USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > North Brookfield > History of North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Preceded by an account of old Quabaug, Indian and English occupation, 1647-1676; Brookfield records, 1686-1783 > Part 16
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"CAPT. HUNTING: - Upon sight hereof you are ordered with those English and Indians under your command, to march into the Wachuset Country, making diligent search for the enemy whom you are by all means to destroy, as also all the corn you can find there : And from thence you shall march to Quabaug doing the like there, using all caution and circum- spection for your own security and prevention of surprisals ; and having accomplished this service with the blessing of God, you are then to return,
I34
FIRST SETTLEMENT, 1660-1676.
taking such way home as may be most probable to lead to any further ser- vice, if your intelligence and the providence of God so guide. And for your further strengthening, the garrison now at Marlboro are ordered to accompany you and to be under your command. Dated in Boston 11th of August 1676. EDW. RAWSON Secy ." 1
Under date of Aug. 15, 1676, Maj. Pynchon writes : "Then also [Aug. 12] Maj. Talcott's army came in (who has, they say, cut down all the Indian corn about Quabaug, &c."
I Mass. State Archives, LXIX. 42.
CHAPTER IV.
SECOND SETTLEMENT, 1686-1718. BROOKFIELD UNDER PRU- DENTIAL COMMITTEES, AND THEIR ADMINISTRATION.
THE ORIGINAL PLANTERS DID NOT RETURN. - NAMES OF ALL SETTLERS AND GRANTEES DOWN TO 1718, WITH ANNALS, PERSONAL AND GENERAL, OF IN- DIAN RAIDS, CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS, ETC.
A FTER the desertion of the place in the summer of 1676, Brook- field lay waste for ten years. Such of the first planters as survived, and the families of those that were slain by the Indians, left their wrecked homesteads, and found dwelling-places elsewhere, many with friends in the eastern towns where they had formerly resided, others in Hadley and Suffield. And the demands of these new homes, and the dark and bloody associations of their forced abandonment, prevented any attempt to return and re-claim their homesteads. And the Quabaug Lands, under the circumstances, had no marketable value. The only thing to do was to wait the turn of events.
And the following Act of the Legislature put an obstacle in their way :
"AT A GENERAL COURT HELD AT BOSTON MAY 28 1679 -
" For the greater comfort and safety of all people who are intended to resettle the villages deserted in the late war, or the planting any new Plantation within this jurisdiction
" It is Ordered and Enacted by this Court and the Authority thereof, That no deserted town or new Plantation shall be inhabited until the people first make application unto the Governour and Council, or to the County Court within whose jurisdiction such Plantation is. And the Council or County Court are hereby ordered and impowered to ap- point an able and discreet Committee [at the charge of the people in- tending to plant], which Committee are ordered and impowered to view and consider the place or places to be settled, and give directions and orders in writing under their hands, in what form, way and manner suchı town shall be settled or erected, Wherein they are required to have a principal respect to nearness and conveniency of habitation for security against enemies, and more comfort for Church Communion & enjoy-
I36
SECOND SETTLEMENT, 1686-1718.
ment of God's Worship, and education of children in Schools and civil- ity, with other good ends.
" And all such planters are hereby injoined to attend and put in prac- tice such orders and directions as shall be given by such Committee, upon the penalty of one hundred pounds fine to the Country to be in- flicted upon them by order of the Council or County Court, for their neglect or refusal to attend this Order.
Passed, and Consented to J. DUDLEY
JUNE 9, 1679."
The effect of this order of the General Court, and the utter discour- agement of the broken-up colonists, appear in the fact that, of the original undertakers, only one family, viz. that of John Ayres, returned to Brookfield as permanent inhabitants. And they did not hold and occupy the old homestead on Foster's hill. The other grantees or their heirs, either sold their allotments and rights, or abandoned them alto- gether.
As will be seen, the re-settled Plantation, while retaining the old name, claimed no town rights under its old charter. Indeed this charter was virtually revoked by the Act of 1679. The place was put in charge of and continued under the care of Prudential Committees, appointed by the General Court, for the period of thirty years.
The official Book or Books of Records of these early Committees are lost. And the sources of authentic information relative to this period, earlier than 1713, are : some scattered papers, and attested copies of original Land Grants ; the deeds, and wills, and Court records in the Registries at Springfield and Northampton ; letters, petitions and re- ports, and orders of the Governor and Council, preserved in the State Archives. These documents speak for themselves ; most of them have never been published; and as the best and only true picture, now possi- ble to be obtained, of the men and measures of the date under consid- eration, careful abstracts or full copies of these official papers will be inserted in their chronological order.
1686. - This is the earliest date named in the records, showing that the re-settlement of Brookfield was actually begun. The first comers were mostly young men, looking for a place to start in life ; or those who had been soldiers in King Philip's War, and who saw the lands while they were stationed here in garrison, or in the marches and counter- marches of their respective companies. They came largely from Marl- borough, from Essex county, and from Suffield, Springfield, and Hadley, whither the earlier grantees had retired. And thus coming from differ- ent quarters, these second planters lacked the social ties and accord of purpose which characterized the Ipswich colony. And, as will appear, this lack of social unity proved a source of weakness for many years, and greatly hindered the growth of the town.
I37
PETITION OF JAMES FORD.
The following Petition, found in the State Archives, is without date ; but the internal evidence, and coincident facts indicate that it was pre- sented to the General Court at the spring session of 1686.
"TO THE HONBL SIMON BRADSTREET, GOVERNOR, &c.
The humble Petition & Request of James Ford of Brookfield.
Whereas there was a Township formerly granted by the Honbl Gen- eral Court, at a place called by the Indians Quabaog, & by the English Brookfield, which was settled, but by the Incursions & Outrages of the Indians was depopulated and layd waste, & hath been so for many years : the Ancient Inhabitants wholly deserting the same, and it being a place very commodeous for scittuation in the Road to Springfield, &c. and may be beneficial and profitable as well to the Country as to par- ticular persons : and whereas some are already seated and others would be willing to settle the said place againe were there some encourage- ment from the Hon1 Council, and some to guide & order the prudential Affaires for such a Plantation.
Yor Petitioner humbly requests your Honrs would be pleased to ap- point and impower some prudent and able persons as a Committee to admit Inhabitants, and order the Affaires of the place, in forming ye Towne, granting Lotts, & directing & ordering all matters of a pruden- tial Nature till such time the Place be settled, and a competent number of Inhabitants & persons of discretion to order the affaires thereof, and yor Petitioner as in duty bound shall ever pray &c.
JAMES FORD
Mr. Younglove, Goodm [Edward] Scott, Hezekiah Dickinson, and Tho. Hovey of Hadley, formerly Inhabitants, if the Hond Council see cause to allow of ym wth some others now residing there, to be a Com- mittee, or whoever else." I
The petitioner, James Ford, was a soldier in the war of 1675-6 : per- haps he is the man who was stationed at Marlborough, holding a posi- tion of some responsibility at the garrison, June 12, 1676.2 He appears to have made only a temporary residence in Brookfield, as he was in Hadley 1691. The names suggested to the Court as Committee were Hadley men, former grantees and present land-holders of Brookfield. Mr. Younglove was one of the Committee, in the First Settlement ; and probably the reason for suggesting those names was that the First Com- mittee was mostly composed of townsmen. [Of course, Ford himself expected to be named as one of said Committee.] The other persons referred to, as " already seated " in Brookfield, appear to have been, John Woolcott, Jr., and perhaps his brother Joseph, who located on the
I Mass. State Archives, CVII. 96.
2 Mass. State Archives, LXIX. 17.
I38
SECOND SETTLEMENT, 1686-1718.
well-known " Woolcott Place ; " Samuel Smith, Jr., who took land east of the Woolcotts ; Joseph Mason, who pitched west of the Woolcotts, on the south side of the old Country road, his land running south to the river meadow ; John Lawrence (a brother-in-law of Smith), who built still further to the west, but "not far from Joseph Woolcott's " (to quote his own words) ; and John Clements. Part of these men were un- doubtedly " squatters," whose families were staying elsewhere, waiting a confirmation of land titles.
The action of the Council in the case, is found in Council Records, Vol. II. p. 85. "November 9, 1686, Maj. John Pinchon, Joseph Haw- ley, Capt. Samuel Glover, Mr. Samuel Marshfield, Mr. Samuel Ely, & Mr. John Hitchcock all of Springfield are appointed a Committee for settling the Town of Quabaug, & the Petition of the said Town is granted, and the aforenamed Gentlemen are to receive the claimes of the old Inhabitants, grant Lotts to others, & give necessary orders for the more orderly settlement of the said Towne."
This action of the Council settles the question, that inhabitants were living at Brookfield in the year 1686, and in sufficient numbers to war- rant the appointment of a Committee of distinguished gentlemen, with full powers to order the settlement of the place. And, as will appear, this Committee entered upon its duties, appointed one of its number as Measurer, and actually made grants of Lands early the next spring.
1687. - In addition to the names given in last year's list (all of whom probably received Grants and located the same - though Ford disap- pears from the list of inhabitants in 1691, and Clements in '931 ), the following settlers appear to have come on and taken up grants in 1687 : John Woolcott, Sen. (from Newbury), Daniel Price (from Watertown), and John Killum,2 who located near each other, and near Lawrence and Mason. Perhaps Hezekiah Dickinson built the frame of a house on the Prichard home-lot, which he had purchased. The following minute, taken from the Committee's Record Book, throws important light on the situation : " May 27, 1687, granted to Mr. Woolcott 40 acres upland, bounded E. by Smith's land ; N. by Smith's and Common land, and W. by his son John's land."
" A true coppy taken out of Mr. Sam'l Marshfield's Measuring Book, March 2, 1710 ; ordered to be recorded by the Committee.
Attest JOSEPH HAWLEY Reger "
This record shows that the Committee had previously made grants, and the same had been located, to - Smith, and John Woolcott, Jr. ;
I Probably he was the John Clements of Haverhill, who m. 1688, Elizabeth -, and settled later in Lynn.
2 Oct. 6, 1688. George Colton of Springfield bought a gray horse of John Kilum of Brookfield, for a yoke of steers. Killum, or Kilham, was born in Wenham.
I39
OPENING OF KING WILLIAM'S WAR.
and the inference is a fair one, that grants had been made and located to the other settlers. And thus the fact is accounted for, that a consid- erable cluster of houses was standing in the Woolcott neighborhood, from the outset of the Re-settlement. And the obvious reason for choos- ing this location was, that the claims of old Inhabitants to the home-lots on Foster's hill and the adjacent plains and meadows, had not yet been adjusted.
1688. - The new comers this year appear to have been : Samuel Owen, from Springfield, who located in the fork of the roads east of Warding Rock ; Daniel Tosh [McIntosh], who built north of the old Tho. Gil- bert place ; Matthew and Isaac Tomblin, and perhaps Josiah Beamon.
This year was memorable for the opening of the struggle known as King William's War; and for the advent in these parts of the usurper Sir Edmund Andros, and his formal assumption in this county of the civil and military power.
Several of the frontier towns, destroyed in King Philip's War, had been re-settled. Deerfield was re-occupied in 1682-3; Northfield was re- built in 1684-5. They had but few inhabitants as yet, and were but poorly fortified, and thus offered a strong temptation to the French authorities of Canada, who instigated the Indians to harass these exposed English plantations. The distractions of the New England colonies, attending the arbitrary measures of Gov. Andros, greatly encouraged the governor of Canada. It was even suspected that a secret understanding between them existed. If so, the premature commencement of hostili- ties, the discoveries made by our sharp-witted scouts, and the opportune deposition of Andros frustrated the plot, and postponed the more active operations of the war. War came however, with all the horrors of French and Indian atrocities, and lasted till 1698.
About the 24th of July, a party of eleven Indians, who had formerly belonged to Penacook, Pacomptuck and Quabaug, came down the Con- necticut river, stopping for a night in Deerfield.1 July 27, five peaceable Indians dwelling at Spectacle Pond near Springfield, were found murdered ; but no trace could be found of the murderers. The next day a party of savages was discovered in camp, by Micah Mudge of Northfield, about a mile from that village. They were fully armed, surly and vengeful, but kept their own counsels, only saying "they were going to Penecook, and that some lately came from there."
Aug. 16. Six persons, three men, two women and a girl, were mur- dered by Indians, at the upper end of Northfield town street. One of the men was John Clary (father of the John Clary who was killed at Brookfield in 1709), and the girl was his daughter Sarah aged 15.
The news of these murders greatly alarmed the Brookfield settlers.
I Mass. State Archives, CXXIX. 240.
140
SECOND SETTLEMENT, 1686-1718.
They were few in numbers, and living somewhat scattered, and had as yet built no garrison house for their protection. And two of the eleven Indians, seen near Northfield, had been recognized as Quabaugs, viz. Cungowasco (now called Wawanwejagtuck) and Wahacoet. Would they make their next assault on the whites who occupied their ancestral lands ?
I quote from Pynchon's Diary and Account Book :
" Aug. 17, 1688. Being ye same day yt tidings came to me which was yt Northfield was invaded, I sent Post to Quabaug, viz. Tho. Powell - which is 2 days & Horse.
Aug. 17. I sent away Lieut. Tho. Colton with 16 soldiers from Spring- field to Northfield, to surprise & take ye Indians & pursue ym etc. who were upon ye service 6 days - which is 96 days 96 Horses
The Lieut. is besides himself & Horse 6 6
Aug. 19. I sent 6 men to Quabaug, ye people there being about to remove, ordering and requiring their continuance, only I sent to fetch off such women as desired to come away. The men sent were Tho. Powell, Eben. Graves, John Stiles, James Petty, Joseph Petty & Tho. Gilbert, who were in ye service 2 days apiece & horses which is 12 days 12 Horses
I sent 2 lbs. Powder & 6 lbs. Bullets to Quabaug.
Aug. 30. Hezekia Dickinson Post from Brookfield, with Capt. Nichol- son's second letter : one day comeing & one day back, & ye extremity of ye wet made it a day more, so he is to be allowed for his horse & himself
which is 3 days 3 Horses
Sept. 4. To entertaining a Post, and to quartering of two soldiers sent from Quabaug for provisions, themselves and horses
Sept. 5. I sent to Quabaug 5 bushels of Indian corn according to Capt. Nicholson's order, for supply of the garrison there, which Mr. Woolcott there placed, sent to me for.
Sent two firelock guns to Quabaug to supply such as had none, according to Capt. Nicholson's order. The men [above named and many others] and horses were sent out from Springfield . . .
Sept. II. Joseph Marks was ordered to Northfield for I week, & took 4 firelock guns.
Sept. 20. Samuel Phelps & William Randal coming this evening from the Bay, & informing me yt ye Inhabitants of Quabaug were in some danger, & they being weak and few could not send on purpose, but by these travel- lers, desiring them to acquaint me with their wants, and 3 Indians were seen there last night skulking and running into a swamp, as before yt the same day, they discovered many tracks of Indians; and desiring some assistance of men &c
Sept. 21. I accordingly sent to their relief, & to scout out, & to make fortification there, these men, viz. Henry Gilbert to command, John Hitch- cock, James Warriner, Tho. Gilbert, Eben. Parsons, Sam1. Parsons. These returned the 27th of Sept., so were in service 7 days apiece
which is 42 days 42 horses Also to one bushel of meal, and pease half a bushel, and 20 lbs. of pork."
14I
GILBERT'S FORT BUILT.
The " fortification " referred to above, was what is known as Gilbert's Fort, so called because Dea. Henry Gilbert took a house-lot and built and lived adjoining it on the west. It stood on the old centre school- house lot in West Brookfield, at the intersection of North Main and Maple streets. It appears to have been a fort of considerable size, with barracks for soldiers and for families who should be driven in for safety, the whole surrounded by a strong stockade.
Gov. Andros, who was in New York Oct. I, " had advices that men were raised in Boston without his orders, and sent to Casco Bay to assist the Christians there against the Indians who had committed some dis- orders thereabouts," and determined to go overland to Boston. He left New York about Oct. 8 ; spent a brief time in Hartford with Col. John Allyn and the other " principal officers and magistrates " of Connecticut ; held a consultation with Col. Pynchon (then acting under a commission from Andros) at Springfield, and reached Hadley the 14th. He sent a message to Wm. Clarke of Northampton, chairman of the Committee for Northfield, requiring said Committee to appear before him, and "to give an account by what power they have acted in order to the re-settle- ment of that town."
The next day he went to Brookfield. The only record of his doings here, so far as is known, is the following letter :
LT. COL. JOHN ALLYN
SQUABAGUE, Oct. 16, 1688 five in the morning -
at Hartford Sir, I have this night received advice from Boston that the IIth instant one man was found killed by Indians to the eastward at Cape Porpus, and several others missing who are feared to be lost, the Indians being still out, but do not yet know their number, or of others joined with them. But could not direct this information to yourself, together with the enclosed to Capt. Nicholson, & Maj-Gen1. Winthrop, which desire you to forward by Express, of which presume the bearer a fit person for one, & remain
Yr aff. Friend
E. ANDROS.1
From Brookfield, Andros went to Worcester and Marlborough, and reached Boston " about noon of the Wednesday before Oct. 29." John West, in a letter to Col. John Allyn of Hartford, refers to the Governor's letter from Squabauge, and adds : "the 3 horses that came to Boston from Hartford must be allowed for 13 days at Is. per day - the guides and their horses being already paid for."
[The revolution which drove King James from the throne, and placed William and Mary there, began in Nov. 1688. The king abdicated Dec. II, and William and Mary accepted the crown Feb. 13, following. April 18, 1689, the people of Boston seized Andros, and restored the old governor, Simon Bradstreet.]
1 Doc. Hist. N.Y., III. 581
142
SECOND SETTLEMENT, 1686-1718.
After the restoration, a committee of the General Court reported, that the expenses of the garrison at Brookfield, during Sir Ed. Andros' ad- ministration [remaining unsettled] were £4. 2. 6.
1689. - No record is found of any new comers at Brookfield this year. The fort, built the last September, afforded some protection ; but in the disturbed state of affairs the inducement to " break ground " there was small.
Hostilities raged on the Eastern frontiers ; mainly the work of the French and their Indian allies of Canada. It was deemed an important object to retain the goodwill of the Five Nations, especially the Maquas. And in August, this year, three agents from Massachusetts and one from Connecticut, with Maj. Pynchon at the head, were sent to Albany, to make presents to the Maquas and to the River Indians or Scagkooks living in the neighborhood. The deputation left Westfield Aug. 27, es- corted by ten troopers, and were absent over four weeks. There was the customary palaver ; and our agents gave the Indians 500 lbs. of pow- der, 1,000 lbs. of lead, 150 yds. of duffel, 500 guilders in wampum, 90 shirts, and 40 lbs. of tobacco, besides presents privately made to the sachems, and a public entertainment of beef, pork, bread and beer to the warriors. The expenses of the deputation in all amounted to £327. But the promised alliance with the English proved " a broken reed to depend upon."
The white settlers at Albany in turn became alarmed, and sent to New England for help. Connecticut gathered about 66 men, and 24 were drafted from Hampshire county, and the company, under command of Capt. Jona. Bull, marched from Westfield Nov. 18. On reaching Albany they found a deadly feud raging among the white inhabitants, and that the people at Schenectady had neglected even the ordinary means of defence. Part of Capt. Bull's men were stationed at S .; and on the night of Feb. 8, 1690, the place was assaulted by a large body of French and Indians, and about 62 were barbarously murdered, and 28 made prisoners. Five of Capt. B.'s men were killed, and five taken. Among the latter were Joseph Marks and Samuel Beamon. Marks, who on his return settled in Brookfield, was carried to Canada, where he was held in captivity for more than a year. After his return to Mass. he received from the Province treasury £5.
1690. - John Woolcott, Sen., died this year. Anxiety and alarm pre- vailed in our frontier towns ; and about the first of July the re-settled plantation of Northfield was again given up, and the people came down the river, and were scattered among the stronger towns.
Early in the year, the plan was conceived of reducing Canada to the subjection of the crown of England. Massachusetts raised and equipped over 2,000 troops for the expedition, which was to be conducted partly
143
THE COMMITTEE RE-APPOINTED.
by ships by way of the St. Lawrence, and partly by an overland march. Owing to the inefficiency of the commanding officers (and other causes), the land force did not go farther than Lake Champlain, and the naval force did not reach Quebec till October ; and the troops becoming dis- couraged, and many of them sick, the enterprise was abandoned. The Province was much impoverished by the necessary expenditures, and the people disheartened by the failure.
1691. - Henry and Thomas Gilbert were inhabitants of Brookfield this year, and Thomas Barns came on in the summer, as appears from the following record, " coppied out of Samuel Marshfield's measuring Book by Col. Pynchon ; as follows : Aug. 27, 1691, measured to Thos Barns 40 acres upland, N. of the old road, W. of Matthew Tomlings &c." The Gilberts came from Springfield. Thomas located east of Samuel Owen ; Henry built on the south side of the highway and near the fort. Barns came from Marlborough, and pitched on the north side of the highway, nearly opposite to Henry Gilbert.
"May 20, 1691. In answer to the Petition of the Inhabitants of Squabaug alias Brookfield, Col. John Pynchon, Mr. Joseph Hawley, Sam1 Marshfield, John Hitchcock and Samuel Ely, formerly appointed a Committee for regulating the settlement of the Plantation of Squabaug alias Brookfield, are continued, and impowered to that service, taking effectual care so to direct and order the said settlement with that com- pactness and near situation of the dwellings that they may all be drawn into a line of a garrison, and made capable of defence against the Indian and French enemy." I
This action of the General Court was made apparently necessary by the overthrow of Government, under Andros, and the annulment of the old charter ; and the order of continuance and renewal of powers, gave official sanction to past as well as future acts of the Committee.
The direction for placing the houses of the settlers in such nearness and compactness that the whole might be surrounded with a stockade, was not carried out. Gilbert's fort was convenient for refuge to the families that were clustered around Owen's tavern ; but the Woolcott village was left unprotected, and fell a prey to the Indians, as will soon appear.
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