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 30
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George A. Billings, re-elected Dec. 30, 1908.
The church has long been known as a missionary church. Dr. Lyman was one of the first presidents of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 1823-1826. Rev. Robert M. Woods was connected by marriage with the Fairbank family, which has furnished many members who have devoted their lives to service in India. During his pastorate $38,000 were expended in benevolences. Contri-
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THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
butions for both home and foreign missionary work have always been generous.
The present house of worship was built in 1849, while the church was without a pastor. In 1867 the vestry was added and an organ loft built and the present organ put in place. The parlors were built in 1891. The next year extensive interior repairs were made, the galleries were changed and new seats and stained-glass windows were put in. The clock was placed in the belfry in 1898. The Woods memo- rial window was placed in the front of the church in 1909. It is a copy of Hoffmann's celebrated painting "Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock." The south memorial win- dow is to Dr. Joseph Lyman, whose services extended over a period of 56 years. On the window opposite are inscribed the names of the other ministers who died at their posts,- Rev. Hope Atherton, Rev. Nathaniel Chauncey, and Rev. William Williams.
A great revival occurred in the church in 1850 under the preaching of the evangelist, Rev. J. D. Potter. The church was at that time without a settled pastor. At the August communion one hundred stood in the broad aisle to be received into the fellowship of the church. It was the most powerful revival in all its history. At its beginning in the spring people said, "It is impossible to have a revival now, when planting time is coming on." Nevertheless, the whole town was soon deeply stirred and the services were largely attended.
The Scriptures were not read in meeting during the first four pastorates. The custom was introduced by Dr. Lyman in 1812. The weekly "lecture day," usually Thursday, was religiously observed by all the church members from the first organization of the church. It was an afternoon service at which the people listened to the exhortation of the pastor ; seed time and harvest were no excuse for non-attendance. Prayer and conference meetings in which laymen took part did not appear till about the close of the eighteenth century. Dr. Lyman found them helpful in his work, though at the beginning of his ministry he was opposed to the movement and said, "I will not allow such wild fire in my parish." There was no responsive reading of the Psalms, no repeating of the Lord's Prayer or of the Apostles' Creed till the nine-
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
teenth century. Regular midweek prayer meetings were instituted by Mr. Neill about 1840.
The Sunday school was started about 1830 and the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor in 1885. The La- dies' Benevolent Society was started in the '40's and has been very helpful in organizing and directing the charitable work among the women of the parish. It became an auxiliary of the Women's Home Missionary Association in 1881. The Real Folks, organized in 1869, is an important factor in the social and benevolent activities of the church. A Men's Club was formed in 1904. The women of the church are organized for foreign missionary work as an auxiliary of the Woman's Board of Missions. The children were interested in missionary work in the '60's by the formation of a band of Gleaners, which later became the Wide-Awakes.
The statistics of membership reported by the clerk at the annual meeting in December, 1909, were: Males, 102; fe- males, 162; total, 264; non-resident, 37. The membership has been well kept up, though the native American popula- tion of the town has shrunk 25 per cent. or more. The largest number on the rolls of the church in recent years was in 1892, when there were 319.
St. Joseph's Parish .- The first settlers of the Catholic faith in Hatfield labored under extreme difficulties. There were no churches or priests of their order nearer than Greenfield and many times when sick calls came it was necessary for some one to walk to that town to secure assistance. An instance is recorded where a man set out at eleven o'clock at night to secure the services of a priest. He covered the distance of sixteen miles in less than two hours, so it is said. It was in the spring and a flood was running high. On the trip from Greenfield the priest had to drive through water so deep that it reached the body of the carriage, but he reached the bedside in time to administer the rites of the church.
As the Catholic population increased after the immigra- tions of the '40's, churches became more numerous. The Hatfield Catholics belonged at first to St. Mary's parish in Northampton. They were faithful in their attendance at the services, though many were obliged to make the trip on foot. By 1879 there were over 500 French, German, and Irish in the town of Hatfield and they desired to have serv-
347
THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
ices held in their midst. Those who were most active in the matter were Michael Larkin, Bridget Kelly, and Mrs. Lorenz Doppmann. In the fall of 1879 an entertainment was given in the town hall to raise funds, in charge of a committee consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Ryan, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Nolan, Mrs. Peter Denlein, and Mary Proulx. It was so successful that about $200 was cleared. The Protes- tants of the town also took great interest in the entertain- ment and the efforts of their fellow-townsmen to have a place of worship for themselves. Academy Hall was placed at their disposal.
One cold, stormy night in December, Michael Larkin brought up from Northampton an altar, and with the help of neighbors set it up in Academy Hall. The next day, which was Christmas, mass was said by Rev. Michael J. Barry of Northampton, and thereafter once each month a service was held in the hall. After him Rev. John Kenney of Northampton was in charge of the parish, holding services in Hatfield twice a month, attended by between two and three hundred people.
A subscription fund for a church building was started in 1891. It was a propitious time, as that year and the next were among the most prosperous years that the Hatfield farmers had enjoyed. By that time many of the Catholics had acquired farms of their own and were successful in the management of them. Nearly $2,000 were raised. The subscription committee was John McHugh, Jr., treasurer; John Doppmann, Michael Boyle, Peter Saffer, and John T. Slattery. Labor for grading and laying the foundations was given by the parishioners to the amount of about $600, the committee in charge of this work being John McHugh, Jr., chairman; James Mullins, and Peter Saffer. St. Joseph's Church was built in 1892, the first service was held in it New Year's day, 1893, and it was dedicated the next day by Bishop Beaven of Springfield. It was considerably enlarged in 1905. The parish house was built in 1907.
In the summer of 1895 Hatfield and Deerfield were made one parish under the care of Rev. R. S. J. Burke of South Deerfield, who was succeeded by Rev. M. O'Sullivan. Dur- ing the pastorate of Father Burke two fairs were held, in 1896 and 1897, to reduce the debt, about $1,200 being
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
cleared. In January, 1899, Hatfield was made a separate parish and Rev. Charles J. Boylan was settled as the first resident pastor. He had previously held pastorates in Ox- ford and Pittsfield. Under him the parish had a remarkable
ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH.
growth in numbers, wealth, and influence. In April, 1909, he was transferred to All Souls' Church in Springfield and was succeeded by Rev. William E. Foley, who had previ- ously been pastor in Williamstown and in Springfield. The
349
THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
latter has made many improvements in the buildings and grounds, has installed a new altar, and is raising funds for a new organ. There are two choirs, senior and junior, under the direction of Miss Maude E. Boyle. The parishioners number nearly 1,300. A great change has come over the membership of the parish in the last ten years or more. The first communicants were Irish, French, and German, but of late the number of Poles has greatly increased, so that they comprise nearly half of the parish, and are desirous of having a house of worship of their own and a priest who speaks their own language.
An interesting event in the history of St. Joseph's Church was the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Father Boylan's elevation to the priesthood, which was held Jan. 5, 1904. After the entertainment at dinner at the church of thirty visiting clergymen, public exercises were held in Academy Hall, largely attended by Protestants as well as Catholics. Music was furnished by Jackson's orchestra and the choir of St. Joseph's Church. The history of the parish was related by John McHugh, Jr., and addresses were made by Rev. John Kenney of Northampton; for the town and its officers by Matthew J. Ryan, Daniel W. Wells, and Charles L. Graves; in behalf of the young people by William E. Ryan ; and by Rev. Robert M. Woods, pastor of the Congre- gational Church. In the absence of Dennis P. McGrath. who was ill, Mr. Woods presented to Father Boylan a large purse and silverware as a token of the regard of those the latter had ministered to.
IV .- THE SMITH FAMILY AND THE INSTITU- TIONS FOUNDED BY THEM.
Two members of the Hatfield Smith family, descendants of Lieut. Samuel Smith, one of the first settlers of Hadley, have become famous through the legacies they left for char- itable and educational purposes.
Oliver Smith, youngest son of Lieut. Samuel and Mary (Morton) Smith, was born in Hatfield, Jan. 20, 1766. His mother was left a widow when he was but a year and a half old. The family was in only moderate circumstances. It is said that Oliver received on coming of age land valued at $500 as his share of his father's estate. He was shrewd and frugal and before he was thirty had acquired a comfortable fortune. He never married. He had only limited educa- tional opportunities, but was possessed of a good deal of native wit. He was a thoughtful and taciturn man, not very popular with his neighbors, who called him eccentric. His integrity was unquestioned. His religious sentiments were Unitarian. In politics he was at first a Jefferson Democrat, but after the election of Levi Lincoln as governor of Massa- chusetts, a Whig. His sympathy was with the middle class and he had a democratic contempt for pomp and parade. He was not a seeker after public office, but he twice repre- sented his town in the state Legislature, 1827-1828, and was a member of the convention that in 1820 revised the consti- tution of Massachusetts. He was, a presidential. elector in 1824 and voted for John Quincy Adams.
As a business man, Oliver Smith was unusually successful. He was economical to the point of parsimony. His first accumulations were made in the business of fattening cattle. As his wealth increased he invested in mortgages, but never held title to large amounts of real estate. He always pre- ferred safe investments at a small profit to great risks with the hope of large gains. In later life, taught, so it is said, by Austin Smith, he was highly successful in operations in the New York stock market, which he visited in person often. He was long a director of "the old bank" in North- ampton.
351
SMITH FAMILY INSTITUTIONS.
At his death, Dec. 22, 1845, he left an estate valued at nearly $400,000. His will, of which extracts are given in the Appendix, Note 11, was a most remarkable document. It provided for a unique charity which has grown into the
OFFICE FURNITURE OF OLIVER SMITH.
institution known as the Smith Charities, the resources of which for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1909, were $1,470,806 and which distributes annually over $50,000 for the various charities named in the will. The heirs-at-law made a contest on the ground that one of the witnesses,
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
Theophilus Parsons Phelps, was incompetent on account of insanity. They engaged Rufus Choate as their lawyer, while the will was defended by Daniel Webster in one of the most renowned legal controversies ever witnessed in the Connecti- cut valley. The case came up before the Supreme Judicial Court at Northampton, July 6, 1847. Two days were occu- pied in hearing the arguments. The courthouse was crowded to overflowing. The verdict sustained the will.
The system of charities devised by Oliver Smith was put in operation in 1859. The fund for the Agricultural School became available for that use in 1905 and $50,000 were turned over to the city of Northampton for the purchase of land for the purpose. The Smith's School was opened for students in 1908 along the lines laid down by the founder. $261,000 of the Agricultural Fund remain in the hands of the trustees of the Smith Charities, the income of which is used for the maintenance of the school.
Sophia Smith, daughter of Joseph and Lois (White) Smith, was born in Hatfield, Aug. 27, 1796. She was a niece of Oliver Smith. In her youth the education of girls was considered of slight importance. They were not allowed to recite with the boys, but might sit on the doorstep of the schoolhouse to hear them recite. In this way Sophia Smith picked up crumbs of knowledge beyond what the "dame school" she attended bestowed. She had as a child a thirst for knowledge, a studious and teachable disposition. At fourteen she attended school for a term of twelve weeks in Hartford, Conn., and at eighteen was enrolled as a student at Hopkins Academy in Hadley, but did not complete the course.
Dr. Joseph Lyman had a great influence upon the early, formative years of her life. She had an unbounded admira- tion for his character and received help and inspiration from his teaching. Though she considered that she became a Christian at the age of sixteen, she did not unite with the church till she was thirty-eight because most of her family were Unitarians, though they attended Dr. Lyman's church, and differed also from the minister in political faith. Sophia Smith was of a sensitive nature and she shrank from becom- ing out of sympathy with the other members of the house- hold. She had three brothers and three sisters, only one
SMITH FAMILY INSTITUTIONS.
353
SOPHIA SMITH.
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
of whom, Joseph, was married. Elihu, Miranda, and Louisa died between 1828 and 1831. Austin, Harriet, and Sophia continued to occupy the homestead, the house on which was built by their father. There Sophia Smith lived an unevent- ful life till her brother Austin died in 1861, leaving her an estate of about $450,000. Harriet had died in 1859.
The care and disposal of this large fortune had the effect of deepening and strengthening her character. She was un- used to business affairs and the responsibility weighed heav- ily upon her. As the least robust of the family she had been shielded all her life, for her sister Harriet assumed most of the responsibilities of the management of the house- hold. Hon. George W. Hubbard was her financial adviser. She also sought the advice of her pastor, Rev. John M. Greene, D.D. With a deep faith in her sex and a vision of the possibilities of higher education for women, which had been denied her, the idea of a college for women became firmly fixed in her mind under the guidance of her advisers. Other objects to which she considered giving part of her funds were a deaf-mute institution to be located in Hatfield, an academy for Hatfield, and a scientific school in connec- tion with Amherst College. She was troubled with the infirmity of deafness. The need of a deaf-mute institution was supplied by a donation by John Clarke in 1867. Then the plans for the woman's college became the most absorb- ing topic with her. There was a time when she wished to leave all her money to it, but Mr. Hubbard insisted that the part of her plans that related to the establishment of an academy in Hatfield should not be given up. Regarding the plans for the college, Dr. Greene has said :-
"It required arguments and some pleading to make her willing to have the college bear the name of Smith. She was afraid the people would call her selfish. She rose above self and prayerfully and conscientiously aimed at the most good to the greatest number. The college became to her a delightful subject of thought, of private conversation and study.
"It was decided at first to locate the college in Hatfield.
But the aim of Miss Smith was not to build up her native town. * Where will the college do the most, and do it best, was her only question. It is not strange that when this came to be carefully considered, Northampton, by reason of its ease of access, its literary and social attractions, its church accommodations for pupils of different religious denominations, as well as its comely natural sites that seem to have been designed at creation for colleges to stand on, should have the precedence. After long deliberation, and advice from many and varied sources, she decided to change the location from Hatfield to Northampton.
"There never was, in Miss Smith's design of a college, any hostility to
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SMITH FAMILY INSTITUTIONS.
any existing institutions for the education of young women. She aimed at a real college, where women should be educated, according to their nature and needs, in the most perfect manner. She intended to furnish something above and beyond the ordinary ladies' school, more generous and extensive in culture, more self-reliant and spontaneous in government, more homelike and natural in watch and discipline, more thorough and comprehensive in its instruction, with the greatest elegance and refinement of manners, del- icacy and purity of taste, as well as benevolence and consecration of spirit, yet not unnecessarily restrictive and repressive, not gregarious. She did not think the atmosphere of crowded halls was healthy. Well-ordered Christian homes were the places where young ladies, especially, should spend their formative years. She would not set up a rival to any institution. She thought there were many young women who desired to prosecute their studies further than any existing schools for ladies would carry them. As writers, as teachers, as translators of books, as home missionaries and foreign, and in whatever position the providence of God should place them, the usefulness and happiness of women would be greatly increased by a more liberal education. She believed in the divine injunction that we should 'add to virtue knowledge.' She thought that 'knowledge is power'; that 'virtue is an angel, but she is a blind one, and must ask of knowledge to show her the pathway that leads to her goal.'
"She would have this college create a new era in woman's education, and always occupy the van to lead up the steeps of knowledge higher and explore the fields wider. Its spirit should be progressive. It should teach not only what has been discovered, but 'such other studies as coming times may develop or demand for the education of women or the progress of the race.'
"The aim of the college, in her mind, was not the deification of culture. Culture is only a means, not the end, of life. It was not the ideal perfec- tion of woman that she aimed at, but her perfection in service, according to the words, 'whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.' She claimed that all culture and accomplishment are naught unless the heart and life are united to God and Christ."
Sophia Smith spent the last years of her life in a new house which she built, standing just north of her birthplace, both now owned by the trustees of Smith Academy. A memorial tablet has been placed on the old house by the alumnæ of Smith College.
After her death, June 12, 1870, it was found that she had left $75,000 in trust to endow an academy in her native town. Her will appointed as trustees of this fund Joseph D. Billings, George W. Hubbard, Jonathan S. Graves, Alpheus Cowles, Silas G. Hubbard, Frederick D. Billings, William H. Dickinson, and Daniel W. Wells. Death has removed all of these except Mr. Cowles and Mr. Wells and their places have been taken by Eli A. Hubbard and Rev. Robert M. Woods, both also deceased, and by Charles K. Morton, Thaddeus Graves, Alfred H. Graves, David Billings, Fred- erick H. Bardwell, and Clarence E. Belden.
Smith Academy was opened Dec. 4, 1872, with an attend- ance of 32 boys and 25 girls. The founder in her will gave directions that the school should be co-educational and that
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
the female teachers should be equal in numbers or be within one of the number of male teachers and that the former should have a voice in the management of the institution. During the first years of its existence it had a number of pupils from out of town, but with the growth of high schools in the neighboring towns or provision by them for secondary
SMITH ACADEMY.
education their numbers grew less and Smith Academy has come to supply the place of a high school for the town of Hatfield, which pays for the tuition of Hatfield pupils who are enrolled. The management of the school is in the hands of the board of trustees, which is self-perpetuating.
PRINCIPALS.
PRECEPTRESSES.
Wilder B. Harding,
1872-1885.
Mrs. Wilder B. Harding.
William Orr,
1885-1888.
Mary Houghton (Hubbard).
Sanford L. Cutler,
1888-1893.
Miss Anna Billings.
Ashley H. Thorndike,
1893-1895.
Miss Emma Hubbard.
Howard W. Dickinson,
1895-1905.
Miss Edith Ayres.
Clayton R. Saunders,
1905-1906.
Mabel G. Bacon (Ripley).
Albert J. Chidester,
1906-1908.
Miss Carrie A. Clarke.
Arthur L. Harris,
1908-
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SMITH FAMILY INSTITUTIONS.
OTHER INSTRUCTORS.
1
William B. Russell, Clara L. Graves (Dickinson),
Louisa Graves (Tead),
Miss Margaret Miller,
Nellie Eggleston (Dizer),
Cora King (Graves),
Miss Ellen Miller,
Miss Bertha Dillow,
Emma E. Porter ( Billings),
Ruby Bardwell (Chidester),
Charlotte Pettis (Orr),
Miss Marian C. Billings.
THE GRADUATES OF SMITH ACADEMY.
Class of 1876.
Carrie E. Graves, studied at Tilden Seminary, West Lebanon, N. H .; taught in public schools in Hatfield; married Roswell Billings.
M: Antoinette Morton, married Malcolm Crawford.
Emma E. Porter, taught in public schools in Hatfield and in Smith Academy; married David Billings; died 1909.
Rev. Charles A. Wight, graduated from Yale University in 1882; editor Yale Literary Magazine; member 'Varsity crew ; studied theology at Yale, 1883-1884; ordained to the Congregational ministry May 19, 1885; pastor of churches in Detroit, Mich., Anthony, Kan., St. Louis, Mo., Platteville, Wis., Hallowell, Me., and Chicopee Falls, Mass .; author of "Doorways of Hallowell," "The Hatfield Book," and frequent magazine articles; resides in Chicopee Falls.
Fannie E. Woodard, died 1888.
Class of 1877.
Clarence E. Belden, trustee of Smith Academy.
David Billings, trustee of Smith Academy.
Hattie A. Brown, married George B. Barnes.
Maria I. Curtis, married Frederick H. Bardwell.
Albert L. Dyer, studied at Yale University; resides in Northampton.
Lilla H. Peck, married Frederick P. Pease.
Mary L. Waite, taught in the public schools in Hatfield and Minneapolis, Minn .; died 1904.
Carrie L. Warner, taught in the public schools in Hatfield and Minneapolis, Minn .; married Arthur Holt; resides in Minneapolis, Minn.
Class of 1879.
Anna H. Billings, graduated from Smith College in 1891; Ph.D. from Yale, 1898; taught in Smith Academy, University of Southern California, Riverside, Cal., Redlands, Cal., Long Beach, Cal., and State Normal School, San Diego, Cal .; resides in San Diego, Cal.
Mary E. Dodge, taught in the public schools in Westhampton; resides in Brooklyn, N. Y.
Carrie S. Porter, taught in public schools in Springfield; married Nathaniel B. Wade; resides in Springfield.
Nellie A. Waite, taught in the public schools in Milford and in Minneapolis, Minn .; resides in Minneapolis, Minn.
Class of 1880. :
Bertha M. Forbes.
Clara S. Hawkes, married Eros Blakeslee.
N. Gertrude Hubbard, married William Smith; resides in Northampton. Alice Woodard, married Frank Montague; resides in Westhampton.
Class of 1881.
Emily G. Billings, graduated from Music Department, Smith College, in 1885; teacher of music; died 1894. Fannie I. Bennett, died 1903.
Kate A. Chaffee, married William Hall; died 1895.
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HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
Henry A. Cutter, resides in St. Louis, Mo.
Myra L. Howes, married Cooley Dickinson; resides in Whately.
Lovisa J. Montague, resides in Westhampton.
Margaret Miller, taught in Smith Academy; author of "My Saturday Bird Class"; resides in Deerfield.
Charles Porter, resides in Northampton.
Amy E. Stebbins, married Henry A. Cutter; resides in St. Louis, Mo.
Class of 1882.
George Douglass, resides in Leeds.
Albert Holcomb.
L. Iola Pearl, taught in Hartford, Conn., and Quincy ; resides in Chesterfield.
Cora B. Delano, married Shipman ; died 1892.
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