USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > West Springfield > Account of the centennial celebration of the town of West Springfield, Mass. : Wednesday, March 25th, 1874 : with the historical address of Thomas E. Vermilye the poem of Mrs. Ellen P. Champion, and other facts and speeches > Part 12
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The whole of the interior of the first story, up to the closing of the roof at the commencement of the second story, was all open, exposing to view beams, studding, rafters and outside boarding, with no inside finish above the window stools, a floor being laid at the bottom of the second story, which closed in the audience-room and galleries.
The flooring of the audience-room seems to have been placed inde- pendent of the frame-work of the sills of the house, composed of sleep- ers supported by independent piers, and so low that the floor was down to the bottom of the sills, making it necessary to step over the sill down to the floor-a very awkward method of entering any house ; but Westfield had a meeting-house with entrance in like manner, which was a stumbling-block to many. Two flights of stairs led up to the gal- leries, in the south-easterly and south-westerly corners, commencing each side of the front door, and rising to a broad stair in each, direct- ing the course northerly on each side. Around the walls were fifteen large, square pews, occupying all the space not occupied by the pul- pit, door-ways, and stair-ways. In the central part of the house were two rows of long slips, fronting the pulpit, with a partition between them, one division being occupied by the men, and the other by the women. This arrangement would of course make one aisle on the east, and one on the west side of the house. The pulpit, the pews, and the railing were of oak, and yellow pine timber ; the pews were finished with open work at the top of the seat back, the top railing being supported by spin- dle-shaped balusters, and the rails were large and clumsy. Of the size, style and height of the pulpit, nothing definite is now known. It was furnished with a sounding-board over the speaker, which, by reacting the emanating flow of sound from his voice, saved the articulation of his words from becoming lost in the reverberant regions of the cross tim - bers and braces of the roof above.
In this house our forefathers assembled for worship at the beating of a drum, for the space of forty-one years. A bell was then procured, which, after eighteen years' faithful service in the call to prayers, and in the knell of the fallen, its clear ringing tones became hushed by the
I33
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
frost of a crisp cold Sabbath morning in the depth of winter. It was, however, re-cast, and again put upon duty in the old church tower, and at three subsequent periods has been submitted to the crucible for re- construction from like causes. In 1802, it was transferred from its fa- miliar locality under the vane and weather-cock, to the new church on the hill, where it still continues to sound the call to prayers, and to peal forth the solemn notes of warning to the people, that human life is surely approaching its end. For one hundred and thirty years has this faithful and true sentinel continued on every Lord's day to call the inhabitants together for the worship of God, yet, how many heed not the call. On the other hand, there have been some who have hailed with joy the sound of that friendly call to the house of God, and eter- nity alone shall reveal the amount of tender emotion and reverential re- gard it has awakened in the bosoms of His followers as the " sound of the church-going bell " invited them to join in His praise and worship. Its last re-cast was in February, 1825, when additional metal was used to enlarge its size.
The inhabitants of the " precinct" had occupied their meeting-house, oblivious of time, for forty-six years, at which period, Obadiah Frary, of Northampton, constructed a " meeting-house clock," and it was placed within the tower, but the construction of the house was such, that the leaks, in times of driving storms, had so affected the wooden clock as to render it unfit for duty, and it was finally taken away after a service of twenty-five or thirty years.
As time advanced, the meeting-house was becoming more and more dilapidated, and many unsuccessful attempts were made to agree on a spot for a new meeting-house, and after it had been in use eighty-four years, the parish gave liberty to individuals to repair it, and the house was considerably remodeled ; the gables were taken away, a ceiling was constructed over the galleries, extending across from one eaves- plate to the other ; pews were put in place of the two rows of slips, and wood sash and crown glass, in room of the leaden sash and diamond glass ; new flooring was added, placing the floor on a level with the sills ; the repairs incurring an expenditure of between five and six hundred dollars. The house was used sixteen years after these repairs, when it was abandoned for the new one on the hill.
The last Sabbath assemblage in this house, was June 20, 1802, when the pastor, Rev. Joseph Lathrop, D. D., preached a valedictory sermon from the ninth verse of the forty-eighth Psalm. In closing, he said : " The antiquity of this house carries our minds back to the time of its erection, one hundred years ago. This community was then small, consisting of but thirty families ; savages dwelt among them, and a wilderness surrounded them. There are no houses here except this
I34
WEST SPRINGFIELD
ancient house of God, which were built a hundred years ago. The founders of this ancient temple are gone, and their places on earth are known no more. The same in a century will be said of us. We are now about to leave this house ; this is the last time that we are here to meet for God's worship ; there will soon be a last time of our meeting in any place on earth. May we all meet in Heaven." Four days after the delivery of this farewell address. Dr. Lathrop assembled his flock in the new church on the hill, to assist in the dedication of that, "which day completed One Hundred Years from the erection of the First Church."
Thus was this unique house of worship occupied for the long period of one century. by a patient, devoted people, without any plaster or paint on the inside or outside. nor was there ever a fire kindled within its walls ; the women being favored with the use of " foot stoves," con- taining live coals, which by noon had become ashes, and in the inter- mission were replenished with coals from landlord Stebbins' bar-room fire-place ; while the men in winter were supposed to be invincible to that principle, termed the " negative of heat ;" and our forefathers often referred in after life to the fact, that they were often required to sit, of a cold Sabbath morning in winter, and give ear to the delivery of a ser- mon, whose divisions ran as high as sixteenthiy and seventeenthly, when the keenness of the air had absorbed a majority of the heat from their extremities
The house remained from 1802 to 1820, for the accommodation of fu- neral occasions, town meetings and other gatherings, when, by a vote of the parish, it was taken down, the building having served its day and generation, for the term of one hundred and eighteen years. Miss Betsy Loveland taught a sewing-school there.
It is related of Mr. Jonathan Parsons, about the time of the Revolu- tionary war, that while driving a five cattle team, (two yoke of oxen and a horse,) attached to a cart load of stalks, when near the southern en- trance of Shad Lane, two horsemen overtook him and ordered him to turn out for the coach of Gen. Washington. Not knowing that Wash- ington was expected, and doubting the couriers' word, he refused, de- claring he had as good a right to the road as the General. Soon after a coach passed, having forded the Agawam river, near the house of Mr. James Leonard, on its way to the Springfield ferry. Parsons halted his team near Ferry street, and followed the coach. The boat was on the east side of the river, and while waiting for it. the couriers spoke of the teamster that refused to turn out. Parsons overheard Washington say : "That man was right, he had as good a right to the road as I have." ~
I35
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
The following extract is from the Springfield Republican, of March 23, 1872.
"AN OLD LANDMARK GONE."
Mr. J. N. Bagg's large brown house in West Springfield, close on the brink of the road and the bank of the river, directly opposite the " double ditch " shad fishery, was taken down on Saturday. It was an old structure, how old the oldest inhabi- tant knoweth not, but its age is supposed to be at least 125 years. Native octoge- narians say it was an old house when they first knew it. That it belonged to a past age is evidenced by the fact that the original clapboards and lath were both of rived oak, and all put on with wrought hand-made nails. The clapboards were about four and one-half feet long, and evidently shaved on one side. It was a stately structure, and the timbers were all hewn, and of such sterling stuff as white oak and yellow pine. The frame was mortised, dove-tailed and pinned together so firmly that it was a difficult work to throw it down, even after it was stripped for the sacrifice. Some of the principal timbers were eight to twelve inches square, and the joists three by five inches, and planed and beaded on the exposed sides. Eight white-oak posts supported the building, and these are sixteen and one-half feet long, and range from eight inches square at the base, to twelve inches at the shoulder. Some of the floor boards are eighteen inches wide by twenty feet long, and good for another generation. A chimney with five separate flues and three brick ovens occupied fif- teen feet square in the center of the house, and the mantle-pieces were of oak, four- teen inches square, and ran the whole length of the chimney. The bricks were of the largest size, and laid in clay. No traces of the exact age of the house have been found, but it is believed to have been built for a boatman's tavern by one of the Stebbins family, an early settler there. Under its floor were found two or three old coins, including a George II. penny, the date of 1749, in an excellent state of preservation.
REV. JUSTIN PERKINS, D. D.,
Was one of the remarkable men of the town. He was born in 1805, in what is known as Rock Valley, in Ireland Parish. He was brought up on a farm, had a studious turn of mind, entered Amherst College at the age of twenty, graduated in 1829, was College tutor one year, studied theology two years at Andover, was ordained a missionary, June, 1833, in the church on Meeting-House hill, and embarked with his wife for Persia, in September of the same year. He spent in all, thirty-six years in the Nestorian field ; founded the mission there. had charge of the mission press, and was the author of several books published in that country and America. His great work was the translation of the entire Bible, into the modern Syriac language. His last return to America was in August, 1869, where he died December 3 Ist of the same year, and he is buried near the place of his birth. His only surviving child, Rev. Henry M. Perkins, is the pastor of a Congregational church, in Fremont, Me.
Obituary of Richard Bagg, Jr., (born 1812, died 1852, No. 147, in thẹ
136
WEST SPRINGFIELD
Pedigree on page 112,) abridged from a sketch in the "New England Farmer," 1854.
In boyhood, he was remarkable for an activity and intelligence beyond his years. His promptitude and youthful manliness made him the pride of his parents and the villagers. His was no mediocrity of attainment. He was first and forenost both in the school-room and play-ground; a leader rather than a follower ; bold, without being impudent, punctilious, without being mean, and shrewd, without being treach- erous. His love of books was extreme, and everything within his reach was read with astonishing avidity. At Monson Academy, he showed great proficiency, and was rapidly fitting himself for college, when ill-health forced him to abandon his books and come home, as his friends thought, to die of consumption.
But he would not be idle, and activity, which had always characterized him, con- tinued to be his ruling passion. The first hot-beds known to the town soon ap- peared in his father's garden, and other unwonted improvements in farm life, attracted general attention and remark. His health improved, under a rigid system of diet and exercise, and he was entrusted with the sale of the farm produce. The memory of the grand success of his first attempt as a market man, when he sold a load of his father's pumpkins for the magnificent suni of ten dollars, never quite de- serted him. As he approached to manhood, several of his winters were devoted to school teaching, both in his native town and at Brimfield, at Monson, and finally, at Jamaica, L. I., where his health again broke down and forced him to devote himself henceforth exclusively to out door life.
In fifteen years from the beginning of his agricultural operations, he became the largest gardener in the county, if not in the State, having about forty acres under cultivation, some of which, produced two and three crops a year. He had several · acres each of asparagus and onions, and in the busiest season of the year had been known to employ upwards of sixty persons. He was regular and precise in all his movements, and required regularity and precision in all whom he controlled. Every workman had a specially labelled hook for his hat and clothing, and every tool and implement had its place and was thoroughly cleansed after using. Printed regula- tions for the government of his workmen, were to be seen about his buildings.
Everything he undertook was vigorously carried to its completion. He consid- ered a matter well before he enlisted in it, but once engaged he entered with all his might. In this was the secret of the immensity of his labors. He was just as cour- ageous the day after defeat as before, and no sooner was a difficulty vanquished, than he sought out and grappled with another. His presence, even, inspired confi- dence. He had the power of infusing ambition into those around him, and where- ever he went there was life and energy. His spirits never seemed to flag like those of other men. He looked a difficulty directly in the face, and walked up to it while looking.
Some men accomplish more in a short life-time, than others in a long one, and so this man, though dead at forty, lived longer and accomplished more than most men do in twice his years. His defects consisted in an over promptness. He seemed so anxious to reach the work that he sometimes went beyond it. Take him for all and all, however, he was a good man, beloved by his family, respected in the community, and an honor to the church of which he was a member. His life and his burial will not soon be forgotten by those among whom he lived. His example shows clearly to all young men that energy and intelligent industry are all that is needed to make farming profitable.
J. N. B.
I37
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
THE WILL OF JOHN ASHLEY.
Extracts from the Will of John Ashley, dated December 18, 1818, and proved September, 1824. After specifying legacies to his per- sonal friends, he appropriates the residue in the following language : " The pious education of youth, and the diffusion of Christian knowl- edge among the ignorant and uninformed, and among those whose lo- cal circumstances forbid their enjoyment of the stated instructions of the gospel ministry, are objects which now engage the attention of the Christian world, and to the promotion of which, I wish to contribute my mite, with my humble and fervent prayers that the great truths of Christianity may spread and pervade the whole earth, and all may be brought to the knowledge and belief of the truth as it is in Jesus."
For this purpose, he directed his Executors to pay over the residue to a Board of Trustees appointed by him ; directing that they apply for an act of incorporation under some appropriate name, and have the power of filling any vacancies in their body.
The Trustees named, were : Heman Day, Ruggles Kent, Jonathan Parsons, Samuel Lathrop and Justin Ely, who were ordered to divide the sum entrusted to them, "into two distinct parts; two-thirds to be appropriated exclusively towards the education of youth within the town of West Springfield, and the remaining one-third to be appropri- ated towards the propagation and diffusion of Christian knowledge." He directs that the money be placed upon interest, and that portion bequeathed for the spread of the gospel, be equally appropriated for the use of Home Missions, and Foreign Missions. In regard to the distribution of the income of the School Fund, he says : It is my will that no district shall at any time be entitled to, or shall receive any part of the annual dividend, unless their instructor passes the qualifica- tions, and produces the evidence of good moral character by the laws of the Commonwealth, and unless he shall daily make use of the Holy Scriptures as a school book, and shall daily address the Throne of Grace in prayer with his scholars.
If any district shall not be entitled to their dividend according to the rules which I have prescribed, it is my will that the same shall be added to the principal of the fund.
JOHN ASHLEY.
Dr. Sprague, in his Historical Discourse, says : "In the year 1799, Mr. John Ashley, a respectable inhabitant of the parish, offered thirteen hundred pounds, as a fund for the support of the ministry, on condi- tion that the parish would erect a spacious and elegant meeting-house
18
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WEST SPRINGFIELD
on a spot designated by him, about half a mile from the place where the old meeting-house stood.
" On the sixth of January, 1800, they voted their thankful acceptance of the donation, and thus witnessed the termination of a long and vio- lent contest, which had threatened the dissolution of the society."
In 1792, Mr. Ashley also gave $178.34 to constitute a fund for the support of the communion table of the church.
He gave to the parish a lot of land for a burial-place for the accom- modation of the north district of the parish, in 1787, and in 1789, he gave the parish a small library, and in 1819, he gave twenty-two dollars to purchase a Bible for the use of the pulpit.
Mr. Ashley died July 7, 1824, at the age of eighty-five years.
SAMUEL LATHROP, son of Rev. Dr. Joseph Lathrop, was born in 1771, graduated at Yale in 1792, and died in 1846. He studied law ; was for ten years a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and Presi- dent of that body in 1829-30 ; was a member of Congress from 1818-24 ; and once ran very close for Governor. He devoted himself considerably to farming in his later years, and contributed much to the improvement of cattle and sheep, potatoes and farm implements in his native town, by purchases and importations.
JERE STEBBINS, who flourished in Ramapogue street, about 1780, was a man of large business capacity. He kept a tavern and store, had a large farm, manufactured earthen ware and saltpetre, and with Moses Day, was extensively engaged in boating on Connecticut river.
Maple Sugar was introduced to the public, by Rev. Samuel Hopkins, second pastor of West Springfield, in a pamphlet published in 1752, giving an account of the Indian way of making it.
Brooms, made from broom corn, were first carried from West Spring- field to Boston, by Solomon Todd, who with his own team carried down produce, and brought back goods for Jere Stebbins and others.
Ship-building was once carried on in West Springfield, and the east end of the Common was used as a ship yard.
The schooner "Trial," of sixty tons burthen; the sloop "West Springfield," of about the same calibre, and the sloop " Hampshire," of ninety tons, the latter owned by Samuel Ely and Benjamin Ashley, all were built there and sailed down the river about the year 1800.
-
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
I39
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS AND EPITAPHS.
FROM THE OLD FIRST CEMETERY, CORNER OF CHURCH AND UNION STREETS, BEGUN ABOUT 1700.
Rev. John Woodbridge, first minister of West Springfield, after serv- ing his generation faithfully, fell asleep, June 10, 1718. The righteous will be held in everlasting remembrance. Erected by the descendants of his parishioners, 1852.
Among the first settlers and the earliest families of the town are found the names of Ashley, Bagg, Barber, Bedurtha, Cooper, Day, Dumbleton, Ely, Fowler, Jones, Leonard, Merrick, Miller, Petty, Rog- ers, Parsons, Smith, Vanhorn and Foster, who gave this ancient burial- ground to the First parish in West Springfield.
Here Rests ye Body of ye Revª Mr. Sam" Hopkins, In whom, sound Judgment, solid Learning, Candour, Piety, Sincerity, Constancy and universal Benevolence combined to form an excellent Minister, a kind Husband, Parent and Friend, who deceased October the 6th, A. D. 1755, in the 62d yr of his age, and 36 year of his ministry.
Mrs. Esther Hopkins, Relict of ye late Revª Mr. Sam11 Hopkins, In whom a superior understanding, uncommon Improvements in Knowl- edge, exemplary Piety and exalted Virtue combined to form a distin- guished female character, deceast June 17, 1766, in ye 72ª year of her age,
FROM THE PAUCATUCK CEMETERY.
BEGUN IN 1770.
In Memory of Mr. Jona Smith. The Virtuous Father of a numer- ous offspring, to whom he gave an example of Piety and Prudence. Who died Feb. 9th, A. D. 1772, In the 75th year of his age.
How blest are they Who in Christ's bosom sleep. Cease, then, dear friends, To mourn, lament or weep.
FROM THE TOWN HOUSE CEMETERY, BEGUN IN 1787. (The First Burial.)
In memory of Mr. Solomon Lathrop, who, in hope of a blessed im- mortality, calmly fell asleep April 27, 1787, in the 28th year of his age.
A coffin, sheet and grave is all my earthly store, "Tis all I want, and kings will have no more.
140
WEST SPRINGFIELD CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
To the memory of the Rev. Joseph Lathrop, D. D., third pastor of the first church in West Springfield, who died Dec. 31, 1820, aged LXXXIX years and 2 months, and in the LXV year of his ministry.
In memory of Capt. Levi Ely, who was killed Oct. 19, 1786, in the service of his country on the Mohawk river, in the 48th year of his age.
Who dies in youth and vigor dies the best, Struck thro with wounds, all honest in the breast.
FROM MEETING-HOUSE HILL CEMETERY. BEGUN IN 1808.
Rev. D. T. Bagg, died Jan. 15, 1848, aged 33. The Pastor, Son and Brother.
Rev. Pliny Butts Day, D. D. Born April 21, 1806, died July 6, 1869. Pastor of Congregational Church, Hollis, N. H.
Rev. Moody Harrington. Died July 22, 1865, aged 67 years. Fer- vent in spirit, serving the Lord
FROM THE ASHLEYVILLE CEMETERY.
To the memory of Mr. John Ashley, who died July 17, 1824, Æt 84 years. He was distinguished by Publick Spirit and active benevo- lence.
THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT.
IN THE CEMETERY ON MEETING-HOUSE HILL, A BROWN STONE SHAFT, ABOUT TWENTY FEET HIGH, BEARS THE FOLLOWING INSCRIPTIONS :
This Monument is erected in memory of those members of Co. I, 10th Mass. Regiment, who fell in the service of their country, during the Great Rebellion, at Wil- liamsburg, Fair Oaks, Glendale, Malvern, Ist Fredericksburg, Mary's Hights, Salem, 2d Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Coal Harbor, Petersburg.
DIED OF WOUNDS RECEIVED IN ACTION.
Lieut. William Arthur Ashley, May 5, 1864.
Priv. William H. Atkins, August 12, 1862.
Serg't Amos Pettis, Jr., May 3, 1863.
Priv. John Barry, May 3, 1863.
Serg't Osmyn B. Paull, May 18, 1864.
Priv. Hubert J. Boyington, May 3, 1863.
Serg't John R. Walker, August 27, 1864.
Priv. Anthony Cain, May 15, 1863.
Corp'l Hibbard K. Bean, May 31, 1862.
Priv. Charles E. Hovey, May 3, 1863.
Corp'l James Baldwin, June 13, 1864.
Priv. Simeon P. Smith, November 7, 1863.
Priv. William H. Estes, May 31, 1862. Priv. Daniel D. Shea, May 31, 1862.
Priv. Joseph Nugurer, December 10, 1864. Priv. John E. Casey, May 5, 1864.
Priv. Daniel Cronan, September 19, 1864.
DIED OF DISEASE.
Corp'l Robert Best, Jr., September 2, 1864. Priv. Jerry Sullivan, September 2, 1861. Priv. James W. Burr, September 10, 1861. Priv. John G. Squires, September 13, 1861. Priv. John Falvey, May 1, 1862.
Priv. Robert J. Stewart, May 31, 1862.
Priv. Cassander Frisbie, July 12, 1862.
Priv. Charles S. Harris, Jr., September 17, 1862. Priv. Otis H. Littlejohn, February 5, '63. Priv. Abner D. Otis, September 16, 1863.
TO THE INTERESTED READER.
THAT many other facts and incidents are worthy of preserva- tion herein, the compiler believes. Those most easy of access within the time specified have been used. To glean, save and deposit in the sacred archives of the town is the privilege and duty of all.
INDEX.
PAGE.
Introduction,
5
History of the Centennial Enterprise,
7
Invocation,
IO
The Welcome, 12
The Reply, 14
20
- The Historical Address, - -
25
DINNER SPEECHES :
Gov. Washburn's Letter, 55
Samuel L. Parsons, Esq., 55
Dr. Thomas E. Vermilye, - 56 -
Rev. E. N. Pomeroy, - 57
60
Hon. J. M. Stebbins, - 62
66
Dr. Edwin Bliss,
68
Rev. L. D. Calkins,
69
Mr. Samuel Flower,
7I
Dr. P. LeB. Stickney,
- 72
Rev. Aaron M. Colton,
77
Hon. Chan Laisun,
-
80
William Lathrop, Esq.,
80
Henry A. Chase, - 81
D. B. Montague, 81
Dea. Thomas Taylor, -
-
82
LETTERS :
Dr. A. A. Wood, 83 -
Dr. H. M. Field, 83
Dr. T. H. Hawks, 84
86
Rev. H. M. Grout,
87
Dea. Elisha Eldridge,
88
Dr. Alonzo Chapin, 89
Prof. George E. Day, 90
N. T. Leonard, Esq.,
- 90
-
The Poem, -
Dr. Ashbel G. Vermilye, - .
Hon. Henry Morris,
-
Dr. E. B. Foster,
144
INDEX.
APPENDIX.
PAGE.
Parish Charter, -
95
Names of the First Settlers,
96
Petition for Incorporation as a Town,
97
Act of Incorporation,
98
First Warrant for Town Meeting,
98
Moderators of the Town,
99
Clerks and Treasurers,
100
Representatives, IOI
Delegates to various places,
-
103
Selectmen,
103
School Committee,
- 106
Postmasters, ·
108
GENEALOGIES :
Bagg,
- 109
Ashley, -
II4
Champion,
II4
Chapin, -
115
Cooley,
II5
Day,
II6
Ely,
II7
Lathrop,
I18
Parsons,
I19
Rogers, -
I20
Smith,
I20
Stebbins,
I22
Wade,
123
White, -
123
Bliss,
- 124
REMINISCENCES AND ANECDOTES :
Dr. Lathrop's Personal, 125
Age of some of the Larger Trees, -
- I26
Revolutionary Incidents, I26
The Newspaper Enterprise, I26
I27
The Public Libraries,
I28
The Old School-House,
I28
The Great Elm,
I29
The First Meeting House,
130
General Washington in Town,
I34
One of the Old Houses,
I35
Obituary of Dr. Justin Perkins,
I35
Obituary of Richard Bagg, Jr.,
I36
The Will and Gifts of John Ashley,
I37
Hon. Samuel Lathrop, -
138
The Ship Yard,
- 138
Monumental Inscriptions,
139
221
-
The Hampden Grays, -
-
The KALMBACHER BOOKBINDING CO CERTIFIED LIBRARY BINDERY TOLEDO, OHIO
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