USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Leyden > History of Leyden, Massachusetts, 1676-1959 > Part 7
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In other words, the town was furnishing men, beef and hor- ses for the Army, along with extra pay and mileage money for the soldiers. The three-year enlistment period in 1781 is evidence that the speedy conclusion of the war was not then anticipated.
Evidence of over-taxation of the people is shown in the fol- lowing Feb. 16th proposal: "Voted, to see if the people will send a petition to the Gen. Court to make known their inability to pay the heavy taxes or to raise more men . . . "
On March 5th, it was voted that those in the West part of Town shall have the money that shall be assessed on them in the Minister's Rate to pay for preaching among themselves. This is the first indication of a breaking away of the Western churchgoers from those in the east part of the town. The minis- ter's tax was an added burden to the already overtaxed people and the March 5th ruling allowed them financial freedom in their own church matters. Though they had no church in Ley- den, the Elder Joseph Green was ordained on July 5th and part of the 66 pounds raised by the township "in silver money, wheat, rye, Indian corn and flax" went toward Green's support in West Leyden. Little did the people know that from the nearby town of Warwick, the Britisher, William Dorril, soon would appear to fill the "spiritual vacuum" which was forming in Leyden's eastern hills.
Demonstrating the increase in Leyden's population since 1774 when there were but 15 families in the town, the following
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
list, arranged according to the geographical location of each homestead, brings up to date the Leyden census to 1781. Among the outstanding newcomers were Peter and Mary Gates. These adventurers from Groton, Connecticut were the grandparents of John Riddell, later to become Leyden's leading scientist and theoretical voyager 'round the moon.
Names marked with an asterisk indicate residence in Ley- den before 1775. "FH" indicates residence on Frizzell Hill. The letters "BM" stand for Beaver Meadow; "KB" for Keet's Brook Road; "CR" for County Road; "WL" West Leyden Road; "RR" River Road; "LR" Lamb Road. The letters N, E, S, W, and C following "FH," "BM," etc., stand for North, South, East, West and Center of "FH" etc., respectively. The list begins with settlers in the Frizzell Hill section and follows the pioneer trail westward.
1. Benj. Green, Jr. (FH-E) Built at foot of Frizzell Hill
*2. Ens. John Cunnabell (FH-E) Built 2nd Frame House in Leyden
*3. Reuben Frizzell (FH-E) Built Ist Frame House in Leyden
*4. Capt. Michael Frizzell (FH-E) First town road laid to his land
*5. William Orvis (FH-S) Early settler near Ministry lot
6. Samuel Orvis (FH-S) Early settler near Ministry lot
7. Israel Bagg (FH-S) Settled on present Baker place
8. Ezra Shattuck (FH-N) Made wooden shoes for Dor- rilites
9. Noah Bigelow (FH-E) Early landowner on upper Couch Brook
10. Capt. Elisha Burnham (BM-E) First Leyden State Representative
*11. Lt. Reuben Shattuck (BM-E) A Revolutionary soldier from Leyden
*12. Daniel Chapin (BM-E) Descendant of Springfield's
early founder
13. Selah Chapin (BM-C) Son of the Indian fighter, Ca- leb Chapin. Born in Burk's Fort
*14. Lt. Dan'l Newcomb (BM-C) Leyden's first native son: A "Mayflower"
*15. Daniel Coolidge (BM-W) First pioneer from Rhode Island
*16. Alpheus Barstow (BM-S) Pioneer from Lebanon,
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Conn .: A "Mayflower"
17. Capt. Ezekiel Foster, Jr. (BM-W) Broke up Dorrilite meeting; fought Dorril
18. Captain John Hunt (BM-N) Descendant of Fall Town Grant petitioner
19. Samuel Guild (BM -? ) First selectman from Leyden district
20. David Paige (KB-N) A militiaman on the Benning- ton alarm
21. Samuel Wheat (FH&KB) Early landowner in East Leyden
*22. Joshua Wells (KB-S) Born in "Fort House", Green- field
23. Ner Wells (FH-N) Son of Joshua, of Deerfield stock
24. Asa Wells (FH-N) Son of Joshua, of Deerfield stock
25. Jabez Spicer (CR-S) Killed in Shays' Rebellion
26. Capt. Agrippa Wells (CR-S) Member of the Consti- tutional Convention
27. Asher Corse (CR-S) Hunter of Wolves; Ancestor of "Milwaukee Harriet"
28. John Cately (Katley) (CR-W) Pioneer on Cately Hill, Leyden
29. John & Caleb Adams (CR-C) Of the famous Massa- chusetts Adams family
30. Thomas Crowfoot (CR -? ) Falls Fight descendant from Springfield
31. Richard Eson (CR-C) Pioneer from Taunton, Massa- chusetts
32. John Eson (CR -? ) To Leyden, 1780
33. Lt. Joseph Eson (CR-C) Very active in Shays' Rebel- lion
*34. Enoch Briggs (CR-C) Built first frame house on County Rd.
35. Ebenezer Vining (New Center) Ancestor of physi- cian Vining
36. Henry Wesen (SE Leyden) Probably a Hessian soldier
37. Uriah Wilbur (New Center) Town Meetings held at his home
38. David Dewey (BM-Road) Young member of the Dorrilites
39. Timothy Morgan (BM-E) Forbear of Dr. Morgan,
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
pioneer Leyden physician
40. Joseph Elliot (CR-C) ?
*41. John Davenport (New Center) Forbear of Williams College trustee
42. Eld. Jos. Green (CR-N) Leyden's first Baptist pastor
43. David Potter (CR-N) An early Dorrilite member
*44. Charles Packer (CR-N) Posed for Ist H. K. Brown sketch
45. Capt. Jas. Walsworth (CR-N) Pioneer in Leyden District
46-49. Amos, William, Nathan and Jas. Walsworth, Jr. (CR-N) Sons of Capt. Walsworth ?
50. Capt. Sol. Alexander (CR-N) Fought last Leyden Indian
*51. Capt. Jos. Babcock (CR-NW) West Leyden pioneer from R. I.
52. Joseph Clark (CR-NW) Settled near West Leyden cave
53. Benjamin Whitman (CR-NW) Lived on "cave" road?
54 Amos Noyes (RR-N) Moved from Guilford to escape "Yorkers"
55. David Gates (RR-E) "Gates Hill" namesake ?
56. Peter Gates (RR-N) Grandfather of John L. Riddell
57. Dea. Benj. Baker (RR-C) Pioneer from Guilford, Vt.
58. Dea. Benj. Harris (RR-C) Harris Brook namesake 59. Capt. Jared Crandall (RR-C) Political leader in West Leyden
60. Joseph Crandall (RR-C) Son of Captain Crandall
61. Phineas Crumb (RR-E) Early on Florida Mountain
62. Billington Crumb (RR-E) Descendant of Mayflower stock
63. Peleg Babcock (WL-Road) "Peleg Bog" namesake
64. Oliver Babcock (WL-Road) Built on present Robert- son place
65. Elisha Clark (Off-RR) Set out first Leyden orchard
66. Paul Green (WL-Road) Drove a cow, sheep and hog all the way from R. I.
67. Humphrey Palmer (LR) West Leyden Pioneer
68. Peleg Brown (RR) Ist settler near W. Leyden mill site
69. Robert Riddle (RR) Grandfather of J. L. Riddell
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70. Jonathan McCumber (RR?) First Scotch-Irish Leyden settler ?
Homesteaders listed in East Colrain during 1781 were: Deacon Lucey; Wm. Stuart; Thos. Cochran; Benj. Carlton; Abra- ham Peck; John Workman; Thos. Shearer; Geo. Clark; David Morris; Robert and Wm. Folton; Moses Ranger and John Matthew.
In assessing the 1781 tax "11 1b., 11 sh., 4 d. was laid on each poll, and two farthing & 11/100 on each pound of Real Estate value." At this time, boys between 16 and 21 were rated as 1/2 poll; males over 21 rated one full poll. The above odd method of taxation would have called for a minimum poll tax of $58; but only $2.00 would have been charged on property valued at $1000!
Proving that Cunnabell's Mill had been shifted from Couch Brook to the larger Shattuck Brook at this time, the following article is found in the record books: "Proposed that a road go to Cunnabell's corn mill on the Northwest Branch [Shattuck's Brook] for those people living south of Reuben Frizel's."
On February 20th of this year 1781 it was voted "to lay out the undivided lands to each Proprietor in 2 lots of 26 acres each." These lands were chiefly wood lots, and constituted the Fourth Division of Land in the Fall Town Grant. A complete record of the numbers and initial owners of these rugged mountain lots will be found in the town records of this period.
The Year 1782: Though the land fighting between Americans and British had ceased, and the Continental Army was disband- ing, the tiny United States Navy, organized in 1779 by John Paul Jones and Benjamin Franklin, still was in evidence.
A small number of private American vessels had been armed to defend the Eastern Seaboard from British naval attack. But these American privateers did not fare too well against the mighty British warships, as the following letters from U. S. mid- shipman, Stephen Buckland, indicate. Buckland's descendants later settled in Leyden.
The letters are date-lined aboard the prison ship, "Garly" in New York harbor, then controlled by the British. The first was: addressed to Capt. Gideon and Aaron Olmstead, probably relatives of Ezekiel Olmstead mentioned in the text.
"April 9, 1782 - Sirs - Before this comes to hand you doubtless will hear of our fate. We were taken on
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
the 2nd . . . by the Brig "Perseverence" . Ezekiel Olmstead is slightly wounded but will be well in a few days ... If you can do anything for us [we] should be glad ... Our situation is truly distressin Espechely our people for they were stripped of everything even to Buckles out of their Shoes and Buttons out of their Sleeves, hats, coats and Jackets. Many of them have got Small Pox and must all have it that have not . . . There is on bord this ship about Seven Hundred pris- oners and Increasing all most Every day. You can Esely Gess what a life we must live and hot weather a Cuming on ... This is an Excellent place to prepare a man for Enockelation . . .
Stephen Buckland"
The second letter, his last, was addressed to his wife, Mary Buckland. It was dated "Prison Ship of N. York, April 22nd, 1782." It read:
"My Dear - before this Cums to hand you will doubtless hear of our Misfortune. I have nothing to Right but that we are all well Except some have got the Small pox ... I hoop it wont be long before we will get home by sum means or other. Give yourself no uneasi- ness about me . .
Efectently Stephen Buckland"
On the reverse side of the letter is the notation, written in a child's hand: "May 7, 1782 - Stephen Buckland Dyed in the Prison Ship "Garly" at New York in the 39th year of his age." Below is a list of his children: "Polly, 13; Hannah, 11; Betsy, 3; Ralph, 9 months."
This rare record of one of our first "naval" tragedies con- cludes with the sad little comment: "When our Daddy Dyed [it was] a time that never will Bee forgot by us, tho we were very young . . . "
The army list of Leyden men who served during the Revolu- tion includes: Simeon Allen; Enoch Briggs, Owen Briggs, Daniel Chapin, Selah Chapin, Daniel Davis, Jabez Dennison, John Evans, Ezekiel Foster, Jr., Samuel Guild, John Hunt, Thomas Hunt, Lt. Reuben Shattuck, Reuben Sheldon, Elijah Walsworth, Records Wilbur, Charles Packer.
Though it had been tentatively voted to divide the Township
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into two districts, nothing definite had been done. In January '82, there is evidence of a tendency on the part of eastern Fall Town to hold on to the Leyden area. On the 7th it was voted "that those persons of the Baptist persuasion living in the west part of town should be free from past minister's rates or any part thereof." Further compromise was evidenced at this time when it was proposed that "Town Meetings be held half the time where thought proper in the West Part of town."
But clamor for independence from the west was too strong for these late compromise measures and on March 4th it was voted that "the West Part of Town be separated from the Eastern part." And to show they meant business, the people in Leyden took their first independent step when they proposed that the "town purchase one half Acre of Land either from Lt. Daniel Newcomb or Selah Chapin for a burying place & that Samuel Guild & Lt. Reuben Shattuck be a Committee to deter- mine the particular lot of Ground." Three new roads also were laid out in West Leyden. These, until this time mere bridle paths, were now established town roads. They included the present River Road, Lamb Road and "Capt. Babcock Road."
This was the year Ezekiel Foster, who described the Leyden forests as "tenanted by bear, deer, wolves and panthers," brought his bride to the Beaver Meadow homestead. It was the year of the first recorded marriage in Leyden as "Samuel Guild was wed to Lydia Eson." It was the year, too, that Samuel Ely a former member of the Provincial Congress, sounded the clarion call to the heavily indebted in Leyden and neighboring towns - a call which later roused many in Leyden to take up arms against the unjust courts and debtors' prisons of the day - a call which led eventually to Shays' Rebellion.
The Year 1783: With the Peace Treaty between Britain and the United States signed on April 19th, exactly eight years to a day from the famed Battle of Lexington, the Revolutionary war came to an official end. Though American independence had been won, union and security had not been gained. The people had no definite government to hold them together; they were heavily in debt; business was at a standstill.
This indefinite state of affairs is reflected in the Leyden records. No legislation was passed this year for roads, schools or any public buildings. Bickering continued in the church. Votes, pro and con, were cast for a new preacher.
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
Leyden residents, voting at this time, included newcomers Reuben Ingram and Calvin Bliss. Others were: Lt. Ezekiel Foster, Israel Bagg, William Orvis and Lt. John Severance. Ens. John Cunnabell, Michael and Reuben Frizzell also voted with the Orthodox churchgoers in 1783; but ten years later, because of unsettled church matters in Leyden, these men, and many others, turned to the renegade preaching of the strange and enigmatic, William Dorril.
It was toward the close of '83 that Captain Jonathan Bud- ington, with his wife, the former Hannah Buckland of Hartford, braved the Leyden Hills. Budington had been a sea Captain in the "West Indian Trade" before the Revolution. Legend says the trade was of the "Jolly Roger" brand; but during the war he was rewarded by the American government for capturing, with- out much difficulty, a British ship or two.
The war ended, he moved to the Ethan Allen Highway in Leyden. To him, it was still a very wild country which he de- scribed in these vivid words: "But few people lived in this wilder- ness. Here and there the smoke of a log cabin struggled through the thick woods of oak, maple, beech and chestnut. The Indian still lingered, though his dependence on the whites had made him friendly. Deer were plentiful in the woods, and sometimes the wail of a panther would startle the young mother from sleep."
CHAPTER V
The Post War Decade The Hessian Settlement - Shays' Rebellion
O n March 12, 1784, John Hancock, President of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts, and Samuel Adams, "Father of the Revolution," signed the following into law:
"An act for setting off part of the Town of Bernards- ton into a District by the name of Leyden: Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled that part of the said Town of Bernards- ton and the Inhabitants thereof . . . be set off and created into a Separate District by the name of Leyden, and that the said District be invested with all the powers, privileges and immunities that other Towns of this Commonwealth enjoy except that of sending a Representative . . . and be it further enacted that the said District of Leyden shall be annexed to the Town of Bernardston in the choice of a Representative to repre- sent them in the General Court of the Commonwealth and that the said District of Leyden shall pay . .. fifteen thirty sevenths of the county, state and Continental Taxes assessed on said Town of Bernardston, & Leyden District. And be it further enacted that David Smead, Esq. ... is hereby empowered to issue his Warrant . . . requesting that the Inhabitants in the District of Leyden, qualified by law to vote in Town Affairs, meet at such time and place as shall bee set forth to choose all Officers as shall be necessary to manage the affairs of said District ... In the House of Representatives 12th March 1784, this Bill having had three several readings passed to be enacted." (See front map for Leyden- Bernardston dividing line).
According to the Bernardston historian, Leyden did not have enough inhabitants at this time to constitute a separate Township, for which "150 ratable polls" were necessary. This may have been true in '84, but within 6 years Leyden had actual- ly outdistanced the parent town (which will be designated as
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
"Bernardston" from here on) by nearly 300 men, women and children.
On April 26th, the first Leyden Town Meeting was called to order by Captain Caleb Adams at the home of Lieut. Joseph Eson. At this meeting, Alpheus Barstow was chosen clerk; Samuel Guild, treasurer; Captain Agrippa Wells, Charles Packer and Lt. Reuben Shattuck, selectmen and assessors. John Adams was elected constable and collector of taxes.
Following are brief life sketches of these and other pioneer Leyden officers who played important roles in the development of the town and of the Country.
Captain Agrippa Wells, First Selectman. Wells, a veteran of the French and Indian wars, was a captain of Minute Men, fought at Bunker Hill and was at Saratoga when Burgoyne surrendered. After the war, he settled in Leyden where he played an important role in Shays' Rebellion. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Charles Packer, Second Selectman. A pioneer settler from Rhode Island. As Leyden's "first intellectual," his large private library attracted Henry Kirke Brown whom he encouraged to become an artist. A private cemetery on the Ethan Allan High- way, recently restored, marks Packer's place of burial, and that of his first wife, Mary Walsworth. His second wife was Electa, daughter of Ezra Shattuck, the Dorrilite. Packer himself joined the Dorrilite group.
Lieutenant Reuben Shattuck, Third Selectman. A brother of Ezra, the Dorrilite wooden shoemaker. He served as a lieu- tenant in Colonel Whitcomb's Regiment and under Capt. Agrippa Wells on the Lexington alarm. He was one of the first Surveyors of Highways in the Leyden District. In 1780, he bought from Michael Frizzell a lot near the foot of "Hunt Hill" for 50 pounds; this was sold in 1787 to Asahel Newton for 200 pounds, indicating he had added many "improvements" to the property during the interim. In 1784, Shattuck was chosen as a selectman at two town meetings! First at the Bernardston March meeting; then at the Leyden April meeting.
Alpheus Barstow, Town Clerk. Barstow, of direct Mayflower stock, came from Norwich, Connecticut. He was a first cousin of Daniel Newcomb, and settled close to him in Beaver Meadow. Aside from town offices, he also held a post in the State Legislature.
Samuel Guild, Treasurer. Guild was a Minute Man in 1775
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and was the first to represent Leyden as a "Fall Town" select- man before 1784. His was the first recorded marriage in Leyden District.
Other interesting figures in Leyden at this time were: Heze- kiah Newcomb, son of Peter Newcomb and great grandson of Jerusha Bradford. Hezekiah, a cousin of Daniel Newcomb, settled on the Couch Brook Road as early as 1778. Soon after this, his name appears as selectman, then State Representative. In 1784, he purchased from Gersham Orvis the East Leyden lot where the house built by his son Hezekiah Newcomb II, still stands.
Captain Jared Crandall, another colorful Leyden figure, represented the town in many important posts. His huge house on the River Road had the second highest appraisal in the town. The stone work of his "manor" is still as firm as when laid nearly 175 years ago. A deep vaulted wine cellar, with curved stone roof, is a masterpiece of masonry.
To Leyden in 1784 came Reuben Parmenter who settled on Frizzell Hill and later became involved in Shays' Rebellion and the Dorrilite movement. Down the hillside to the west, lived affluent Elisha Burnham, prominent in town affairs, and Repre- sentative to the General Court. Two of his daughters married into old Leyden families: Jerusha wedded Selah Chapin of Beaver Meadow; Ruth married Hezekiah Newcomb of Frizzell Hill.
Others who moved into Leyden at this time - men driven from previous settlements by Yorker troubles, poor land, or the spirit of adventure - were Sylvester Crandall from Guilford; John Wells with Desire, his wife, from Springfield, Vt .; Joshua and Polly Niles from Connecticut; Oliver Noyes and family from Guilford; John Demontel from Shelburne; John Moore and family from Palmer; Daniel Edwards from Coventry, Conn .; Solomon Dimmick and Bedgood Bulfish from Enfield, Conn .; Levi Brooks and Thomas Brooks from Guilford; James Philips from Spring- field; Benjamin Grinnel from Rhode Island. New settlers came from all directions.
And this year, the first true growing year for Leyden, school matters were seriously considered. In November, it was pro- posed "to see if the town will agree to divide the town into suitable districts for Schools and to raise money for same." The huge 100-acre school lot on the west side of Frizzell Hill was put up for lease or sale.
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Considerable activity was evident in road and bridge building this year, both on the Couch Brook and at the southern approaches to the town. On October Ist, the first Leyden Dis- trict "highway" was laid out. It ran from the Old Proprietors Road on Frizzell Hill, southward along the west side of Ball Mountain, then down to the Hessian settlement in southeast Leyden. Here it met the Bernardston and Greenfield roads coming in from the east and south. A second road, parallel to, but west of the first, was also laid out at this time. It meandered southward past "Sweetheart's Chair" near what is now the East Glen Road and ended at the Greenfield line.
The year terminated with the dismissal of those in public office who had played in with the King and his henchmen dur- ing the Revolution. True patriots were put at the helm of town affairs, with Jason Parmenter, later to become a leader in Shays' Rebellion, elected chief constable. Captain John Adams also was made a member of the constabulary.
The Year 1785: That at least two of Britain's mercenary Hessian soldiers settled in Leyden by 1785 is historic fact. It is also known that these men were part of the Hessian contingent which was locked up in the Bennington meeting house after the famed battle of 1777. One of the Hessians, John Euda, is re- corded in the Bernardston History "as a member of Burgoyne's army, by birth a Hessian who settled in Leyden upon the dis- banding of the Burgoyne forces."
In the 1785 town records, under "Intentions of Marriage," John Hendrich Euda & Mary Turner, both of Leyden, announced their troth on May 20th. One year later, John Millis, "a Hessian and relative of John Euda," announced his intention to marry Hannah Turner on October 29th.
These two soldiers, John Euda and John Millis (listed as John Odey and John Mellish in the 1790 U. S. census) settled near their one-time adversaries in southeast Leyden. Though these men from the German Province of Hesse may have fought the Americans during the Revolution, they had no voice in the matter, since they and 30,000 of their brothers were sold into the British service by their ruler, the Prince of Hesse.
In the 1790 census, John Euda is listed as living next to the famed William Dorril, so it is likely that Dorril (also a Burgoyne man) first settled in Leyden close to his old companions-in-arms. It is possible too, that Henry Wesen, listed in the 1781 census, may have joined this group.
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That the Hessians soon were to become American citizens is proven by a 1789 record dated Dec. 7 when it was voted "to recommend John Euda and John Millis for naturalization." Millis apparently married a second time since the 1798 records men- tion his betrothal to Abigail Farnsworth on Oct. 2.
Marriage intentions of three daughters, Betsy, Nancy and Sarah Euda were announced between 1811 and 1815. Marriages of the Hessians' sons, David Euda and Isaac Millis were an- nounced soon after. In each instance, the Hessian marriages were with the established English familes of: Munn, Haskel, Stanhope, Field, Walker. In the Leyden area, the American "melting pot" began to fuse with the union of the "Eudas" and the "Munns."
On the left of the road leading southward from Leyden is a private burying ground where John Euda (also written Eudy) lies with his wife and son. Though the children were accepted by the community, the Hessians themselves were not buried in the graveyards of the men whom they fought. So it is, these stones stand alone by the roadside. The inscriptions read: John Eudy, d. Aug. 29, 1828 a. 71; Mary d. 1828; Col. David Eudy, d. July 1829 a. 43. Nearby, two other stones read: Lorra, dau. of John Millis; Miss Sally, daughter of John Millis d. 1815 a 21. This tiny historic burial ground, once shaded by tall white pines, lately was shorn of its beauty by incursions of the relentless chain saw.
While the Hessian settlement was forming in Leyden, activity was evident in many other fields. Along the famous Leyden Glen below the home of Captain Agrippa Wells, a new highway was surveyed; in the west part of town, William Clark, pioneer fruit-grower of the area, put up the first grist mill on Green River. To the north, on Thorn Brook, another mill was rising under the direction of pioneer Henry Thorn.
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