USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume I > Part 7
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ence of mind to cut his pipe of tobacco. And no sooner had he done that than in came Parsons at that very instant and asked if he was ready to go back to the meetinghouse. They smoked together, with- out either saying anything about the mysterious knives, but later in the day Jones told all through the neighborhood that Parsons had bewitched the knives.
Anthony Dorchester, who worked for Parsons, had a one-fourth interest in a cow, and a time came in the natural course of events when the cow was killed and divided with his employer, who also was part owner. Both wanted the tongue of the animal, and they drew lots for it, with the result that Dorchester got the tongue. However, when it came to cooking, the tongue mysteriously disappeared from the pot Of course, that was the work of a witch.
George Langton was another person with a story to tell. One day when his wife Hannah was indisposed, George slipped a pudding out of a bag after it was cooked, and the pudding parted from end to end as if cut with a knife. Langton had previously refused to sell Parsons some hay.
A bargain was made by Parsons with Thomas Miller for a piece of land, and immediately afterward he cut his leg while chopping. Men heard strange noises at night like the filing of saws. Blanche Bedortha's child, now two years old, cried out one day that it was afraid of Parsons' dog, yet Parsons had no dog. He was at Long- meadow working when he heard of the death of his second child. Several people were near him and heard him say, "I will cut a pipe of tobacco before I go home."
That was in everybody's mouth by the day's end, and when Par- sons was appealed to for an explanation of this unfatherly remark, he replied, "I was very full of sorrow for the death of the child in pri- vate, though not in public."
He got no sympathy, and even the worthy Henry Smith could not withstand the infection. He had once refused to sell Parsons some peas, and in the summer of 1648 it was remembered that two of his children had died.
The effect on Mrs. Parsons was pitiable. She was already in a decline from consumption and her every movement was watched. Dis- grace followed close on her heels, and her wavering mind invited sus-
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picion. Was not her own husband a proven witch? The tragedy had begun, and Mrs. Parsons was becoming insane.
Gradually the suspicion that her husband was in league with the devil grew more pronounced. She watched him with cat-like tenacity, and when he lay asleep she searched for the little black marks that in those days the devil was supposed to put on persons making a covenant of witchcraft. She did not find the devil's sign-manual on Hugh, but he talked wildly in his sleep and had satanic dreams, which he told on waking.
The death of Mrs. Parsons' second child took place in March, 1651. She was now ready for the worst, and she went before Mag- istrate Pynchon and made oath that her husband was a witch, and the cause of her child's death. Parsons himself had been under legal examination some time before.
"Ah, witch! Ah, witch!" Goody Stebbins cried as Constable Merrick took Hugh Parsons past her door, and she fell down in a fit. Miles Morgan had been visiting Thomas Miller when the dreaded man approached a short time before, and he saw Miller's wife fly into a passion and cry, "Get thee gone, Hugh Parsons! Get thee gone! If thou will not, I will go to Mr. Pynchon, and he shall have thee away!" Then she too fell prostrate on the ground. The red coat of Hugh Parsons was the nightmare of the village.
Examination before Mr. Pynchon only added to the consternation of the community. Jonathan Taylor, after listening to Mrs. Par- sons' evidence against her husband, saw in his dreams three snakes on the floor, and one of them, with black and yellow stripes, bit him on the forehead. Then he heard a solemn voice cry out, "Death !" and that voice was like the voice of Hugh Parsons.
After Mary Parsons had made oath to the witchcraft of her hus- band, she was placed in the hands of Thomas Cooper for safe keep- ing, and as Cooper watched the wretched, unnerved woman, he could not refrain from asking her questions, either from curiosity or pity, or a desire to extract new evidence. Here is his record :
"I said to her, 'Why do you speak so of your husband ? Methinks; if he were a witch there would appear some sign of it on his body.' She answered, 'It is not always so. But why do I say that? I have no skill in witchery. It may be with him as it was with me that night I was at Goodman Ash- ley's. The Divill may come into his body only like a wind,
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and then go forth again, for so the Divill told me that night. I think I should have been a witch afore now, only I was afraid to see the Divill, lest he should fright me. But he told me that I should not fear, and so I consented. That night I was with my husband and Goodwife Merrick and Bessie Sewell in Goodman Stebbins' lot; and sometimes we were like cats and sometimes in our own shape, and plodding for some good cheer; and they made me go barefoot, and start the fires, because I had told so much at Mr. Pynchon's.'"
Poor woman! Her life had been a failure in all its relations, but especially in her second marriage which had tied her to a talkative, happy-go-lucky, pipe-smoking bricklayer, who had a way of appro- priating other people's goods, and maliciously resenting all criticisms of his character. He had drawn her down to a level of life where even her good qualities only made fuel for the fires of persecution. This highly sensitive woman was forced to lose the respect of all who came in contact with her. Then her mind gave way.
Her husband had been carried to Boston, but more evidence was being taken against him in Springfield, to be forwarded to the Bay.
Madness and remorse wrought a change in the burden of Mrs. Parsons' talk, and she finally confessed that the blood of her child was on her own hands, and she also declared that she was under the influence of Satan. These wild words were accepted for sober truth, and she, too, was taken to Boston under arrest for both murder and witchcraft.
In May the jury that dealt with the case of Mrs. Parsons accepted her crazy confession of child-murder, but refused to believe she was a witch, and the General Court confirmed the verdict. She was sen- tenced to be hanged and the death watch was placed over her.
On the morning chosen for the execution, she was too feeble to be removed from her cell, and was respited. The second day of doom came, but then Mary lay on her couch dead, a martyr, to be held in commiserating memory.
Hugh Parsons' trial came in June and ended in conviction, but after he had been held in prison for nearly a year, the General Court refused to confirm the verdict, and he escaped the gallows. He left Boston and probably went on beyond the bounds of the State. At least Springfield saw him no more.
The Heresy of William Pynchon
CHAPTER VII
The Heresy of William Pynchon
What part Mr. Moxon took in the prosecution of Hugh Parsons is not known. That he believed in the reality of the demoniacal influ- ence to which the common superstition of the times ascribed them can hardly be doubted. It was a weakness that infected some of the strongest minds of that period. Probably he was at least a promoter of the prosecution, and when that failed and the supposed witch was acquitted of the charge, there was left in his mind a discontent with his situation, which together with the troubles between his long time friend, Mr. Pynchon, and the General Court, induced Mr. Moxon to go with Pynchon to England in 1652, taking his family with him.
There is a tradition that the going of these men came near break- ing up the settlement, but the shock though severe was not fatal, and there was no permanent check. The wise leadership that had been exercised by the elder Pynchon was shifted to his son John, then a young man of twenty-six, who all through the rest of that century and down to the time of his death maintained an influence, not only in Springfield, but in all this region, that made "The Worshipful" for his accepted title entirely fitting.
The religious interests of the people were ably cherished by the two deacons, Chapin and Wright, and others such as Elizur Holyoke. They were pious and capable men, and the people gathered in the sanctuary as they had been accustomed to in the past. Within five months after Mr. Moxon left, another minister was preaching for the supply, but did not stay long, and "it was agreed by joint consid- eration of the Plantation, that as the supply had deserted this plan- tation, and left us destitute in respect of any preaching, that Deacon Wright should dispense the word of God in this place until some other should be gotten for the work, and that he should have for his labor fifty shillings a month for such times as he attends the said work."
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He did not continue long to "dispense the word" in Springfield. Soon after the passage of this vote, he emigrated with his family to North- ampton, and there died in 1665 when asleep in his chair.
Mr. Holyoke and Henry Burt were chosen to carry on the work of the Sabbath, but in case, through any providence of God, either of them should be disabled, Deacon Chapin was to supply the vacancy. A little later Mr. Holyoke was chosen to carry on the work of the Sabbath once every Sabbath Day, and Mr. Pynchon was the choice for one part of the day once a fortnight.
However profitable from a spiritual point of view the labors of these intelligent laymen may have been, the church still aimed at securing the services of some godly, faithful minister, who would become its permanent pastor. But seven years had elapsed since the departure of Mr. Moxon when Mr. Pelatiah Glover preached his first Springfield sermon. He was the son of an early and prominent set- tler of Dorchester and received his education at Harvard College. In age he was about twenty-four when he came here, and was settled for life as was the habit of the times then and many years afterward. This was his home for more than thirty years.
The machinery of local government went steadily on, yet there were indications of an unsettled spirit in the community. Many of the inhabitants had shown a decided preference for the "long- meadow," and foreseeing that it was a part of the town destined to grow in importance, a request was lodged for a permit to surrender the planting-grounds on the river bank, and take lands back on the next plantation. This request was granted in 1648. Three years later lands were apportioned at Pecowsic and Mill River. The method of disposing of the meadows was by lot. Robert Ashley's section was given on condition that he keep an ordinary, but was to be surrendered if he failed in this respect.
John Pynchon was becoming an extensive trader and business man, probably due to the encouragement of his father. The son was pushed forward both in public and private affairs, and soon gained the confidence of the community. In the winter of 1630 we find : "It is agreed by the Town that if Mr. John Pynchon will make a chamber over the meeting-house and board it: he shall have the use of it entirely to himself for ten years." Then the town could secure it by paying the expense of building.
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THE OLD FIRST CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD Built in 1819
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A year later a dispute arose between John Pynchon and the town concerning this chamber. The young man used the chamber for storing corn, and many thought the grain would come down on their heads. So the town limited him to four hundred bushels at a time, unless he underpropped the floor. Finally the town bought the chamber outright.
At about the end of the year 1649, John Pynchon headed a com- mittee to bargain with Mr. Moxon for all his Springfield real estate and, after due deliberation and several meetings, it was agreed that his home-lot and buildings and all his meadow, wood and planting grounds should remain always for the use of the inhabitants.
Mr. Pynchon was much oppressed at this time by the trouble that had gathered around the town he had founded. Besides, a cloud hung over his head touching his theology, and the keenest minds in Boston had set to work to win him back to a belief that was considered orthodox. Pynchon had written a discussion in philo- sophic vein of the doctrine of atonement, and he had gradually come to the conclusion that Christ's mediatorial obedience was more important in securing man's redemption than His sufferings. When he finished his manuscript he sent it to England for publication. This was the now famous "Meritorious Price of Our Redemption." It reached Boston during the session of the October Court in 1650, and produced the most profound consternation.
How far the personal safety of Mr. Pynchon was imperiled is not clear. He was accused of heresy, and in those days the teaching of heresy was a grave offense which subjected the offender to trial and punishment. Thomas Dudley, one of the sternest Puritans of that period, was then Governor of the Colony, and not likely to relax any penalty which the law would demand.
Mr. Pynchon was peremptorily summoned to appear before the next General Court to answer whether he would acknowledge that this book printed in England under his name was his. If he did acknowledge it, the court declared their "purpose (God willing) was to proceed with him according to his demerits," unless he should sign a written retraction, which would be printed in England as well as here. Without any unnecessary ceremony the book was ordered to be burned by the common executioner in the marketplace, and the distin- guished Mr. Norton, "one of the reverend elders of Ipswich," was
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THE HERESY OF WILLIAM PYNCHON
chosen to prepare and publish a reply to Mr. Pynchon's book "with all convenient speed." This reply Mr. Pynchon was advised to take home "to consider thereof," and Mr. Norton was awarded twenty pounds by the General Court for his share in attempting to convince Mr. Pynchon of his error. The book was sent to England to be printed. The cautiously worded retraction which Mr. Pynchon expressed did not satisfy the authorities at the Bay, and they frigidly voted that he was in a hopeful way to give good satisfaction. Then they allowed him to go home, but bound him over to answer further at the next session. Henry Smith was promptly substituted as magis- trate at Springfield-a bit of stern discipline that Mr. Pynchon felt deeply.
In regard to this theological controversy, Mr. Pynchon claimed that Christ's obedience was set over against Adam's disobedience, and if He had died unwillingly, the sacrifice would not have been sufficient. His death was miraculous, for though the devil and his agents had power to bruise Him, and to nail Him to the cross, they had no power to separate his soul from his body. So his death was not passive but active, and therefore a part of his mediatorial obedience. Those familiar with the long course of discussion over the philosophy of the atonement, will understand why Pynchon's book fed the flames on Boston .Common, and why the General Court hastened to draw up a protest to send back to England in a vessel that was ready to weigh anchor. At the time the book had not even been read, and was condemned by the title page alone.
Sir Henry Vane, who had been a warm personal friend of Mr. Pynchon's, wrote the Massachusetts authorities from England and advised dealing with him gently. Sir Henry's letter brought this reply :
"We received your letter written in behalf of Mr. William Pynchon, who is one that we did all love and respect. But his book and the doctrine therein contained we cannot but abhor as pernicious, and are much grieved such an erroneous pamphlet was penned by any New England man, especially a Magis- trate amongst us, wherein he takes upon him to condemn the judgment of most. Mr. Pynchon might have kept his judgment to himself, as it seems he did for more than thirty years, most of which time he has lived amongst us with
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honor, and much respect. But when God left him to him- self in the publishing and spreading of his erroneous books to the endangering of the faith of such as might come to read them, we held it our duty, and believed we were called of God, to proceed against him accordingly. And we can fur- ther say that we had certain of our elders, such as he him- self liked, to confer with him privately, lovingly and meekly, to see if they could prevail with arguments from the scriptures, and he was so far convinced thereby that he seemed to yield, and signed the case in controversy with his own hand. And for the better confirming of him in the truth of God, Mr. Norton left with him a copy of the book he wrote in answer to him; and the court gave him divers months to consider both, and what had been spoken to him by the elders. But meanwhile he received letters from England that encouraged him in his errors, to the great grief of us all."
After Mr. Pynchon had signed his retraction, and the General Court had decided it was not full enough to warrant their continuing him in the position of magistrate at Springfield, he returned home with his son-in-law, and as he rode for three or more days westward, what must have been his thoughts ? He suffered from loss of public confidence. He was an object of hatred to the General Court, relieved of office, disgraced, and set upon by busy tongues !
The entire Commonwealth was shaken with a disturbed, unsettled feeling. Witchcraft and heresy, in the eyes of the Boston divines, seemed to be walking hand in hand. Springfield rested under a cloud, and the following solemn decree was recorded :
"This court taking into consideration how far Satan pre- vails amongst us in respect of witchcraft, as also by drawing away some from the truth to the profession and practise of strange opinions, think it necessary that there should be a day of humiliation throughout our jurisdiction in all the churches."
Mr. Pynchon did not appear at the October term, according to the direction of the court, and when it became known that he was not to be present during the session, the court voted that it "is willing all patience be exercised toward Mr. Pynchon, that, if it be possible, he
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THE HERESY OF WILLIAM PYNCHON
may be reduced into the way of truth, and that he might renounce the errors and heresies, published in his book; and for that end, give him time to the next General Court in May." The penalty of non- appearance was one hundred pounds.
Springfield was much distressed over the strange events, and Mr. Pynchon determined to go back to England to live. Young John Pynchon decided to remain here, as his wife naturally objected to leaving her family in Connecticut. Those who accompanied Mr. Pynchon were his wife and Henry Smith, whose wife remained in Springfield, and Mr. Moxon. It was a melancholy fate for Mr. Pynchon, but only the usual one for the man who is ahead of his period. If he had chosen to remain in Massachusetts, he would have been banished as was Roger Williams a short time before. Pynchon's experiences were trying ones, for usually he was antago- nizing the trend of government here. It was a broad spirit that moved him. But there is something to be said for the motives that dominated the earnest men of the Bay. They had fled to the forest from a corrupt civilization, and their loss of physical comfort, and the continued association with pioneer perils, was the price they were willing to pay.
Roger Williams watched the Pynchon controversy, and he wrote a letter to an acquaintance deploring the lack of liberality on the part of the Colony toward the Springfield man.
In July, 1652, Mr. Pynchon and his migrating companions were at Hartford on their way to England, and in May, 1653, he met at London his brother, who had come to greet him. Soon he had settled at Wraisburg on the river Thames, where he could see from his win- dow Magna Charta Island and Windsor Castle. Whitelocke, the great Parliament lawyer of Cromwell's time, was a relative of Mr. Pynchon and some of the family lived near by.
William Pynchon founded Roxbury, the mother of fourteen New England towns; and he founded Springfield, the mother of thirteen New England towns, and godmother of quite as many more. Rox- bury has a street named after him and so has Springfield.
Mr. Pynchon came to New England to avoid persecution, but now he left it to escape from intolerance. Yet it was evident that he was a man of affairs who operated successfully the financial concerns of the Colony, and so was made its treasurer. He managed wisely the
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judicial duties that were his lot as the only magistrate in western Massachusetts. He was a man of great enterprise and devoted his energies to building up the town he had founded, and that he intended should become a commercial center in the valley, from which should radiate an influence for the prosperity of all the region.
To accomplish this he gathered about him men of various trades and occupations with skill adapted to make the enterprise a success. He established a trade in furs and farm products that reached to Boston and the settlements on the Bay. But Mr. Pynchon never returned to America. He died in England at the age of seventy-two.
The town had touched low-water mark with the departure of its founder, its minister, and Henry Smith, its scribe. The young men left to take up the burdens and responsibilities thought seriously of abandoning the plantation and going down the river. They were poor, unprotected from the dangers of the great wilderness west and north and separated from the jurisdiction of the Bay by a one hundred mile forest, and they were unable for a long time to secure a minister. It was John Pynchon who saved the situation. He was methodical, and naturally given to the details of business and government, and he was a wiser man than his father in avoiding annoying complications, for he had a technical mind and was more of an executive officer, but less of a thinker. His handwriting was better and he was a natural student, but unlike William Pynchon, he could not take in with his eye the sweep of a new government and determine the principles that make for permanence in the State. John Pynchon was not the man to found a town, and William was not the man to perpetuate it.
John had come to Springfield at its first settlement and was familiar with its history and all its interests. The training received from his father was so thorough that he was prepared to enter at once on the management of all affairs which had been conducted by his father, and he immediately became the leading man of Springfield. His business was very extensive and included buying of his towns- men whatever products they had for sale. At Warehouse Point he had a storehouse where his goods were received from Hartford, transported to Springfield and sold to his neighbors. His deal- ing in furs were notably large, with beaver the most important. The beaver abounded in the Connecticut and Westfield rivers, and the
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THE HERESY OF WILLIAM PYNCHON
collection of these furs gave employment to numerous men, both Indians and whites.
Young Pynchon was part owner of a vessel that transported beaver skins and other goods from Hartford to Boston for shipment to England. He was the owner, with his brother-in-law, of a corn- mill and a sawmill, at which the grain of the inhabitants was ground and their lumber sawed.
In his employ he had boats on the river and teams on the land. All this required the services of his townsmen of various trades and occupations, and brought to Springfield many persons who became useful citizens.
The public positions filled by young Pynchon and the public duties he performed exceeded in number and equalled in importance those of his father. When the military company here needed a captain to fill the place of Henry Smith, John Pynchon was appointed. From that he rose to be commander of the county regiment, which com- prised all the State west of Middlesex, and in this capacity he acted during King Philip's War. In the records of that time he is com- monly called the "Worshipful Major Pynchon." Often he was appointed to transact important business beyond the limits of the Colony.
In 1664 he was one of the commissioners who represented the English Government in receiving from the Dutch the surrender of New Amsterdam, which then took its present name of New York. A few years later he was sent as a commissioner by Massachusetts to Albany where, aided by the New York Governor, a treaty was made with the Mohawk Indians to secure the people of Massachu- setts from the incursions of that powerful tribe. He succeeded, and the Indians addressed the major as "Brother Pynchon" and expressed their gladness at seeing him again at Albany and their resolution to keep the treaty they had just made with him.
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