USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Hatfield > History of Hatfield, Massachusetts, in three parts: I. An account of the development of the social and industrial life of the town from its first settlement. II. The houses and homes of Hatfield, with personal reminiscences of the men and women who have lived there during the last one hundred years; brief historical accounts of the religious societies and of Smith Academy; statistical tables, etc. III. Genealogies of the families of the first settlers > Part 11
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In acknowledgment of the assistance furnished by Con- necticut, the following letter was sent :-
"The ready assistance this county of Hampshire, in their majesties' prov- ince of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, have had and found in our distresses in the times of war, from our neighbors and friends of Connecticut colony, calls for our grateful acknowledgment, as we do expect the con- tinuance of their former friendliness and good neighborhood.
"Wherefore, these are humbly to signify, that we have received great help and good assistance from the government of their majesties' colony of Con- necticut, in a ready, large and plentiful supply of men and help, both in the first war in the years 1675 and 1676, as also at divers times upon emergencies and exigences, they have performed great helpfulness in going upon discov- eries and keeping garrisons, to their great charge, and now lately in their assistance at Deerfield, our chief frontier town; whereby through God's goodness, they have been a great support and guard, encouragement and
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
safety to our county, and discouragement to the common enemy; and here- unto we subscribe our hands, September 28th, 1693.
"SOLOMON STODDARD, Minister of Northampton. JOHN WILLIAMS, Minister of Deerfield. WILLIAM WILLIAMS, Minister of Hatfield. EDWARD TAYLOR, Minister of Westfield.
[ Springfield and Hadley were destitute of a settled minister in 1693.]
JOHN PYNCHON,
PETER TILTON,
AARON COOK,
JOSEPH HAWLEY,
SAMUEL PARTRIGG,
Justices of the Peace for West Hampshire,
in the province of the Massachusetts Bay, in N. E.
THOMAS COLTON, Capt. of Springfield.
SAMUEL ROOTE, Lieut. of Westfield.
TIMOTHY NASH, Lieut. of Hadley.
SAMUEL PARTRIGG, Capt. of Hatfield.
JOHN KING, Lieut. of Northampton."
The war did not cause the suspension of other activities as did the first Indian war, and the town records for the period indicate great extension and improvement going on. Repairs on the meetinghouse were begun early in 1689, addi- tional seats were put in the galleries on the north and south, the side windows were shut up and covered, and windows with four lights apiece were put in the east and west sides of the roof, the work "to be well performed and workman- like." Fifty-three shillings were appropriated for the pur- pose.
In the last chapter reference was made to the first recorded measures for the support of the poor. In September, 1688, Samuel Belden and Samuel Partridge were directed to in- quire into the state of William King's family, and the next year it appears that Goodwife Belden took charge of King's wife during confinement. She was insane and evidently sub- ject to severe outbreaks, for in 1689 it was voted that a small house or cellar should be built on King's lot at the town's expense and "in case said King's wife be out or unruly to secure her in it." May 18, 1692, the infirm condi- tion of Goodwife King was noted. Dr. Hastings was "de- sired to do what he can by way of physic or otherwise to bring her to a better pass if it may be and the charge thereof to be paid by the town."
In 1694 Thomas Bracy was ordered "to sell his lot for the relief of his family to be disposed to the selectmen for their present support," and to prevent the children from growing
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
up in idleness they were "put out" for employment in other families.
Somewhat later relief was given "Jane Stratton a Scotch maid long resided as an inhabitant in this Town and now being decrepit and many infirmities attending her. [The selectmen were to] take a survey of her infirmities and to supply them upon the towns charge."
In this connection the fact may be recorded that on Dec. 19, 1698, a contribution was made for Daniel Belden and Martin Smith, who had been reduced to straits by their cap- tivity in Canada after the attack on Deerfield in 1696.
The first poorhouse was built a few years later. In March, 1702/3, it was voted that the town would "by way of rate or otherwise build a house of ten pound for the use of Thos. Bracy's family so long as they need it, afterward to be for the Town's use from time to time." Instead of building a house, the town in October bought "John Fields little house" and allowed 20 shillings for a cellar to be dug under it. It is not known whether this house stood on John Field's lot or was moved to one of the town lots or placed in the highway. John Field at that time owned the Goodwin lot, where the first two ministers had lived, and he probably occupied the house on it. His "little house" may have been the one built by his father at the first settlement of the town.
The live stock industry was becoming more important. In 1690 the owners of sheep were allowed to fence in a tract of land north of the town, "provided it be no obstruction to the town or county highway." December 18, 1693, it was de- cided to raise the number of sheep in town to 700 by the first of the next April and a committee was appointed as sheep masters to consider advantageous ways to promote the industry. These sheep masters were Ensign Frary, Sergeant Waite, John Cowles, William Arms, and Samuel Partridge. For several years they entered every year on the general records an agreement with a shepherd to care for the flocks, first Robert Poick or Poag, afterwards William King. The ambitions of the settlers were not fully realized, for in 1691 the sheep numbered only 273. By 1699 there were 291 owned as follows: Thomas Meekins, 2; John Cowles, 28; widow Russell, 9; John Belden, 6; Isaac Graves, 2; John Graves Taylor, 8; Samuel Partridge, 30; John Graves, Sr., 10; Nathaniel Graves, 4; Richard Billings, 1; Samuel Dick-
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
inson, 4; Richard Morton, 28; Benjamin Waite, 16; John Field, 11 ; Isaac Hubbard, 3; Samuel Belden, Sr., 5; Jeremiah Alvord, 14; William Scott, 10; Ichabod Allis, 12; Samuel Graves, 4; Nathaniel Dickinson, 14; Thomas Nash, 2; Ed- ward Church, 11; Samuel Belden, Jr., 1; Mr. Williams, 11; Samuel Dickinson, Jr., 6; Joseph Smith, 4; John White, 20; Eleazer Frary, 15. In 1697 King's hill was fenced for a sheep pasture and any other animals found inside were pounded.
The fattening of cattle was becoming an important indus- try and regulations regarding cattle appear in the records. Two bulls were always to be kept in town and all old animals unfit for service were to be killed. Fat cattle were exempt from assessment in the town rates. Corn was so important a crop that Aug. 23, 1697, a bounty of 8d. apiece was offered on "blackbirds" killed. The use of any disagreeable material such as tar to keep the crows from pulling up the sprouting corn was probably not understood. Large numbers of hogs were kept and pork was sent to market down the river.
The gathering of tar and turpentine from the pine trees in towns along the valley was begun in the seventeenth cen- tury and continued up to about the middle of the eighteenth. The turpentine was sent to Boston to be distilled. In 1696 Hatfield forbade the taking of resin from pine trees on ac- count of the damage done to them, but the practice was not stopped. In 1699 those who had boxed trees on the common land so that they fell to obstruct the highways were ordered to clear them from the road. The industry appeared to be quite profitable to those who engaged in it, but detrimental to the interests of the proprietors as a whole. A record of the year 1700 shows that Nathaniel Smith, Joseph Smith, and Nathaniel Kellogg had boxed several hundred trees. They were allowed to go on with the gathering of turpentine from these, but were forbidden to box any more trees. Two years later John Wells was given liberty "notwithstanding former orders to cut and improve 500 pine trees on the north side of our bounds so long as he has cause for the use of turpentine." In 1703 Ebenezer Billings and Joseph Morton were granted liberty to gather turpentine on the commons and it appears that in 1708 Samuel Gillett had 1,500 trees boxed.
In 1693 John Graves, Sr., was permitted to build a malt house in front of his home lot on "the Hill," taking as much
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
of the highway as necessary. The same year Thomas King of Northampton applied for a grant of a small piece of ground to set up a shoemaker's shop. He was given about an acre at the gate at the south of the town on condition that he remain ten years. He relinquished the rights the next year and moved to Hartford, Conn. The advantage of having a shoemaker in town was appreciated, and in 1696 King's grant was given to Joseph Chamberlain on the same condi- tion. He had been one of the soldiers who settled in Hadley about 1676. He probably set up a shop in his house, but did not remain in town long, for in 1699 he was allowed to sell his house without completing the length of time required by the terms of his grant. He moved to Colchester, Conn.
Schools were regularly maintained and the teachers, of whom there were several at different times, were paid from £30 to £35. In 1694 Dr. Hastings began to teach again, and in' 1699 "Thomas Hastings, son to Dr. Hastings," was ap- pointed schoolmaster. He taught regularly for a long time. He was also a physician and became prominent in town affairs in a few years.
The fixing of the town boundaries occupied much attention during this period and succeeding years. April 1, 1689, a committee was appointed to "perambulate the bounds with Deerfield" and notice was sent to that town. An amicable agreement was reached with their neighbors on the north and the bounds were fixed in April, 1696, by Samuel Par- tridge and Benjamin Waite with Godfrey Nims and Philip Matoon of Deerfield, who "marked a little walnut tree with H. D. near the greet river and [the line was] so to run by marked trees westward to the Mill River Swamp," at about the present boundary line between Whately and Deerfield.
The trouble with Northampton and Hadley, to which ref- erence has been made before, was not so easily adjusted and petitions were sent to the General Court and many letters exchanged with the towns in question, of which one will serve for illustration :-
"TO THE TOWN OF HADLEY
"Brethren and Friends-We delight not in burthening you or ourselves with abundance of words in matters that seem to us plain and equal and do judge it rather a means to darken than to come at the truth; and to a further settlement of things between us which we are ready and desirous of, we have formerly sent to yourselves desiring it might be communicated to the Town our desires for a loveing and speedy settlement of the bounds between our Town and yours. We have received a paper under the hands of your Select-
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
men without any signification of the Towns consent and concurence with it, wherein you in many things seem to slight our proposals to you. and to load us with many things which we judge to be inconsistent with truth as we are able particularly to evince, and did we desire anything more than love and peace we would say upon former things, which that shall appear. Whether yourselves or we have been the party and covenant breakers the world may judge, but we delight not in it, but the things we are desirous of some just and equal settlement of Bounds between us and desire the things may be fairly laid before your Town to see whether something may not be done to prevent further trouble, and we would lay before to your consideration a few things &
"1st Whether anything can be judged an obligation or settle- ment of bounds without mutual agreement of both Towns-
"2d Whether settlement of the bounds be not necessary and whether the speediest and lovingest settlement be not best-
"3 Whether the present devision of lands between us for the payment of public dues be not full of confusion and contrary to reason and custom-
"4 Whether according to the record which saith we were to join in one society till the Lord call either party to be a Society by themselves, we had not a clear call and your consent also to be a Society by ourselves-
"5 You and we having set up two churches are we not to do what is sufficient for supporting of both-
"6 If the habitations had been in Hatfield and the charge as much to uphold a church there as at Hadley, should you not, would you not have said the land ought not to have been so divided as to have left there one third part of it to bear public charges there-
"7 Whether you are not in danger to lose Little Ponset to Northampton if the River be not the bound between us. We desire to leave these things with you and so we request that you would not too rashly refuse our motions but duly weigh and consider them and with as much speed as may be that you would give us a positive and plain answer to what we have desired in this matter-
"Jany 21st 1692/3 the aforesaid was voted by the Town of Hatfield to be sent and communicated to the Town of Hadley and that Ens. Frary and Samll Marsh have opportunity and liberty to treat with Hadley about it,
"as attest "SAMLL PARTRIGG Clerk"
The river was finally ordered to be the boundary between the towns by the General Court, Nov. 2, 1733.
The boundary with Northampton was fixed Nov. 20, 1720, by a committee from the General Court, both towns agreeing to accept the original boundary south of Capawonk Meadow established as the line between Hadley and Northampton before the incorporation of Hatfield, but before settlement of the case was made there had been several lawsuits between owners of the land near the line, Hatfield men complaining of trespass on their property by Northampton settlers and vice versa. The reason for the agitation of the question with Northampton was because it was feared that if the south line of the town was so near the houses,-within a mile of those on "the Hill,"-there would be a scarcity of wood and stone for the inhabitants in the south part of the town and there could be no further growth in that direction.
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
No other settlement was so near the limits of its township grant. The line was surveyed and established in April, 1721, by a committee from both towns.
The first choice of assessors as a separate body is recorded under date of July 24, 1694,-Lieut. Daniel White, Ens. Eleazer Frary, and Samuel Marsh. In 1697 heads were assessed at 2s .; houses, "6s. the highest and others propor- tionally at the judgment of the assessors"; land, 10s. per acre ; oxen, 50s .; cows, 3 years old, 30s., 2 years old, 20s., 1 year old, 10s .; horses, 40s., 2 years old, 20s., 1 year old, 10s. ; hogs, 5s .; sheep, 3s .; negroes, 2s. This is the first reference in the town records to negroes. Mr. Williams had negro slaves and possibly other inhabitants did also. During the eight- eenth century many were owned in town.
The town officers chosen in 1697 were constables, select- men, clerk, tithing men, surveyors of highways, fence view- ers, field drivers, and assessors. Packers of meat and gaugers of casks are occasionally mentioned. Fence viewers and field drivers, who were important officials and had much to do to
A VIEW ON MIDDLE LANE.
prevent damage to standing crops, were first called haywards. Fencing was always neglected by the proprietors during war time.
Middle Lane was built up during King William's war. John Belden and Samuel Kellogg were living there in 1696
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
and very likely there were other occupants of the grants that had been made, but it is impossible to ascertain who they were or at what time they became permanent residents of that section. Probably several more houses on "the Hill" were built at this period also.
In 1695 Hatfield was granted additional territory by the General Court. The tract was three miles wide and six miles long beyond the western boundaries, nearly the same as the present township of Williamsburg. It was called the "Hat- field Addition" or "Hatfield Three Mile Grant," sometimes "Hatfield Woods." The land became a part of the commons and was not divided among the inhabitants till 1752.
CHAPTER X.
ANOTHER PERIOD OF PEACE, 1698-1703. THE PURCHASE OF THE BRADSTREET FARM. BUILDING THE SECOND MEETINGHOUSE.
" Think naught a trifle, though it small appear."
The call for more land .- Additional grants of parts of the meadows .- Taking up of lots in Hopewell Swamp-Purchase of the Bradstreet farm .- The proprietors' books .- Highways and bridges .- Improvement of the breed of horses .- Election of Thomas Hastings, Jr., as town clerk .- A new pound .- The minister's salary .- Building of the second meetinghouse.
The interval of peace between 1698 and 1703, when Queen Anne's war broke out, seems to be rather barren of impor- tant events, but it was a period of expansion, nevertheless. More land was needed by the growing community. The commons, as divided in 1684, were not thought desirable for tillage and probably had grown up to valuable forests, but there was still some land at the disposal of the town which had not been assigned to proprietors and the Bradstreet farm was secured in this interval.
The town appointed a committee, Dec. 19, 1699, "to survey any upland that may be fit to improve and to accommodate inhabitants." Three tracts of land were found available for the purpose, the first, the land between the Denison farm and Hopewell Swamp. It was decided in March, 1700, to lay out this tract of land in equal portions for those who desired to take up fields there, and in December of that year the vote regarding the perpetual reservation of a sheep pasture was rescinded, the sequestered land again to be at the town's disposal. It appears from the record that some men "desired to inhabit on the Plain or Deerfield road." The intention of purchasing the Bradstreet farm was mentioned at that time.
Those who proposed to take up their residences "between the farm and Hopewell" were Jonathan Williams, Joseph Chamberlain, Nathaniel Kellogg, Josiah Scott, Zechariah Field, Samuel Russell, John Belden, Samuel Marsh, William
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
Scott, Jr., and Benoni Wright. Some of these were among the first settlers of Whately, but no houses were built in that part of the town as early as the time under consideration. There seemed to be considerable opposition to further divi- sion of land by the proprietors who had held land for a longer period. They wished to rent land to newcomers or the young men who were becoming heads of families.
Other tracts to be opened to grants were King's hill and the land south of the Northampton road between the high- way and the Little Ponsett fence. The King's hill tract was the old sheep pasture. March 17, 1700, it was voted that these tracts, together with the land between the Denison farm and Hopewell, should be laid out in proportion to those who wanted land. Opposition was strong and the matter dragged. April 6, 1702, it was voted that the three tracts should be divided so that each man should have his whole allotment in one tract with permission to change if he de- sired. In November it was decided to have another survey before the bounds were established. Those who took up the new land were to be owners and not tenants. The lots were to be of ten acres each. The subject will be spoken of again in Chapter XII. in connection with the settlement of Whately. The grants were not recorded and in 1707 a com- mittee appointed to search the records declared that they could not find any reference to the matter. The next year, however, the grants were confirmed to John Belden, Josiah and William Scott, and Ebenezer Marsh. The vote regard- ing King's hill was declared null and void and that section was reserved again for a sheep pasture until 1733, when it was sold to Ebenezer Bardwell for £422 for the 60 acres included in it. He signed a release to the town two years later and Israel Williams secured 20 acres of it for £200 and John Field, Jr., the remainder for £200. What disposition the town finally made of the third tract spoken of, near Little Ponsett, a careful search of the records does not disclose, except that it was occasionally rented.
Hadley ordered a division of its commons in 1700, and in 1703 a report was made of the survey and the location of the lots in three divisions of the commons east of the village to 78 Hadley proprietors and to 16 from Hatfield. The latter were as follows :-
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
No. of the lots. Rods. Feet. No. of the lots.
In the First Division.
19 Daniel Warner
4
Samuel Marsh 21
13
20 Widow Warner
8
7
12 Samuel Dickinson 8
13
21 Joseph Smith
4
6
13 Rev. Wm. Williams 7
5
22 Ebenezer Wells
21
14
14 John Cole 6
8
28 Col. Sam'l Partridge 40
8
15 John Graves 4
0
47 Nath'l Dickinson
3
11
16
Stephen Belden
10
5
48 Edward Church
35 0
17 Ebenezer Billings
5
2
In the Second Division.
18 Samuel Belden, Jr. 3
0
34 Thomas Nash 8 13
Rods. 8
Feet.
7
Every rod in width gave an acre and a half of land. The total amount of land given to the proprietors of the two towns was 5,103 acres. This land was wooded for the most part and was not cleared for many years. The reason the Hatfield men shared in the division of the Hadley commons was that they were rated in the Hadley lists as owning meadow land belonging to that town, but located on the west side of the river.
December 31, 1700, a report was made of the lots taken up in Hopewell Swamp. This was the wet swamp mentioned when the first division of land was made in the Mill Swamp. It was first called Hopewell in 1679. It ran north from Great Pond through the present town of Whately. A vote had been passed to drain it in 1693. Lots of 13 acres each were taken up in order, beginning at the south, by Samuel Partridge, Ens. Eleazer Frary, Lieut. Daniel White, Ensign Frary, John Graves, Sr., the heirs of Samuel Graves, Samuel Dickinson, and the heirs of John Graves. The expenses for surveying and staking the lots were 3d. each per acre. The use of a compass is mentioned in this survey for the first time.
On the same date report was made of the measurement of the Denison farm and the marking of its boundaries.
In November of the next year, 1701, the selectmen and town measurers were authorized to join with the proprietors of the Bradstreet farm "to lay out said farm so that neither the proprietors nor the town should be damnified." The farm of Governor Bradstreet, who died in 1697, was thus appar- ently bought about 1700, but the first purchasers are not known with certainty. These farms were never owned by the town as all the other land had been, which was granted by the General Court under the old charter and purchased from the Indians. A book of proprietors' records was kept, separate from the general records of the town, by the owners
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
of real estate, and the proprietors of the Bradstreet and Den- ison farms also met as legal bodies to act in regard to fenc- ing, surveying, and making roads. They usually met jointly and the records were kept in one book. These records of the proprietors of the Bradstreet and Denison farms cover the period from 1713 to 1735, their first book of records-for it seems likely there must have been an earlier one-being lost. The owners of the Bradstreet farm in 1719 were as follows :-
First Half Mile in Hopewell- Samuel Gunn,
Second Half Mile in Hopewell- John Wait,
Josiah Scott,
Ebenezer Morton,
Ebenezer Bardwell,
Joseph Smith,
Samuel Belden,
Thomas Field,
John Crafts,
John Crafts,
Josiah Scott,
Zachery Field,
John Wait,
Jonathan Smith,
Ebenezer Morton,
Josiah Scott,
Nathaniel Coleman,
Nathaniel Coleman,
Thomas Field,
Samuel Gunn,
Jonathan Smith,
John Belden,
Zachery Field.
Ebenezer Bardwell,
Samuel Belden.
First Division of Upper Mile-
Josiah Scott,
Second Division of Upper Mile- Ebenezer Bardwell,
Zachery Field,
John Belden,
Joseph Smith,
Samuel Belden,
John Crafts,
Nathaniel Coleman,
John White,
John Wait,
Jonathan Smith,
Ebenezer Morton,
Zachery Field,
Zachery Field,
Ebenezer Morton,
John Smith,
John Wait, Nathaniel Coleman,
John Crafts,
Samuel Belden,
Joseph Smith,
John Belden,
Zachery Field,
Ebenezer Bardwell.
Jonathan Cole.
John White,
The proprietors' roads through the farms were not ac- cepted as town highways, as the town had no jurisdiction over them, but the main road north and south between the Old and West Farms was undoubtedly the present river road, later taken as a town and county highway.
At the beginning of the year 1701 the two main highways through the commons to the west and north were agreed upon in town meeting and formally accepted, after the report of a committee consisting of Samuel Partridge, Samuel Bel- den, Sr., Daniel White, Sr., Samuel Dickinson, Sr., and John White. The highways were laid out ten rods wide and marked by blazed trees. The east one was at its upper end
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
the present Straits road. It began at the Hatfield mill and ran northward along what is now Prospect Street to the top of Clay hill,-then called Clay gully,-where it was joined by the so-called Deerfield Lane leading from the street, then followed the line of the old Indian trail that led to Deerfield along the westerly bank of Great Pond and the west side of Hopewell Swamp to the beginning of what is now called the Straits road through Whately. It was then traveled through most of its extent and known as the Pocumtuck path. The part between Clay hill and West Brook is still open, though not so much used as branch highways on either side laid out later.
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