Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 44

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972

USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885 > Part 44

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

361

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

As early as 1799 the school on Elm street, taught in a two-story building, was graded, that is, the younger people were taught on the lower floor, while the more advanced scholars were formed into a higher school, occupying the upper floor. In 1828 this higher department was incorporated as the Stock- bridge Academy, Rev. Jared Curtis acting as the first principal. In 1842, this name was changed to the Williams Academy, in honor of Cyrus Williams, he having bequeathed $3,000.00 to the institution, and also remembered it in other substantial ways. In the meantime, in 1833, another building had been erected, which forms a part of the present high school building. When the district system was abolished, in 1866, the trustees of the academy made arrangements with the town, whereby the institution's funds, etc., should be turned over for the benefit of the new system, and the academy thencefor- ward be conducted at the expense of the town. Since that time, also, it has borne the title of Williams Academy and Stockbridge High School.

Libraries .- As early as 1790 a public library was established, which was continued until 1822. In 1814 another library was established, at Curtisville, and, later still, another at the Plain, while kindred associations, such as a lending society, reading clubs, etc., were from time to time established. But the foundation of the present fine library was laid in 1862, when, in March, Nathan Jackson, of New York, who received his education in Stockbridge, donated $2,000.00 towards the establishment of a permanent library, under stipulation that the town add $1,000.00 to the sum and also build a library building. Mrs. Francis Dwight donated a site for the building, and early in 1863 Hon. John Z. Goodrich agreed to donate the necessary funds for the building. In June, work on the structure was begun and pushed forward until its completion, in 1864, at a cost of about $5,000.00 and in July of that year the library was opened, with 3,600 volumes, which number has since been increased to 6,000.

Cemeteries -Previous to the establishment of the Indian mission here the burial place of the Indians was on a bluff in the rear of the present residence of Col. J. F. Dwight. After the church was built here a portion of the square around it was set apart as a burial place for the Indians and whites in common. This plot has been added to from time to time until it has at- tained its present fine proportions. The fine fence and hedge that surrounds it were placed there in 1854. In 1834 a cemetery was set asides at Curtis- ville ; but the ground proved unfit for purposes of this kind, so in 1874 the bodies were exumed and removed to the Plain. There are now, aside from the one mentioned, a small enclosure in the northern part of the town, and a Roman Catholic burial place, on the west meadows.

Hotels .- It is said that the house now owned by J. H. Gourley was for- merly used as a hotel, the first opened in the town, with Capt. William Good- rich as landlord. The old Stockbridge House, just opposite, however, has a just and honorable claim as a venerable hostelry, being to-day the only pub- lic house in the town. Its first proprietor was widow Bingham, and the place

362

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

was opened certainly before the Shays Rebellion. It has been repaired, im- proved and enlarged at different times, however, so that it is now a quiet, pleasant, home-like hotel, well presided over by its genial and hospitable pro- prietor, Mr. C. H. Plumb.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

Tradition places the first known advent of a white man into this territory in August, 1665, being a war party under command of Maj. Talcot, the story of which, or one story at least, is as follows :-

"A great party of Indians, judged to be about two hundred, were observed to pass by Westfield. News thereof being brought to Major Talcot, he, with the soldiers of the Connecticut colony under his command, both Eng- lish and Indians, pursued after them as far as Ausotunnoog [Housatonic] river, in the middle way betwixt Westfield and the Dutch river and Fort Al- bany, where he overtook them, and fought with them ; killing and taking prisoners forty-five, whereof twenty-five were fighting men, without the loss of any one of his own company, besides a Mohegin Indian. Many of the rest were sorely wounded, as appeared by the dabbling of the bushes with blood, as was observed by them that followed them a little further." * * * It is written since from Albany that there were sundry lost besides the forty- five forementioned, to the number of three-score in all; and also a hundred and twenty of them are now dead of sickness.

In 1784, while excavating for the foundation of a new church edifice, un- der the pastorate of Rev. Dr. West, a quantity of bones were unearthed, from which circumstance and for some other items of circumstantial evidence, this spot was located as the site of the battle. This can be but mere conjecture, however, and other localities claim the same distinction, based on as plausi- ble evidences.

The story of the interesting tribe of Indians who inhabited this locality has already been told, on page 67. Prior to the advent of the missionary, Ser- geant, a single white man, a Dutchman, made his temporary home here, as an Indian trader. The Indians moved into their new town in 1736, with Rev. John Sergeant and his assistant, Timothy Woodbridge, as school-mas- ter. Here they were gradually increased by additions from Northern Connecticut and Western New York, so as to amount to about 400 souls. By agreement, one sixtieth part of the land of the township was set apart for the support of Mr. Sergeant, and the same amount for Mr. Woodbridge. Four other white families were also to be " accommodated with such part as they should see fit," a provision intended as a means for affording society for the missionary, and also to introduce practical models of civilization to the In- dians. Of the four families for whom this provision was made, two arrived in June, 1737, viz. : that of Col. Ephraim Williams, from Newtown, father of the founder of Williams college, and Josiah Jones, from Weston. At a little later period came Ephraim Brown, from Spencer, and Joseph Woodbridge, brother of the teacher, from West Springfield. Dea. Samuel Brown, brother of Ephraim, joined the party soon after. In 1749, the year Mr. Sergeant's

363

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

death occurred, the number of families had increased to twelve, comprising, besides those already mentioned, that of John Chamberlain, from Spencer ; David Pixley, from Westfield ; John Willard, from Canaan, Conn. ; and John Taylor and Jacob Cooper, from West Springfield. Of the white inhabitants, the Williamses, the Joneses, in his earlier residence Mr. Woodbridge, and, in his last year, Mr. Sergeant, lived upon the hill north of the village. But the next comers located inostly on the Plain, or not far out. The Indian dwell- ings were scattered-some on the Plain, others on the meadows near the river, and a few about Millbrook. The first white child born in the town was Elijah, son of Josiah Jones, in 1742.

The first town meeting was held July 11, 1739, when the town govern- ment was duly organized by electing the following board of officers : Ephraim Williams, moderator ; Timothy Woodbridge, town clerk ; Captain John Konkapot and Aaron Umpackenee, selectmen ; and Josiah Jones, constable. From this time forward the population gradually increased and the mission flourished, the Indians taking a prominent part in the municipal government, even from the first. Among the early settlers, recapitulating some already mentioned, down to about the middle of the century, were John Willard, from Connecticut ; David Pixley, Stephen Nash, and Matthew Cadwell from Westfield ; John Taylor and Jacob Cooper, from West Springfield ; Eli- sha Parsons, from Northamton ; and Lawrence Lynch and General Joseph Dwight, from Brookfield. Among those coming still latter may be mentioned Hon. John Bacon, from Boston ; Hon. Theodore Dwight, from Northamton ; Hon. Theodore Sedgwick, from Connecticut; Elisha Bradley, and three brothers, Abel, Isaac and Elnathan Curtis, from Connecticut, each of whom had a farnily of more than twelve children. Asi defrom these, previous to the Revo- lution, we find the names of Ball, Hamilton, Caldwell and Lynch, among the residents of the western portion ; Curtis, Churchill and Whelpley in the north- ern ; and Bradley and Williams in East street.

We will now return to give a brief sketch of the mission. Rev. John Ser- geant was a native of Newark, N. J., a graduate of Yale college in 1729, and tutor there for four years from 1733. He first arrived at the scene of his la- bors, at Great Barrington, as has been stated, in 1734; but that visit was only preliminary to his permanent settlement, which took place after the completion of his fourth year's tutorship, in 1745. He was ordained to work at Deerfield, August 31st of the same year, and very soon thereafter assumed the labors of the mission, with his assistant, as teacher, Timothy Woodbridge. In January, 1737, the legislature ordered that a meeting-house, 40x30 feet, together with a school-house, should be erected for the mission, at the expense of the Province, and Col. Stoddard, Rev. Mr. Sergeant and Mr. Woodbridge were appointed to see that the work was executed. There was some delay attending this enterprise, probably on account of the scarcity of materials, for the meeting-house was not dedicated until Thanksgiving day, November 29, I739. It stood a few rods northeast of the present house of worship.

364

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

Mr. Sergeant died July 27, 1749, aged thirty-nine years, and was succeeded by President Jonathan Edwards, who came here from Northamton, and was installed over the United church of the whites and Indians, August 8, 1751. He was dismissed to accept the presidency of Nassau Hall, at Princton, N. J., January 4, 1758, and died of small-pox in March of the same year, aged fifty- four years. President Edwards was succeeded by Rev. (afterwards Rev. Dr.) Stephen West, of Tolland, Conn., who was graduated at Yale in 1755. He was licensed to preach about the beginning of 1758, and first performed duty as chaplain at Fort Massachusetts, in Adams. Thence he went to Stock bridge, was ordained there, June 13, 1759. Until 1775, he preached to both whites and Indians, to the latter, through an interpreter, in the forenoon, and to the latter the afternoon, of each Sabbath. In 1775 he relinquished the in- struction of the Indians to Mr. John Sergeant, son of the missionary, who removed with them to New Stockbridge, where he died, September 8, 1824, aged seventy-seven years. Dr. West continued his ministrations until 1819, when he died, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. In 1810, in consequence of his growing infirmities, Rev. Ephraim G. Swift, of Williamstown, a gradu- ate of Williams college, was associated with him as colleague. He was dis- missed in 1818. On the 25th of August, 1819, Rev. D. D. Field, of East Guilford, Conn., a graduate of Yale in 1802, and first settled in Haddam, Conn., was installed as minister. Dr. Field continued to officiate until his dismission, February 12, 1837. Since that time the pastors, in succession, have been, Tertius S. Clark, D. D., 1837-50 ; Alfred H. Dashielle, 1850-60; Rev. N. H. Eggleston, 1860-69; Rev. E. C. Hooper, 1870-73 ; Rev. J. C. Bodwell, 1874-77 ; and Rev. F. B. Perkins, up to the present time.

In 1784, under the pastorate of Rev. Dr. West, a new house of worship. was erected, the old building proving too small for the growing flock. This stood about half a mile north of the town portion of the present Field Park. This structure did service until 1824, when the present building was erected.

Among those born in Stockbridge, aside from those already mentioned, who attained eminence, may be mentioned the following : Erastus Sergeant, M. D., a skillful surgeon, 1742-1814; Samuel Whelpley, an author and clergyman, 1766-1817 ; Ezekiel Bacon, 1776-1870, an author, and congress- man from 1807 to 1813; Catharine Maria Sedgwick, a well-known and pop- ular authoress, 1789-1867 ; Mark Hopkins, D. D., LL. D., an eminent divine, author, and late president of Williams college, 1802; William Pitt Palmer, a poet and journalist, 1805; John Seeley Hart, LL. D., an able scholar, editor and author, 1810; Cyrus West Field, projector of the Atlantic Tele- graph cable, 1819; Henry M. Field, D. D., an able editor, and author of a work called The Atlantic Cable, 1822.

The following is a list of the citizens of Stockbridge who have borne pro- fessional and official honors while residents here :-

365

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

Timothy Woodbridge, Ephraim Williams, Jahleel Woodbridge, Theodore Sedgwick, Thomas Williams, Henry D. Sedgwick, Charles Sedgwick, Samuel Jones, Augustus Sherrece, James Pepoon, Henry W. Dwight, Jr., George Whitney,

LAWYERS.

John Bacon, Henry W. Dwight, Barnabas Bidwell, Thomas Williams, 2d, John Hunt, Lawson D. Bidwell,

Horatio Byington, Theodore S. Pomeroy,

Jonathan E. Field, H. D. Dunham, J. R. French, Charles E. Evans.

PHYSICIANS.

Erastus Sergeant, Oliver Partridge, Richard Tidmarsh,

Horatio Jones, Royal Fowler, Alfred Perry, Vassel White, Lucius S. Adams,

Lewis Miller, Thomas Warner, William Green,

Charles McAllister, Charles McAllister, 2d,

George S. Knickerbocker,

F. J. Blodgett, N. E. Heath.

CLERKS OF COURTS.

Henry W. Dwight, 2d, John Woodbridge.

REGISTRARS OF PROBATE.

Edward Edwards, I George Whitney.

JUDGES OF COURTS.

Timothy Woodbridge, Jahleel Woodbrige, John Bacon,

Theodore Sedgwick, Ephraim Williams, Horatio Byington.

STATE SENATORS.

Jahleel Woodbridge, John Bacon, Theodore Sedgwick, Barnabes Bidwell,

William Williams, John Z. Goodrich, J. E. Field.

GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL.

Timothy Edwards, 1 Charles M. Owen.

CONGRESSMEN.

Theodore Sedgwick, John Bacon,

H. W. Dwight, Jr., John Z. Goodrich,

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. John Z. Goodrich.

UNITED STATES SENATOR. Theodore Sedgwick.

366

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

Rev. John Sergeant, of whom we have spoken so often, " was" says Rev. David Field in the History of Berkshire, in stature rather small, but pos- sessed a beautiful countenance and a good constitution. Few persons have been as greatly loved in life and lamented in death as this servant of God. His talents, natural and acquired, were superior, his temper sweet, his man- ners engaging, and his piety ardent and persevering. His labors with the Indians were exceedingly fruitful. During his ministry, from eight or ten fam- ilies they increased to more than fifty who had assumed a stable character in society, had twenty houses built after the English manner. Fifty or sixty who had become hopeful converts were admitted to full communion by him, some of whom died in faith before him, while forty-two survived him. He baptized 182 natives, adults and infants. Dying in 1749, as has been men- tioned, he left a widow, who subsequently became the wife of Brig .- Gen. Dwight, and three children, Electa, Erastus and John. Electa became the wife of Col. Mark Hopkins, of Great Barrington. Upon the stone that marks the last resting place of this good man is the following :-

" Here lies the body of the Rev. John Sergeant, who dy'd the 27th day of July, A. D. 1749, in the 46th year of his age.

" Where is that pleasing form I ask, thou cans't not show, He's not within false stone, there's naught but dust below ; And where's that pious soul that thinking conscious mind, Wilt thou pretend vain cypher that's with thee enshrined ? Alas, my friend's not here with thee that I can find, Here's not a Sergeant's body or a Sergeant's mind : I'll seek him hence, for all's alike deception here, I'll go to Heaven, and I shall find my Sergeant there."

Timothy Woodbridge, who proved such an efficient helper to Mr. Sergeant, was a son of Rev. John Woodbridge, of West Springfield, and was born Feb- ruary 11, 1709. He was one of the first justices of the court of common pleas, in 1761, and at his house was held the first meeting of this court. His dwelling was on the present site of the home of Samuel Goodrich, south of the river on the road to Great Barrington. He was ever high in the confi- dence of the Indians, and was the principal medium of communication be- tween them and the authorities at Boston, and was largely entrusted with the oversight of their property and persons. He was greatly interested in the civilization and conversion of the Indians and made a missionary journey to the Susquehanna in company with Rev. Gideon Hanley in 1753. He was a justice of the peace from 1736, represented the town in the legislature, was a member of the council in 1771, '72 and '73, being, with Gen. Dwight, the only one in Berkshire county to attain that distinction. He died here May II, 1774, leaving two sons, of whom one, Enoch, graduated from Yale in 1774, served in the army during nearly the whole period of the Revolution, and settled at Vergennes, Vt., where he was a prominent lawyer and judge, and had several daughters. He has descendants in the female line now resid- ing in the county.

367

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

Col. Ephraim Williams was greatly respected, and served for a time as judge of the court of common pleas in Hampshire county. He died at Deer- field. He was twice married, having by his first wife two children, Ephraim and Thomas, and by his second wife seven, Abigail, Josiah, Lizzie, Judith, Eliza- beth, Elijah, and Enoch. Ephraim was the founder of Williams college ; Thomas was a distinguished physician in Deerfield ; Abigail was first the wife of Rev. John Sergeant, and after his death, of Gen. Joseph Dwight ; Elizabeth was the first wife of Dr. West ; Judith was the wife of Rev. Enoch Thair, of Ware; and Elijah became the first sheriff of the county, and after a number of years' residence in West Stockbridge, finally came back to his native town, and died here June 9, 1815.

Jahleel Woodbridge, son of Joseph, was a graduate of Princeton, held many of the town offices, was repeatedly a member of both branches of the legis- lature, and was a judge of the court of common pleas and of probate. He died August 13, 1796.

Timothy Edwards, a son of President Edwards, graduated from Princeton in 1757, came to Stockbridge about 1770, and opened the first store here, in 1772. He was a member or the State council, and a judge of probate. He died in October, 1813, aged seventy-five years.

(I.) Robert Sedgwick, born in England about 1600, a friend of Cromwell and major-general in his army, emigrated to the United States in 1635, com- manded the Ancient and Honorable Artillery in Boston in 1641, 1645, and 1648, was sent with a fleet under his orders by Cromwell to Jamaica in 1654, was one of the commisioners for the government of Jamaica and died there May 24, 1656.

(2.) Theodore Sedgwick, an American statesman and jurist, descended from the preceding. He was born in Hartford, Conn., in May, 1746, died in . Boston, Mass., January 24, 1813. Educated at Yale college, he began practice as a lawyer in Berkshire county, Mass., at Sheffield, which he several times represented in the general court, served as aide to General Thomas in the expedition to Canada, settled in Stockbridge Mass., in 1785, and was in that year and the following, a member of the Continental congress. He took a distinguished part in putting down Shays Rebellion, in 1785 was a delegate to the State convention which ratified the Federal constitution, and was speaker of the Massachusetts house of representatives. From 1789 to 1796 he represented his district in congress, and from 1796 to 1799 was U. S. sen- ator from Massachusetts and acted as president of the senate during part of one session. In 1799 he again represented his State in congress, and was chosen speaker of the U. S. house of representatives. In 1802 he was ap- pointed to the supreme bench of Massachusetts where he remained till his death. He was a leading Federalist. In 1780 Elizabeth Freeman, a negro woman owned by Colonel Ashley, of Sheffield, having intercepted a blow with a heated shovel aimed by Mrs. Ashley at her sister, left the house declaring she would never return. A suit brought by her master to regain her was de-

368

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

fended by Judge Sedgwick, and she was adjudged free by the Massachusetts bill of rights shortly before adopted, which declared that "all men are born free and equal." This led to the extinction of slavery in Massachusetts.

(3.) Theodore Sedgwick, an American lawyer and philanthropist, eldest son of the preceding, born in Sheffield, Mass., December 31, 1780, died in Pittsfield, November 7, 1839, while delivering a political address. He was graduated at Yale in 1798; admitted to the bar in 1801, and practiced at Albany, N. Y., in partnership with Harmanns Bleecker, (afterwards United States minister to Holland,) till 182 1, when he retired to Stockbridge. He was twice president of the State Agricultural Society, repeatedly Democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor, and once for governor of his State ; several times a member of his State legislature, where, against a storm of opposition and ridicule he carried through a bill for the Western (afterwards the Boston & Albany) railroad, the construction of which encountered obstacles then unprecedented in railway engineering. He warmly espoused the causes of anti-slavery, free- trade, and temperance ; published Hints to my Countrymen, in 1826; and Public and Private Economy (3 vols. 12 mo) in 1836-39.

His wife, Susan Anne Livingston, a descendant of the martyr Redley and granddaughter of Governor William Livingston, published The Morals of Pleasure, 1829 ; Young Emigrants, 1830 ; Children's Week, 1830 ; Allen Prescott, 1835 ; Alida, 1844; and Walter Tromley, 1859.

(4.) Henry Dwight Sedgwick, an American lawyer, younger brother of the preceding, born in Sheffield, Mass., in 1785, was educated at Williams college, practiced law in New York city in partnership with his brother, Robert, died in Stockbridge, Mass., December 23, 1831. In 1822 he published a pamphlet on the common-law practice and pleadings, which suggested to David Dudley Field (at that time a student in the law office of the firm) the code of pro- cedure of which he was the principal author, and which was adopted by the State of New York, and afterwards in substance by more than half the States. Various pamphlets and papers were published by Mr. Sedgwick on politica] and religious topics, among which were the Reform of the New York City Charter, Abolition of Slavery, and Free Trade, on which subjects a series of articles from his pen appeared in the N. Y. Evening Post, and The Banner of the Constitution. Chiefly through his advocacy a free-trade convention was held in Philadelphia, September 30, 1831. He died by paralysis resulting from his exertions to procure the release of two frigates built in this country for the Greek government. These had been attached for exaggerated de- mands of creditors, and Mr. Sedgwick, after a fierce litigation, finally obtained the release of one of them in time to aid the Greeks in their successful strug- gle for independence.

(5.) Catharine Maria Sedgwick, an American authoress, daughter of Judge Theodore Sedgwick (2), born in Stockbridge, Mass., in 1789, died at West Roxbury, Mass., July 31, 1867. She was the first prominent American female writer of fiction, and the graceful freshness of her style and the love of

369

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

humanity which marked her writings made her widely popular and beloved. In 1822 she published the New England Tale ; in 1824 Redwood, which was re-published abroad and translated into French, Italian, German and Sweed- ish ; in 1825, The Traveller ; 1827, Hope Leslie or Early Times in America, perhaps her most original novel ; in 1830, Clarence, or a Tale of Our Own Times; also the same year a collection of tales selected from many published in the magazines ; and in 1835 The Linwoods, a story of the Revolution. Among her most popular writings was a series of books for young people, in- cluding The Poor Rich Man and Rich Poor Man, Live and Let Live, Means and Ends, Home and Love Tokens for Children (1836-39). She published also a Life of Lucretia Maria Davidson in Spenk's American Biography (1837) ; Letters From Abroad to Kindred at Home (1841); Carlton Harvey and Other Tales (1845) ; Married or Single ? (1857). A life of Miss Sedg- wick, edited by Miss Mary E. Dewey, was published in New York in 1871.

(6.) Theodore Sedgwick, an American lawyer and author, son of Theodore Sedgwick (2d), born in Albany, N. Y., January 7, 1811, died in Stockbridge, Mass., December 9, 1859. He was graduated at Columbia college in 1829, and admited to the New York bar in May, 1833. In this year he pub- lished a life of William Livingston. The next fifteen months he passed abroad as an attache of Edward Livingston, U. S. minister to France. On his return he practiced law in New York with marked success, and ın Jan- uary, 1858. was appointed U. S. district attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 1840 he edited the political writings of William Leggett. In 1847 he published a Treatise on the Measure of Damages which was sub- sequently much enlarged and became a standard work. It has gone through seven editions, the fourth and sixth of which were edited by F. D. Sedgwick, son of 4th (1868 and 1874). The fifth by Arthur G. Sedgwick, son of the subject of this notice (1869), and the seventh by Arthur G. Sedgwick and G. W. Van Nest (1880). In 1857 he published a Treatise on the Rules which govern the Interpretation and Application of Statutory and Constitutional Law, a subsequent edition of which, edited by J. Norton Pomeroy, was published in 1874.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 44

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office Number of Pages: 972

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972