USA > Massachusetts > Historical collections, being a general collection of interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to the history and antiquities of every town in Massachusetts, with geographical descriptions > Part 32
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South-east vren of Ancient House in Deerfield.
The ground plan of the building is 42 by 21 feet. The timber used in the construction of this house is of a large size and firm texture, most of which remains sound even to the sills, and the primitive clapboards at the gables are in a good state of preserva- tion ; the walls are lined with brick. The door, showing the per- foration made by the tomahawks, still remains. Other parts of the building have been repaired, and the general appearance of the house does not exhibit so antique an appearance as its age would indicate. The night following the attack, the enemy encamped in the meadow, in what is now Greenfield, about four miles from Deerfield village, where, by clearing away the snow and construct- ing slight cabins of brush, the prisoners were as comfortably lodged as circumstances would admit. On the second day of their jour- ney Mrs. Williams, who had lain in but a few weeks previous, be- came exhausted through fatigue, and, proving burdensome, her Indian master sunk his tomahawk into her head and left her dead at the foot of a hill near Green river. The march of the captives on Connecticut river continued for several days without any inci-
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dent of note, excepting now and then murdering an exhausted captive and taking off the scalp. At the mouth of White river, Rouville divided his force into several parties; that which Mr. Williams accompanied proceeded down Onion river to Lake Cham- plain, and from thence into Canada. After his arrival there he was generally treated with civility, and often with humanity. In 1706 a flag-ship was sent to Quebec, and Mr. Williams and fifty- seven other captives were redeemed and brought to Boston .* All the surviving children of Mr. Williams returned, with the exception of his daughter Eunice, who was left behind, being about ten years old. She adopted the Indian manners, to one of whom she was married, and adopted the Catholic faith. She repeatedly visited her relatives in New England; every inducement was offered to make her remain among her connexions, but she uniformly persisted in wearing her blanket and counting her beads. She left a number of descendants, one of whom, a grandson, was educated at Longmeadow, and afterward became a missionary to the Oneida Indians. Twenty-eight of the captives remained in Canada, and, mixing with the French and Indians, adopted their manners and customs, and were thus lost to their friends. The journal which Rouville kept while on his expedition against Deerfield is said to be still in existence, having been preserved in one of the Canadian convents ; also a small church bell, which the Indians took from Deerfield, when it was destroyed. It was conveyed on a sledge as far as Lake Champlain and buried, and was afterwards taken up and conveyed to Canada, and is now hanging in an Indian church in St. Regis.
[From the Boston Post Boy, Sept. 1st, 1746.]
Friday sev'night some of our soldiers going from Deerfield to Colerain, were fired upon by a party of the enemy Indians, and one Mr. Bliss, a Connecticut soldier, was kill'd, scalp'd and his body left inhumanly cut and mangled by them.
And last Monday seven men and a young woman being in a field at Deerfield, mak- ing of hay, were surpris'd by about 40 of the enemy Indians, and five of the men were killed on the spot; the young woman they struck three times, with their hatchets, and wounded her terribly on both sides of her head. The people of this town, being alarm- ed, went out after the enemy ; when they hastened off, leaving the wounded young woman, and the bodies of the men they had slain on the ground. The other two men escaped, and the young woman was brought into Deerfield, but is not like to live.
The names of those kill'd were Samuel Allen, two of the widow Amsdel's sons, Elea- zer Hawkes, Jun., all of Deerfield, and one - Gillet, a soldier from Connecticut ; the young woman wounded aforesaid was daughter to the aforesaid Allen. One of the Indians was kill'd upon their assault; and some of them had thrown his body into a pond, which was soon after found and his scalp taken off and bro't in by our men. It is supposed another of the enemy is mortally wounded, as a Tract was discovered where one of them had been carried off who had bled a great quantity ..
The following are inscriptions copied from monuments in the old burying-ground in this place :
* Mr. Williams after his return published a particular account of his sufferings and those of his family and townsmen, entitled the Redeemed Captive, &c .; this work has passed through a number of editions. A recent work, by Stephen W. Williams, Esq., entitled " A Biographical Memoir of the Rev. John Williams," has been recently pub- lished in Greenfield. It contains many particulars respecting Mr. Williams and his family which never before have been published.
sha
th
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ERVING.
1
Here lies buried the body of Lievt. Mehuman Hinsdell, died May ye 9, 1736, in the 63d year of his age, who was the first male child born in this place, and was twice cap- tivated by the Indian Salvages .- Math. 5th. 7th. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Here lyeth the body of Mrs. Eunice Williams, the vertuous & desirable consort of the Revrd. Mr. John Williams, & daughter to ye Revrd. Mr. Eleazer & Mrs. Esther Mather of Northampton. She was born Augt. 2, 1664, and fell by rage of ye barbarous Enemy March 1, 1703-4 .- Prov. 31. 28. Her children rise up and call her Blessed.
Here lyes ye body of the Reud. Mr. John Williams, the beloved & faithful pastor of this place, who dyed on June ye 12th, 1729, in the 65th year of his age. Reu. 14. 13. Write blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.
ERVING.
THE territory comprising this town was an unincorporated tract, called Erving's Grant, lying on the north bank of Miller's river, bounded north by Northfield and Warwick. It was incorporated as a town in 1838. A Congregational church was organized here five or six years since, but there never has been any minister set- tled in the place. At this time the inhabitants meet occasionally in a school-house for public worship. In the Statistical Tables published by the state, it is stated that in Erving's Grant there was 1 woollen mill, which manufactured 25,600 yards of satinet, valued at $16,640; 12 hands, 6 male and 6 female, were employ- ed; capital invested, $7,000. Two thousand and fifty pairs of boots and 744 pairs of shoes were manufactured, valued at $4,345. Population in 1837 was 292. There is a post-office in the town. Distance, 10 miles east from Greenfield, and 85 miles from Boston.
GILL.
THIS town was formerly a part of Deerfield; it was incorporat- ed in 1793. It received its name in honor of Lieutenant Governor Moses Gill. The church records have been lost, but it is supposed that the Congregational church was organized in 1793. The first minister was Rev. John Jackson, who was settled in 1798; his successor, Rev. Jabez Munsell, was settled in 1802; the next minis- ter, Rev. Josiah W. Canning, was settled in 1806. The township is situated on a great bend of Connecticut river, and contains much fertile land. It lies on the west side of the Connecticut, and is separated from Greenfield by Fall river. There are two churches, 1 Congregational and 1 Methodist, both situated in the small vil- lage in the central part of the town. Population, 809. Distance, 5 miles E. N. E. of Greenfield, 15 S. of Brattleborough, Vt., and 86 westerly from Boston.
Near the point where the boundaries of this town, Montague
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GILL.
and Greenfield meet, there is in the Connecticut the most interest- ing waterfall in the state. They were formerly called Miller's falls, but of late have received the name of Turner's Falls, in commemoration of Capt. Turner, who surprised a body of Indians, in 1676, at this place, during Philip's war. A canal, three miles in length, in order to pass the falls, has been constructed in the town of Montague, on the eastern side of the river. An artificial dam has also been constructed at the falls, more than a thousand feet long, resting near the center upon two small islands. Over this dam the water descends more than thirty feet perpendicularly, and for half a mile continues descending rapidly and foaming in its course. From an elevation perhaps about fifty rods below the cataract, the observer perceives that he has a miniature resem- blance of the falls of Niagara before him. The country about these is but little cultivated. On the opposite side of the river, the
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Turner's Falls, in Connecticut River.
observer will, however, perceive a few dwellings and the head of a canal; but a little beyond appear elevations, which are princi- pally covered with evergreens, and terminate the landscape.
The Indians during Philip's war resorted to the falls for the pur- pose of taking fish, as vast quantities of shad, salmon, and other fish ascended the river during the spring season. Several hundred Indians took a station on the right bank of the river, on elevated ground ; a smaller party occupied the opposite bank; and another was stationed at what is now called Smead's Island, upwards of a mile below. As the English forces at Hadley and the adjacent towns were not, at this time, numerous, the Indians appeared to have considered themselves but little exposed to an attack. Two lads, Stebbins and Gilbert, who had been taken prisoners and car- ried to the falls, fortunately made their escape, and gave informa- tion of the position and carelessness of the Indians. On the receipt of this intelligence, it was determined to attack them by surprise. About one hundred and sixty mounted men assembled at Hatfield,
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under the command of Capt. Turner of the colony troops. He was accompanied by Capt. Holyoke of Springfield, and Ensign Lyman of Northampton. Under the direction of two skilful guides, the English commenced their march for the falls, about twenty miles distant, in the evening of 17th of May.
"Passing the ruins of Deerfield, and the river at the northerly part of the meadow in that town, they were heard by a lodge of Indians, seated at what is now called Cheapside, a small distance below the place where the English forded. The Indians immedi- ately turned out and examined the usual place of crossing, but, finding no trail, supposed the noise to proceed from moose wading the river, and returned to their lodge. Turner having passed Green river and a trackless forest of about four miles, halted on elevated ground, a small distance west of Fall river, about half a mile from the Indian camp at the falls, where his men dismounted and left their horses, tied to saplings, under a small guard. About the dawn of day the English crossed Fall river, and, climbing up an abrupt hill, went rapidly through an intervening wood, rushed upon the camp, and found the Indians in a deep sleep, without even a watch. Roused from their slumber by the sudden discharge of musketry, they fled towards the river, exclaiming, Mohawks ! Mohawks! verily believing this furious enemy was upon them. Many leaped into their canoes, some in the hurry forgetting their paddles, and, attempting to cross, were shot by the English or pre- cipitated down the cataract and drowned. Some were killed in their cabins, others were cut down under the shelving rocks of the river bank, where they had fled for shelter. One hundred Indians were left dead on the ground, one hundred and forty passed down the falls, but one of whom escaped drowning. Their whole loss, as was acknowledged afterwards, was about three hundred men, among whom were some of their principal chiefs. Turner, who at this time had lost but one of his men, now returned towards his horses. By this time the Indians from the east side of the river, having joined those from Smead's Island, advanced on the left and rear of the English. Capt. Holyoke, who with part of the force formed a rear guard, often drove back the savages with great reso- lution. They, however, continued their attacks, being covered by a thick morass extending along the left flank of the retiring troops. By a captive which they took the English were informed that Philip was now approaching with a thousand Indians. This, with several attacks at various points, produced a panic among the men, and the main body at length fell into confusion, and separated into several parties under different leaders. Two of these parties were cut off by the Indians, and the prisoners of one party, as was after- wards ascertained, were burnt to death. Capt. Turner, at the head of the van, being enfeebled by a previous sickness, was unable to act with his usual vigor, and with much difficulty reached Green river. The enemy came up as he was crossing over, and he soon fell by a shot. Capt. Holyoke, who then commanded, continued the retreat through the meadow bordering Green. river, and, cross-
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GREENFIELD.
ing a pine plain and Deerfield river, entered the meadow in that town, hard pressed by the Indians, and after sustaining several furious attacks arrived at Hatfield, with the loss of thirty-eight men. 'The most fatal part of the retreat lay across the present town of Greenfield, to the north of the extended swamp, lying north of the old meeting-house. Capt. Turner is supposed to have fallen in Greenfield meadow, near the mouth of the brook, on which now stands Nash's mill, where his body was afterwards found by a scouting party of the English. The Indians followed Holyoke to the village, now called the Bars, at the south end of Deerfield meadow.' "*
GREENFIELD.
THIS town was formerly a part of Deerfield. It was incorpo- rated as a town in 1753. Rev. Edward Billings, the first minister of the first Congregational church in this town, was a native of Sunderland; he settled here in 1754. He was succeeded by Rev. Roger Newton, D. D., in 1761. Rev. Gamaliel S. Olds was settled as colleague in 1813; he resigned in 1816, and became professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in the University of Ver- mont and in Amherst college. His successor was Rev. Sylvester Woodbridge, who was succeeded by Rev. Amariah Chandler in 1832. The first pastor of the second church was Rev. Charles Jenkins, who was settled in 1820 ; his successors have been Rev. William C. Fowler, Rev. Caleb S. Henry, Rev. Thomas Bellows, and Rev. Samuel Washburn. The first minister of. the Unitarian Congregational church was the Rev. Winthrop Bailey, who was installed in 1825, and died in 1835. He was succeeded by Rev. John Parkman Jr., in 1837.
The principal part of Greenfield is composed of an extensive plain; on the eastern part of the township runs a succession of eminences, of moderate height, which are a continuation of Deer- field mountain. The soil on and near these eminences is, for some extent, light and sandy ; that of the plain is moderately good; and that along Green river, near the western border, is excellent. Greenfield is the shire town of Franklin county. The village is beautifully situated on an elevated plain, rising above the interval on Green river, and built on two intersecting streets. The village consists of 100 well-built dwelling-houses, 4 churches, 2 Congre- gational, one of which is Unitarian, 1 Episcopal, and 1 Methodist, a court-house, jail, a bank, the " Greenfield Bank," with a capital of $150,000, 2 printing-offices, with quite a number of mercantile stores and mechanic shops. The "Greenfield High School for young Ladies " has a high reputation, and the buildings connected with it are large, extensive, and elegant, and add very much to the fine appearance of the village. The following statement of dis-
* Hoyt's Indian Wars, p. 131.
A NAPL.RBAR
Drawn by J. W. Barber-Engraved by S. E. Brown, Boston. CENTRAL PART OF GREENFIELD, MASS.
The above is a northern view of part of the public buildings. The Court-House, with a small spire, is seen on the left ; the first build- ing northward is the Greenfield Bank ; the Congregational Church is seen on the right ; the Greenfield High School is a few rods south ; the elevation in the distance is beyond Green river, a mill stream, passing southward of the village.
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GREENFIELD.
tances was taken from a guide-board, (or a kind of pilaster,) stand- ing near the elegant hotel in the center of the place: 20 miles to Northampton ; 3 to Deerfield; 7 to Bernardston ; 9 to Coleraine; 40 to Springfield ; 54 to Worcester ; 20 to Brattleboro', Vt .; 118 to Haverhill; 66 to Hartford, Con .; 255 to Montreal, U. C .; and 88 miles to Boston. Population of the town, 1,840.
In 1837, there was in the town 1 woollen mill, 4 sets of ma- chinery ; 36,000 lbs. of cotton and 150,000 lbs. of wool were con- sumed, and 180,000 yards of satinet were manufactured, the value of which was $110,000; males employed, 26; females, 63; capital invested, $80,000. Merino sheep, 1,000; other kinds of sheep, 1,153; merino wool produced, 2,730 lbs .; other kinds of wool, 3,459 lbs.
This town during the Indian and French wars was made the theater for some of the horrors of Indian warfare. The fall fight, so called, took place near the eastern border of this town. (See account of Gill.) The most fatal part of the action to the English took place within the limits of this town. The following case of individual suffering deserves notice : it is extracted from Hoyť's Indian Wars.
Mr. Jonathan Wells, of Hatfield, one of the twenty who remained in the rear when Turner began his march from the falls, soon after mounting his horse received a shot in one of his thighs, which had previously been fractured and badly healed, and another shot wounded his horse. With much difficulty he kept his saddle, and, after several narrow escapes, joined the main body just at the time it separated into several parties, as has been related. Attaching himself to one that was making towards the swamp on the left, and perceiving the enemy in that direction, he altered his route, and joined another party flying in a different direction. Unable to keep up with the party, he was soon left alone, and not long after fell in with one Jones, who was also wounded. The woods being thick and the day cloudy, they soon got bewildered, and Wells lost his companion ; and after wandering in various directions, accidentally struck Green river, and proceeding up the stream, arrived at a place, since called the country farms, in the northerly part of Greenfield. Passing the river, and attempting to ascend an abrupt hill, bordering the interval west, he fell from his horse exhausted. After lying senseless some time, he revived and found his faithful animal standing by him ; making him fast to a tree, he again lay down to rest himself, but finding he should not be able to remount, he turned the horse loose, and making use of his gun as a crutch hobbled up the river, directly opposite to the course he ought to have taken. His progress was slow and painful, and being much annoyed by musquetoes, towards night he struck up a fire, which soon spread in all directions, and with some difficulty he avoided the flames. New fears now arose ; the fire, he conjectured, might guide the Indians to the spot, and he should be sacrificed to their fury. Under these impres- sions he divested himself of his ammunition, that it might not fall into their hands ---- bound up his thigh with a handkerchief, and staunched the blood, and composing him- self as much as possible, soon fell into a sleep. Probably before this he had conjec- tured that he was pursuing a wrong course, for in a dream he imagined himself bewildered, and was impressed with the idea that he must turn down the stream to find his home. The rising of the sun the next morning convinced him that his sleeping impressions were correct-that he had travelled from, instead of towards Hatfield, and that he was then further from that place than the falls, where the action took place. He was now some distance up Green river, where the high lands closed down to the stream. Reversing his course, he at length regained the level interval in the upper part of Greenfield, and soon found a foot path which led him to the trail of his retreating comrades ; this he pursued to Deerfield river, which, with much difficulty, he forded by the aid of his gun ; ascending the bank, he laid himself down to rest, and being overcome with fatigue, he fell asleep ; but soon awaking, he discovered an Indian making directly towards him, in a canoe. Unable to flee, and finding his situation desperate, he presented his gun, then wet and filled with sand and gravel, as if in the act of firing ; the Indian, leaving his own gun, instantly leaped from his canoe
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GREENFIELD.
into the water, escaped to the opposite shore, and disappeared. - Wells now concluded he should be sacrificed by others, who he knew were but a small distance down the river; but determining if possible to elude them, he gained an adjacent swamp, and secreted himself under a pile of drift-wood. The Indians were soon heard in search of him, traversing the swamp in all directions, and passing over the drift-wood ; but lying close, he fortunately avoided discovery, and after they had given up the search and left the place, he continued his painful march through Deerfield meadows. Hunger now began to prey upon him, and looking about he accidentally discovered the skele- ton of a horse, from the bones of which he gathered some animal matter, which he eagerly devoured, and soon after found a few birds' eggs, and some decayed beans, which in some measure allayed the cravings of nature, and added to his strength. Passing the ruins of Deerfield at dusk, he arrived the next morning at Lathrop's battle- ground, at Bloody Brook, in the south part of Deerfield, where he found himself so exhausted that he concluded he must give up further efforts, lie down, and die. But after resting a short time and recollecting that he was within about eight miles of Hatfield, his resolution returned, and he resumed his march over pine woods, then smoking with a recent fire ; here he found himself in great distress from a want of water to quench his thirst, and almost despaired of reaching his approximated home. But once more rousing himself, he continued his route, and about mid-day on Sunday reached Hatfield, to the inexpressible joy of his friends, who had supposed him dead. After a long confinement, Mr. Wells' wound was healed, and he lived to an advanced age, a worthy member of the town.
After the sacking of Deerfield, Rouville, the commander of the French and Indians, after the destruction of the town, after a march of about four miles, encamped in the meadows on the bank of the river. The second day's march was slow. At the upper part of Greenfield meadow it was necessary to pass Green river, a small stream, then open, in which Mrs. Williams, the wife of the Rev. John Williams, plunged under water, but, recovering herself, she with difficulty reached the shore, and con- tinued her route. An abrupt hill was now to be surmounted, and Mr. Williams entreated his Indian master for leave to return and help forward his distressed wife; he was refused, and she left to struggle with difficulties beyond her power. Her cruel and bloody master, finding her a burthen, sunk his hatchet in her head, and left her dead at the foot of the hill. Her body was soon afterwards taken up and interred in the burial-ground in Deerfield.
On the twelfth of August, 1766, a party of Indians attacked five men at labor at a place called the Country farms, in the northerly part of Greenfield. The Indians had secreted themselves on an adjacent eminence, and observed the people deposit their arms before they commenced their labor, and by a cautious approach placed them- selves between them and the men, and rushing furiously on, gave their fire ; but it proved harmless. Destitute of the means of defence, the people fled in different direc- tions ; Shubal Atherton leaped into a ravine, among thick brush, where he was dis- covered, shot, and scalped ; Benjamin Hastings and John Graves, dashing through Green river, outstripped the Indians, and escaped ; but Daniel Graves and Nathaniel Brooks were captured. The former being in years, and unable to travel with the speed of the Indians, was killed a small distance from the place of capture; Brooks was carried off, and never returned; whether he suffered the fate of his fellow-pri- soner, is not known. A party of people from Greenfield village hurried on to the spot, and followed the trail of the enemy some distance, and were soon joined by Major Williams with a party from Deerfield, but the enemy eluded their pursuers.
'The following is copied from a monument in the grave-yard in this place :-
Sacred to the memory of Thomas Chapman, Esq., a native of Barforth, in York- shire, Great Britain ; and many years a resident at Cossim-buzar, in the East Indies. He departed this transitory life May 25th, A. D. 1819, aged 73; and was a Gentleman
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