First Squatter on Joshua's Tract

Title

First Squatter on Joshua's Tract

Description

In the fall of 1688, a mysterious Englishman named John Cates and his enslaved servant, Joe Ginne, squats on Joshua's Tract. According to folklore, Cates was a former Cromwellian official fleeing Stuart persecution. After the Glorious Revolution of 1689, Cates emerges from hiding and purchases a Windham allotment from Daniel Mason.

Source

Ellen Douglas Larned, History of Windham County, Connecticut, Volume I: 1600-1760 (Worcester, MA: Charles Hamilton, 1874), 66-7.

Date

1688

Contributor

horn_allen

Abstract

Larned calls Old Windham village "The Hither Place."

Collection

Digital Windham

Citation

“First Squatter on Joshua's Tract,” History Digitized, accessed October 24, 2024, https://easternct-digitalhistory.com/items/show/661.