USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Granville > History of Granville, Massachusetts > Part 8
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THE TOWN OF GRANVILLE, TO 1810
We can readily conceive of the talking, arguing, threatening, dis- gust, and perhaps a few (or a great many) oaths from some of the black sheep, about this real live question. Ridicule and insinuating innuendo also doubtless played their part. But the keener and more influential men of the Town could see the equity of such a demand and so they got together, talked it over and decided what they would be willing to concede. The next time the question came up it was not a surprise. Each side knew before the vote was taken what it would be. On May 7, 1810, it came to a vote. It was to the effect that Granville will not object to the West Parish being set off as a separate Town, provided they pay their share of the taxes already laid and pay for their share of the paupers. Also that the Town meetings should alternate between East Granville and Middle Granville. Further, the Representatives to the Great and General Court were urged to try to get such an act passed. So far as the Town was concerned, the battle was over, and the result seems to have been equitable. The Town's Representatives were Israel Par- sons of East Granville and William Twining 2nd of West Granville. They accomplished the task set before them. They saw to it that a proper bill was prepared and introduced into the House of Repre- sentatives, which was passed by that body. It was then favorably acted on by the Council and approved by the Governor, and it became a law June 14, 1810. In this connection it is interesting to note the phraseology of the act. It is as follows :
Be it enacted, etc., That the West Parish in Granville, in the County of Hampshire, as known by its present bounds, be, and hereby is incorporated and established as a separate Town, by the name of Tolland, with all the privileges, etc., etc .*
There is nothing in the act to indicate the size, shape and bounda- ries. Little did Nathan Barlow and the other members of the committee chosen in 1784 to divide Granville into three Parishes, dream that their work fixing the line between the West and Middle Parishes would be accepted by the General Court, without question or investigation, as a clearly defined and well established line, but that is what happened. The boundary line between the West and Middle Parishes may be found herein on page 73. The act also
* Laws of Massachusetts 1809-1812, page 237.
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HISTORY OF GRANVILLE
provided that the West Parish should be required to pay its taxes already assessed and assume its share of the Town's poor. The matter of taxes seems to have been first adjusted, and then on April 1, 1811, the Town paupers were by mutual consent divided, so that Granville kept and cared for those who belonged in the East and Middle Parishes and those who belonged in the West Parish were taken by the new Town of Tolland. Thus disappeared the old bogie of dividing the Town.
Soon after 1800 a group of residents of the neighboring town of Granby, Connecticut, had organized themselves into a Land Com- pany and gone to Ohio, which then was far into the wilderness, and, taking up land there had established a settlement, thus identifying themselves with the then "far west." Many of this group had rel- atives and friends living in Granville, and soon alluring tales came back from Ohio about the fertility of the soil and the ease with which it could be cultivated. The inevitable effect upon many in Granville was to get them interested and some became uneasy and contrasted the stony soil of the Granville hills with the reports from the new country. It was talked over and there arose the idea : why can't we do likewise? There seemed to be no reason why not. But some who were anxious to go, had learned caution. When that considerable group of pioneers had come from Durham, Connect- icut, to Granville half a century before, a member of their number had come to Granville, like the two men sent out by Joshua, to spy out the land. So now, again this idea was put forward with the result that in 1803 Timothy Rose was chosen to go with Levi Butler and Job Case to Ohio, look over the land and the prospect of making a settlement, and report what they found.
In due season Mr. Rose returned. He was enthusiastic over the western territory. They had located a place near the center of Ohio where there was an abundance of wood, water and fertile land, right at the southern edge of the hills. He was so impressed with the opportunity that he proceeded to organize a company to go there and settle. All the details of migration could not be arranged quickly, but the business proceeded. Everything they did not care to take with them they disposed of. This took the better part of a year and a half. One of the things they did in the meantime was to become organized into a church on May 1, 1805, with all the usual
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THE TOWN OF GRANVILLE, TO 1810
church officers. Dr. Cooley says there were twenty-four members in this church organization which was about to go to Ohio, but the scroll on the monument in the yard in front of the meeting house in Granville, Ohio, gives the names of twenty-eight persons as being the pioneer members of the church. The names are as follows :
Israel Wells
Sabra Rose
Chloe Wells
Zadoc Cooley
Joseph Linnell
Michal Cooley
Zeruah Linnell
Lemuel Rose
Timothy Rose
Achsah Rose
Lydia Rose
Samuel Everitt, Jr.
Roswell Graves
Silas Winchell
Hannah Graves
James Thrall
Job Case
Elizabeth Case
Hannah Graves Sarah Graves
Samuel Thrall
Timothy Spelman
Triphosa Thrall
Abigail Sweatman
Levi Hayes Hiram Rose
Samuel Everitt
Mindwell Everitt
In the latter part of September, 1805, they were assembled for the start of the long journey near the house where Dr. Clifford A. White formerly lived. After a prayer, they said farewell and were off under the leadership of Timothy Rose. They had their horses, cattle, sheep, farm tools, besides members of the families. They went quite directly to what is now known as the Old National High- way which runs from Cumberland, Maryland to St. Louis. This trail they followed as far as Zanesville, Ohio, where they branched off into the wilderness. Shortly they came to the site selected for their town, which they called Granville. They arrived one Saturday night, after forty-four days travel. The next morning they had a religious service under a spreading beech tree. The present Presby- terian meeting house stands near where this beech grew, and when the tree had to be taken down, a replica of its stump, in stone, was erected, upon which lies a scroll whereon are the names of these pioneer members from Granville, Massachusetts.
Granville, Ohio, is a large and flourishing town, the seat of Deni- son University. Nearly all these original settlers who were from Granville, Massachusetts, are buried in the Colonial Cemetery in Granville, Ohio, where many of the inscriptions on the headstones
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HISTORY OF GRANVILLE
include such phrases as "Born in Granville, Massachusetts" or "for- merly of Granville, Massachusetts."
Having been so deeply immersed in the Revolution, Granville had become interested in the affairs of the Federal government. Her soldiers had travelled to many places in New England and New York. Their horizon had been greatly enlarged. They had found out that there were other places beside Granville. Transportation was better. Roads had taken the place of bridle paths. News trav- elled faster. More people could read and write. There were more newspapers coming into town and it is not to be wondered at that the affairs and doings in the Federal Capital took on a new significance.
One measure adopted by the Federal government which aroused Granville was the Embargo Act of President Jefferson. In fact the Town felt so keenly about it that at a Town meeting on September 12, 1808, a committee consisting of Francis Stebbins, John Phelps, Israel Parsons, James Cooley and Chauncey B. Fowler was chosen to address a petition to the President praying him to suspend the operation of that act. Such a petition was prepared by the committee and sent. It can be found in Volume 3 of Granville town votes, at page 160.
When the West Parish in Granville was incorporated as the Town of Tolland in 1810, the Town of Granville lost more than three-sevenths of its area, about 18000 acres, and approximately one-third of its population, about 800. The name West Granville was no longer to mean what it had meant. It was now shifted from the locality which had for fifty years been known by that name to what was to be the west village in the present Town of Granville which theretofore had been known as Middle Granville, thereby becoming a source of much confusion to superficial readers, students and others.
In 1810 Granville was about at the peak of its political impor- tance. It had everything which any rural town had, and much more than most of them. It was practically self supporting. The principal items brought in from outside were silks, cottons, iron and steel. Almost everything else was produced on the spot. It was a region of industry, thrift and contentment, and life in Granville was no more rigorous than elsewhere in New England.
Granville from 1810
P OLITICAL and economic conditions in the country were in such a disturbed state prior to the second war with Great Britain that there was wide divergence of opinion as to the necessity for the war. Not a few in Granville remembered the price of the War for Independence, and they dreaded another war. In fact they were so much opposed to it that they gave the Federal government in Washington to understand how they felt about the war in which the country was then engaged. On July 4, 1812, a petition was sent to Congress demanding that it "avert the Calamities of War and Restore the Nation to peace." This shows where Granville stood about the War of 1812 and in some measure, very probably, accounts for so few of its citizens taking part in that conflict. At the same Town meeting it was also voted "unanimously to Remonstrate to Congress against an alliance with France." It is quite clear that they had in mind Washington's advice about "entangling European alliances," and Granville was not afraid to express its ideas about it. This seems to have been Granville's day for objecting, and the meeting must have been the scene of no little speech making, and perhaps much argument, for not only did they notify Congress what they thought about two particular matters before the government, but they also took steps to determine what they would do about it. David Curtiss was chosen as "a Delegate to meet in County Con- vention at Northampton on the 14th of July, current, to take into consideration the alarming situation of our Country, and make such representations thereon as shall be thought proper." It is to be regretted that we have no means of knowing who attended that Town meeting and who made the speeches. The inhabitants of Granville were truly a hard hitting people.
The year 1812 brought not only war but also pestilence. There was in Granville an epidemic of that dread disease known at that time as "the spotted fever" and nearly every case was fatal. There were twenty-six deaths. The next year an epidemic of another dis- ease then called "putrid fever" had a run. Deaths, twenty-three. The state of medical learning at that time was such that little could
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HISTORY OF GRANVILLE
be done for a person once he was a victim of either of these diseases.
Following the 1812 War, there came a period of hard times. It was a struggle for existence and Granville was as badly off as many other towns. The freezing year of 1816 added its hardship to the pinch of post-war conditions. In that year very little grain ripened. Frosts occurred in every month. It has been called the "summerless year." Pauperism increased. A curious instance of one of the ways in which the condition of the poor was considered is a vote of the Town May 6, 1816, when it was granted that "poor persons having only one cow and no pasture may pasture her on the common by getting permission of the Selectmen."
Two years later when the Commonwealth passed a law prohibit- ing the killing of certain game birds unless any Town at its regular annual meeting shall expressly suspend the operation of the law for a period not exceeding one year, what did Granville do? It suspended the law. We can well believe that many a family not only wanted but really needed this resource to eke out their limited food supply.
Another factor which plagued the farmers was the great multi- tude of crows which pulled up their corn and did damage in sundry other ways. How numerous these birds were may be indicated by an item which appeared in the Connecticut Courant of date April 19, 1815, to the effect that Augustus Pomeroy of Granville, Massachu- setts, killed thirteen crows at one shot. Another instance of that unlucky number "thirteen"-unlucky for the crows. Of course this may be just a tall story, but it is in some degree supported by the action of the Town in sundry years soon thereafter in voting to pay a bounty for crows killed between the date of the annual meeting and, usually, the middle of the following June. In 1825 the bounty was ten cents per head. In some other years it was only five cents. So whether the item in the Courant was literally true or not, there was something to it. Where there is smoke there is likely to be some fire.
Another effort of the Town to check the advance of poverty was made at the Town meeting of April 3, 1820, when it was voted "to direct the Selectmen to post up all persons who spend their time and waste their property by intemperance." It would be extremely
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GRANVILLE E FROM 1810
interesting to know how this worked out and whether or not it was successful in a practical way. It was the first, and perhaps only, excursion of the Town into the field of sumptuary legislation. It may be that such a public expression of thrift caused the Selectmen to tighten the purse strings a few years later when Joel Root, Deni- son Parsons and Stephen Spelman were the Selectmen, but it appears that some one had a little of the milk of human kindness, because at Town meeting it was voted "to direct the Selectmen to furnish Thomas Burbank a little tobacco." This was on May 2, 1825. From this it would seem that tobacco was a luxury to those who were "on the Welfare."
Of course the poor are always with us, but now and then other matters came to the fore and had to be considered, some of neces- sity and some of expediency. In the former class was another state constitutional convention in 1820, which required Granville to send two delegates, and so Francis Stebbins, one of the Town's Repre- sentatives, and Amos Root were chosen to represent the Town. In the latter class was a better apportionment to the Town affairs. Heretofore the Selectmen had been the principal officers of the Town. They, with the Treasurer, had conducted all the principal affairs of the Town, notwithstanding the long list of town officers. Among other things, the Selectmen performed the duties of asses- sors until this procedure was changed at the annual Town meeting March 8, 1830, when it was voted to have a separate board of assessors. This policy has been followed ever since. That Town meeting must have been worth while to attend. They had so much to say that the business was not finished and the meeting adjourned to the 5th of April when the question of choosing the Town's repre- sentative to the General Court was considered. The final outcome of this matter was that it was voted "to choose the Representative alternately from the Middle Parish and the East Parish." This seems to have been a sort of political compromise to keep one sec- tion of the Town from monopolizing the honors. That great cleft in the hills known as the Great Valley very effectively divided the Town then as now into the East side and the West side.
It was about this time that the steam engine, invented years before, was applied to land transportation to such an extent and
86
HISTORY OF GRANVILLE
had proved to be so practicable that the idea of railroads was catching the fancy of all far-sighted persons. The railroad from Boston to Lowell had been built and it was the talk about the Commonwealth that the state should help to build such roads and finance them with state funds. Granville was a hill town where in those days it was inconceivable that a railroad could be built. Gran- ville's ideas on the subject were very clear and definite, as one might expect them to be. The men of this hill town had a hard enough time to get along and pay their own bills, and they did not take kindly to heavier taxes to finance railroads down in the east end of the Commonwealth, so at a Town meeting on May 4, 1829, it was voted to instruct the Town's Representatives "to vote against any law obligating the state to furnish any money for any railroad."
By the time for the annual Town meeting in 1836, however, they were very much inclined to change their tune, for at that time (March 21) they talked of railroads and even went so far as to select a committee of seven of their most influential citizens to "wait on a railroad Commissioner" to secure the surveying of a railroad through the Town. It made a vast difference whose ox was being gored. Of course much had been learned about railroads, and Gran- ville did not lack those who could foresee some of the benefits of better transportation, and they tried to get a railroad even if the town was hilly. That they made some progress along this line is evidenced by the fact that in 1888 a survey was made for a railroad through the town. This seems to be the nearest Granville ever came to having a railroad.
Customs, manners, methods do change from time to time, even in the most rock-ribbed and serious minded communities. In Gran- ville, from the earliest days it had been the custom to hold the Town meetings in the meeting house. This was a place to which great respect was due and it was customary to remove the hat when one entered that building, even in the coldest weather, although there was no stove or other means of heating it. There came a time, however, when some hairbrained iconoclast felt cold on his head and promptly, even if surreptitiously, put his hat on again. This brought remonstrance and mayhap rebuke. Whether hats might be worn in the meeting house was a very serious question, until it could
87
GRANVILLE FROM 1810
go unsettled no longer. At the annual Town meeting March 21, 1836, it was one of the first matters to come before the meeting. It was voted "that we have the privilege of wearing our hats for convenience in the house." Fearing this was too radical, they hastened to limit this privilege by voting "that no person shall be allowed to speak with his hat on his head." This was as much of a change in the conduct of Town meeting as they could stand for quite a while.
In 1837 when the United States divided up its surplus revenue among the States, Granville received its share and at a Town meet- ing May 22, it was voted to accept the offered cash and to loan the same to such citizens of the Town as might wish to borrow, in amounts not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 to one indi- vidual. This seemed to be a boon to both the Town and to the people. Noah Cooley, James Cooley and Joel Root were elected as Trustees of this Fund, to have its management and control. This was a very wise and proper arrangement, but it did not last long, for the very next year at the annual Town meeting these Trustees were discarded and it was voted that the Selectmen and the Town Treasurer should control the Fund and manage it. This scheme was continued for a time, but all trace of what eventually became of this fund has vanished.
In the Southeast Cemetery there stands a plain marble slab. The simple inscription on it states that Isaac Harden died June 4, 1841, aged 73 years. Some of the beautiful trees he had in mind shade his inconspicuous resting place. The name of Isaac Harden ought to be well known and highly thought of in Granville, but it is forgotten or unknown.
He was a man with a vision. A vision of a beautiful Granville with miles of attractive highways shaded by stately trees. A vision of a community abounding in public spirited citizens, a Town wherein was a great training school for farmers. A school where practical education would be within the reach of the most humble. He was willing to give everything he had to help bring his vision to reality.
He was a farmer. So far as the accumulation of wealth is con- cerned, he was a successful farmer. He was at home on the stony
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HISTORY OF GRANVILLE
hillsides. He had plowed them, harrowed them, planted them, hoed them, mowed them. He believed in them, and he wanted to help all those who wished to get their living from the soil to a better equipment for such an unending struggle. He had thought it over for years and, of course, talked it over. He was not willing to do it all. He insisted the Town should take some responsibility. He would do most of it, but not all.
In his will, made three months before his death, he provided that certain prizes should be given to the inhabitants of the Town for setting out hard maple trees beside the highways. These prizes were to be paid two years after the setting of the trees. The Selectmen were to be the judges of the various plantings. To the one setting out the largest number, not less than 100, the sum of fifteen dollars. To the one setting out the next largest number, not less than 60, the sum of ten dollars. To the one setting out the next largest num- ber, not less than 30, the sum of five dollars. And if no one should set out any trees, then the Selectmen were to expend thirty dollars per year setting such trees. If this had been done from the time of the Harden bequest, what wonderful highways would now exist in Granville. This was a part of Mr. Harden's vision.
His will also provided that his wife should have the use of his estate during her life, and at her death, nearly all the rest and residue should go to the Town of Granville to establish an agri- cultural school, wherein should be taught "reading, writing, spelling, cyphering, grammar, and every branch necessary" for training in agriculture. Every scholar was to be required to work on the land four months in each year, under the proper supervision of the Directors. The Trustees of the school, not over three in number, were to be chosen from the inhabitants of Granville who were actual occupiers of land. These Trustees were to be chosen by the inhabi- tants of the Town and must be paid by the Town. This was the only part of the burden which must be borne by the people. They must pay the Trustees. He knew money would be necessary for starting such a project, so he provided that the income from his estate should accumulate until it was sufficient "to build a stone house on one of my farms" suitable for the purpose of the school, and thereafter the income was to be used for the benefit of the
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GRANVILLE FROM 1810
school. The real estate he owned at his death was not to be sold, but if the Town should neglect or refuse to accept the gift, then the entire estate should go to his heirs.
This highly commendable effort of a public spirited citizen to give his home town a chance to rear a better grade of farmers was indeed an opportunity. An opportunity to be of service to our fundamental industry, to provide for a need later recognized when our State Agricultural Colleges were established, and to make Gran- ville one of the most beautiful towns in all these United States. Isaac Harden was a man ahead of his generation.
It looked as if the vision would materialize. The Town at its annual meeting in March 1842 voted to accept the bequest. So far so good. The widow was still living, so there was not much more which could be done at that time. Mrs. Harden died January 24, 1852. Just what was done in the way of taking possession of the Harden estate is not very clear, for the next reference to it is in the minutes of the annual meeting in March 1853, when it was voted "to refer the setting out of maple trees to the Selectmen."
Upon the death of Mr. Harden, the inventory of his estate shows that he owned two farms in Granville, about twelve and one-half acres in Westfield, and a tavern stand in Westfield. These with the personal estate were valued at slightly less than $7500.00. The per- sonal estate, the land in Westfield and part of the land in Granville was sold to pay the expenses of settlement, the widow's allowance, the debts and a legacy of $500.00. Thus there was left in 1854, when the estate was ready for settlement, the sum of $3950.00.
It is unfortunate that the records are so meager that it is not possible to follow each successive step in this most interesting affair. It seems, however, to be quite definite that the estate came into the possession of the Town for two very substantial reasons. First, because the land at the northwest corner of the road to Southwick and the (old) road to Westfield, owned by Mr. Harden at the time of his death, is designated on the map of Hampden County pub- lished in 1857 by H. A. Haley, in Boston is noted as being then owned by the Town. Second, by sundry votes of the Town. At the annual Town meeting on March 7, 1859, a committee of three con-
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