FROM THE HISTORIAN’S DESK, October 2025 – Carol Ganz.
Three Hundred Years!
We’re finally there! It’s been three hundred years since the Connecticut colonial General Assembly, at its October 1725 session, granted the northern part of Groton rights as a separate society, making possible what became the Town of Ledyard and our Congregational Church. Captain Morgan and his neighbors had persevered, despite push-back from the town’s southern residents, and followed the regulations of the times to obtain their goal of having a church closer to home.
During the October 1725 meeting of the General Assembly, Capt. Peirce, Capt. Noyes, and Mr. Bacchus, the committee that had come out to research the situation in the northern part of Groton, made its report. The evidence they produced included a three page list of the households involved, with approximate distances north from the meetinghouse in Groton and the value of their estate, in pounds, shillings and pence. There were 24 heads of households living about 8 or 9 miles away, 22 about 6 or 7 miles north, and 33 living 3-5 miles north of the meetinghouse. That’s 79 families of various sizes, with a total value in estates of 4191 pounds, 15 shillings, 6 pence.
An additional 21 who lived 2-3 miles away were listed and totaled separately. Perhaps there was some thought that they would be remaining in the south society, although they were referenced as being in the “north train band.” (This sounds as though the town was already roughly divided for the purposes of militia training.)
Because the report is really the heart of the anniversary being celebrated, I will include it in its entirety.
The committee report, dated September 28, 1725, stated:
Whereas the General Assembly in May last did, upon the petition of Capt. John Morgan and the rest of the petitioners of the north end of Groton, moving to be a society and to set up the worship of God amongst them, appoint us the subscribers to take a view of said town and to inform ourselves as well as we could of its circumstances, and whether they are sufficient for the support of two ministers among them: We have therefore, pursuant to our orders, been and taken a survey of said place, and from the best knowledge we could gain, (both by our own observation and their information,) we are of the opinion that they are of estates sufficient for the ends proposed by the petitioners; and further, having heard the argument on both sides respecting a dividing line between them, it is our judgement that said line ought to begin at a monument to be erected at the extent of a line drawn from Groton meeting house due north, one mile and twenty rods, and the dividing line to begin at said monument and to run west and by north to the great river on the west, and from said monument to run east and by south to the extent of the east bounds of said town; which lines shall divide between the south and north society. Dated in Groton the 28th day of September, Anno Dom. 1725.
The record simply notes that “the above read, approved and accepted by this Assembly and ordered to be recorded.”
Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, v. 6, p. 557, as published.
North Groton was now free to begin planning how to find a minster, where to meet while they built a meeting house, where to post notice of meetings, etc. They had experience as part of running a church at Groton, and some perhaps had been there at the setting aside of Groton itself, only twenty years earlier. Now they were on their own!