USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Greenfield > History of Greenfield : shire town of Franklin county, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 3
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Objection was made to granting leave for the removal of these people from the Bay, but later in the season, permission having been obtained, on the 15th of October, 1635, sixty men, women, and children, with their horses, cattle, and swine, commenced their journey through the wilderness to the Con- necticut river. They had sent the greater part of their stores by water, but before the arrival of the vessels at the mouth of the Connecticut the river had frozen, and the weary travellers upon reaching their destination had to face the pangs of starva- tion. Some made their way back to the Bay, some went down
* The blood of this old divine flows in the veins of certain Newton, Nims, Smead, Coleman and Wells families of Greenfield, transmitted through his daughter Mary, who married .Rev. Roger Newton, first minister of Milford, Conn. in 1644.
5
SETTLEMENT AT SPRINGFIELD
1635, 1636]
to the mouth of the river, where one of the vessels had landed her cargo, but the winter was one of terrible suffering. Mr. Warham and Mr. Maverick, with their Dorchester flocks were set down at Mattaneang, which they named Windsor ; the Watertown people took possession of Panquiaug, and named it Weathersfield, and the New Town people settled at Suckiang, which they called Hartford. In 1636, Mr. Hooker followed with about a hundred of the remaining members of his church, and joined the Hartford settlement.
In 1635 William Pynchon, a gentleman from Springfield in old England, had sent an agent to preempt land at a place called Agawam, on the river several miles above the Windsor settlement. The next year Mr. Pynchon followed with a party of settlers from Roxbury, and in remembrance of his old English home called the new settlement Springfield.
In 1637 the Pequots committed depredations against the valley settlers, attacking the fort at Saybrook, and killing more than thirty persons among the scattered settlements. Massa- chusetts, Plymouth and Connecticut raised an army, and called the veteran Captain Mason to its command. He marched his force to the Mystic fort, and surprising the Pequots, burned their wigwams and killed between five and six hundred, with a loss on his part of only two killed and sixteen wounded. Sassacus, the great chief, and a few of his warriors escaped and fled to the Mohawks, but he was not cordially received, and he and his followers were killed by them, and his scalp was sent to Connecticut.
After the destruction of the Pequots no New England sav- age for nearly forty years dared strike a blow against a white man. The punishment given that nation of warriors served for all, until a generation arose which knew not of Captain Mason and Captain Underhill.
The Indian scare in the early spring and the absence of so many men upon the Pequot expedition, prevented the settlers from planting their seeds at the proper time, and the English
6
THE POCUMTUCKS FEED THE SETTLERS
[1637, 1638
settlers before the next spring were on the verge of starvation. Great suffering was only prevented by enlisting the aid of Mr. Pynchon who went up the river and succeeded in obtaining from the Pocumtucks five hundred bushels of corn, which they took in fifty canoes down the river to the suffering set- tlers.
This was probably the first appearance of white men among the Pocumtucks.
The " Bay Path " was now fairly opened and emigration to the valley of the " long river " was greatly increased. Spring- field, Northampton and Hadley had become so populous that in 1662 the new county of Hampshire was created with Spring- field for the shire town, but courts to be held alternately there and at Northampton.
CHAPTER II
DEDHAM AND THE POCUMTUCK GRANT
"Through devious ways and paths unknown, Through forests dark and drear, Our fathers sought these flowery meads, To plant their offspring here."
R EVEREND John Eliot was about twenty-seven years of age, when in 1631, he arrived in Boston from old England. Full of the true missionary spirit, he soon commenced the study of the Indian language, and undertook to instruct the natives in the doctrines of Christianity. He translated some portions of the gospel into the Indian lan- guage,* but it was fifteen years before he could preach with- out the aid of an interpreter. There was in England a society for the propagation of the gospel among the Indians, and its revenues were turned into this channel. Eliot soon learned that his efforts could effect but little so long as the Indians continued their roving habits, and he undertook to gather them into a village by themselves, selecting a place known as Nonantum Hill, in the town of Newton. The Indians having built themselves huts desired Eliot to frame a civil government for them, and he directed their attention to the counsel which Jethro gave to Moses ; and they accordingly elected leaders of tens, fifties and hundreds. Still the ad-
* While Mr. Eliot was engaged in translating the Bible into the Indian language, he came to the following passage in Judges, v. 28: " The mother of Sisera looked out at the window, and cried through the lattice," etc. Not knowing an Indian word to signify "lattice " he applied to the natives telling them that it resembled net work or wicker, which could be seen through. They gave him a long unpronounceable word, which he inserted, and a few years after was somewhat astonished when he found he had written, " The mother of Sisera looked out at the window, and cried through the eelpot !"
7
S
JOHN ELIOT AND HIS CHRISTIAN INDIANS [1650-1664
vancement in civilization Eliot thought not in proportion to the efforts made to that end, and he decided to remove his people a greater distance from the seductions of Boston. The General Court, desiring to aid Mr. Eliot in his work, in 1651 set apart two thousand acres at Natick, sixteen miles from Boston for an Indian village. Slow progress was made, but in 1660, the first Indian church in Massachusetts was organized, and at one time, just before King Philip's war, there were several towns of praying Indians. It was found upon accurate survey that the two thousand acres had been located upon lands be- longing to the town of Dedham.
A wrangle commenced which continued for twelve years, Dedham making application for justice both to the courts and to the Legislature. Driven to take action, May 1, 1662, the Legislature directed that the Indians should not be disturbed in the possession of their lands, and appointed a committee to consider the situation, and allow Dedham compensation for her land taken, either "out of Naticke lands or others yet lying in common, as they shall judge equal," etc. The com- mittee took a year to consider, and their report was acted upon June 2, 1663, when the General Court decided " for a final issue of the case betweene Dedham & Natick, the Court judgeth meete to grant Dedham eight thousand acres of land in any convenient place or places, not exceeding two, where it cann be found free from former graunts, provided Dedham accept this offer."
Dedham having signified its acceptance of the offer of the Court, appointed Ensign John Everhard and Jonathan Dan- forth a committee "to lay out the same according to the graunt."
January 1, 1663-4 Dedham debated the question " whether to sell their graunt " or " be at any furthur charge about seek- ing out land to take satisfaction in," but by vote of the town the matter was "left over in the hands of the Selectmen." They sent Henry Dwight to explore the " Chestnut country "
9
DEDHAM SENDS OUT SPIES
1664]
near Lancaster. He reported having found good land, but hard to cultivate, and there were not enough meadows. One John Fairbanks informed the selectmen that there was good land about twelve miles from Hadley, and he and Lieut. Daniel Fisher were sent out to find it, and these good men struck upon Pocumtuck.
* " On their return, they reported that they found the land sought after, that it was exceedingly good, and ought as soon as possible be taken possession of under the grant. He who has seen the fertile intervales on Deerfield river, or heard of the famous fat cattle brought thence to the Brighton market, or recollects the subsequent events of Indian warfare at that place, can hardly suppress in his imagination, the glowing and interesting account the returning messengers would give of that country."
" Lieutenant Fisher we may suppose would say on this oc- casion, after having given his account of wandering many days in the hilly country, covered with great trees of oak and chest- nut, and having described the only settlements of white men seen on his journey, Sudbury, Lancaster and Hadley, "We . at length arrived at the place we sought after, we called it Petumtuck, because there dwell the Petumtuck Indians. Having ascended a little hill, apparently surrounded by rich meadow land, from that spot we beheld broad meadows, ex- tending far north, west and south of us. In these meadows we could trace the course of a fine river, which comes from the mountains on the north-west, and running northerly, through many miles of meadow, seemed to us to run in among the hills again, at the north-east. The tall trees of button wood and elm, exposed to us its course. That meadow is not soft and covered with coarse water grass, like that around us here, but is hard land. It is the best land that we have seen in this colony ; we dug holes in the meadow, with the intent to find the depth of the soil, but could not find the
* Worthington's History of Dedham, 1827.
10
THE PURCHASE OF THE POCUMTUCK LANDS [1664-1668
bottom. At the foot of the little hill we stood on, is a plat of ground sufficiently large to build a village upon, and suffi- ciently high to be out of reach of the spring floods. Provi- dence led us to that place.
" It is indeed far away from our plantations, and the Ca- naanites and Amalekites dwell in that valley, and if they have any attachment to any spot on earth, must delight to live there. But that land must be ours. Our people have reso- lute and pious hearts, and strong hands to overcome all diffi- culties. Let us go and possess the land, and in a few years you will hear more boast of it in this colony, as a land good for flocks and herds, than could ever be justly said of the land of Goshen, or any part of the land of Canaan."
When the town heard the report of its committee it im- mediately appointed six persons to repair to Petumtuck, and cause the 8000 acres to be located there. Captain John Pynchon, of Springfield, was employed by the town to pur- chase those lands of the Indians. He soon after performed that duty, and procured four deeds from the Indians, which deeds were afterwards deposited in Deacon Aldis's box. Ded- ham gave ninety-four pounds, ten shillings for these deeds ; which sum was procured by an assessment on the common rights in the Dedham proprietary.
In 1670 the proprietors of Petumtuck met at Dedham. Their whole number was twenty-six. Captain John Pyn- chon,* Samuel Hinsdale, John Stebbins, John Hurlburt and Samson Frary, among the proprietors, were never inhabitants of Dedham. The remainder of the proprietors were inhabit- ants of that town.
* John Pynchon : "The Worshipful John," was the son of William Pynchon, the founder of Springfield, and was born in England in 1625, and came to Massachusetts in 1648 and settled in Springfield. He was a judge having jurisdiction in civil, pro- bate, and criminal matters, and was the principal Indian trader in the Connecticut valley. He wielded an immense influence in the western part of the Province. He died in 1703, aged 77 years. His son, Joseph Pynchon, was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, in 1741, and afterward of the Superior Court.
11
THE DEDHAM GRANT
1668-1673]
The meeting voted to employ an "artist " to lay out lots to each proprietor, and present a correct plan to the town of Dedham. A committee of three was appointed to give in- structions to the artist; to designate the place for a town ; to determine where the meeting house should be built; to locate the church officers' lot, and to make a fair assignment of lots to the proprietors.
Joshua Fisher, the sagacious agent of Dedham, had his eye upon the rich meadow land lying south of the Pocumtuck river between the east and west mountains, and proceeded to lay out at least the full quantity of his grant, in the beautiful Pocumtuck valley, making the river the north line of his sur- vey, and running along the base of East mountain, to a point considerably below the present northerly line of the town of Whately ; then running westerly into the woods at the base of the Sunsick Hills, he turned northerly along the foot hills and struck his northern base line. This was the original 8000 acre grant to Dedham. Seven hundred and fifty acres of this was given to Joshua Fisher and his aids for their trouble and expense in laying out the tract ; the remainder was held in common by the land owners of Dedham, in five hundred and twenty-two shares called cow commons. These shares were bought and sold until, in 1670, they had become the property of thirty-one persons, who organized under the name of "The Proprietors of the 8000 acres at Pocumtuck." Grants were made to some parties in order to induce them to become settlers, and other actual settlers became owners by purchase of these shares, until the number of cow commons became five hundred and fifty-seven, of which a large pro- portion were in 1673 still held by non-residents of Pocum- tuck.
Hardly had Dedham taken possession of her grant, before Hatfield (then owning Whately) complained to the General Court of encroachment upon her northern boundary. This was in May, 1672. A committee was appointed " to regulate
12
THE FIRST SETTLERS
[1668-1673
and settle " the disputed line, and the south end of the grant of 8000 acres was cut off, and as an equivalent Pocumtuck was allowed to push its north line across the Pocumtuck river, and thus the line recently dividing Deerfield and Greenfield became the " Eight thousand acre line." Dedham men owned the 8000 acres of virgin soil, but it is a fact dwelt upon by Mr. Sheldon, that not a Dedham man became a permanent settler upon the Pocumtuck lands.
Samuel Hinsdale, son of Robert,* a Dedham man, came into the valley and in 1669 had broken up several acres, hav- ing made his own selection, which was afterward confirmed, and when in 1670 the committee of the proprietors came, he was found in possession, a permanent settler. He was fol- lowed by Samson Frary in a short time, and tradition asserts that Godfrey Nims was the third settler before 1671. A few more must have soon entered upon these lands, for in 1672, Samuel Hinsdale appears at Dedham with a petition to the Proprietors of Pocumtuck for the appointment of suitable persons to regulate the affairs of that settlement.
The result is recorded as follows :
"Feb. 3, 1672-3. The inhabitanc at Pocomtic by Sam Hinsdel desire that a company of meet persons : their about be chosen : and invested with all such poure nesesary : for the well order ing of the afires: of that place, this being taken in to consideration: the fiue men vndr named are chosen to be the commity : Mr Petter Tilton Liut Alice good Willard Sam Hinsdel."
This committee were authorized :
Ist. To admit suitable inhabitants by purchasing lands or otherwise.
* Robert Hinsdale was one of the earliest settlers in Dedham, and he and his four sons were at Deerfield as early as 1673. He and three of his sons were killed with Lothrop at Bloody Brook, September 18, 1675. His son Samuel and his wife, Mehitable Johnson, with their four children, had set up their household goods at least two years before the lands had been surveyed or apportioned among the proprietors of Pocumtuck. In 1673, Samuel's son, Mehuman, was born, the first white child of Deerfield. They soon had Samson Frary and Godfrey Nims, for neighbors.
13
MORE LAND WANTED
1672, 1673]
2d. To make orders about herding cattle, and keeping swine.
3d. To regulate fences. 1
4th. To hire an orthodox minister with the concurrence of the elders of two adjoining churches, and for that purpose to assess two shillings on each common right at Petumtuck.
What compensation was given to Dedham for their rights in land at Petumtuck does not appear. As that town was owned by the Dedham proprietors, in such portions and shares as were denoted by the common rights in Dedham proprietary, the purchase was made of each co-tenant by each co-tenant of the Pocumtuck lands.
" This is the beginning of Deerfield, which is celebrated for its rich meadows, formed by the junction of Deerfield river with the Connecticut; for the great number of cattle which are fed there annually, exceeding both in number and size that of any other town in New England of equal extent .* The mountain scenery there is delightful. There too are shown the battle grounds where the unfortunate Petumtucks contended with the inhabitants for their inheritance, after they had sold it for a fair price." t
The few settlers at Pocumtuck found it difficult to manage municipal affairs located at so great a distance from Dedham and in 1673 they again sent Samuel Hinsdale to the Bay with a new petition, this time to the Great and General Court. The Court took the following action :
" In answer to the petition of the inhabitants of Paucump- tucke, Samuel Hinsdale, Sampson Frary, &c. the Court judgeth it meete to allow the peticoners the liberty of a toune- ship, and doe therefore grant them such an addition of land to the eight thousand acres formerly granted there to Dedham, as that the whole be to the content of seven miles square, pro-
* For confirmation, see George Sheldon's " Passing of the Stall fed Ox," in Gazette, February 26, 1898.
t Worthington.
14
[1673
SETTLERS GRANTED "LIBERTY OF A TOWNSHIP "
vided that an able & orthodox minister be within three yeares settled among them, and a farme of two hundred & fifty acres of land be layed out for the countrys vse; and doe furthur appointt & impower Left Wm Allys, Thos Meakins, Sen. & Sergent Isaack Graues, wth Left Samuel Smith, Mr Peeter Tylton & Samuel Hinsdell, to be a Committee, and any fower of them to act in all respects to lay out ye said farme in con- venient place to admit inhabitants, grant lands, & order all prudentiall affaires till they shall be in a capacity, by meet persons from among themselves, to manage their owne affaires, & that the committee be advised wth about settling a minister there." (Mass. Records, IV, Part II, 558.)
The above words granting " the liberty of a touneship " is the only charter Deerfield ever had.
It will be noticed that the new grant was to the " Inhabit- ants " of Pocumtuck. Those living there, were holding under assignment of rights of the Dedham proprietors. The inter- ests of both the "Proprietors " and the "Inhabitants " were consolidated into an association called the "Proprietors of Pocumtuck," an organization which lasted for a century.
CHAPTER III
THE POCUMTUCK AND OTHER VALLEY INDIANS
" Two hundred years ! two hundred years ! What changes have they seen, Since the red hunter chased the deer, O'er copse and village green." -Sigourney.
T HE Indians who inhabited this portion of the Connecti- cut valley at the time of its settlement by the Eng- lish, were the Agawams at Springfield, the Woronokes at Westfield, the Nonotucks at Northampton and Hadley, the Pocumtucks at Deerfield, and the Squakeags at Northfield. Of these the Pocumtucks were the denominating power, and the Nipmucks, occupying the greater part of Worcester county, were either allies, or at least friendly relations existed between these tribes.
The Pocumtucks were a strong and powerful people, and conscious of their strength, they being allied with the Mo- hawks, the Narragansetts and the Tunxis tribes. In 1657 they had attacked Uncas and the Mohegans of Connecticut, and would have conquered them had not the English come to the rescue of their allies, the Mohegans, when they were beseiged in their fort. The English had also prevented the Mohawks from joining in the attack. By 1664 the Pocum- tucks and the Mohawks had become enemies from some un- known cause, and, aided by the Eastern Indians, the Pocum- tucks had attacked the Mohawks and severely punished them. The Dutch and English urged upon the Pocumtucks an effort for amity between the two tribes, and a meeting was held, prob- ably at Pocumtuck, at which peace was determined upon, and
I5
16
1664, 1665]
WAR BETWEEN THE POCUMTUCKS AND MOHAWKS
the Mohawk delegates returned to get the approbation of their warriors to its conclusion. In June, Sahada, a " Mohawk prince " left Albany with his retinue to conclude the treaty at " Fort Pocumthetuck " bearing presents to ransom the Mo- hawk prisoners. But the Pocumtucks, swelled with pride that the great Mohawk nation should sue them for peace, not only refused to conclude the treaty, but murdered the " prince " and all his retinue in cold blood.
The English had just taken the government of New Am- sterdam from the Dutch, so the Mohawks made a treaty with the English and the latter agreed to make a treaty for the Mohawks with the Mohicans and other river Indians with whom they had been at war. The English also agreed not to assist the Pocumtucks or the Eastern Indians against them. The English further agreed that in case the Mohawks " be beaten by the three nations above mentioned, they may re- ceive accommodation from the English." The Mohawks also sent an embassy to Canada to treat with the French, and now having put up their fences, they gave all their energies toward avenging the murder of Prince Sahada.
At this time the great fort of the Pocumtucks was located east of the present village of Deerfield, upon the high bluff above the railroad tracks. When the approach of the Mo- hawks was discovered, the Pocumtucks fled to their fort, and the invaders rushed to the attack. After a stubborn fight, the Mohawks drew off toward Pine Hill across the interven- ing meadows, followed by the elated and victorious Pocum- tucks. The Mohawks having escaped into the thick woods, the Pocumtucks crowded about the edge, when out rushed an innumerable host who were lying concealed-a mighty re- serve, who had not been in the fight,-and the Pocumtucks were themselves pursued back to their fort, which, after a bloody fight, was stormed and taken, and its inmates slaugh- tered without mercy. The victorious Mohawks burned the fort and the wigwams, destroyed their corn and stores and
17
PURCHASE OF POCUMTUCK
1667]
took the trail toward Squakeag to wreck their vengeance upon those Indians who were allies of the Pocumtucks. The East- ern Indians also received their share of the punishment dealt out to the enemies of the all-conquering Mohawks.
Their work was so thoroughly done that in the report of the men sent out by Dedham in 1665 to find good land, not a word is said of the appearance of an Indian upon these lands, and without doubt the remnants of the tribe had re- moved to some more safe location, for fear of their powerful neighbors upon the Hudson .* It is known that a few In- dians remained and were haunting the outskirts of the white settlements below, and of these John Pynchon purchased the rights of the Pocumtucks to their deserted homes, for the men of Dedham.
It has already been mentioned that John Pynchon obtained four deeds from the Indians. Three of these are still extant and are in the keeping of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association at Deerfield. The one which is supposed to cover the territory now Greenfield and Gill, reads as fol- lows :
These presents testifie that Ahimunquat alias Mequinnitc- hall of Pocumtuck Hath Demised Granted Bargained & Sold, And by these presents doth Demise Grant Bargain & sell vnto Major Eleazer Lusher & Daniel ffisher of Dedham their heires & assigns for ever. All the sd Ahimunquat alias Mequinnitchall his lands at Pacomtuck both on ye South or Southeast side of Pocomtuck River called weshatchow- mesit & on ye North or Northwest side of ye sd River, called Tomholisick ; the sd parcelles of Land called Tomholisick ; & weshatchowmesit from ye brooke downe ye River vp to Sun- sick & bounded by ye Land wch Masseamet hath already sold, or by whatever other Names ye sd Lands are called even
* " So lonely 't was, that God himself Scarce seemed there to be."
2
18
DEED OF GREEN RIVER LANDS
[1667
ye Land belonging to ye sd Ahimunquat alias Mequimitchall & his Brother Kunckkeasacod tegithr wth all Tree waters profits & Comoditys whatsoever to ye sd Land belonging or anyways appertaining : The aforsd Major Eleazer Lusher Danl ffisher & theire Associates & theire heires & assigns are to haue hold & injoy & that for ever, with all ye profits & appurtenances thereunto belonging. And ye sd Ahimun- quat alias Mequinnitchall doth hereby covenant & promise to save ye sd Major Eleazer Lusher Danl ffisher theire Associ- ates & theire heires harmless from all manner of claime of any person or persons lawfully claiming any right or interest in any of ye Land hereby Sold. In witness whereof the sd Ahi- munquat alias Mequinnitchall hath hereunto Set his hand & seal, this 22 of July, 1667.
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