USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden > Early Hampden, Mass., its settlers and the homes they built; > Part 2
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John Langdon, son of Capt. Paul and grandson of Lieut. Paul, married Sarah Stebbins in 1755 and it is assumed that about this time he must have erected the rear part of the white house on the west side of Somers Road which is familiarly known in town as the John Bartlett house. Some time between 1759 and 1777 he must have built the main part of the house. This portion of the farm remained in the Langdon family until 1871 when John Wilson Langdon sold to John Bartlett. A newspaper clipping of 1885 stated that that year Mr. Bartlett raised 4,370 pounds of tobacco. Mr. Kibbe bought the farm from the Bartlett family.
Bradway-Work Cemetery. There used to be a cemetery behind the brick house of Lester Kibbe where various members of the Bradway
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family and one daughter of the Work family were buried. The two families were related. The bodies of the Bradway family, together with the headstones, were afterwards removed to Prospect Hill Cemetery. However, the remains of Ella, the infant daughter of Sanford and Chloe Work, who died in 1851, still rest on this farm. The inscription on her headstone reads as follows:
"Sleep on sweet babe And take thy rest God called thee home When he thought best."
Wilfred Martin. This was originally a part of the Langdon Farms and they evidently built a house here in which Noah Langdon was living in 1832. Noah Langdon played the bass viol in the Old Congregational Church on the Village Green before the days when organs were used in churches. The property was afterwards sold to Samuel Endicott and we find that in 1855 Mr. Endicott lived here. Perhaps he built the present house. Clinton Chapin was an owner in the early 1900's. The Martin family bought from John Silver in 1921.
Carl Kibbe. It would appear from an old map that J. Corcoran lived here in 1870. Richard Twohig was the next owner. Mr. Kibbe's father, Birnie Kibbbe, bought the property in 1905.
Winthrop L. Kibbe. When Chloe Bradway, daughter of Barton Brad- way married Sanford Works in 1848 and came here as a bride this house was new. Several generations of the Bradway family have since lived here, including Isaac Bradway for whom the road nearby was named. Mr. Kibbe bought the property in 1914 and has made many improve- ments in the house.
The Driscoll Family. In 1823 Shubael Pease came from Longmeadow and bought 26 acres of land from James C. Pease and probably built this house. His son Carl Pease sold to the John Driscoll family in 1878. We understand there was a shingle mill on this farm in the early days.
James W. Samble. In 1868 Corydon Kibbe, grandfather of Neil Kibbe lived in this house. In the latter part of the 1800's Chester Dickinson, uncle of Warren and Earle Dickinson lived here, followed by the John Nordin family and the Adolph Zacher family. The present owners bought the property from Kenneth Bliss in 1949.
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WILBRAHAM ROAD
Robert L. Peterson. This unusual house was built into the side of the hill by a member of the prolific Stebbins family in a manner that would suggest the Thornton W. Burgess house, which was also a product of Stebbins ingenuity. The original kitchen with mammoth fireplace and oven was in what is now the cellar. Tradition has it that in 1814 Calvin Stebbins installed the first cookstove in town in this house.
Rev. Horatio Stebbins, pastor of the First Unitarian Church, San Francisco, Calif., was born here in 1821, and the latter's half-brother, Rev. Calvin Stebbins pastor of the First Unitarian Church, Detroit, Mich., in 1836. The Unitarian Church in this country owes a debt of gratitude to these two famous sons of Hampden, as well as to their cousin, Rev. Rufus P. Stebbins, D.D., to whom reference has been made in the section on Somers Road. The history of the Protestant Churches of Hampden written several years ago goes into further detail regarding their accom- plishments.
Freeman Dickinson, charcoal dealer, lived here in 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Heredeen bought the property in 1918 and lived on it for 33 years.
David Murray. The three original rooms of this house were built by David Twohig in 1857. Ralph Isham and family lived here from 1901 to 1918. Other owners have been W. P. Prickett, who added seven rooms, and D. C. Axtell. The present owners bought the property in 1947.
Barry Mink Farm. This is another old Stebbins house. Stephen Stebbins and Sylvanus Stebbins lived here for many years. One of the Stebbins girls married Lyman Phelps in 1849 and they resided here. At one time
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there were 13 families by the name of Stebbins in Hampden. The Barry family bought in 1941 from Charles H. Thomas.
The Isham Farms. When the Outward Commons were divided among the Springfield residents, the Pynchon family (descendants of Springfield's first settler) took Lot #81 among others. This lot was four miles long and over 133 rods wide. It covered all of the Daniel and Asa Isham Farms and extended east over the mountain through the present Morgan- Melville-Wessman properties and then further east through the Goodwill- Wallace-Bennett farms, to the Monson line.
In 1738 John Pynchon deeded the lot to Edward Pynchon and in 1740-41 the latter sold it to William Pynchon, as we have learned from the section under Somers Road. The latter deed speaks of a "house and barn thereon."
These buildings must have been standing when Stephen Stebbins, who was supposed to be Hampden's first settler arrived in town. It would appear that Edward Pynchon must have built them after 1738. We at first thought that perhaps the property was only a summer home for Springfield's most famous early family, but we recently learned that the deed in question refers to "fencing" on the land which would indicate that they had livestock. On Sept. 17, 1741 Col. John Pynchon sold the lot to Lieut. Paul Langdon and the latter must have lived in the house while he was building his home on Somers Road and until he sold the farm back to the Pynchon's in 1743. We have spent much time trying to ascertain the exact spot where these buildings were located. The writer had considerable correspondence about the matter with Miss Mary E. Isham, before she passed away, but we believe their location will remain a mystery forever. She remembered as a girl playing in a cellar hole behind the present Leary house but she said she understood that a son of Asa Isham, who afterwards moved West, built a home here many years ago.
The property passed from the Pynchon family to the Stebbins family and records indicate that Daniel Isham bought property in 1799 from Daniel Stebbins and Abner Blodgett, while Asa Isham bought land from Daniel Stebbins in 1811. Daniel built a house near where the Frank L. Munsell house now stands while his brother, Asa, built the one now owned by the Leary family. While Daniel's deed was not recorded until 1799 a day book in his penmanship in possession of the Isham family carried the following notation:
"Oct. 16, 1796 - Then begun to dig my cellar - 2 teams and 3 hands - 2 days," etc. Daniel's house was similar to Asa's and terraced in a similar manner. The original house was destroyed by fire in 1849 and
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October 16th Mg6 Then begin to Dig. muy fuller 2 Hennes & Shands 29 Days 11-000 (Bo) 1 Team 4 hands 1/ Day - - -- 0-16-0 Bez/ hands FDay 0-8-0
By Min.) yout bxen 0.4:6 En 4 Rando / Day. 0:9=6
Jay - 09-9
white by i job.
0 12.0
By :' heure Choming Sawmill Log, 20.3.6
0-12-0
Roy's hands Diging Stone May 0.16.0 Hy & Trys words Diging Clay 0=9:0 Rf 1/ Tage Counting Clay -.
£6-0:3
6. 0.0
By Stiverne
Emmy-fuller
12 -- 6-3
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Notation made by Daniel Isham in his day book Oct. 16, 1796 when he began to dig his cellar.
a second one was built, which also burned to the ground in 1910. John B. Isham built the third or present Munsell home. Daniel Isham was select- man of the town as early as 1818. The family was always prominent in the Congregational and Federated Churches, being deacons for several generations, and two of the three people to whom this book is dedicated were members of that family.
John F. Leary. As stated above this house was built by Asa Isham and the date of erection would be some time after 1811. It was afterwards owned by Solomon West, a descendant of Stephen West, who built several houses on East Main Street. Nelson West, who recently died in Springfield at the age of 98 was born here and lived in the house until he was 18 years old. He remembered butter, cheese, and wine having been made in the woodshed. Later owners were William Leach, brother of Mrs. D. L. McCray, and Roland P. Prickett.
Charles Koncitik. J. C. Shepherd lived here at one time. A later owner was William Leach, Sr., father of Mrs. D. L. McCray. It was afterwards part of the F. T. Kellogg Farms and the latter's heirs sold to the present owner in 1942.
Louis Rivers, Jr. Abner C. Burleigh was an early owner. Darcy Shepherd lived here at one time. Dr. and Mrs. Lucien Guptill were owners in the early 1900's. Dr. Guptill, a retired physician, and a brother of Mrs. John N. Isham (mother of John B.) was a deacon in the church. Mr. and Mrs. Harold Helberg lived here for 11 years and sold to the present owners in 1950.
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Jos. J. Zaher - The Sessions-Kellogg-Downs Farm. Robert Sessions, who participated in the Boston Tea Party, bought part of this property March 6, 1781 from John Norton, who in turn had bought from Samuel Day. He paid for it "five hundred pounds Lawful money of the Common- wealth." Inasmuch as Hampden County did not then exist and our town was part of Hampshire County the sale was consummated at Northamp- ton, the seat of Hampshire County. In those days payment by check had not been instituted and since there was little paper money most payments were made by silver. Mr. Sessions, therefore, carried the 500 pounds of money in his saddlebags to Northampton. The money became so heavy that he walked much of the way to save his horse. He had become enthralled with the beauty of the scenery from this hill when he had passed along the road carrying messages for various units of the army during the Revolution.
When Robert Sessions bought the property the original house stood on the west side of the road and about three hundred feet north of the present Zaher house. In 1808 he bought adjacent property from John Thwing extending to the top of the hill to the south and in 1815 built the present house so scenically located. In 1839 the original one was torn down. An interesting feature of the present house is a door in the chimney on the third floor so that hams could be hung inside to be smoked.
Modern highway engineers planning their multiple overpasses could have acquired their original ideas from the ingenious and mammoth barn which William R. Sessions built on this farm in 1839. It was full
House built by Robert Sessions in 1815, showing his great-grandson, William J. Sessions, in the doorway in 1897. Now owned by Joseph J. Zaher.
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three stories high with entrances leading from outdoors to each separate level, had various ramps for the cattle and for bringing in loads of hay, and was equipped with continuously running spring water. After recently viewing a sketch of all three floors of this barn we are not surprised to learn that the planner (Mr. Sessions himself) was afterwards Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture.
Space permits only a few words relative to the contribution of the descendants of Robert Sessions, Sr., to town, state and nation. We will refer, therefore, only to those members of the family who spent most of their lives in Hampden.
Robert Sessions, Jr., was one of Hampden's representatives at the War of 1812. His granddaughter, Miss Elizabeth Sessions, presented us in 1932 with the Town House, including school rooms, auditorium, library and town offices.
Sumner Sessions, son of Robert, Sr., built the largest woolen mill ever erected in town.
Four generations of the Sessions family served in the State Legista- ture, a record which would be hard for any family to surpass. Robert, Sr., and his son, William Vine, were both state representatives. William R., son of William V., was a member of the State Senate, secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, a sergeant in the Civil War and a prisoner in the infamous Confederate Libby Prison. William J., son of William R., served in the House of Representatives, representing the old Shoestring District for 19 years. Mrs. Mina (Sessions) Gibson of Lakewood, Ohio, daughter of William J., and her brother, Prof. William Vine Sessions, of Wayne University, Detroit, Michigan, are both vitally interested in our study of Hampden history and Mrs. Gibson has loaned us many original deeds and family papers which have given us a great deal of valuable information.
The property remained in the Sessions family until 1909 when William J. Sessions sold the farm to Asa Hayes. F. T. Kellogg of the old Bay State Corset Company in Springfield was a subsequent owner who extensively developed the property and added to the acreage. He moved the Isaac Leach house, which used to stand on the south brow of Kellogg Hill, and which was one of the old houses in Hampden, down over the hill to the west and remodeled it. This house was afterwards torn down.
Thomas Downs, a later owner of this farm, sold to the present owners in 1951.
A section of the present farm was acquired by the Sessions family from Noah Granger Stebbins and it was on this lot that "Lieut. Merrick's only son" was bitten by a snake in 1761. The ballad written about the episode, which occurred right in our own town, has been sung for gen-
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erations, and many have heard Burl Ives render the selection. Mr. Ives visited the spot in connection with his study of New England folklore some years ago.
The most dramatic spot in Hampden. Near this barway "Lieut. Merrick's only son" was bitten by a rattlesnake in 1761.
Byron Stebbins House. At the foot of Kellogg Hill, on the north side, and on the west side of Wilbraham Road was another old Stebbins house, which was torn down some years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Noah Granger Stebbins who lived here celebrated their golden wedding in 1883. A newspaper clipping telling of the anniversary stated that the house was then 130 years old. This would make the date of construction about 1753. Of course, like so many of the other old Hampden houses, the ell may have been the oldest part and the upright section added at a later date. While the house has been gone for about 40 years, we are pleased to be able to include a picture of it in this book through the courtesy of Herbert E. Stebbins of North Somers, Ct., who was born therein.
Old Byron Stebbins house built in 1753.
-
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Beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Ferguson, Jr.
Thomas W. Ferguson, Jr. This house was built in 1842 by a Mr. Works. Other owners have been: Joseph and James Pease (1854); Mr. Niles (1865); Mr. Pierce (1884); and Columbus Scofield. The latter deeded the property to Louis Laird in 1891. The Laird family owned it until 1941 when it was sold to Irwin H. Gifford who in turn deeded it to the present owner in 1946.
William Buereau. The first known owner of this property was the Hitchcock family (who also owned the present Attleton Farm) and in 1857 they sold to Pliny Cadwell. Other owners were: James L. Weeks, Warren Pitsinger, Burnhard Wieprecht, Myra Beebe, James Shaw, Charles Laird, Edward Evans, and Martha Henderson Younger. The present owner bought from Mrs. Younger in 1940. The early deeds carried the follow- ing clause: "with the buildings thereon except the west stable in the barn and the scaffold on it, the right to pass to and from said reservation at pleasure and a right to occupy a portion of the barn yard in common with the stable, said reservation belonging to the widow of the late Ithamar Hitchcock."
Clifford Attleton. From 1731 to 1895 (164 years) this property was owned by the Hitchcock family. In 1731 Samuel Terry who obtained the original grant sold the land to Luke Hitchcock, 3rd. Some time thereafter the latter must have built a house thereon since in 1742 he sold to John Hitchcock, Jr., and the deed reads "with buildings thereon." This house must have been one of the first erected in town and like the one referred to in the paragraph on the Isham Farms could have been here when Stephen Stebbins arrived in 1741.
Mrs. John Peterson of Mountain Road has loaned us a painting
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made in 1896 of the old Hitchcock house which used to stand opposite the present Ethelbert Dunsmoor residence. She is a granddaughter of Levi Hitchcock who was born in the house in 1819, the latter being a son of Ithamar Hitchcock. Upon examining the painting carefully we believe a portion of the house seems old enough to have been in existence before 1741. It appears from the position of the boards on the roof that the right hand section of the front part and the center chimney were erected first and the portion at the left of the front door and the other ells were added later. This was the method of erecting the Cape Cod style homes. The owner put on additional rooms as his family increased in size and he had sufficient time and money. This is probably the house in which a school was held in the early 1880's to take care of Wilbraham and Hampden children in the area. We have called this picture a distinct 'find" and Mrs. C. Kilbourne Bump has kindly re-drawn it for use in this book.
John Hitchcock was the first deacon of the old church on our Village Green, a lieutenant in the army and an athlete of distinction, having once run to Springfield faster than a horse could trot. After con- sulting the Hitchcock wills in the Northampton Registry of Probate
L Bum
The original Hitchcock House. The central section with the shingle lines going vertically could be one of the first two houses built in Hampden. Re-drawn by Mrs. C. K. Bump.
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Mrs. Attleton feels that part of their present home may have been standing in 1791.
The farm passed from John to Aaron, to Ithamar, to Walter, Walter, Jr., and the last Hitchcock to live on the place was Louise who was organist of the Wilbraham Congregational Church for many years. She moved away in 1895.
Levi Hitchcock, to whom reference was made above, was one of the most prominent developers of real estate in Springfield in the last half of the 19th century. One of his best known developments was in the present Jefferson Avenue section where he laid out streets and build- ing lots. He owned much property on Main Street at various times and at the time of his death owned the block south of the present Whitney Building on which spot his son-in-law, E. H. Hamblen, afterwards erected the present Hitchcock Building.
Among the owners of the Hampden property since 1895 are: Fred Belcher, Alvin Robbins, Lorinda Patch, the Robb family, Emma Granger, Harriet Begg, and the Raymond Hebert family, the latter having sold to the present owners in 1948.
The Springfield Daily News advertises the Allen House in 1878.
COUNTRY AIR, PURE MILK,
PLENTY OF GOOD FOOD, WELL COOKED.
THE ALLEN HOUSE, Hampden, Mass.,
(Formerly South Wilbraham,) 8 miles
from Springfield. 4 miles by stage (twice daily) from East Longmeadow, is now open for Sum- mer boarders and transient guests. The loca tion, close to Scantic river, is one of the most delightful; the drives and views are unsur- passed, the rooms are large, clean and com- fortable, affording a desirable and healthful Summer Home for Families and Tourists at very satisfactory prices. Inquiries by mail promptly answered.
H. H. ALLEN, Proprietor.
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EAST LONGMEADOW ROAD
William R. Palmer. The west part of this house comprises the old West Side (McCray Corner) School. It formerly stood opposite the Old Allen House where the Royal Johnston family now live in the school- house built in 1918. The original building was erected in 1795 by Eldad Stebbins, son of Stephen Stebbins. In 1865 when a two room schoolhouse was needed the old one was bought by James and Mary Twohig for $250 for use as a residence. The fences were carefully taken down and the
INTY
The main part of the house owned by Mr. and Mrs. William Palmer was formerly the West Side School built in 1795. Note the high position of the school room windows on the side.
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house moved across the lots to the present location. The windows in the front were lowered but those on the west side remain in the same position as when the school was built, high enough to prevent a lazy boy from day-dreaming by looking out the window. The late William J. Sessions was probably the last one in town to have attended this old school. The house afterwards passed to Mrs. Nora Delehanty, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Twohig, and later to her son, John Delehanty. The latter sold to E. N. Christianson and the present owners bought the property from him in 1953.
Fred C. Samble - The Old Stone House. This house was built of East Longmeadow sandstone some time previous to 1839, probably by the Rev. Spencer Alden, a retired Baptist minister. The original construction was a dry stone wall and the wide window ledges show the thickness of the walls. The varying distance of each window from the ceiling is caused by the irregularity of stone construction. The handhewn beams in the cellar and handsplit laths show the patient handiwork of the builders. For added warmth, stucco has been applied to the outside, but the kitchen, still paneled nearly halfway to the ceiling, contains the original boards, varying in width from 12 to 18 inches. The doors all have their original latches.
In 1863 Rev. Spencer Alden deeded the property to J. Murphy and the Murphy family owned it until 1907 when it was purchased by Fred C. Samble, Sr. In its long history only three families have lived in this house.
Gideon Monette and Stanley Herring. In the 1840's John Speight came from County Claire, Ireland, and bought this land from the Root family and built a house on the Monette site which burned in 1866. Miss Rose Speight of Cambridge, a former teacher of the West Side School, who was born on this farm, has recently written us an interesting incident in connection with the fire:
"I recall the story that Grandmother told of the diphtheria epi- demic which took so many children from Hampden families. Grand- mother lost twins, aged about nine. She sent her other children away to escape the disease, but when they returned another caught the illness and died. Shortly thereafter the house burned and Grandma said as she stood watching the flames, 'I'm glad to see it go - maybe now we'll get rid of the diphtheria.' And they did."
Thomas Speight, son of John, then built the Herring house, erecting it as far as possible from the contaminated site. John R. West, who built so many of the Hampden houses was the carpenter. Mr. and
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Mrs. F. E. Woodward (the latter being a Speight girl) lived here with their daughter Mabel in the early 1900's and this family sold to present owners.
About 1870, Edmond Speight, another son of John built the Monette house. His son Francis sold to Abraham Weiner in 1917. The Joseph Mottle family were later owners, who sold to Mr. Monette in 1935.
While the Speight family have long since moved away, the gra- cious letter from Miss Rose Speight, referred to above, reveals that they still consider Hampden as "home" and are greatly interested in this book.
ALLEN STREET originally called Springfield Road
Mrs. Anton Woska. In 1817 John McCray lived on this spot, while in 1855 E. Alden evidently owned the property. In 1878 Justin Pease lived here. For the next thirty years the place was owned by Mr. and Mrs. James Brew and Mrs. Brew's son, John Casey. A descendant, Mrs. Charles Reed of East Longmeadow, has loaned us a picture of the house as it looked in the days of the Casey family and it was an unusually fine looking residence with an attractive fence in front. Many old-timers still call this Casey's Corner. In 1908 Mr. Casey sold the property to William Hoffmayer. Mr. Woska bought the farm about 1920 from a Ludwig family.
Hampden historians tell us that a carriage shed which used to stand on the site of the Hampden House when Mr. Casey lived here was the building in which the first religious services in the undivided town of Wilbraham were held on Wigwam Hill. Wilbraham historians, how- ever, believe that the church building was converted into a barn, which used to stand east of the present Wilbraham Congregational Church.
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Mrs. Anton Woska's home at the turn of the century when the Brew and John Casey families lived here.
Byron Russell. One of three Griswold brothers was an early owner. In 1855 J. Bodurtha lived here, while later Henry Dickinson, grandfather of Warren and Earle Dickinson, owned the place. In the early 1900's Mr. Stebbins, who afterward bought the Barry Mink Farm, was the owner and deeded the property to Mrs. Mary Ryder, mother of Harold W. Ryder. The latter sold to Mr. and Mrs. Burt T. Rogers, parents of James B. Rogers, in 1915 and the Rogers family owned the farm until 1944 when they sold to Charles Spear. The Russell family bought the house in 1950.
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