New Haven: The New Jerusalem
Preacher John Davenport and businessman Theophilus Eaton led the puritans who landed in Quinnipiack in 1638, and those two men personified the twin interests of the settlers—the freedom to pursue their religious beliefs, and economic opportunity. The allure of large tracts of land appealed to the yeoman farmers in the group, and Eaton, familiar with the concept of the joint-stock company, was looking for opportunities in trade.
The leaders quickly made deals with the native Quinnipiack tribal sachems, Montowese and Momauguin, for huge tracts of land that included much of what later would be New Haven County. The settlers paid for the land with clothing, tools, and other items. The natives were eager to become friends with the newcomers; their numbers had been drastically reduced by disease and from attacks by hostile Pequots and Mohawks. The two Quinnipiac tribes had been reduced to a total of 57 braves, and they sought the protection of the English settlers. The natives received the promise of protection, and a 1200 acre reservation in today’s East Haven-Morris cove area. As the tribal populations continued to decrease, the English purchased the reservation lands “at full and proper prices,” according to Osterweis. Many of the Quinnipiacks would later fight alongside the English in the wars with France.
At Quinnipiack, Davenport quickly set about establishing his Bible commonwealth. Davenport was a “middle Adventist” who believed that the second coming of Christ would come about after a thousand-year period of reform, where the “elect” would rule and re-establish the institutions and practices of the Old Testament and the primitive church. The Jews would be converted, and bishops, papists, and Turks would be destroyed. Davenport believed that the Millenium would be brought about not by violent revolution, but one step at a time, by establishing New Jerusalems such as Quinnipiack. This New Jerusalem would be as perfect as humanly possible, a Puritan Utopia. It would be a theocracy of the Elect, not a democracy. Only members of the church would have full privileges of citizenship, and membership would be strictly controlled.
The colonists, church members and non-members included, agreed to a plantation covenant committing them to Davenport’s Bible Commonwealth, based on scripture. There would be separate church and civil covenants. The idea of the covenant was based on the Old Testament covenant between the Israelites and Jehovah; the New Jerusalem was committed both to the reformed Protestant doctrine of spiritual rebirth, as taught in the New Testament, and to a commitment to Old Testament law. The idea of the covenant was to stave off any hint of antinomianism. Antinomianism means acting against the law. The Puritans believed in predestination; God had decided who was to be saved, and who was to be damned, before the beginning of time. If you were to be saved, nothing you did, no matter how evil, would change that. So where was the incentive to obey the Biblical laws? Davenport wanted none of that heresy; his Utopia would follow Biblical law. In any case, a Godly life and performance of good works were outward signs of Election.
The New Jerusalem would be laid out in as a large square, containing nine smaller squares. The middle square would be the location of the meeting house and market, and the surrounding eight squares would be parceled out to the members. This plan was derived from the Bible, based on the Temple of Solomon in ancient Jerusalem. The meeting house would conform to the dimensions of the of the sanctuary as described in the book of Ezekial. The puritans would be delivered from enslavement to the corrupt papacy, to the true Zion, just as the ancient Israelites were delivered from the Babylonian captivity. The design was intended to inspire the faithful and bring the spirit of Christ into their everyday lives. The scriptures would be their authority in all matters. Twelve “pillars” of the church were selected by the votes of the Elect, and those twelve selected seven men who would draw up the covenant and a confession of faith. Prospective members would draw up their own profession of faith and declare it to the membership, who would vote on whether to accept that person.
One of the foundations of their beliefs was the doctrine of Election, that God had chosen some, through no merit of their own, to eternal life; the rest, the reprobates, would be consigned to hell. The doctrine of original sin and the depravity of all people, including infants, was emphasized (however, despite predestination, infant baptism, which was not in the Bible, was practiced). The Elect have been awakened to their sinful nature, and realize that they deserve damnation, and have no hope of saving themselves. That total surrender opens the sinner to grace, and is then absolved of sin and purified. Another basic principle of the puritans was congregationalism: that each church would be independent, with full power to govern itself without interference, and to choose their own deacons, pastors, and elders. But all churches would follow the same rule, and counsel and help each other, in a spirit of mutual fellowship.
The first mention of Newhaven (originally one word) as the name of the plantation is in the record of the General Court, dated September 1, 1640. Despite its promising beginning, John Davenport’s Utopia began to show cracks in its foundation early on. There was much discontent among those rejected for membership, especially servants, and many of the newcomers to the colony did not subscribe to puritan ideals. Some of the “pillars” were accused of misconduct, and there was much resentment of the prosperity of the wealthiest colonists. Instances of crime grew, as attested by the records of the General Court, including sexual misconduct, drunkenness, and failure to attend church.
In the wake of the English Civil War, after the monarchy was restored in 1660 under King Charles II, agents of the king were sent out to track down the judges that had condemned Charles I to death. Three of the judges, Edward Whalley, John Dixwell, and William Goffe, fled to America. Dixwell stayed in town under an assumed name, and the other two sought refuge atop West Rock Ridge, at a spot known as the Judges’ Cave, which was a good lookout spot. Farmer Richard Sperry, who owned much of the land that would become Amity Parish, brought them food and supplies. They were never caught.
In 1662, King Charles II issued a new charter that ordered New Haven to be absorbed into Connecticut Colony, centered in Hartford. Davenport suspected that this was payback for harboring the Three Judges. Connecticut Colony was not governed under the same strict principles as New Haven; they allowed any man who owned property to vote. Davenport's New Jerusalem as a Utopian community was finished, but it had been falling apart anyway.
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For further information see:
Francis J. Bremer. Building a New Jerusalem: John Davenport, A Puritan in Three Worlds, by (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012).
Rollin G. Osterweis. Three centuries of New Haven. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953).
Nancy Finlay, “A Separate Place: The New Haven Colony, 1638 – 1665” connecticuthistory.org.
Thomas O'Connor. “History of Early New Haven: A Connection to Our Past,” New Haven Teachers' Institute, https://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/2003/2/03.02.04/3.
Charles J. Hoadly. Records of Colony of New Haven, 1638 to 1649. https://archive.org/details/recordscolonyan00colgoog
Charles J. Hoadly. Records of Colony of New Haven, May 1653 to the Union, with code of 1656. https://archive.org/details/cu31924082451398
Office of the state historian, "The English Regicides Flee to New Haven," https://todayincthistory.com/2019/03/07/march-7-english-regicides-flee-to-new-haven/