USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Easthampton > Historical sketch of Easthampton, Mass. : delivered before the Young Men's Association of Easthampton, Oct. 7, 1851 > Part 2
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The lines of demarkation between this and the other towns were very irregular. It seems, to some extent, to have been a matter of choice with many of the borderers, whether they should be set off' to Easthampton, or remain as they were. In 1809, when Easthampton was incorporated as a town, and since, there has been some improve- ment in regard to lines ; but still it would be worth a very great ef- fort, to give more regularity to the town lines. I cannot think that such an effort would be fruitless, if a map of the town, as it now is, accompanied with suitable representations, were presented to any Legislature.
The motives which urged our fathers to press the matter of separa- tion from Northampton and Southampton, were donbtless good. A prominent one was that they might have nearer to them a place of public worship.t That was truly a laudible motive. They and their fathers loved the sanctuary. They had seen the time when they had repaired thither with arms in their hands, to defend themselves, their wives and little ones, while engaged in divine worship.t But after 1759, at the close of the French war, if not earlier, there was no lon-
· See Appendix, Note 5.
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ger any fear of an attack from blood thirsty savages. No more did the war whoop awake the sleep of the cradle. No more did that unearthly yell send consternation and dismay through the hearts of mothers and fathers. Peace had now for several years pervaded all these blessed borders. From 1739, this region had been remarkably favored of God. Under the ministry of the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, the spirit of God came down like a mighty rushing wind, and converts to righteousness, in this region, were multiplied like the drops of the morning dew. A great part of this town belonged to the Parish of that eminent man of God. And it was in Pascommuck, that the great revival of 1739 commenced-a revival which, in its progress, became the wonder of thousands in that age, both in this country and Great Britain. Seldom, if ever, have there been in New England richer displays of divine grace in the renewal and formation of human character-in fitting men for duty here,-and glory, and honor and immortality hereafter. The great portion of the population, trained under such preaching, and created anew by God's truth and spirit, were pre-eminently indoctrinated in his word, and pre-eminently con- scientious in the discharge of duty. The settlers of all the Hamp- tons were originally of the same general character. All of the old Puritan stock, they were in the main rigid and exact in the perform- ance of their relative duties to each other, and, especially, of what they thought they owed to God. In nothing were the fathers of this town more conscientious, than in the observance of the Sabbath. They universally began it, at the going down of the sun, or at dusk, Saturday evening. In many cases, preparations were made for the joyful coming of the Sabbath sometime before sun-set, that nothing, unnecessary, might possibly interfere with the sacred observance of the Sabbath, at the very beginning of it. The father shaved, and the mother prepared every thing of a culinary nature, needed the next day, that could well be made ready, and both parents, with their chil- dren and the book of God open before them, were often waiting, ere the setting of the sun, to cross together the sacred threshold of the Sabbath. And then, too, with what pains and promptness, they wait- ed on the preaching of the word in the sanctuary. How constant in their attendance .* How serious and reverent, when there. They loved the preaching of God's word-they loved all his ordinances. They could, patiently, listen an hour or more, to the exposition of
. See Appendix, Note 7.
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some truth by the immortal Edwards. And, in prayer, approaching in no small degree to the length of the sermon, men and women too could stand.º And ifa man was seated in prayer, it must be he was sick, or infirm; and if it occurred, on a particular Sabbath, for the first time, it would not be strange if his case, for subsequent days, were a matter of anxious inquiry. Many often stood through no small part of the delivery of the sermon. The truth is, they were no more reluctant to stand during prayer, in those days, than inen are now to stand two or more hours, to hear some great states- man discourse on the great principles of their party. These men, now have strength enough of nerve, muscle and limb to stand before the statesman ; and so had those men of ancient times, our venerable fathers, to stand before God, in his sanctuary, in accordance, as they believed, with scripture example, and the practice of all the primitive christians. The modern position in prayer, so much adopted, has cer- tainly the advantage of the old, in that, it is more comfortable,-easi- er ; but with men of the stamp of our fathers, such a consideration would surely have little weight.
Great stress was laid by men of the past generation, on the per- formance of the public duties of the Sabbath. It will surprise some of my hearers to be informed, that a law once existed, compelling men to attend meeting on the Sabbath, once every quarter, or sub- mit to the payment of a fine. I say nothing of the wisdom of such a law. The law was once or twice actually enforced in this place. And then, too, that other law which forbade all unnecessary travelling on the Sabbath ; how faithfully that was executed by the warden or tythingman, carrying through the street his staff of office. And, constructed as the galleries then were, in the meeting-houses, and occupied as they then were, almost entirely by the youth, how fre- quently this officer had occasion to exercise the duties of his office, during and after divine worship. Often did the playfal boy, sungly ensconced in one corner of a gallery pew or pen, more intent on play than on listening to the sermon, hear the monition of the tythingman, warning him by name, with stentorian voice, to desist from his play ; and sometimes, too. he wished himself very small, as the self-impor- tant official opened the pew door, took him out and showed him up to the staring congregation. During this operation, at times interrupt- ing the good minister in the delivery of his discourse, the unlucky
" See Appendix, Notas.
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wight certainly felt small and cheap too, whatever his size may have been. And how dreaded, too, was that warden staff, by the young folks, who were bent on whispering, laughing or playing in divine worship, and how often did they have occasion to rue that propensity, as they felt on the head, the rap from that staff, not soon to be forgotten.
But those men of former times had their views of duty. We will do them honor. The times are changed. Those men were among the choicest spirits of any age. And I love, in these days of general laxity, in regard to many subjects of vital importance, to dwell on their strictness, their conscientiousness, their moral firmness, their inflexible integrity, because as they understood it, they aimed to do their duty. It was not so much a question with them, whether this or that measure be popular, but whether it be right. It was a dis- tinguisling trait in their characters, to prefer to work righteousness, in obedience to God's will, whether they acted as private individuals, or as magistrates, and then to leave all consequences to Him. Popu- larity was the reward of doing duty. And other things being equal, one who was the most observant of the laws of the land, was the most likely to be promoted to office by his fellow-citizens. Popularity hunters, and office hunters were much more scarce in this region, seventy-five or one hundred years ago, than they are at this day. Is he honest ? Is he capable ? Will he probably do his duty to his country, come what may ?- were questions much more apt to be asked, in reference to qualifications for office, in that golden age. How different from such miserable interrogatories as these :- Hlas he done well for his party ? Is it net his turn ?
. But I hasten away from the arena of politics, and enter a far more peaceful, quiet and delightful scene. Our fathers not only loved to unite in prayer with the minister in the sanctuary ; they loved also to pray in the family. Family prayer was nearly, if not an universal practice. This was true, I believe, long after the settlement of the Rev. Mr. Williston, which occurred Ang. 13, 1789. Indeed, I can myself well remember, when it was regarded as a rather unusual cir- comstance for a head of a family, in this place, not to lead in devo- tion in his family, every morning and evening. The family assem- bled :
1 " with serious face, 'They round the fire side form a circle wide ; The sire turns o'er with patriarchal grace The big hall bible, once his father's pride ;
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Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide,
Hle selects a portion with judicious care,
And, ' let us worship God,' he says, with solemn air, ---- Then to heaven's eternal King The saint, the father, and the husband prays :
Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing,
That thus they all shall meet in future days : There ever bask in uncreated rays, No more to sigh or shed the bitter tear ; Together hymning their Creator's praise,
In such society, yet still more dear,
While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere."
May such scenes ever exist in our midst, and the hallowing influ- ence of family prayer be felt in every household, in the formation of the intellectual as well as and moral character. None can unite in such prayer regularly every morning and evening, and not be better sons, and better daughters, better men, and better women, citizens and patriots of a higher and nobler style. True patriotism-genuine love of country-the true friends of order, government, and the union-the staunchest supporters of our free institutions in the day of imminent peril, are produced by such influences. The men of this place, in 1787, who stood firmly by the government, when disatiec- tion to it was rife in some quarters of this region, were men who had been taught around the family altar, better than to join the ranks of rebellion ; so that in those ranks only a single individval from this place could be found. And here, I cannot omit to record an inci- dent, in those times of trial, an incident of great interest to us, the descendants of such men. When, on a certain occasion, there was a gathering of the people near where we are now assembled, and it was proposed by an individual,* in order to test their feelings and to draw out and unite the friends of law, that all who were friends of the government should follow the fife and drum ; all to a man fol- lowed.+ And not only were they ready, in this way, to express their devotion to law and order, but many of them actually engaged as soldiers in putting down the insurrection. Some of them were at Springfield, with those few hundred of government troops, in the barracks, on that memorable day, when Gen. Shepherd was most reluctantly compelled, from a sense of duty, to fire on and rout the advancing hosts, of the insurgents headed by their chief.
. Dea, Stephen Wright.
I See Appendix, Note 9.
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In view of the result, I may be permitted to remark, how resolute and courageous men are, when conscious they are on the right side, engaged in sustaining the laws and regularly constituted authorities of their country, even though they themselves are much fewer in number, and arrayed against fearful odds, as was the case on that melancholy occasion. The truth is, our fathers, several of whom had been engaged in the revolutionary contest, and all had suffered by it in a greater or less degree, prized too highly what had been gained by that struggle, to withstand the regular operation of law by a resort to arms, or to allow others to oppose it in this way, in order to redress, any grievances that might exist. They were law and order men. They saw plainly in the train of successful rebellion and resistance to government, misrule and anarchy, and the loss of all that they held most dear.
May the young gentlemen whom I have the honor and the pleasure to address this evening-the descendants of these true patriots, ever manifest such devotion to our free institutions and our glorious union, when the crisis shall demand it, that they who may come after them, may be as proud of them, as we are to day of those from whom we are descended.
But, I must not weary your patience, though the chronicles of the town are not yet all told. There still are incidents of interest to a native of this town, which cannot now be told, in detail, for want of time. I can only allude to some of them. Such, for instance, as the existence of slavery once, on what is now our soil; so that we must not forget that the evil, the existence of which we so much deplore at the South, once existed here.
My informant says, that " Joseph Bartlett had two slaves, whom he set free by his will. John Lanckton, of Pascommuck, had a slave that was valued in his inventory at sixty pounds. These are all the slaves probably that were ever owned in what is now Easthampton."
Nor ought I to omit stating that this place has not been exempt from scenes of murderous violence. In 1780, Elisha Brown was killed by one Norton, in a fit of ungoverned passion, nearly opposite to the present Nashawannuck Factory boarding house. A few years later, an Indian woman was killed just below the grist-mill, as it was sup- posed, by her husband. Both Norton and the Indian were severally arraigned, on trial for their lives, but both were acquitted of being guilty of a capital crime.
" See Appendix, Note 10.
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And, that other sad event, of accidental killing, ought to be chronicled here. One morning, in January, 1780, Samuel Coleman and Ezekiel Wood, two friends, were out hunting deer on the present farm of John Wright. On the hunting ground, they were separated. It was a foggy day. After a while, Coleman discovered a movement in the brush not far from him. He thought it was made by a deer, and at once fired. And alas ! he had shot his friend ! This event, of course, filled the heart of a young widowed wife, and that of an aged widowed mother, with the keenest anguish, and sent a thrill of sorrow through a sympathising community.
In speaking of the various topics of interest to us, I must not forget just to glance at the burial places of past generations. We have a deep interest in these places ; for our ancestors, our friends, are sleeping there.
The ground adjacent to us has been occupied as a place of burial for about ninety-six years. It was originally owned by Benja- min Lyman, son of him who was one of the purchasers of School meadow, whose child was the first one deposited here. The original ground was probably given by the owner for a burying place. The other cemetery, in Pascommuck, was given by Eliakim Clark; and the first one buried there was a child of Jonathan Janes, in 1775.
In these cemeteries, or sleeping places, as the term originally im- plies, have been laid a multitude of all ages. The infant of days ; the young man in his full vigor and strength, the maiden in the bloom of life, on each of whom centered the fondest parental hopes; the man of business, too, called away in the midst of all his cares, in the meridian of life ; the mother, who it seemed could not be spared from her babes ; the aged fathers and mothers in Israel, the pioneers of every good work here, the firm supporters of every thing excellent, having done what they could, rest here from their labors. Here, the mortal part will sleep till awakened by the trumpet, on that eternal morning. How useful to us to visit these burial places, to study the instructive and impressive lessons before us there. And if there be an interest taken in the invisible world, in the sleeping dust of men, why should we not cherish these places of the departed, adorn them with flowers, and shrubs, and trees, to make them, thus, interesting places of resort for reflection, and see to it, too, that they are kept sacred from every unhallowed purpose ! A suitable attention to the cemetery furnishes a most important testimony in favor of any people. Let us, then, be entitled to this favorable testimony, by the care we
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shall take of these grounds from year to year. Leave them not to be neglected and forsaken, so that they shall be the most forlorn of all places in our midst.
But I hasten, in closing, to advert to the interest taken here, in earlier times, in the cause of education. It seems " Northampton first appropriated money for schooling at Bartlett's mill and Pascom- muck, in 1748, and nearly every year after that. Previously to that, there was no school except in the old village." To this statement, my friend, adds as follows : " I find, however, one appropriation for a school at Pascommuck, in 1739." He says " the schools were kept by men, and in the winter and spring only. The common price for teaching was six shillings a week, or twenty-four shillings a month, and the teachers boarded themselves. Obadiah Janes, Phillip Clark, Joel Parsons, and others kept school, at this rate. When the teacher lived out of the district, something more was given. After Joseph Bartlett's death, that district was commonly called Clapp's Farms." These were truly, according to present views on this subject, humble efforts in the cause of education. Perhaps they were all that could be expected to be made in that age. While the wages of the teach- ers were low, it must be remembered, that the wages, also, of the laborer on the farm were low. . An excellent hand could then be obtained on the farm through the year, probably fer 35 or 40 dollars. There was hardly any employment, in winter, for men in those times, except in doing what was connected with farming operations. So that school-keeping, after all, was not a business so very much under- paid, for the times. Be that as it may have been, education was not neglected. Men were found to teach school, at the price already sta- ted, though with qualifications very much inferior to what are required of teachers of common schools, at this day. From these hamdie beginnings, the system of common school education grew more and more into favor, and long since was firmly established in the hearts of the people.
Easthampton, it is believed, has furnished her full quota of men educated at College. The population was small, we have seen, when incorporated into a District, and it increased but slowly : so that, at no time, previously to the last census, had it exceeded 745. Our population at each census has been as follows : In 1790-457; 1800-586; 1810-660; 1820-712; 1830-745; 1840-717; 1850-1202, the State census ; 1349, U. S. census.
Though our population has been so small, twenty from this
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town have received the honors of College .* Thirteen of this number have been licensed to preach the gospel. And it may be noticed, as rather remarkable, it is not known that more than two of the whole number have departed this life. All these have been educated since the commencement of the ministry of our venerable first Pastor.t
And here in this connexion, some account ought to be given of the origin and design of Williston Seminary, established here by the extraordinary munificence of the Hon. SAMUEL WILLISTON. This Institution originated in a desire to extend the advantages of a thor- ough training, in the elements of an English and Classical education. The idea of such a school was suggested sometime before the close of 1840; but it was not fully and finally decided to found and locate it, here, till December of that year, or in January, 1841. In February following, it was incorporated with the power to hold $50,000 for educational purposes ; and not only that amount, but $5,000 in addition, has been fully expended in its establishment and endowment. It was opened for the admission of students, Dec. 2, 1841.
The founder of this Seminary and its carly friends, hoped that the existence of such a school, of the high order they contemplated, would greatly promote the interests of Academical education in Western Massachusetts. It was not their aim merely to multiply Academies. These, such as they were, were already quite numerous enough in this region. But, they had either a very small endowment, or none at all ; and were generally farmed or let ont to teachers, who kept up schools, in the best way they could, through the year, or a part of it. There could seldom be any division of labor in teaching, for want of funds to procure a suitable number of competent teachers. The minds of the teachers were often distracted by the many recita- tions they were obliged to hear, in a manner as unsatisfactory to themselves as to their pupils. And then, again, there was a lack of discipline in these Academies generally, so essential to the existence of a good school. It was not strange that the motive to have as large a number as possible connected with the Academy-because the more students, the more salary-should often have had too strong an influence for the good of the Academy, in retaining scholars. And as no school can be distinguished for thoroughness of instruc- tion, unless equally marked in its character for strictness of disci-
" See Appendix, Note 11. ! Nole 12.
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pline, it was deemed an object of great moment to the interests of education in this region, that an academical institution should be established, with a sufficient endowment, on the one hand, to allow the employment of an adequate number of accomplished teachers, with the necessary division of labor in teaching; and on the other hand, that these teachers should be independent in the control and government of their pupils. Strictness in discipline, and thorough- ness in instruction, with the word of God, were to constitute the true basis of the new institution. Its crowning excellence was to consist in a faithful application, on the part of the teachers, of the , great principles of the Bible to the consciences, intellects and hearts of their pupils. Unless the above named objects were steadily kept in view by the teachers, and as steadily pursued, the existence of the Seminary was not demanded. With these sure elements of pros- perity, and amply endowed, as it was to be, to enable the teachers to accomplish the designs in view, its establishment was regarded, at the time it was founded, as an object of the highest importance. The fact that within a few years after it went into operation, thousands of our youth had availed themselves of its advantages, is evidence of the high estimation in which it was held by the public, and also of the wisdom of its establishment. Of these thousands, many have completed their collegiate course, many others are now in college, while several hundred more, having been greatly aided here in quali- fying themselves, as teachers in our common schools, have been and still are, engaged in that very important sphere of duty. One great object in view in the establishment of the Seminary, was to raise up and qualify common school teachers for their employment.
In consequence of the existence of the Seminary, the removal of the Button Works of S. Williston & Co., to this place, three years since, and the incorporation of the Nashawannuck Suspender Facto- ry, owned by the above firm, and adjoining to the Button Works, the population and valuation of this town have greatly increased. The valuation for 1840 was 8181,637, and of 1850, 8434,561. About sixty-five dwelling houses, besides public buildings and stores, have been erected since 1840, within a mile of the center of the town. From an inconsiderable place, this has become one of the most thriv- ing villages in this region. To one who can look to the time when Easthampton was incorporated as a District, and the first Pastor soon after settled in the ministry, the change, here, must appear very great. And what reminiscences, both sad and pleasing, that former Pastor
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must have ; sad as he reflects that all the men twenty-one years of age, who could have legally taken any part in inviting him to settle here as Pastor-all, with a single exception, have gone before him into the eternal world ; and pleasing, as he views the prosperity of the people of his late charge, from the Sabbath morning, when he came from Pascommuck for the first time into this place, wending his way along up, partly through brush and woods, to preach his first sermon, here, in that humble and unfinished house of worship,* that stood within the park enclosure.
What reminiscences, I say, he must have in view of the changes that have occurred during this long period, so eventful to Easthamp- ton ! No one in the evening of life can have so delightful reflections, as the faithful minister of the gospel. As no other profession is so noble, so he who can look back on a life well spent in that profession has his own peculiar reward, even on this side of the grave. And then, too, that crown of life that is laid up for the faithful. And the waiting for this in humble hope and cheerful expectation, together with the present reward, must gild the evening horizon of that faith- ful and beloved Pastor with the mildest radiance. How blessed it is to be qualified to do good and to have a heart to do it. How blessed to be a benefactor to our race.
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