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 8
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most of the men were at work in the meadows cutting the golden corn. The women were busy with their household duties and the children were playing about their houses and in the streets unconscious of impending danger. At eleven o'clock, when the savory odors of the noonday meal were rising into the tranquil air, a blood-curdling yell suddenly pierced their ears-the dread war-whoop of the Indians. In a moment the savages were upon the defenseless village and the work of destruction was begun.
Through Middle Lane poured a band of armed and painted warriors who fell upon houses lying outside the stockade. The torch was applied to the buildings of Samuel Kellogg at the corner of the lane and his wife, Sarah, and her infant son were killed and another child, Samuel, a boy of three years, was seized and bound. Surprised by the suddenness of the assault, Obadiah Dickinson and one child were captured unresisting at the house below. His wife was wounded and left for dead and the house was set on fire. John Allis's barn was burned and his six-year-old daughter, Abigail, captured. With no attempt to enter the open gate of the stockade the invaders rushed across the street to the houses on the east side, whose inmates in alarm were seeking places of safety. As the savages sped northward they stopped to kill the wife of Selectman Samuel Belden, who lived on the Silas Porter place. John Coleman's house was burned and his wife, Hannah, and infant child, Bethiah, were slain, one child was wounded and two were captured, of whom little Sarah was only four years old. John Wells's daughter, Elizabeth, aged two, was killed, his wife, Sarah, and one child wounded. Hannah Jennings, wife of Stephen Jennings, was made a prisoner with her two children by her former husband, Samuel Gillett, who was killed at the Falls fight. Philip Russell's wife, Elizabeth, and their three-year-old son, Stephen, met death. Across the street, on the J. D. Brown place, stood the home of Samuel Foote, who had moved from his first allotment. His wife, Mary, with a young son, Nathaniel, and a three-year-old daughter, Mary, was seized and dragged along. On the next lot above men were at work building a house for John Graves, Jr., who was soon to marry Sarah White, daughter of John White, Jr. Hastening northward to finish their
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work of destruction, with an attack on the family of their hated foe, Benjamin Waite, they shot from the frame of the structure being erected the brothers, John and Isaac Graves, and two young carpenters from Springfield, John Atchisson and John Cooper. Waite's house was at the very end of the village street, the site now occupied by M. J. Ryan. The revengeful savages vented their hatred by burning his house and barn and taking away with them his whole family,-his wife, Martha, and three children, Mary, Martha, and Sarah, aged six, four, and two. Abigail, the eight-year-old daughter of William Bartholomew, a former resident of Deerfield, was also captured.
Exulting in savage glee at the success of their raid, the Indians forced their captives across the fields to the Pocum- tuck path at the foot of Clay hill, taking with them what plunder they had stopped to collect, and hastened north- ward up the valley. The captives numbered seventeen. Twelve of the inhabitants of the ill-fated town were left dead near their ruined homes and four were wounded. Thirteen homes had been invaded. It was the most de- structive attack that had so far visited the colony.
The shouts and screams and the noise of the firing reached the ears of the men in the meadows to the south and the mounting flames and smoke warned them of what to expect. They flew to the relief of the unguarded settle- ment, but before they arrived the foe had departed and all that could be done was to care for the wounded, remove the bodies of the victims of the savage tomahawk and gun, and make up the roll of the missing. Stunned by the suddenness and completeness of the blow and fearful of an ambuscade in the swamps above no pursuit of the Indians was attempted, but messengers were dispatched to the other towns with the news and to ask for assistance.
It was thought at first that the attack was made by Mohawks, six of whom had been seized and thrown into prison when hunting near the Charles river. A party of Mohawks with a scalp, and two Natick squaws on their return to New York, passed the night of Sept. 18 in Hatfield. The Naticks had been allies of the English during the war just closed. Major Pynchon was notified and he, alarmed
HISTORY OF HATFIELD.
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"SEPTEMBER 19, 1677."
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lest the attack foreshadowed another period of Indian war- fare, sent to Connecticut for aid.
The Indians with their captives and booty marched to Deerfield, which they attacked the evening of the 19th, killing John Root and taking prisoners Sergt. John Plymp- ton, Benoni Stebbins, Quintin Stockwell, and Samuel Rus- sell, a boy of eight or nine, a son of Philip Russell of Hatfield. Sheldon thinks that these were all that were at that time in the settlement, which was being rebuilt.
After a halt for the night in the woods near-by the long journey to Canada was begun. The captives were fastened securely each night by "staking down" the limbs and by the use of cords. After traveling far enough north to be out of danger of pursuit by the English troops, probably near Putney, Vt., a long wigwam was built and a great dance was held. But for the efforts of Ashpelon, the leader, some of the captives would have been burned. Word was sent to a party of Nipmucks, who had left Canada with the expedition, but went toward Wachusett, to rejoin the band. Benoni Stebbins was taken along by the messengers, but he escaped on the way back and reached Hadley, Oct. 4, with the news that the Indians who attacked Hatfield and Deerfield numbered 26, all Pocumtucks but one, a Narra- gansett, only 18 of whom were warriors, the rest being old men, women, and boys. The Nipmucks, after Stebbins's escape, wished to torture all the captives and were opposed to any idea of a ransom, which Ashpelon desired to arrange for with the settlers before proceeding further. When his views did not prevail he advised the captives, who had strongly urged opening negotiations for a ransom, "not to speak a word more to further the matter, for mischief would come of it." Ashpelon seems to have been far above most of his fellows in his ideas of justice and fair treatment.
Consternation reigned in Hatfield. A troop from Hart- ford under Captain Watts with volunteers from the Massa- chusetts towns went 40 miles above the town without dis- covering signs of the enemy, though the Indian scouts knew of their presence. Major Pynchon was at a loss what to do.
One man, however, determined upon a plan of action. The guide but for whose clear head and instinctive knowl-
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edge of woodcraft and Indian fighting the whole of Turner's expedition would have been lost the year before, Benjamin Waite, surmised the quarter from which the blow fell. Has- tening to Albany alone to make sure that the Mohawks were not the guilty ones, he returned to Springfield, Oct. 4, with letters to Major Pynchon from Capt. Sylvester Salisbury, the commander at Albany, removing suspicion from the New York tribe. Stopping only long enough to get from his townsmen a petition for authority and aid for an expe- dition to Canada he pushed on the same day to Boston, before hearing of Stebbins's escape.
Major Pynchon immediately sent a post to Albany with a letter thanking Captain Salisbury for his information, giving the report of Stebbins and urging that the Mohawks be incited to pursue Ashpelon and his men. The postscript shows how well the leader of the Hampshire troop knew the daring Indian scout: "Ben Waite is gone home before this Intelligence (Stebbins's) came to me. He talkt of going to Canada before and I suppose will be rather forward to it now than backward." For this letter and other official papers, see Appendix, Note 6.
Efforts to ransom the captives failed owing to the break- ing of an engagement by the Indians. In the latter part of September a few of the savages surrendered to the garrison of the mill at North Hadley when they were caught prowling about. A parley concerning the release of the prisoners was held, thought by Hubbard to be only a ruse of the Indians to escape detection after failing in an attempt to burn the mill. It was burned in October, 1677, the day not stated in the records, and perhaps by members of the same band. Released shortly after by the settlers, who evidently thought them sincere, the Indians agreed to return Oct. 14 to hold a conference in Hadley. It seems probable that they had been sent by Ashpelon on a secret mission with the intention of being captured. The General Court of Connecticut sent on request Major Treat and 40 men to aid in the negotia- tions or defend the towns if necessary. The Indians did not keep the agreement to meet on the 14th, the opposition of the Nipmucks being too strong. Sheldon says, "They were willing to meet the English, indeed, but only to fall upon them and fight them and take them."
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Waite met with delay in Boston, for the colony was short of funds, but his persistence secured him the appointment on Oct. 22 as agent to secure the release of the captives and financial backing was guaranteed. With letters to the authorities in Albany and Canada, he reached Hatfield Oct. 24, setting out for the west again at once with Stephen Jennings for a companion, a man thoughtful and silent, ex- celling in discretion and good judgment, no less persevering than Waite himself.
They arrived at Albany the 30th, where they were coolly received by Captain Salisbury and ordered to call on him again later. Having already been delayed too much and wishing to start before the season should become late they hastened to Schenectady to secure a guide. It was a costly mistake for them, for the ruffled dignity of Captain Salis- bury, who had not been consulted, had to be smoothed. They were arrested and sent down the river to New York to be examined by the governor of that colony. Their story was sympathetically received by Governor Brock- holds and they were sent back to Albany and the captain was instructed not to delay them again but rather to give aid. The delay had cost them precious time and it was Dec. 10 before they could leave Albany. Winter was at hand and the perils of a dreary march through an unknown coun- try buried deep in snow stared the intrepid rescuers in the face.
But neither was a man to be checked by difficulty. A Mohawk guide was secured, who conducted them to Lake George. He left them there after fitting out a canoe and drawing on a piece of birch bark a rude sketch of Lake George and Lake Champlain. They made the trip to the upper end of Lake George in three days and carried the canoe across the three-mile portage, reaching the shores of Lake Champlain on Dec. 16, the first English colonists to ex- plore the region. They were detained for six days at the place where later Fort Ticonderoga was built, unable to make headway against the wind in their frail canoe. Ice delayed their progress also, but was not strong enough to bear them on foot. Their provisions became exhausted and they had to subsist on what they could find. Some raccoons were killed in a hollow tree near the shore and a bag of biscuits
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and some brandy left by a hunter were discovered in a deserted wigwam.
Meanwhile the captives had been journeying to Canada by another route. About the time the rescuers left Hat- field, Oct. 22, the long wigwam was abandoned and the captives resumed the weary march to Canada, the first of many similar parties to traverse the northern wilderness under savage guard. Some provisions and ten horses had been secured at the raid on Deerfield. Their route was up the Connecticut valley for about 200 miles, then across the mountains to Lake Champlain. The French settlements were reached about the 1st of January after terrible suffer- ing from cold and lack of food. Two of the children, Sam- uel Russell and Mary Foote, were killed on the way, prob- ably because they fell sick. Little Sally Coleman trudged beside her mother, perhaps sometimes given a ride on the horses. A little shoe with a red top, worn and ragged, mutely tells to visitors in Memorial Hall in Deerfield the hardships of the march. Soon after the arrival in Canada Sergeant Plympton was burned at the stake, Obadiah Dickinson being compelled to lead him out to meet the fate his ferocious captors ordained.
Waite and Jennings arrived at Chamblé, a frontier town of ten houses, about the 6th of January. On their way to Sorel they found Jennings's wife and at that place a few other captives, who had been pawned to the French for liquor. The others were among the Indians not far distant.
In a few days the rescuers set out for Quebec, where they were kindly received by Governor Frontenac. With his aid a ransom was effected by the promise of the payment of £200. Returning to their kinsmen they found that on Jan. 22 Waite's wife had borne a child. She was named Canada. Fifty days later a girl was born to Jennings, who was called Captivity.
When the long Canadian winter was over, the party set out for their homes with an escort of French soldiers. Starting from Sorel on May 2, Albany was reached the 22d. From Albany the news was sent to the anxious ones in Deerfield and Hatfield. The two letters tell the story :-
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"ALBANY, May 22, 1678.
"Loving wife-Having now opportunity to remember my kind love to thee and our child, and the rest of our freinds, though wee met with greate afflictions and trouble since I see thee last, yet now here is opportunity of joy and thanksgiving to God, that wee are now pretty well, and in a hopeful way to see the faces of one another, before we take our finall farewell of this present world. Likewise God hath raised us freinds amongst our enemies, and there is but 3 of us dead of all those that were taken away-Sergt. Plympton, Samuel Russel, Samuel Foot's daughter. So I conclude being in hast, and rest your most affectionate husband, till death makes separation. "QUINTIN STOCKWELL."
"ALBANY, May 23, 1678.
"To my loving friends and kindred at Hatfield-These few lines are to let you understand that we are arrived at Albany now with the captives, and we now stand in need of assistance, for my charges is very greate and heavy; and therefore any that have any love to our condition, let it moove them to come and help us in this straight. There is 3 of ye captives that are mur- dered,-old Goodman Plympton, Samuel Foot's daughter, Samuel Russell. All the rest are alive and well and now at Albany, namely, Obadiah Dicken- son and his child, Mary Foot and her child, Hannah Gennings and 3 children, Abigail Ellice, Abigail Bartholomew, Goodman Coleman's children, Samuel Kellogg, my wife and four children, and Quintin Stockwell. I pray you hasten the matter, for it requireth greate hast. Stay not for ye Sabbath, nor shoeing of horses. We shall endeavor to meete you at Canterhook; it may be at Houseatonock. We must come very softly because of our wives and children. I pray you, hasten then, stay not night nor day, for ye matter requireth greate hast. Bring provisions with you for us. "Your loving kinsman,
"BENJAMIN WAITE.
"At Albany, written from myne own hand. As I have bin affected to yours all that were fatherless, be affected to me now, and hasten ye matter and stay not, and ease me of my charges. You shall not need to be afraid of any enemies."
Remaining at Albany five days to refresh themselves they arrived Monday, May 27, at Kinderhook, 22 miles distant, where they were met by the party from Hatfield with horses and provisions. At Westfield they were greeted by all their friends and neighbors who could make the trip and their progress homeward was a triumphal procession, greeted at every village by the rejoicing settlers. Some of the French escort, who had business in Boston, accompanied them as far as Springfield.
The letters from Waite and Stockwell were not the first tidings from the rescuers of the success of their mission, for early in March a letter was received from Timothy Cooper, a member of the Council at Albany, by Major Pynchon, telling of the safe arrival in Canada of Waite and Jennings and the redemption of the captives. Major Pyn- chon probably forwarded the news at once to Hatfield and Deerfield, but he could not tell who had been killed, so
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that there was constant anxiety till the welcome information came from Waite's own hand.
A copy of his letter was at once forwarded to Governor Leverett at Boston. A fast had been appointed for June 6 and the governor on May 30, the day after receiving the letter, issued the following public notice :-
"Knowing that the labor, hazard and charge of said Benjamin Waite and his associate have been great, we recommend their case with the captives for relief, to the pious charity of the elders, ministers and congregations of the several towns; that on the fast day, they manifest their charity by con- tributing to the relief of said persons. And the ministers are desired to stir up the people thereunto. For quickening this work, we do hereby remit a copy of Benjamin Waite's letter, to be read publickly either before or upon that day; and what is freely given, is to be remitted to Mr. Anthony Stoddard, Mr. John Joyliff and Mr. John Richards, or either of them, who are appointed to deliver and distribute the same for the ends aforesaid.
"Signed by EDWARD RAWSON, Secretary."
The suddenness of the attack on Hatfield had stunned the whole colony and made every town fear another Indian war. The news of the rescue of the captives brought joy to every English settler and the response to the appeal was prompt and generous. The ransom money was quickly raised. When Waite penned his letter in haste to his friends in Hatfield it is unlikely that he foresaw that it would be read in every pulpit in the colony within two weeks, nor could he suppose that after 200 years it would be set up in enduring bronze, where to all who enter the Hatfield Memorial Hall it tells with pathetic eloquence the heroism and the victory of the man of simple faith, resolute will, and indomitable courage, who, with one stead- fast companion, overcame the fears of a bewildered com- munity, the dilatory methods of reluctant officials, and with undaunted heart faced the perils of an untrodden wilderness on a trip of 1500 miles, escaping "the arrow that flieth by day and the pestilence that walketh in darkness," enduring the bitter cold of winter, suffering the cruel pangs of hunger and thirst. It was no small triumph to prevail upon the proud governor of the lordly city of Quebec to lend assist- ance to the families of a handful of poor farmers, who spoke an alien tongue.
The gratitude of Waite at the affection of those who by their contributions made return to his affection "to yours all that were fatherless" bore fruit in a monument more
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enduring than bronze. Let it not be thought a far-fetched conclusion to assume that the memory of the ready response of June 6, cherished by the descendants of the babe born in captivity, was the inspiration of the Smith Charities that, established nearly two centuries later, are a help to the fatherless and widows, to young and old "in straights."
CHAPTER VIII. A PERIOD OF PEACE, 1677-1688. A TIME OF IMPORTANT BEGIN- NINGS. THE REVOLUTION OF 1688.
" The old order changeth, yielding place to new."
Losses during the war .- Taxes .- Additional fortifications .- Military train- ing .- Town officials .- Dr. Hastings .- Poverty after the war .- First valuation of land .- Attorneys chosen .- Samuel Partridge .- The oath of allegiance .- Settlement of Rev. Nathaniel Chauncey .- Attempts to secure Rev. John Wise .- Building up of "the Hill."-Lots assigned on Mill Lane .- Division of the Commons .- First schools .- Settlement of Rev. William Williams .- Care of paupers .- Weights and measures .- The revolt against Governor Andros .- The new charter.
The losses suffered by Hatfield in the three years of warfare were greater in proportion to the population than those of any other town in the valley except the abandoned settlements of Deerfield and Northfield. Twenty-seven of the people were killed, at least a third of the houses were burned, most of the stock was lost, and the crops had been scanty from neglect and destruction by the enemy. A petition to the General Court stated that "from one third to one half the houses were burnt, and the greater part of their kine, sheep, and horses killed or driven off." The inhabitants were also impoverished by the support of a large number of troopers quartered in the town during the fighting and by the expenses of the campaigns. The slen- der resources of the colony were much reduced and county and colony taxes were high. The county rates for Hatfield for the years 1675-77 were £117.
The taxes to the colonial government during the war were in one sense not burdensome, for the inhabitants charged for the board of the troops quartered with them at fixed rates and the balance was in favor of the town. Five shillings per week was the usual price of board. The charges allowed in Hatfield up to May 1, 1676, made a total of £788. In October, 1680, there was still an unpaid balance of £400, which was not fully settled by the government till 1684. The feeding of the troops and horses and the
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fitting out of the various expeditions, however, necessarily took away supplies that were needed at home, a drain that was severely felt. The settlers received pay for their services when under arms, but it did not make up for the loss of time spent in scouting and fighting.
After the attack of 1677 came a lull in the conflict and the eleven years following, till the beginning of King William's war in 1688, brought again an increase in population and wealth. It was a period in which many important begin- nings are to be noted.
The first thought was directed toward further prepara- tions for defense. The surprise of Sept. 19 taught a terrible lesson and the settlers were thenceforward on their guard. For nearly a century they were to be called upon to fight the red men and their allies, in five wars of longer or shorter duration, till the supremacy of the English on the American continent was established. These wars were part of the struggle known in European history as the Hundred Years' war.
The destruction of the mills in Springfield and Hadley had been severe blows to those communities and Hatfield took precautions against a similar loss. Oct. 17, 1677, it was voted to garrison the mill, each man taking his turn and receiving 1s. 6d. per day for this service. During the war a small guard of soldiers had been stationed at Meekins's mill all the time and quartered at his house.
Early in 1678 it was voted "that the fortifications at the north end of the town should be done speedily by the whole town, dividing the work in proportion and when the town shall see cause to enlarge the south end that shall be done likewise by the whole town, each man his proportion." About a month later it was "agreed that the fortifications at the south end of the town should be enlarged to take in John Field's house and Mr. Atherton's lot" across the street.
It was voted also that each householder should provide himself with a ladder long enough to reach to his roofs or be fined an amount double the cost of a ladder.
Extension of the palisades was continued until they reached as far north as Richard Morton's house, where the residence of Thomas Dea is. He had a blacksmith shop
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standing in the highway, which was within the stockade. Many cinders have been dug up at this spot in highway improvements.
Military training was kept up and by 1687 Hatfield had a full company of 60 men under Capt. John Allis; Daniel Warner was lieutenant; Eleazer Frary, ensign; Robert Bardwell, Benjamin Waite, Isaac Graves, and Samuel Field, sergeants.
"Watching and warding," the former by night, the latter by day, were kept up and there were fines for leaving the post when on guard. The ward was required to be at the gate by the time the sun was an hour high in the morning. In 1684 the soldiers in training were required to perform work on the highways. As early as 1680 the firing of any gun near the village except for alarm was forbidden. A turret had been built on the meetinghouse for a watch tower at some time during the war-the missing records would probably show when-and in 1685 a committee was appointed to "close the turret," for better protection against the weather, no doubt, and to hang a bell there. The com- mittee was also instructed to make and glaze "such windows as were necessary for the convenience of the meetinghouse." It would seem to have been more for the convenience of the congregation than of the house to have more light.
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