USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > The first century of the history of Springfield; the official records from 1636 to 1736, with an historical review and biographical mention of the founders, Volume I > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
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UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT AMHERST
F 74 S8
B8
v.1
THE FIRST CENTURY
OF THE
HISTORY OF SPRINGFIELD
The Official Records from 1636 to 1736
WITH AN HISTORICAL REVIEW AND BIOGRAPHICAL 1 MENTION OF THE FOUNDERS
BY HENRY M. BURT
VOLUME I
SPRINGFIELD, MASS .: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY HENRY M. BURT IS98
€
F : S
AMAEnUT, MASS,
Copyright, 1898, by Henry M. Burt.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
The many difficulties which have hitherto attended a care- ful and exhaustive reading of the early Town Records of Springfield have deterred even those who have given con- siderable thought and attention to the history of the founding of the town, from making a thorough study of the events which occurred during the formative period, or more than briefly mentioning individuals who made up the commun- ity in this pioneer undertaking in Western New England. It is with no small degree of satisfaction that I am now able to present the first volume of this work to the public, which will, with the second volume, to be issued a few months later, embody the official acts of the town during the first hundred years.
In addition I have given a brief review of some of the lead- ing events, and a chronological summary from which the dates of occurrences can be readily obtained, which otherwise could be learned only by a more exhaustive reading. The index will also be found unusually full. This will bring to the reader a more accurate knowledge of the various trans- actions which originated here, some of which concern the beginnings of other settlements, and also a clearer view of the circumstances and motives which gave them birth, and will enable the individual reader to find that which is of most interest to him without spending hours in fruitless search.
The writers of our early history have made mention of William Pynchon's book, which was the cause of his depart- ure from Springfield sixteen years after founding the town, and of his return to England, but no one has given an ade- quate idea of what it contained. The book was printed nearly 250 years ago in England, and what was then regard- ed as a heresy by the leading ministers and officials in the Col- ony, was a protest against certain Calvinistic beliefs. The
6
INTRODUCTION.
book, or nearly the whole of it, has been printed in this vol- umne, and will be found interesting as relating to the religious beliefs of the first settlers of New England and in compari- son with the progress of religious thought which has taken place within the last two or three centuries.
William Pynchon was without doubt the ablest reasoner and the best scholar residing here during the first century. The drift of his mind was towards abstract discussion of the- ological questions, which he treated with an independence of thought rare for his time. Viewed in the light of the pres- ent it lacks that importance which he attached to them, in- spired as they were by others who were feeding on the dry husks of dogmatic theology and placing more importance. upon the letter than upon the spirit, which latter pervades the understanding and the beliefs of the present generation.
The official records have been followed literally in orthog- raphy, punctuation, and capitalization, in the printed volume, as well as the abbreviations common in all records of that time. It will no doubt facilitate the reading of those who are not familiar with the customs of the time to know that ye stands for the, yt for that, ym for them, yr for their, wt for what or white. Used in this connection the letter "y" represents the Saxon character for "th." These contractions were never found in the printed books of that period, and were in use only in written records or other writings of the time. To explain what may be misleading as to dates it may be well to keep in mind that the new year began with the 25th of March, consequently where double dates appear, like 1651-2, the last figure represents the correct year, as we reckon at present. In the chronological summary changes have been made in the dates of the years to conform to present reck- oning, but no change was made in the dates of the month to correspond with New Style. While March 25 was the be- ginning of the new year, March was always considered as the first month, hence where "2d mo." appears it stands for April. With these explanations even the casual reader will find no difficulty in understanding the records.
7
INTRODUCTION.
In all the early New England settlements "Goodman" was in use as a prefix to surnames. Mister was applied to min- isters, or some distinguished person. In the official records of Springfield "Goodman" was often contracted to the letter "G." If the reader in turning from the index to the records finds, for example, G: Parsons, or G: Ashley, he will under- stand that the letter "G" is not the initial of the given name, but refers to the title of "Goodman."
The recorders are also responsible for the different ways of writing the name of Thomas Merrick. It appears as Mirick, Myrick, and Merrick. Whether the original Thomas, the founder of the family, was Merrick or Mirick, no one can tell. The division of this family name comes from the lack of knowledge on part of the recorders, whose incorrect orthog- raphy have in other New England families made many branches from a single family tree.
The map which accompanies this volume shows the loca- tion of the homelots of the first settlers, and will be useful in establishing this interesting fact to their many descendants. The grants were made at various times, but mainly between 1636 and 1646.
I have given much time to the preparation of this work, including making the transcription from the records, and I hope it may prove to be acceptable and of permanent value.
HENRY M. BURT.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., May 10, 1898.
CORRECTIONS.
In list of Town Recorders on page 47, the date of service of William Pynchon, Jr., given as from 1628 to 1636, should read from 1728 to 1736. The toll-road mentioned on page 53, was across wet meadow on what is now State Street,-not in West Springfield, as stated in the 16th line.
In last line on page 63, "coming to England" should read "coming to New England."
On page 90, IIth line, instead of "Christ did suffer," should read "did not suffer."
On page 53, line 17, the statement relative to the location of the toll bridge in 1660, over Mill River, is incorrect. The bridge was established farther west of that point, on the road which crosses the river, turns southerly and leads over Long Hill.
On page 343 "Joseph Chapin" should read "Japhet Chapin."
[In the handwriting of Elizur Holyoke. ]
Sfebruary 1664 Here followEs a Record or List of y Names of the Townofmen or men of this Town of Springfild that is to Say of the allowed admitted Inh nhabitants
who theyare this profint fior: 1664.
Rowland Thomas CapHolm Pynchon John Harman. Henry Chapin Link Elizur Holyoke Nath : Pritchard. William Brookes francs Lipper Benjamin Parsons. John Bagg Timothy Poper ssiddow M1: Bffs William Stunter, M Pilarich Glover. Samtt. Blogs. Peter Swinck Bracon Sam. Gapin. John Matthews. Griffith Jours. Japhet Chapin. Anth: Borchefter. - Obadiafr 11 iffer. John Stewart Rich : Sites
John Harrison Richard Ekoll Thomas Noble Jonathan Burt William barriner John Lumbard Jom Dumbleton. Serj. Sho Stabbing. Thomas Bancroft. - Jonathan Taylor Benjamin Mun. Benjamin Cooley.
David Ashley John Blips .
Hugh Durfry
John Bakır John Scott John Rifry
Abill wright. John LEEpe.
James Sgarriner Nathancel Burt
- Jeremy Horton. Widdow Burt
-Joseph row foots. Symon BEmon Prorgi Colton. Samle Ely.
Edward foster.
Thomas Miller
John Leonard:
En: Tho: Cooper.
Rice BEdortha.
Sammell Jerry
John Clarki
John Lamb
Rowland Stillni
Robert Ashley Lawrence Blips.
SejMiles Morgan.
James Ofborne.
William Branch.
Thomas Day.
Charfis Harry.
- Jamış Payfor.
Thomas Mirick: Jonathan Ball Saml Marshfil. John Horton
Nathancell Ely,
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
That spirit of unrest, which has marked the progress of every age and country, and which even in our own time we coutemplate with grave conern, plainly foretold long before Massachusetts was settled,the coming condition of the moth- er country. Intolerant and corrupt rulers, favoritism. and misgovernment were developing that opinion which was to be the source of constitutional liberty, the very foundation of that freedom of thought and action which have made all pro- gress possible, and that high attainment in modern thought, the consummation of a purpose which might not have been fully comprehended when the assertion of individual rights began. Out of that conflict of opinion which distracted Eng- land came the men who laid the foundations of New England. If results have been greater than were the first conceptions, those pioneers caught the glimmer of that fundamental truth which has grown brighter as the years have come and gone.
The founders of New England were earnest and devout. They came fully imbued with that conviction which was an- tagonistic to the dominant spirit then governing England. If they now seem to us to have been over-zealous in their opinions and narrow and contracted in their religious views, we should not overlook in our judgment of them the condi- tions out of which they had come, and the conflicts which had heset them before putting foot on these shores. From the standpoint of to-day, all Europe at that period seems but little more than half civilized. There was no freedom of thought, no right of private judgment. Power made right with the administrators of law, and to it the humblest and the highest must yield obedience. While it is true that, viewed in the light of the present, our New England ancestors are open to the charge of bigotry and intolerance, we must not
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
forget that bigotry is the limitation of knowledge, and that the higher the education in every thing that concerns the moral and spiritual welfare of man, the broader become the views of right and duty. Earnestness of purpose, steadfast- ness of conviction, were the ruling motives of the men who laid the foundations of civil and religious liberty in this country. Out of those early beginnings came a fuller devel- opment of that fundamental principle which has, like a reflex tide, set back upon the shores of the Old World, while their example has been an inspiration to those who were striving for light in the country across the sea, as well as to us who have succeeded them.
Two and a half centuries ago Springfield did not promise much to our ancestors beyond the simplest living, and those who came here must have had their reward in the feeling of independence of the conditions which had beset them in their English homes. Freedom of thought and purpose were sufficient in themselves to make the plainest life attrac- tive. Notwithstanding the long lapse of time since the abo- riginal inhabitants of this land passed the title to the soil to the people of Anglo-Saxon blood, the struggles and hard- ships of the pioneers are not forgotten, and each year there is an increased interest in what our ancestors accomplished. The beginnings of New England must be of interest to every thoughtful person, for then and there was born the belief that man is capable of self-government. Much of that pur- pose which marked our early settlements has broadened as it has adapted itself to new conditions, but that spirit which came here at the beginning has made New England conspic- tous among the great Commonwealths of our country.
Springfield was the first town west of Boston, Cambridge, and Watertown, to be settled in Massachusetts. A few Con- necticut towns are of slightly earlier date, Wethersfield and Windsor, having been settled a little more than a year prior to Pynchon and his small company's first location on the Agawam meadows, Roger Ludlow and William Pynchon,
1 I
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
both patentees in the Massachusetts Bay Company, began an almost simultaneous movement towards the Connecticut, the former to Hartford and the latter to what is now Spring- field. The Rev. Thomas Hooker's company set out for Hartford a month after the arrival of Pynchon's company of eight persons in this then far-away wilderness. In the years 1634 and 1635 movements looking toward permanent settle- ments in the Connecticut valley had begun, but it was not until 1636 that there was anything like a concert of action to found towns so far to the westward of Boston. Hooker and his company made a toilsome journey through the wil- derness to Hartford, and it is probable that Pynchon's com- pany did the same when it came to Springfield, although they left no description of their route to the Connecticut. The settlers' household goods probably came by sea front Boston to the mouth of the Connecticut, and thence up the river to the falls above Warehouse Point, so named from the fact that Mr. Pynchon subsequently established a place for the storage of freight. Very little in the way of description of those overland journeys between Springfield and Boston has come down to us. John Winthrop, son of the first gov- ernor of Masachusetts Bay, and afterwards himself governor of Connecticut, briefly described his journey from the Bay to visit Mr. Pynchon at a later period in Springfield. His route was from Boston to Lancaster, and thence up the valley of the Nashua river, much of the way along the Central Massa- chusetts railroad. He traveled on horseback and was a part of three days on his way to Springfield. The journey was without incident, save an encounter with a few Indians at or near Brookfield.
The eight men who signed the agreement for the settle- ment of Springfield were these: William Pynchon, Mathew Mitchell, Henry Smith, Jehu Burr, William Blake, Edmund Wood, Thomas Ufford, and John Cable. It is dated May 14, 1636, and is in the handwriting of Henry Smith, and is in a good state of preservation in the office of the City Clerk.
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
Pynchon, in his own hand, concluded the agreement with the the following words just before the signatures: "We testifie to the ordr above said, being al the first adventurers and subscribers for the plantation." Not one of the subscrib- ers spent his life in Springfield: most of them, on the con- trary, abandoned the enterprise within a few months. Wil- liam Blake returned to Dochester: Jehu Burr, the ancestor of Aaron Burr, went in a few years to Fairfield, Ct., John Ca- ble to a Connecticut town, in or near Fairfield, while it does not appear that either Mitchell, Ufford, or Wood, remained more than a few months. Pynchon went back to England in 1652, and his son-in-law, Henry Smith, the year following, where both died.
In these far-away days from the beginning of the settle- ment there remain comparatively few scattered threads with which to weave the story of the pioners; but it is not difficult to construct a picture of the scene that must have been pre- sented to them as they approached their destination, and, emerging from the great wilderness through which they had traversed, looked down for the first time upon the wide-flow- ing Connecticut, the broad meadows which skirted the great forest beyond. Save a few scattered wigwams of the Indians there could have been no signs of human life. These virgin acres along the great river needed only intelligent cultivation to make them capable of supporting those who came, and those likely to join them in the near future. This entrance of Pynchon and his company brought a new era and at once opened new opportunities to those who had lately come from over the sea to found homes and rear families and train their children in the duties of good citizenship. It must have been a period of earnest endeavor, and those who settled down to the work before them must have grown strong in their determination to convert uncultivated fields and pri- mneval forests into a land of plenty. It was no light task to which they had come, and it must have required no small de- gree of heroism to grapple successfully with the difficulties before them. While some faltered and turned away, the
13
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
leadership of the founder hield the settlement together, and it slowly grew into importance. Each subsequent year there came others to unite their lives and their fortunes to those who had been steadfast in their purpose to found this far-inte- rior settlement within the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Company.
PYNCHON'S ENGLISH HOME .- THE CHARTER GRANTED.
Before entering upon the detailed history of the new set- tlement let us glance briefly at the background across the sea, looking for a moment at William Pynchon's home in the parish of Springfield, in the County of Essex, and inquiring into some of the transactions which led to migration from Old England to New England. Twenty-nine miles north- easterly of London is Chelmsford, the shire town of Essex. Across the little river, the Chelmer, -- not unlike our own Mill river,-a mile to the northwestward, stands the ancient Parish Church of Springfield. It crowns a gentle eminence and near it are several residences of gentlemen of fortune and leisure. The view down the valley, along the Chelmer, which winds its way toward the sea, presents a lovely rural scene. The wide valley, the well-rounded outlines of dis- tant gently sloping hills, presents in some slight degree the picture we get from the various eminences which skirt our own Connecticut. In this Parish Church William Pynchon worshiped, and for a time was one of its wardens. He and another warden had charge of making the repairs of the edi- fice in 1624, six years before sailing for New England with Winthrop's fleet.
Under date of March 4, 1629, King James gave a grant of land from the Merrimack on the north to a line three miles south of the Charles river, and extending westward "from the Atlantick and western sea and ocean on the east parte, to the south sea on the west parte," to twenty-seven persons, of whom Pynchon was one, styling themselves "The Gover- nor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New Eng-
14
THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
land." As a consideration for the grant the king reserved one-fifth of all the gold and silver ores found within this do- main. This was largely a commercial enterprise, and includ- ed London and other capitalists, who were styled "the ad- venturers," those going out to New England being called the "planters." hence our settlements came to be known as "plantations," and this is the origin of the term as early used in New England.
Meetings for organization and for perfecting arrange- ments for transportation and settlement were held several times a week for a year or more, until the 8th of April, 1630, when the Arbella, the Talbot, and the Jewel, weighed anchor and sailed out of the harbor of Cowes for the then far distant New England. On the 12th of June they arrived at Salem, whither Gov. Endicott had previously gone. Gov. Win- throp and his company soon settled in Boston and vicinity, Pynchon making his home in Roxbury.
After the charter was granted perhaps the most important metings of the company in London were those held on the 28th and 29th of August, 1629, when on the first named day the question arose as to whether the government of the Colony should be continued in England, or be transferred to New England. After considerable discussion the question was postponed until 7 o'clock of the morning of the 29th, at which time there was a full attendance, 27 members being present, including William Pynchon. Debate followed the convening of the meeting at that early hour, and a vote was finally taken "by the erection of hands, and it appeared that by general consent of the company that the government and patent should be settled in New England." This saved to the colonists home rule, and the settling of their own con- cerns without interference from those in England, who could know but little of the situation and of the hardships to which the immigrants would be subjected.
The price of passage for Winthrop's company was fixed in England at "five pounds for a person, and 4 pounds a ton for freight. Sucking children not to be reckoned; such as
15
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
are under 4 years of age 3 for one; under 8, 2 for one; under 12, 3 for 2, and that a ship of 200 tons shall not carry above I20 passengers." It would appear by this that our ancestors in crossing the ocean more than two and a half centuries ago paid about the same amount as is now charged for steerage passengers in our ocean steamers.
THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS ON THE CONNECTICUT.
In 1636 the General Court having granted the right to make settlements upon the Conecticut river, Roger Ludlow and others went to Connecticut, and William Pynchon and others to Springfield. Pynchon coming as one of the pa- tentees of the Winthrop colony, obtained some special priv- ileges concerning trade with the Indians, and it was this that brought him hither, and it was the fur trade which gave him a special interest in founding Springfield. It was this fea- ture in the settlement of New England which led the London "adventurers" to embark in the enterprise of founding set- tlements in America. There is no doubt that the prospects of large returns induced Pynchon to seek a home on the banks of the Connecticut. At that time there was an abund- ance of beaver inhabiting all the streams which flowed into the "great river," and it proved a profitable venture for Pyn- chon, for he and later his son shipped many thousand dollars' worth of skins to England. The open spaces along the Con- necticut, which became our fertile meadows, made farming comparatively easy, and while Pynchon bought and sold, the others generally confined themselves to the cultivation of the earth, thus securing a living, if not great wealth.
No other single feature of our early history excites so much admiration as the capacity which the first settlers dis- played at the very beginning, in constructive and orderly government. While it was but natural that they should bring with them the habits and opinions acquired before land- ing upon these shores, they began life in the new country on an entirely new model. In England there was law and order
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
based upon the principle that the few were born to govern the many. Here there was neither law nor opinion other than that which was evolved from their own inner conscious- ness. They did not stop to wander in the wilderness of doubt and fear, but set out with the supreme conviction that they were able to govern themselves, and that government was something in which all, even the humblest, should take part. The land in the old home, which should have been in the ownership of those who tilled it, was possessed by the few who had been the favorites of kings and courts. There were no free homesteads like those our ancestors created, and there was no equal distribution of the burdens and the ben- efits of government. Here, immediately after possessing the soil, there began an equal distribution of responsibilities of government, and the humblest had equal voice in public concerns. In England there were no taxes on lands, and no general registration of titles, and whatever laws in that regard were adopted here, they had no parallel in England. As we look back to the beginning it is that genius which shaped the destiny of this country, which builded so differ- ently and so wisely for the future, that excites our admira- tion, and it must ever remain as the supreme example, and the foundation for philosophic study of the men who crossed the ocean in peril and in poverty, to found a new system of government.
The common place affairs which may seem unimportant to us, who are now under different conditions, were incident to the beginning of this settlement on the Connecticut. We get here the picture of the everyday life of the founders. Af- ter this long lapse of time it opens to our view the character and the purposes, as well as the habits, of those who came here at the beginning, and valiently, against great obstacles, worked out the new problems which were presented to them. While they brought with them from England the habits, and to a great extent the beliefs of their old homes, they proved that they were equal to the new duties which were presented to them under entirely new conditions. It was
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HISTORICAL REVIEW.
no one-man power, the strong oppressing the weak, that they found dominating the new settlement. They all walked and lived, and toiled on a common level, and nothing short of superior education or intellectual acquirements, gave any one advantage over another, or placed any one in the front rank in directing the affairs of this little community. It was as pure a democracy as dreamers in our own time have pic- tured, in which there was a gradual but constant ripening of faith in the higher duties, which have come down to the race as the view has broadened.
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