USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Greenfield > History of Greenfield : shire town of Franklin county, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 7
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
59
PYNCHON TREATS WITH THE MOHAWKS
1678-1682]
posed whites distant from the forts, and fear of their becoming open enemies, was a great hindrance to the resettlement of the frontiers. At length these " insolencyes " of the Mohawks be- came unbearable, and Major Pynchon was sent to Albany to bring the matter before the authorities, and demand redress. After the usual formalities of an Indian treaty were gone through, he succeeded in renewing the ancient friendship, and the chain was brightened so that ever afterward there was peace with this powerful nation.
The feeling of security had so advanced that in the fall of 1680 steps were taken for the resettlement of Deerfield, the Court urging a more compact form of settlement, by directing that the " Committee " (to be appointed by the county court. to have charge of settlements) "are required to haue a princi- pal respect to neerness and conveniency of habitation for se- curity against enemyes & more comfort for Xtion communion and enjoyment of God's worship & education of children in schools & civility." In the spring of 1682 the resettlement had fairly begun, and grants were made of seven cow commons each, to Samuel Davis and Joshua Pomeroy, "to lie on the north side of Deerfield river, below the mouth of Green river." A condition of these grants was that the land should be per- manently occupied by the grantees for four years.
Mr. Mather, the first minister, had become discouraged at the delay in the reestablishment of the town and had taken an- other settlement. A son of Rev. John Russell of Hadley supplied for some years, until in May or June, 1686, a young man of twenty-two years, John Williams, became the minister of Deerfield, where he died June 12 1729. 'The story of his captivity and redemption, told in his little work, " The Re- deemed Captive," has made his name familiar to Americans. December 13, 1687, he was " granted 20 acres of land upon Green river and a home lot ; provided he pay rates for it this year and so forward."
(SEQUESTERED LAND.) "December 17th, 1686. The Inhab-
60
SEQUESTERED LAND
[1686-1694
itants voted that a piece of land lying on ye Meeting hous hill by estimation 4 acres be it more or less as also 2 parcells of Land lying one on the east side and the other on the west side of the mouth of the Green river by estimation thirty acres be they more or less shall be and is sequestered for the minis- try in Deerfield forever." This is the land still held by trustees for the benefit of the " First Congregational Parish of Deerfield " (Unitarian) and the crops grown on this land · were the bone of contention between the men of Deerfield and of Greenfield for many years, until, after a pitched battle, the case was legally decided in the courts, against the claim of Greenfield. Deerfield had built a meetinghouse before Phil- ip's war which was destroyed, but in 1694 it was voted to build anew, and in 1695 Godfrey Nims was appointed collector to gather two rates, a town rate and a meetinghouse rate. In 1696 a committee was appointed to be "ye seaters " and it was voted " that ye rules for seating of persons be age, state and dignity." The method of seating will be explained when the plan of seating of the Greenfield meetinghouse appears in this work.
CHAPTER VIII
ANDROS AND THE COLONIES
" The fire i' the flint Shows not, till it be struck."
T HE Massachusetts charter had been vacated when, May 25, 1686, Joseph Dudley assumed the office of President under a commission of King James II. With a council he had jurisdiction over the King's domain in New England, and held office until December 20 of that year, when Sir Edmund Andros, who had been appointed by James II as Governor of New England, appeared.
Andros was very unpopular, tyrannical and oppressive. The New England colonies thought that while Governor of New York, during the war with King Philip, he had favored the Indians rather than the settlers.
He was accused of forming a standing army with intention to use it against the people, should occasion arise, under pre- tense of forming a military force to protect the people and " to prevent a second Indian war."
Whatever his intentions, all his plans were thwarted when the people learned, April 12, 1689, that the Prince of Orange had landed in England, as Andros was seized and with his principal adherents cast into prison.
" Forbidden to hold their accustomed meetings, mocked with injustice whenever they sought redress in the courts, threatened to be stripped of their possessions without trial and without pretense of right, and subject at any hour to be seized, under the governor's or secretary's warrant upon the false or frivolous charge of some vile informer, or the cowardly sus-
61
62
THE COUNCIL OF SAFETY
[1689
picions of the tyrants who held rule over them, the people were at length driven to desperation, and a rumor having reached Boston that the Prince of Orange had landed in Eng- land, they rose by a spontaneous movement, and seized the governor and several of his advisers and threw them into prison. This revolution took place the 18th of April, 1689, and the old magistrates, with the former governor, Bradstreet, at their head, together with some of the most influential men in the province, assumed the government under the name of ' A Council of Safety.'" *
The success of the bold measures taken by the people proved that they were justified in their action. The select- men of Deerfield replied to the call of the Council of Safety, as shown by the following commission, although care was taken that none of these evidences of treason to Charles II should appear upon the records of the town :
"DEERFIELD, May 17, 1689.
" We, the Town of Deerfield, complying with the desire of the present Counsell of Safety, to choose one among us as a representative to send down to signify our minds and con- curance with the Counsell for establishing the government, have chosen and deputed Thomas Wells, and signified to him our minds for the proceeding to the settlement of the government, as hath been signified to us, from the Honorable Counsel of Safety, and those other representatives
JOHN SHELDON, BENJ. HASTINGS, BENONI STEBBINS, THOMAS FRENCH,
Selectmen."
Governor Bradstreet gave way, May 14, 1692, to Gov. William Phipps, appointed under the second charter.
In the fall of 1689, many parties of Indians were lurking about Deerfield, and some of the Indians who formerly lived
* Governor Emory Washburn.
63
SETTLEMENT AT GREEN RIVER
1682]
about there, told Lieutenant Wells that there was a small party from Canada mixed with others, who were rogues, and that. the English must be careful of themselves. Five friendly Indians were killed near Springfield, and shortly after, three men, two women and a girl, at Northfield. The friendly Indians said that the French Indians told them that they were to get ten beaver skins for every scalp, but they were to take no prisoners. A general alarm was given, Connecticut sent up soldiers, and a small garrison was kept at Northfield, but in the spring of 1690, that place was again abandoned, and Deerfield was once more the frontier town.
As early as 1682 a few settlers had become possessed of land in that portion of Deerfield now Greenfield, and in 1686 the present Main street had been decided upon as the place to build the houses of the settlers, who had been granted twenty-acre lots. Home lots of four acres each for building purposes had been laid out on this street, although the plan of the village street was not recorded until 1749. The home lots were afterward increased to eight acres.
February 18, 1690, the French and Indians surprised Schenectady, and murdered sixty of its inhabitants and carried twenty-seven away as prisoners to Canada, while twenty-five others, attempting to escape to Albany, lost their feet by freezing. Alarmed by the activity of the Indian enemy, all the settlers on the Green river lands were withdrawn to the fortified houses at Deerfield.
The English revolution which removed King James and put William and Mary upon the throne of England, brought about a war between England and France, and it very soon extended to their American possessions. New Hampshire and Maine at this time were under the jurisdiction of Massa- chusetts, and it had a frontier, stretching from the Connecti- cut to the Kennebeck, to protect from the French and Indians. Many of the Indians who had been driven from the valley dur- ing Philip's war had settled in Canada, and knew every crook
64
TROUBLE WITH THE MAQUAS
[1690
and corner of their old homes and nearly all the people ; these were of great assistance to their new allies in their marauding expeditions against their old neighbors.
In 1690 the attempted land and water expedition from New England and New York against Canada was a miserable failure, and the eastern settlements were much harassed by the French and Indians. The Connecticut river towns escaped serious damage, but there were so many alarms that constant scouting was necessary. Deerfield was garrisoned, and scouts were sent up West river, but nearly all the sol- diers were sent by Major Pynchon to join the army at Al- bany to take part in the expedition against Canada.
Straggling Indians, pretending to be Maquas or Albany men, were prowling about the towns, and were insolent and threatening in their manner. Two were arrested, and one, in attempting to escape, was shot, at Deerfield, which made trouble with the Maquas.
After the close of King Philip's war, the game in the woods rapidly increased, and in 1691, about one hundred and fifty Indians came to Deerfield and settled under the mountain, all bearing permissive letters from the authorities in Albany, but they gave great dissatisfaction to the valley settlers, and were not very cordially received. Most of them returned to Albany in the spring of 1692 .* June 6, 1693, the Indians made an attack upon Deerfield and killed several members of the Wells and Broughton families. It was a secret attack,
* Province Laws, Chapter VII, 1693.
The petition and acct. of the town of Deerfield for the garrisoning of that town by order of his excy, the governor, containing a line of two hundred and two rods, being read,-
Ordered, That there be forty pounds allowed by discompt in their public assess- ment towards the charge of said fortifications. (Approved November 28.)
Province Laws, Chapter XXII, 1693.
A petition of the town of Deerfield within the county of Hampshire, being the ut- most frontier of that county, was read, with the vote of the house of representatives thereupon, and, a concurrance therewith,-Voted, That is to say, that they be abated their share or part of the next tax and until the court further order. (Approved March 3, 1693-4.)
65
WELLS AND BROUGHTON FAMILIES SLAUGHTERED
1693]
no firearms being used and no buildings being burned. The work was done, without doubt, by Canada Indians, who were the guests of the Albany Indians camped near the town. These murders caused great commotion, and became the sub- ject of much diplomatic correspondence between Boston and Albany. In July the Canada Indians also made a descent upon Brookfield, killing six people and taking some prisoners. These captives were rescued by Captain Colton of Springfield, who followed them and killed several of the enemy. Septem- ber 15, 1694, an army of French and Indians under Castreen, made a well planned and well executed attack upon the fort at Deerfield, but found the place so ably and heroically de- fended by Captain Wells, that the attempt was a failure. Hannah Beaman, the school dame, won immortal fame by leading her little flock in safety across the narrow bridge at the foot of Meetinghouse hill, although the Indians gave them a volley as they entered the gate of the fort.
August 21, 1695,* five men started out with their bags of grain to go to mill. Captain Wells, the commander of the town, at first stopped them, but having confidence in the pru- dence of the men allowed them to go out. Stephen Williams gives the result : "Joseph Barnard, Henry White, Philip Mattoon, Godfrey Nims, going to mill came to the place abt ye drain, & ye horses snuffing and being frighted one ym cried out, indians ! indians ! & yy turned abt, & ye indians fird upon ym & wounded Mr. Barnard in left hand (one wrist broke to peeces) & one bullet in ye body, & his horse shot down, & then N(ims) took him up & his horse shot down & then he was mounted behind M(attoon) & came of home." The most ancient stone in the old Deerfield graveyard marks the
* Province Laws, Chapter 44. 1695.
Ordered, That there be paid unto Capt. Samll. Partrigg, on behalf of the persons concerned, eleven pounds, out of the public treasury, for eleven wolves killed in the year 1694, notwithstanding the certificates be not returned in the form the law now prescribes, being made out before that law by the constables of Deerfield. (Approved November 26.)
5
66
JOSEPH BARNARD'S DEATH
[1695
grave of Joseph Barnard, and gives the date of his death as September 6, 1695.
This year the Indians were so troublesome that the General Court enacted that any Indians found within five miles east- erly or twenty miles westerly of Connecticut river should be considered enemies, and offered a bounty for Indians captured, or the scalps of those killed, of $50 for men and $25 for women and children under fourteen years of age.
October 5, 1696, Richard Church of Hadley and two friendly Indians were murdered while out hunting, and after a long and exciting trial, before a commission appointed by the governor, two Albany Indians, Mowenas and Moquolas, were convicted of the murder and were executed at North- ampton, being shot by the sheriff. These were the first exe- cutions in old Hampshire County. The execution caused much excitement among the Albany Indians, and they were greatly incensed against the New Englanders.
It was impossible longer to cultivate the Green river lands and this year they were relieved from taxation.
Stephen Williams' Manuscript. 7ber 16, 1696, John Smead & John Gil- lett * being in the woods (on Green river) looking or tracking bees, were besett by a company of French Mohawks. J. G. was taken prisoner &
*" Whereas John Gillit who hath been a very active and Willing souldr within the County of Hampshire & Being On the 16th day of Septr 1696 out upon service & togeather wth some others was that day taken by the enemy & suffering hardship was carried to Cannadae Captive & there Remayned til Septr Last & then was sent from, thence Prisonr into old ffrance, & thence (by the Articles of Peace) hee sd Gillit together with other Captives was released & carried to England ; Since his Arrivall there hath Lived & obtained pay for his Passage by the Charitie of Some English Marchts there; & now being Arrived here destitute of Money or Cloaths for his presnt Reliefe Humbly propose it to ye Honorable Genll Corte to allow him something wt this Corte judge meete for his prsent Reliefe.
" Archives, Vol. 70, p. 381.
SAMLL PARTRIGG."
Province Laws, Chapter, 17 1698.
Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the public treasury the sum of six pounds to John Gillett, for his present relief, having been imployed as a souldier in his majestie's service within the province, and taken prisoner by the enemy and carried to Canada, and from thence to old France, and now returned home. (App oved, June 17.)
.
67
SMEAD AND GILLETT CAPTURED
1696]
J. S. escaped-the indians fearing a discovery by S. 16 of them hastened away toward the town, and three were left with J. G. It being lecture day the people were got out of ye meadows, so that yy might attend ye lecture, so yt ye enemy came as far as Mr. Daniel Belding's house, that was within gun shot of ye fort. Mr. B. being belated abt his work was but just got home fm the Fiealds & left his cart (yt was loaded wth corn) & went into ye house & left ye xren wth ye cart, & ye indians rushed upon them & took him prisoner & his son Nath1 agd 22 years of age & his daughter Esther age 13 years, & killd his wife & his sons Daniel & John & his daughter Thankful, & one of ym took his son Saml from the cart, but he kickd & scratchd & bit, so that ye indian set him down & stuck ye edge of his hatchet into ye side of his head ; he twitched twice or thrice to pull it out & so left him for dead (illegible) & as he came to himself he looked up & saw ym running frm him. Bled considerably & brains came out at ye wound & went in a mazed condition towards ye fort, till he came to ye little bridge where he fell off & was card to Mr. Wins & was so bad as left for dead, but it pleasd god his life was spard & his wound healeed & he is yet living; he was once or twice acctd as dead, a day or two after his being woundd.
Abigail Belding another daughter was shot in ye arm as she was running to ye fort, but it is generally tho't ye bullet yt struck her came from ye fort. Sarah Belding another of ye daughters hid herself among some Tobacco in ye chamber & so escaped.
The people in the fort (being then at the public worship) were alarmed & shot from the Fort & wounded one of ye enemy in the fleshy part of the thigh. the indians fired at ye Fort and woundd one Mr Wms (Zebediah)* as he opened
* Province Laws, Chapter 45, 1697.
Voted, That there be allowed out of the public treasury the sum of fifteen pounds unto Zabadiah Williams, a soldier wounded in his majestie's service when Deerfield was attacked, for his cure, loss of time and expenses, and that payment be accordingly ordered. (Approved October 26.)
68
STEPHEN WILLIAMS' NARRATIVE
[1696
ye gate. the enemy presently withdrew (were not one quarter of an hour in doing ye exploit) and were followed by some Brisk young men into the meadow, who came within 30 rods of them & fired at them & ye indians at them again without damage on either side. the indians killed some cattle that were feeding in ye meadows, & a boy that had ye care of the cattle hid himself in the weeds & escaped. the enemy went up Green River & come to their companions that they had left wth Gillett. John Smead came into Town soon after Mr. Belding's family were well off.
Ye Ist night ye enemy lodgd in a round hole near the river, above ye rock, at Nf'd st; where ye fires were fresh, thence set away for Canada by ye way of Otter Creek, leaving Con- necticut river &c. When they came near Otter Creek, they came upon some tracks of Albany indians that were going to Canada, (for in those times ye indians from Albany were wont to go a-scalping, as they call it, to Canada). they sent cut their scouts & were on the lookout, and at length discovered y' smoak ; and then they flung down their packs & painted themselves & tyd their English captives to trees & left two men to guard them ; & proceeded to y" business, & having dividd themselves into two companies, they sett upon the se- cure company (wch consisted of six men), & killd two of ym, took two & 2 escapd. Among ye slain was one Uroen an indian known among ye english (& suspectd to be a bloody fellow & sometimes mischievous to ye english). Of their own men one was wounded in ye fleshy part of the thigh (as one had been before at D'fd). the prisoners were one Scatacook indian & ye other a young Albany Mohawk. When the skirmish was over, the English were brot up & so they pro- ceeded on their journey. Mr. B. asked the Scatacook Indian, (now his fellow prisoner) what he thought the enemy would do with them, who replyd that they would not kill ye english prisoners, but give some of them to ye french & keep some of them themselves ; but he expected to be burnt himself,
69
CAPTIVES RELEASED BY THE FRENCH
1697
but when when they came to ye lake, one rainy night, they made no fire, and some of them lodgd under y" canoes, from whom this Scatacook made his escape having loosed himself by some means from his cords &c., and altho he was psud the enemy could not recover him &c. As to the young Albany Mohawk, he was kept alive, being of their own nation (the french mohawks went from y' nation over to Canada for ye sake of ye romish religion). W" Mr. B. & company came to the fort calld Oso, the males were obliged to run the Gaunt- let near it. Mr. B. being a very nimble or light footed man, received but few blows, save at first setting out, but the other men were much abusd by clubs, firebrands &c.
They arrived at Canada 8ber 9. Now they found what the Scatacook indian has said, to be true, for the indians kept Mr. B. himself & his daughter with them, & gave J. G. & N. B. to the french. . J. G. worked as a serv' to ye Nuns at their farm. N. B. worked for the Holy Sisters. On ye 9th of July following, Mr. B. was sold to ye french & lived as a servt with the jesuits at the seminary : his business was to wait upon them & cutt wood, make fires & tend the garden &c. He accounted himselt favorably dealt with. In ye winter following Col' Abrm Schyler with some others, came to Canada & brought with them a copy of ye Articles of peace between England and France & returnd ' home wth some Dutch Captives. In Aprill following Col1 peter Schyler & Col A. Schyler & the Dutch Dominie, with some others, came to Canada & the French governor gave liberty to all captives, English & Dutch, to return home, yea alowed them to oblige all under 16 years of age to return wth them, those above yt age were to be at their liberty &c. These Dutch gentlemen gatherd up wt captives both English & Dutch, they could & returned june 8 & took Mr. B. and his Xdren and Martin Smith wth about 20 more English with them, & arrived at Albany in about 15 days, where ye Dutch showed to him a great deal of kindness, offered to send him
70
CAPTIVES RETURN TO DEERFIELD
[1697
home directly to Deerfd. Coll Schyler clothd him & his X dren at the desire of his brother Mr. John Belding of Norwalk, who paid him for the clothes &c. after about three weeks stay at Albany, Mr. B. & his children went down the river to New York where his Br had provided a place for his enter- tainment & from York he went in a vessill to Stamford & from there went to Norwalk to his friends & after some stay there, returnd to D'f'd. J. G. got home a little before him by the way of France & so to England, having received great kindness in England.
CHAPTER IX
TOWN LEGISLATION
" Swift is man's life, and like a roily stream, Beneath the surface of the waters hoarse Lie hid the things that bend and shape its course."
T HE mischief done the Beldings was thought to be the work of Indians who professed to be friendly, and the murder of Church was proved to be their work. This caused strong feeling to exist against allowing any In- dians to frequent the vicinity of the settlements. One party of Indians was located between Hatfield and Deerfield, and another was encamped near Deerfield. A petition was sent to the General Court asking for a garrison, and forty men were sent, who were required to assist in preparing the town for defense. October 31, 1696, at a town meeting, it was voted " that all Train Soldiers belonging in the Town of Deerfield shall labor about their fort ye next Monday & Tuesday being ye 2nd & 3d days in November next ensuing for a general way beginning att one certain place of ye fort and so going on."
At a meeting held December 11, 1696, voted, " Thatt upon consideration yt Joseph Brooks, his cattle were killed by ye en- emie he shall have his cattle yt he has since bought, yt is to say, 3 cattle one horse, Rate free for ye year." " There was granted to Eleizer Hawks twelve shillings which was formerly granted to Godfrey Nims as constable to pay him and was lost by ye burning of sd Nims house."
Godfrey Nims' house was burned January 4, 1694. The
71
72
1697
FORTS TO BE PUT IN ORDER
records of a jury of inquest give these particulars : "The said Jeremiah Hull (stepson of Nims) being put to bed in a chamber with another child, after some time, Henry, said Godfrey Nims' son, a boy of about 10 years of age, went into the chamber with a light & by accident fired some flax or tow, which fired the house. Sª Henry brought down one child, & going up again to fetch sª Jeremiah, the chamber was all aflame & before other help came, sd Jeremiah was past recovery."
The house stood where the house of the Misses Miller now stands, in Deerfield. The second house on this lot was burned in 1703-4 and in it perished three Nims children. The present house was built about 1710.
Before the spring of 1697 fairly opened, the reserve provisions were used up, and an appeal to the Connecticut towns was made for aid, and met with a noble response. This year the General Court ordered a committee to visit all the settlements and advise in regard to putting the forts in perfect order. Deerfield had already ordered three mounts to be built at the public expense, and had provided for new gates for the fort on Fort Hill.
July 13, Sergeant Samuel Field of Hatfield was killed by In- dians.
July 15, 1698, four Indians made an attack upon some men and boys who were at work hoeing corn in Hatfield north meadows, and killed John Billings, and Nathaniel Dickinson, Jr. and took as prisoners little Samuel Dickinson aged eleven and a boy by the name of Charley. ' They also wounded Nathaniel Dickinson, Sr., and killed his horse, but he escaped. The Indians took to their canoes, and, the alarm being given at Deerfield; a party of soldiers and citizens was made up and an ambush made upon the river bank (in Vernon) where they succeeded in killing two Indians and rescuing the boys, but lost one of their own party,-Nathaniel Pomeroy of Deerfield, aged eighteen, Pomeroy's island in the Connecticut com-
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.