USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Gazetteer of Hampshire County, Mass., 1654-1887 > Part 13
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The Revolution .- The ravages of war have never disturbed the peace of the fields of Amherst, but the town has never lacked for patriotic sons, will- ing " to do, to dare, to die " in defense of their homes and their country. Two French and Indian wars raged after the settlement of Amherst, the first from 1744 to 1748, the second from 1754 to 1763. In both, men from Am- herst went in quest of the foe into territory now belonging to New Hamp- shire, Vermont and New York ; some also joined the expedition which, in 1745, captured Louisburg, but their names have been lost. These smaller wars proved a fitting school for the sterner strife of the Revolutionary war, and some of the younger participants in the war of 1754-63 proved excel-
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lent veterans in the strife with the mother country. Reuben Dickinson, the captain of the Amherst minute-men in 1775-76, had been a sergeant in the expedition against Crown Point in 1755, and was one of the most influential men in Amherst in the trying days of the Revolution.
The first allusion to the break with England upon the town records is the vote passed January 26, 1774, "to Chews a Com'tee of Corrispondence to Refer with the Com'tee of Corrispondance in the Town of Boston." This committee, Reuben Dickinson, Joseph Williams, Moses Dickinson, Jacob McDaniel and Nathaniel Dickinson, was instructed to prepare a letter to be read in the next meeting. This letter was adopted by the town at the March meeting, and despite its length is worth reproduction, to enable us to see the spirit of the fathers of 1776. It reads as follows :-
"To the Respectable Committee of Correspondence in the Town of Boston :-
"GENTLEMEN : We think it needless to Recapitulate all those grievances which we suffer in Common with our opprest Brethren and Neighbors. Suf- ficient to Say that tho' we have been long silent we are not insensible of the oppressions we suffer and the ruin which threatens us or regardlis of the Di- abolical Designs of our Mercernary and Manevolent Enemies Foreign and Domestic and are ready not onley to risque but even to Sacrifice our Lives and Properties in Defence of our just rights & liberties at Present we are only Galled not subdued and think ourselves heapy in having such vigilant and faithfull gardians of our rights in the Metropolis on hoom we Can depend to Call on us in Season to unite with our suffering Countrymen in the Common Cause of America we hope and beg that you will still Preserve in that most Honorable & important Imployment of watching over us with the Same Care and Fidelity which has hiterto Distinguishd & greatly Dignified your Charac- ter in the Estimation of all who have a just sence of that best of Blessings Liberty & an Equal abhorrence of that tame submition which tends to En- tail on our Posterrity that worst of Curses Slavery.
" Every Avenue to the Royal Ear seems to be blocked up by gross falsities & Designd misrepresentations of those from some of whom at Least we might have Expected better things but there is a King who Cannot be Deceived & who will not be mocked who has pointed out a never failing resource when Petitions and Remonstrances, Truth and justice are unsuccesfully opposed to Tironey and Oppression falsehood and Corruption & when you feel that im- pulse which will not brook longer Delay, the wisdum of the People will natu- rally write in the mode of the best Appeal, to which you most Distant Breth- ren Expect to be summoned unless preventd by a sudding unexpected & very favorable chandge of affears their are whom Justice forbids to live but whom we would spare to Convince the world we Despise their utmost hate & mali- cious Cunning. the colonies united are invincibly free & we doubt not you are convinc'd that the Preservation of that union outweighs every other Con- sideration and is at present our most Important Concern, while that is secure we have nothing to fear but may Laugh at all attempts to Enslave us we know of no punishment which can be Inflicted on those vilens in Exalted Stations adequate to their own reflections & remorse accompanyd with our Neglect, Contempt & Detestation but at the same time should think our- selves happier if Everey banefull Noxious weed Could by any means be Erad- icated from this our fair garden of Liberty. we Entirely approve & Concurr with you in every measure hitherto adopted & Conducted & return our grate-
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full thanks to the People of Boston & the Neighboring towns in a Perticular manner for the seasonable Indeavours & mandley opposition to prevent the Landing of the East India Companys teas which Plan we are Convinced was artefully Projected to open the gate for the admition of Tyrany & oppression with all their Rapacious followers to Stalk at Large & uncontrold to Ravage our fare & Dear bought Possessions. Every measure which shall appear Conducive to the Publick good we are warranted to asure you will always be approved and supportd by a Large Majority in this District and our [your] Continual Correspondence as Long as you shall think occation requires meet with Due respect & attention we are in behalf of the District very Respect- fully Gent'm your oblig'd & most hble servts."
The following September the town chose a standing committee of corres- pondence and also three delegates to represent them in a convention at Northampton. In October the district voted unanimously to send a delegate to the meeting of the provincial congress at Concord, and then made choice of Nathaniel Dickinson, Jr., one of the foremost men in Amherst, in resisting the aggressions of England, a man whose earnestness of spirit and strong feeling caused him to forget the reverence then considered due to the meeting-house and the minister, and when his pastor, Mr. Parsons, persisted in saying in the pulpit, " God save the King," was provoked beyond all endurance, and spring. ing to his feet cried out, " You say God save the king ; but I say God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts !" Mr. Dickinson was re-elected dele- gate the following year.
Early in 1775 the town voted to purchase 150 pounds weight of powder and lead, and also flints, directing the assessors to levy a rate for this purchase immediately. They also directed that all province money still in the hands of the constables should be paid to Henry Gardner, of Stow, instead of Harrison Gray, who was probably commissioned in the king's name. The district voted to indemnify the constables against all loss incurred in obeying this vote-such money as was due and not yet collected by the constables was to be borrowed on the town's credit and forwarded to Henry Gardner at once-a vote which shows both the urgent need of money by the patriotic leaders in the opening war and also the willingness of the town to contribute such money. A committee of inspection was chosen whose main duty was to exert themselves in behalf of the cause of the colonies-rendering all possible assistance "in Causing the association of the Continental Congress," which congress passed, July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence. As a minor duty, this committee was instructed "to suppress all Peddlers and Petty Chapmen." Another committee was appointed to circulate a subscrip- tion paper for the relief of the poor of Boston and Charlestown.
Thus Amherst showed her willingness to give both to the cause of freedom and to those who were suffering in that cause; and also exhibited her fore- sight and breadth of information in declaring in favor of a united effort by all the colonies under direction of a continental congress. On May 4, 1775, a committee was appointed to provide stores for the support of the army at Cambridge, and a special town meeting held June 13, 1776,-three weeks
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previous to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, " Voted, That should the Honorable Congress, for the Safety of the united Colonies in Amer- ica, Declare them Independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, we, the In- habitants of the town of Amherst, solemnly engage with our lives and fortnnes to support them in the measure, And that this Resolve be transmitted to our Representative in General Assembly as instructions to him."
In 1778 the town recorded its desire for a new state constitution and chose a committee to confer with the neighboring towns about calling a county con- vention to urge on all the necessity of such a constitution. In 1779 the town instructed their representative to vote for the calling of a state convention for forming such a constitution, and it was adopted and went into effect in 1780. In 1779 the town voted f434 10s. "to Pay Bounties & Mileage to soldiers," and in 1780 ten thousand pounds was appropriated to pay for beef for. the soldiers, the price of beef being then more than four dollars per pound in the depreciated currency of the day. A committee appointed to see "how sol- diers may be best procured to serve in the Continental army," seemed to think the chief obstacle to enlistment was the poor credit of the continental treasury, and advised the town to offer each soldier who would enlist for three years in the war the sum of three pounds "hard money" per month, the sol- diers to assign their continental pay to the town which should thus incur the risk of the continental currency being redeemed. Or, if the soldiers should prefer, the town would guarantee to each soldier the sum of forty shillings in hard money per month in addition to their continental pay, the town to also promise each soldier two shirts, two pairs of stockings, and two pairs of shoes yearly "in case he fails of the same from the Continent or State." The town adopted these recommendations. A town vote of December 28, 1780, making the town liable for money promised to soldiers by individuals, speaks of the price of rye as being "fifty dollars per bushel." An assessment of £460 in "new currency" for furnishing beef and grain to the army was voted at this time, and the next meeting voted that an unexpended balance of this money should go towards the purchase of horses for the continental army, and this appropriation was still further increased by the grant of the balance of school funds. Another purchase of beef was necessary in 1781, and the town treas- urer was obliged to borrow " hard money" to procure it. At this time the continental bills were accepted in trade at one cent on the dollar, and falling still lower the bills became absolutely worthless for a time and ceased to cir- culate. The lack of money was a greater obstacle to the success of Wash- ington's army than were the snows of Valley Forge and the armies of Great Britain.
In 1781 the town was required to furnish a certain number of soldiers for three months. A committee was appointed to hire them, and were author- ized to hire them on whatever terms they could, the town engaging to pay whatever the committee should promise. This was the last requisition upon Amherst for soldiers, the surrender of Cornwallis, October 19, 1781, closing
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hostilities. Like other towns, Amherst was obliged to draft soldiers once or twice during the war of 1775-1781 ; the names of some who were drafted and of many who volunteered for service at this time are preserved for their chil- dren and succeeding citizens to read with pride and gratitude.
Opposition to the Revolution .- The high degree of patriotic self-denial dis- played by the town of Amherst throughout the long war, was by no means the unanimous expression of the town's people. There were men of rank and wealth in Amherst in 1775, and such men, having the most to lose in any dubious undertaking, are generally found opposing violent and costly changes in government and in social customs. At the head of the Amherst Tories was the long loved pastor of the church, Rev. David Parsons, Capt. Isaac Chauncey, Lieut. John Field, and Ensign John Nash, who had received royal commissions through the colonial governor, Hutchinson, were early objects of suspicion to the eager Revolutionists. Simeon Clark, one of the deacons of the church, heartily supported his pastor in opposition to "the rebels " against royal authority ; and among others the influential family of the Bolt- woods were prominent on the "Tory side." As early as the fall of 1774, there was a demand that all who held commissions from the king should renounce all authority derived from such commissions, and at a meeting of militia officers in Northampton, November 10 and 11, 1774, thirty-three, in- cluding the three Amherst officials, Chauncey, Field and Nash, renounced in writing all authority conferred by the royal governor. In addition to the militia officers the Revolutionists were suspicious of the justices of the peace of whom there were two in Amherst, Josiah Chauncey, father of Lieut. Isaac Chauncey, and Simeon Strong, the former having been appointed in 1758, the latter ten years later. Apparently Mr. Strong made no resistance to the patriotic demands, and after the war he regained his influence, and his high ability caused his election as state senator in 1793, and in 1800 his appoint- ment as one of the judges of the supreme court of Massachusetts. But Mr. Chauncey fared differently. The town records of May 4, 1775, have the fol- lowing account : "The town enters into the examination of Mr. Josiah Chauncey. Voted, Not satisfied with his answer to the charge laid against him. Voted, That s'd Chauncey should Burn all his Commissions he had ever received from the King, and also commit his Fire arms into the hands of the Select men of the District." The meeting adjourned for five days, when similar votes were recorded against John Nash. At this latter meeting the town " Voted that the Arms of Josiah Chauncey should be returned to him." It is said that Chauncey had given his commissions to certain leaders of the " Whigs " or Revolutionary party, by whom they were burnt in a public bon- fire. But in April, 1776, Chauncey's son, Capt. Isaac Chauncey, was arrested and tried upon the charges of "insulting behavior " towards the committee of safety, and of being " an enemy to his country; " being convicted, he was confined in the jail at Northampton, whence he petitioned the general court for relief, but to no purpose. Upon his release he left his home secretly in
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the following August, and the committee of safety advertised their desire that the good people wherever he should be found would "secure him in such a manner that he may not have it in his power to injure America." A similar desire for the securing of Lieut. Robert Boltwood was expressed by the com- mittee, but it is not known that either of them were arrested or that America was injured by their escape from Amherst.
On July 7, 1777, " the Selectmen exhibited to the Town a List of the Names of Such Persons as they supposed to be Inimical to the Interest of the United States, viz .: L't John Field, Eben'r Boltwood, Isaac Goodale, Will- iam Boltwood." The meeting adjourned for eight days, and then voted to erase Lieut. John Field's name from the list, but this vote was afterwards recon- sidered, and Elijah Baker was appointed to procure evidence against the accused parties. The meeting adjourned for four weeks, and then voted to strike out of the list the names of each one of the four in succession. Evi- dently the prosecution of these men did not seem wise to many who were strongly in favor of the Revolution. Yet so strong was the animosity felt towards the sympathizers with England, that not even the love and respect felt for the faithful pastor could secure him from much annoyance. In 1775 the proceedings at a town meeting were suspended until a committee should go and request the attendance of Mr. Parsons, who had probably remained away because he could not favor the wishes of a majority of the town. On January 20, 1777, the town showed its appreciation of the religious work of their pastor by voting him his usual salary ; but they joined to this a vote expressive of their dislike of his political influence, and " Vot'd that the con- duct of the Rev'd David Parsons is not friendly with regard to the Common Cause," and appointed a committee of five to tell him so. It seems that in spite of the annual appropriation for the payment of his salary, Mr. Parsons was not able to get his full dues, for in 1778 the town, in the appropriation for his salary, instructed the assessors to pay him also the amount not paid him the year before. On January 13, 1780, the town " Voted that Mr. Abraham Hill be prohibited from Preaching in this Town in future," and a committee was chosen "to write to him concerning the matter." Mr. Hill was the Shutesbury preacher, and a very bitter Tory. Probably Mr. Parsons had exchanged with him, and he had not concealed his feelings concerning the action of the majority of the town, who had prohibited (March IT, 1778) " Persons not owning Independence on the Crown of Great Britain agreeable to the Dec- laration of Congress" from the exercise of the freeman's right of voting in town meetings.
War of 1812-15 and 1861-65 .- The war with Great Britain, 1812-15, was very unpopular throughout New England, and immediately after the dec- laration of war, June 18, 1812, steps were taken to hold a convention of Hampshire county towns to give expression to the general feeling of regret that war had been declared. Fifty-seven towns in the present counties of Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin sent eighty-eight delegates to this con-
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vention, which met at Northampton, July 14, 1812. Amherst's representa- tives were Ebenezer Mattoon (Revolutionary veteran and ex-member of con- gress), Samuel Fowler Dickinson (a prominent lawyer) and Simeon Strong (son of Judge Strong). It was an influential delegation which was sent from Amherst. The convention unanimously adopted a memorial praying that commissioners might be appointed for the speedy negotiation of terms of peace with Great Britain This memorial was addressed to the president of the United States. The convention also recommended the meeting of a state convention to give voice to the feeling of Massachusetts. Notwithstanding the unanimity of opposition to this war, the rumor of a contemplated descent upon the coast of Massachusetts by English forces showed the willingness of the people to defend their state, and when Governor Strong called out the militia the Connecticut valley sent two regiments of infantry and one of artillery to Boston. They were encamped for six weeks at Dorchester, where they were formally reviewed by the governor ; but as apprehensions of attack passed away, they were soon released from duty and returned home. This was facetiously called " Governor Strong's war."
In the civil war of 1861-65, Amherst had three hundred and fifty-two citi- zens in the Union army, and twenty-two in the navy. Of the three hundred and seventy-four, eleven were killed, fifteen died of wounds, thirty-two died of disease ; thirty-five others were wounded in the service. The military expenses of the town and individuals, in addition to regular taxes, were $46,237.27, of which the state refunded $1,641.27 "to equalize bounties."
Early Politics, -As already stated, Amherst was warmly in favor of adopt- ing a state constitution in 1778 and 1779. The first election under this con- stitution was held Monday, September 4, 1780, when Amherst cast her first vote for governor, " The Hon'ble John Hancock, Esq'r," receiving forty- three votes, and "The Hon'ble James Bowdoin, Esq'r," eight. - These two men continued to be rival candidates for five years, Bowdoin apparently growing in favor with the Amherst voters as will be seen by the following : Hancock, in the respective years, received forty-three, fifty-seven, fifty-seven, twenty-eight, and thirteen, while Bowdoin received eight, nine, twenty-three, nineteen, and twenty-one.
In 1785 John Hancock was not a candidate for the office, and James Bow- doin was elected governor. Amherst, however, favored the Hon. John Worthington, who received sixteen votes, to nine for James Bowdoin. In 1786 Governor Bowdoin was re-elected, his opponent being Benjamin Lin- coln, Amherst giving Bowdoin twenty-three votes and Lincoln eleven, while John Hancock received one. In 1787 Hancock and Bowdoin were again rivals, and Amherst gave Bowdoin thirteen votes and Hancock eight, but the state went for ex-Governor Hancock. In recent years Amherst has been a strong Republican town at every election.
In 1782 the town neglected to send a representative to the legislature, and for this neglect was fined by the general court. At the town meeting, held
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January 19, 1784, Simeon Strong, Esq., Nathaniel Dickinson, Jr., and Lieut. John Field were appointed a committee to secure an abatement of this fine. In 1786 and 1789 Amherst again failed to send a representative, as also in 1795. In 1788 the town sent Daniel Cooley to the convention, which con- sidered the adoption of the proposed constitution of the United States. Mr. Cooley represented the wishes of the town, and probably of the western part of the state, when he voted against adoption. Fortunately, the major- ity of the convention was the other way.
Schools .- In November, 1647, the general court of Massachusetts ordered that every town having fifty families should provide a school where children might be taught to read and write, and that every town with an hundred families should provide a grammar school whose master should be able to fit young men for college. These grammar schools were not for instruction in English grammar, which was not studied in these, but for teaching Latin grammar. This law was by no means a compulsory educational law, for it did not require that these schools should be free, and for many years they were supported partly by the town and partly by the parents. Free schools did not become general in Massachusetts until a century after the landing at Plymouth. It will seem very strange to those accustomed only to modern systems of education, that the early schools were attended by so few of the girls; if a girl was taught to read and to sew her education was considered complete, and at the time Amherst was settled probably not one woman in ten could write her name ; she could read the Bible, but what was the need of writing in days when the postoffice was unknown ? It was not considered to be a serious drawback that a man could not write his own name, although boys were generally taught to write on account of the need of signing busi- ness documents ; yet many a man of considerable social and business prom- inence signed his legal papers by " his mark " in the days before the Revolu- tion. No reader of the original records of any old town needs to be told that the spelling-book was not studied in these early schools ; every man spelled as he pleased, and often in the same sentence he would write the same word twice and spell it differently.
The first vote on record concerning schools in Hadley Third Precinct is at a meeting held March 13, 1749, when a committee was chosen "to Hire three Scool Dames for three or four Months In the Summer Seson to Larne children to read; sd scools to be In the most convenient places." This meant that women were hired to receive children into their own homes, or some convenient room in a private dwelling, for instruction in the New Eng- land Primer. The town of Hadley having appropriated {60 for the use of the third precinct for school purposes, it was voted, April 9, 1752, that £30 " be Improved to hire a scool Master att ye fall of ye yeare ; that the other therty pounds be Improved to hire Scoole Dames in the Summer." And a school committee of nine persons was chosen. In 1753 Hadley granted £20 for school purposes, and the precinct appropriated £4 in addition ; three
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schools were to be kept in the precinct this year. The precinct appropriated £4 lawful money in 1754, and there is no mention of schools again until 1759, when £20 was appropriated. In January, 1760, the precinct voted £10 135. 4d. lawful money for school purposes, and the following March £13 6s. 8d.
The first vote in relation to school-houses was January 5, 1761, when it was voted to build two school-houses at the expense of the district. The location of these buildings was not settled until the next December, when the number was increased to three ; the first to be placed " in the highway that leads to Pelham, near the place where Moses Warner's house formerly stood," (near the present centre of the town); the second was to be put " in the highway that runs east and west between Joseph Church and Jon'th Coles," (some- where near the postoffice in North Amherst) ; the third, in the highway south of Nathaniel Colman's lot, east of Plum brook, upon the hill, (on the road south of Mill valley in South Amherst).
Probably the location of these school-houses was a matter of some dispute not easily harmonized, for the next meeting revoked the vote locating " the midle Scool-house," and the next meeting after this "Vo't to stop all Pro- ceedings Respecting the Scool-houses another year." In October, 1762, the district again voted to build three school-houses, and chose three committees, the first to determine " Where said Scool-houses shall be Set," the second "to wait on the aforsd Com'tt," the third " to Build the aforsd Scool-housses where the Com'tt apointed shall order." Curiosity can hardly refrain from won- dering what were the duties of that second committee. Apparently, however, even these committees failed to get the school-houses built, for in December, 1764, it was voted to build four school-houses, a " North," a "South," an " East- middle " and a " West-middle." Four committees of three each were chosen to locate these houses, and it was "Vot'd that the District will abide the Determi- nation of the aforesaid Com'ttees." Four other committees of three each were to build the school-houses. This time the work was done, for January 6, 1766, the meeting adjourned from the meeting-house "to the school-house which is near Landlord Warner's dwelling house." This school-house stood where Hunt's block now stands. There was, of course, no way for warming the meeting-house in those days, and the January day was probably cold, if the school-house was without a stove as well as the church ; probably its nearness to "Landlord Warner's " made "suthin hot " accessible to the chilled voters.
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