USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Granville > History of Granville, Massachusetts > Part 7
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The officers of this company were as follows :
Captain William Cooley
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HISTORY OF GRANVILLE
1st Lieut. Edmund Barlow 2nd Lieut. Samuel Bancroft, Jr. Sergeants Richard Dickinson Joel Strong
Samuel Williams Corporals
John Cooley
Thomas Gillet
James Coe Fifer Timothy Spelman Drummer Samuel Stiles Clerk Joel Bancroft
The exigencies of the times required many Town meetings. Along with other troubles an epidemic of small pox broke out. Many are the headstones in the Granville cemeteries bearing the fearful words : "Died of small pox." Inoculation was a new and not entirely trustworthy remedy in those days, and when cases of this dreadful disease began to be numerous, there were those who desired to have their families vaccinated, hoping thereby to escape the scourge. There was much debate over it. Some said it ought to be done. Others said as stoutly, it should not be done. Still others said it must be tried lest all be swept away. The upshot of it all was that a Town meeting was called and held on January 21, 1777, and there it was thrashed out, and it was finally voted "that the Town is will- ing that the inoculation for Small Pox be set up here under the supervision of a Committee." A group of farmers was to supervise and pass upon a strictly medical operation. Well, it was better than nothing. But it came to little, for four weeks later there was another Town meeting and it was then voted "that no person be inoculated (for small pox) in Granville for the present." It would seem that the farmers disapproved, and so they continued to die, until the epidemic passed. Fortunately the Granville hills had produced a hardy race.
Whenever extreme need presses, it seems to be a curious trait in the natures of many people to take advantage of such need, for
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THE TOWN OF GRANVILLE, TO 1810
their own enrichment. Here were the pressing needs of war. Not only were men and money wanted, but requisitions were coming for horses, harnesses, cattle, cloth, leather and various other com- modities. So, in order to stop what was feared might be an unrea- sonable rise in prices of all kinds of commodities, the Selectmen, Samuel Bancroft, Timothy Robinson and Luke Hitchcock, met with the Committee of Safety on February 24, 1777, and fixed the prices which it should be lawful to charge for all kinds of merchandise then on the market. They did not call it N.R.A. or any such thing. They just went ahead and did it as an emergency measure and when the war was over they were glad enough to forget it.
But in spite of this arbitrary price fixing, the people were actuated by a spirit of fairness, and when the town's men were required to leave their fields and crops to go to the "training day" drill, they readily agreed to pay them. At the annual Town meeting on March 17, 1777, it was voted "to allow twenty shillings to Lt. Robert Hamilton and each man that engaged in the Continental Army at or near the time when three companies met on the west side of the Valley on July 1776." Granville was doing much for the cause of Liberty. It was giving generously of its men, its money, its labor, its intelligence.
In this year another company of men from Granville went to the Army, this time to assist in the capture of Burgoyne, who was march- ing from Ticonderoga to Albany to cut off New England from the rest of the Colonies. Through some unexpected delay, part of this company under Capt. Timothy Robinson did not reach Saratoga till after the surrender. This was the third company of soldiers Granville had put into the military service of the Colonies. John Tibbals was a Lieutenant in this company, and the following is quoted from an ancient paper : "He was present with his Company, or a portion of it at the surrender of Burgoyne. His father-in-law Pratt, whose residence or a part of it, stands between the Corners and the Center, held a commission as Magistrate under George III and suffered much in consequence of refusing to acknowledge the independence of the United States."
During these years there was, of course, the regular routine of town business to be done, with a new highway now and then to be
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laid out and a few questions upon the church affairs, there being at this time no regularly settled minister in town. Also the ever recur- ring question of dividing the Town was bound to come up occa- sionally. This matter did arise at the annual meeting in 1778 and it was voted "to divide the Town into two towns, the line to be where the road crosses Ore Hill Brook" and the line was to be a north and south line. A committee was chosen to see to it but later the committee reported it could not agree. So again this pet project fell through.
The Great and General Court was finding itself full of business in these hectic times. Not only was it under the pressure of the throes of war, but it had its usual routine work to accomplish, and also it had spent a lot of time drafting a new constitution for the Commonwealth. When this was done, it had to be submitted to the various towns for their approval. When this question reached Gran- ville, a special Town meeting was called and held on April 13, 1778. After some debate the proposed constitution was duly approved. This important question was passed with far less argument than occurred over permitting a new church to be created a few years before.
As the war progressed, many difficulties growing out of the con- flict arose for attention. One, which always comes up during every war, is the care of the families of those who have gone away to battle. In Granville this matter began to press for attention, for many a family was left with only the mother and children to get on as best they might. If, among the children, there was a boy of ten or twelve years, they could manage pretty well. But not all families were so situated, for in some the children were all small, and as more men went to the army, there were more and more families to be looked after at home. On October 19, 1778, at a Town meeting it was voted "to support the families where the head is in the Continental Army" and also "to have a town store for them and a committee of two to purchase for said store." Thus those who had no man at home were cared for as a part of the expense of the war.
The next year it was necessary to raise more money to pay to their soldiers, so it was voted (May 17, 1779) "to raise £960 to
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THE TOWN OF GRANVILLE, TO 1810
pay the nine months men for service in the Continental Army." And now it was found necessary to regulate the price of labor, trans- portation, etc. and a committee was chosen to do this.
As the war moved slowly but surely to its conclusion, the demand for men and supplies continued and no longer was there the enthu- siasm to "go into the army" which was so noticeable when Granville dispatched Capt. Lebbeus Ball with his company of Minute Men on that April day in 1775. Some of those who had gone had been killed. Others had died of disease. Much of the hard earned money of the population had gone to support the army. But the people on the Granville hills never faltered. When a demand came, it was met, and the added burden was borne without question. Volunteers were induced to go to the front by offers of a bounty, small at first, but in greater amounts later. On June 19, 1780, the Town voted "to pay forty shillings to every soldier serving six months in the Continental Army." And again on July 6, of the same year, it was voted to give a bounty of "£6 or 20 bushels of wheat" to every man enlisting. At the same meeting it was voted "to get the horses required by the State for the Army." Unfortunately the vote does not state how many horses Granville was required to furnish, but the Selectmen were directed to get them and we know how much they cost, for on October 9th it was voted "to raise £1780 Continental Currency to pay for the horses required by the State." Even allowing for con- siderable depreciation, it was a goodly sum to be wrested from the none too generous soil and it meant many hours of arduous labor.
Soon along came a requisition for beef for the army, and on January 3, 1781, the Town voted to get it. There was no argument as to the amount or cost. They simply got it and drove it to the point where it was to be delivered. Oliver Spelman, Jacob Bates and Daniel Parsons were chosen for a committee to get the beef required by the State.
Then more men were needed. Even though Granville had sent men, and then more men, the State demanded still more from this hill town and we find that the inhabitants rose to the occasion in heroic style. At the annual Town meeting on March 19, 1781, it was voted "to raise £756 nine shillings and four pence silver money, as a bounty for 16 soldiers for three years." Clearly the people of
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Granville were just as determined to see the war through to a finish as they had been at first. If it was necessary to give blood and treas- ure, then blood and treasure should be given in sufficient measure to accomplish the end. Nearly every able bodied man in town had served in the Continental Army.
The last urge to enlistment came on July 26, 1781, when the Town voted "to pay each three-months man ten silver dollars." The Con- tinental Currency had by this time become so depreciated that silver seemed to be more substantial and attractive. Another point worth noting is that this is the first time when payment in dollars appears in the Granville records. Before the term of these three-months men expired, Cornwallis had surrendered and the need for additional men was over. But even so, in the meantime the army had to be clothed, and when a requisition of that character came along, the Town, at a meeting September 6, 1781, voted "to raise £70 for the shirts, shoes, blankets and stockings required by the State."
Not the least of the trouble occasioned by the war was the amount of the State tax which Granville had to pay every year, and the payment was not made any easier from year to year because of the uncontrolled inflation of the currency then taking place. In the year 1776 Granville's state tax was £369, plus a few shillings; in 1777 it was £1090, plus; in 1778 it was £3306, plus; in 1779 it was £9866, plus; in 1780 it was £21443, plus. Is it any wonder that the bounty offered by the Town in 1781 was "silver dollars" ? A silver dollar was something tangible and had a certain value. Continental Currency, without any security to back it up, was something differ- ent. Only four towns in the County were assessed by the State for amounts larger than Granville. These were West Springfield, Springfield, Northampton and Westfield. And it should be borne in mind that at that time Hampshire County extended from Con- necticut to Vermont and embraced all of the present Counties of Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin. So we can see that Granville was a town of some real importance, whether the tax assessed was on the basis of population or on the basis of wealth.
So, firm and steadfast, Granville remained in the conflict to the end, until the vision of Liberty as seen by her citizens a decade before had actually become a reality.
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THE TOWN OF GRANVILLE, TO 1810
Few of the difficulties arising out of the aftermath of the war directly affected Granville, but on one occasion the Town had the opportunity to register its mind on a Federal question, and it did so in no uncertain terms. It had been proposed to give Congress the power to lay a direct tax to pay for the war, and when it came to a vote in Granville, as it did on September 29, 1783, the vote was unanimously against it.
Now that the war was over, Granville had a chance to settle down and attend to its home affairs. One of the first of these to demand consideration was the old one of having more than one church in town. In spite of the war, the number of farms had in- creased and more families were living in the western part of the town, so when the question came up, it was not to divide the town into two parishes, but into three. At the annual meeting March 22, 1784, a sufficient number of voters were present to carry through their wish and it was voted "to divide the Town of Granville into three separate Societies or Parishes," and further it was also voted "that there be a committee of nine men to run the Parish lines and make report to the Town." Accordingly the following were chosen to delineate the three Parishes :
Nathan Barlow Capt. Ezra Marvin John Rose Col. Timothy Robinson
Lieut. Jacob Bates Capt. A. Coe John Cole John Hamilton
Samuel Stedman
This committee performed its duty and made its report, which was accepted on April 5, 1784. The report follows :
We, the subscribers, being a Committee chosen on the 15 day of March, instr. to run two dividing lines thro the Town of Granville in order to divide the town into three distinct Parishes or Districts, Beg leave to inform the said Town that in obedience to the trust reposed in us, We have duly attended to said business & make Report as follows (viz) first we give it as our opinion that the east line thro said town beginning at the Colony line so called, at the Brook which runs thro the Great Valley to run north by said Brook to the Valley Bridge so called, thence from said Bridge northwardly to the Bridge on the North road over said Brook, thence from said Bridge Northwardly to the North East Corner of John Hunt's Esq., farm; it being the Southeast Corner of John Web's land,
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thence on said Web's line to the Town line with all the privileges belonging to sd Town lying on the East side of sd line (viz) Meet- ing House, Parsonage, land rents for the same and of all matters whatsoever.
We report and give it as our opinion that the West line begin at the Colony line in the Center between the Highways which leads from Colo. Timothy Robinson's to Hartland Meeting House & that which leads from Moses Goff's to sd Hartland & to run a straight line to the middle of the Bridge over Hubbards river so called on the County road leading from Granville to Sandisfield & to run a direct line from thence to a center line between the two Roads (viz) the one leading from Samuel Halls to Loudon, the other leading from Timothy Robinson's to Thomas Moore's at Glasgow, or Blanford line.
We report and give it as our opinion that the said Parishes be distinguished by the names East, Middle & West Parishes of Granville.
(Then follow the nine signatures.)
In one very unusual respect the above report is of great interest. That part of it describing the line between the Middle Parish and the West Parish is the only official description of the boundary line between the present towns of Granville and Tolland.
When the proposed new constitution for the Commonwealth was ready to be considered for adoption, Oliver Phelps was chosen as Granville's delegate to that constitutional convention, and we may well believe that he performed his part creditably to his town, for he had previously had much to do with the public affairs of Gran- ville and the Province, and more will be said of him later.
Another small pox scare agitated the town in the latter part of 1784, and again there was argument pro and con in relation to the subject of vaccination, and again skepticism of its efficacy was voiced at a special Town meeting January 20, 1785, when it was voted "that there should be no more inoculation for Small Pox." The people of Granville in those days were not afraid to say what they meant, and stand by it.
This same characteristic displayed itself the following year, when on October 5, 1786, the Town instructed its Representatives to the Great and General Court, who were Col. Timothy Robinson and William Cooley, "to use their influence to have a law passed to prevent settled Ministers of the Gospel having a seat in the Legis-
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THE TOWN OF GRANVILLE, TO 1810
lature." Rather curious instructions to come from a Town which had so recently done so much and suffered so much for liberty. It would seem that there is a vast difference between tweedle dee and tweedle dum.
In 1759 a bridge had been built over Hubbard River near the Hubbard grist and saw mill. It had now become unsafe and really beyond the condition when it could properly be repaired. So, at a Town meeting on October 10, 1786, it was voted to rebuild it, a committee was elected to do so, and right here occurs something which gives us a flash of light on these good men, our forbears. Not only did they vote to rebuild the bridge, but they also voted "that said committee procure Rum sufficient and necessary for such hands as may work at said bridge in the Water, at the expense of the Town." Why not? It was customary to treat the minister to rum when he made pastoral calls.
The next year two significant items appear in the records, both of which, in varying form, continue to the present. One was fixing the price to be paid for labor on the Town work, and the first schedule (September 3, 1787) was as follows:
For a man two shillings six pence per day; For a team three shil- lings per day; For a Highway Surveyor three shillings per day. These shillings were of the value of one-sixth of a dollar.
The other was relating to paupers. It was about fifty years since the first settlement and the long, hard years of the Revolution had come and gone, with the result that some were unable, through physical or mental inefficiency, misfortune and lack of relatives or family, to care for themselves. Up to this time the Town had not been burdened with the poor. It is interesting to note how the situ- ation was handled. The Town had no almshouse where these indi- gents could be taken and supported, and society had not progressed to the present state where the feelings of paupers must not be hurt, so the rough and ready method of setting them up at auction, to be struck off to the lowest bidder, was adopted. A rather unfeeling performance, to be sure, but one not without its merits. Here is a specimen of the entries relating to such matters, as made by the Town Clerks: "Voted that (here appears the name of the indi- vidual) be put up at vendue to the lowest bidder for her (or his)
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support for one year, to be as well clothed at the years end as she (or he) is at this time. Lowest bidder $22.00." This method was not the only one used, for in 1792 we find a vote passed at a special Town meeting "to give (three certain individuals, naming them) £20 if they will remove into New York State with all (their) family." In what way these poor creatures were undesirable does not appear, but they must have accepted the offer, for nothing more has been heard of them since that time. Whether this was an ethical way for the Town to do depends entirely upon the facts surrounding the situation.
Another curious policy of the Town appears in 1795. The town taxes were at times collected by the constables and in this year the offices of constable were put up at auction and struck off to the lowest bidder. In that year Aaron Coe bid the sum of fourteen shillings for the office, the sphere of his duties being the Middle and West Parishes. His bid was lowest and he was duly chosen. At the same meeting Richard Dickinson bid three shillings for the office and job of collecting the tax in the East Parish. He was elected.
The year 1796 witnessed much confusion in Granville over the currency used in every day transactions. Dollars and cents had been crowding pounds and shillings. In this year about as many entries in the records are in one type of currency as in the other, but after 1796 pounds and shillings were abandoned and do not appear later except in rare instances. Still it is pretty clear that for a time the people thought in terms of shillings for we find the rate of wages voted by the Town to be paid for labor very significant. From the annual Town meeting until September 1st the rate was as follows :
For a man 66.7 cents per day (this is four shillings) ; for a man and team $1.233 per day (seven shillings and four pence) ; for a highway surveyor 75 cents per day (four shillings and six pence). From September 1st to the next annual meeting the rate was: for a man 50 cents per day (three shillings) ; for a man and team $1.00 per day (six shillings) ; for highway surveyor 58.33 cents per day (three shillings and six pence ) .
There was still another curious custom which manifested itself about this time. The homes of the farmers had not been too close together and the tilled fields were fenced to keep out stray cattle
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THE TOWN OF GRANVILLE, TO 1810
and horses, and to all appearances it had become customary to let such domestic animals run at large and go wherever their fancy took them. With the passage of time there had come to be those who did not, for various reasons, approve of this way of letting farm animals roam whither they willed, and at the annual Town Meeting in 1797, the matter came to a vote. It was then voted that horses should not be allowed to run at large thereafter. Two years later this was changed and the vote then was that horses should be allowed to run at large "being fettered." Three years after that the antis were in the majority and it was voted that horses should not be allowed to run at large "being fettered." So it stood until 1811 when it was voted that "all horses and cattle shall not be allowed to run at large without a driver," and that is the last appearance of votes on the subject of horses being at large. With hogs it was different. In 1797 it was voted that hogs might be allowed to run at large, and the swine, big and little, enjoyed this privilege until 1808 when it was voted they should not be allowed that liberty. Two years later, however, they regained their former freedom. This lasted until 1814 when again it was voted they must not be allowed at large, and there it rests. In several of the years between 1797 and 1814, swine were to be allowed at large if they were "ringed and yoked," but finally even those decorated in this fashion were excluded from the highways.
Even neat cattle came somewhat under the ban of public opinion, but their proscription was not absolute as the vote at the annual meeting April 4, 1814, shows. The record states that "all horned cattle shall not be in the highway at large without permission of the Selectmen." This seems to be the last vestige of liberty for domestic animals.
Every few years Granville was afflicted with the small pox, and the year 1797 was no exception. Some people had it and died, some had it and recovered. In some cases the Town was put to expense because of it, and difficulty being experienced in recovering such expense, it was voted at a Town meeting "that the Selectmen compel those that had the small pox in Granville to pay the expense of it agreeable to law." The sick must not only have the suffering but also the pleasure of paying for it.
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There was another of those recurring questions which persisted, in one form or another, in coming up for attention and action. That was the matter of dividing the town into two towns. Heretofore there had been voting strength enough in the East and Middle Parishes to keep the situation in statu quo, but in 1797 the voters in the west had a different plan of attack. It was one which appealed to the men of Middle Granville so much that they were willing to unite with West Granville in putting it through. From the time when the second meeting house could be used for a meeting of the inhabitants, practically all the Town and church business was done in that building, which stood near the Great Rock east of the former Bechmann farmhouse. This made it quite a journey for many of the residents of Middle Granville, and a much longer one for all those who lived in the West Parish, to attend Town meetings. As more farms were developed in the West Parish, this matter of attending Town meetings became an ever increasing task. But the men of the west end were not numerous enough to carry any vote looking to dividing the Town into two Towns. At last some one brought for- ward the idea of having the Town meetings held in Middle Gran- ville and West Granville as well as in the usual place in East Granville. This scheme caught the fancy of the Middle Granville men, so when it came up in 1797, the vote was easily carried that "hereafter Town meetings shall be held one third of the time in each Parish." Here was a victory for West Granville which was the entering wedge that was to divide the Town a few years later. It was the same old ghost in a different guise.
In 1803 the question of dividing the Town came up again. This time in a straightforward manner to divide the Town into three Towns. This would make each Parish a separate Town. It would not go. It was voted down with a bang. Nothing daunted, the pro- ponents of the idea secured an adjournment of the meeting for ten days, until May 12th. This gave them a little breathing spell and an opportunity to rally their forces. On the 12th every one who could be present was there. This time the question was upon dividing the Town into two. Again those from West Granville met defeat. The men from East Granville were famous for sticking to their guns. However, the men of West Granville were equally persistent.
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