USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Great Barrington > History of Great Barrington, (Berkshire County,) Massachusetts > Part 12
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Isaac Van Deusen, the ancestor of a numerous fam- ily, the descendants of which still reside here, came in the spring of 1735, from Kinderhook, N. Y., having five years previously married Fitie-daughter of Coonrod Burghardt. He settled and built a log house, on the west side of the road to Stockbridge, on the bluff south of the dwelling of the late Joseph K .. Pelton, and upon land laid out to one of the rights of his father-in-law. The site chosen for his domicil is one of great natural beauty, and, though not now oc- cupied as a dwelling place, is one of the finest loca- tions in town. The rude house which he first erected, was, in a few years, superceded by a larger and more substantial structure, which having withstood the storms of more than a century, and having been suc- cessively the homestead of three generations of Isaac Van Deusen, was taken down nearly twenty years since. By conveyances from Coonrod Burghardt, and from David Ingersoll. Mr. Van Deusen became the proprie- tor of a very large tract of land in that part of the town, upon which his sons were afterwards settled. His sons, six in number, were notable for their uncom- mon stature, the shortest having been six feet two inches, and the tallest six feet seven and one-half inch- es in height. Isaac Van Deusen was a man of excel- lent character, highly esteemed, and from 1762 to 1770 one of the selectmen of the town. He was also one of the very early members of the Episcopal church, and. a liberal contributor towards the erection of its first ..
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ISAAC VAN DEUSEN.
house of worship. He lived to the age of 91 years, and died January 14, 1796. His wife, Fitie, died June 28, 1777, in her 75th year. The children of Isaac and Fitie Van Deusen were:
Jemima, born March 10, 1730; married Mr. - Huyck, and lived in Lee ; died July 13, 1779.
Gesie, born August 27, 1731 ; died August 29, 1738.
Abraham, born March 4, 1733; died November 25, 1810. Coonrod, born February 4, 1735 ; died December 26, 1818. John, born March 19; 1737.
Matthew, born August 24, 1739.
Jacob, born July 15, 1741.
Isaac, born February 18, 1744.
The sons of Isaac Van Deusen, with the exception of Matthew, remained here, in the vicinity of their pa- ternal homestead. Matthew removed to the Hop- lands, and was an early settler of the town of Lee. Abraham resided at the foot of Monument Mountain, where Jehoiakim Van Valkenburgh had previously set- tled, and where William Van Deusen lately lived. Coon- rod built, in 1771, the stone house, still standing on the new road to Housatonic, on the east side of the river, which was for many years the residence of his son, the late Jacob H. Van Deusen, Esq. Previous to the building of this house he had his dwelling near where the barn now stands, a few rods north of the stone house. He died in 1818, in his 84th year, leav- ing three sons, to wit: Deacon Isaac, John C., and Jacob H .; all now deceased. John built more than 100 years ago, the brick house, now the Pelton home- stead, at the foot of Monument Mountain. Jacob, who was not married until 1787, when he was forty-six years old, lived in the north part of the house lately oc- cupied by Enos Ford-the old tavern-at Van Deusen- ville, and owned a large tract of land in that vicinity. He had two daughters, Gesie and Fitie, both of whom died unmarried, and one son,-Isaac L. Van Deusen, Esq., who was one of the pioneers in manufacturing in the south part of the county, and who built the woolen and cotton mills formerly standing at Van Deusen- ville. Isaac, the youngest son of the original Isaac, remained upon the homestead of his father, and died there May 4, 1794. He was succeeded by his son,-
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
known as "Wise Isaac"-who represented the third generation of Isaacs occupying the old house, and who died there at the age of sixty-three, May 16, 1831.
Jehoiakim Van Valkenburgh, settled first above the mountain, in Stockbridge, where he resided, the neigh- bor and friend of Capt. Konkapot, frequently officiating as his interpreter. His house,-twice mentioned as a landmark in the surveys of Timothy Dwight, about 1736,-evidently stood near the road running south from the Stockbridge railway station, and not far from the brick dwelling of Mrs. Ashburner. At the special request of the Indians, Van Valkenburgh was permitted to remain there for two or three years after the grant to them of the township, but about 1739, he removed to this town and lived at the foot of Monument Moun- tain, where Jacob H. Van Deusen now resides. As his name never appears in our parish records, it is probable that he did not long remain here; and in 1758, he was an inhabitant of Nobletown .- now Hillsdale,- N. Y. He was the ancestor of Robert Van Valken- burgh, an eccentric individual,-the "Doctor Tama- rack" of forty years ago,-and also of Joseph Van Val- kenburgh, still remembered by the old residents of the town.
John Burghardt, "alias John De Bruer"-said to have been called De Bruer, by reason of his having been, formerly, engaged in brewing, and perhaps also to distinguish him from others of the same name,- was originally from Kinderhook. He had settled, at an early date, above the mountain, in Stockbridge, but when that township was set apart for the Indians, he exchanged his possessions for four rights below the mountain and removed thither about 1736-7. He set- tled where Deacon George Beckwith for a long time, and, more recently, Thomas H. Curtis resided, on the road to Stockbridge. Here he had a home lot of two hund- red acres and large tracts of meadow land along the riv- er. Mr. Burghardt was deceased before 1770, and his son John, commonly known by his military title of "Ensign," built the Beckwith house, it is believed, in 1773. Ensign John Burghardt was a man of charac- ter and influence, often serving the town in public of-
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BURGHARDT-NASH.
fices and committees. He married, before the Rev- olution, Eleanor, daughter of Israel Dewey. His children were Andrew, who is said to have occupied the old Levi Hyde place; Hugo, a distinguished phy- sician of Richmond; Catherine; and Lambert, who re- moved to Kinderhook, and who was the grandfather of the late Garret Burghardt, Esq., of Van Deusenville. Ensign John Burghardt-perhaps seventy years ago- removed to Richmond and spent the later years of his life with his son, Doctor Hugo Burghardt.
Hendrick Burghardt, the son, and Matthew Goose, the son-in-law of Coonrod Burghardt seem, both, to have dwelt below Monument Mountain between 1740 and 1750. Their locations-which we are unable, defi- nitely, to determine-were evidently north of that of John Burghardt. Hendrick was the owner of one right, conveyed to him by his father earlier than April 1746. Peter Sharp, another son-in law of Coonrod Burghardt, settled where Nicholas Race now dwells, in the west part of the town.
The divisional line between the Upper and Lower Townships,-of which we have made frequent mention, commonly called the "Proprietors Line,"-crossing the river at the bridge and running easterly strikes the south side of the brick blacksmith shop, north of the Bung Hill corner. To the north of this line, between it and the Pixley brook, a home lot of twenty acres was laid out to the right of David Winchell. This lot in- cluded the present dwelling places of Joel A. Leonard, Samuel L. Dearing, Moses C. Burr, and others. Its first occupant, so far as we know, was Daniel Nash, a blacksmith, from the vicinity of the Connecticut River, who was settled here in 1739, or perhaps a little ear- lier, upon the spot now occupied by Samuel L. Dear- ing. Mr. Nash died March 10, 1760, and was succeed- ed by his son, Jonathan Nash, Esq.,-also a black- smith,-who perhaps built, and certainly lived in the Dearing house, to the time of his decease in 1793. Jonathan Nash also built the brick house, on the west side of the street, afterwards the residence of the Rev. Gideon Bostwick, now of Moses C. Burr, which bears upon its front the initials of its builder, I. N., and the
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
date of its erection, 1762. He was a prominent man in the town during and after the Revolution, and will be further noticed. Another member of this family, Onessimus Nash, presumed to have been a son of Dan- iel, died here September 17, 1745.
Thomas Horton, the father-in-law of David Inger- soll, came here from Springfield, about 1739, and had his residence at the point of the mountain, east of the bridge, near where Mrs. Burt lately lived. Both Mr. Horton and his wife-Mercy-became members of Mr. Hopkins' church soon after its organization. He died in June 1754, as appears from the church records, and as his wife was, at about the same time, dismissed, it may be inferred that she then removed from town. Directly east of the bridge, David Ingersoll was the owner of the land on the north side of the present highway, and on the 21st of March, 1743, he conveyed to Deodat Woodbridge of Hartford, "Doctor of Physic," a tract of seven and one half acres extending easterly from the river "fiveteen rods," and thence northerly, "fiveteen rods in weadth," to the bend of the river. This Doctor Woodbridge, who resided here for a time, and who is charged on the books of David Ingersoll with twenty weeks' board,-July 1744-was the first physician of whose residence in the parish we find any mention.
The tract of land conveyed, was, very soon after, in possession of Jonathan Willard, who built a house upon it in 1743-4, and deeded the land to Reuben King, July 7th, 1744, describing it as " Where I live and built a House." Mr. King-who did not occupy the premises-died soon after, and in the inventory of his estate the property is thus described-"seven acres and { and a frame on it on the north side of the way £205." Sarah King, the widow of Reuben, conveyed the same premises-May 10, 1750-"with buildings" to James Root of Westfield, who removed here about that time, and James Root deeded the same land "with the buildings thereon," May 27, 1754, to his brother Capt. Hewit Root, who then established himself as a tavern- keeper upon that spot. Here Capt. Root remained and kept his tavern to the time of his decease in 1788.
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JONATHAN WILLARD.
The Root tavern house is now the old brown tene- ment, next east of the iron bridge, owned by Miles Avery ; it formerly stood about six rods further east, and was removed, by Mr. Avery, to its present site a few years since. It may or may not be the original house erected by Jonathan Willard. We have heard it stated that the first house on that spot was destroyed by fire, but we have met with no confirmation of that statement. Jonathan Willard was a mill-wright and carpenter, employed by David Ingersoll in the erection of his mills and dwelling house, in 1739-40. He set- tled here and reared a family. His children were Da- vid, Daniel, Susanna, Mary, Samuel and Catherine. David and Daniel both resided on the Long Pond road. Daniel Willard,-son of Jonathan,-born September 8, 1742, married Phebe Freeman of New Marlboro, April 15, 1779. He owned and lived upon the farm now Elijah N. Hubbard's, on the road to Long Pond, and was noted for his many eccentricities of character. At the time of his decease, some sixty years since, having . no children, he devised to the Congregational society the use and improvement of a large part of his farm forever; the rents or income to be devoted to the sup- port of preaching.
We have now detailed at considerable length, and with occasional digressions, the main facts which have been gathered relative to the families and locations of the first settlers of the town,-of all who came previous to 1743. We have paid but little attention to the gen- ealogy of these families. This subject opens too wide a field of research, and we have neither the time or in- clination to venture upon it. The brief notes of a gen- ealogical character, which we have written, though un- interesting to the general reader, may, we trust, prove useful to the descendants of those who formerly lived here.
It is a remarkable fact, illustrative of our changing population, that of the twenty-two family names borne by the first settlers, not more than four are now repie- sented in town by the descendants of those settlers, to wit: the Burghardts, Van Deusens, Pixleys, and pos- sibly the Deweys. In addition to the settlers who
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
have been mentioned were some transient persons, and the "straggling fellows" complained of in Mr. Inger- soll's petition; and outside of the limits of the town, but within the bounds of the parish, in what is now Egremont, was Capt. John Spoor, with his sons Isaac, Jacob and Cornelius. In the sixteen years which had elapsed, from the beginning of settlements to the for- mation of the parish, the increase of inhabitants and the progress of the settlement-attended, as we have seen, by many hindrances and delays-had been very slow. The township was still, to a great extent, a wilderness. some roads had been laid out and streams had been bridged, and a meeting-house erected, but the few public improvements made were only such as necessity demanded.
The families we have enumerated composed the parish over which the Rev. Samuel Hopkins was or- dained on the 28th December, 1743. In the autobio- graphical sketches of his life, written fifty-three years afterwards, in writing of the condition of the inhabi- tants at the time of his coming among them, Mr. Hop- kins says: "I found they were a small people, there be- ing but about thirty families in the town; that a num- ber of them were poor, and generally they were without any concern about religion, and given to many vices, which an easy country to live in, and living without the steady preaching of the gospel, or public worship natur- ally produces."
CHAPTER XI. ALARMS OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS.
1744-8-1753-60.
We have remarked that uncertainty as to the lo- cation of the boundary line between Massachusetts and New York,-the governments of each claiming the ter- ritory now in Berkshire County,-together with the dangers of Indian warfare, incident to all frontier settlements, operated to prevent an earlier occupancy of the Housatonic Valley by New Englanders. The con- troversy relative to the divisional line seems to have subsided about the year 1731, and the settlers of the Housatonic Townships experiencing no further disturb- ance from this source, remained in peaceful possession of their improvements; and though this controversy was renewed in 1752, it was without detriment to the interests of the settlers.
From the begining of settlements to 1744, was a time of peace upon our borders, and the inhabitants were undisturbed by apprehensions of invasion ; but in the stirring events of the wars between England and France, 1744-48 and 1753-60, the inhabitants of the parish-occupying, as they did, an exposed situa- tion on the frontier-were deeply interested. The presence of the Housatonic Indians at Stockbridge, whose friendship had been secured by kind treatment and the liberal policy which the government had pur- sued toward them, was a protection to the settlers and operated as a barrier to the devastations and massacres with which the French and their Indian allies visited
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
the more northern settlements. But though thus pro- tected, the inhabitants felt insecure and were often alarmed by rumors of Indian invasion.
During these wars the direct route of communica- tion from Boston and Springfield to Albany was by way of Three Mile Hill and the Great Bridge, through this town, Egremont and Kinderhook. This route, " The Great Road from Boston to Albany," was then an important military thoroughfare in the various ex- peditions towards Lake George, Lake Champlain and Canada, and the passage of large bodies of armed men through the town was a matter of not infrequent oc- currence. Considerable bodies of soldiery were, also, sometimes gathered here,-preparatory to marching to Albany-and were quartered, or billeted, upon the in- habitants; and stores for the army were also from time to time collected here.
Late in February, 1745, a militia muster was held here for the enlistment of soldiers for the expedition against Louisburgh ; religious services which had been appointed to be held on the same day were deferred on account of the muster. The expedition sailed : and Louisburgh surrendered on the eighteenth of June following. On the afternoon of the Sabbath, July 7th, whilst the people were assembled for worship at the meeting-house, a post brought the news of the surren- der. The people rejoiced. On Monday the post con- tinued his journey to Albany, accompanied by the min- ister and Stephen King; the party were met, "without the gate," by the principal men of the city, who wel- comed them in; on the next day the messengers were invited into the fort, where the gentlemen of the city were assembled, bonfires were kindled, wine was served, and the messengers were treated with marked attention.
Such is the account written by the Rev. Samuel Hopkins in his diary, from which we gather much of the material of this chapter, and although the events narrated, are in themselves unimportant, they are nevertheless of interest as they serve to portray the fears, alarms and rejoicings which in those perilous times, stirred the hearts and animated the spirits of our predecessors.
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ALARM OF 1745.
A little after midnight, on the morning of the 22d of November, 1745, the town was thrown into a great ex- citement by a report, said to be brought by two young men who had fled from Stockbridge-that "Stock- bridge was beset and taken" by Indians; the citizens were soon after, in some degree, quieted by a contra- diction of the rumor as to the taking of Stockbridge, but the belief remained, and was strengthened by the . arrival of fresh evidence, that Stockbridge was in dan- ger, that a large body of Indians was in the vicinity and hourly expected there. Most of the inhabitants fled to fortified places-probably in Sheffield-as did the minister and the family with which he boarded, who found shelter at Elisha Noble's fort (1) in Shef- field; this was so crowded with women and children that rest the succeeding night was out of the question. This alarm, the foundation of which is not now appar- ent, spread in all directions, and, during that day and the night following, more than a hundred men came up from Connecticut to succor the inhabitants; but by the arrival of a post from Kinderhook on the 23d it was ascertained that the reports which had caused the alarm were false. The Connecticut men returned home, and the people to their dwellings and avocations. But apprehensions of danger were still felt; the coun- try was filled with rumors, and two weeks later many of the inhabitants were again driven to fortified places, by the reported burning of a barn in Stockbridge, sup- posed to have been fired by the French and Indians. At the time of these alarms, as Mr. Hopkins states, there was no fort in this place. In November, 1743, the General Court ordered a grant of £100 to each, Sheffield, Stockbridge, and Upper Housatonic, to be expended in building forts or fortifying dwelling houses, but we do not learn that any defenses were erected here, under that appropriation. The earliest mention we find of a fortified place in this town, is of ""Coonrod Burghardt's fort," in the spring of 1747, but · of its character or location we have no information. It may be presumed to have stood in the vicinity of Mr.
(1) Elisha Noble's fortified house-stood at the north end of Sheffield plain, where Jay Shears lately lived.
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
Burghardt's dwelling, north of the lower cemetery, or it may have been simply his house palisaded.
Another alarm was caused, April 10, 1747, by the- report that Kinderhook had been attacked by Indians, and that two persons were killed and eight taken pris- oners. On the next day-Sunday-Mr. Hopkins, as he records, "preached in Coonrod Burghardt's fort, the people not being willing to go to the meeting-house."" In these troublous times, Mr. Hopkins himself did some service, presumably in the capacity of chaplain. Acting in this matter upon the advice of the Rev. John Sergeant, he went with a scouting party of one hun- dred white men and nineteen Indians, which marched from Stockbridge September 30th, 1746, on an expedi- tion to the northward, and was absent until the 25th of December; but beyond the first and second days of his service his diary contains no record of his experiences. During the winter of 1746-7 preparations were being made for an expedition to Canada; about the middle of February, Capt. Williams came here, having "orders, to provide for the soldiers on this river for their march to Albany in order for Crown Point," and soon after a large number of soldiers was gathered here preparato- ry to their march. These were assembled at the meet- ing-house on the 11th of March, and at their request, Mr. Hopkins preached to them on the occasion. We- read in the parish records, March 22d, 1747, that Asahel Dewey was chosen collector "in the place of Stephen King, being enlisted in his Majestie's service, can't at- tend the office."
The peace of 1748, brought a season of respite to- the people, which was followed by the second French war. In 1754 irruptions occurred in Western Massa -- chusetts, and on the borders of New York, which tend- ed to alarm the inhabitants and caused a general feel- ing of insecurity. The hamlet of Dutch Hoosac, north- west of Williamstown was attacked and destroyed by a large body of Indians, on the 28th of August, and a few days afterwards,-Sunday, September Ist-the house. of Joshua Chamberlain, on the hill, near the village of Stockbridge, was attacked by two Indians; a hired man in the family, by the name of Owen, after a vigorous,
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HOPKINS' LETTER.
resistance-during which Chamberlain and his wife made their escape,-was killed and scalped. The In- dians also killed and scalped one child, and carried away another, which,-on being soon afterwards dis- covered-they killed. The news of this occurrence, following that of the destruction of Hoosac-greatly exaggerated, and magnified by the fears of the inhabi- tants, was received here while the people were as- sembled for worship, in the afternoon of the day on which it took place. The meeting was immediately broken up, and terror and consternation prevailed.
The following extract from a letter written by Mr. Hopkins to his friend, Dr. Bellamy, two days after this event, shows to what a pitch the feelings of the people were excited. This letter is dated September 3d, 1754, and is quoted from Professor Park's life of Dr. Hopkins.
" On the Lord's Day, P. M. as I was reading the Psalm, news came that Stockbridge was beset by an army of Indians, and on fire, which broke up the assembly in an instant. All were put into the utmost consternation, men, women and children. What shall we do? Not a gun to defend us ; not a fort to flee to, and few guns and little ammunition in the place. Some ran one way and some another ; but the general course was to the southward, especially for women and children. Women, children and squaws presently flocked in upon us from Stockbridge, half naked and frightened almost to death : and fresh news came that the enemy were on the Plains this side of Stockbridge, shooting and killing and scalping people as they fled. Some presently came along bloody, with news they saw persons killed and scalped, which raised a consternation, tumult and distress inexpressible, many particulars of which Mr. Wheeler, now at my house, quorum magna pars fuit,-can relate, which I have not time to write. Two men are killed, one scalped, two children killed and one of them scalped; but two Indians have been seen at or near Stockbridge, that we certainly know of. Two Indians may put New England to a hundred thousand pounds charge, and never much expose themselves, in the way we now take. The troops that came to our assistance are now drawing off ; and what have they done ? They have seen Stockbridge and eaten up all their provisions, and fatigued themselves, and that's all ; and now we are left as much exposed as ever, (for I suppose they are all going.) In short the case of New England looks very dark especially on the frontiers. A few savages may be a . terrible scourge to us &c."
The anxieties caused by these alarms continued for a considerable time, and Mr. Hopkins, in order that his
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
family might be "out of the way of fears from the In- dians," moved them to Canaan, where they remained until the last of October. This and other alarms doubtless led to the fortification of several dwelling houses; one of these is reputed to have stood where Edward Manville now resides, in the south part of the village; and tradition locates another on the farm of Nicholas Race in the west part of the town.
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