USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Volume II pt 1 > Part 7
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In the Special Laws of Massachusetts there is recorded the incorpora- tion of a Baptist society of Great Barrington on the date of June 23d, 1802 There were 53 corporators, among them being Elder John Nichols, James Wickwire, Silas Lester, Miles Avery, Lancaster Comstock, Peregrine Comstock. and Phineas Atwood. The society was composed chiefly of the inhabitants of the eastern part of the town, and in 1808 numbered so members. It was at various times in charge of elders Hall. Talmadge, and Taggett, and their meetings were held in the old school house at Blue Hill. For many years the society was kept alive by the exertions of Caleb Humiston, who came to this town from New Haven county. Conn., in 1815, and settled in Muddy Brook-now called Monu- mient Valley. After the removal of Mr. Humiston to Hudson, Ohio, the society rapidly decreased in numbers and it was finally merged into the Baptist church at Lee.
On the 6th of August, 1830, the Rev. Samuel Howe, of the Lee cir- cuit, which comprised thirteen towns situated in the Troy district, formed the first Methodist class of Great Barrington. This was composed of Comfort Roberts and Sarah, his wife, John Harmon and Clarissa. his wife, Ephraim Younglove and Maria, his wife, and Sarah Roberts, a widow. As their numbers increased the Methodists were divided into three classes, and held meetings in the school house at Seekonk, in the old red school house at Water street, and in the old hall at Van Deusenville. At the quarterly meetings they all assembled at the old town house in Great Barrington village, where the great revival occurred in the fall and win- ter of 1843-4. in 1846 the Great Barrington society withdrew from the circuit and Charles Chittenden was appointed preacher. From this time the denomination worshipped in the town house until the destruction of that building in the fall of 1844. when they removed to Mechanics' Hall, which stood near the site of the Sumner building. Here they remained until the spring of 184, when the present meeting house was built. From 1846 the clergy men have been: Revs. Charles Chittenden, William S. Stillwell, Thomas Ellis, James W. Macomber, George Kert, Loyal B. An-
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
drus, William Ostrander, Thomas Carter, Thomas E. Feroe, F. S. Bar- num, George H. Corey, Lymun W. Walsworth, John W. Ackerly, George D. Townsend. Silas Fitch. James W. Macomber, Horace W. Byrnes, Dr. G. Draper, and V. N. Traver.
In the spring of 1866 the church was thoroughly repaired, at an ex- pense of $7,000. The society is at present in a highly prosperous condition.
Some years since another Methodist society was organized, in Housa- tonic, and in 1871 a church building was erected. A Methodist Episcopal Zion society (colored) has been formed in this village, but no regular preacher is employed.
The Congregational church at Housatonic was organized on the 18th of June, 1841, with eighteen members, and two days later the number was increased to fifty-nine. In the following spring there were eighty- two members. Mr., afterward Rev .. Charles B. Boynton conducted the meetings-held in the school house-until October, 1842, when their church edifice was completed and Mr. Boynton was installed. He re- mained until April. 1845: when he was dismissed at his own request. On the 29th of the following April Rev. Ebenezer B. Andrews was installed as pastor, and remained until April 4th, 1849, when he was dismissed at his own request, as the society was unable to support him on account of the depression of the business interests of that year. For nineteen years the church was without a settled pastor, though the pulpit was supplied by the following gentlemen : Revs. D. N. Merritt, R. G. Humphrey, Jacob G. Miller. Edward J. Giddings, Josiah Brewer, and Amos G. Law. rence.
In June, 1869. the Rev. T. A. Hazen was installed as pastor, and con- tinned until July 31st, 1871. The Rev. Archibald Burpee officiated as a supply until his death. December 1st. 1873.
On the 18th of June. 1874, the Rev. Charles W Mallory, a native of Walton, Delaware county, N. Y., and a graduate of Amherst, was or- dained and installed as the pastor, in which capacity he still serves.
There is a Roman Catholic church, St. Peter's, in Great Barrington village, and another, St. Bridget's, in Housatonic ; the former was erected in 1854, and the latter in 1877. Both are attended by large con- gregations of citizens of Irish descent, and are in the charge of a priest and his vicar.
The Lower Burial Ground, since known as the Mahaiwe Cemetery, is, aside from the Indian burial places, the earliest grave yard of the town. In laying ont the land of Joshua Roct the Settling Committee re- served " a Burying Place att ye nor-east corner of ye last mentioned Lott, Six Rods north and south, ten rods east and west." Though additions were made to the original plot none are recorded until 1Stk5, when about one and one half aeres were purchased by the town and by individuals. The Mabaiwe Cemetery Association was incorporated in 1873, and it im- mediately added about nine acres. The whole grounds have been mach improved, and are neatly kept.
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TOWN OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
The first person known to have been buried in this cemetery was Joshua Root, who died in 1730. and whose grave is marked by a rough block of limestone.
Soon after the erection of the first meeting house, in 1742. a small plot of land east of the building was used as a church yard, but there is no record of additions until 1846, when the cemetery was made to enclose the grounds upon which the meeting house, and later the town house, had stood. In the following year the town purchased an additional acre on the southern side, and the Misses Kellogg and Deacon Francis Whit- ing donated two acres.
In 1880 Jared Lewis built a substantial iron fence in front of this burial ground, and it has been otherwise improved by Mrs. Mary F. S. Hopkins.
The Van Deusen Burial Ground, which lies west of the summer cot- tage of the late Joseph K. Pelton, on the Stockbridge road, remained private property until 1819, when Joseph K. Pelton conveyed it to the town. South of this cemetery the negro slaves of the Dutch settlers of this neighborhood lie buried, but the mounds that marked their graves have long since been ploughed under.
Upon the same road, near the residence of Warren Crissey, was the burial place of the Pixley and Phelps families which was used as late as 1837, but the grave stones have been removed, and the land is now cultivated.
There is another cemetery, in Muddy Brook, which has been used nearly a century, and which was enlarged by the town some years since.
A small grave yard in Housatonic was laid out soon after the set tlement of that village, and in recent years a plot of ten acres, south of the village, was purchased by the town for burial purposes.
As early as 1740 Sheffield maintained a school in the northern part of that town, and two years later it was voted that the " Inhabitants of the town of Sheffield dwelling north of the Indian Land or Beech Tree, shall have the benefit of drawing the money they are assest, provided they put it to the use of schooling."
Mr. Taylor states that " the custom then prevailed-which was con- tinned in later years-of gathering the children of a certain section at some dwelling house, or other place conveniently located for the purpose, where they were tanght for a stated length of time : at the expiration of this period the teacher removed to another part of the parish, where the children from that part were assembled and instructed ; by this method the children enjoyed nearly equal advantages; the teacher itinerated, and one 'master, mistress, or dame,' sufficed for nearly the whole of the parish."
The first school house known to have been erected was built in 1748. and probably stood on the east bank of the river near the meeting house. In the parish records mention is made of an earlier school building, but nothing further is known.
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
In April, 1762, the town voted "that there be one, and but one, school house built at the charge of and for the use of the said town "_ " that the said school house be built on the highest of the land between Mr. Aaron Sheldon's barn and Mr. Israel Dewey's land on the bend of the river." The sum of $25 was appropriated, and Israel Dewey, Sam- nel Lee, and Joshua Root were appointed the building committee.
The house was a frame building, twenty feet square, and was located near the site of the present Congregational church. It was completed in the fall of 1762, and was used until 1781, when the town voted that it should be sold. and that the proceeds should be applied to the building of a pound. Another school house was soon erected, by private enter- prise, near the meeting house. This was a long building of two rooms, and it continued in use till 1801. when it was purchased by Major Dudley Woodworth, for business purposes.
The course of study included reading, spelling, writing, and the ele- ments of arithmetic. In 1769 the town refused to maintain a school of higher grade, though it is supposed that Mr. Gideon Bostwick was em- ployed here as a teacher of a private school as early as 1764.
Another school building was erected near the old Episcopal church, and was afterward used by the Southern District.
The old Center school house was built, in 1795, on the site of the present Center school house, by private enterprise, at a cost of about $120. One half an acre of land was purchased of Captain Walter Pyn- chon, with a lane twenty-four feet in width leading to Main street. The building was a large two-story wooden house, forty-four feet long by twenty-five feet wide and nine feet between the floors. The rooms were furnished with fireplaces, and were bordered with rude benches and desks, the pupils facing the walls. This building was used until 1850, when it was destroyed by fire, and in the succeeding year the present house was built.
In 1797 a select school was opened, in the east room of the old Center building, by Miss Betsey M. Bostwick, a daughter of Rev. Gideon Bost- wick. Several years afterward the late William Sherwood established a school of higher grade in the same building. This gentleman was an able teacher, and after a number of years removed from Great Barrington to New York city where he opened a classical school, and for years en- joyed the patronage and friendship of many eminent men and successful merchants of that day, many of whose sons he educated for college and for various positions of business. Mr. Sherwood's culture and literary tastes commended him to a delightful intimacy with many of the most prominent residents of the city. He died at the age of eighty-five. in 1871.
Miss Sarah Kellogg began a select school in the Center building, from which she removed in 1832 to the small house on the site of the Episcopal church, formerly used by William Cullen Bryant as a law office. The school gradually increased in numbers, and became the Rose Cottage
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TOWN OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
Seminary, which was conducted by Misses Sarah, Mary, and Nancy Kellogg until 1853. It then came under the direction of Mrs. Martha W. Allen, and was removed to Castle Hill, where it continued until 1865. The buildings of this institution were afterward rem lelel and are now occupied by Dr. W. W. Rice and Rev. C. C. Painter.
In 1833 a room was leased in the house of Miles Bartholomew-now owned by Dr. W. H. Parks -- and a school was there kept by Erastus Rowley, of Richmond. After about two years the school was removed to the north front room of the General Dwight mansion, and was placed in charge of Corydon S. Sperry, of Berlin, Conn., but was continued only a short time
The Rev. Sturges Gilbert conducted a boarding and day school at the Episcopal parsonage, the house since owned by Major William HI. Gibbons.
About 1839 E. W. Simmons established at the Center building, a pri- vate school, which was continued several years.
In 1841 a number of leading citizens erected the Great Barrington Academy, the building now occupied by Wallace W. Langdon, and placed it in charge of the late James Sedgwick, who served as principal for nearly nine years.
Mr. Sedgwick. in 1854. opened a boarding school for boys in the old Episcopal parsonage and soon afterward erected the Sedgwick Institute, which he conducted until his death, in 1865. This institution is now in successful operation by Edward J. Van Lennep.
In 1882 a school for young ladies was opened in the house of Henry Dresser, by Misses Hatch and Sargeant, under the name of Housatonic Hall and has thus far enjoyed the highest prosperity.
On the 13th of April, 1868, the town voted to establish a high school, and the sum of $2.000 was raised for that purpose. This school was opened in the Center building, where it remained until the erection of the High school house, in 1869, at the cost of $15.900.
The following gentlemen have been the principals of this school : William H. Blodget, spring term, 1868; George W. Todd, 1868-71 : Charles C. Barton, 1871 : Edward C. Dudley, spring term of 1872 : Harry H. Scott, 1872 to his decease in March, 1877 ; H. J. Chase, 1877-$ : Frank A. Hosmer, the present principal.
There is little allusion in the town records to the war of 1812-15, which was unpopular here, as in other parts of New England. In 1814 the militia of Great Barrington was detached from the Ninth Division and ordered to Boston for the protection of the city and harbor agamst the British : but the enemy made no attempt in that quarter, and the troops soon after returned. Only one man was lost by Great Barrington in this war: Adolphus Burghardt, son of " Corner John," who was killed at the battle of Plattsburg.
The Mexican war was even more unpopular in Berkshire than the war with England, and Great Barrington had but one soldier worthy of notice.
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
George Wainwright, a son of General Timothy Wainwright, was born in this town, August 6th, 1820. He was graduated from West Point in 1344. and was immediately commissioned brevet second lieutenant in the infantry, and joined his regiment at the close of the Seminole war. He was ordered to Corpus Christi, Texas, at the beginning of the Mexican war, and was attached to the Eighth Infantry in General Worth's bri- gade, which was soon afterward engaged in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. "In these battles Lieutenant Wainwright distin- gnished himself for his bravery, was wounded in the neck, and received a complimentary notice in the General Orders."
He was afterward with General Scott at Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. and on the 8th of September his division stormed the western defenses of Chapultepec. Here he was again severely wounded, and in the spring of 1848 he returned to Great Barrington, where he partially recovered his health : but in July, while on a visit to Brooklyn, he died at the house of George R. Ives, just after receiving the commission of lientenant.
According to the old militia system of the State all citizens that were able to bear arms were required to be enrolled and to do service at the general training each year. The militia was an important institution, and political preferment was frequently obtained through its offices. The troops of this section belonged to the Ninth Division of the State, in which John Ashley, of Sheffield, Thomas Ives, of Great Barrington. Joseph Whiton, of Lee, and John Whiting, of Great Barrington, were in turn major-generals.
The latter gentleman was the son of Lieutenant Gamaliel Whiting, and a law student in the office of General Thomas Ives. He was admitted to the bar in 1792 and continned in practice until his death, January 13th, 1846. General Whiting was town clerk from 1794 to 1811, repre- sentative at the General Court in 1815, State senator in 1816-17, and for many years district attorney.
The town militia afterward consisted of three companies, one each of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, and later a new company of light infan- try, comprised of Great Barrington, Sheffield, and Egremont men, was formed, of which David Ives was captain and Clark A. Wilcox, lieuten ant. Upon the promotion of Captain Ives to the colonelcy, Lieutenant Wilcox became captain and continued for a few years, when he was suc- ceeded by David Hudson, the last to hold the office.
In the years succeeding the war of 1812 the militia requirements gradually became distasteful to the citizens, and the militia system ceased to operate in 1836.
" Since the dissolution of the old federal party, the town has been generally whig in politics until 1856, and later republican : though on local issues the republican and democratic parties are frequently quite evenly matched."
On the 26th of August. 1840. during the memorable Harrison and Tyler campaign, a whig convention was held in Great Barrington, which
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called together probably the largest multitude ever witnessed in this vil- lage. The gathering place was the field south and east of the Congrega- tional church, now covered with houses. Early on that day processions came from the surrounding towns, and from Connecticut and New York. Each company had a huge log cabin on wheels, dragged by a dozen or more yoke of oxen. The cabins were hung with coon skins, and in every window a broken pane of glass was replaced by an old hat stuffed in. Hard cider was dealt out by the mugful at every halting place. One train of oxen drew a large full rigged ship called the Constitution. on board of which refreshments were prepared by the ladies. A tall liberty pole, erect upon a farm wagon, was brought in from New Marlboro. The throng was addressed by Joshua A. Spencer and Mark H. Sibley, both natives of Great Barrington, and also by George N. Briggs, then repre- sentative in Congress for this district ; while Joseph Hoxie, of New York. sang the famous campaign songs.
In the fall elections of 1860 two thirds of the votes of this town were cast for the Lincoln electoral ticket, and the news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter and the bloody attack upon the Massachusetts Fifth at Baltimore united republicans and democrats in the defense of the Union.
On the morning of Sunday, April 21st, 1861, the news of the Balti- more masseere aroused the most intense excitement, and in the afternoon. at the Congregational church. the Rev. Horace Winslow broke off in the midst of his discourse and delivered an eloquent appeal for the preserva- tion of the government. On the following Wednesday a large and en thusiastic convention was held in the old town hall on Bridge street. of which David Leavitt was chosen president : John H. Coffing, Ralph Tay- lor, Asa C. Russell, Walter W. MeIntyre. vice-presidents ; and Joseph Tucker. Walter W. Hollenbeck, and William Whitlock, secretaries. Addresses were made, and resolutions for raising troops and supporting the families of volunteers were adopted. A number of young men imme- diately enlisted, and within one week fifty men were enrolled and the sum of $4, 614 was subscribed. The soldiers were encamped on the fair grounds, making use of the Agricultural Hall as barracks. A Soldiers' Aid Society was organized by the ladies on the 2d of May, of which Mrs. Clara A. W. Sumner was chosen president, Mrs. Delia Hulbert vice- pres- ident, and Miss Nancy Kellogg secretary. This society in three weeks furnished 300 shirts and undershirts, besides many other necessaries and comforts for the volunteers. These soldiers were afterward constituted Company A of the Tenth Massachusetts, and were commanded by Capt. Ralph O. Ives, the first to enlist.
On Tuesday, May 28th, the company, now numbering seventy nine, marched in full uniform to the town hall, where the election of officers took place, and Bibles were furnished to each soldier from the Bible So- ciety by the Rev. C. A. L. Richards, of St. James' Church. The troops then proceeded to the house of Mrs. Judith Bigelow, escorted by a caval- cade led by David Leavitt, where Mrs. Bigelow presented the company
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
with a silken flag, Samuel B. Sumner making the presentation speech, and Captain Ives the reply. The procession then marched to Mount Peter, where each soldier, kneeling and kissing the flag, took the oath to defend it. This ceremony was followed by a speech from Sergeant David J. Bishop, a veteran of the Mexican war and a member of the company, and the exercises of the day were completed by a supper at the Collins House, furnished by Dr. C. T. Collins.
On the following morning the company set out on the march to Springfield, and was mustered into service on the 21st of June. On the 8th of June the town voted "to assume and provide for the support of the families of the soldiers who have enlisted or who shall hereafter enlist into the service of the United States, so long as they shall remain in such service."
A company of Home Guards was organized in May, 1861, and later the " Brownell Zouaves," under Captain Richard J. Bush. The captain and several of his soldiers afterward served in the Twenty seventh regi- ment.
On the 20th of August, 1861, Henry W. Wright, Edward L. Kellogg, Stillman P. Pattison, George G. Ray, Gilbert Oakley, and James Doug- las, of Great Barrington, and William H. Shears, of Sheffield. left town to join the Second New York Cavalry under Kilpatrick. Mr. Taylor states that these men " were engaged in numerous battles. raids, and skinnishes, and experienced as severe service as fell to the lot of any of our soldiers."
Pattison died in the hospital at Georgetown, D. C., December 25th, 1861 ; this was, perhaps, the first death of any Great Barrington man in the army. Oakley was killed by the accidental discharge of his carbine in his own hands, in September. 1862. Douglas, disabled by the kick of a horse, was discharged. Wright was taken prisoner at the battle of Buckland's Mills, Va., October 19th, 1863, and confined at Belle Island, where, suffering the privations and hardships common to prisoners of war, he experienced the further affliction of the small pox. He was eventually released on parole May 8th, 1864. Shears was captured at Brandy Station, Va., September 11th, 1863, confined at Belle Island, and paroled in March, 1864. Kellogg fell into the hands of the rebels Sep- tember 224, 1863, and Ray in June, 1864 ; both remained prisoners to the close of the war.
Soon after the enlistment of the Twenty-seventh. twenty-two from this town joined the Thirty first, and were afterward engaged in the bat- tles of the Department of the Gulf, in 1862-3, and later were present at the battle of Sabine Cross Roads.
Forty men enlisted in July, 1862, and under Captain Edwin Hurlbert joined the Thirty seventh regiment and took part in the battles of Fred- ericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.
At an open air meeting. held August 19th, 1862. in Main street. near the Berkshire House. JJoseph Tucker, Thomas Siggins, and others volun-
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TOWN OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
teered, and soon after 81 men were mustered into the Forty-ninth regi- ment as Company D. In the attack on Port Hudson, May 27th, word came from the commanding officer that a certain section of the rebel breastworks must be captured at all hazards, and a call was made for volunteers to storm the heights, to which a sufficient number immediately responded. Lieutenant Colonel O'Brien, of the Forty eighth Massachu- setts was placed at the head of the column, a captain of the Forty-ninth about the center, and Lientenant Siggins had command of the rear. Di- rections had been given that if the colonel should fall the captain should rush forward to his place, and that the lieutenant should take the captain's position. Scarcely was the column in motion when Colonel O'Brien was killed, and the captain succeeding him was likewise shot down. Lieu- tenant Siggins, running at full speed from the rear, had hardly time to recover his breath at the center of the column when he was called upon to lead the van. By this time the troops who had been advancing at the double-quick. had nearly reached the earthworks and Lieutenant Sig- . gins was struck down by a wound in the side. Quickly springing to his feet and waving his sword he cheered his men but received a terrible wound in the month and neck. He fell behind a log and was thus pro- tected until late in the day when he was picked up by the ambulance and carried to the hospital.
The following incident was related to a friend by Lieutenant Sig- gins. After having sufficiently recovered from his wounds to warrant his removal he embarked on board a steamboat and proceeded down the Mis- sissippi. The boat carried a large number of rebel prisoners, under what the lieutenant regarded as an insufficient guard. As they passed by rebel stations on the river the lieutenant kept a strict watch upon the prisoners, intending to give the alarm in time to quell any mutiny. He soon perceived that he was closely watched in turn by a man dressed in rebel uniform, and desirous of avoiding observation, he withdrew to the cabin. Here he was followed by the rebel, who accosted him and asked in regard to his wound. Lieutenant Siggins did not wish the rebel to know how badly he had been injured, and after making a polite but brief reply, turned away. But the Southerner persisted in the conversa- tion, and asked whether he had been wounded at Port Hudson, and on receiving an answer in the affirmative, the rebel declared he was now sure that he had shot the lieutenant while he was leading the charge upon the breastworks. A long and interesting conversation followed.
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