USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden > Early Hampden, Mass., its settlers and the homes they built; > Part 5
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In 1782 Ezekiel Russell, Sr., deeded the south portion of his farm to Ezekiel Russell, Jr. The next owner was the latter's son, Benjamin Hills Russell. The noted minister, Rev. Ezekiel Russell, D.D., son of Benjamin, was born in the old house in 1805. Dr. Russell was pastor for ten years of the old twin-steepled wooden Congregational Church which used to stand where the High School of Commerce is now located on State Street in Springfield. He later founded the Congregational Church in Holbrook, Mass., which celebrated its centennial in 1956, and preached in that town for 22 years. One of his daughters, Caroline, married Charles Coffin of Lynn, Mass., founder and first president of the General Electric Company. Another daughter married a man by the name of Holbrook, for whose family the town was named. Mrs. Russell was a relative of the famous Storrs family of Longmeadow who gave our country several leading Congregational divines and who donated the money for the Richard Salter Storrs Library in Longmeadow. Both Dr. and Mrs. Russell are buried in that town with the Storrs family.
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Upon the death of Benjamin Russell his son, Horace M. Russell, bought the farm from the other heirs and owned it until 1862 when he sold it to John S. Beebe. The south part of the farm thus passed out of the Russell family after they had owned it over 100 years. Later owners were Simon S. Hunt, Horace M. Sessions, Abner C. Burleigh, Charles H. Burleigh and Frederic M. Jones, Mr. Neff's father-in-law, who bought in 1924.
The old Russell Road, named after the Russell family, started in front of the present Wessman house and went northeast out through the lot past the Russell house, then turned east over Big Brook and came down past the old William J. Sessions house to Glendale Road opposite the former Richard Joyce house. Another branch of the Russell Road must have gone north from the Russell house and come out on present North Road near the Beaumier house. Many of the old deeds refer to the Russell Road.
Mrs. Helen (Flynn) Enslin. This property was part of the north por- tion of the old Russell Farm, which has been covered in the previous paragraphs. In the early days a log house with a large cellar, which was built by the Russell family, used to stand directly opposite the Flynn- Enslin residence. Perhaps Ezekiel Russell, Sr., erected it when he came to town in 1759 and lived therein while building the homestead down on the Russell Road.
In 1792 Ezekiel Russell, Sr., sold the major portion of the present Flynn-Enslin farm to his son, Robert Russell. There is a brick in the chimney of the present house bearing the date of 1799, which would lead
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The former Russell-Wright house makes a comfortable home for Mr. and Mrs. William Enslin. Mrs. Enslin's father, aunt, and grandparents (the latter the Daniel Flynn's), are posing for the photographer.
one to believe that this is the year Robert Russell built it. His daughter Hepzibah married Solomon Wright and in 1832 Mr. Russell deeded the farm to Mr. and Mrs. Wright, the latter couple agreeing to take care of the father and mother for the rest of their lives.
Solomon and Hepzibah Wright evidently moved to Wilbraham in 1839, together with their son Robert Rand Wright who was born here in 1811. The latter was a merchant in Wilbraham for 35 years and a trustee of Wilbraham Academy for 60 years. He was one of that town's most respected citizens and there is a full page photograph of him in Peck's History of Wilbraham, an honor accorded to a very few. Robert Russell Wright, son of Robert Rand Wright was mayor of Denver, Colo., for a number of years.
After the Wright family left town, the farm passed into the hands of the Beebe family and in 1865 we find Albert S. Beebe paid a tax thereon. Daniel Flynn, grandfather of Mrs. Enslin, bought the farm from Mary J. Beebe, widow of Albert S. Beebe, in 1873. After the death of Daniel Flynn the farm was owned by his son, John J. Flynn, until the latter died some years ago.
This scenically located gambrel roofed house with cavernous fireplace and bake oven is one of the best examples of an unspoiled colo- nial house in our town.
Theodore Ballard. The first transfer found for this property was in 1817 when Enoch Crocker bought the acre of land from Mrs. Mary Merrick, who inherited it from her father. Her maiden name is un- known and it is, therefore, impossible to trace the property back any
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further. However, it is assumed that the house stood on the lot in 1817 in view of its early American construction. Enoch Crocker sold to Robert Russell and in 1830 Mr. Russell sold to Robert Sessions, Jr., for $400. In 1836 Mr. Sessions deeded the house to Gersham Crocker, who in turn sold to Reuben H. Chaffee in 1841. Other early owners were Sullivan Stanton (1854), Electa E. Graves, Louisa A. Reed, Prentice B. Moore and Dr. A. A. Starbuck. Recent owners have been Theophilus Strahan and Harry Prosl. While the outside of the house has been made to resemble a Swiss chalet, the inside retains most of its old features, including pegged beams, wide boards, large crude fireplace, bake oven, and the hooks in the ceiling in front of the fireplace.
George A. Beaumier. Daniel Foskit lived here in 1854 and conducted a grist mill on the brook behind the house where Solomon Wright, to whom reference has been made in the paragraph on the Flynn-Enslin house, had conducted one many years before. Miner Hitchcock came to town in 1858 and bought the property. Edward N. Hitchcock, his son, a Civil War veteran, was a later owner. Since the house is not too old it is assumed that the Hitchcock family built it.
Robert Sazama - Mt. Vision Farm. The original owner of the land on which this house was built was Increase Sikes, whose widow sold to James Thwing in 1751. Later owners were Samuel Meacham (1755), and Joseph Jones (1765), who built a house here. The latter sold to Mathew Cone, brother of Ichabod Cone, in 1775. A later Matthew Cone fought in the War in 1812 and drew a pension for his services. This particular gentleman was a "drover" and for years bought cattle and hogs in the West and sold them in the Brighton and Boston markets. We believe the present house was built by the Cone family who owned the property until 1863 when Carson K. Cone sold to Allen Seaver. The Seaver family lived here until 1900 when they deeded the farm to Dr. Henry Warner. Both he and his father were physicians in Hampden.
Carl Warner, son of Dr. Henry Warner, was probably the first person in town to buy an automobile and drive it home. The car was one of the earliest types made and had wagon wheels. Pupils at the Old School on the Hill remember the day that he drove it into town and the several trials he made before finally negotiating the hill near the house now owned by Marcus Gottsche, Sr.
In 1909, upon the death of the doctor, his widow sold to W. J. Mckay, vice president of the Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance Co., who in turn deeded the property to Emerson Gaylord in 1919. The latter sold to the Sazama family in 1938.
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Allen Seaver in front of the home by Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Sazama.
- the home of Abner C. Burleigh, who may be seen with d some of the "hired help." The house burned in 1915.
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The mountain directly west of the Sazama house is known as Mt. Vision and there is a quaint tale as to the derivation of its name. One of the old men who used to live on this property was accustomed to climb to the top of the mountain daily, each time carrying a single stone, with which in time he built a crude altar. It was his habit to spend considerable time at his altar in mediation and he was said to have had visions of some kind. Some times these visions would appear in a few minutes, while other times he would stay on the mountain all day before anything miraculous happened. The pile of stones may still be seen today. The old man was probably one of the Cones, as an 1870 map of Hampden County calls the mountain Mt. Vision and this farm has carried the same name for many years.
Mt. Vision was a "lookout" on an old Indian trail and some stones imbedded in the ground on the mountain bear identification marks placed there by Indians. This was part of the "high" trail which followed Ridge Road along the top of Wilbraham Mountain. The Indian "low" trial followed Big Brook which crosses Main Street near the Kirk residence.
E. Norton Davis - Sunnyside Farm. Rowland Crocker, who after- wards answered the call to Lexington, bought this lot "with a house thereon" from Abel King in 1774. We do not know whether it is the present house where Mr. and Mrs. Davis now live. Enoch Crocker and Ichabod Cone were the first known owners of the present Davis home. Enoch was one of Wilbraham's selectman in 1823 and this property was called the Capt. Crocker Farm in some of the old records. Ichabod Cone kept the "town's poor" in 1830.
Abner C. Burleigh bought the farm in 1844. The house where the Davis family now resides used to be located across the road and Mr. Burleigh moved it to its present location and lived therein until 1855, when he built the fine large farmhouse called "Sunnyside" on the site of the present packing house. This home burned in 1915.
Mr. Burleigh set out one of the largest apple and peach orchards in the town and was one of the few men to import foreign labor to work on his property. His son, Lucius Burleigh, operated the farm during the late 1800's and early 1900's, and upon his death it was sold to Herbert L. Handy of Springfield and the late Amos A. Merrill. Later Mr. Davis joined Mr. Merrill, owning as partners the business built up by Mrs. Davis' great-uncle, Abner Burleigh. The Davis family have lived here since 1932 and are now the sole owners.
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MOUNTAIN ROAD
Our ancestors went up this road every Sunday morning by ox-cart and horseback en route to the Wilbraham Congregational Church on Wig- wam Hill, Wilbraham Mountain. It was necessary that they do this for over 40 years (1741-1783) since our mother town would not let us have preaching here.
The lower part of this road (up to and including the present Peterson house) was a part of Lot #81 assigned to Col. Pynchon, to which reference was made in the portion on Wilbraham Road. In 1746 Aaron Stebbins, 2nd, bought the western half of the lot from the Pynchon family and it remained in his possession until his death. An agreement was signed in 1790 dividing the land among his heirs.
Miss Edith Ransom. A very old house used to stand here in which William Crocker lived at one time. Mr. Carl Nordman built the present house of lumber from the ell of the present Melville house.
James J. Morgan. After the death of Aaron Stebbins the 2nd this property passed to William Warriner and his wife Lois, who was Mr. Stebbins' daughter. When they sold to Gideon Burt in 1793 there was a house here and the architecture of the Morgan house would lead us to believe that it is the same one. Subsequent owners were: 1795-6 Gilbert Stebbins; 1796-1827 Steward Beebe and family; 1827 William Wood; 1827-72 James Stanton; 1872-4 Azariah Butler and Amelia Stimson. From 1874-1915 the property belonged to various members of the
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The cosy home of Mr. and Mrs. James J. Morgan includes a beautiful view of Mt. Minnechaug and the surrounding hills.
Richard Beebe family and Miss Elizabeth Beebe lived in the house and is remembered by the older residents of the town. Later owners of this property have been C. H. Burleigh, Messrs. Elliott and Balcom, A. U. Premont and Dr. William Goodell, who sold to the present owners in 1937. James Stanton, who lived here during the Civil War, was prominent in the Underground Railroad Movement and this place was known to be a definite "station" Still posted on the inside of an upstairs closet door is a page from an 1840 "Anti-Slavery Almanac" luridly depicting an overseer brandishing his whip, and a negro hanging.
This Cape Cod type house has remained practically unchanged throughout the years and still retains its old hardware, iridescent window panes, and hand adzed wainscotting.
Edward H. Peterson. In 1788 the Aaron Stebbins family sold this property to Ephraim Chapin. A portion of the present house may have been built by the Stebbins family or by Mr. Chapin, who in turn sold to Zenas Cone in 1798. In 1817 the property passed to his son, Orin Cone. The Cone family made additions to the residence, including the Greek Revival Porch. This old house with its center chimney and four fireplaces has been beautifully restored, preserving the wide floor boards and lovely old paneling.
In 1838 David R. McCray came to work for the Cone family as a boy and in 1875 acquired the farm, which afterwards passed to his son David Lincoln McCray. The latter's son, William D. McCray, had one of the last yokes of oxen in the town. In Peck's History of Wilbraham may be seen a picture of Mr. McCray and his oxen at the historical parade in that town in 1913. It was in the cleaning of the attic of this house as a bride that Mrs. D. L. McCray found many old newspapers which contained many Hampden items. This started her hobby of pasting in scrapbooks all of the Hampden news in the Springfield newspapers.
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She kept this up for many years and the work is still being carried on by this writer.
In 1920 the property passed to Frederick W. Fuller who made extensive alterations and in 1938 he sold it to August Enslin. Subsequent owners have been Raymond Perreault, William Deems, and Kenneth Abbey. The latter sold to the present owners in 1950.
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The cheerful Edward Peterson home combines early American charm with present day comforts.
The old Crocker house which stood on the Ernest Woods' site. Clear sparkling water may be drawn today from Lydia Crocker's well.
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Ernest Woods. Enoch Crocker built a house on this spot some time after 1795 where the Crocker family lived for many years. In 1773 Samuel Beebe and his family had moved from Haddam, Conn., and built a home west of Mountain Road on property now owned by George Ingle, near an apple orchard which used to be owned by H. H. Thresher. The next generation of Beebes deserted it for the present Melville house, and at least one run-away slave was in later years hidden in his grandfather's house by Samuel Beebe.
As the years went by the old Crocker house became in poor con- dition and was torn down by D. Lincoln McCray, a later owner, about 1890. Mr. McCray then moved the Beebe house referred to in the above paragraph to the old Crocker cellar hole, and it is in this house that Mr. and Mrs. Woods now live. Byron Stebbins, who used to live on Wilbraham Road, in the old Granger Stebbins House, was in charge of the moving. The present owners bought the property in 1941 from August Enslin. We have a photograph of the old Crocker house taken some years before it was demolished.
SCANTIC ROAD
Prospect Hill Cemetery and St. Mary's Roman Catholic Ceme- tery. This entire tract of land was given to the town in 1876 by Mrs. Lucetta (Chaffee) Howlett, widow of Ebenezer Howlett. We think a sign should be erected at the main gate to Prospect Hill Cemetery giving its name and the name of the donor. Next to Miss Elizabeth Sessions, Mrs. Howlett was Hampden's greatest benefactor. She gave not only the cemetery land but the bell in the Federated Community Church steeple. She also left the Methodist Church a considerable sum of money in her will. She gave the cemetery land with the provision that no one was ever to be charged for a burial lot.
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In 1881 a portion of the cemetery was deeded to Rev. P. T. O'Reilly, Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, which has since been known as St. Mary's Cemetery. Yet unborn Catholics and Protestants will benefit from Mrs. Howlett's generosity.
The donor and her Chaffee relatives are buried in the northeast corner, her private plot having granite boundary markers on the west side.
The first burial after the cemetery was given to the town was that of Charles Griswold in 1876, who used to live where Carl Hatch now resides. However, monuments dating back to 1836 on some of the Vinica, Crocker, and Whitaker lots on the lower level lead one to believe that these families must have purchased lots from Mrs. Howlett or her ances- tors long before it was given to the town, in the same way the older residents used to buy lots in the Old Cemetery directly from Dr. and Mrs. George T. Ballard.
Carl Hatch. In 1855 Theodore Griswold lived here. Other owners have been the Prentiss family, Francis Edmunds, a Civil War veteran, Fred E. Keyes, Dr. Charles J. Allen, a Springfield dentist and George Ferguson. The latter sold to the present owner.
William Conry. The little house behind the Fairbanks residence was the home of Mrs. Lucetta Howlett, referred to above, and the cemeteries came from her farm. She was born on October 14, 1805 in this house which used to stand where the Fairbanks house was afterwards erected. It was owned by her father, Simeon Chaffee, Jr., and probably goes back to Simeon Chaffee, Sr., and to the latter's father, John Chaffee, of whom we will learn more in the paragraph on the Robert Pease place.
John Gordon, sexton of the local cemeteries, owned the property in the early 1900's. His son James moved it back to its present location and on the original site erected the Fairbanks house. John Gordon con- tinued to live in the old Chaffee-Howlett house until he died. Afterwards it passed through the hands of Nelson M. Carew and Mrs. Helen Combs to the Conry's in 1954.
The Lucetta (Chaffee) Howlett house, now owned by Mr. and Mrs. William Conry.
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Mrs. Robert Pease. Mrs. Pease has some priceless original deeds for her farm which has been in the possession of the family from pre-Revolu- tionary days. The first known owner of the land was John Chaffee, brother of Joseph Chaffee, who was an early owner of property on Upper Chapin Road. In 1764 John Chaffee bought three tracts of land from Benjamin Skinner and probably this farm was included therein. In 1769 he gave to his son-in-law, Phineas Stebbins "in consideration of that love and goodwill which I do bear to my son-in-law" certain lots of land including this farm. Mrs. Pease has the original deed covering this transfer. It is headed "County of Hampshire, Province of Massachusetts Bay" and was written in the "ninth year of Reign of our Loving Lord George III, King of England" Other deeds in her possession cover the transfer of the prop- erty to Walter Stebbins in 1807, and from the latter to Horace Pease, grandfather of the late Robert Pease in 1843.
The original house, evidently erected by Phineas Stebbins, stood in its last days at the corner of Scantic and South Monson Roads, just west of Mrs. Pease's residence, having been moved from the south side of Scantic Road. Robert S. Pease built the present house and tore down the old one.
George Webber. The Chaffee families owned this farm for several generations and Simeon Chaffee, son of John, had a house on the property as early as 1776. In 1820 Emery Chaffee lived on this spot. Marcius Chaffee, a corporal in the Civil War, and father of Misses Mable, Jennie, and Herbert Chaffee and Mrs. Elmer Soper, lived here for many years. The present house was built 68 years ago, after the original one burned. Nelson M. Carew acquired it in 1920. The Webber's bought from Theodore B. Meyer in 1953.
Charles Reddish. One of the first houses in Hampden was evidently built on this farm. In 1753 Henry Chapin sold this portion of Lot # 112 to Benjamin Skinner "with buildings thereon" Since the Chapin family received the original grant of land some member must have erected the buildings to which reference was made. This is the same Chapin family who were the early owners of the farm on Somers Road which eventually passed to their descendant, the late George A. Chapin.
In 1764 Benjamin Skinner sold the present Reddish farm to John Chaffee and in 1769 the latter deeded it to Amos Chaffee, who in turn sold it to Simeon Chaffee in 1774. The next known owner was Orrin Goodwill. He may have bought the farm when he sold his house on Chapin Road in 1842 to Otis Chapin or he may have inherited it from
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his father Justin Goodwill. The latter was a teacher in the Scantic School in 1828.
Orrin Goodwill built the present house and tore down the original one which stood nearer the road. In 1883 the Goodwill heirs sold to Nelson M. Carew, veteran selectman, who lived here with his family for 41 years. Homer L. Hatch of Hatch's store was the next owner and the Reddish family bought the property in 1947 from Walter E. Robinson.
Percy Fuller. In 1765 David Perry bought part of the land which now comprises this farm from Paul Langdon. He must have built a house thereon before 1771 since we find in an assessor's list for that year for the town of Wilbraham he was taxed for a house in this section of the town. In 1774 he bought additional land from William Stacy. Records reveal that in 1785 he sold the farm to Jonathan Chappel and in 1792 Mr. Chappel in turn deeded it to Ebenezer Stacy and Edward Morris, the former receiving the barn and the latter the house. We do not find to whom they deeded their shares but perhaps either Nathaniel Pease or Nathan Pease was the buyer. We definitely know that John Ormsby was a later owner and that in 1854 he sold to Henry Bodurtha. Later owners were: George Walker (1867); and George Shaw (1894), and in 1905 Mrs. Jennie Shaw, wife of George Shaw deeded the property to Joseph and Ethel Ricard. In 1924 Mrs. Ricard sold the farm to the present owners.
We were unable to ascertain who built the present house but do not believe it was the one erected by Mr. Perry previous to 1771. It is interesting to note, however, that today there is a road between the house and the barn, as probably there was back in the days when Mr. Chappel sold the house to one person and the barn to another.
Donald Dickinson. The Button family may have been the early owners of this property. The first known owners, however, of the present house were the Kellogg family and it is assumed that they built it. Both Mathes V. Kellogg, who died in 1873 and his son Lyman, who died in 1883, kept the "town's poor" and this is the reason an 1855 map calls it an "asylum."
Ormel Davis was a later owner and he must have moved the house back to its present location since it used to be nearer Scantic Road. Erwin H. Temple bought the farm from Mr. Davis in 1886 and resided here for many years. He made extensive improvements, raised the roof, and installed one of the first bathrooms in Hampden. Walter E. Temple, son of Erwin, lived here after the death of his father. On the death of the latter the Temple heirs rented the farm, selling in 1955 to Donald Dickin- son whose family had lived here since 1942.
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Edwin Dunlea. Abner Badger and Amos Chaffee had grist mills on Temple Brook in pre-Revolutionary days. Amos, who lived near here in 1769 was a brother to Simeon and a son of John Chaffee. In 1778 he moved from town, selling his property to Simeon and Abner Badger.
In 1885 several families by the name of Bemis lived in the immediate vicinity. Isaac Bemis appears to have owned this house and another one directly across the road. Mrs. Walter Temple tells us that the cellarhole for the latter house is still in existence.
About 1870 the manufacture of paper was carried on in what is now the barn on this property. John Warren who lived where Mrs. Ernest Howlett now resides operated the mill for a number of years.
Other residents in the house have been E. S. Brewer and Homer Pease, father of Raymond Pease. Erwin H. Temple was a later owner and his son Walter Temple lived here for some years. The Temple heirs still own the property.
Carroll Willey. This building is the old Scantic school which was built by David Burt in 1796. Homer L. Hatch loaned us some old assessor's papers which showed all the people assessed to support District No. 5 school in 1853. This gives a good idea of the families in the Scantic Section one hundred years ago. Each district supported its own school. After the building ceased to be used for school purposes, it was bought by Walter E. Temple in 1934 and Mrs. Temple now owns it.
Raymond Pease. In 1858 Amariah Bemis sold the property to Uriah Van Horn, who in turn sold to William Johnson in 1860. Mr. Johnson, who married a daughter of Norman Chaffee of the Wesson Farms, sold to William D. Howlett in 1869. The heirs of the latter deeded the farm to the Pease family in 1904.
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A colonial diagonal post and board fence encloses Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Pease's cottage.
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Mrs. Henry Atherton (old house). The earliest known owner of this house was Harvey Pease. In 1885 it was owned by his son Morris Pease. It afterwards passed to the latter's son Nelson Pease who lived here alone for many years after the death of his mother. Nelson M. Carew was a later owner and he sold the property to Mrs. Atherton.
BURT'S MILLS
Wesson or Atherton-Rockwell Farms. The first known owner of the land in this section was Joseph Chaffee, to whom reference was made in the section on Chapin Road. He was a brother of John who owned considerable property on Scantic Road. As we have learned previously, Joseph bought, during the years 1751-56, 500 acres of land extending from the top of Bald Mountain to the Monson line.
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