“Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” Psalm 119:34
In the history of our great nation, nothing is more important than assuring that people came and settled the land with the intent to have freedoms from a king. Many that came were tired of having to live according to the rules and whims of the kings of England.
In 1637, a group of London merchants and their families came to the New World with the idea of starting a new colony. The leaders were two men who had experience through the Massachusetts Bay Colony in outfitting a settlement. John Davenport, a Puritan minister and Theophilus Eaton, a wealthy merchant set out to establish a new settlement.
They sailed in two ships and arrived in Boston on June 26, 1837.
They learned about this area around the Quinnipiac River so Eaton set sail to view it in late August. The site seemed ideal for trade. It had a good port lying between Boston and the Dutch city of New Amsterdam. There was also good access to the furs of the Connecticut River valley settlements of Hartford and Springfield.
That next spring, the settlers started to arrive; about 250 of them with the goal to settle down and build homesteads. The settlers gave their new home the name of Quinnipiac. Later, they changed the name to Newhaven.
On Oct 25, 1639, the settlers adopted a charter of laws so that their colony would be self-governing and free from England. The charter stated: “that the word of God shall be the only rule to be attended unto in ordering the affairs of government in this plantation.” Theophiles Eaten became their first magistrate.
Records show that this was one of the first examples in history of a written constitution organizing a government and defining its powers for the people.