USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Hatfield > History of Hatfield, Massachusetts, in three parts: I. An account of the development of the social and industrial life of the town from its first settlement. II. The houses and homes of Hatfield, with personal reminiscences of the men and women who have lived there during the last one hundred years; brief historical accounts of the religious societies and of Smith Academy; statistical tables, etc. III. Genealogies of the families of the first settlers > Part 1
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Gc 974.402 H284w 1148957
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00085 1680
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofhatfiel1660well
HATFIELD MAIN STREET.
1660
A HISTORY OF 1910 HATFIELD
MASSACHUSETTS
HATFIELD
6670
INDUSTRY
PROŚPERITI.
IN THREE PARTS
I. An Account of the Development of the Social and Industrial Life of the Town from its First Settlement.
II. ¡ The Houses and Homes of Hatfield, with Personal Reminiscences of the Men and Women Who Have Lived there during the Last One Hundred Years; Brief Historical Accounts of the Religious Societies and of Smith Academy; Statistical Tables, etc.
III. Genealogies of the Families of the First Settlers.
By DANIEL WHITE WELLS and REUBEN FIELD WELLS
PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
F. C. H. GIBBONS, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY REUBEN F. WELLS.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
1148957
PAGE
PREFACE.
7-9
INTRODUCTION
11-15
PART I .- THE HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
CHAPTER I .- A Chapter of Beginnings. The Migration from the Coast to the Connecticut Valley 19-28
CHAPTER II .- A Chapter of Preparation. The Pioneers 29-38
CHAPTER III .- A Chapter of Foundations. The Street and House Lots, Division of Meadows, Mill and Meeting. 39-49
CHAPTER IV .- A Chapter of Conflict. The Struggle Leading to the Incorporation of Hatfield. 50-56
CHAPTER V .- A Chapter of Establishment. The Incorporation of the Town and the Foundation of the Church 57-64
CHAPTER VI .- A Period of Growth and of Preparation for the Indian Wars, 1670-1675 65-74
CHAPTER VII .- King Philip's War, 1675-6, and the Indian Massacre of 1677 75-98
CHAPTER VIII .- A Period of Peace, 1677-1688. A Time of Important Beginnings. The Revolution of 1688. 99-115
CHAPTER IX .- King William's War, 1688-1698. Progress in the Town. Purchase of the Denison Farm. The "Hatfield Addition". 116-130
CHAPTER X .- Another Period of Peace, 1698-1703. The Purchase of the Bradstreet Farm. Building the Second Meetinghouse. . 131-138
CHAPTER XI .- Manners and Customs of the Seventeenth Century. ... 139-148
CHAPTER XII .- Queen Anne's War, 1703-1713. An Interval of Peace. Father Rasle's War, 1722-1725 149-165
CHAPTER XIII .- A Period of Great Prosperity, 1725-1765. The Golden Age. Prominent and Influential Citizens 166-178
CHAPTER XIV .- A Period of Strife, 1765-1789. The Revolutionary War. The Ely Insurrection. Shays's Rebellion 179-201
CHAPTER XV .- Life in Hatfield at the Close of the Eighteenth Cen-
tury 202-213
4
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER XVI .- A Long Period of Peace and Prosperity, 1800-1861. Industrial Changes. Immigration. 214-224
CHAPTER XVII .- The Civil War, 1861-1865 225-233
CHAPTER XVIII .- A Period of Changes, 1865-1910 234-243
PART II .- REMINISCENCES AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
I .- Reminiscences of Samuel D. Partridge
247-292
II .- Reminiscences of Daniel W. Wells 293-342
III .- History of the Religious Societies 343-349
IV .- The Smith Family and the Institutions Founded by Them.
350-362
V .- The Development of the Manufacturing Industries Since the Civil War 363-365
PART III .- FAMILY GENEALOGIES.
Allis Family 369-371
Bardwell Family 371-374
Belding or Belden Family 374-378
Billings Family.
379-384
Brown Family
384
Cowles Family
384-386
Curtis Family .
386-388
Dickinson Family
388-396
Field Family
396-406
Fitch Family
406-407.
Frary Family
407-409
Gerry Family .
409
Graves Family .
409-417
Hastings Family
417-420
Hubbard Family
420-422
Longley Family
423
Marsh Family (First Family)
423
(Second Family) 424-425
426-431
Partridge Family 431-433
Porter Family
433-436
Smith Family
436-440
Strong Family
440-441
Waite Family
442-444
Warner Family
444-447
Wells Family 447-451
White Family 451-455
APPENDIX
457-496
INDEX
497-536
Morton Family (First Family)
(Second Family) 431
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Hatfield Main Street Frontispiece
An Old Indian Deed 26
The Connecticut River at Hatfield. 34
A View in the Meadows. 36 One of Hatfield's Oldest Houses 44
A Corner of the Old Burying Ground 62
A Page from the Proprietors' Records-Earmarks of the Cattle 70
"September 19, 1677,". 91
A View on Middle Lane 129
The Curve of the Hatfield Street 142
Old-Time Furniture 145
A Corner Cupboard. 171
Dr. Joseph Lyman and Mrs. Lyman 181
The Hubbard Tavern 196
Lieut. and Mrs. David Billings 197
Map of Hatfield in 1795. 204
Ruins of an Old-Fashioned Chimney
210
The Dr. Daniel White Tavern
215
A Tobacco Field 221
Town Officers During the Civil War 226
Rev. John M. Greene, D.D. 228
An Onion Storage Warehouse 235
Samuel H. and Caleb Cooley Dickinson 237
Rev. Robert McEwen Woods, D.D. 242
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Partridge. 246
"The Jenny Lind Elm" 259
"The Old Elm" 261
House Built by Lieut. David Billings 272
Doorway of the John Dickinson House 275
The Oldest House in Town 286
Memorial Hall and the Congregational Church 296
The Birthplace of Sophia Smith 305
A View on Elm Street. 309
Negro Cabin on the Road to Northampton 313
St. Joseph's Church. 348
Office Furniture of Oliver Smith 351
0
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Sophia Smith
353
Smith Academy
356
The Lathe Shop
363
The Gun Shop
364
Elijah Bardwell
372
Reuben Belden
372
Mr. and Mrs. Sanford S. Belden
378
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Morris Billings 381
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph D. Billings
382
Mr. and Mrs. Lucius G. Curtis. 387
Mr. and Mrs. William Dickinson 393
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Frary 408
Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Graves 411
Mr. and Mrs. Levi Graves
412
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan S. Graves
414
Mr. and Mrs. Justin Hastings
419
Mr. and Mrs. Roswell Hubbard 421
Mr. and Mrs. Moses Morton 427
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Porter 434
Mr. and Mrs. James W. Warner 446
Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Wells 449
Views of Hatfield, England 462
PREFACE.
The publication of a history of Hatfield has been urged many times by those interested in the subject, but nothing more formal than historical sketches has heretofore ap- peared. With the assistance of my father, Daniel W. Wells, who for more than thirty years has been engaged in gene- alogical and antiquarian researches and who has contributed the genealogies and part of the reminiscences for this work, I have undertaken to bring together the various threads into something that shall form a record of the life in Hatfield for the last two hundred and fifty years.
The field has not been wholly unexplored, and the sketch of the town contributed to the "History of the Connecticut Valley" by Silas G. Hubbard and Dr. J. G. Holland's account in his "History of Western Massachusetts," as well as the contributions to periodical literature that have appeared from time to time, have been of great assistance. No student of the early history of the towns of the Connecticut valley can fail to appreciate the value of the painstaking research of Sylvester Judd, both in his "History of Hadley" and the collection of his unpublished manuscript now in the Forbes Library in Northampton. We are indebted to him for both historical and genealogical material. The accurate scholar- ship of the veteran Deerfield historian, George Sheldon, has also been of great aid in the story of the Indian wars. He has very kindly given help and suggestion during the prog- ress of my work. I have also made use of Trumbull's "History of Northampton" and the two histories of the town of Whately by Temple and Crafts.
Wherever possible, however, it has been my aim to con- sult original sources for the purpose of verification. These original sources are the archives of the states of Massachu- setts, Connecticut, and New York, the public records of the towns from which the early settlers came and of neighboring
8
PREFACE.
towns,-those of greatest importance being those of Hadley and Hatfield,-the Court records of Hampshire and Hamp- den counties, letters, account books, diaries, newspapers (since 1787, when the Hampshire Gasette was founded), and contemporary accounts such as are in several instances quoted in these pages. Among the most interesting and valuable descriptions of the life in the early part of the last century are the reminiscences of Samuel D. Partridge, which are incorporated in full in this history by permission of his relatives.
From these many sources the task has been one of com- pilation of 'a connected account of the development of the town, the weighing and sifting of evidence where records or accounts conflicted, and the pursuit of clues to elusive facts. Accuracy has been the aim, but further investigation or discovery may cause a change in some of the statements and possibly mistakes have occurred in transcribing in some instances. A great deal of matter has necessarily been omitted, it is hoped nothing of vital importance. Traditional evidence has not been wholly neglected, though it is not well to place too much faith in oral tradition, especially where it has been handed down for several generations.
In some matters relating to the history of later years reliance has been placed on the memory of people who were witnesses of things of which no written record can be found. To mention all who have assisted in this way would be to present a long list. Thanks are here given to all who have in any way assisted in the preparation of this work. All custodians of public archives have been very courteous in putting the information in their control at my disposal.
To Lewis H. Kingsley and Vernet H. Keller, both of Hatfield, I am indebted for loan of photographs for many of the illustrations. The pictures of former citizens were secured from members of their families. The drawing repre- senting the Indian attack of Sept. 19, 1677, is the work of Miss A. Marie Elder of Chester. The facsimile of the old Indian deed was obtained from the Hall of Records in Springfield; the other facsimiles from the Hatfield records. Some of the portrait cuts were loaned by Rev. C. A. Wight of Chicopee Falls.
Whatever the future may have in store, the history of the
9
PREFACE.
first two hundred and fifty years is a record of which the inhabitants of Hatfield may well be proud, and it is with a feeling of reverence that these chronicles have been written. While emphasis has been placed on times and events that seemed of greatest importance to the writer or of more striking prominence, the idea of a truthful, well-balanced account has been kept in mind constantly, with no attempt to minimize uncreditable performances or unduly exalt he- roic achievements. It will be noted that no period has been termed the modern period. "We see dimly in the present what is great and what is small," says Lowell, and with this in mind the events of the last half century have been only lightly touched upon, for no proper perspective can be gained at such short range. What we call modern to-day may be called old-fashioned to-morrow, and if the study of the past has revealed anything, it is the fact that the men and women who made Hatfield's history, at whatever day they lived, were always abreast of or in advance of their times.
REUBEN F. WELLS.
HATFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, May, 1910.
INTRODUCTION.
The history of a town is the story of the lives of its inhabitants, the rearing of the structure upon the foundations laid by the first settlers. The aim of this volume is to trace the development of the social and industrial life of the people of Hatfield, two phases which are so closely interwoven that no attempt has been made to separate them, the chapter on the industries of the town in Part II. being merely a gathering together of loose threads in a connected account in a special place and the treatment of the development of certain phases of the industrial life. So with the chapters on the history of religious societies; they are very fit- tingly a part of the town history into the narrative of which they enter in large degree, but it seemed best to devote a space to separate treatment of the subject. In a broad sense the development of the religious life of a community so far as it finds outward expression is as much a part of its history as the social and industrial, and as hard to sepa- rate.
A characteristic of the town of Hatfield has been a unity of spirit and harmony of action during its whole two hundred and fifty years of existence, in spite of many differences of opinion. Its founders were men of pronounced views, differ- ing widely from some of their neighbors; they held firmly to these views, but they contended only when conflict seemed unavoidable. Every issue once joined has been squarely met and fought to a decisive finish.
The movement that led to the foundation of the town was separatist in its nature, inevitable under the circum- stances, a continuation of the separatist movement that peopled Massachusetts Bay with English colonists. The removal was accomplished after struggle and with diffi- culty. The incorporation of the town was the inevi- table result of a division, partly geographical, but really
12
INTRODUCTION.
more fundamental in its origin. After a hard fought fight Hadley and Hatfield separated, but even at that day the real issue was only one of the time when the separation should take place, and their citizens, mindful of a common ancestry and history, have since worked loyally together for mutual protection and mutual improvement, though sometimes their private interests have clashed.
Nor did the dividing process cease with the incorporation of Hatfield. At a later date Whately and Williamsburg were set off from Hatfield-without a struggle-and con- tinued as separate towns the development in the beginnings of which Hatfield settlers played an important part. The restless and adventurous spirit characteristic of all New Englanders led many Hatfield men to identify themselves with new and growing communities throughout the western part of the colony.
Within the town itself and among the permanent res- idents differences of opinion over many vital matters have been reconciled without serious difficulty, even when at times party feeling ran high, notably during the war for independence and at the time of Shays's rebellion. To what this is due we make no assured answer, but certainly two factors are of importance, the common sense and discretion of the inhabitants of the town, noticeable in each generation, and the character of the leaders of thought and action. The democratic principle of majority rule has always guided, with the rights of the minority usually conceded and respected, while the minority party has yielded as gracefully as possible to the situation. With friction to a large degree eliminated, the progress of the town along all lines has been steadily forward with few periods of decline.
The leaders in affairs civil and ecclesiastical have been courageous and determined men, of good judgment and firm faith, upright in life and conscientious in the perform- ance of duty, who have commanded the respect of their fellow townsmen so that- their leadership was followed. Comparatively few have been figures of state or national importance, but if their field of service was limited and their place among the rank and file, they grasped the opportunity before them and served in the ranks to the
13
INTRODUCTION.
best of their ability. Good sergeants and corporals are as necessary to the army as the commissioned officers.
As the wave of national expansion that peopled a conti- nent swept westward its crest bore Hatfield men, descend- ants of those first settlers who in their generation brought to the western part of the Commonwealth the free insti- tutions that had been established in the little fringe of towns along the coast-not conspicuous leaders, but men who bore their share of the burden. Among the pioneers to the central part of New York state were William Allis and John Billings; the building up of the Western Reserve was aided by Dickinsons, Graves, and Whites; to the fertile prairies of Illinois went some of the Mortons. Across the Missis- sippi the prosperous city of St. Louis numbered among its citizens Arthur and Joseph Billings, George Cutter and others, while many other western states have received recruits from the little town by the banks of the Con- necticut. The rush to the gold fields of California, Dakota, and Alaska attracted Hatfield men and some have pushed on to the shores of island possessions. Still more dis- tant parts have shared the influence. Much of the wealth of Hatfield farms has gone to distant lands to spread the gospel of Christ and men and women trained in its schools have labored in "India's coral strand" and the islands of the sea.
In men and women of distinction the town has not been lacking. The heroic deeds of Benjamin Waite and his companion Stephen Jennings are worthy of high place among the annals of colonial warfare against the Indians. Col. Samuel Partridge was "the most important man in Western Massachusetts after the death of Col. Pynchon [of Springfield] in 1703." Col. Israel Williams, "ye mon- arch of Hampshire" and one of "the river gods," was at one time commander of all the western troops in the campaign against the French and Indians. Rev. Joseph Lyman, pastor of the church from 1772 to 1828, was a man oi intense patriotism, who exerted more than local influence in the struggle against Great Britain. Hon. John Hastings served as representative in the provincial and state legis- latures almost continuously from 1775 to 1807.
In the field of education the town has been especially
.
14
INTRODUCTION.
prominent, furnishing the founders of two colleges, Wil- liams and Smith, and early presidents of two other colleges, Elisha Williams, third president of Yale College, and Jonathan Dickinson, first president of the institution in New Jersey that became Princeton. Part of the wealth that established Smith College set up Smith Academy in Hatfield. The founder of Smith's school in Northampton planned for agricultural education and industrial training long before these had become prominent in the school system of the state.
The Smith Charities and the Dickinson Hospital in Northampton relieve the want and suffering of many from neighboring towns, including not a few born far from the shores of America.
The list might be continued farther, but enough has been given to show the important contributions to the life of the larger social organizations of which the town forms a unit. The following pages record the part played by its citizens in all the conflicts which have torn this nation. Hatfield has performed willingly its full duty in all the wars for liberty, for the defense of home and fireside, and for the rights of the oppressed.
But in the main the history of the town is one of peace. It has not been the scene of armed conflict since Sept. 19, 1677, the day of the terrible Indian massacre. The official seal, adopted in 1896, has for its motto the words "Industry and Prosperity." (See Appendix, Note 1.) The attention of its citizens has been directed toward the development of its resources and it has been known from an early date as a wealthy and prosperous community.
The influence of the home has been so potent in its development that the chapters on houses and homes in Part II. are deemed an integral part of the "History of Hatfield." The first work of the first settlers was to build their homes, their first fighting was for the protection of those homes, and in succeeding years it has been for them that they and their descendants and all others who have joined the community have labored and fought.
Nor should the influence of the women of the town be lightly appreciated. The birthplace and home of Sophia Smith has always had a high regard for women, allowed
1
15
INTRODUCTION.
them most of the opportunities provided for the men, and been nobly served by many devoted women. Lowell says :-
"He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,- In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best?"
What impelled Waite and Jennings to brave the hardships and dangers of a winter journey to Canada through a wilderness untrodden before by the English-what but the love for wife and children? The story of little Sally Coleman trudging bravely beside her savage captors in the northward journey is a moving incident of "Hatfield's Great Calamity." Little did she think on that weary march that in time she would be the wife of John Field, and that among her descendants would be found a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Stephen J. Field; the first man to establish telegraphic communication across an ocean, Cyrus W. Field; and a merchant prince of the land, Marshall W. Field. Canada Waite never dreamed in her wigwam hut in far Sorel that she would be the mother of the frugal Smiths, who in later years would scatter charity and learning with lavish hands.
The following pages record the filial affection of Lu- cretia Williams, daughter of the imprisoned Tory, Col. Israel Williams, and the business ability of Lucy Hubbard, the tavern keeper, but fuller mention might also have been made of the intelligence and stately grace of Mabel Par- tridge, wife of Col. Samuel Partridge, of the beauty and tact of Hannah Lyman, the pastor's wife, and of other "mothers in Israel," whose lives and services, whether recorded or not, are part of the heritage of every resident of Hatfield of the past or of the present and, we may confidently assume, of all that are to follow.
PART I. THE HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
CHAPTER I.
A CHAPTER OF BEGINNINGS. THE MIGRATION FROM THE COAST TO THE CONNECTICUT. VALLEY.
" Westward the course of empire takes its way."
Removal of colonists from Massachusetts Bay to Connecticut towns .- Dissensions in the Hartford and Wethersfield churches .- Grants for the settlement of a new town above Northampton .- The Engagers .- Settlement of Hadley .- The west side, or Hatfield Engagers .- Assignment of land for use .- Boundary troubles .- Bradstreet's and Denison's grants and their pur- chase by the town .- Purchase of land from the Indians.
The desire for full political and religious liberty, the impelling motive that drove the first settlers to the shores of New England, was also the chief cause of many of the interior settlements in the region during the first one hundred years of its history. When dissensions arose, as was inevitable among the independent pioneers, who would brook no authority they could not conscientiously yield to, groups of kindred spirits departed to settle new communities in the wilderness. The possibility of increased economic independence was also a consideration of great influence on adventurous minds.
Early in the course of the building up of Massachusetts Bay Colony a fundamental difference of opinion led many of the settlers under the lead of Rev. Thomas Hooker of Cambridge, then called Newtown, to move to Connecticut. A man liberal and democratic in his tastes and his views of both temporal and spiritual authority, Hooker could not live in harmony with the other leading clergyman of the colony, the aristocratic and autocratic Rev. John Cotton of Boston. Both leaders wisely refrained from an open quarrel, and in 1635 permission was obtained by the first mentioned from Governor William Bradford, not with-
20
HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
out some opposition, for a removal from the colony. An illuminating comment on the situation has been preserved from the pen of Rev. William Hubbard, the minister at Ipswich and author of the well known "History of the Indian Wars" :-
"Some men do not well like, at least, cannot well bear, to be opposed in their judgments and notions, and thence were not unwilling to remove from under the power, as well as out of the bounds, of Massachusetts. Nature doth not allow ; two suns in one firmament, and some spirits can as ill bear an equal as others a superior."
On Oct. 15, 1635, a company of sixty men, women, and children set out across the country to the Connecticut river, taking their animals and some supplies with them and sending most of their household goods by water. The journey was one of terrible hardship and the winter that followed was one of great suffering. Dorchester people settled at Windsor, those from Watertown at Wethers- field, and those from Cambridge at Hartford. The next year Mr. Hooker and about one hundred of his followers joined the Hartford settlement.
In 1636 Springfield was established by William Pynchon and settlers from Roxbury; Northampton was settled in 1654 by men from towns farther down the river, after several years of planning and preparation.
From the Connecticut towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor came most of the first settlers of Hadley and Hatfield. The immediate cause of the establishment of these two towns, which were the frontier posts during the first years of the Indian wars, was a disagreement over church government and ordinances. Mr. Hooker and Rev. John Russell, the pastor of the Wethersfield church, were strict constructionists with regard to Con- gregational polity and opposed to innovations which savored of Episcopacy and Presbyterianism. After the death of Mr. Hooker in 1647 his successor, Rev. Samuel Stone, introduced into the Hartford church practices which were favored by a majority of his church members; but the minority held to their own convictions and decided to withdraw. Mr. Russell, with almost his entire church, sympathized with them. It is unnecessary to go into the
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