acres, to be located in a compact body ad- 
 joining the 750,000-acre tract, was deeded to the directors, in 
 trust, to be donated in one-hundred-acre tracts to actual set- 
 tlers. While these negotions were pending there occurred a 
 financial panic in New York. Colonel Duer failed, and was 
 imprisoned for debt. Royal Flint also failed. The contract 
 for the sale of the forfeited shares was surrendered and can- 
 
368 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 celled. An earnest effort was made by the directors of the 
 Ohio Company who were or had been parties to the Scioto 
 purchase to have the donation tract located so as to include 
 Gallipolis. In this they failed, and, in fact, it was secured at 
 all only by the casting vote of Vice-President John Adams in the 
 United States Senate. Gallipolis was included in the 750,000- 
 acre tract, the boundaries of which were fixed by the laws of 
 Congress and became at once the property of the shareholders 
 of the Ohio Company. The donation tract was located on the 
 waters of the Muskingum where the Ohio Company had already 
 promised land to men who were performing military duty in its 
 behalf. 
 
 " The news of the failure of Colonel Duer, and of the fact 
 that they were occupying lands actually owned by the Ohio 
 Company, were crushing blows to the inhabitants of Gallipolis. 
 They knew nothing of the long story of Colonel Duer's embar- 
 rassments. They only knew that they were far away from 
 their native land, confronted by a savage foe, homeless, friend- 
 less, and that some one was to blame. 
 
 "In the fall of 1793, M. Jean Gabriel Gervaise went to 
 Philadelphia, and placed the interests of himself and others of 
 the residents of Gallipolis, who had purchased lands of the 
 French society of the Scioto, in the hands of Peter Stephen 
 Duponceau, a Frenchman by birth and a lawyer of high stand- 
 ing. Mr. Duponceau prepared a petition to the Congress of 
 the United States asking for a grant of lands to the French 
 settlers, and offering in their behalf to cede to the United 
 States their claims against the Scioto or Ohio Companies if 
 the prayer of the petition was granted. The petition was re- 
 ferred to the attorney-general, William Bradford, by the senate, 
 with instructions to report upon the validity of the claims of 
 the petitioners against the Scioto or Ohio Companies or other 
 persons, and for the means to be pursued for the obtainment of 
 justice. 
 
 "On the 24th of March, 1794, the attorney-general com- 
 municated an opinion to the senate that the original right of 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 369 
 
 purchase of the entire tract included in both the Ohio Com- 
 pany and Scioto contracts was, in his judgment, in the Ohio 
 Company, citing in support of the opinion that that Company 
 had, October 4, 1788, passed a resolution to the effect ' that 
 their right of preemption of the whole land mentioned in the 
 resolve of congress cannot be justly called in question,' and 
 that if it could be shown that the Ohio Company was a party 
 to the sale in Europe it could not successfully impeach the title 
 of the settlers. 
 
 ''In May, 1794, the United States Senate passed an order 
 summoning the directors of the Ohio Company to appear be- 
 fore it and show cause why so much of the tract of 750,000 
 acres deeded to it in 1792 as was sufficient to satisfy the claims 
 of the French settlers should not be forfeited. The directors 
 on receiving the order held a meeting, and passed the follow- 
 ing resolution : 'Resolved, That a particular statement of facts 
 relative to the matter referred to in said order of the senate be 
 made out and transmitted to the Hon. Caleb Strong, Theodore 
 Foster and Jona. Trumbull, Esquires, members of the senate, 
 and Hon. Benjamin Bourn, Uriah Tracy and Dwight Foster, 
 Esquires, members of the assembly, in congress, in order for 
 the better information of congress and others whom it may 
 concern. There is great reason to believe that the business 
 has been grossly misrepresented, either through ignorance or a 
 malicious design to injure the company's interest. 
 
 " l Furthermore, Resolved, That in our opinion the interest of 
 the company may eventually be much promoted by appointing 
 the aforesaid six gentlemen agents for the directors of the 
 Ohio Company, they or any two of them to act and transact 
 all matters and things relative to the aforesaid order of the 
 senate of the 18th of May, 1794, awarding to their best discre- 
 tion in as full and ample a manner as the directors of the Ohio 
 Company might or could do were they present ; and that a 
 power be made out and executed accordingly.' By the advice 
 of these members no response was made to the order of the 
 24 
 
'37° A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 senate. It was a matter over which it had no jurisdiction. 
 The senate took no further action. 
 
 "In January, 1795, the survey of the Ohio Company dona- 
 tion tract was completed and offered free in lots of one hun- 
 dred acres to each settler. Notice by public advertisement 
 was given to the ' French settlers at Gallipolis, with all others 
 at that place, to come forward by associations or individually 
 and receive lands, if they please.' 
 
 " In March, 1795, congress, in consequence of Mr. Dupon- 
 ceau's petition, passed an act granting 24,000 acres of land in 
 what is now Scioto County, Ohio, to the French settlers over 
 eighteen years of age who would be in Gallipolis on November 
 1, following. Four thousand acres of this was given to M. Ger- 
 vaise, being the amount he had originally purchased from the 
 French Society of the Scioto, and the remainder was divided 
 equally among ninety-two persons, each receiving 21 j\ acres. 
 
 " In December, 1795, the shareholders of the Ohio Compa- 
 ny held a meeting in Marietta, to make a final division of its 
 lands and other property. The citizens of Gallipolis presented 
 to them a petition, asking that a town site be given to the set- 
 tlers. This was refused, but fractional sections, twenty-eight 
 and thirty-four in town three, range fourteen, including all im- 
 provements, were sold to them at $1.25 per acre." 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 37 I 
 
 So many New England people settled in Ohio that many of 
 the customs of that region were carried with them. Among 
 these was the observance of Thanksgiving Day. Concerning 
 this day, the following cannot but be of interest : 
 
 THE FIRST THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION IN OHIO. 
 
 For as much as it is incumbent on all men to acknowledge 
 with gratitude their infinite obligations to Almighty God for 
 benefits received, and to implore His superior tending care and 
 providence for future blessings, I have thought proper to set 
 apart a day for that purpose, and do hereby ordain that Thurs- 
 day, the 25th day of December, be observed as a day of solemn 
 thanksgiving and praise, that the people may, with one voice 
 and sincere hearts, express their grateful sensations, and conse- 
 crate themselves to the will and pleasure of their Divine Bene- 
 factor ; and that together with their acknowledgments, they 
 may unite in humble supplications to Almighty God, that He 
 would be graciously pleased to prosper this infant settlement, 
 and the whole territory in their husbandry, trade and manu- 
 factures, and by His own nurturing hand mature and bring to 
 perfection all seminaries of learning, and the promotion and 
 enlargement of piety and true religion amongst all the nations 
 of the earth. And I do prohibit all servile labor on that day. 
 
 Given at Marietta, this 17th day of December, A. D. 1788, 
 
 and in the thirteenth year of the independence of the United 
 
 States. 
 
 Arthur St. Clair, 
 
 Governor and Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 By His Excellency's Command, 
 
 Winthrop Sargent, Secy. 
 
37 2 A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 POEM BY MR. THOMAS BACKUS, 
 
 UPON THE OCCASION OF LEVELING THE EARTHWORKS OF THE MOUND- 
 BUILDERS WHEN THE NEW COURT HOUSE AT TOLEDO WAS BUILT. 
 
 Oh, Town ! consecrated before 
 The White man's foot e'er trod our shore, 
 To battle's strife and valor's grave. 
 Spare ! Oh, spare, the buried brave. 
 
 A thousand winters passed away, 
 And yet demolished not the clay 
 Which on yon hillock held in trust 
 The quiet of the warrior's dust. 
 
 The Indian came and went again ; 
 He hunted through the lengthened plain, 
 And from the mound he oft beheld 
 The present silent battle field. 
 
 But did the Indian e'er presume 
 To violate that ancient tomb ? 
 Ah, no ! he had the soldier's grace 
 Which spares the soldier's resting place. 
 
 It is alone for Christian hand 
 To sever that sepulchral band, 
 Which even to the view is spread 
 To bind the living to the dead. 
 
THE BACKUS FAMILY. 373 
 
 LINES, 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF PUTNAM, WHIPPLE, TUPPER, NYE, GREEN, SPROAT, 
 AND OTHERS, BURIED IN THE MOUND BURYING GROUND, MARIETTA. 
 
 Tune — " The Grave of Napoleon." 
 By Mrs. F. D. Gage. 
 
 In the "City of Mounds " — by the Beautiful River, 
 We have laid down our Fathers in silence to sleep ; 
 
 Above and around them the forest leaves quiver, 
 While children and kindred bend o'er them to weep. 
 
 Chorus. — The panther's loud scream, or the rifle's sharp rattle, 
 The wild Indian war-whoop will wake them no 
 more, 
 No more for their homes or their country to battle — 
 Their duty is done and their trials are o'er. 
 
 They came and they conquered — ( those bold hearted 
 strangers) 
 Each foe of the forest — 'mid trials and fears — 
 And won in the greenwood, abodes free from dangers — 
 Homes, to our own hearts, still sacred and dear. 
 Chorus. — The panther's loud scream, etc. 
 
 The carnage of war or the conqueror's glory 
 
 Ne'er thrilled them to anguish — nor gave them to fame, 
 
 But the lips of their children reecho the story 
 Of virtues and honors that burnish each name. 
 Chorus. — The panther's loud scream, etc. 
 
 Then sound the loud paen and swell the full chorus 
 Of honor and praise to those good men and true 
 
 Who have passed to the region of glory beyond us, 
 And a tear to each one as we bid them adieu. 
 
 Chorus. — The panther's loud scream, etc. 
 
NOTE 
 
 On page 118, add : 
 
 ** James H. Backus, son of Henry T. Backus, removed 
 to Santa Paula, California, where he was accidentally killed, 
 December 12, 1889. 
 
 On page 121, add : 
 
 ** Caroline M. Backus, a descendant of § Asa Backus, 
 
 was born April 28, 183 1. She married Dunlap, and 
 
 died August 26, 1861. 
 
 ** Cynthia M. Backus, a descendant of § Asa Backus, 
 was born Sept. 23, 1833. Resides at Norwich Town. 
 
 ERRATA 
 
 Page 15, " *4 James," should read *4 Jane. 
 
 Page 15, after the word " business," in twenty-second line, 
 add " after his return to Norwich." 
 
 Page 123, Sarah, daughter of Stephen Backus, was born 
 April, 1668, instead of " April, 1768." 
 
 Page 1 14, under account of * Sarah Backus, should be 
 Justin Ely, instead of " Austin Ely." 
 
I now come to the end of this little volume, which has oc- 
 cupied me for considerable time, and which I now submit, with 
 some misgivings as to its execution, knowing that there was ma- 
 terial, if rightly used, to make an interesting and valuable 
 book; yet realizing that it requires the embellishments of a 
 gifted pen to set forth its remarkable qualities, its romantic and 
 heroic features. The enterprise of the first settlement of Ohio, 
 with its results ; the failure in the Scioto Company, and the 
 many striking circumstances preceding and succeeding, are 
 events, which, I trust, will not be wholly devoid of interest on 
 their own account. 
 
 These pag'es will not have been written in vain if the read- 
 er is endeared to the principles and enterprise of those who, 
 in 1788, sought homes, and laid the foundation of a state in the 
 new and untrodden, dangerous and disputed North-west Terri- 
 tory, and made the first authorized settlement in this vast do- 
 main. The enterprise was American in its conception and ex- 
 ecution. The men who made this first settlement were men of 
 high intelligence ; patriotic; strong in their religious principles; 
 ardent in their devotion to the enterprise upon which they had 
 embarked. They went forth as heralds of liberty, learning and 
 freedom, and thus would tolerate no slave fetters within their 
 domains. They, like their predecessors in the days of old, 
 seemed to have been led by the Spirit into the wilderness to 
 make settlements, which, founded in liberty, controlled by law 
 and order, continued to advance in prosperity. There seems 
 to be, indeed, 
 
 " . . A Divinity which shapes our ends, 
 Rough hew them as we will,'' 
 
 A higher law limits our movements to a certain direction, and 
 guides them in a certain way. The application of this princi- 
 ple to human societies is established by a scientific study of 
 
374^ A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR. 
 
 their history, and affords a philosophic guide for the interpre- 
 tation of the acts of men, and a prophetic monitor of the fu- 
 ture, so far as prophecy is possible in human affairs. Whoever 
 perceives not in the events of the periods to which this book 
 relates the hand of an Almighty Providence in raising up a 
 mighty people to show mankind the sublime heights to which 
 intelligence and liberty could soar, must be blind indeed. May 
 that Providence which conferred liberty upon our ancestors 
 grant that their posterity may never lose their love of it, or 
 cease in the enjoyment of it. 
 
 The author, climbing the path of life which never leads 
 backwards, has arrived at the eighty-sixth milestone ; and from 
 the lonely summit of four score and six years gone by, now 
 meets face to face the enigma of life, and, surveys the past 
 years of toil and strife, of hopes and fears, of some dreams 
 made real and largest hopes outrun, or of disappointments, 
 which have been his lot. Still, life is not the less ; the heavens 
 are only nearer ; and I commit this brief and imperfect history 
 to the immortal type, hoping my life has not been wholly a 
 blank, and that my endeavors have not been in vain to fill the 
 place assigned me — as far as circumstances would permit — 
 as brother, son and friend. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 FAC SIMILE REPRODUCTIONS OF ANCIENT PAPERS. 
 
Bv His EXCELLENCY 
 
 Efq ; 
 
 Governor and Commander in Chief of the Territory of 
 the United States North-Weft of the River Ohio. 
 
 to ^st^f^^A^- y2>»^£^z***r ^»«St««»«. Greeting. 
 
 YO U being appointed 
 
 By Virtue of the Power vetted in me, i do by thefe Prefehts (repo'fing fpecial 
 Truft and Confidence in your Loyalty, Courage and good Conduct) com- 
 miffion yflfi accordingly.-— You are therefore carefully and diligently to dif- 
 charge the Duty of a« 3n*g?'^-. in leading, ordering and exercifing faid 
 -« £oT-r%&asz^, in Arms, both inferior Officers and Soldiers} and to keep 
 them in good Order and Difcipline : And they are hereby commanded to 
 obey you as their Zrn^-z^r-z^ and you are yourfelf to obferve and 
 
 follow lu Orders and Tfnftra&»ns a» you (hall from Time to Time receive 
 from me or your fuperior Officers. 
 
 G1VEJV under my Hand, and the Seal of the faid Territory of the United States, the 
 f&ijh Day of *Z~^<*~&- in the Year of our LORD 178S and of the 
 Independence of the UnitedStates of America, the ^i-W2e«&-?-z^i- 
 
 1 ' JL , M j »i iu, *^!^ > 
 
 By His Excellency's Command, > w. ■ 
 
 ^^g^^^-^^zaj^T>a r ' Secretary. 
 
 COMMISSION OF JAMES BACKUS AS ENSIGN— (Given by Arthur St. Clair.) 
 25 
 
^>i * 
 
@Tta,Uof .Wfi?=gTQ.d, f- 
 
 <J)y this U^abCic O 'n&tttmeht i>c i£ 
 
 known to afX wuom tue sdtiic dotn 
 
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 fuel power, and awtfiotitu to attelt ^Deedts, JiiCCa, e/ efiki^nenta f 
 
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 GIVEN TO JAMES BACKUS, ESQ., ONE OF THE ORIGINAL SHAREHOLDERS. 
 
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INDEX. 
 
 Account of Blennerhasset.t's Island, . . . . . 350 
 
 Issac Backus' mother, ...... 133 
 
 Indian massacres, . . . 151 
 
 Norwich, Connecticut, ...... 315 
 
 Settlement of Ohio, ....... 337 
 
 Settlement of Connecticut, ..... 313 
 
 The Scioto Company, ...... 353 
 
 Backus, Abner .......... 14 
 
 Andrew .......... 120 
 
 Ann ......... 10 
 
 Armand . .126 
 
 Asa 120, 121 
 
 Rev. Azel ....... 122 
 
 Betsey .......... 124 
 
 Charles C. . . 126 
 
 Charles E 127 
 
 Rev. Charles 122 
 
 Clarina ..... ..... 120 
 
 Clinton L. . - . .126 
 
 Elijah 12, 13 
 
 Elisha 124, 125 
 
 Elisha E .126 
 
 Elizabeth 11 
 
 Eunice 120, 125 
 
 Frances . . . . . . 115 
 
 Henry C. . . . ... 127 
 
 Henry T 116 
 
 Isaac . . . . . . .II, 134 
 
 James ...:....., 15 
 
 James H. . . . . 116 
 
 Jane . c . . 114 
 
 Jane J 126 
 
11. INDEX. 
 
 Backus, John ........... 121 
 
 Joseph S 
 
 Louisa A. ......... 127 
 
 Lucy 13, 114, 124 
 
 Lucretia .......... 14 
 
 Mary .......... 114 
 
 Matthew . 119 
 
 Maucee M 126 
 
 Merritt M. 126 
 
 Nancy . 115 
 
 Rufus 124 
 
 Samuel 9, 10 
 
 Sarah ........ 114 
 
 Simon . . 120, 121. 122 
 
 Stephen . 8 
 
 Thomas ......... 131 
 
 Poem by ....... . 373 
 
 Timothy 123, 124 
 
 William . . . 7, 8 
 
 William W. ......... 115 
 
 William Woodbridge ... 119 
 
 Backus Iron Works, ......... 316 
 
 Biographical Sketches of Family Connections, .... 129 
 
 Celebration of Fourth of July, Marietta, 1788. . . . . 105 
 
 Chandler, account of family, ........ 141 
 
 Capt. John ........ 141 
 
 Capt. Samuel ........ 144 
 
 Capt. William 144 
 
 Col. John ......... 143 
 
 Dorothy Church ........ 141 
 
 John 142, 144 
 
 Joseph 142 
 
 Joshua 142, 143, 144 
 
 memorials of ....... . 145 
 
 Samuel ......... 144 
 
 Thomas ......... J44 
 
 Winthrop ......... 145 
 
 Complaint for disobeying resolves of Continental Congress, 325 
 
 First Thanksgiving Proclamation in Ohio, . , . 371 
 
 Griswold, account of family, ....... 137 
 
 American ancestry, 138 
 
 Anne 137, 139 
 
 Anne Maria i ....... . 138 
 
 Bishop Alexander Veits 140 
 
 Deborah . 139 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Griswold, descent of . 
 
 
 137 
 
 Edward Meysey ...... 
 
 
 138 
 
 Elisha 
 
 
 140 
 
 Eliza . 
 
 
 13s 
 
 Esther 
 
 
 140 
 
 Ezra ........ 
 
 
 140 
 
 Francis .... 
 
 
 139 
 
 George . . 
 
 
 139 
 
 Henry . 
 
 ■ 137 
 
 138 
 
 Humphrey ....... 
 
 
 137 
 
 John 
 
 • '39 
 
 141 
 
 Joseph ........ 
 
 
 139 
 
 Lewis . . . . . 
 
 
 138 
 
 Lucy ........ 
 
 
 141 
 
 Magdalene ...... 
 
 
 138 
 
 Mary 1 
 
 T37> 139 
 
 ^140 
 
 Matthew 
 
 r 3 8 
 
 140 
 
 Michael 
 
 
 140 
 
 Rev. Henry . 
 
 
 137 
 
 Rev. Matthew 
 
 
 137 
 
 Samuel ....... 
 
 
 139 
 
 Sarah . . ... 
 
 
 139 
 
 
 
 140 
 
 Journal of James Backus while at Marietta, 
 
 
 16 
 
 Letters concerning Scioto affair, ..... 
 
 
 107 
 
 from Rufus Putnam to James Backus, 
 
 
 353 
 
 from Colonel E. C. Dawes to W. W. Backus, 
 
 
 354 
 
 from Martha J. Lamb to W. W. Backus, . 
 
 
 355 
 
 to Congress, 1774, ...... 
 
 
 321 
 
 from Lucy Woodbridge, ..... 
 
 . 
 
 35° 
 
 from James Backus concerning Marietta, 
 
 . 
 
 341 
 
 from James Backus concerning fight with Indians, 
 
 
 349 
 
 from Samuel Huntington to Elijah Backus concerning the 
 
 
 making of guns, ... 
 
 
 327 
 
 from Samuel Loudon to Elijah Backus at beginning 
 
 of the 
 
 
 
 
 327 
 
 from Goy. Mathew Griswold, .... 
 
 
 135 
 
 Lines to the memory of Putnam, and others, . 
 
 , 
 
 374 
 
 List of graduates of Yale College, .... 
 
 
 128 
 
 Localities where descendants of family live, 
 
 
 133 
 
 Norwich, account of . , . . . ... 
 
 
 315 
 
 division of town, ...... 
 
 
 318 
 
 exports, etc., 1788, 
 
 first post office, ...... 
 
 , 
 
 319 
 
 
 318 
 
 vessels leaving port. 1788, .... 
 
 
 319 
 
IV. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ohio, account of settlement of, .... 
 
 First Territorial Assembly, .... 
 
 Indian treaty, ...... 
 
 Scott's expedition against Indians, 
 Settlements after Marietta, ... 
 St. Clair's expedition against Indians, . 
 Wayne's expedition against Indians, 
 Order of town meeting, ...... 
 
 to train band, . . 
 
 Papers and documents concerning civil matters, 
 concerning drunkeness, , 
 
 concerning hospital for those sick with small pox, 
 concerning transients, ...... 
 
 concerning traveling on the Sabbath, 
 
 copy of writ, ...... 
 
 Poems and Prose Works by Miss Sarah Backus. . 
 
 337 
 343 
 344 
 347 
 343 
 349 
 349 
 320 
 320 
 
 329 
 329 
 
 331 
 331 
 330 
 32S 
 147-297 
 
 Pope, Maj. Gen. John 
 Putnam, Gen. Rufus 
 White, Maj. Haffield 
 Woodbridge, William 
 Governor, 
 
 " Light of Life Amid the Glooms of Death," 
 
 " Wewacus Hill,'' 
 
 " The Promised Land Rejected," . 
 " Peace is the Blessing that I Seek,' . 
 
 " Follow Me," 
 
 "The Grave," 
 
 " To Affliction, " 
 
 " The Star," 
 
 "The Wooden Bowl," .... 
 '• Return unto Thy Rest, O, My Soul," 
 " Faith and Works," .... 
 " Contrast between Saul of Tarsus and 
 Paul, the Apostle," .... 
 
 147 
 
 176 
 
 241 
 
 280 
 
 282' 
 
 284 
 
 285 
 
 286 
 
 287 
 
 2go 
 
 293 
 
 297 
 132 
 
 337 
 
 339 
 
 1.3 
 132 
 
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