USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Greenfield > History of Greenfield : shire town of Franklin county, Massachusetts, Vol. II > Part 3
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
The Sawtell places came from different parties to Eliphalet Sawtell. Artemas Cushman conveyed a portion to Ezekiel Bascom in 1789, Bascom to Ephraim Hubbard in 1810, Hubbard to John Sawtell in 1811, John to Eliphalet in 1 844. He also obtained fractional shares from Daniel Pickett, Amos Davis, and Stephen Gates. The road formerly ran on the east side of both the Sawtell houses. After the death of Eliphalet in 1872, the real estate was divided between Lyman H. and Dwight Sawtell, Dwight taking the ancient house.
671
HASTINGS-NEWTON-HALL
The L. H. Sawtell house is of later date. Dwight Sawtell's place came by the marriage of his daughter to Charles A. Parker.
Some of the elder people in Greenfield would recognize the Maynard place as the old Hastings farm, but it is more than fifty years since Russell Hastings sold this farm out of the family name. There were four Benjamin Hastings, great- grandfather, grandfather, father and son. The second of the name was the settler in Greenfield, and was the first town clerk in 1753. He was born in Deerfield in 1699, was a deacon and lieutenant, and a soldier in Father Raisle's war.
Russell Hastings, who owned this particular property, obtained it by the will of his father, the fourth Benjamin, in 1841, and sold it to John S. Potter in 1846 and moved to Ohio. Mr. Potter sold to Robert Wiley in 1855, and Wiley to George W. Frary in 1858. Mr. Frary lived on this place until 1866 when he sold to Colonel Josiah Hall. In 1870 Colonel Hall conveyed the place to Amos Adams, who sold a wood lot to Manley McClure, and the remainder of the farm to Fred L. Burnham in 1866. Mr. Burnham in 1888 sold to Walter P. Maynard and Arthur O. Wheeler, who still retain the title. They sold the right to take ice from the pond on the little brook which formerly supplied the village with water to George H. Wright and others in 1900.
In November, 1761, Reverend Roger Newton was settled in Greenfield, and with (or before) him, from Durham, Connec- ticut, came his brother John and his three sons who became prominent men of Greenfield. The names of the young men were Isaac (afterward Captain Isaac), John and Samuel. They bought land in what was then a great hemlock swamp, at seven shillings and six pence per acre, and full of courage, with their axes began to hew out their fortunes. John retained the old home farm ; the log house they built stood on the easterly side of the original road near the south end of the line of maple trees, standing on the present Sprague place. Cap-
672
NEWTON-SPRAGUE-ALEXANDER
tain Isaac Newton finally settled on the E. C. Osgood farm and Samuel Newton purchased the farm now known as the Harradon place. John Newton and his wife, parents of Isaac, John and Samuel, both died in September, 1802, and in 1823 the second John Newton (who was a Revolutionary pensioner and died in 1834) conveyed his farm of two hundred and eighteen acres to his sons John and Curtis Newton. Curtis Newton married and had several children. John Newton never married, and his maiden sister Aseneth lived with him. Deacon Curtis Newton's son, the late Hervey C. Newton, also lived with his uncle John, and by John's will, proved in 1871, he was given all his uncle's real estate.
In 1845 John and Curtis Newton made a division of their joint real estate, each deeding the other parts of their undi- vided interest, and with rare good judgment they filed a plan in the Registry of Deeds. Hervey C. Newton built the house now the home of Asa W. Sprague, and resided there until 1876, when the estate passed into the hands of Avery W. Sprague, a relative, and descended to Asa W. Sprague and his sisters.
The place recently owned by Mrs. Leith was the home of Deacon Curtis Newton and his son, John S. Newton, who took the title by his father's will in 1871. The house was built near the time of Mr. John S. Newton's marriage, and the place was conveyed by him in 1892 to Alice Kilbourn, and came into the hands of Joseph Bourbeau in 1893, and he sold it to Mary E. Leith in 1897.
In the division of lands between Curtis and John Newton, in 1845, Curtis deeded to John a certain lot of land lying on the west side of the stage road, just opposite the new brick schoolhouse, at the " four corners." This came to Hervey C. Newton by John Newton's will, and in 1871 he deeded this lot of twenty-one acres to Albert A. Alexander, who built the house now standing on it, and in 1875 sold it to Henry W. Warner, In 1895 Mr. Warner sold a part of this land to
.
673
HASTINGS-THAYER-LONG
Annette Benson, and in 1897 by foreclosure sale this portion passed into the hands of Edward R. Warner, who in 1897 conveyed it to Edward W. Humes. The remainder of the lot was sold by the trustee of the Warner estate in 1898 to Wil- liam A. Davenport, who transferred it to Mr. Humes, who has sold the premises to Edward E. Todd.
More than a hundred years ago the farm known as the Long. place was owned by Benjamin Hastings, the first town clerk. He deeded it to his son Ephraim in 1790. Ephraim, in 1805, deeded a little more than an acre where the present building stands, to Elijah Alvord ; and the next year Ephraim sold the remainder to Thomas Barber. At that time the farm build- ings stood about thirty rods easterly from the present build- ings. In 1806 Mr. Barber sold the farm to Ahaz Thayer, and in 1808 Mr. Thayer purchased the corner from Mr. Alvord. At that time the road ran near the front door of the house, and directly through the grounds of the new brick schoolhouse, the row of maple trees marking the east side of the highway. Soon after this Mr. Thayer built the present Long house, and kept tavern there for many years. Russell Hastings, who owned the adjoining farm on the north, married Harriet, the daughter of Mr. Thayer, and at Mr. Thayer's decease in 1 83 1 they with the other heirs sold the place to Jonathan Flagg and Lemuel H. Long. Mr. Flagg, the father of Mrs. Long, conveyed his interest to Mr. Long in 1858, remaining with him until his death. Mr. Thayer is spoken of as a most kindly, honest man, and on cold winter days he always kept for the benefit of the people attending meeting in the old meet- inghouse, roaring fires in three rooms of the tavern. After a two hours' service in the barn-like meetinghouse, without a spark of fire, it is no wonder that his memory finds a warm spot in the hearts of the few who survive that knew him. At Mr. Long's death in 1882 the farm was sold to Mrs. Julia H. Long, who held it until 1897, when she conveyed it to the present owner, James R. Long.
43
674
GRENNELL-WOODBRIDGE-ROOT
A portion of this farm lying south of the cross road was sold by Lemuel H. Long in 1867 to Wm. B. Washburn, and his heirs in 1889 conveyed it to Frederick E. Wells, the pres- ent owner.
The corner at the end of the electric road, now owned by George W. and Mattie G. Shattuck, was conveyed in 1782 by Daniel Wells to Reverend Roger Newton as a fifteen acre lot, bounded on the east by land now owned by Frederic E. Wells. In 1776 Mr. Newton bought of David Hoyt eight acres which lay west of this fifteen acre lot. He sold both pieces in 1799 to Wise Grennell, and in 1803 Wise Grennell sold this place and the Priestly Newton farm to Samuel New- ton, in all one hundred and fourteen acres. In 1820 Mr. Newton sold the corner (the road having been cut through from the village to the meetinghouse in 1888) to Reverend Sylvester Woodbridge, then the minister of the town. Mr. Woodbridge was dismissed in 1823, and in 1828 sold his place to John Ames.
John sold in 1834 to Eli Ames, and Eli in 1841 to Maurice Millard. Millard sold in 1848 to Thomas L. Briggs, and the next year Briggs sold to Justin Root, who erected a slaughter house upon the place. In 1852 Justin Root sold to Charles H. Munn, and he immediately conveyed to Merrick H. Bil- lings. The next year Mr. Billings became insolvent, and his assignee sold the place to Hervey C. Newton and Edmund Q. Nash. These parties sold a half interest to Lot Dennis, and he his share in 1856 to Eliakim Root, who quitclaimed to Newton and Nash in 1863, when the place was sold to William L. Day, who made it his home until he sold it to James L. Farr in 1881. In 1894 George W. Shattuck and his sister purchased the place and are the present owners.
A part of this lot containing about ten acres was cut off by the laying of the stage road in 1788, and was sold by Wise Grennell to Samuel Newton in 1803, and by Newton to Am- brose Ames in 1806; Ames transferred it in 1819 to Eliphalet
675
STEARNS-SMITH-HARRADON
Sawtell, who held it until 1859, when he sold it to Dr. Daniel D. Fisk. In 1864 Dr. Fisk conveyed it to Sidney Smith, who built the barn now standing. Sidney Smith sold the place to Joel Stearns in 1868, and he bought the Whiting Griswold house in the village and moved it to this lot. In 1887 it be- came the property of Henry Sheldon, and in 1888 he con- veyed it to Mary R. Stearns, who sold the place to Mary J. Smith in 1891. She died in 1895 and left the property to her husband, Oliver T. Smith, the recent owner.
The large farm sold by Wise Grennell in 1812 to Samuel Newton has dwindled down to the few acres recently owned by Sarah C. Harradon. Samuel Newton by his will, proved in 1828, gave his home farm to his son Priestly, and the land south and west of the corner, now owned by G. W. and M. G. Shattuck, to his sons, Samuel and Burwell. Samuel New- ton also sold to his son Priestly, in 1823, one hundred and fifty acres on the Swamp road, a portion of which is now oc- cupied by the Golf Club. This and nearly all of the home farm was sold off at different times to several different parties, and the balance in 1863 passed into the hands of Willard B. Powers, a son-in-law of Mr. Newton. In 1869, after Mr. Powers's death, the home place was sold to Albert Rice, and in 1 874, through the Greenfield Savings Bank, to Sarah C. Harra- don. In 1894 Mrs. Harradon conveyed the homestead to Henry S. Worden and Louise M. Thayer, and they are the present owners.
The forty acre lot, north of Silver street and west of the stage road, along the east side of which were built the horsesheds which were ornamental surroundings of the old meetinghouse, belonged to Hull Nims, and in 1794 he sold seven acres to Wise Grennell ; in 1828 three acres to Peleg Adams, and in 1838 the remainder to Eli Ames. In 1841 Mr. Ames sold this to David Long, Jr., and Asher Spencer. The next year they sold ten acres off the west side to Anson Warner, and in 1842 Spencer and Long divided interests, Mr. Long taking
676
MILLARD-SPENCER-WARNER
the land lying along the stage road, and Mr. Spencer the part bounding on Mr. Warner. In 1844 Mr. Spencer sold to George Millard three fourths of an acre adjoining Warner, and the same year Mr. Warner sold Millard four and one quarter acres adjoining. The next year George Millard sold to Mau- rice Millard the five acres, which he conveyed in 1849 to David O. Allen. In 1850 David O. Allen sold to his brother, Roger N. Allen, and he in 1852 sold to Aaron Perkins, Jr., who in 1854 sold it to Oren Wiley. In 1844, after the death of David Long, Jr., the executors of his will reconveyed the four acres bounded east on the stage road to Asher Spencer, and he sold it in 1847 to Samuel C. Conable, Mr. Conable in 1851 to George Adams, and Adams in 1854 to Oren Wiley, and thus Mr. Wiley became owner of both estates.
Oren Wiley sold the whole in 1855 to his brother, Robert Wiley, and he at once conveyed it to Jonathan Johnson of Colrain. Mr. Johnson in 1858 sold it to Mary J. Fisk, and . she in 1862 deeded it to Sidney Smith. In 1867 Mr. Smith sold it to Pliny Porter, who kept it ten years and conveyed it to Ellen J. Fay. The Fays in 1884 sold it to William H. Stetson, who sold it the next year to Charles A. Wheeler and Charles J. Osgood. Wheeler quitclaimed to Osgood in 1889. In 1890 Osgood sold a portion to A. F. S. Lyons, and other portions in 1891 and 1892 to Edward E. Benjamin, and in 1893 a lot to Myron J. Farr. Mr. Lyons conveyed a lot to Edward W. Humes in 1893, and more to James L. Farr in 1894.
What is known as the Anson Warner, or Graves place, came to Oliver Hastings by deeds from Benjamin Hastings in 1786, Simeon Nash in 1794, Ebenezer Martindale in 1791 and Amos Smith in 1786. Oliver was the son of old Ben- jamin Hastings, and father of the late Onisimus of Gill.
Oliver Hastings sold this farm of fifty acres in 1817 to John Merrill (grandfather of William M. Smead) and this remained the Merrill homestead until Mr. Merrill sold to his
677
SAWYER-NASH-LONG
son-in-law, Priestly Newton, in 1886. He also sold to him fifty acres lying on the east side of the Gill road. Mr. New- ton sold the Merrill homestead in 1827 to Peleg Adams, and in 1830 Mr. Adams sold it to Anson Warner who resided here until his death in 1851, when in the settlement of his es- tate it passed into the hands of his son, the late Anson K. Warner. He sold it in 1853 to Hezekiah Tuttle, and the next year Mr. Tuttle sold to Lucius Nims, who kept it one year and sold it to Hibbard Ripley. Mr. Ripley in 1857 deeded it to Benjamin Sawyer, who in 1858 conveyed it through Almon Brainard to Martha E. Sawyer. The Saw- yers in 1891 conveyed the property to Clark O. Graves, and in 1897 Mr. Graves sold the farm to Ozias Dauphinias.
While Mr. Warner owned it he deeded a half acre to one James White, a black man. Old residents will remember the imposing appearance of Mr. White when dressed in his blue coat trimmed with brass buttons, and his white silk hat, as he paraded our streets. At his decease in 1875 the land was re- conveyed to Mrs. Sawyer.
In 1795 Simeon Nash deeded a small piece of land with buildings on it to Joseph Stebbins, the same being a portion of the Miller place. Stebbins sold in 1814 to Chester Jen- nings, and in 1829, Jennings to Lurancy and Mehitable Wells, and they in 1841 sold to James B. Maynard. Mr. May- nard in 1843 conveyed the place to Roger N. Allen, who purchased it to make a home for his father, David Allen, and for his brothers and sisters. In 1854 John W. Miller pur- chased it, and at his death in 1870 willed it to his son, George H. Miller, who resides on the place.
The place recently owned by Leon O. Hawks was forty years ago known as the "Grandpa Long " place. It was deeded by Simeon ·Nash in 1795 to Uriah Martindale, who sold it in 1808 to Sylvanus Burnham. Burnham in 1812 sold it to Robert Nash, and his heirs conveyed it in 1831 to William Chapin. Mr. Chapin in 1835 sold the place to
678
STILES-STRONG-RUGG
Thomas Whitmore, from whom it was taken on execution and sold in 1836 to Lemuel H. Long. In 1838 Lemuel H. Long sold the place to his brother, Alanson Long of Boston, and it was occupied by his father, David Long, until his de- cease. Alanson Long, in 1880 sold the place to Leon O. Hawks, and in 1901 it passed into the hands of George and Franklin A. Pond.
Uriah Martindale in 1840 conveyed a small place of three acres lying on the north side of Silver street, on which stood a little old house and was known as the Stiles place, to Albert H. Nims, and he, in 1843 deeded it to Levi S. Stiles. In 1859 it came into the hands of Mary F. Bolton who sold it to Elizabeth M. Adams in 1862. She conveyed to Addie L. Day in 1889 and the Days built the new house and still re- tain the ownership.
In 1824 Eber Nash conveyed to John J. Graves, black- smith at Nash's mills, a half acre of land on which he built a house. In 1831 Jean Strong, the heir of Asa Strong, the old surveyor, sold Mr. Graves an acre adjoining on the west, on which was an old house which was occupied for several years by Lydia and Mary Rugg. Nothing remains but the cellar hole to show that buildings once stood there. This lot came from Daniel Nash, Jr., to Asa Strong in 1789. Mr. Graves sold his place in 1854 to Frederick Powers, he in 1858 sold to William N. Nims and Mr. Nims in 1864 con- veyed it to Anson K. Warner, who made it his home until 1880, when it became the home of Hervey C. Newton. In 1901 it was sold to Edwin R. Elmer, who still resides there.
In 1823 Samuel Newton sold to Priestly Newton one hun- dred and fifty acres of land on the Swamp road. He sold a portion of this to Roswell W. Cook in 1847, and Mr. Cook sold twenty-five acres to Don A. Winslow who built a house upon it. In 1855 Winslow sold the same to Harvey C. New- ton, and the next year Mr. Newton deeded it to Truman B. Hicks, but it was reconveyed to Mr. Newton in 1859. He
679
NEWELL-BLACK-ALLEN
deeded it to Solomon Smead in 1862 and in 1868 Mr. Smead conveyed it to Dennis Kelliher who in 1873 sold it to Michael Kelliher of Boston. Recently the Kelliher heirs have con- veyed the title to William A. Davenport.
The next farm north is the old Newell place, owned for many years by Barnard A. Newell and occupied by David Newell. Samuel Pickett owned a portion of it early in 1800, and conveyed to Wass Hillman and Hillman to Barnard A. Newell. In 1862 Mr. Newell sold it to Dennis and Owen Sullivan ; Dennis quitclaimed his share to Owen in 1864 and Owen sold to Nathaniel Black in 1867. Mr. Black sold to Michael B. Murray in 1884 who sold it in 1901 to Katharine A. Wood.
1129637
The ancient Allen place, now owned by Jeremiah Murphy, was deeded by Ebenezer Allen and Samuel Pickett to Job Allen in 1800 and 1801, and Mr. Allen by his will, proved in 1812, gave it to his son Ira Allen, who conveyed it in 1871 to Samuel Riley. By mortgage of it to Owen Sullivan by Riley, it came to Sullivan in 1879, and he sold it the same year to Mr. Murphy.
That farm known as the " Sam Hinsdale place " was owned in 1800 by Ebenezer Allen, and was conveyed by him to Joel Allen. Joel in 1810 gave a deed to his sons Salah and Elihu. William Wells, " Swamp William " as he was called, married an Allen and lived with Elihu. In 1840 Mr. Wells purchased of the estate of Samuel Wells, fifty acres which was added to the Allen farm, and in 1849 the whole was purchased by Samuel Hinsdale. In 1866 he deeded it to his daughters, Fanny and Emily Hinsdale, and in 1869 they conveyed it to Melissa A. Dunbar, and she, in 1872, to D. Orlando Fisk. In 1879 it came into the hands of the Franklin Savings Insti- tution and was purchased in 1881 by Erwin S. Thatcher. Thatcher sold to Caroline Miller in 1889 and in 1895 she conveyed it to Washington H. Kilburn.
A sawmill was recently built on the old site on which Heze-
680
CATLIN-COOK-CHAPMAN
kiah Goff and William Starr built one before 1800, which was owned by John Lyons in 1803, who sold it to Ephriam Hubbard and Asher Newton. In 1896 Mr. Kilburn sold the farm and mill to Edwin H. and Charles A. Eddy, who have recently gone into bankruptcy.
In 1850 John Thornton of Gill purchased land of Isaac Barton and John Denio, and built a house on the west side of the Swamp road. He sold the same in 1868 to David and Owen Murphy. In 1873 David bought Owen's share, and in 1891 sold the place to Charles S. Gunn. In 1894 Gunn sold to Clarence D. Pratt, and two years later Pratt conveyed the same to Rollin A. Lee, who kept it until 1899 and sold it to Edward E. Johnson.
John Catlin of Deerfield deeded to his son Jonathan in 1755 a portion of the land at the Mill brook falls. In 1765 John Severance deeded to Jonathan Catlin sixteen acres of land, reserving the mill yard and the brook, which deed must have covered the land where the Nash or Cook house now stands. In 1774 Jonathan Catlin, then of Shelburne, deeded to Daniel Nash, Jr., fifty acres which included the sixteen acres and what was afterward known as the Cook pasture, re- serving the mill yard, the mills, and the land flowed by the pond. Daniel Nash, Jr., by his will allowed in 1819 gave all his real estate to his son Eber Nash. He in 1862 con- veyed the homestead to his daughter, Harriet A. Cook. She by her will, allowed in 1892, gave it to her nephews, Hart P. Larrabee and George L. Nash.
"The Maxwell farm" is well known. It was made up principally from two lots called the Dean lot and the Bell lot. The Dean lot contained one hundred acres and extended from the Leyden road to Federal street, and was owned before 1787 by Ithael Dean, and quitclaimed by his children Purdy and Rebecca Dean to Abner Smead. Smead's heirs conveyed it to Andrew, Oliver and Joshua Cocks of New York, and in 1802 they sold it to Thomas Chapman. John Bell purchased
681
MAXWELL-PIERCE-SHATTUCK
from Richard Carey, Sylvanus Nash, Jane Strong and Jona- than Severance about the same time parcels of land, making up fifty-five acres, which he sold to Mr. Chapman in 1809.
In 1833 Henry Chapman, son of Thomas, sold one hun- dred and fifty-three acres to Gilbert Green. Mr. Green in 184I sold to Horace and Seth W. Severance. Seth W. Sev- erance died, and in 1847 the farm was sold to Sylvester Max- well who immediately conveyed it to Levi P. Stone. In 1861 Mr. Stone deeded it to Elizabeth Maxwell, the wife of Syl- vester, and she willed it to her nieces, Mary E. and Caroline A. Stone, who sold it in 1881 to Joseph P. Felton, who now owns the larger part of it.
Adjoining this farm on the east lay the Samuel Pierce farm, a large portion of which now belongs to George W. Shattuck, or his grantees. Samuel Pierce obtained his title to the greater part of the one hundred and thirty acres from heirs of Rever- end Roger Newton in 1822 and 1823, and Dr. Newton owned it before 1787, the date of the establishment of our Registry of Deeds. This farm extended from the east line of the Maxwell farm to High street, and included a large portion of the territory now built upon in that vicinity. Samuel Pierce and his sister Phebe conveyed this land to Zebina L. Ray- mond in 1855. Thirty-seven acres lying on the west side of Federal street came from the Roger Newton heirs to Asa Goodenough, a former owner of the Mansion House, in 1819; was sold by Goodenough to Eliphalet and Roderick Terry in 182I and by them to Mr. Pierce in 1830. Mr. Raymond sold that part of the farm west of Federal street in 1859 to Abijah C. Bullard, and in 1864 Mr. Bullard sold the same and twenty-three acres of the lot on the east side of Federal street which he had of Daniel H. Newton to Joel Stearns. Mr. Raymond in 1859 also sold the fifty-seven acres on the east side of Federal street, bounding north on the present Wells lot and Spear lot, and south on the Riddell land, to Daniel H. Newton. Mr. Newton sold in 1862 the north
682
HASTINGS-DEANE-WILLARD
part of the lot to Mr. Bullard as above mentioned. In 1864 Mr. Bullard sold out his holdings to Joel Stearns, and in 1869 Mr. Stearns conveyed the east end of the twenty-three acre lot, containing ten acres, to Charles Turner, and in 1871, all on the west side of the road and fourteen acres on the east side to Samuel O. Lamb. Mr. Lamb sold to Simon L. Shat- tuck the same year. George W. Shattuck taking this portion of his father's estate has cut it up into building lots, many of which are now occupied by pretty cottages, the comfortable homes of a happy people. In 1861 D. H. Newton sold fifteen acres adjoining the Riddell farm, then owned by Otis Hastings, to Charles L. Fisk; this passed in 1864 in part, to Harriet R. and Alma E. Stone, and thus obtained the name of "the Stone lot." In 1880 it became the property of Stephen Smith, who also purchased some additional land from the Hastings property, making up his present home farm. The middle lot through which now runs Lincoln street was conveyed in 1863 by Mr. Newton to Charles A. Mirick and by his administrator in 1864 to Francis B. Russell, whose ex- ecutor in 1871 sold it to Dr. A. C. Deane and Aaron H. Wright. In 1874 Mr. Wright released his interest to Dr. Deane, who laid the twenty-one acres out into building lots and the property now represents an important portion of the village.
The greater part of the John J. Pierce farm was drawn in the division of lands by Daniel Belding, and came to Samuel Barnard who conveyed it to Beriah Willard in 1789. It was to satisfy draught No. 6 and contained sixty-nine acres. Beriah Willard's son David, so long town clerk of Greenfield, conveyed one hundred and twenty-two acres to John J. Pierce in 1836. It has been sold out since by Mr. Pierce and his heirs as the growth of the village in that direction made it ad- vantageous for them to part with their ancestral acres. The ‘ home lot and a beautiful grove are about the only parts of the old farm of much size remaining unsold. David Willard
683
HASTINGS-RIDDELL-GRENNELL
and Alexander Keith each formerly lived in the small Pierce cottage.
The Riddell farm, once known as the Hastings place, was owned by Lemuel Hastings, son of Benjamin Hastings, first town clerk of Greenfield, and by said Lemuel conveyed to his son Otis, who died in 1859 and willed his farm to his son-in-law George P. Haywood. Mr. Haywood conveyed it to his wife, Mary E. Haywood, in 1868, and it was pur- chased in 1879 by John W. Riddell, who has largely cut it up into building lots.
Many attractive homes are located on Hastings, Riddell and Heywood streets.
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.