USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > West Springfield > Historical discourse delivered at West Springfield : December 2, 1824, the day of the annual thanksgiving > Part 1
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01103 5638
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https://archive.org/details/historicaldiscou1824spra
AN
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
DELIVERED AT
WEST SPRINGFIELD,
1824
DECEMBER 2, 18:24,
THE DAY OF THE
Annual Thanksgiving.
1 BY WILLIAM B. SPRAGUE,/ PASTOR OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN WEST SPRINGFIELD
Ask now of the days that are past ....... Deut. iv. 31. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh ... Eccl. 2. 4.
HARTFORD :
PRINTED BY GOODWIN & (O),
.......... 1825.
1781150
F 84497 .84
Sprague, William Buell, 1795-1876.
An historical discourse, delivered at West Spri December 2, 1824, the day of the annual thanks By William B. Sprague ... Hartford, Printed by win & co., 1825.
91 p. 23.m. Appendix : p. [45]-91.
CURLF CARD
Check Tu. 46 G.
1. West Springfield, Mass. First church. 2. West Springfield, Hist.
20011 1
D 26082 Library of Congress
F74. W67S76
4
F8.1197.54
It will be perceived by those, who heard the following discours delivered, that considerable alterations have been made, in prepa ing it for the press. Many additional facts have been introduce and some, which were stated from the desk, have been thrown int the appendix. The author is aware, that so much minuteness detail can interest but few, beyond this immediate neighborhood but he hopes that the discourse will not be found tediously parti ular, by those, who have requested that it might be published, an for whom it is especially designed.
January 25, 1825.
-
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
DEUTERONOMY XXXII. 7.
REMEMBER THE DAYS OF OLD, CONSIDER THE YEARS OF MANY GENERATIONS ; ASK THY FATHER, AND HE WILL SHEW THEE ; THY ELDERS, AND THEY WILL TELL THEE.
AT the time when these words were spoken, the people of Israel were encamped on the margin of the river Jordan. Behind them was the desert, which had witnessed to their long and perilous march, and had been the grave of many of their kindred, while the land of Canaan, with its enchanting scenery, lay in full view before them. But the illustrious chief, who had headed the enterprise with so much wisdom, on account of an offence of which he had been guilty, was not permitted to enter the promised land ; and the last official act of his life, was to deliver a course of instructions to the people, such, as became their circumstances and his own. Our text is part of a prophetical song, which seems to have been designed by Moses as an epitome of all his instructions. As this song might probably be on the lips of many, who would be unacquainted with his writings, he bids them
enquire of their fathers and elders, in respect to the history of preceding generations ; that thus he might awaken their gratitude for the divine goodness, and excite them to the study of the scriptures, so far as they had opportunity. Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations ; ask thy father, and he will shew thee, thy elders, and they will tell thee.
The direction here given to the people of Israel, by their distinguished leader, accords with the dictates of reason, and the feelings of our nature. It is surely a rational exercise to consult the experience of those, who have lived before us; and to gather instruction, counsel, warning, from the record of their virtues and vices, or of the dispensations of providence towards them. It is an exercise too, peculiarly grateful to our natural feelings ; for who, that has not felt his bosom thrill with emotions of delight, as he has heard from the lips of venerable age, the story of other days ? And while we consult, with interest, the general record of human experience, that interest is heightened, in proportion as our views are concentrated on those characters and objects, to which we can claim a personal relation. We read the history of our own country, of her revolution, her patriots and heroes, with an ardor which we could never feel, in contemplating the same characters or events, in connection with the fortunes
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of another country. And when we descend to the society in which we were born, or the church in which we were baptized, or the family in which we were nurtured, our imaginations and affections occupy a field, in which they linger with still deeper interest. As we walk among our fathers' sepulchres, and decypher the rude and moss-covered inscription, or as we consult the record, which their own hands have left, by which we learn what they were, and what they performed, we seem to mingle in the company of those, who have been for a century the tenants of the tomb ; and if we are not criminally negligent, we gather up many lessons of practical wisdom, to aid us in preparation for our own departure.
It is my purpose, this morning, to dwell for a few moments, upon some of the advantages connected with a retrospect of past generations ; and to make these observations introductory to a brief view of the history of this Church and Society.
I. I remark, first, that this exercise is fitted to create a deep and active impression of the providence of God.
Every one, who has been accustomed to observe attentively, either the conduct of others, or the operations of his own heart, must be convinced that there is a strong tendency in human nature to practical atheism. Even the philosopher, whose profession it
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is to analyze the splendours of the firmament, or to lay open the mysteries of organized nature, has sometimes said with his lips, and oftener in his heart, ' there is no God.' Such a man would be an atheist, if all the evidence of a Deity which Reason can furnish, were to blaze forth at once upon the eye of his understanding ; for his intellectual and moral vision is so deeply disordered, that nothing but the power and grace of God can rectify it. But an atheistical spirit, in a greater or less degree, finds aliment in the corruption of every heart; it lurks even among the virtues and graces of the christian ; for where is the christian, who has not felt, on the result of some successful enterprize, that his own hand had gotten him the victory, when he ought gratefully to have referred his success to the providence of God. Now, it is an exercise admirably fitted to rebuke this spirit of proud independence, to contemplate the influence of the dispensations of heaven, as it is propagated in the character and condition of successive generations. We may not, indeed, ever be able to discover all the bearings of any event ; for the providence of God is a wheel within a wheel ; and there is no wisdom adequate to comprehend all its operations, except that by which they were contrived : and yet the progress of a century will often shed much light upon events, which, at the
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time of their occurrence, were enveloped in mystery. Dispensations, which our ancestors deprecated as judgments, may, perhaps, when viewed by the light of a succeeding age, appear to have been the germe of happiness to their posterity. And who, that contemplates the system of providence, as it unfolds in the record of successive ages, and sees one generation sowing in tears, and the next reaping in joy ; or who, that discovers the accomplishment of important purposes, which no human mind contemplated, when the means were put in operation, but must be deeply impressed with the reality of an invisible, almighty agency, and must find a new argument for acknowl- edging God in all his ways.
II. A view of the history of past generations is fitted to impress us with the value of our civil and religious privileges.
We naturally value our blessings, in some measure, proportionably to the expence at which they come to us ; and of this, we can never form a proper estimate, but by consulting the record of former ages. In this way, we learn how kindly the dispensations of provi- dence have been arranged, in order to produce the results, which we experience in our happy condition. We learn too, to regard our privileges as an inheritance from preceding generations ; as a monument of their
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toils and sufferings, as well as of their intelligence and piety. And must not the tendency of such a retrospect be, to increase our value of every blessing, which we enjoy ? Can we sit unmolested, under our own vine and figtree, and recur to the sources of our blessings, in the benign interpositions of providence towards our fathers, without a deeper impression of God's goodness and our obligation ? Or can we recollect the perils and hardships, which it cost our ancestors to procure for us our distinguished birth-right, and not feel bound to transmit the same to posterity ? From the tomb of departed generations, there is a voice charging us not to undervalue our privileges ;- not to trifle with the sufferings of our fathers, by alienating from our children an inheritance, which those sufferings were designed to procure.
III. It is also the tendency of this exercise, to keep alive a sense of our responsibility.
In consulting the history of past generations, it is hardly possible to avoid the reflection, that no man liveth for himself alone. We see how the character of one generation is derived from that of another ;- how the influence of an individual widens and widens, till it grasps the world ;- how it is propagated from age to age, and often becomes more salutary, or more pernicious, as it advances. True, indeed, we frequently
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see men accomplishing wonderful changes in society, while they live ; but the extent of their influence can only be estimated by posterity, who can watch its silent operation, while their ancestors are in the grave. And can we fail to recollect, that we sustain the same relation to future generations, which those, who have gone before, did to us ? If our character is derived, in a great measure, from that of our fathers, so are we carrying forward a process, which is to stamp the views and habits of our posterity. There is not a man in society so insignificant, but he has entrusted to him the charge of doing something to form the character of the next age. Can we rise up, Brethren, from a review of the past, without an impressive conviction that we have but just begun to live here, when we die ;- that we shall live in the habits and characters of our children's children ; and shall we not endeavor to exert such an influence, that we shall live also in their grateful remembrance ?
IV. We are strikingly taught from the history of past generations, the opposite tendency of virtue and vice.
It sometimes happens that a good man, during his life, is the object of reproach, on account of his virtues ; and as often, on the other hand, that the vices of a.
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bad man are excused, and even made his passport to a momentary celebrity. But it requires but little time, after the individual has gone to his grave, to rectify such errours. It is the ordinance of heaven, that virtue should be the parent of reputation, and vice, of disgrace ; and it is not in the power of mortals to invert it. Thus, it has sometimes happened, that the man, who, when living, was admired as a hero, has, after he was dead, been execrated as a monster ; and so too, has the good man, who has been the object of persecution from his contemporaries, had his memory crowned with the blessings of posterity. There is in man an original principle, which recognizes the distinction between virtue and vice ; and though that distinction may sometimes be confounded in the estimate, which the world forms of characters, yet, after the accidental circumstances, which occasioned the errour, have passed away, the good have little to fear, and the bad have little to hope from its awards. In reviewing the history of former generations, we learn the impartial decision of posterity, in regard to actions ; and ascertain their legitimate influence, both upon the memories of the dead, and the characters of the living. Hence we see virtue and vice exhibited, without being blended; the one, the pareut of happiness and honor ; the other, of disgrace and wretchedness.
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V. I observe, once more, that the history of former generations presents a striking illustration of the truth, that ' man at his best estate is altogether vanity.'
The history of even the longest and most active life detains us but a moment : when our interest is just awakened by its exploits, or its sufferings, we are arrested by the record of its termination. And if we linger a moment upon the spot from which one generation has retired, we find another, and another successively occupying it and passing off, like the shadows upon the plain. How many generations have lived and been active, since the settlement of New England ; but in respect to almost all, it may be said that their memorial has perished with them, and not even their names are known by their posterity. How numerous are the objects, which, while they point to the graves of our ancestors, proclaim the mutability of the world. The privileges, which we enjoy, proclaim it ; for they are an inheritance from those, who are now among the dead. The ground, which we cultivate, the streets, which we walk, the dwellings, which some of us occupy, proclaim it ; for here were employed the skill, or activity of other generations. Can we resist the impression, that we shall soon follow those, who have departed ; and that, ere long, others will be busy in collecting the
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fragments of our history, as we are, in respect to those, who have gone before us. What an argument this for activity in the great business for which we came into the world ; for though life is short, there is a momen- tous work to be accomplished. Though we may be forgotten by posterity, we shall entail upon them our virtues or vices ; and though our characters may have perished from every other record, they can never be lost from the book of God's remembrance.
In the brief sketch, which I am now to present, of the history of this church and society, little more will be attempted, than to bring together, and lay before you, in narrative form, facts, which are scattered in different records .* To the elder members of the congregation, much of what I shall say, will doubtless be familiar ; but even they may not consider it an unprofitable employment, to call to mind the days of old, while to the younger part of the audience, the exercise, I trust, may be both gratifying and instructive.
The settlement of the original town of Springfield, of which this town was, for many years, a part, com- menced, probably, in 1635 ; but the first permanent
* A number of the facts stated in this discourse, may be found in Mr. Breck's century sermon, and in some of the occasional sermons of Doctor Lathrop. For many of those, which relate to the early settlement of the town, I am obliged to the Hon. George Bliss. In all cases in which it has been practicable, I have consulted the original record of the town.
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settlement was in the spring of 1636 .* In consequence of a large emigration from England, beside the natural increase of the population, it became necessary that some of the inhabitants of the towns first planted should scek a new residence ; f and accordingly in May 1635, we find a petition presented to the general court, then in session at Newtown, now Cambridge, from several of the inhabitants of Roxbury, Dorchester, Newtown and Watertown, for leave to emigrate to Connecticut river. This petition was granted (May 6) on the express condition, that they should remain * within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts ; and several persons # were appointed to govern them for one year. In consequence of this grant, the petitioners, with their families, braved the perils of the wilderness, and planted themselves in the places, which are now Wethersfield, Hartford, Windsor and Springfield.
The first settlers of Springfield were from Roxbury, and were eight men, beside women and children. The principal of these were William Pynchon, Esq.§ one of the patentees, and for some time, treasurer of the colony, and one Jehu Burr, a carpenter ; and the
* See Appendix, A.
t See Appendix, B.
# Viz : Roger Ludlow, John Steel, William Phelps, William Westwood, Andrew Ward, and others .- Hubbard's history, p. 308.
§ Mr. Pynchon had previously laid the foundation of the town of Roxbury, and assisted in the formation of a church.
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town received its name, in remembrance of the said Mr. Pynchon, who had his mansion house at a town by the name of Springfield, near Chelmsford in Essex, before he removed to New-England .* The agreement made by the settlers, is dated May 13, 1636; and is signed by the above mentioned persons, and six others,f all whose families, with the exception of that of Mr. Pynchon, have long since become extinct in this neighbourhood.
Notwithstanding Massachusetts gave liberty to these people to remove, on the express condition, that they should remain under her jurisdiction, they seem, at an carly period, to have considered themselves removed from it, on the ground, that it extended only one hundred miles ; and we find the people of Springfield, or Agawam, for several years, united with the settle- ments down the river. In 1637 and 33, it appears from the records of the Connecticut colony, that Mr. Pynchon was one of their magistrates. Springfield, however, was not a party to the confederation made by the towns of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield ;
* See Hubbard's history, p. 308. The town was not called Springfield, till the year 1641. Previous to that the, it seems to have been known only by the name of Agawam. The meaning of the word Agawam, is supposed to be crooked or rapid.
t Viz. Matthew Mitchell, Henry Smith, William Blake, Thomas Ufford, John Cabell and Edward Wood. There was afterwards an addition of Samuel Butter- field and Jonas Wood.
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though it was, for several years, considered as part of Connecticut, and sent deputies to their general court .* In 1641, the general court of Massachusetts received a petition from Mr. Pynchon and others of Springfield ; and in 1643, he was again made a magistrate in Massachusetts, having been left out from 1636 to this time.
There is neither on the records of Massachusetts, or Connecticut, any grant of lands in the old part of the town ; nor is there to be found any regular act of incorporation.
It was the first article of the covenant, into which our fathers entered, that they would, as soon as con- venient, "procure some godly and faithful minister ;" __ a noble proof of their piety and zeal for religious institutions. Accordingly, we find they had a minister with them, the Reverend George Moxon, as early as 1637 ;f though there is no record of the period of
* Reverend George Moxon and Jehu Burr appear, by Springfield records, to have been elected March 28, 1638.
+ The number of inhabitants must, at that time, have been very small ; as 24 persons ouly were taxed in 1644, to pay the Indians for the plantation. It is not casy to ascertain, precisely, the amount of Mr. Moxon's salary, or that of his imme- diate successors ; as there was a gradual depreciation from sterling at 4 shillings and 6 pence a dollar, as it was at first, to 6 shillings a dollar, at which it was fixed in 1707. The currency afterwards greatly depreciated, so that by 1750, it was 45 shillings to a dollar. Mr. Moxon's salary began at sterling 45 pounds, and varied to 70 pounds. Beside this, he had a house lot, meadow and wood lot, and several allotments in the meadows, together with a house and barn. The house when built in 1639, cost 40 pounds. According to the fashion of the time, it was thatched.
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their gathering a church .* In February 1645, they agreed to erect a house for public worship, to bc completed by September of the succeeding year.f Of Mr. Moxon, little is known, except that he received ordination in the episcopal church, before he came to America, and that he continued here, with his family, till the year 1652, when he returned to his native country.# At the same time also, went Mr. Pynchon, with his son in law, Mr. Henry Smith ; the former being dissatisfied with the treatment, which he had received from the colony, on account of some pecu- liarity of religious sentiment.§ This was regarded a peculiarly inauspicious event to the town, as Mr. Pynchon had been its principal founder and most active benefactor ; but he left his family behind him, and his
* There is no record of the first church in Springfield, winch extends back farther than the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Breck.
The dimensions of this house were as follows :- length 40 feet; breadth 25 feet ; and 9 feet between the joints. 'There were two turrets ; one for a bell, the other for a watch house. Its site was about East of the spot, on which stands the present meeting house of the first parish in Springfield, and is now occupied by the public road.
# There is now in existence a MS. containing sketches of Mr. Moxon's sermons, taken probably at the time they were delivered, by John, son of William Pynchon, in 1619. They indicate respectable intellectual powers, and contain the general doctrines of the Reformation. There is no record of his family, except of the birth of three children, while he was in Springfield. There is a tradition, that he was sileneed after he returned to England, and died in great obscurity, and as a common servant.
§ See Appendix, C.
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son, who lived to an advanced age, proved eminently useful, not only in the town, but in the colony.
A grant of lands was made to the Reverend Mr. Moxon, which, with the house that he occupied, the town purchased of him, at the time of his return to England, and appropriated the same for the use of the ministry, forever .*
During the nine years subsequent to the departure of Mr. Moxon, the town was without a settled minis- ter ; though they were, a part of the time, supplied with preaching. An effort was made in 1655, to settle a Mr. Thompson, but he declined their proposals.f He seems, however, to have labored among them, a considerable time, probably, one year, or more ; as it appears from the records, that the town voted him 60 pounds, In 1657, it was voted that Deacon Wright, and afterwards Messrs. Holyoke, Burt and Pynchon should be requested " to carry on publick worship," and should receive, for their services, a small compensation.}
* See Appendix, 1).
t Probably, the Reverend William Thompson, who had been previously settled, first in England, and afterwards in Braintree. He went to Virginia in 1642, to carry the gospel to the ignorant, but was obliged soon to leave that colony, on account of his non-conformity to the episcopalian worship. He died at Braintree, Dec. 10, 1666, aged 68 years.
# The town voted 50 shillings per month to Deacon Wright, and afterwards 40 pounds per year, to be divided between four. All, with the exception of Mr. Pynchon, were restricted to reading from some author; he, if he pleased, might entertain them " with his own meditations." He appears to have acted as a kind of lay-exhorter.
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On the 7th of February 1659, they made choice of Mr. Samuel Hooker,* as their pastor ; but he also declined their invitation. They afterwards called and settled; Mr. Pelatiah Glover, a native of Dor- chester. He preached his first sermon,# July 3, 1659 ; but was not ordained, till sometime in the year 1661. He continued his labours among them, till they were terminated by death. He is represented as having been a diligent student, an energetic preacher, and a faithful pastor. The record of his death is as follows :- " March 29, 1692, the Reverend Pelatiah Glover fell asleep in Jesus."§
The ground, which our fathers appropriated for the burial of their dead, || was the same, which is now
* Ile was graduated at Harvard College in 1653. He was afterwards settled at Farmington, and was the son of the Rev. Thomas Hooker of Hartford, one of the most eminent of the puritan ministers.
t Mr. Glover's salary was originally 80 pounds, with the use of the ministry land and house. In 1678, they voted an addition of 20 pounds for that year. See appendix D, concerning the ministry land, &c.
# His text, as appears from John (afterwards Col.) Pynchon's notes, was Jeremiah iv. 14.
§ Ile left behind him a family, but I am not able to ascertain the number of his children, or where they were settled. His wife died in 1689, and at least three of his children died before him. One of them resided in Springfield, for some years after the death of his father. A great grand child of the Rev. Mr. Glover, of the same name, now lives in Wilbraham.
# The record of deaths commences in 1511. From this, it appears that, during the first ten years from that period, that is, from 1611 to 1651, the number of deaths was 33; from 1651 to 1661, it was 38 ; from 1661 to 1671, it was 43 ; from 1671 to 1681, it was 74; from 1681 to 1691 it was 151 ; and from 1691 to 1701, it was 71 ; making in 60 years 410 deaths, and an average of nearly 7 to the year.
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