Eliezer (also spelled Elizier, Eleazor, Eleazer or Elizer) Jewett (August 31, 1731 in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

– December 7, 1817)Jewett, Frederic Clarke
History and Genealogy of the Jewetts of America
Volume I, The Grafton Press, New York, 1908. Pgs. 168-9. was the namesake of

Jewett City, Connecticut Jewett City is a borough in New London County, Connecticut, in the town of Griswold. The population was 3,487 at the 2010 census. The borough was named for Eliezer Jewett, who founded a settlement there in 1771. Geography According to the Uni ...

, now the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of the town of

Griswold, Connecticut Griswold is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 11,402 at the 2020 census. Griswold contains the borough of Jewett City and the villages of Doaneville, Kaalmanville, Rixtown, Glasgo, Hopeville, Nathanieltow ...

. He founded a settlement there in 1771. Jewett was the great grandson of Jeremiah Jewett, who emigrated from

Bradford, England Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 c ...

as a child with his parents in 1638 and settled in

Rowley, Massachusetts Rowley is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,161 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley (CDP), Massachusetts, Row ...

. Author

Frances Manwaring Caulkins Frances Manwaring Caulkins (April 26, 1795 – 1869) was a 19th-century American historian and genealogist, the author of histories of New London, Connecticut and Norwich, Connecticut. Through her father, she was descendant of Hugh Caulkins, who ...

described him as "not a man of finished education, or of any peculiar mental power, but active, persevering, and of a genial, kindly temperament, happy in doing good and opening paths of enterprise for the benefit of others, without laboring to enrich himself." Jewett built a

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and

fulling mill Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

, a tavern and an

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

plant in the area later known as Jewett City. The mills utilized the water power of the

Pachaug River The Pachaug River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river arising from the Pachaug State Forest at the Connecticut - Rhode Island border and draining in ...

. About 1790 Jewett was joined in the area by John Wilson, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

clothier from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, who married Jewett's daughter, purchased the fulling mill and established a clothier's shop. Jewett City was officially named in 1895. Jewett's monument in the Jewett City graveyard reads:

In memory of Mr. Eliezer Jewett, who died Dec 7th 1817, in the 87th year of his age. In April, 1771, he began the settlement of this village, and from his persevering industry and active benevolence, it has derived its present importance: its name will perpetuate his memory.Find-a-Grave: Eliezer Jewett
accessed 5 Nov 2017.

Descendants

Jewett had seven children. He married first to Sarah Farnham (1734 - 1798) and he married secondly to Elizabeth Jewett (1748 - 1822). His children by Sarah Farnham Jewett include: *Lydia Jewett Wilson (1756 - 1794) *Olive Jewitt Bill (1757 - 1836) *Elisabeth Jewett Boardman (1759 - 1843) *Joseph Jewett (1762 - 1831) *Sarah Jewett Murdock (1763 - 1790) His son Joseph Jewett became a prominent judge. His grandson Dr. Charles Jewett was a prominent figure in the Temperance Reform movement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewett, Eliezer 1730 births 1817 deaths People from Norwich, Connecticut American people of English descent People from Jewett City, Connecticut