USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Chicopee > Annals of Chicopee Street : records and reminiscences of an old New England parish for a period of two hundred years > Part 5
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Rejoicing in our past, a few of us still keep the old home, and watch and wait with earnest longing for the coming of better days.
APPENDIX
REMINISCENCES BY JUDGE E. W. CHAPIN OF HOLYOKE
READ AT THE ANNUAL ROLL CALL MEETING OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN CHICOPEE, SEPTEMBER 30, 1897
My Dear Friends :-
The occasion which calls us together awakens feelings of pleasure and of sadness; of pleasure, to meet old friends whom we have been accustomed to meet in this time honored place, of sadness as we miss the sight of familiar faces and fail to receive the cordial greetings of friends of Auld Lang Syne. As we think of different friends who have left us we long "for the touch of a vanished hand and the sound of a voice that is still." But, if we have profited by the messages delivered from the sacred desk, and remembered the words of wisdom in Holy Writ, we cannot fail to recognize that our loss is our friends' gain; that absence from the body is presence with the Lord; that joys of immortality surpass those of time. For ourselves,-
"'Tis sweet as year by year we lose Friends out of sight, in faith to muse How grows in Paradise our store."
This is a world of change, and yet as I compare the changes of Chicopee Street with those of Holyoke and other places about here it seems to me there are less here than in the crowded city. This beautiful street with its wide spreading elms standing in front of ancient dwellings looks as attractive as ever. The Con- necticut River flows by with the same slow and steady current as in days of yore, but commerce has put it to new uses; freight that used to pass up and down this river and through the old
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canal by the slow moving canal boats, is now carried on the swift moving cars. The poet of old time wrote in its praise,-
"Roll on, loved Connecticut, long hast thou ran,
Bringing shad to Northampton and pleasure to man."
It brings no longer shad to Northampton. Fishermen no longer gather in nets at South Hadley Falls the shiny fish which each spring used to bring up the river. The fishermen now stand in vain upon its shores to lure the unwary fish with tempt- ing bait. They have left the stream, which has not the purity of former days. When the first dam was built at Holyoke the Connecticut River rebelled against being stopped, and broke away from its restraint, carrying the dam with it in its course. As I stood by the river bank in Willimansett when a boy and saw the river filled with timber and logs sweeping past, I recall old Mr. Sikes, who was then a member of this congregation, always ready with some Bible quotation, repeating on this occa- sion a verse from Proverbs, as he watched the turbulent waters bearing away the timbers of the new dam. "Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make them- selves wings; they fly away, as an eagle toward heaven."
Chicopee takes its name from the Indian name of Chicopee River, which is said to mean the "River of Elms." All in this vicinity at first attended church at Springfield, and forded the Chicopee River at what was called "the Indian wading place" back of the Dwight Mills. It was not until 1783 that a bridge was built across the Chicopee River. There is a story told of one of the early settlers who trafficked with the Indians for furs. Not finding him at home, the Indians went to Springfield and found him at church, but he would say little to them beyond letting them understand that he would trade with them the next day. One of the Indians inquired the cause of so many white men assembled together, and the man, with an eye to business, replied they were putting down the price of beaver skins.
The difficulty of attending church in Springfield led to the erection of a church in Chicopee Street in 1752; as there was no church in Holyoke then, the early settlers there were obliged to cross the Connecticut River to attend church here in Chicopee Street. Then no bell was here to call to church, and when the
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first church of the valley was built, as the hour for worship on each Sabbath morning came around, the people were called together by the beating of a drum. Conveniences of light and heat were not present with our ancestors as with you. There was no fire in the first church, and if any attempt was made to carry any substitute it was done in the shape of a foot stove containing a pan of live coals, having a secure covering per- forated with holes to let out the warmth within. I have seen in the attic of my old home such a foot stove, which was carried by my parents to church to warm the feet of the occupants of our family pew. Many of us remember the long box stove which formerly stood near the easterly end of the audience room of this church, having a long pipe extending across the church and turning upward towards the roof a short distance in front of the pulpit. It had, too, I recollect, a large pan attached to the knee of the pipe to catch any stray rivulets that might course down the pipe from the roof and fall otherwise on the heads of the listeners below. My mother told this story of the introduction of the first stove into the church. Some woman opposed the innovation, fearing the heat would be too oppressive. The stove, however, was put up, but for some reason no fire was built in it the first Sabbath. This, however, was not known by the woman, who was so overcome by anticipated heat that she was compelled to leave the church during the service.
The old choir gallery has ceased to be occupied by the choir but I cannot forget its associations. No stately organ was it our fortune to see there, but we were not without our music. The last bell had not ceased to ring before we used to see old Mr. Goodman, with his big bass viol, leave the little red house across the street a short distance above here, and with slow, dignified tread enter the church and climb the stairway to his elevated place, and immediately proceed to tune his instrument and awaken divers wondrous noises from its recesses, until at last the right sounds were evoked and all was in readiness to accompany the choir. As I had a side seat in the northwest corner of the church, I could see the different church members as they came in and took their places Sabbath after Sabbath with prompt regularity. I recall the time when a change was pro- posed in regard to the position to be occupied by the congrega-
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tion, as the choir was then in the rear of the church. It had been for a long time customary for the congregation to turn around in their pews to face the singers. The pastor suggested that a change be made and the congregation face the minister instead of the choir, and proposed that the audience stand as they rise. All did not readily accept this innovation, I remember; and I was amused from my side seat to see the result, those in some pews, remaining as they rose with faces turned towards the pastor, while those in the next pews in front would rise and turn to- wards the singers. You have now been prevented from having any such dilemma by placing both choir and pastor in front of the congregation. The Sabbath school which gathered at the close of the morning service was always of great interest to me. The class of boys which gathered there, while I cannot say that they gave the earnest study to the lesson which they have given in later years, were not members by any means of a Quaker meeting; having been separated for several days the meeting was one partaking of a social as well as of a religious nature. If a boy had purchased a new pair of boots from Mr. Adolphus G. Parker's shop during the week he was sure to exhibit them to his fellows, and the same was true of other new articles of wardrobe. I think Miss Julia Ann Chapin and the other teach- ers who had the charge of our class found it a lively one, but the members held their teachers in great respect and have al- ways remembered their kindness and sympathy. I have never regretted my connection with classes in the Sunday school. As I grow older I am more and more convinced that we do not appreciate the value of Bible study as we ought. The treas- ures of wisdom which the Bible contains if stored in the heart of the possessor will bring him greater happiness than the pos- session of the gold mines of the Klondike in the Yukon valley. It is the hope of an immortality taught in pulpit, Sabbath school, and Christian homes that brings comfort to us on an occasion like this, when we call to mind the different members of our households whose presence we miss. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob "is not the God of the dead, but of the living," and we commend the childhood faith taught us in Wordsworth's poem of the little cottage girl of eight years, a part of which I quote.
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" 'Sisters and brothers, little maid, How many may you be?' 'How many? seven in all,' she said, And wondering looked at me.
"'And where are they? I pray you tell.' She answered, 'Seven are we: And two of us at Conway dwell And two are gone to sea.
" 'Two of us in the churchyard lie, My sister and my brother; And in the churchyard cottage, I Dwell near them with my mother.'
* *
"'How many are you, then,' said I, If they two are in heaven?' The little maiden did reply, 'O master, we are seven!'
" 'But they are dead; those two are dead! Their spirits are in heaven.' 'Twas throwing words away: for still The little maid would have her will, And said, 'Nay, we are seven.'"
Rev. John Mckinstry was the first pastor of this church and a faithful servant in his pastoral work. His successors have all been devoted servants of the Lord, and left noble examples of lives of usefulness. My acquaintance with the pastors here com- menced with Rev. E. B. Clark. He was a faithful steward dur- ing his long pastorate and, like the venerable pastor Goldsmith describes,-
"In his duty, prompt at every call,
He watched and wept, he prayed and felt for all."
He was faithfully assisted by his beloved wife, and all who have met that saintly woman will ever remember the ready smile and kind greetings she always gave. His children will always be
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pleasantly remembered by us and we all rejoice in the successful work of his son in the city of Salem. This parish has certainly been blessed in its choice of pastors from first to last. We all bid the present pastor God speed in his work here. To make the most of life, we may wisely study the examples and experi- ence of those who have preceded us, and the faith and self- sacrifice of our fathers and mothers should not be forgotten. A reverent recognition of God's government was theirs. A conscientious desire to know, and do, their duty influenced their minds and controlled their actions. Even their failings leaned to virtue's side. By a comparison of the present with the past the young people of to-day may be led to prize more the oppor- tunities before them. We live in an age of progress. Knowl- edge to our eyes "has unrolled her ample page rich with the spoils of time." Our choices need to be made with the greatest care. The calls to action are many, but what to do, and how to act, is not always clear. We need the wisdom and experience of the past to guide us. As we return to this venerable and conse- crated place, we are glad to find here still so many old acquaint- ances and friends, descendants of the old families, whose lives and virtues we recall with so much pleasure.
"Happy he whom neither wealth nor fashion, Nor the march of the encroaching city drives an exile, From the hearth of his ancestral homestead.
"We may build more splendid habitations, Fill our rooms with paintings and with sculptures, But we cannot buy with gold, the old associations."
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PASTORS AND DEACONS OF THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHICOPEE
PASTORS
Rev. John Mckinstry, 1752-1813.
Rev. Alexander Phoenix, 1824-1835.
Rev. Ebenezer B. Wright, 1835-1839.
Rev. Eli B. Clark, 1839-1875.
Rev. William E. Dickinson, 1876-1887.
Rev. Collins G. Burnham, 1888 --
DEACONS
Benjamin Chapin, 1752-1756. Giles S. Chapin, 1834-1863.
David Chapin, 1752-1776.
Orange Chapin, 1840-1863. Sidney Chapin, 1863-1875.
Samuel Cooper.
Edward Chapin, 1773-1800.
Nathan Mosman, 1863-1866.
Amos Skeele, 1813-1825.
Marshall Pease, 1866-1896.
Simeon Stedman, 1825-1834. William D. Chapin, 1875-
Joseph Pease, 1825-1839.
Pascal J. Newell, 1896-
MINISTERS WHO HAVE GONE OUT FROM THE CHICOPEE STREET CHURCH
Rev. Sewall Chapin,
Rev. Walter Chapin,
Rev. Calvin Chapin, D. D.,
Rev. Chester Chapin,
Rev. Ephraim Chapin,
Rev. Alfred Wright,
Rev. Samuel Chandler,
Rev. Charles Peabody,
Rev. John Alexander Mckinstry,
Rev. DeWitt S. Clark, D. D.,
Rev. Amos Skeele,
Rev. Francis L. Palmer.
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SINGERS IN THE OLD MEETING HOUSE
Joseph Pease, Chorister.
Lucy Griswold, Counter.
Orithya Chapin, Counter.
Mary Chapin,
Sophia Van Horn,
Betsey Chapin,
Louisa Van Horn,
Mabel Griswold,
Rhedexa Chapin,
Roxana Skeele,
Frances Chapin,
Marcy Skeele,
Melia Chapin,
Hannah Van Horn,
Dorcas Lima Warner.
Harvey Chapin, Tenor.
Levi Stedman, Bass,
Whitfield Chapin, Bass,
Alpheus Chapin, Bass,
William Moulton, Bass,
Otis Skeele, Bass,
Alvin Chapin, Bass,
Lewis Ferry, Jr., Bass,
Sylvester Chapin, Bass.
Sheldon Chapin, Bass Viol. Amos Skeele, Jr., Flute.
SINGERS IN THE NEW MEETING HOUSE, WHO SANG ON THE DAY OF DEDICATION, JAN. 4, 1826
Eliza Mckinstry,
Aurilla Talcott,
Emily Mckinstry,
Delina Van Horn,
Theodosia Mckinstry,
Joseph Pease,
Sophia Warner,
Joseph Chapin,
Electa Warner,
Levi Stedman,
Lima Warner,
Quartus Chapin,
Mary Ann Stedman,
Lewis Ferry, Jr.,
Sophia Stedman,
Otis Skeele,
Sophronia Pinney,
Phinehas Pease,
Huldah Morgan,
James Pease,
Delina Skeele,
A. G. Parker,
Elvira Chapin,
Reuben Goodman.
Melissa Chapin,
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THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL
The first Sunday-school was held in the old church during the summer of 1818. It was organized by the Rev. Chester Chapin. Dr. Amos Skeele was superintendent.
The teachers were
Orange Chapin, Joseph Pease,
Caleb Pendleton, Rhedexa Chapin,
Marcy Skeele, Betsey Chapin.
The lessons were the 35th and 97th Psalms, 40th chapter of Isaiah, 29th chapter of Proverbs, Christ's Sermon on the Mount. These were all committed to memory.
The next year Rev. Reuben Hazen, who was preaching here at the time, formed a Bible class, which met in the old red schoolhouse. Among the lessons were, the names of the books of the Bible, the names by which God is known in the Scrip- tures, Is the observance of the Sabbath enjoined in the Scrip- tures? answered by proof texts. This school continued only a short time.
Our present Sunday-school was organized in the new church in 1826.
The superintendents have been
Simeon Stedman, Benjamin H. Stedman,
Joseph Pease, Phineas Stedman,
Giles S. Chapin, William J. Baker,
Phineas Stedman, Marshall Pease,
Otis Skeele,
Rev. C. G. Burnham.
Sidney Chapin,
The first librarian was William L. Bemis, who retained his office till 1841, when he left the place. He was most careful and exact in the care of the books. They were all covered with white cotton cloth. About 1839, a number of anti-slavery books were put into the library and these were all marked with a big black A.
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In 1844, through the influence of Mr. Elias Gates, our Sun- day-school missionary society was organized. This is still in active operation. The largest membership of the Sunday-school was in 1834, when 159 names were registered. The present number is 65.
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS IN PARISH LIBRARY
No. Vol.
No. Vol.
8 Spectator.
I Barlowe's Writings.
I Hervey's Meditations.
I Salem Witchcraft.
2 Blair's Sermons.
3 Hunter's Biography.
I Miss Rowe's Letters.
I Beauties of History.
2 Anson's Voyages.
I Belisarius.
I Bruce's Travels.
2 Washington's Letters.
I Sublime and Beautiful.
I Price's Sermons.
Fordyce's Addresses.
6 Raynold's Histories.
I
Vision of Columbus.
I Franklin's Works.
2
Walker's Sermons.
I Natural History.
I Sentimental Journey.
I History of England.
2 Beauties of History.
I Men of the World.
I Moore's
I Bunyan's Holy War.
I Romance of the Forest.
2 American Revolution.
I Smith's Moral Sentiment.
I Adams's Selections.
I Thomson's Seasons.
I Interesting Memoirs.
I 300 Animals.
I Blair's Lectures on Criticism. I Robinson Crusoe.
I Life of Howard.
I Cyrus' Travels.
1 Essays. 2 Algerine Captive.
I Morse's Geography. I Locke's Essays.
I Well Bred Scholar.
I Paley's Philosophy.
2 Moore's Journal through France.
I American Songster.
I
I Keats' Sketches.
I Pope's Iliad.
I Goldsmith's Essays.
2 Franklin's Life.
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I Burrough's Life.
I Chappell on Miracles.
I Ladies' Library.
2 Thomas's Essays.
I Elements of Morality.
4 Robertson's Histories.
I Lee's Memoirs.
I Roslin on the Covenant.
I Volney's Ruins.
I Wattson's Apology.
I McLane on the Types.
I French Revolution.
4 Kaime's Sketches on Man.
This list is incomplete, as one volume bearing the No. 150 is still in existence. We do not know when this Library was estab- lished, probably near the close of the last century; but Mr. John Mckinstry has this lamentable record, "June 21, 1834, Chicopee Vendued their Library, and forsook the tree of knowledge."
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INDUSTRIES OF THE OLD FIFTH PARISH
Various industries have at different times occupied our peo- ple. Titus and Erastus Morgan were still members of this parish, when they built the saw mill "down in the field" on the banks of the Connecticut in Ireland Parish, about a mile above the present Holyoke dam. This was about 1783 and was the first utilization of that great water power.
The water privilege at the south end of our Street was early improved by Chicopee people, for in 1791 "a new saw mill" was built by Gad, Luther and Azariah Vanhorn, Silas, Phinehas, William 2d, George, Seth, and Japhet Chapin, David Ashley and John Bridges.
The first blacksmith's shop was set up by Mr. Adkins on land now owned by Mr. Phelon. The slag from the furnace remained there for many years; later Mr. Dilliber had a shop near the saw mill.
At different times enterprising individuals have been sure that iron ore could be found in our hills, but no venture ever proved very successful.
In 1810 George Gibbs of Providence, R. I., conceived the idea that coal was hidden in the banks near the Chicopee River, and signed a contract with Seth Chapin, which gave him liberty "to dig and bore" for the supposed treasure. But after a fruit- less search, the contract was annulled, and the disappointed man returned home.
For a time Otis Skeele carried on boot and shoe making near his father's residence, afterward removing to Willimansett, where he continued the business till 1834. When he left Chico- pee Street, he sold out to A. G. Parker and Orson Allen. Their first shop was in Mr. Parker's house. Mr. Allen remained in the business but two or three years. Mr. Parker built a shop and enlarged his manufacture. Both Mr. Parker and Mr. Skeele found ready market for their boots and shoes in Hartford and New York.
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Chicopee Street
Mr. Parker made ladies' fine shoes and also heavy and fine boots. He became a very popular shoemaker. People front Springfield ordered their shoes from him, among them Dr. Osgood, who used to bring up his boys and girls to be meas- ured for their yearly supply of slippers and shoes. In 1853 Josiah A. Parker was taken into partnership, and the firm be- came A. G. Parker & Son. The business was afterwards re- moved to Chicopee Center. At one time about twenty men were employed and shipments were made to New York and to western cities. Mr. Parker, Sr., died in 1883, and his son con- tinued the business for a few years longer, but has since given it up.
The first store in Chicopee, and for many years the only one in many miles, was opened by Joseph Pease about 1800. It stood near the tavern and was the center of trade for the coun- try round about. After 1823, when Mr. Pease was appointed postmaster, the post office was kept there until 1834, when it was removed to Willimansett. In 1821, Stephen C. Bemis, who had been a clerk in the store, was taken into partnership, and the firm became Pease & Bemis. Not long after Mr. Pease sold out to Mr. Bemis. In 1824 Chester W. Chapin opened a rival store on the opposite side of the street, but this continued only a year, when the rival firms became one under the name of Chapin & Bemis. Ill health caused the withdrawal of Mr. Chapin, and Mr. Bemis continued the business alone, until his removal to Willimansett in 1831. He had been commissioned postmaster in 1824, and continued in office so long as the post office re- mained on our Street.
From Stephen C. Bemis the store passed into the hands of William L. Bemis, and from him to Eli Stephenson, who again sold out to Parker & Bemis. Meanwhile Cabotville was grow- ing in importance, and trade here was becoming unprofitable. From being the center of activity and business, having the only post office, store, doctor, minister, and church, and the best schools in this part of the town, we suddenly found ourselves only a suburb of a growing manufacturing village.
Mr. Frederic Chapin added to his business of "keeping tav- ern" the manufacture of powder on Powder Mill Brook at "Tigua." He afterwards made brick.
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Giles S. Chapin made brick for many years and was very successful. The brick in the oldest buildings and factories in Chicopee Center came from his yard.
The first manufactory of friction matches in the country, per- haps in the world, was established here in 1835. Mr. Phillips, who came from Connecticut, had begun the making of them at his home, but he lacked capital. He met D. Monroe Chapin, who became interested. He, or his father, Mr. Frederic, fur- nished the capital and built the shop. The firm was Chapin & Phillips. They were successful; the business grew. At one time sixteen girls and four men were employed. Two large two- horse wagons went out over the state, taking orders, and deliv- ering the goods. After three or four years of unusual success, the business passed into other hands and was removed from the Street.
Deacon Sidney Chapin made brooms in Chicopee Street from 1850 to 1875. He employed, for the entire time, an average of four men, and made thirty thousand brooms per year. His market outside the Northern states was Virginia, North Caro- lina, Georgia, and London, England. Up to the breaking out of the civil war, he filled orders in Atlanta and Richmond, and as soon as peace was restored, the market in these southern cities was at once open to him again.
In 1831, the Willimansett Manufacturing Company for the manufacture of machine cards and small hardware was organ- ized, with Bemis & Sheffield as agents. At one time as many as one hundred men were employed. The hardware included compasses, dividers, and other small tools. Before this time these goods were all imported and were expensive. This enter- prise changed prices, and helped to make American hardware popular. Mr. Bemis is considered the pioneer in the manu- facture of hardware in the Connecticut valley. Later the busi- ness was removed to Springfield, where it is continued under the name of the Bemis & Call Company.
After this the factory, with its water privilege, was bought by Willis Phelps, who changed it to a woolen mill. Willis Phelps, Phelps & Smith, Henry Salisbury, and Jared Beebe continued the making of woolen goods until after the civil war. Probably
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Chicopee Street
Jared Beebe was the most successful of these. A few years ago the mill was burned. It has been partly rebuilt, but never occu- pied since.
The first post office in Willimansett was established in 1834. Sylvester Allen was the first postmaster. He was succeeded by Closson Pendleton and later by Pascal J. Newell.
The Connecticut River Railroad was opened, and the Willi- mansett station built in 1845.
In 1841 Closson Pendleton opened the hotel and kept it a few years. With the building of the bridge a new prosperity has come to the village, and it is again one of the busy wards in the City of Chicopee.
JOHNSON'S
BOOKSTORE 391 Main Street, Springfield .HONERY
PICTURES
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