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 II > 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 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
38
AC
1865
DATE DUE
UNIV. OF MASSACHUSETTS/AMHERST LIBRARY
1
F 74
58
88
v.2
1
MASSACHUSETS
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
BY HENRY M. BURT
VOLUME II
SPRINGFIELD, MASS .: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY HENRY M. BURT 1899
975 Merz Spet V. 2
Copyright, 1899, by Henry M. Burt.
-
SPRINGFIELD LINE - 1703 1708
Thos Colton
Joseph CooleySen
Abel Curtiss
Eliakim Cooley
Highway to Woods
Reed Highway
1708 Nathaniel Burt Jr.
N
Unknown
1704Obadiah Miller
Thomos Cooley
Field Highway
-E
Benjamin Cooley
1708 Sam Cooley
Jonathan Cooley
1708 Jonathan Cooley
Joseph Cooley
1708Dan Cooley
Daniel Cooley3
1708 Jno. Cooley
1714
1708
George Colton
Thos Bliss 1703
Benj. Cooley 2nd
Joseph Bliss 1703
1707 Bassil Steele
Eliakim Cooley
1707 Simon Cooley
Emerson Highway 1703
1707 Jos. Cooley 2nd
Sam. Stebbins
Thos. Cooley
1703
C
Sarn Stebbins
1707 Donie!
Conley Jr.
BROOK
1703 Jonathan Ely
Ely Highway
1703
1703 Nathaniel Burt
Nathaniel Burt
Q CHURCH
Highway
Burrving Ground Highway
1703
1703 Ben. Cooley
Sam. Bliss
1703 Jno.Ely
Sam. Stebbins
1703 Sam Bliss Ist
Jonathan Burt'
1703 Jonathan Burt
Geo.Colton
1707 Nathaniel Bliss
Booth Highway 1703
1703 Jno. Atchenson
Thos-Haile
1703 Thos. Haile
1707 Sam. Colton
Mill Highway
1703
Bliss 2nd
Thos; Colton
1703
Sam Bliss 2nd
Highway
Sam Keep
Highway - Green St.
1703
Jno. Colton
Sam. Keep
1703 Thos Colton
Jno. Colton
BROOK
RASPBERRY
Nathaniel Burt
ENFIELD LINE
MAP OF HOMELOTS AT LONGMEADOW.
-
RIVER
COOLEY
A
BROOK
w
Joseph Cooley
S
8
R.R. STATION
S. Bliss Highway
G
CONNECTICUT
Thos . Bliss and.
STREET
1707 Nathaniel Bliss Jr.
8
WHEELMEADOW
N.Y., N.H., & H., R.R.
1703
MAIN
1703
Som. Colton
Sam
LONGMEADOW BROOK
A
1
1703 Increase Sikes
MILLI
RIVER
John Lombard
2'/2 acres
Thomas Merrick
2 a.
Widow Bliss
samuel Marshfield
Richard Sikes
4ª
Dea. Samuel Wright
la.
0
Lawrence
Bless
14.
Thomas Bancroft
26.
0
Benj.
Cooley
3a.
Z
Thomas Gilbert
2a.
Z
Beni Parsons
/ a.
Rowland Stebbins
1/2 or 2 a.
m
Jonathan Burt
2 a.
James Osborn
la.
0
Math! Pritchard
/ a.
Anthony Dorchester
3a.
-
John Harmon
3a.
0
John Matthews
/ a.
C
John Clark
2a.
T
Jonathan Taylor
2 a
John Leonard
3 a
7/2.a
R
John Pynchan
3a
County
William Brooks
Miles Morgan sold to
8 a
5
Hill
of
Brow
Pecowsic Brook
50 acres
30 a
0 0
Elizur Holyoke
30 a
16 a
19 a
8 g
Il a.
North End Brook
CUT
Thomas Reeve
Richard Sikes
William Warriner
Thomas Siebbins
Benjamin Munn
Robert Ashley
18 or 19 a.
MAP OF GRANTS NORTH OF END BROOK AND SOUTH OF MILL RIVER.
Chicopee Line (approximately)
10 acres
GRANTS OF LAND IN THE COW PASTURE NORTH OF END BROOK.
Thomas Stebbins
Rowland Thomas
ba
John Stebbins Sold to
Thomas Miller
Thomas Cooper
William Pynchon
2
2
3
Henry Smith
Rev. George Moxon
Samuel Chapin
Il a
MORE
10 1/2 a
3 1/2 a
End Brook
RIVER
10 a.
Samuel Marshfield
Road
Miles Morgan
10 a
GRANTS OF LAND BETWEEN MILL RIVER AND PECOWSIC BROOK
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
In this closing year of the century, after much labor, I am able to place within the reach of those who are interested in the history of Springfield, however widely scattered over the country, the concluding volume of the official transactions of the town during the first hundred years of its existence. This publication has grown out of a desire to make accessible the facts upon which the town government was formed and developed during each stage of its history. Such record must, of necessity, include much that to the casual reader seems of little importance; but however trivial the every-day transactions and perfunctory records may appear, they are necessary to complete the picture of the past. It was a real- istic age, full of action that concerned material conditions. The romance which has in these later days been woven around the doings of the beginners of the New England set- tlements, had not touched the people, nor even the leaders, in the founding of a new scheme of government. Their ideals were based upon necessity and duty, and they builded from rude conditions. They are admired for their firm ad- herence to those principles which have brought to their suc- cessors a realizing sense of the vast responsibility and the wisdom of those who went forth as pioneers in thought and action.
The official transactions of Springfield from the beginning in 1636 must remain as the foundation upon which the future historian will reach conclusions, and he will write, not from the doings of a single central figure, nor from a few, but from the whole, all of whom were an integral part of the doings and opinions of the community in its founding and advance- ment. New discoveries of important facts must henceforth come, if at all, from without,-from the State archives,-or from investigations in England, whence our ancestors came.
4
THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
In the early pages of this volume are specimens of various handwritings found in the records, and of seventy auto- graphs, reproduced for this work. The individual character of the writers and their degree of training in penmanship are revealed in these as they could be in no other way. These specimens of writing convey to the mind through sight an impression that could not be otherwise obtained, and are an interesting feature in the history of an ancestry of whom we really know so little. In the extracts from the records we have the handwritings of William Pynchon, Henry Smith, Elizur Holyoke, Henry Burt, Lieut. Thomas Cooper, and John Pynchon.
After the extracts from the Town Records will be found facsimiles of two interesting papers in the vigorous handwrit- ing of Deacon Samuel Chapin. One is a deed, dated May 21, 1667, by which Deacon Chapin gives certain lands in Springfield to his son, Japhet. This deed was found many years ago among the papers of the late Dormer Chapin of Chicopee Street, which went after his decease to his grand- son. Edmund M. Chapin of Granby. Mr. J. W. Hersey of Springfield, whose wife was Ellen Chapin before her mar- riage, and is a cousin of Edmund M. Chapin, remarked to the latter that this deed, together with many other papers of like character and origin, should be preserved in some pub- lic place. Mr. Chapin subsequently gave them to Mr. Her- sey for that purpose, and the latter, although strongly urged to dispose of them to private individuals, presented them to the Springfield City Library. Prior to that time not a single scrap of the Deacon's handwriting had been found in Spring- field. Within a few weeks the editor of these volumes has found in the Pynchon account books several of his auto- graphs signed to statements of indebtedness to Pynchon, and an agreement, drawn by Deacon Chapin, between John Pyn- chon and Elizur Holyoke, in which the former takes the lat- ter's interest in the mill and lands to satisfy a claim of £121 18s 8d. A reproduction of this agreement will be found in this volume, accompanying the deed referred to. These two
5
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
papers throw a new light upon the education and training which Deacon Chapin must have received before he came to this country. It it clear that he and also Henry Burt had been trained to a certain extent in legal matters before com- ing to New England, and that both had been employed where their livelihood came from the use of the pen. That Samuel Chapin could draw in accurate language a legal document, and that Henry Burt filled for many years the office of Clerk of the Writs, are evidence that both had received instruction in England under those who were skilled in the law.
While Deacon Chapin's writing appears obscure to one not skilled in the chirography of his day, a careful study of it shows that he was a most skillful penman. The apparent il- legibility is due to the use of certain ancient characters, which even in his time were being abandoned. Conspicuous among these are the small "e," "h," "r," and "s," which re- semble those used in German script, the "h" being made sometimes with loops both above and below the line, and sometimes with the loop below the line only. The capital "S" is also peculiar, and there is an abbreviation for "and" which is constantly used. Having regard to these peculiari- ties, the handwriting will be found of a strikingly regular character and fairly easy to decipher.
The portion of the Town Records printed in this volume covers pages 49-518 inclusive, being the transcript of the contents of Vol. III of the original manuscript. The time which it covers is from December 30, 1664, to May 14, 1736, a period of nearly 72 years. This lapse of time had witnessed the growth of the little "plantation" by the Connecticut to a town of substantial size, preserving, nevertheless, the simplic- ity of daily life and customs which had marked its conditions in the days of its first settlement. The germ of the city of to-day, which represents so much that is high and noble in education, science, and humanitarian purpose, was steadily unfolding, and the seed that the fathers had planted was giv- ing promise of a rich fruitage in the future.
The maps in this and the preceding volume show the loca-
6
THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
tion of the lots granted to the early settlers. Those in the Cow Pasture, at the North End, now Brightwood, were granted in the same order as were the homelots in the center of the town; that is to say, those at the South End, above Mill River, had the first lots granted above End Brook.
From page 519 to the end of the volume will be found per- sonal sketches of the founders of Springfield, with a genea- logical record of three generations, in so far as it has been possible to obtain data. Intermarriage among the families of the first settlers, such as will be noted upon examination of these tables, was the rule here as in all the early New Eng- land settlements. Thus it came about that there was per- petuated a community of interest and opinion, and inasmuch as the immigration during the first century of New England history was almost wholly confined to families of English birth, the New England stock become a thorough embodi- ment of the Anglo-Saxon character, modified solely by the influences of new surroundings, without the influences that would have come from a mingling with other races. Hence we have the typical New England character, which has made this little section of America so influential wherever New England's sons and daughters have gone. Our emigrant an- cestors were not Cavaliers, but were of the sturdy yeomanry of England, who, while guarding the privileges of religion, cherished likewise the sacred truth, "To labor is to pray."
HENRY M. BURT.
Springfield, January 2, 1899.
FIRST COURT HOUSE IN SPRINGFIELD .- ERECTED IN 1723.
THE PARISH CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD, ENGLAND,
INTERIOR OF PARISH CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD, ENGLAND.
P.T.Y."
J.Y.Y
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
The first century in the history of Springfield opened with William Pynchon as the founder. It closed with another William Pynchon, great-grandson, prominent in its affairs, -Town Recorder and for a time Deputy to the General Court. But after the departure of the founder and the death of his son John, the Pynchon influence began to wane, al- though some member of the family held official position for many years afterwards. The members of other families be- came leaders and exerted influence in the conduct of public concerns. The beginning and the subsequent development as new conditions arose, are interesting to follow and study in the growth of the town and the region which surrounded it. The coming of new families, and the desire to acquire property, had a gradual influence in giving a broader scope to the people who were treading in the footsteps of the pio- neers; but there was little change in the great purpose on which the settlement was founded. The religious opinions. and the desire to live in harmony with their neighbors,-the love of truth and the cultivation of that spirit which promotes good fellowship, marked every public transaction and gave tone and sentiment to the community in which each was an important part. The spirit of fairness and the desire not to deal unjustly with any one, are noticeable in the settlement of the question concerning the ministry lands, in which the town officials were more yielding than was the son of Rev. Pelatiah Glover, which will be found in the records which fol- low this review. The necessities of the poor were promptly considered and aid given where required. There was no shirking duty and necessity in any public transaction, and the various doings of the town are plain and simple, as were the people themselves. The opening of schools and their gen- erous support later in the century, plainly mark the desires
II
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
and development of the people who made up the community. It was a steady growth from the beginning in which there was always a high purpose.
Although William Pynchon was the founder. he does not appear to have been a dictator beyond stating a few general principles upon which the affairs of the new settlement were to be conducted. It is evident that he had no desire to be re- garded simply as a leader.
The declaration under which the settlement was begun, May 14, 1636, will be found on page 156 of the first volume. A facsimile of the first four clauses is given below. They are in the handwriting of Henry Smith, the first Town Re- corder.
May the 14 The 1636 .
This whole namEs avEN onderwritten beingE by Seds wid mer ingagad wiralber to make a Mutation at and oberagainst lacam upon conichest. for mistually agree to certains articles and OILErs to or on GAV " and
K by ts and by one facce suis Except The cat Ebert of to for one Ellos main " our curls If ans thall thinks musste Nthen fiHer Issions to alter ourerfurt resolutions
id's giver voor as avea can roth
& or & purpose of Hoyne in Cheiras aberant to rales in all the ways of christ I intend that our bios there be consoles of faqualys or if ross thinks miste after to alter o set not to iresare the number of fifty family Crooks.
That shit inhabitants Shall have a convenient porno har row" Lett as we talk per mete for Everyone's quality and Estate.
[The Handwriting of Henry Smith.]
To the agreement are affixed the signatures of the eight persons who began the settlement and who signed the docu- ment on the 16th of May. The two lines preceding the sig-
I2
THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
natures are in the handwriting of William Pynchon and are as follows: "We testifie to the order above said, being al of the first adventurers & subscribers for this plantation."
-
first also
William Pynchon- Mah Mitchell,
The miljard of Thomas Offord : Henry Smith ... The mist L of them Buer.
Enilium Flate.
At the close of the following reproduction of the hand- writing of Henry Smith will be noticed this: "It is ordered yt ye Plantation shall be called Springfeild." The termina- tion of the name "Springfield," is not complete, having been
Aprile Site. it is addresd at Harry Smith The miskach shall for power to erstrays Indians from Seraking up any urso arotonda or from planting any yt was brokene copy alfor for 4/2 fritesups
stakes th It is in y' neck they laver to watch op Enlarging alles in yt stamps/ mne moxon ne difie to Joyne with
This ocorrido it no more shall fall any Connor hearing Shall for roth minh found of ~~ Plantation rollout zentrale comfort of FraEntation nonder Dinally of 20 fox avery fast default
This orderEd yt 2Plantation , hall for called Springfor
[ The Handwriting of Henry Smith. ]
worn off by the frequent use of the records. This is the be- ginning of the name of the town, four years after the settle- ment was begun.
13
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
The handwriting of William Pynchon bears little resem- blance to his autograph, as will be noticed by comparing the following with the signature at the close of the agreement to found the settlement. It is an important incident in the his-
-
Spring
150 26. Smith 283 Burt ECC
alto to goso and High
( de face four & visitas Conto to Arbitrato Controwayis, to kay maler Bridger to winger thigh mais
[The Handwriting of William Pynchon.]
tory of Springfield, for here began the government of the town by a regularly chosen Board of Selectmen. That it may be easily read it is given in full as follows :-
+
THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
"Springfield the 26 of the 7 m. 1646.
"It is this day agreed by generall vote of ye Town that Henry Smith Tho Cooper Samuell Chapin Richard Sikes & Henry Burt shall have power to order in all the prudentiall affaires of the Town, to prevent anything they shall judge to be to the damage of the Towne or to ord" anything they shall judge to be for ye good of ye Towne: & in these affaires they shall have power for a yeere space & that they, 5, or any three of them shall also be given full power & virtue, alsoe to here complaints, to Arbitrate controversies, to lay out High ways, to make Bridges, to repayr High wais, specially to order ye making of ye way over muxie meddow, to see to the Scouring of Ditches, & to the killing of wolves, & to training up of children in some good caling, or any other thing they shall judge to be to ye p'fitt of ye Towne."
-
Dated Ho so of forwary , Grz By you olorf men
115
Ronpor Sild pate ruminantes to ring tho 130 am to fiveof the mosting Roupo arrozuma fo forma Fermier juives Boowill pour Eux liberty to law the work at a monito warnig th ay to la haye half monthaw ab & moiau Sw half mong. what to Gos have at on mauro payment at beomul of June with Exuma the Date prono of but if pag low wurf a for payment is made has is to abude 1 the in - ¿ Row ad granted to kirpar fitt for many this 19EQ for manager sw burialbolo atym this way to Bys hay by ben a -Is all hund i'm for any lung forDire
[The Handwriting of Henry Burt.]
The agreement made by the Selectmen with Richard Sikes, is in the handwriting of Henry Burt, and is as follows :-
"Richard Sikes hath covenanted to ring the bell and to sweep the meeting house according to former termes, name- ly is the week. p'vided hee will have nis liberty to leave the
15
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
work at a month warning, the pay to be payd at one entire payment at the end of June next ensuing, the date hereof, but if hee leave work after payment is made he is to abate IS the week.
"There is granted to Richard Sikes for ringing the Bell for marrages and Burials Is a tyme, this pay to bee payd by those that shall imploy him for such service."
The handwriting of Lieut. Thomas Cooper will be found in the transactions of the Selectmen on various pages of the records. The accompanying specimen is slightly reduced from the original size, but the character is well preserved in this reproduction. It will be found in print on page 199 of the first volume of this work. The original is under date of February 21, 1649,-correct year 1650. The autograph sig-
I to Harry Curth Diwy you got
Theo Bring a Sacoyaand half midland Hisache and finding it for inconveniente iss myself of findings by my in comon allcymnytt itt which it would much dal Ship charge inforfing: derfor in 165 to towny more taking niste configuration This request some good to grant he fen firstaid fint land to to valley of ? a carmon bei con Cyisight betwist his love formerly granted and commander in andallfor a quale vorfik at bytwaalf of thormis matiche by a ditch to tovalhours of 3 quartany of in weare provided but her downult progibics by high way, ill hat hor
whenhe Gride now is and his foncer for for convenciones
Thomas Couper Bugalhathe Buck
Thronestel of
Robbert Ashley
[The Handwriting of Thomas Cooper.]
natures of the Selectmen are in the original record,-Thomas Cooper, Jonathan Bur+ William Warriner, and the mark of Robert Ashley.
I6
THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
The reproduction on the opposite page, in the handwriting of Henry Burt, is in reference to an agreement that the Select- men made to lease land to Samuel Marshfield and Richard Sikes, purchased of Mr. Moxon before he left Springfield. They are dated 10th of February, 1652 .- 1653 according to present reckoning is the correct year.
The date of Mr. Moxon's departure from Springfield for his old home in England is approximately established by a
At a Torna meeting Septembre 9.14th 1652: There being Confide: ration had flow necessary It was for the Strong ito Purchase Mr Moxons howle & and to Remaine for iage 2
of i chiniftry to Posterity: Therevagon by i Joint Content of Ti Jonone It was concluded be trea him about ye Durchage of its And Lynchon; Hen: Duct, Samo chagen & The: Cooper, were appointed & degute by i forone to Bar gaine for Eff Purchase, who according did agree to th , If me gro Moxon for his howling & all his and in Springfeito to Remaine for ever to Je use of i Inhabitants of Springfeils: as is more fully ex ifsem Towne Booke for Recording of and
[The Handwriting of John Pynchon. ]
record in the handwriting of John Pynchon, to be found in the Town Records, and here inserted in a reproduction. The committee to treat with Mr. Moxon was composed of John Pynchon, Henry Burt, Samuel Chapin, and Thomas Cooper. Pynchon wrote a very clear, bold hand, as will be seen by the
Dates ho= 10 of february -- >652 By the short men
client is granted to famutes masen feild this year the on hi ff oflot over the prison that me Jointe hustried of my monde it is the arfor only for kaffe orkor nigt to the river pay it to bara total trochu firme this pay to Go Bayom to Hotowal mEn Fait in miranaGl Inian the other half m mir nawet wheat his some of this month not Ensuring the Eat , come of his is to para inc uppofus of his lot ivoire front to redes
Fort vo allo manter to famuose marre forte this voor heat oren mover of ground, Gro fon us in the third you Got it more for cap for 100 the artog in the fame kinds of war at the tymo formore moufior 4 it is to lay ither vor, cach
-
gated his 10 of fobuary, 6,2 By the fotorf MER
chore it grantor to kingaw fiBut this your de He moro ground proforma in the Romo lot that was In muxong for So the ar for to 600 farm wheat or poof the 10th of this month nout Enung the Day hour of
It is also granted to Hireand fifor fo pane hit and law at the laws tornos the over. not Enfuma the former prounow the Colors nich that Mall soo pofon for that vodu.
approuve
[The Handwriting of Henry Burt. ]
18
THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
specimen herewith given which is quite unlike that of his father's.
Elizur Holyoke, in point of exactness was the model Town Recorder. His handwriting fills many pages of the records and is easily read. Its elegance is especially noticeable in deeds which he drew, now in possession of the Springfield
August 1st 100g Mafias Chap 0 admitted to Ga an inhabitantes this Towns: Am Bly father Bomull ( hepm acknow Darth .' of twenty pounds to fave the Town hermfils m vr fact of any change youmay accrue to this Join ty riaforof his fait Son Jolies:
-
fr 3.1663 ·fra mocking of yo Ginitra Chofan By the Town for the aring out of Lands Iatomyning bo ye Plantation:
2 I granted to logias Chapm above mentioned twenty acres of land: wie land is to Lys on the South Side of Rowland Stomachisland) vighmi that little playing that is Southward foro the faid howlands tam o honfemara Chichiuppe River City to be boundad by the high way lafialy Liver walterly the Coming Southerly: Goy may to how law Thomas hig Land Northroty:
[The Handwriting of Elizur Holyoke.]
City Library. When a person was admitted an inhabitant, which carried with it the right to vote, he was obliged to give a bond in the sum of £20 to save the town "harmless in respect to any charge that may accrue to this said Town by reason of the said person." The accompanying reproduction shows the admission of a son of Dea. Samuel Chapin and the bond given by the father. After the admission of the son he was granted twenty acres of land.
19
HISTORICAL REVIEW.
The last illness of Elizur Holyoke, who had served the town for many years as Recorder, must have been of short duration. It will be seen by the accompanying reproduction that the town meeting was held on the Ist of February, and his death occurred on the 6th. He had begun to make up the record, quite probably after the meeting was over, and had proceeded in making the transcript to the close of the second name of the Selectmen and there his work ended. The concluding portion of the record is in the hand of John Pynchon. On the 23d of the same month another town meeting was held in which Pynchon states: "This meeting Called to make Supply of a Select man & also of one to En- ter things, God having taken away Capt. Holyoke." The date of year is given in the records according to old style. The correct year as now reckoned is 1676.
The writer would fail to do justice to a man of great per- sonal worth and influence if he concluded this work without a tribute to the life and work of Elizur Holyoke.
He was for 36 years a resident of Springfield, and while not possessing the aggressive character of John Pynchon, he had other qualities which made him known and respect- ed. His clearness of statement indicates that he had been well educated in youth, and his superior penmanship, as seen on many pages of Town, County and Court Records, shows how well he performed his duties. After becoming familiar with his work and following that which had been his chief labor for many years, interpreting, as it were, his thoughts, one feels in his departure something of a personal loss, and such must have been the thoughts and feelings of those with whom he had been so long associated.
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