USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Easthampton > History of Easthampton: its settlement and growth; its material, educational, and religious interests, together with a genealogical record of its original families > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13
It appears that a defense was attempted at the house of Benoni Jones, which was encompassed with pickets, but the surprise was so complete that the savages, aided by fire, were soon enabled to overpower and destroy, or capture nearly all of them. Nineteen or twenty were slain. Nine persons by the name of Janes were killed :- Samuel, his wife and three children, and four children of Benjamin Janes. The wife of the latter was taken by the savages to the top of Pomeroy mountain, and there knocked on the head and scalped, and probably left for dead. By a good Providence she was not killed, but was found in
17
EARLY HISTORY.
this situation, and carried on a litter to Northampton. Her husband, after the capture, had fallen a little in rear of the party, and while they were passing a little ravine, surrounded by bushes and leading to the water, near the present residence of Bryant Pendleton, he succeeded in eluding the vigilance of his savage captors. Running through this he reached the water, and springing into a skiff, which he probably knew to be fastened there, he made his escape to Northampton, where he was the first to announce the mournful tidings.
A troop of cavalry, headed by Capt. John Taylor, immediately started to intercept, if possible, the relentless savages. He came through Pomeroy's meadow, near the present road leading from East to Westhampton, and passed on south to the so-called Westfield road, and between this and Mt. Tom, on land now owned by Chester and the heirs of C. Edson Wait, he encountered the Indians. They having by some means obtained knowledge of his approach, destroyed the lives of all the boys whom they had captured, except Elisha, son of John Searl. He, seeing the work of destruction going on, caught a pack and ran on, thereby showing that if they would spare him he would be no hindrance but rather a help to them. Capt. Taylor, being considerably in advance of his troops, was exposed to the first fire of the enemy, who were probably concealed, and fell. It is not known whether any others were killed, but it is certain that the Indians escaped.
Benjamin Janes removed to Coventry, Ct., where he was made deacon of the church. The wife of John Searl survived a severe blow on the head from a tomahawk. One of her descendants has in her possession a silver hair pin worn on the head of Mrs. Searl at the time the blow was inflicted. Her son Elisha, who was not murdered, 2
18
HISTORY OF EASTHAMPTON.
was taken to Canada, where he was brought up in the Catholic faith, and his mind became thoroughly imbued with its superstitions. ›On one occasion, with a party of Indians, he made arrangements to enter on a hunting and trapping expedition along the great western lakes, for the purpose of obtaining fur. As no priest was to accompany them, he went to one and inquired, with evident concern, what he should do, since there was no priest to whom he could confess, and he might die on his journey. The priest told him it would be just as well to confess to a tree, and then sent him away. This declaration struck him very forcibly. He revolved the idea in his mind, and the result was that he became convinced that the whole system of Romanism was one of deception, and on his return he refused to confess his sins to a priest. After many years he visited his native place, but so accustomed had he become to Canadian, or Indian life, that it was with the greatest difficulty that his friends prevailed on him to stay. It is said that during his long absence he had so far forgotten the English language, that he was unable to make himself known to his friends, and that he succeeded in doing so only when he had found in the house and walked upon a pair of stilts, which he had used when a boy. Here he married, reared up a family, was a worthy citizen, and held a respectable standing in the church. As an instance of the power of early associations upon the mind, it may be mentioned that on one occasion, as he was by the bedside of a dying woman, under the influence, for the moment, of his early delusion, he requested her to remember him in her prayers in Heaven, but instantly recollecting himself, he expressed sorrow that he should ever have made such a request.
No other lives were known to have been taken by the Indians, till 1724, when Nathaniel Edwards, 2d, was shot
19
EARLY HISTORY.
at the brook a few rods south of the residence of Samuel Phelps. It was supposod that he, in company with other men from Northampton, had come out to gather their crops from the Manhan meadows, which were leased for a long time previous to their purchase. Several of them came out together for the sake of mutual protection, but he, it is said, was detained at the cartway or fording place on the river, in consequence of which he fell behind the others, was waylaid at the above mentioned place, and was shot and scalped, by a body of Indians. The tradition is that there was a negro on the load at the time. His attention being attracted by the firing and shouting, he raised his head and looked cautiously over, when, to his horror and dismay, he beheld the swarthy savages scalping his master. He however remained quiet till the team had reached the top of the hill, when he slipped from the load, removed one horse from the team, mounted, and made off with all possible speed towards Northampton. Before reaching it, he overtook the other teamsters, and informed them of his master's fate. It is not known whether the murderers were pursued, but it is certain that they escaped unpunished.
It is probable that these were the only persons killed by the Indians within what now constitutes Easthampton, but for more than twenty years from this time,-particularly however, in 1745, 6 and 7,-a general fear of the tenants of the forest pervaded the community ; so much so, that about 1745 several houses were fortified, as places of refuge in case of an attack, and mounts were erected as watch-houses. The houses of Joseph Bartlett at the Mills, Samuel Janes at Pascommuck, and Major Clapp, near where Ansel Bartlett now resides, were thus guarded.
Those were times of peculiar danger, and it is well that we, their children, should remember at what price of blood,
20
HISTORY OF EASTHAMPTON.
treasure, and comfort, our homes and our liberties, both civil and religious, were obtained, in order that we may the more sacredly guard them ; that we may be the more anxious to transmit them, unimpaired, to those that shall come after us.
As we have seen, these grounds which we now call our own, were once the home of the. red man. Here they roamed in savage freedom, built their wigwams, sang their war songs, and celebrated the exploits of their sires. They enjoyed peculiar facilities for fishing, for the falls on Manhan river, by the grist-mill, afforded facilities which all did not enjoy. There is abundant testimony that shad and salmon in large quantities were taken there. These plains were the resort of large numbers of deer, which afforded them means of subsistence, as well as suited their natural tastes and desires. The last place in town which they occupied, was in the limits of Pascommuck, where they had a village and a fort, probably on what is now known as Fort Plain, in the rear of the East District school-house.
In 1664, a number of them petitioned the town of Northampton for liberty to erect a fort. The town granted the petition on seven conditions, the first being that they should not violate the Sabbath, by carrying burdens, or in any other manner. The other restrictions were concerning harboring other Indians, &c. Their motives were proba- bly good in desiring the place. They had no evil designs against the dominant race. They continued to reside here, till the opening of King Phillip's war, in 1675, when they joined the hostile forces, and quitted forever the land of their nativity-the home of their fathers.
Perhaps we can imagine, better than describe, their feelings, when they surveyed, for the last time, the hills, valleys and rivers,-the theaters of their brave exploits, immortalized in song.
21
EARLY HISTORY.
There is much to admire, as well as much to deprecate, in their character. That they had vices none can question. That they had virtues, is equally true. But they are gone ; not an individual left. The race which once roamed these hillsides, hunted deer in these grand old forests, and fished in these streams, are remembered only in history. They passed away, so far as we know, unblessed by the gospel which alone maketh wise unto salvation.
There is not now much to remind us of that once interesting though fearful people ; but what there is should be preserved and perpetuated.
Two portions of the town still retain the old Indian names to some extent. I refer to Pascommuck and Nashawannuck. Surely these are names of which no son or daughter of these places, or of Easthampton, need be ashamed. The latter of these names, it hardly need be said, has been adopted by one manufacturing company in town. It is well. Let these names forever remain, sad mementoes of the departed, almost forgotten, race. Let them descend to the latest generation.
We have how reviewed, somewhat at length, the settle- ment of the different portions of the town. We have seen that some of the settlers had to encounter perils from the wild, merciless savage, whom they had reason to fear by day and night; or, if the red man did not disturb their homes, there were forests to be felled before farming lands could be obtained, houses to be constructed, roads to be built, and all this with utensils which appear rude indeed when compared with those of modern times. But all these hardships were, no doubt, intended by an All-wise Providence for the development of that sterling type of character, which has so long been the glory and boast of our loved New England.
2*
22
HISTORY OF EASTHAMPTON.
INCORPORATION.
The first attempt, on the part of the inhabitants of Easthampton, to become a town or district, was in March, 1773. At that time, what is now Easthampton, belonged to Northampton and Southampton. It was divided as follows :- " All east of a line beginning near the bridge over the Manhan river, and running southwardly on the Westfield road, so-called, to land owned by the late Gamaliel Pomeroy, in. Southampton ; and all northwardly of a line commencing near the mouth of Sawmill Brook, and extending westwardly in the rear of the houses now owned by Samuel Hurlburt and Samuel Wright, to the road just beyond S. Wright's house, along said road westwardly through the house now owned by Dea. E. W. Hannum, towards Pomeroy mountain. All east and north of these lines belonged to Northampton ; the rest of course to Southampton." The motives which actuated our fathers in pressing a separation, were that they might be in such circumstances, that, with little difficulty, they could meet and transact business among themselves ; but more especially, that, with greater convenience, and hope- fully with greater profit to themselves and their families, they might attend on public worship and ordinances of God's sanctuary. Laudable and praiseworthy motives, truly! In accordance with these views, in 1773 they requested the inhabitants of Northampton and Southampton to consider the subject and report.
The former chose a committee, who reported in favor of the petition, and proposed the lines for the new town, and advocated the raising of £300, to aid them in erecting a meeting-house and settling a minister. The town accepted the report of the committee, and subsequently directed their representative to use his influence in the General
23
EARLY HISTORY.
Court in favor of the petition; but the project met with strong opposition from Southampton, and the revolutionary war came on, so that it was delayed for some years. In 1781-2 the subject was again agitated. Northampton again voted to set off the new town. Estimating those who would be set off, at one-eighth of the inhabitants of the town, they proposed to give them one-eighth of all the public property of the town, and something more ; but the district was not incorporated, owing, it is presumed, to the opposition of Southampton, till 1785.
In the summer of that year, the act incorporating Easthampton as a district, passed the legislature, and Robert Breck, Esq., was empowered to issue his war- rant, directed to one of the principal inhabitants, direct- ing him to warn the citizens to assemble for the choice of officers. His warrant was directed to Benjamin Lyman. The first district meeting was held at the house of Capt. Joseph Clapp.
The question may arise in some minds, " Why was it not incorporated as a town?" In answer to this, Dr. Holland says :- " Before 1753, the governor of Massachu- setts received instructions from the home government, which, in a strong light, exhibited the growing jealousy of the crown, of the popular element in the government of the colony. The increase in the number of towns in the colony, increasing in the same ratio the representation in the legislature, was seen to present formidable encroach- ments upon the authority of the parent power. To put a stop to this, the governor was instructed to consent to no act for establishing a new town, with the right of repre- sentation, for many years ; as a substitute, districts were incorporated, with the full privileges of towns, except representation."
This, of course, was previous to the revolutionary war,
24
HISTORY OF EASTHAMPTON.
but after the nation had become independent, it seems that the practice was continued for a limited time.
The number of families set off from Northampton, was probably less than 60, and the number of persons not far from 300. These, with those set off from Southampton, made the population of the district a few more than 400 souls.
The lines of separation between this and the other towns, were somewhat irregular. It was to some extent a matter of choice with many of the borderers, whether they would belong to Easthampton, or not. Several families, who ought to have belonged, and who, otherwise, would have belonged to Easthampton, were, by order of the legislature, allowed to remain citizens of North or South- ampton. This gave rise to great irregularity in the town lines, which may be seen at a glance on any county map.
CHAPTER II.
-
CHURCHES.
In 1781-2, so strong was belief of the people that they should soon become a district and corporate society, that they made preparations to erect a suitable place of public worship. At length, in the spring of 1785, a frame, " of suitable size, and good materials," was erected, on the responsibility, as it appears, of individuals. On the 13th of July, at the first business meeting of the district, they voted to provide a place for public worship, and also to make use of the frame already erected, which stood on the land now enclosed for a park, near the present location of the First Church. They also voted to remunerate those who had erected the frame, in the summer of that same year. It was clap-boarded, shingled, and the lower floor laid, but was not entirely finished till 1792. The build- ing was 53 feet long, and 42 feet wide, with neither bell nor steeple, but was a well finished house. Of this building, Rev. Mr. Williston, in a semi-centennial sermon, preached August 18, 1839, from 2 Peter, 1, 12 : says :- " For a little more than fifty years was this house the place of our holy solemnities. Thither were the fathers and mothers in our Israel till successively removed by death, seen to be resorting almost as constantly as the Sabbath returned. And there, with many sustaining the relations
26
HISTORY OF EASTHAMPTON.
of children and grand-children to them, and I may add, with others also, it was their delight to meet, and together to pray and praise, and to think and talk of heaven."
The first church was organized Nov. 17, 1785, at the house of Capt. Joseph Clapp. It consisted of seventy-two members, forty-six of whom had been dismissed from the church in Northampton, twenty-six from the church in Southampton. They made choice of Mr. Stephen Wright for Moderator, and Philip Clark for Clerk. In 1786,
Benjamin Lyman, Stephen Wright and Philip Clark, were appointed to collect the donation of Joseph Bartlett, to the first church of Christ which should be organized and celebrate divine ordinances within half a mile of his house. It, together with the interest accruing thereon, amounted to £14 1s 3d, and was expended in the purchase of a communion service. In the same year, the district hired Rev. Aaron Walworth to preach. They afterwards gave a call to him to settle with them as their pastor, but he saw fit to decline the invitation.
On the 6th of April, 1789, they gave Rev. Payson Williston a call to settle in the gospel ministry, and agreed to give him a settlement fund of £180, and a salary of £65 the first year, to be increased twenty shillings a year, until it amounted to £70, besides thirty-five cords of wood per year, "if he shall need so much for his own consump- tion."
Mr. Williston accepted the call, and was ordained Aug. 13, 1789. The services were conducted as follows :- Introductory prayer by Rev. Enoch Hale of Westhampton ; Sermon by Rev. Noah Williston ; Consecrating Prayer by Rev. Richard S. Storrs ; Concluding Prayer by Rev. Seth Payson. Previous to his ordination, the church observed a day of fasting and prayer, in accordance with a fitting custom of those days.
27
CHURCHES.
The first deacons of the church were Stephen Wright and Benjamin Lyman, chosen in 1786.
At the commencement of his ministry in Easthampton, Mr. Williston was twenty-six years of age. About the time of his settlement, on one occasion, when the militia company, including all who were sixteen years of age, were assembled for exercise, it was proposed that they should signify whether the candidate was one of their choice. The result was entire unanimity in his favor.
In the past history of Easthampton, no man has occupied a position so prominent and influential, for so long a time, as the first pastor of the church, and this fact may justify a notice of him somewhat more extended than would other- wise be given. Many of the facts and statements are derived from the sermon preached at his funeral by Rev. John Woodbridge, D. D., then pastor in Hadley.
Rev. Payson Williston was born in West Haven, Ct., in 1763, and was the son of the Rev. Noah Williston of that place. His mother was of the family of Payson, who were connected with the well-known ministers of that name. His religious training was blessed by his early conversion. He decided to enter the ministry, and studied under the instruction of the excellent Dr. Trumbull of North Haven, Conn. He entered Yale College in 1778 or 1779, and graduated in 1783. " He numbered among his classmates, men distinguished in professional and literary life, among whom were the Rev. Dr. Morse, the geogra- pher, Rev. Dr. Holmes, Hon. J. C. Smith, since governor of Conn., and the Hon. David Daggett, well known for his legal attainments, and as an able jurist." Before entering college he was engaged for several months in the service of his country, in the war of the Revolution, and knew by experience the dangers and difficulties which our fathers encountered,' in the struggle for freedom and
28
HISTORY OF EASTHAMPTON.
independence ; and for several years before his death, he received a pension for the service performed in that struggle. He was licensed to preach at twenty-one, but did not choose to settle till he had gained some experience in the ministerial life. After preaching for several years in vacant parishes, he accepted the call of the church in this place, and became its first pastor. In 1790, he married Miss Sarah Birdseye, daughter of Rev. Nathan Birdseye, of Stratford, Ct. " With this amiable wife of his youth, whose sound sense, industry, and prudence rendered her a great blessing to her family, he lived happily for nearly fifty-five years. She passed away in the year 1845, at the age of 82."
In 1805, Mr. Williston, without being dismissed from his charge, was employed as a missionary, in the frontier and sparsely populated settlements in Western New York, where is now the very center of abundance, agricultural cultivation, and advancement in the necessary and elegant arts of life. For forty-four years he faithfully and cheer- fully performed the duties incumbent upon him, as an embassador of the Cross, and for more than sixty years, he was, as pastor, adviser, and neighbor, instrumental of great good to his people. His doctrinal views were much like those of our Puritan Fathers. He preached with plainness, but with variety, and fullness of illustration, and not unfrequently with much emotion. His example afforded the most beautiful enforcement and exemplification of his doctrine. His life was a preaching life, till it terminated in the silence of death. Modesty was one of his most prominent characteristics. He was never obtru- sive ; and as for boasting, one who knew him well said : " we should almost as soon have expected to see a violation of the laws of nature, as to hear a word of this kind from the lips of Mr. Williston." But having arrived at the
29
CHURCHES.
age of seventy, though still in the enjoyment of the fullest confidence and esteem of his people, he judged it expedi- ent to withdraw from the active duties of the ministry. Accordingly, at a meeting of the town, March 11, 1838, in their corporate capacity, including the brethren of the church, he presented the following communication :
" Men and Brethren :- It has been my purpose for years, should I attain to the period of life I have, and at the same time be sustaining the relation of pastor to you, to manifest a willingness to have a col- league settled with me-or, should you deem it preferable, to relinquish my ministry among you, when you shall have become united in some one to be my successor, and he shall be placed over you in the Lord- or indeed earlier, if it should appear generally best that I should. Sooner much than I anticipated, have I entered upon my seventieth year; and though, at present, I am freer from bodily pains and infirmities, than is ordinarily the case with persons of my standing, my age teacheth me that my working time must ere long be over, and that, while it continues, I may be losing my ability for performing the service you need -- or, to be sure, all you may think, --- or, in fact may be desirable. I should exceedingly regret being in the way of any one, upon whose ministrations you can hope to attend, with the rational prospect of greater advantage to your souls, than can be looked for, by a much longer attendance on mine. Your interests, especially your immortal, I trust, I have never regarded with indifference, or ever shall ; and though in my ministry, I see I have not had all that concern on my mind for your temporal and spiritual advantage and welfare, which has been my duty, and have not, as an humble instrument in the hands of the Lord, been active and engaged for the promotion of the one and the other, to the extent your circum- stances required, yet I do hope, that I have not altogether labored in vain, and that the results have been happy to no inconsiderable numbers, and will appear so in eternity. For the many years I have been attempting to instruct, and in this place, guide souls to heaven, my ministry has been attended with less to perplex, and more to tranquilize the mind, than usually has fallen to the lot of my fellow laborers. And here I am constrained to say, (and I do it with pleas- are,) that, under God, I consider this is very much owing to the respect shown by those active in my settlement,-mostly now in their
3
30
HISTORY OF EASTHAMPTON.
graves,-and generally by their children, to the Sabbath and the institutions of religion, and, with reference to my usefulness and comfort, their frequently and promptly. making me some consideration, when the support they had voted me was found to be inadequate. The support, however, I have received, has never been such as to render desirable anything farther being done. My means for living are probably considerably less than numbers of you are apprehensive ; and should my pastoral relation to you soon be dissolved, in any other way than by death, you will see, that at least, some consideration may be needful for me the little time that may still be allotted me to live ; and as I was settled for life, I have a pleasing confidence that it will be granted. How much, or how little, I do not take upon myself to say. The subject is a delicate one, and I am willing to leave it to your love of justice and generosity to determine. I feel grateful to you, my friends, under Providence, that my youth, the meridian of my life, and my advanced years, have been made comfortable as they have, that our connection, on the whole, has been a happy one. Loth should I be, and greatly distressed indeed, should anything take place to render it otherwise with us. I sincerely hope such will not be the effect of this communication, or of any measures to which it may naturally give rise. Unless I am greatly deceived, it is my earnest wish and prayer, that, as from the beginning the great Head of the Church has exercised over you a kind and unremitting care, so He may continue to, and that in the choice of one to serve Him in · the gospel, it may be your happiness to have His discretion and influ- ence to act judiciously, and in a manner, that shall promote your own, and the good of your children, and your children's children, and that of multitudes of others, till He shall come in power and great glory to judge the quick and the dead. All of which is respectfully submitted by your unworthy but affectionate pastor,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.