FROM THE HISTORIAN’S DESK, June 2025 – Carol Ganz.
In May, 1725, the General Assembly chose to consider the petition of the northern residents of Groton, in spite of the objections of the town. To examine the pros and cons, they formed a committee of three men from the eastern half of the state to look into the question: Was there justification for a new society to be formed, setting off the north portion of the Town of Groton?
The three men given this assignment, Capt. Timothy Peirce of Plainfield, Capt. Thomas Noyes of Stonington and Mr. Joseph Bacchus of Norwich, had until October to examine the facts and make a recommendation. Who were these three men who held our future in their hands?
Capt. Timothy Peirce (sometimes spelled Pierce) (1675-1748) was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, and apparently lived his whole life there. In 1725 he would have been about fifty years old, living with his second wife and several children. Although he was known as Captain Peirce in 1725, by the time he died in 1748 he was a Colonel. I hoped his will and probate inventory would give us a clue about his occupation, but it didn’t, other than that he had five horses, six cattle and six swine, so perhaps he was a moderately well-off farmer. He did have some nice things (clock, looking glass, silver spoon), but not a huge collection. He was, however, a slaveholder. The most valuable “possession” in his inventory was a “Negro boy,” and he willed to his daughter Phebe “my Negro girl Dinah.”
Capt. Thomas Noyes (1679 -1755) was born in Stonington about five years after his father Rev. James Noyes was ordained there at First Congregational Church (the “Road Church”). James was a chaplain in the Narragansett War and was also a founder of Yale College, both of which probably had an influence on his son Thomas. In 1705 Thomas married Elizabeth Sanford, apparently the daughter of Rhode Island Gov. Peleg Sanford. Joshua Hempstead, the famous diarist from New London, comments on being in Stonington on May 1, 1723, when it was a training day and Thomas Noyes was chosen Captain. He was probably about 43 then, and 45 when he served on the committee regarding North Groton. His will provides generous bequests to his wife, his children and grandchildren, including cash and several parcels of real estate in Stonington and Westerly. The inventory of his estate shows that he had a large quantity of silver, clothing and other valuable goods including bills of credit and bonds from numerous people. He, too, was a slaveholder, and listed an elderly enslaved man named Jeffrey, a man named Peter and an “Indian boy Jonathan.”
Mr. Joseph Bacchus (various spellings) (1667-1740) was born in Norwich, marrying a local girl, Elisabeth Huntington, in 1690, and continuing to live in Norwich the rest of his life. The oldest of the three committeemen at 58, he had a history of interest in religious issues. A controversy in the Norwich church about ten years earlier had threatened to split the town and Joseph Backus had traveled to both Ipswich, Mass., and Boston to get advice. He was involved in the controversy with the Rogerenes, who refused to observe the Sabbath, and as judge he sentenced them to fines or a whipping. In April 1730 all the Norwich freemen were listed. “The first on the list and probably so placed in respect to age and dignity, were Joseph Backus, Esq…” followed by the three ministers. (Esq. at the time denoted a Justice of the Peace).
Joseph’s son Simon married Eunice Edwards, sister of the famous Rev. Jonathan Edwards. Simon had graduated from Yale in 1724, and was one of the early preachers we had (1726) while the Ecclesiastical Society searched for a settled minister. (Simon later went as a chaplain with Connecticut troops to Cape Breton and died in 1746 during that expedition). It is clear that Joseph had considerable respect, as well as real estate, listed out in detail in his will.
The three well-respected men chosen must have spent a substantial amount of time here in northern Groton doing their research, and completed their report in time for the October General Assembly session.