USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Greenfield > History of Greefield, shire town of Franklin county, Massachusetts, Vol. II > Part 30
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 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
Edwin E. Day Post, G. A. R., was organized in March, 1870. Captain George Pierce was the first commander and there were twelve charter members. During the existence of the Post there have been one hundred and fifty names on its rolls, representing sixty-two different organizations in the serv- ice. In 1877 there was a decline of interest in the order and the meetings of the Post suspended. A veteran associa- tion was then formed to carry on the work of relieving the necessities of needy comrades and of observing the beautiful ceremonies of Memorial day. In 1884 the charter was re- stored and the Post has increased in numbers and influence
1054
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
each year. The town has been generous in its treatment of the members, and purchased for the use of the veterans the Fessenden estate on Main street, the rooms of which were changed to adapt them to the uses of the society.
The survivors of the Grand Army fully appreciate the favors shown them by the people, and are happy in their new and cosy quarters.
Edwin E. Day Relief Corps was instituted November 13, 1885, and has been a most efficient auxiliary to the Grand Army Post, lending its aid in every worthy cause.
CHAPTER LXVII
THE VILLAGE STREET
A S early as 1682 Samuel Davis and Joshua Pumry had land granted to them north of Deerfield river and east of Green river. Pumry built on his land soon after, for in 1686 he had an additional grant of seven acres "lying on the backside of his now dwelling house bounded by the Green river West by the Brow of the hill East," etc. In 1686 Quinton Stockwell and many others had grants of land on Green river. January 5, 1686, the following vote was passed : " That whereas there was a certain tract of Land upon the Green River which was appointed & designed to be for Home Lots for those Persons that had Grants of Land upon sd River Lt. Thomas Wells & others appointed by sª Inhabitants for that work, ordered the form & Quantity of the Lots, that is to say the Length & breadth of them."
" William Brooks proposed to the Inhabitants, he having a Grant of two home Lots, that if the Inhabitants would give him liberty to take his two Lots together & that they should be laid out to him in what place he should chuse in sd tract that he the sd Brooks would give to the Inhabitants aforesd in recompence for that benefit or privilege, his dwelling house that stands in the Town street in Deerfield."
" The proposition was considered & it was agreed & Voted that the sd Will™ Brooks should have the liberty to chuse his two Lots upon the consideration abovesd. Accordingly he the sd Brooks went out when Lt. Thos Wells & the Meas- urers went to lay out the home Lots & made choice of his
IO55
1056
ORIGINAL STREET PLAN
two Lots which lie fronting upon the highway North or North East upon the home Lot of David Hoit on the one side & Edward Allen on the other side." These were lot No. 3 and lot No. 4.
The plan of the Green River Street was not completed and placed on record until 1749.
W. |Deg.s
ALE 19 De9.30™.S. D.
B.
C
A
FROM THE DEERFIELD RECORDS
" The above Plan of Green River Street laid out Feby 22d, 1749 : Six rods in width beginning at angle A, which angle commences fifteen links of a Chain West from a crotched Apple Tree, which Tree stands in the Front of John Allen's House Lot, running East 19 D., 30 M .; South from sd Tree to Joshua Wells's Corner, & from the afores'd angle A, West I D., South to Samuel Dickinson's S. East Corner; from the Corner of Edward Allen's Stone Wall at B to Aaron Denio's Corner at C is fourteen Rods, & from C to D is Seven Rods & 3 Links. The above Roads were laid out by us.
" DAVID FIELD, Selectmen " MATTHEW CLESSON, of
" BENJN HASTINGS. Deerfield."
The foregoing plan of Greenfield street as it was in 1774 was found among the papers of the late Colonel Samuel Wells, and although not drawn to a scale is valuable as it gives the names of the occupants of the original lots at the commencement of the Revolutionary War.
In the early records of Deerfield is the following entry, no date being given : " Here follows a Record of divers things that were formerly omitted. A Record of the Home lots up Green River the South side of the Street to begin at the West End-Eben" Wells Jr. Ist lot. David Hoit 2nd. Wm. Brooks 3d & 4th. Ewd Allyn 5th.
PLAN OF VILLAGE IN 1774
1057
" On the North Side to begin at the west End. Sam1 Smead ye Ist-the Mill Lot 2nd-Jos & Rob Goddard 3rd & 4th- John Severance 5th-Jeremiah Hull 6th-John Allyn 7th- there were twenty laid out in all."
Men of the Village of Greenfield on 'TH
OG leverer Smiede
Edward uphans D
Gehul Basama
Tough Bacon 0
Quel Hollande Some
Road to Deerfield 12 Rods wide
Common
.
Thomas engliv
D
Thomas Nies
0
O
Mother cleanance
Mam Fruit 6 and price
Each Lox was it Ride on front and contained eight acres
Ever will
à Samuel Wells
Sergeant John Plympton had a grant of the meadow land at what has been known as "the old river bed " south of Main street on which the Ebenezer Wells, Jr., lot No. I, 67
1058
HOME LOTS
bounded on the west. This lot remained in the Wells fam- ily's possession until Joseph Warren Wells of the fifth gen- eration sold to Jesse McIntire in 1840.
The first American ancestor of this Wells family was without doubt Hugh Wells, who arrived in Boston on the " Susan and Ellen " in 1630. His brother Thomas accompanied him to this country. After spending a short time in Weathersfield and Hartford, Hugh is found a settler at Hadley, in 1759. In the early records the name was commonly spelled " Welles."
Ebenezer Wells returned to Hadley, his native town, but his sons John and Joshua made permanent settlements in Green- field and became prominent men in Green river affairs. Both were in the Indian skirmish August 25, 1725, when Deacon Samuel Field was so badly wounded, near where the railroad station now stands. John Wells occupied lot No. I as his homestead and became a colonel in the militia. His son Samuel, one of fourteen children, was an officer in the Rev- olutionary War, and probably built the house which stood where the Baxter B. Noyes place now is.
Mrs. Sarah Wells Conant is perhaps the only representative of her generation of this once numerous family who continues to reside in Greenfield.
Twenty home lots of four acres each were laid out, but the dimensions of the lots were increased to eight acres each on March 3, 1700-The home lots as finally agreed upon were each to be sixteen rods in width and eighty rods in length. It was voted in 1687 " that all persons that have or shall have grants of Land upon Green River shall pay their proportion of the Indian Purchase." Before the matter was finally set- tled, the road from the country road to the gristmill, now Mill street, was opened, and the lots on the south side of the street were thus cut off, other land being granted to make up the deficiency in the allotment.
Lot No. 2 was granted to David Hoyt, and descended to his grandson, Lieutenant Jonathan Hoyt, who lived at Cheap-
-
Land of Alex. M'intire
Main Street greenfield
Abigail H. Severance
Susannal. Pierce
Land of P.P. Severance
Liverwood
Elm
Susannah Pierce
Boss
-
Mill Company
Abigail Lambert
Munson
Franklin je
P.T. Sprague Wid. Newton
J. Severance
S. Root
D. Willard
A. Spencer
Caroline Newton & Elizabeth B.Cook
Abigail H. Severance
Abigail Lambert
Common Road "(Newton Place)"
Harriet N. Bates
Meeting House
High School
Harriet N. Bates
Abigail H. Severance
Susannah Pierce
Abigail Lambert
Highway
Hhway
A Plan of cres and 35 rods of land situated
leenfield , surveyed for the heirs of
-
Isaac Newton May 1st . 1845 By Ozias Roberts
Sry, Book 135 Page 215
Common
W. Ook
Buryin ground
Post
W. Ock
1059
REV. DR. NEWTON'S POSSESSIONS
side and kept the " White Horse Tavern," which became in time the David R. Wait place. In 1776 this lot was con- veyed to Reverend Roger Newton, who became the owner of all the land lying between Main and Mill streets and the Ebenezer Wells lot and Clay Hill street.
Lots Nos. 3 and 4 were granted to William Brooks; one on his own right and one on the right of Quinten Stockwell, whose interest he had purchased. Through Ebenezer and Nathaniel Brooks, sons of William, these lots came to Ben- jamin Munn, who in 1741 conveyed them to his son Samuel. Samuel Munn conveyed an acre to the town for a burial ground, and in 1764 for £128-10-8 he deeded the remainder of the two lots to Reverend Dr. Newton.
Lot No. 5 was granted to Edward Allen. In 1738 he deeded it to his son Edward. Here, in 1744, stood his pali- saded house, on the ground now occupied by the Hollister house. In 1763 Amos Allen, son of Edward Allen, Jr., sold to Roger Newton " a certain tract of land lying in Greenfield District containing eight acres and bounded west by land of Samuel Munn ; north, east and south upon the highway, with all the edifices, fences &c., standing upon the said home lot."
On this lot in January, 1793, Reverend Mr. Newton be- gan the erection of his new house upon the spot now occupied by the courthouse. That house is still in existence, standing upon the north side of Newton Place, in the rear of the town hall. Under date of "Thursday, August 24, 1794," Mr. Newton makes the following entry in his diary : “removed from my old Habitation where I had resided about 32 years into my new house." On the corner now occupied by Arms's block, Mr. Newton built a small store which was occupied in 1774 by one Samuel Bliss, who, being a tory, fled to Canada, and became a captain in the British army. It was afterward occupied by George Grennell, and later by Ozias H. Newton (son of Dr. Newton), and Aaron Green, under the firm name of Newton & Green.
1060
THE VILLAGE COMMON
Luckily for the people of the town, the road entering the town street from the south was laid out fourteen rods in width at its north end, and our little common was thus saved to the public.
A few houses were built on the street before the breaking out of Father Rasle's war in 1722, but at that time all the settlers were forced to retire to the fortified places at Deer- field. No more lots were laid out on the south side of Main street until the first division of " lands lying north of Cheap- side and east of Green river," in 1736. The first and second divisions of land laid out were drawn by " pitch " as elsewhere described, and all the land lying about the east end of Main street as far west as the line between William H. Allen and Franklin R. Allen was drawn as farm land. In fact the lot lying between that line and the line between the places now owned by Dana Malone and Dr. E. G. Best turned to the east in the rear of the Allen places and was drawn by Ebe- nezer Williams in " pitch " No. 11, and contained twenty- four acres.
The lot next west of the line between Mr. Malone and Dr. Best was laid out to Thomas Wells, in November, 1736, and was six rods and ten links in width on the street, running southerly on said Williams lot eighty-one rods to Samuel Field's forty-acre grant, and extended westerly in the rear of the home lots to the country road, now called Deerfield street.
At a meeting held March 16, 1737-8, "The Proprietors maturely considering the Petition of Benjamin Hastings, William Mitchell & Jonah Holmes voted that they have con- firmed to each of them their House lots at Green river form- erly Laid out to them two of which are under them now in possession of Aaron Denio & one in the possession of Thos. Wells 2nd, as also so much more to Each of them Lying south west of Land belonging to Ezekiel Bascom at ye Lower end of Green River Meadows as shall by a Comttee appointed
----
MAIN STREET.
S. 71/3 E. 45 R. 16L.
S. 74 E. 24 R. qL.
N. 191/2 €
2 /3 R
2. R. 21 L.
Z
N. IS E
S.74'/2 E
2 R.IIL.
=
6.74'/2E 고졸 R.
1 4. 46 R. No. 1.
SOLD OFF
16
No. 2
No. 3
No. 4
No. 5
5 RODS
No. 8
20 % RODS
IO Rons
6 1/4 RODS
6 1/4 RODS
6 1/4 RODS
6 1/4 RODS
5 Roos
N. 71 1/2 W. 60 1/4 RODS.
N. 17 E. 32 RoDs
N. 151/2 E. 23 RODS.
NORTH PASTURE.
5.65€
16 L.
12 RODS.
271/4 RODS .
BROOK
S. 18 } W.
WMH. AND F.R. ALLEN PLACES PRESENT LINE BETWEEN THE
BANK ROW.
10R.19 L.
5. R. 16L.
N. 27 W. 13 R. 8 L.
SOLD OFF
16
16
16
16
93/4 RODS
SOLD OFF
11 ACRES 35 RODS No. 6
1
BROOK
N. 6 E 14 1/2 R.
16 ACRES qb RODS No. 7
SOUTH PASTURE.
BIK OAK
N. 12 1/2 W 41 RODS.
8.87 W. 50 1/2 RODS
PLAN OF THE RUEL WILLARD ESTATE, 1806. (FORMERLY THE AARON DENIO FARM.) FROM HAMPSHIRE COUNTY PROBATE RECORDS.
1061
THE ALLEN CORNER
for that end be thoat propper which Comttee to make return of their doings to the proprietors in their next Meeting Upon adjournment with plans of Each lot In order to have them recorded to the Petitioners if the Proprietors judge propper ; Provided they do there Each of them by a Good Deed of Conveyance relinquish convey and confirm to ye Proprietors the whole of their interest In the Common & undivided Lands in Deerfield to Decend to them according to their re- spective Interest, provided also said Hastings do convey and confirm to the Proprietors a cart road through his Lot in old fort unto the west mountain."
The record continues as follows : " Two plats of land laid out to Jonah Holms as his part or proportion of ye Common & undivided Lands in ye Township of Deerfield viz : Plat No I contains Eight acres it Lyeth in that Part of ye Town Known by ye name of Green River Townplot and is bounded North on ye Street or road East & South on proprietors Land west on Land in possession of Aaron Deniur." Forty- five acres were also laid to Holmes at the west end of the Green river lots, on the west side of Green river.
" Plats of land laid out to Benj" Hastings & William Mitchell as their part or proportions of ye Common & un- divided land in ye township of Deerfield viz :- the Lot No four Containing Eight acres which Lot Lyeth in ye Green River Town Plot so called on ye So Side of ye Street joyning to ye street North and west on ye Country road that goeth to Green river South on Common Land & East on ye Lot No 5 which land was laid out to William Mitchell." Mitchell also had laid out to him two other lots, one of fifteen acres and one of thirty acres on the west side of Green river.
" The house lot No. 5 in this plan was laid out to Benj" Hastings & contains eight acres and joyns to ye aforesd Lot Numbr four as described in the plan." Sixty acres more were laid to Hastings, partly bounded east by Green river.
1062
AARON DENIO'S FARM
The northwest corner of lot No. 4 was the present " Allen's corner." It ran easterly along the street, apparently sixteen rods, thence south 14 west, sixty-one rods, thence westerly (points not given) to a corner, thence northwesterly (neither points nor distance given) to the highway, thence bounded west on the highway (Clay Hill) to the place of beginning.
The southerly end of this lot was much wider than the north end, the lot lacking nineteen rods in its length, as com- pared with the other home lots, thus making up the comple- ment of eight acres.
Lot No. 5 joined this on the east, and was eighty rods in length and sixteen rods in width.
Lot No. 1, laid out to Jonah Holmes, joined this on the east and was the same size as lot No. 5.
All these five lots of land, amounting in all to thirty-four acres passed into the hands of Aaron Denio between 1738 and 1743. The Benjamin Hastings lot extended from Allen's corner to the middle of the Masonic building ; the William Mitchell lot from there to about forty feet beyond the Grand Army hall; the Jonah Holmes lot to about twenty feet be- yond the east line of the Governor Washburn lot ; the Thomas Wells lot to the line between Dana Malone and Dr. Best ; and the E. Williams lot to the line between William H. and Franklin R. Allen, this being the east line of Aaron Denio's possessions. On the Holmes lot there stood a " mansion house " in 1747.
In 1777 Aaron deeded to his son, Battis Denio, the Hastings and Mitchell lots and the old tavern house, and gave him the remainder of the thirty-four acres by his will.
In 1782 Battis sold the whole to Ruel and Beriah Willard.
The Willard brothers divided their joint estate's Septem- ber 7, 1783, Ruel taking that on the south side of Main street. He died in Bernardston, in 1806. The estate was partitioned among his heirs by the Probate Court of Hamp- shire county, and a plan is inserted in this work.
1063
THE NORTH SIDE OF THE STREET
On the north side of the street the numbering of lots began at the west end of the street, and lot No. I was assigned to Samuel Smead by the following vote : " At a meeting of the Inhabitants of Deerfield Decbr 13, 1687. There was also Granted to Sam1 Smead twenty acres of Land upon Green River and a Home Lot provided he pay Rates for it this year & so forward & continue an Inhabitant here three years after he comes to be twenty one Years of age." He was then eighteen years old. This grant was confirmed March 26, 1718-19. In 1720 this lot was standing in the name of Samuel Dickinson. That year the proprietors granted to Joseph Atherton lot No. 2, which in 1686 had been reserved as the " Mill Lot." In 1751 Joseph divided this lot be- tween his sons Shubal and Eber, Eber taking the four acres bounded west on land of Samuel Dickinson, and Shubal the east four acres, "where the house is, and edifices." The " house " and " edifices " became the Atherton fort during the Indian wars and gave the name to " Fort square." Timothy Bascom, who married a daughter of Joseph Atherton, came into possession of the Dickinson lot, and in 1778 by deed from the other Atherton heirs became the owner of the whole of lots Nos. I and 2, and in 1783 conveyed to Samuel Wells, (who lived where B. B. Noyes now does,) " two home lots formerly belonging to Samuel Dickinson and Joseph Ather- ton, with the buildings standing on the same, being the place where the said Timothy Bascom now lives." The Wells barns stood on lot No. 1. In 1802, when the fourteenth Massachusetts turnpike was laid out, that road was bounded on the " south side of Samuel Wells's barn."
Lot No. 3, in the grants of 1686, was laid out to Joseph Goddard, and lot No. 4 to Robert Goddard. Samuel Bar- nard obtained Joseph Goddard's interest in 1719 and in 1759 sold it to Jonathan Severance. It remained in the Severance family for more than one hundred and twenty years.
Lot No. 4 was owned by Benjamin Munn in 1750 and
1064
THE SEVERANCE LOTS
sold by him to John Cochran. In 1751 John conveyed the lot to Thomas Cochran. The next year Thomas sold it to Jonathan Ashley, and in 1754 Ashley conveyed it to Jona- than Severance for £60.
Lot No. 5 was granted in 1687 to John Severance, but was owned in 1750 by Joseph Severance, who was John's son, born in 1682. Joseph deeded it to his grandson, Matthew Severance, in 1756. March 1, 1790, he sold this lot to Amos Cornwell, hatter. Cornwell the next year sold the north three quarters of the lot to Samuel Wells who owned on the north and the south two acres with the buildings to Eliel Gilbert. In 1792 Colonel Gilbert sold to Jonathan Leavitt. Judge Leavitt concluded to build the Leavitt man- sion and October 4, 1794, sold this lot to George Grennell. June 1, 1810, Mr. Grennell sold the place to his son-in-law, Jonathan Bird, and many citizens still remember " the old Bird place " where William Elliot had his nursery. Conway street was laid through the west side of this lot.
Lot No. 6 was granted to Jeremiah Hull, December 20, 1687, by the following vote: "There was also granted to Jeremiah Hull twenty acres of Land upon the Green River & a Home Lot to be laid out by a Comttee provided he con- tinue an Inhabitant here three years & pay the purchase money, & pay Rates for it this year & so forward." The following year Jeremiah Hull married Mehitable, daughter of William Smead, and died in 1691, leaving a widow, a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Jeremiah. Godfrey Nims married the widow in 1692 and took them all to his Deerfield home. Jeremiah was burned in the Nims house at Deerfield, Jan- uary 4, 1694. Mrs. Nims and her daughter were taken prisoners at the Deerfield massacre, and the mother was killed on the march to Canada. These incidents left the Green River property to Elizabeth. Godfrey's son John was already a prisoner in Canada when his stepsister Elizabeth arrived there. He made his escape and when she was redeemed in
1065
OLD FELLENBERG FARM
1 707 they were married. They had twelve children, but the Green river lands went mostly to their son Thomas. He lived on lot No. 6 in 1744. His house stood where the First Baptist Church now is and was fortified during the French and Indian wars. When the wars were over he removed his great barn and his family to his farm in the meadows, and this lot passed out of the family name by conveyance to Samuel Wells, March 12, 1793. Samuel Wells deeded the greater part of this lot and farming lands adjoining on the north to his son (Colonel) Daniel Wells. In 1819 Rhoda, widow of (Colonel) Daniel Wells, and her children sold the Wells farm to Justice Preston. Mr. Preston in 1826 sold to Zechariah Field, who mortgaged it to the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, who sold it out to Phineas Foster and Mark Healy, Boston merchants, and in 1832 they sold it to
the Fellenberg Academy. In May, 1836, the Fellenburg School having been given up the estate was purchased by (Judge) Daniel Wells, and in July of that year Mr. Wells conveyed the lot where now stands the First Baptist Church and certain other lands to Lucius Dickinson. He sold to the Baptist Society in 1853. The Dickinson house was moved to the north on Wells street, which was then just opened, where it now stands.
Lot No. 7 was granted to John Allen. He was a brother to Edward, to whom was granted the lot where the courthouse stands. He, John, never resided here, and was killed by In- dians at the Bars in Deerfield, May 11, 1704. His son John came to Greenfield. Benjamin Munn owned the lot in 1740 and conveyed it that year to Benjamin Munn, Jr. In 1773 Samuel Munn conveyed to Thomas Taylor and he in 1776 sold to Samuel Wells. Asa Munn had a house on the southeast corner of the lot, in 1774. He was a tailor and lost a leg in the Revolutionary War. Thomas Dickman, the printer, also had a house on a part of this lot in 1792.
Lot No. 8. To whom first granted is not apparent.
1066
THE CHAPMAN FARM
April 26, 1726, this lot was conveyed by Ebenezer Williams to Ebenezer Smead. Jonathan Smead, son of Ebenezer, became the owner of the property, and in 1770 conveyed it to his sons, Lemuel and Daniel Smead. Abner Smead, a younger brother of Lemuel and Daniel, purchased the lot of them in 1785, and here he resided for many years. He appears to have been quite a speculator and came to grief, his homestead of seven acres being set off by the sheriff to Andrew, Oliver and Joshua Cocks, September 15, 1800, and was by them sold to Thomas Chapman in 1802. In 1792 Abner Smead had sold to Daniel Forbes, an old-time merchant, a parcel of land six by twenty- seven rods, from the southeast corner of his lot, on which Forbes built a house and store. He sold this to Benjamin Swan, and in 1798 Swan sold the same to Thomas Chapman, " late from Elizabethtown, N. J." Benjamin Swan also in 1798 sold the southwest corner of lot No. 8 to Thomas Chap- man ; thus Mr. Chapman became owner of the whole of the original lot. April 16, 1799, Mr. Chapman's house was burned and he built the Chapman mansion which after two removals is yet standing,-the large square house some little distance north- west of the Chapman street schoolhouse. The lay out of the Connecticut River Railroad cut off the southwest corner of lot No. 8. At the decease of Henry Chapman, son of Thomas, this lot was divided among his heirs and a plan thereof may be found in the registry of deeds. Chapman street was laid out near the centre of the lot.
Lot No. 9. This lot was granted in 1687 to John Allen. December 28, 1718, Ebenezer Severance and John Allen con- veyed this lot No. 7 to John Richards. Richards was a teacher in Deerfield and enjoyed the title " Mr." No conveyance from Richards of either lot is found. Noah and David, sons of John Allen, conveyed the lot March 15, 1769, to Thomas Taylor, and Mr. Taylor in 1776 passed the title to Samuel Wells. September 6, 1790, Jerome Ripley purchased this lot, the east side of which included the land now occupied by
-
1067
DAVIS STREET VICINITY
the west end of the Pond block. Ripley's store was a small building standing about where Payne's drug store now is. Mr. Ripley in 1791 sold the westerly portion of this lot to Eliel Gilbert, saddler, and he built the most ancient part of the old American House. Here he lived, kept a saddler shop and a tavern. Timothy Lathrop married a daughter of Colo- nel Gilbert and after the Colonel's decease kept the tavern for a season, having purchased the shares of the Gilbert heirs other than those of his wife. Colonel Wright, the old sheriff and court crier, kept the tavern many years. The property came into the hands of William Keith and took the name of the American House. On the John Allen lot stood " the crotched apple tree " which marked the angle in the street and the location of which has been studied by many local en- gineers.
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.