Notes |
The story of their wedding is told by Miss Caulkins in the History of New London, p. 48-9. A young couple in Saybrook were to be married, the groom was Jonathan Rudd. Governor Winthrop, who later testified about the event, did not name the bride. The wedding day was decided but there was no one in Saybrook qualified to officiate, so a magistrate from one of the upper towns on the river was engaged. But a great snow fell and obliterated the paths, obstructing the magistrate's travel. Thus Mr. Winthrop was asked to come to Saybrook and unite the parties, as travel from the coast was easier. But he derived his authority from Massachusetts and could not legally officiate in Connecticut. So the parties agreed to meet at the small river that was the border of Saybrook, with Mr. Winthrop and his group from Pequot standing on the New London side of the creek and the wedding party on the other. This is how the ceremony was performed, and the stream immediately became known as Bride Brook. (New London had been settled under authority of Massachusetts.)
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